\0*

FORTHE PEOPLE

FOR EDVCATION

FOR SCIENCE

LIBRARY

OF

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM

OF

NATURAL HISTORY

BIRDS OF WASHINGTON

AND VICINITY

Copyright, 1898, ®
By MRS. L. W. MAYNARD

THE FRIEDENWALD CO.,

BALTIMORE, MD.

dedicated'
TO MY BOYS

INSPIRING COMPANIONS IN ALL MY
BIRD STUDIES AND EXCURSIONS

PREFATORY NOTE.

This little book has been prepared at the suggestion
of the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia,
in the belief that a local work giving untechnical de-
scriptions of all birds Hkely to be seen in this vicinity,
with something of the haunts and habits of those that
nest here, will be useful to many who desire an ac-
quaintance with our own birds but do not know just
how to go about making it.

Whatever success has been attained in the effort to
make the book usefully accurate and complete has been
made possible by some of our resident ornithologists,
who have most generously given information, obser-
vations, and helpful criticism. I am especially in-
debted to Mr. Robert Ridgway, Dr. C. W. Richmond,
Dr. A. K. Fisher, Mr. William Palmer, and Dr. T. S.
Palmer. Miss Florence A. Merriam has been the
inspiration of the work from its inception. There are
also others to whom I am deeply grateful for kind
assistance.

I would call attention to Dr. Richmond's valuable
tabulated list of all birds found here (p. 178), and to
Miss Merriam's introduction, with its hints on observ-
ing, and suggestions as to where to find the District
birds.

The illustrations are reproduced from bulletin No.
3 by Dr. A. K. Fisher, and bulletin No. 54 by Prof.
F. E. L. Beal, published by the Biological Survey,
U. S. Department of Agriculture.

L. W. M.
Washington, D. C, September, i8g8.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

Introduction 1 1

Where Birds may be looked for 19

About Birds IN General 21

Field Key to our Common Birds 25

Summer Residents 41

Thrushes, etc 41

Gnatcatcher 45

Nuthatches and Tits 46

Thrashers and Wrens • 49

Warblers 5^

ViREOS 71

Cedar Waxwing 76

Swallows 7S

Tanagers 84

Sparrows, etc 86

Blackbirds and Orioles 98

Crows and Blue Jay 106

Flycatchers no

Swift and Hummingbird 117

W^HIP-POOR-WILL AND NiGHTHAWK II9

Woodpeckers 121

Kingfisher ^-8

Cuckoos 130

Owls 132

Hawks ^37

Turtle Dove 148

Quail, Grouse, and Wild Turkey 149

Shore AND Water Birds 151

Migration of Birds 156

Descriptions of Migrants and Winter Residents . 159
Tabulated List of all Birds found in the District

of Columbia ^78

Birds that MAY BE SEEN IN \ViNTER 187

Local Lists 188

Observation Outline 19^

Index ^97

INTRODUCTION.

In these days we have not the excuse that it is nec-
essary to shoot a bird to find out what it is. With
museum collections and bird books to refer to, one has
only to go to the field and watch the birds. Here
an opera-glass is a great help and a note-book posi-
tively indispensable to the earnest observer. Notes
on colors and markings made in the field with the
bird in sight, if compared with the books, will give the
bird's name, and notes on his habits made at the ,time
will add valuable material to our meagre knowledge
of life histories; but notes made from memory will
rarely identify and are wholly untrustworthy. A good
observer must be able tO' take his oath upon the accu-
racy of all his records.

Provided with glass and note-book and dressed in
inconspicuous colors, proceed to some good birdy
place — the bushy banks of a stream or an old juniper
pasture — and sit down in the undergrowth or against
a concealing tree trunk with your back to the sun, to
look and listen in silence. You will be able tO' trace
most songs to their singers by finding which tree
the song comes from and then watching for movement,
as birds are rarely motionless long at a time when
singing. It will be a help if, besides writing down a
careful description of both bird and song, you draw a
rough diagram of the bird's markings and put down

1 2 INTR OD UCTION.

the actual notes of his song' as nearly as may be.
Suggestions as to the most important points to
observe will be found on page 192.

If you have time for only a walk through the woods,
go as quietly as possible and stop often, listening" to
catch the notes that your footsteps have drowned.
Timid birds may often be attracted by answering their
calls, for it is very reassuring to be addressed in one's
native tongue.

Don't try to see too much at first. Carefully note
descriptions of a few birds and then refer to a bird
book and identify them.

It will be a great help to compare your note-book
descriptions wdth the Smithsonian cases of summer
residents of the District, in the Children's Room, and
labelled " Familiar Birds of the United States." Ref-
erence books may be examined at the library of the
Biological ^Survey, U. S. Department of Agriculture,
though they cannot be taken from the room, and
many of the popular books will be found in the Wash-
ington Free Public Library. Migration blanks, and
publications on the food habits of birds can be had
on application to the Biological Survey.

Records of rare birds should be reported tO' Dr.
Richmond at the Smithsonian, and he should also be
consulted about birds that cannot be otherwise iden-
tified.

Aside from the many advantages afforded by access
to experienced ornithologists and the government col-
lections, Washington is a particularly good place in
which to get acquainted with birds. The numerous
city parks, and the large grounds of the Capitol,

FLORENCE A. MERRIAM.

13

White House, Agricultural Department, and Smith-
sonian are g'ood observ^ation grounds in themselves,
not only in the migrations but in the nesting season,
as we are favored by having twenty-six species of birds
nest in the city.

Even in winter, when most of us note few but the
English Sparrow, the city is not without its native
bird residents and afifords opportunities for delightful
encounters with straying northerners visiting the
capital.

Much to the satisfaction of inlanders unacquainted
with coast birds, the singular car of the Fish Crow may
be heard all winter about the Smithsonian, for the
birds make themselves at home on its towers and
regardless of spectators perch on the bare trees of the
grounds. Sometimes when walking through the
grounds one discovers a small tree filled apparently
with round apples, which on approach turn into a
flock of plump Waxwings conversing in their low
monosyllables. In passing weed-grown vacant lots
one often starts up a flock of twittering Juncos — the
slate-colored Snowbirds — and one day I chanced along
just as a small Hawk darted down from his ambuscade
scattering a little band of them which had been feeding
quietly amiong the weeds. Throughout the winter
we are honored by the presence of the Red-headed
Woodpecker, splendid beauty that he is, and when
passing " Boundary Castle," at the head of Sixteenth
Street, may often hear his rattling kerrr'r and get
sight of the handsome tricolor coats of two or three
of the Red-heads disporting on the bare trees below
the Castle. On the quiet part of Florida Avenue

1 4 INTR OD UCTION.

near by, the cheering voice of the Song Sparrow may
sometimes be heard, sounding pecuharly gentle and
melodious in contrast to the quarrelsome winter
chatter of the English Sparrow. Now and then, too,
the sweet sad call of the Bluebird stirs our hearts with
its promise of spring.

Transient feathered visitors also brighten the winter
days. Once I had the delightful surprise of discover-
ing a flock of northern Pine Finches filling a sapling
at the corner of i6th and U Streets, and showing their
yellow wing marks as if to prove their identity.
Another day I came face to face with a flock of
Horned Larks at the intersection of New Hampshire
Avenue and T Street, calmly taking a promenade on
the asphalt.

Towards spring one's calendar has many red letters.
As I look back, one of the brightest is the day when
from a tree opposite the Treasur}^ the first spring carol
of the Robin arrested my steps and magically trans-
formed the noisy city streets into quiet countryside,
as a sudden burst of sunshine illuminates a dull land-
scape. Bound with this memory is the first sight of
the jolly Crow Blackbirds on the Agricultural grounds
taking constitutionals among the dandelions to the de-
light of all beholders. Then come the evenings when
from the sidewalk one hears the faint sweet chirpings
of homeward bound travellers passing overhead, even-
ings followed by days when Golden Warblers awaken
one with their summery song, little visitors drop into
the city parks, the leafing trees ring with the happy
songs of bands of Goldfinches, and the woods and
fields are filled with new joyful life to attract one to the
countrv.

FLORENCE A. MEKRIAM. 15

In going outside of the city to look for birds Wash-
ingtonians are peculiarly favored, for the suburban car
lines carry them out so quickly that even the few free
hours of a busy day may be used to great advantage.
One of the most accessible places is also one of the
best for birds. From the 7th Street end of the U
Street car line it takes only fifteen minutes to reach
the entrance of the Zoological Park, where the earliest
birds gather. Here on a chilly spring morning the
air has been fairly ringing with the sweet minor whis-
tles of Field Sparrows answering each other across the
bare hills.

In April the low sunny pine woods on the way to the
animal houses are a favorite singing gallery for flocks
of the slate-colored Snowbirds which, minor songsters
though they be, warble a cheery lay that leads very
pleasantly to the louder chorus of summer. Beyond
the pines, around the out-door animal houses and the
buffalo yards v/here seed-eaters can pick up a living,
the handsome White-throated Sparrows collect, and
their piping whistle is most grateful to the ear, for it
has all the purity and freshness of a spring morning.

In May and June as you enter the Zoo gates the
low wooded hills on the right are almost sure to be
echoing with bird songs. Cardinals, Tufted Titmice,
Indigo-birds, Catbirds, Chats, , Oven-birds, Scarlet
Tanagers, and Wood Thrushes sing there commonly,
and I have seen numbers of Black-polls and a Bay-
breasted Warbler there earlier in the season. On May
4, 1898, I noted twelve species between the Zoo en-
trance and the antelope yards, including the Black
and White Creeper and Prairie Warbler,

1 6 INTRODUCTION.

During the spring" migration the bushes along the
north bank of Rock Creek below the prairie-dog
houses are favorite resorts for warblers — active Black
and White Creepers, gentle Black-throated Blues,
gorgeous orange-throated Blackburnians, and many
others, while across the creek, White-eyed Vireos,
Chats and Maryland Yellow-throats sing. Piney
Branch is another good water-way for Warblers — a
beauty of a Black-and-Yellow is associated with one
especial patch of bushes. Indeed, sunny undergrowth
by water supplies the conditions these little insect
eaters most desire.

Outside the Zoo the narrow wooded strip of land
between the Potomac and the canal from High Island
up to the Amphitheatre is one of the best Warbler
grounds easily reached by the cars. Here one may
find among other birds Rough-winged Swallows,
Maryland Yellow-throats, Carolina Wrens, Water-
Thrushes and Kentucky Warblers.

In looking for birds that prefer dry fields and
thickets there is a delightful old juniper field to visit
just west of Chevy Chase circle. Here Thrashers
shout out their approval of life, shy Chewinks scratch
up the dead leaves under cover of the evergreens,
clownish Chats pour out their rapid volleys — loud
whistles and mocking laughter — from the thicket, and
sweet-voiced Prairie Warblers mount the juniper tops
and with leisurely serenity run up their rich scale.

Among other birdy places that may be reached on
the wheel are the wild undergrowth bordering the Sol-
diers' Home woods, the road passing Pierce's Mill
and Blagden's Mill, and running northward into Rock

FLORENCE A. MERRIAM. ij

Creek Park, the woods along the Brightwood road and
the miHtary road west of Brightwood. The woods
back of Marshall Hall and those adjoining Mt. Ver-
non, Takoma Park, Forest Glen, Kensington, Rock-
ville, Laurel, Four Mile Run, the Arsenal grounds
and the reclaimed Potomac Flats are all good places.
The Falls Church road is said to go through a rich
bird section and to include on its list Worm-eating
Warblers. Arlington Cemetery is particularly good
for winter birds, and the mouth of Hunting Creek,
Anacostia River and swamps, for water birds.

On May 9, 1898, I noticed forty-eight species on a
circuit of a mile from the terminus of the 14th Street
car line down along Piney Branch and back through
Mt. Pleasant, eighteen species of which were seen be-
tween the end of the car line and the 14th Street
bridge on Piney Branch.

Before the bulk of the birds come north, one has to
pick out the most favorable places in order to see
much, but in May and June there will be plenty to
see and hear on almost any walk or ride if one selects
the hour and direction in reference to sun and wind.
For birds follow the sun, keep out of the wind, and
are little in evidence during the hot noon hours. In
the early morning the dark western side of the woods
will be silent and deserted while the side that faces
the sun will be alive with merry songsters. Go along
Piney Branch when the sun has dropped below the
southern wall and you will see little or nothing. Walk
up Rock Creek in a strong north or south wind and
you will fare still worse. The noon -day hours are to
be avoided almost as much as wind. To hear songs

1 8 INTR OD UCTION.

and watch migrants, go early in the morning, earlier
as the days grow warmer. If the morning hours are
occupied, the late afternoon ones will be found profit-
able, as the birds sing again when the heat of the day
is over. In watching nests you have more latitude,
as there is generally plentv^ to see at all hours of the
day.

Year by year as one's field experiences accumulate,
the pleasures of bird study deepen. Not only does
the acquaintance of one year become the friend of the
next, but drawn more to the woods and fields by the
delight of our new interest in the birds themselves,
all unwittingly we come closer and closer to nature
and are blessed by her healing touch.

Florence A. Merriam.
Washington, D. C, June ij, rSgS.

Birds of the Woods.

Tanagers, Thrushes, Woodpeckers, Flycatchers,
Vireos, Carolina Wren, Cardinal, Kingfisher (wooded
streams), Oven-bird, Black and White Creeper, Nut-
hatch, Titmouse, Chickadee, Whip-poor-will, Night-
hawk, Junco, Kinglets, Water-Thrush, Hummingbird,
Cuckoos, Turtle Dove, most Warblers.

Birds of Garden and Orchard.

Bluebird, Robin, Chipping Sparrow, Wood Pewee,
Phoebe, Kingbird, Brown Thrasher, Catbird, Mock-
ingbird, House Wren, Purple Martin, Eave and Barn
Swallows, Orioles, Blue Jay, Hummingbird, Gold-
finch, Woodpeckers, Crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed
Vireo, Cedar-bird.

Birds of Meadow and Wild Field.

Field Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Indigo-bird, Blue-
bird, Meadowlark, Bobolink, Blackbirds, Crow,
Fish Crow, Nighthawk, Bob -white, Junco, Prairie
Warbler, Brown Thrasher.

Birds of Roadside and Fences.

Sparrows, Kingbird, Chat, Indigo-bird, Bluebird,
Goldfinch, Brown Thrasher, Catbird, Robin.

Birds that show White in Flying.

Meadowlark, Vesper Sparrow, Chewink, Cuckoos,
Junco, Kingbird, Blue Jay, Flicker, Turtle Dove,
Nighthawk, Mockingbird, Marsh Hawk, many small
Warblers.

ABOUT BIRDS IN GENERAL.

Birds as a class occupy a place between mammals
and reptiles, but nearer reptiles. Unlike and far apart
as birds and snakes now are, fossil remains prove
that they have a common ancestry, that both are de-
scended from what is called reptilian stock, and have
arrived at their present forms by a long and wonderful
process of evolution. A character still common to
both is egg-laying, although reptiles, with few excep-
tions, do not incubate.

Birds, standing between mammals and reptiles, have
no marked peculiarities of structure not found in one
or the other class, except that of body-covering; they,
and they only, are clothed in feathers. This ideal
clothing is light, warm, and non-conducting, thus
permitting a high temperature to be maintained. The
heat of a bird's body is about no degrees, against 98
degrees in mammals and 40 degrees in reptiles.

Birds are said to be protectively colored when the
tints of their plumage harmonize with their haunts,
making them inconspicuous to their enemies. The
brown, striped Sparrows, Quail, and Whip-poor-will
are good examples of protective coloration in birds
that are much on the ground, and Vireos and female
Tanagers of those that live in trees.

Birds do not perspire. They have an oil-gland at
the base of the tail from which they press out a drop
of oil wath the beak, and dress or " preen " their
feathers. This gland is specially developed in water-

22 ABOUT BIRDS IX GENERAL.

birds, and it is the thorough anointing of the feathers
which makes water so readily run off a duck's back.

The breathing capacity of birds is phenomenal;
they breathe not only with the lungs but with the
whole body, inflating numerous air-sacs under the
skin, and also certain bones. Birds breathe much
more rapidly than animals. Their wonderful power
of flight is explained by the lightness of the air-filled
body, and by their great muscular strength ; the breast
muscles which move the wrings are enormous, some-
times weighing one-sixth of the whole bird.

There is the greatest variety in the structure and
consequently in the habits of dilTferent birds, some
being especially adapted to life in the water, and
others to aerial life, while the Ostrich and its rela-
tives can neither swim nor fly. By far the greater
number of birds, however, are at home on earth or in
the air, and can range the wide world over, the most
free and independent of all creatures.

Aerial birds have great expanse of wdng in pro-
portion to the size of body, and their wings are long
and pointed, while birds that spend most of their time
perching or on the ground, like the Sparrows, have
short round wings. Between the two extremes of
shape and use there is every possible variety, adapted
to the habits of all species.

The bill of a bird is its hand, and is wonderfully
varied to suit different habits of feeding and nest
building. It may be long or short, slender or stout,
straight or hooked at the end, curved up or down,
wide and flat or high and narrow, but is always ad-
mirably adapted to its special use. In its varied
forms it is used as forceps, chisel, hammer, trowel,
shovel, probe, hook or needle.

ABOUT BIRDS IN GENERAL.

23

There are also great differences in the feet of birds.
Those that walk much, like Blackbirds, have strong,
well-developed feet, while the feet of birds that spend
most of their time in the air, such as Swallows, are
small and weak. Hawks and Owls have tremen-
dously strong feet, which they use with great skill
in catching and killing their prey. Water birds have
webbed feet, which are used as oars in swimming.
The feet of perching birds are so constructed that
certain tendons act automatically and lock the bird to
his perch when sleeping.

A bird's tail is used as a rudder in flight, and enables
him to steer his course with precision. Long-tailed
birds can change their course much more cjuickly and
gracefully than those with short tails, which generally
make direct flights. Some birds, like Woodpeckers
and Swifts, have a short stiff tail, which they use as
a prop. Many birds use the tail to express emotion.
It is twitched, wagged, spread or folded, drooped or
tilted up, according to the disposition of its owner.

Birds have ears, although there is usually no indi-
cation of them. They open a little below and behind
the eyes, and are hidden by feathers. The nose of a
bird is a pair of nostrils opening on the bill.

Birds are classified according to their differences
in structure, the greater diversities separating them
into the larger divisions, or orders, and the lesser
into the nearer relationship of families. Within
families there is a still closer connection called the
genus (plural genera). Species means the particular
kind of bird, as Robin, Song Sparrow. The scien-
tific names of birds show genus and species, and the
genus is placed first, as if we should write Smith, John
instead of John Smith.

A FIELD KEY TO OUR COMMON LAND BIRDS.*

When you have seen a bird with sufficient definite-
ness to describe its color, form, and actions, reference
to the following key will often prove a short cut to its
identity. This key is based only on adult males, who,
because of their song, often brighter colors, and
greater activity, are far more frequently observed than
the females. But, knowing the male, you will rarely,
during the nesting season, be at loss to recognize his
mate.

The use of the key may be illustrated by the follo\v-
ing example: Let us imagine that you see a Chipping
Sparrow feeding about your doorstep. You note his
size, chestnut cap bordered by white, black bill,
brownish, streaked back, and grayish white, un-
marked under parts. Turning now to the key, you
will see that b}- exclusion the bird belongs in '' Sec-
tion V " of the " Third Group," and that it should be
placed in subsection " i " of this section, which in-
cludes birds having the " under parts white or whitish,
all one color, without streaks or spots." You have
now two subdivisions to choose from — " A. Back

* From " Bird-life," by Frank M. Chapman. By per-
mission of D. Appleton & Co.

26 FIELD KEY.

without streaks or spots," and " B. Back brownish,
streaked." Your bird falls under " B," where again
you have two subdivisions, " a. Crown rufous or chest-
nut, without streaks," and " b. Crown not rufous or
chestnut." Your bird should be referred to " o,"
where you will at once find it described under " a ^ "
as the Chipping Sparrow.

FIRST GROUP.

BIRDS THAT CATCH THEIR INSECT FOOD IN THE AIR.

{Flycatchers, Szvallozvs, Sivift, Nighthawk, IVhip-poor-zvill.)
I. Size large, length over 9.00 inches; the spread
wings over 15.00 inches in extent; generally seen
only late in the afternoon or at dusk.

1. A bird of the air, flying high, often over housetops in

cities; a conspicuous white spot in each wing; note,
a loud, nasal peent ; sometimes dives earthward with a
booming sound Nighthawk, page 120.

2. Haunts, near the ground, makes short flights while feed-
ing; call, given from a rock, stump, or similar perch,
whip-poor-zvill, vigorously repeated.

Whip-poor-will, page iiQ-

II. Size smaller, length under 9.00 inches; the spread
wings less than 15.00 inches in extent; may be
seen at any time of the day.

I. Birds that catch passing insects by darting from a
perch, to which they afterward return.
A. Length 8.50 inches; upper parts blackish slate
color; tail tipped with white; occasionally attacks
Crows; note, an unmusical, steely chatter.

Kingbird, page iii.

FIELD KEY. 2 J

B. Length under 8.00 inches; upper parts not slate
color; tail not tipped with white.

a. Length 7.00 inches; frequently found nesting un-
der bridges or about buildings; crown blackish;
tail wagged nervously; note, pee, pee, and pewit-
phoebe Phcebe, page 114.

b. Length 6.50 inches; haunts wooded growths; note.
a plaintive pee-a-wee. . . . Wood Pewee, page 115.

c. Length 5.40 inches; haunts orchards, lawns, and
open woodland; note, chebec, chcbec.

Least Flycatcher, page 169.

2. Birds that feed on the wing for hours without perch-
ing.

A. Plumage entirely black.

a. Length 5.50 inches; plumage sooty black; usually
nests in chimneys. . . . Chimney Swift, page 117.

b. Length 8.00 inches; glossy, bluish black; nests in
gourds or houses erected for its use.

Purple Martin, page 78.

B. Plumage not entirely black. . Swallows, page 78.

SECOND GROUP.
climbing and creeping birds.
(Nuthatches, Creepers, Woodpeckers.)
I. Birds zvithcut stiffly pointed tail-feathers, that
climb either up or down.

1. Length 6.00 inches; back gray, cap black, cheeks and
under parts white; note, a nasal yank, yank; a perma-
nent resident. . White-breasted Nuthatch, page 48.

2. Length 4.50 inches; back gray, cap black, a blackish
streak through the face; under parts reddish brown;
note, high and thin, like the tone of a penny trumpet.

Red-breasted Nuthatch, page 160.

28 FIELD KEY.

3. Length 5.25 inches; upper parts streaked black and
white; note, a thin wiry see-sec-scc-scc.

Black and White Warbler, page 59.

II. Birds with stiffly pointed tail-feathers, that always
climb upward.

1. Length 5.65 inches; plumage dull brown and black;
size small, bill slender; an inconspicuous bird who winds
his way up the trunks searching for insects' eggs, etc.;
note, fine and squeaky. . . Brown Creeper, page 160.

2. Plumage with more or less white, size larger, bill
stouter, chisel-like, often used in hammering.

A. Length 9.75 inches; head red, back black; flight
showing a large white patch in the wing.

Red-headed Woodpecker, page 123.

B. Length 12.00 inches; crown gray; a red band on
the nape; flight showing a white patch on the lower
back and yellow in the wings; often flushed from the
ground; note, kee-yer Flicker, page 127.

C. Length 6.75 inches; crown black; back and wings
black and white; note, a sharp peek.

Downy Woodpecker, page 122.

THIRD GROUP.

birds not included in the preceding groups.

{Blackbirds, Orioles, Sparrows, Vireos, Warblers,
Thrushes, etc.)

Section I. With yellow or orange in the plurqage.

Section II. With red in the plumage.

Section III. With blue in the plumage.

Section IV. Plumage conspicuously black, or black

and white.

FIELD KEY. 29

Section V. Birds not included in the preceding
sections.
I. With yellow or orange in the plumage.
I. Throat yellow.
A. Throat and breast pure yellow, without streaks or
spots.

a. Length 5.10 inches; cap, wings, and tail black; back
yellow; song canarylike, sometimes uttered on the
wing; flight undulating, frequently accompanied by
the notes chic-o-ree, per-chic-o-ree ; a permanent

resident Am. Goldfinch, page 86.

h. Length 5.95 inches; lower belly and wing-bars
white; back olive-green; frequents the upper
branches, generally in woodland; actions deliber-
ate; song loud and musical, uttered slowly, often
with pauses: " See me? I'm here; where are you? "
Yellow-throated Vireo, page 73.

c. Length 5.25 inches; cheeks and forehead black,
bordered by ashy; upper parts olive-green; no
wing-bars; haunts thickets and undergrowth; move-
ments nervous and active; call-note pit or chack ;
song, a vigorous, rapid zvitch-e-zvce-o, zvitch-e-zvce-o.

Maryland Yellow-throat, page 68.

d. Length 7.45 inches; upper parts olive-green; no
wing-bars; a white line before the eye; haunts thick-
ets and undergrowth; song, a striking mixture of
whistles, chucks, and cazvs, sometimes uttered on the
wing Yellow-breasted Chat, page 69.

' B. Under parts streaked with reddish-brown; length
5.00 inches; general appearance of a yellow bird;
haunts shrubbery of lawns, orchards, second growths,
and particularly willows near water; song, rather loud,
wee, chee-chee-chee, cher-wee, or chee-chee-chec-chee,
<way-o Yello\v Warbler, page 61.

30 FIELD KEY.

C. Breast yellow, with a conspicuous black crescent;
length 10.75 inches; haunts fields and meadows, largely
terrestrial; flight quail-like, outer tail-feathers white,
showing when on the wing; song, a loud, musical
whistle; a permanent resident.

Meadowlark, page 102.

2. Throat white.

A. With yellow on the sides.

a. Length 5.50 inches; rump yellow; breast streaked
or spotted with black; tail-feathers marked with
white; note, a characteristic tchip.

Myrtle Warbler, page 162.

b. Length 5.00 inches; no black on under parts or
white in the tail; yellow extending along the whole
sides; back olive-green, iris white; haunts thickets;
call, an emphatic " Who are you, eh? "

White-eyed Vireo, page 74.

c. Length 5.25 inches; tail and wings banded with
yellow, showing conspicuously in flight; haunts
woodland; movements active, much in the air, tail
frequently spread Redstart, page 70.

B. No yellow on sides.

a. Length 6.75 inches; a yellow line from the bill to
the eye; crown black, with a white stripe through
its center; haunts in and about thickets and bushy
woodlands; song, a high, clear, musical whistle;

call-note, chink.

White-throated Sparrow, page 167.

b. Length 4.00 inches; a yellow, or yellow and orange
crown-patch, bordered by black; flits restlessly
about outer limbs of trees and bushes; note, a fine
ti-ti Golden-crowned Kinglet, page 160.

3. Throat neither yellow nor white.

FIELD KEY. 31

A. Length 12.00 inches; white rump and yellow in
wings showing conspicuously in flight; a black
breast-band; note, a loud kee-yer.

Flicker, page 127.

B. Length 9.00 inches; crested; breast ashy, belly yel-
low; tail-feathers largely pale brownish red; haunts
upper branches in woodland; note, a loud question-
ing or grating whistle.

Crested Flycatcher, page 112.

C. Length 7.50 inches; throat and head black; breast,
belly, and lower back deep orange; haunts fruit and
shade trees; song, a loud, ringing whistle.

Baltimore Oriole, page 103.

D. Length 7.20 inches; crested; grayish brown; a
black line through the eye; tail tipped with yellow;
generally seen in small flocks; note, thin and weak.

Cedar Waxwing, page 76.

II. With red in the plumage.

I. With red on the under parts.
A. Throat red.

a. Length 7.25 inches; wings and tail black; rest of
plumage bright scarlet; call-note, chip-cJtirr.

Scarlet Tanager, page 84.

b. Length 6.20 inches; dull pinkish red, wings and
tail brownish; frequently seen feeding on buds or
blossoms; call-note, a sharp chink, often uttered dur-
ing flight; song, a sweet, flowing warble.

Purple Finch, page 166.

c. Length 6.20 inches; dull red or green tinged with
red; mandibles crossed; generally seen in flocks;
feeds on pine cones. . . . Am. Crossbill, page 166.

d. Length 5.30 inches; a red crown-cap; back
streaked black and brown; breast rosy; feeds on
seeds or catkins Redpoll, page 180.

32 FIELD KEY.

B. Throat black.

a. Length 8.00 inches; breast rose-red, rest of plu-
mage black and white; song loud and musical; call-
note, peek. . . Rose-breasted Grosbeak, page 168.

b. Length 8.00 inches; a conspicuous crest; region
about the base of the bill black; rest of the plumage
and bill red; song, a clear whistle; resident from
New York city southward. . . . Cardinal, page 94.

c. Length 5.40 inches; wings and tail banded with
orange-red, showing conspicuously in flight; move-
ments active; much in the air; tail frequently
spread; haunts woodland. . . . Redstart, page 70.

2. No red on the under parts.

A. Length 9.50 inches; black; shoulders red; haunts
marshes; migrates in flocks.

Red-winged Blackbird, page 100.

B. Length 5.25 inches; crown-cap red; chin black;
rest of under parts streaked with blackish; feeds on
seeds and catkins Redpoll (im.), page 180.

C. Length 4.00 inches; under parts whitish; back olive-
green; a ruby crown-patch; eye-ring white; move-
ments restless, wings flitted nervously; call-note, cack;
song remarkably loud and musical;

Ruby-crowned Kinglet, page 159.

III. With TdIug in the plumage.

A. Length 11.50 inches; a conspicuous crest; upper
parts dull blue; under parts whitish; a black patch
on the breast Blue Jay, page 108.

B. Length 7.00 inches; upper parts bright blue; under
parts cinnamon-brown Bluebird, page 41.

FIELD KEY.

33

C. Length 5.50 inches; entire plumage indigo-blue.

Indigo Bunting, page 96.

D. Lehgth 13.00 inches; bluish gray, haunts near water;
feeds on fish, which it catches by darting on them at
the surface Kingfisher, page 128.

IV. Plumag'e conspicuously black, or black and white.

I. Black and white birds.

A. Throat black.

a. Length over 6.00 inches.

a\ Entire under parts black; nape buf¥y; rump
white; a musical dweller of fields and meadows;
frequently sings on the wing.

Bobolink, page 169.

a^ Breast rose-red; rest of the plumage black and
white; song rapid, loud and musical; call-note
peek; a tree dweller in rather open woodland.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, page 168.

a^ Sides reddish brown; rest of the plumage black
and white; call-note, chewink or towhee; inhabits
the undergrowth; often seen on ground scratch-
ing among fallen leaves. . . . Towhee, page 93.

b. Length under 6.00 inches.

6\ Crown black; cheeks white; back ashy; un-
streaked; call, chick-a-dee. or a musical, double-
noted whistle; a permanent resident.

Chickadee, page 178.

B. Throat and under parts white or whitish.

a. Length 8.50 inches; upper parts blackish slate-
color; tail tipped with white; a bird of the air,
catching its insect food on the wing, and occasion-

34 FIELD KEY.

ally sallying forth from its exposed perch in pur-
suit of a passing Crow; note, an unmusical, steely
chatter Kingbird, page iii.

h. Length 6.90 inches; upper parts washed with rusty;
generally seen in flocks; terrestrial.

Snowflake, page 180.

2. No white in the plumage.

A. Length 19.00 inches; jet black.

Am. Crow, page 106.

B. Length 12.00 inches; black with metallic reflec-
tions; iris yellowish; migrates in flocks; nests usu-
ally in colonies in coniferous trees; voice cracked and
reedy; tail "keeled" in short flights; a walker.

Purple Grackle, page 105.

C. Length 9.50 inches; shoulders red; haunts marshes;
call, kong-quer-ree.

Red-winged Blackbird, page 100.

D. Length 7.90 inches; head and neck coffee-brown;
frequently seen on the ground near cattle.

CowBiRD, page 98.

V. Birds not included in the preceding sections (that
is, plumage without either yellow, orange, red, or
blue; not conspicuously black, or black and white).

I. Under parts white or whitish, all one color, without
streaks or spots.

A. Back without streaks or spots.

a. Back olive-green; gleaners, exploring the foliage
for food or flitting about the outer branches.
a\ Length 6.25 inches; a white line over the eye
bordered by a narrow black one; cap gray; iris

FIELD KEY.

35

red; song, a rambling recitative: "You see it —
you know it — do you hear me? " etc.

Red-eyed Vireo, page 71.

a^ Length 5.75 inches; a white line over the eye'
not bordered by black; prefers the upper branches
of rows of elms and other shade trees; song, a rich,
unbroken warble with an alto undertone.

Warbling Vireo, page 'jt.,

a^. Length 4.00 inches; no white line over the eye;
eye-ring and wing-bars white; a tiny, unsuspicious
bird; flits about the outer branches of trees and
shrubs; wings twitched nervously; note, cack,
song, a remarkably loud, musical whistle.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet, page 159.

b. Back gray or bluish gray.

fe\ Length 6.50 inches; a gray, crested bird; fore-
head black; no white in the tail; note, a whistled
peto, pcto, or hoarse de-de-de-dc; resident from
New York city southward.

Tufted Tit, page 46.

&^ Length 8.50 inches; a white band at the end of
the tail; a concealed orange-red crest; a bird of
the air, catching its insect food on the wing, and
occasionally sallying forth from its exposed perch
in pursuit of a passing Crow; note, an unmusical,
steely chatter Kingbird, page iii.

c. Back brown.

c\ Length 5.00 inches; a nervous, restless, excita-
ble bird; tail often carried erect; song sweet,
rapid and rippling delivered with abandon.

House Wren, page 55.

36 FIELD KEY.

t-l Length 12.25 inches; sHm, brownish birds with

long tails; flight short and noiseless; perch in a

tree, not in an exposed position; note, tut-tut.

cluck-cluck, and cozv-cow.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed Cuckoo, page 130.

B. Back brO'vnish, streaked.

a. Crown rufous or chestnut without streaks.

a^. Length 5.25 inches; bill black; a whitish line
over the eye; a familiar bird of lawns and door-
yards; song, a monotonous cJiippy-chippy-cJiippy.
Chipping Sparrow, page 90.

a'. Length 5.70 inches; bill reddish broivn, back
rufous or rufous-brown; wing-bars and eye-ring
whitish; haunts dry. bushy fields and pastures;
song, a musical, plaintive cJicr-iuee, chcr-wcc, cher-
zi'ee, cheeo, dce-dee-dce-dee.

Field Sparrow^ page 91.

a^ Length 5.90 inches; forehead black; crown and
wings chestnut-rufous; flanks pale grayish brown;
haunts marshes; song, a rapidly repeated zveet-
zi'cet-zccct. etc Swamp Sparrow, page 167.

b. Crown not rufous or chestnut.

&\ Length 6.75 inches; crown blackish, with a cen-
tral whitish stripe; throat white; breast gray; a
yellow spot before the eye; haunts in and about
thickets and bushy woodlands; song, a high, clear,
musical whistle; call-note, chink.

White-throated Sparrow^ page 167.

6". Length 5.20 inches; bill slender; a w^hite line
over the eye; tail carried erect; haunts reedy
marshes; call-note scolding; song rippling.

Long-billed j\L\rsh Wren, page 56.

FIELD KEY. 3p^:

2. Under parts white or whitish, streaked or spotted.

A. Back streaked.

a. Length 6.10 inches; outer tail-feathers white, show-
ing conspicuously when the bird flies; haunts dry
fields and roadsides; song musical.

Vesper Sparrow, page 88.

h. Outer tail-feathers not white.

b\ Length 6.30 inches; breast with numerous spots
tending to form one large spot in its center;
haunts on or near the ground, generally in the vi-
cinity of bushes; call-note, chimp; song musical;
a permanent resident. . Song Sparrow, page 92.

b^. Length 6.35 inches; breast grayish with one spot
in its center Tree Sparrow, page 167.

B. Back not streaked; breast spotted.

a. Length 11.40 inches; tail 5.00 inches; wing-bars
white; upper parts, wings, and tail bright cinnamon
brown; haunts undergrowth; sings from an exposed
and generally elevated position; song loud, striking,
and continuous Brown Thrasher, page 49-

b. Length under 9.00 inches; tail under 3.00 inches;
no wing-bars; back reddish or cinnamon-broivn.

b\ Length 8.25 inches; breast and sides heavily
marked with large, round, black spots; head and
upper back brighter than lower back and tail; call-
note, a sharp pit or liquid quirt.

Wood Thrush, page 44.

&'. Length 7.15 inches; breast with wedge-shaped
black spots; sides unspotted, washed with brown-
ish-ashy; tail reddish brown, brighter than back;

call-note, a low chuck.

Hermit Thrush, page 159.

38 FIELD KEY.

&^ Length 7.50 inches; upper breast lightly spotted
with small, wedge-shaped, brownish spots; tail the
same color as the back; sides ivhite; call-note, a
clearly whistled zvheeu.

Wilson's Thrush, page 159.

c. Length under 9.00 inches; tail under 3.00 inches;
no wing-bars; back olive-green.

c\ Length 6.10 inches; center of crown pale brown-
ish bordered by black; haunts on or near the
ground in woodland; a zualker; song, a ringing
crescendo, teacher, teacher, teacher, TEACHER,
TEACHER Oven-bird, page 64.

3. Under parts not white or whitish, all one color, withotit
streaks.

A. Length 8.50 inches; slate-color; cap and tail black;
inhabits the lower growth; call-note, nasal; song
highly musical and varied Catbird, page 52.

B. Length 7.20 inches; grayish brown; conspicuously
crested; a black line through the eye; tail tipped with
yellow; generally seen in small flocks; note thin and
weak Cedar Waxw^ing, page 76.

C. Length 5.50 inches; under parts cream-buff; a con-
spicuous whitish line over the eye; upper parts reddish
brown; movements active; tail carried erect; haunts
lower growth; notes loud and striking; resident from
New York city southward.

Carolina Wren, page 53.

4. Throat and upper breast black or slate-color, very dif-
ferent from the white or chestnut belly.

A. Throat black.

a. Belly and rump chestnut; head, wings, and tail
black; length 7.30 inches; haunts orchards and shade
trees; song highly musical.

Orchard Oriole, page 104.

5

FIELD KEY. 39

&. Belly white; sides reddish brown; tail black and
white; length 8.35 inches; haunts undergrowths;

call-note, chewink or towhee.

TowHEE, page 93-

B. Throat slate-color.

a. Back and wings slate-color; outer tail-feathers and
belly white; length 6.25 inches;- haunts generally on
or near the ground about shrubbery.

JuNCO, page 167.

Throat streaked with black and white; rest of under
parts reddish brown; upper parts grayish slate-color;
length 10.00 inches Robin, page 42.

40 SIZE OF BIRDS.

SIZE OF BIRDS.

Birds are measured from the tip of the bill to- the
end of the tail. An English Sparrow is about (i]A,
inches long and a Robin lo inches.

DLIEIURD.

41

Bluebird: Sialia sialis.

Length 7 inches.

Upper parts azure blue.

Throat and breast cinnamon-brown; belly white.

Female much duller.

Resident (common) all the year.

The Bluebird seems to have all those qualities which
endear a bird to man. Cheery, confiding, brave, use-
ful, and beautiful, he holds a secure place in our affec-
tions. We are fortunate in having him with us all
the year round, except for brief periods in mid-winter
when unusual cold or storms drive him farther south,
but with the first mild breath he returns, and on any

42 ROBIN.

bright day after the middle of February we may hear
his glad prophecy of spring. He has a soft contralto
voice, exquisitely sweet, and " the verv- soul of ten-
derness." His song is broken into short phrases,
often given on the wing.

Bluebirds are among the earliest birds to build,
and need but little encouragement to put their sum-
mer'home near ours, A small box with a hole in it,
set up on a post, pleases them as well as an elaborate
bird-house, and a Bluebird family will sensibly dimin-
ish the numbers of caterpillars, spiders, beetles and
grasshoppers in the vicinity. They also build in holes
in trees, stumps or fence posts, stuffing in, rather care-
lessly, dried grasses and feathers. The eggs, 4 to 6,
are light blue, unmarked.

Bird lovers have noticed with regret the compara-
tive scarcity of Bluebirds since the great blizzard of
1895, when large numbers perished, and Professor
Beal of the Department of Agriculture recommends
that " more than ordinarv' vigilance should be exer-
cised in protecting them until they have regained their
normal abundance."

American Robin: Merula migrator ia.

Length 10 inches.

Upper parts dark brownish-gray; head and tail black, the
outer tail-feathers tipped with white.

Lower parts chestnut-red; throat white, streaked with
black.
Resident all the year, uncommon in summer.

While the Robin is not common here in nesting
time, he is abundant in spring and fall migration, and
is sometimes found in winter, in small flocks in shel-
tered places. In April and May, or even in March,

ROBIN,

43

he may be seen in the Smithsonian grounds running
over the grass in search of grubs and angle worms.

The friendhness of the Robin, and his joyous swing-
ing song have made him universally loved wherever
he nests, but in the south, where he winters in great
fiocks and seldom sings, he is considered only as a
table delicacy, and it is feared that he may soon be
classed among our rarer birds. In the winter of
1896-7, more than 3000 Robins w^ere offered in the
Washington market!

The nest is very substantial, of coarse grasses and
rootlets, with an inner wall of mud and a lining of
fine grasses. It is built usually in fruit or shade trees,
but occasionally in odd places, even on the ground.
Two broods are raised in a season, and generally a
new nest is built each time, the second not far from
the first. The eggs, 4, are a beautiful greenish-blue
without marks.

The Robin is one of our most useful birds, more
than a third of his food being harmful insects. Al-
though fond of fruit, he eats ten times as much wild
as cultivated, and we will not grudge him the tithe
he takes from our gardens and orchards, in considera-
tion of the inroads he makes on injurious bugs and
caterpillars. Dr. Coues says: " Few persons have
any adequate idea of the enormous, the literally incal-
culable numbers of insects Robins eat everv vear."

44 WOOD THRUSH.

Wood Thrush : Turdiis nmstelinus.

Length about 8>4 inches.

Upper parts bright cinnamon-brown.

Under parts cream-white, thickly marked with large black
spots, except on the throat and middle of the belly.

Resident (common) from April 20 to October 15; winters
in Central America.

"The Heavenly Thrush!" This was Audubon's
favorite songster, as he has been of many another
nature-lover, for his song seems to voice the very
spirit of the woods. Heard at evening when the lin-
gering radiance of sunset fills the grove and glorifies
the singer, it is especially entrancing. While he may
sing at any time, one is most sure of hearing him at
sunset and in the early morning, or on a cloudy day.
His call-note is i\}}i%t, whit, much like that of the
Robin, but softer.

This beautiful Thrush is an inhabitant of most
woods about Washington, nesting in the undergrowth,
usually in a young dogwood tree or high bush. He
builds in a crotch, beginning with a few dead leaves
which hang loosely below the nest, giving the effect
which he probably intended, of its being only a bunch
of litter left from winter storms. The outside is of
leaves, twigs and rootlets, firmly interwoven, and in-
side is a wall of mud which is lined with fine rootlets.
The eggs, 3 to 5, are pale greenish-blue like the
Robin's.

The only bird with which the Wood Thrush is
likely to be confused outside of migration time is the
Brown Tlirasher. The color and markings of the
two birds are much the same, but the Thrasher is a
slender bird with a very long tail, while the Thrush is
rather stocky, so that one soon comes to know them
apart, even at a distance. We have a number of

BL UE- GRA V GNA TCA TCHER. 45

Tliruslies in migration, 1)ut the Wood Thrush may
be known from them all by the black spots on the
breast extending over tJic sides and up under the zviugs.
He is also larger than the other Thrushes and of a
brighter color. He may always be heard in May and
June in the wilder parts of the Zoological Park.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: Polioptila cceriilea.

Length 4^ inches; long tail.

Upper parts bluish-gray; forehead and tail black; outer
tail-feathers white.

Under parts grayish-white.

Female and young without black forehead.

Resident (not uncommon) from April 5 to September:
winters in Central America, Cuba and the Bahamas.

The tiny Gnatcatcher's conspicuous feature is his
long black and white tail, w^hich is usually open and
in motion as he flits about in the tree tops.

This dainty wood-sprite will be found in wet woods
where gnats and other small-winged insects are abun-
dant. At the Virginia end of Long Bridge there is a
point of wooded land, running south, wdiich is the
favorite haunt of many birds and particularly of the
little Gnatcatcher. He is also found in woods adjoin-
ing the Mount Vernon grounds, and Miss Merriam
discovered two nests in the Zoo and one on High
Island. The High Island nest was only six feet from
the ground, but usually these birds build much higher.
The nest is an exquisite little structure, stuccoed w-ith
lichens like the Hummingbird's. There is a group at
the Smithsonian, showing the mother-bird sitting and
.being fed by her mate.

The Gnatcatcher's sons: is a soft sweet warble, and

'fe

his call-note has been likened to the " ting " of a
banjo string.

46 TUFTED TITMOUSE.

Tufted Titmouse: Pavus bicolor.

Length 6 inches.

Upper parts ashy-gray; forehead black.

Under parts whitish, sides rusty.

A conspicuous crest.

Resident (very common) all the year.

There are three woodland birds which are fre-
quently together outside the nesting season — the
Tufted Titmouse, Chickadee, and Nuthatch. When
the clear, whistling pcto of the Titmouse is heard it is
likely to be followed by the day-day-day of the Chick-
adee and the yank-yank of the Nuthatch. Downy
Woodpeckers are often in the same company,
and in winter Kinglets and Creepers join them and
they wander about, a merry flock, feeding in open or
dense woods as the w^eather or their fancy dictates.
They are generally led by the Tufted Tits and Chick-
adees, who flit on ahead to "pastures new," con-
stantly calling the others to follow. All of these birds
spend much of their time creeping over the trunks
and branches of trees searching for insects, larvae
and eggs.

The Tufted Titmouse is recognized by his crest,
and as he is not shy it is easy to get near him,
although his restlessness tries one's patience. These
birds are abundant in the vicinity of Washington and
are occasionally found within the city limits. Warren
says they sometimes build in boxes about houses.

The nest is usually in a tree or stump, either a
natural cavity or a Woodpecker's hole. This they
line luxuriously with moss, leaves and feathers. The
mother-bird has a pretty habit of adding to her house-
furnishing after the eggs are laid and she is sitting;
when she goes off for food she brings back a bit of

CAROLIXA CHICKADEE.

47

feather or fur to make the cosy nest still softer.
Collectors have been deceived by this, and supposing
the nest unfinished have visited it later for the eggs
to find it full of young birds. Six white speckled
eggs are laid.

Carolina Chickadee : Partis carolinensis.

Length about 4K' inches.

Top of head and throat glossy black; cheeks pure white;
the rest of the body ashy-gray, under parts lighter.
Resident (common) all the year.

The Chickadee is a fluffy, restless mite of a bird,
very common, especially in winter, but he is oftener
heard than seen. His loud whistling song is written,
wheedle-lee, wheedle-lay , and he also calls dee-dee-dce,
rather softly as he flits about the trees, searching in
the crevices of bark for insects and their eggs. He
is shy and retiring in the nesting season, but at other
times he is very friendly, and will even come about
the house, picking up seeds and bread-crumbs thrown
out to him.

He builds in holes, either remodelling a Wood-
pecker's hole, or digging one out for himself in rather
soft dead wood. His bill is arched and strong, and
he likes a deep nest, so he works away — with the
help of his mate — until the hole is from six to twelve
inches deep. Although the entrance is small, the
nest is roomy at the bottom, and the soft lining is of
moss, feathers, hair and wool — sometimes a bit of
squirrel or rabbit fur. The eggs, 6 to 8, are white,
spotted wnth brown.

48 WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH.

W^hite-breasted Nuthatch: Sitta carolinensis.

Length 6 inches.

Upper parts bluish gray; top of head glossy black.

Under parts and sides of head white.

Tail white with black patches.

Resident all the year, more common in winter.

The nasal yank, yank of the Nuthatch is a common
sound in our woods when the nesting season is over
and birds begin to gather in flocks. This call of the
Nuthatch is so peculiar that it is soon learned, and
his characteristic habit of creeping down tree trunks
head-first identifies him to the eye. Besides insects,
he eats nuts, acorns and corn, which he hammers into
the crevices of rough bark or into cracks in fence
rails, and then splits open with his sharp, strong bill.
Like his comrades, the Titmouse and Chickadee, he
nests in holes, often in one that a Downy Wood-
pecker has deserted, lining it with grasses, hair and
feathers. Five speckled eggs are laid.

BROWN THRASHER.

49

BROWN THRASHER.

Brown Thrasher; Brown Thrush: HarporhyiicJms
rufus.

Length ii^ inches; very long tail.
Upper parts reddish-brown; two whitish wing-bars.
Under parts white, streaked with black.
Resident (very common) from April 15 to October 15;
winters in the Southern States.

The Thrasher is one of our finest songsters. When
he mounts to a tree-top and pours out his soul only
the Mockingbird can be compared with him. There
is indeed a decided resemblance in their songs, and
in Maryland the Thrasher is called Sandy Mocking-
bird, while farther south he goes by the name of
French Mockingbird. Although he sings in tree-
tops, he lives near the ground and is often seen in
road-side thickets, or dusting himself in the road, —

50 MOCKINGBIRD.

themselves, we should say, for the pair are generally
together unless one is on the nest. In the woods they
scratch in dead leaves for bugs and worms, making
as much noise as chickens.

Brown Thrashers are noted for devotion to their
nest, and most pathetic is their pleading whee-u when
it is approached; sometimes one will try to lure you
frorn the place by lighting a little distance away and
singing to you very softly and sweetly. Once when
I stumbled on a Thrasher family where the young
were evidently just out of the nest, the old birds be-
came so wild w4th fright that I was about to retreat,
when one of them flew to a low branch between me
and the rest of the family, and sang an exquisite
whisper-song with the obvious intention of charming
me into forgetfulness of the precious fledglings.

The nest is on or near the ground, and the eggs,
3 to 6, are dull white, thickly speckled with brown.
The Thrasher is distinguished from a Thrush by his
long tail and light wing-bars. Langille says that he
is easily domesticated and capable of remarkable
friendship for man.

M ockingbird : Mirnus polyglottos.

Length lo^ inches.

Upper parts ashy-gray; wings and tail blackish, marked
with white.

Under parts grayish-white.

Resident (uncommon) all the year; winters from Virginia
southward.

This famous vocalist rarely nests here, although he
is found rather commonly at Colonial Beach, Piney
Point, and other summer resorts somewhat south of
us, and in lower Maryland breeds abundantly.

MOCKINGBIRD. 5 1

He is likely to build in thickets in open country,
and in shrubbery about dwellings. Mr. Ridgway
says a bunch of low, thick-topped trees canopied with
wild grapevine suits him excellently, and Mr. William
Palmer found a nest in an old apple tree. The nest
is bulky, much like a Catbird's, and the bluish-gray
eggs, 4 to 6, are thickly speckled with brown. Two
broods, sometimes three, are raised in a season.

Mockingbirds are scarcely more rare about Wash-
ington in winter than in summer; Mr. W. F. Roberts
has eight winter records.

52

CA TBIRD.

CATBIRD.

Catbird: Galeoscoptcs carolinensis.

Length about 9 inches.

General color slaty-gray; cap and tail black.
Chestnut-red patch under base of tail.

Resident from April 20 to October; winters in the South-
ern States, Cuba, and Central America.

The Catbird is one of the best known of our sum-
mer residents, being a tenant of most thickets, gar-
dens and lawns in the country, and also of the shrub-
bery in our city parks. He is easily recognized by
the mewing cry which gives him his name, and by a
nervous jerking of the tail when perching.

His song is varied, and often exceedingly sweet,
but he is a bird of surprises and we never know just
what to expect from him. He has the family gift
of mimicry (shared with the Mockingbird and

CAROLINA WREN. 53

Thrasher) and \vc have many a time chased a strange
note to find it coming from this old and supposedly
well-known friend.

The Catbird is shrewd and suspicious, always look-
ing out for trespassers on what he considers his
domain, and usually successful in driving off an in-
truder, whether it be squirrel, cat or innocent bird-
student; none will stay long to be pelted with his
harsh cries. He is truly the policeman of the
thickets, and one suspects this to be the reason that
timid birds, like the Wood Thrush and Chewink, so
often build their nests near his.

Two broods are raised in a season, and the bulky
nest, built in a high bush or briary tangle, is of twigs,
rootlets and grasses. The eggs, 4, are deep greenish-
blue, unmarked.

The Catbird's love of fruit has given him a bad
reputation, but it has been found that he does more
good than harm, nearly half his food being injurious
insects. He also prefers wdld fruit to cultivated, and
likes the Russian mulberry best of all, so fruit-
growers are urged to plant a few wild berries in the
garden, and an occasional mulberry tree in the
orchard.

Carolina Wren; Mocking "Wren: TJiryothorus ludo-
vicianns.

Length 5^ inches.

Upper parts dark reddish-brown; wings and tail barred
with black.

Under parts buffy. A distinct white line over the eye.
Resident (common) all the year.

This Wren has a delightful voice, and we are espec-
ially fond of him because he sings when other birds

54

CAROLIXA WREN.

are quiet, even occasionally in winter. In the great
blizzard of 1895, when the storm was at its height,
Mr. Ridgway heard the loud, ringing voice of a Caro-
lina Wren.

His common song is a whistling whee-o-Ue, three
or four times repeated, the accent either on the first
or last syllable. Sometimes only two notes are heard,
whee-o, when it sounds like a Cardinal's call. He also
occasionally gives a varied performance resembling a
Mockingbird's, from which he is named Mocking
Wren. He lives in woods bordering streams, and
is abundant all along Rock Creek and the Potomac.

While one may usually hear the Carolina, finding
him is quite another matter. He seems to delight in
playing hide-and-seek with the observer, keeping
warily to the opposite side of a tree or stump, and
flying entirely away if too closely pursued. Lock
for him in wild, secluded places; on fallen trees, about
old logs and stumps, and under turf which overhangs
small streams. When you catch sight of him you
will be astonished that so great a voice can belong to
so small a bird, for he is but little larger than the
House Wren and much resembles him, his distin-
guishing marks being the white Une over the eye, the
more rusty back, and bufify under parts. The nest is
usually in a hole in a stump or log, and is built of
grasses, moss, feathers and hair.. The eggs, 6 to 7,
are white, with lavender markings.

HOUSE WREN.

55

House Wren: Troglodytes aedon.

Length 5 inches.

Upper parts brown; wings and tail finely barred with
black.

Under parts dull whitish.

Resident from April 15 to September; winters in the
Southern States.

If one wishes these merry little birds around a
country house, he need only put up, out of the reach
of cats, a box or o^ourd with a hole in the side about

56 LONG- BILLED MARSH WREN.

an inch in diameter — large enough for the Wrens
and too small for English Sparrows. Whatever is
given them they will first nearly fill with twigs, and
upon them build the nest. They also nest in hollow
fence-posts or rails, in cavities in stumps and trees,
and sometimes in most surprising places, such as an
old hat or boot, the sleeve or pocket of a coat, or
perhaps in the gourd-shaped mud nest of the Eave
Swallow. One pair built in a teakettle, carrying twigs
and other material in through the spout, and at the
home of Mr. Ridgway they built in a clothes-pin bag
left hanging outside, the hole made by the drawing-
string being just the right size. They doubtless
thought that the pins in the bottom of the bag had
been kindly left there to lessen their labors.

House Wrens, if undisturbed, will return to the
same place year after year. Two broods are raised
in a season, and the pinkish eggs, 6 to 9, are thickly
speckled with brown. These Wrens have a gushing,
rippling little song, given with great animation and
persistency.

Long-billed Marsh Wren: Cistoihonis paliistris.

Length about 5 inches.

Upper parts dark brown, streaked on the back with black
and white.

Under parts pure white; brown along the sides.

Wings and tail barred with black; a white line over the
eye.

Resident (abundant) from April 30 to October 30; winters
in the Gulf States and Mexico.

Down on the Potomac marshes below Analostan
Island, and also on the Eastern Branch near Ben-
ning's Bridge, IMarsh Wrens may be found, and they

LONG- BILLED MARSH WREN.

57

are such eccentric, entertaining- little creatures, that
it is well worth while to hunt them out. Usually
there are numbers of them together, and as they all
talk at once and are constantly in motion, it is a very
lively corner of Birdland. Perched on a swaying
reed, with head thrown back and tail cocked so that
he looks half his real size, the Marsh Wren will gurgle
and twitter at you for perhaps half a minute, when,
his curiosity being satisfied, he is off about his own
very important business.

The occupations of ordinary bird-life are not suf-
ficient for these energetic Wrens, and they amuse
themselves with building superfluous nests, sometimes
half a dozen that are never used. The nest is very
artistic, shaped like a ball, the entrance a hole at one
side. It is built over the water, in tall reeds, several
of which are woven into it with swamp grass. The
nest that is to be the home is better finished than the
others, and stuffed nearly full of soft bits of leaves,
fine grasses, and plant down.

Marsh Wrens raise large families, often eight or
nine little Wrenkins crowding the grassy nest. The
eggs are so thickly speckled that they are of a nearly
uniform brown color. The food of these Wrens is
water-spiders, water-beetles, and other aquatic in-
sects.

WARBLERS.

This is a large and puzzling family. When the
student has conquered all the rest of his bird world,
there will still remain some unidentified Warblers to
give zest to woodland excursions. They have been
described as " among our most abundant, most beau-
tiful and least known birds."

Warblers that live near the ground, or in the lower
stories of trees, as do most of those that nest in this
part of the country, are comparatively easy to find
and identify; the tantalizing ones are those that are
here only in migrations and are likely to keep in the
tree-tops, where they are so incessantly active that an
opera-glass seems of little use. These are very small
and have conspicuous Avhite markings on the tail,
which is frequently spread as they flit among :he
branches.

Contrary to what would be expected from the
name, few of this family are fine songsters, and the
tree-top Warblers in particular have small, thin voices
that attract little attention, but the student soon comes
to recognize their lisping, semi-musical notes, and to
be alert for new species.

The wooded bank of the Potomac on the Virginia
side, from Rosslyn to Chain Bridge, is a favorite
ground for Warblers, both migrants and residents.
It was near Chain Bridge that Dr. T. S. Palmer saw
five species in one tree. In the Zoo one of the best
places to find them is the bushy border of Rock
Creek, just below the Prairie Dog enclosure.

WORM-EATING WARBLER. 59

Black and \A^hite ^A^arbler•. Mniotilta varia.

Length about sV\ inches.

Male finely streaked black and white all over.

Female, brown where the male is black, breast but taintly

striped. . ^ ^ .1 •

Resident (abundant) from April 12th to October 15th; wm-

ters from Florida southward.

The little Black and White Creeper is common in
high open woods, where he is always scrambling over
tree trunks and branches, hunting spiders and other
insects. One may at first think him the Downy
Woodpecker, but the Creeper is smaller and his
stripes are finer and more uniform.

This W^arbler's ground nest is exquisitely dainty,
and so cunningly hidden at the foot of a tree or stump
as to be rarely discovered. But if you see a mother-
bird with a worm in her mouth and can patiently
wait until her suspicions of you are quieted, you may
be rewarded by seeing her drop straight to the nest
instead of going down at some distance from it and
running along, as most ground-building birds do.
The eggs, 4 to 5, are white, speckled with brown,
chiefly at the larger end.

The Creeping Warbler has a wiry little voice, not
very musical, but it is always a welcome sound, an-
nouncing his gentle presence in the neighborhood.

Worm-eating Warbler: Helmithems vermivorus.

Length 5V2 inches.
Upper parts uniform olive-green.
Under parts huffy-white.

Four distinct black lines on the buffy head, two passmg
through the eyes. ^

Resident (rather common) from May i to :3eptember; wm-

ters ni the tropics.

The W^orm-eating Warbler is found in dense under-
o-rowth, especially in that of thickly wooded ravines,

6o BLUE-WIXGED WARBLER.

such as are along Rock Creek, and the Potomac on
the Mrginia side. He resembles the Oven-bird in
habits and general appearance, but the four black
stripes on his head and his unmarked breast will dis-
tinguish him from that species. He spends much
time on the ground hunting worms and spiders, and
flies to a low perch when disturbed, quite like the
Oven-bird; like him also he builds a sheltered nest
of dead leaves and rootlets, which Dr. Richmond says
is nearl}^ always lined with the reddish stems of moss.
The eggs, 4 to 5, are minutely speckled with cinna-
mon-brown.

The song of this Warbler is much like that of the
Chipping Sparrow, though faster.

Blue- winged Warbler: Helminthophila pirms.

Length less than 5 inches.

Crown and under parts bright yellow; a black line through
the eye.

Back bright olive-green; wings and tail grayish-blue;
white wing-bars and tail-patches.

A rare summer resident and not common in migrations;
winters in the tropics.

These rarely seen Warblers live in wild thickets
bordering woods, and in open, scrubby woodland.
They are great insect-hunters and when fruit-trees
are in blossom sometimes visit orchards. Their com-
mon song is *' two drawled wheezy notes swee-chce;
the first inhaled, the second exhaled."

The nest is on the ground, and the eggs, 4 to 6,
are lightly speckled.

YELLOW WARBLER. 6 1

Parula Warbler: CoiiipsotJilypis americana.

Length less than 5 inches.

Upper parts bkiish-gray, a yellowish patch on the back.
Throat and breast yellow, a dark band across the breast.

Resident (uncommon) from April 20 to October 15; win-
ters from Florida southward.

Parulas are common in migration but rare at other
times. Some, however, always nest near Kensington,
and at Great Falls on the Virginia side, building in
the hanging Usnea moss which grows in those locali-
ties. One of their dainty nests may be seen at the
Smithsonian. The eggs, 4 to 5, are creamy white,
lightly speckled with cinnamon-brown.

The song of the Parula is described as " a short
insect-like buzz."

Yellow Warbler; Summer Yellowbird: Dendroica
cesiiva.

Length about 5 inches.
Male, general color, bright yellow.
Under parts streaked with chestnut-red.
Female, much duller, without streaked breast.
Resident (common) from April 20 to September 30; win-
ters in Northern South America.

Yellow Warblers are abundant in spring, and by
the last week in April their happy voices are heard
all over the city. Their song is a pleasant little
warble, that has been written, zvee-chec, chce-chee,
cJicr-zccc.

Most of them soon pass on north or into the coun-
try, but some always remain to nest in the parks and
gardens of the city. They build in shrubbery or in
the smaller trees, and the nest is usually in an upright
fork. Fine grasses and plant-down are the choice
materials used, very compactly woven together. The

62 PIXE ]]'ARBLER.

eggs, 4 to 5, are bluish white, thickly speckled with
brown.

In the country these Warblers are frequently im-
posed upon by the Cowbird, but they show great
ingenuity in getting rid of the olmoxious egg bv
building a second story to their nest, thus covering it
out of sight.

Yellow Warblers are among our most useful bird
citizens, for besides winged-insects they eat canker-
worms, spiders, plant-lice and small beetles.

Yellow-throated Warbler: Dcndroica domiuica.

Length 5^ inches.

Upper parts graj'; a yellow line in front of the eye and a
white line over it.

Forehead and cheeks black: white patch on side of the
neck: two white wing-bars.

Throat and breast yellow: belly white, sides streaked with
black.

A rare summer resident, sometimes common in late Jul}'-;
winters in the tropics.

This handsome Warbler frequents woods that bor-
der streams, but he is a southern bird and is seldom
common as far north as this. His song is said to
resemble that of the Indigo-bird.

The nest is high in trees, often in pines. The eggs,
4 to 5, are thickly speckled with brown.

Pine \Varbler: Dcndroica vii:orsii.

Length ^Yz inches.

Upper parts bright olive-green: two whitish wing-bars;
white patches on outer tail-feathers.

Under parts bright yellow. Female much duller.

Resident (rare in early summer) from Alarch :Si to October
25: winters in the Southern States and the Bahamas.

The Pine Warbler is well named, for he is seldom
found elsewhere than in pine woods, where he hunts

PRAIRIE WARBLER. 63

the trees over in search of the insects which hve in
crevices of the bark.

The nest is buih at the end of a branch, where it
is concealed by a tuft of pine needles. Four white
eggs are laid, speckled with purple and brown. Al-
though but few of these Warblers nest in this vicinity
they are very common in early autumn, from the first
of August to about the end of September. Their
song is a clear, musical trill, resembling that of the
Chipping Sparrow.

Prairie Warbler: Dcudroica discolor.

Length less than 5 inches.

Upper parts olive-green; a broken patch of chestnut-red
on the back: wing-bars yellowish, a yellow line over the
eye, white patches on the tail.

Under parts bright yellow, the sides streaked with black.

Resident (very common) from April 20 to September,
winters in southern Florida and the West Indies.

The Prairie is much like the Pine Warbler, but he
is smaller and his sides are streaked with black. The
reddish patch on his back — if it can be seen — iden-
tifies him surely. His chosen haunts are wild, bushy
fields and thickets of yotmg evergreens. His song is
a sweet zcc-ing run up the scale, and may always be
heard in the Zoo in May and June. He is an expert
fly-catcher and his food is largely winged insects.

The nest is likely to be in a briary bush or small
evergreen, and the eggs, 3 to 6, are white, spotted
with reddish-brown.

64 O VEN-BIRD.

Oven-bird; Golden-crowned Thrush: Seiurns aiiro-
capilliLS.

Length about 6 inches.

Upper parts brownish oHve -green.

Under parts white, the breast and sides spotted with black
hke a thrush.

Center of the crown golden-brown, bordered by black lines.

Resident (abundant) from April 20 to October 15: winters
in the West Indies and Central America.

This is one of the commonest birds of our woods,
and although classed among the Warblers, he has
none of their proverbial restlessness or fancy for tree-
tops, but spends most of his time on the ground
scratching among the dead leaves for bugs and
worms. He is known by his zvalk — for he is one of
the few birds that do not hop — and by the thrush-
like markings on his breast. He is so abundant that
in May and June the woods ring with his peculiar
chant, a rapid crescendo resembling chee-chee-c/i^^-
chee-Chee. He also has a wonderful flight song
which we hear but rarely, and only in nesting-time.
]\Iiss Merriam writes of it, " Though you think you
know the Golden-crown, you have not realized what
manner of bird he is until you have heard his famous
love-song. It is as if a musician who has been play-
ing scales had suddenly changed to an impassioned
rhapsody. His ecstasy carries him ofit his feet and
he flies higher and higher into the air, pouring out his
rapturous love-song. I have often heard fragments
of this song in the stillness of the night, when it is
peculiarly poetic, as if the bird's joyous dreams had
aroused him."

Dr. Richmond says, '' This love-song may some-
times be heard in the Soldiers' Home woods. Late

LOi 'IS I A NA IV A TER - THE I SIl. 6 ^

May or June is the proper time and just before dusk.
The song has some of the characters of an Indigo's
performance."

The nest is built on the ground in dead leaves, and
so artfuUy concealed that finding one is an event in
which to take pride as well as pleasure. I once
searched for days around a spot where I had seen an
Oven-bird go dovvm wdth a worm in its bill, and only
found the nest at last by strategy— getting the Mas-
ter of the House to absorb the attention of the birds
by walking about in conspicuous shirt-sleeves, while I
slipped into a clump of bushes near by. When he had
gone and the birds believed themselves unobserved,
one again dropped to the ground and I watched it
run to the nest, some distance away. The nest is
roofed over with leaves, and even to a close observer
seems only a slight natural elevation. The entrance
is at one side, and no nestlings have an easier time
getting out into the big world than do the little Oven-
birds. The eggs, 4 to 5, are w^hite, speckled with
brown.

Louisiana Water-Thrush: Seiiirns motacilla.

Length 6^ inches.

Upper parts grayish-olive; a conspicuous white line over

the eye.

Under parts white, streaked like a Thrush, except on the

throat.

Resident (rare) from April 14 to September 5; wmters m

the tropics.

The Water-Thrush frequents small streams where
they flow^ through wdld w^oods, and may be found on
those that run into Rock Creek and the Potomac.
He walks, like the Oven-bird, wdth a peculiar teeter-

66 KENTUCKY WARBLER.

ing motion, and he also resembles that bird in gen-
eral appearance, but will be distinguished trom him
by the white line over the eye. He is very shy and
difficult to approach. The nest, of twigs, rootlets and
leaves, is generally under a shelving bank or the up-
turned roots of a fallen tree. The eggs, 4 to 6, are
white, much speckled with reddish-brown. Mr.
Chapman writes enthusiastically of his song and says
" There is an almost fierce wildness in its ringing
notes."

Kentucky Warbler: Geothlypis formosa.

Leng-th about 5^4 inches.

Upper parts olive-green; no wing-bars or tail-patches.
Under parts bright yellow.
Crown, cheeks, and sides of throat black.
Resident from May 5 to September 5; winters in Central
America.

In " Birds of Village and Field," Miss Merriam
writes so delightfully of her introduction to the Ken-
tucky Warbler, that her story is given in full. " In
the neighborhood of Washington, one of the best
places for birds on the spring migration is along the
eastern wooded bank of the Potomac. There, above
High Island, opposite the ' amphitheatre,' one day
early in May, w^e heard a song so like the famous
Carolina Wren's that we hurried off in its direction.
Crossing on a fallen tree that bridged the narrow arm
of the Potomac, we were on the little island where
the bird was singing. The song receded as we ad-
vanced, and we forced our way through the dense
tangle of undergrowth to follow it, till w^e came sud-
denly upon a forest garden, a great blue rug spread on
the floor of the woodland and lit up by the sun coming
through the skylights of the freshly leafing trees. The

KENTUCKY WARBLER.

67

delicacy of the lii^iit l)luc phlox and its vine-like
tracery of meadow rue made an ex(juisite spring- pic-
ture. There was such a luxuriant growth of the
phlox that negroes were picking it for the market.
As w^e stood ai)Sorbed on the edge of the garden, sud-
denly, right before us, rang out the Wren-like song
we had been following, and on a low^ bush, with head
thrown l)ack, the bird was singing. But — the brown
Wren was a l)rilliant yellow, with black velvety bands
bordering his throat! A Kentucky Warbler, we ex-
claimed in excited whispers, and then stood silent,
afraid of startling the bird that, quite unmindful of
us, now hopped down to the ground, and now
mounted a bush to sing. ' Klur-zvcc, kliw-zucc, klur-
wce,^ we repeated after him, to test for ourselves Mr.
Torrey's phrasing of it, and, indeed, at times the bird
pronounced the syllables as distinctly as a person.
And with what richness of tone! Surely it is a song
that goes well with the songster. Mr. Torrey, refer-
ring to his note-book, copies the exclamation made
in the field, ' It is a beauty! ' and no one, seeing the
bird for the first time in such a setting as we saw
him, can fail to share his enthusiasm."

This Warbler, like the Oven-bird, is a walker. His
haunts are tangled woods near water, and he may
be looked for along the Potomac on the Virginia
side, on the islands near Glen Echo, back of Mar-
shall Hall, and in similar places, but he is nowhere
abundant in this section of the country. His nest is
bulky, '* of twigs and rootlets, firmly wrapped with
several thicknesses of leaves," on or near the ground.
The eggs, 4 to 5, are grayish-white, covered with fine
speckles and coarser blotches.

68 MA R ] 'LA ND YELL O W- THR OA T.

Maryland Yellow-throat: Gcothlypis triclias.

Length about 5^ inches.

Male, upper parts olive-green; a broad black band bor-
dered with gray, across the forehead, passing through and
beyond the eyes.

Throat and breast bright yellow.

Female, without black mask, and her yellow breast duller.

Resident (abundant) from April 20 to October 20; win-
ters in the Southern States, West Indies and Central Amer-
ica.

The Yellow-throat is an active, energetic httle bird
with a nervous habit of jerking his tail. He is a
common inhabitant of thickets that border streams,
and is seldom seen anywhere else except in spring
migration, when he visits orchards and gardens to
get the insects from fruit blossoms. His food is ex-
clusively caterpillars, insects and larvae, and he is
entirely useful. His call-note is a sharp chuck and
his common song Dr. Richmond gives as " rit-a-
witch-a," several times repeated. He has also a
pleasant chatter as he flits about the bushes, and
rarely a warbling flight song. The last, Air. Chap-
man says, " is usually uttered toward evening, w^hen
the bird springs several feet into the air, hovers a
moment, and then drops back into the bushes." The
nest is generally on the ground and so wxU hidden
and guarded that it is not likely to be found by search-
ing, nor will the vigilant birds be surprised into reveal-
ing its locality. The eggs, 3 to 5, are white, thinly
speckled.

YELLOW- BREASTED CLL4T. 69

Yellow-breasted Chat: Ictcria inreiis.

Length about 7,^2 inches.

Upper parts Ijright oHve-green ; bhick and white mark-
ings in front of and around eyes.

Throat and breast bright yellow; belly white.

Resident (common) from May i to September; winters
in Central America.

The liaiulsonie Chat is a mocker and a ventrilo-
quist, and the first time you hear his astonishing per-
formance, you wonder if you are listening to one bird
or half a dozen; and where is the singer? Is he in
tliis tree, or that, over your head, or across the
stream? As Mr. Burroughs says, " Now^ he barks
like a puppy, then quacks like a Duck, then rattles
like a Kingfisher, then squalls like a fox, then caws
like a Crow, then mews like a cat: C-r-r-r-r-r-zvJirr —
tJiafs if — chec — quack, cluck, yit-yit-yit — iiozv Jiit it —
tr-r-r — zcJicii — cinv — cazc — cut — fca-boy — z^'Jio, zclio —
incz^\ mcz^'. You may be pardoned for doubting that
a bird can produce so strange a series of noises, but
if you will go to the Chat's haunts in thickety open-
ings in the w^oods, or other bushy places, and let him
speak for himself, you will admit that our alphabet
cannot do him justice. To hear the Chat is one
thing, to see him quite another. But he will repay
study, and if you will conceal yourself near his home
you may see him deliver part of his repertoire wdiile
on the wing, with legs daiigling, wdngs and tail flap-
ping, and his whole appearance suggesting that of a
bird who has had an unfortimate encounter with a
charge of shot. But if the Chat's sorig is sm-prising
when heard during the day, imagine the effect it cre-
ates at night when he has the stage to himself, for he
is one of our few birds who sing regularly and freely
diu'ing the night, moonlit nights being most often
selected."

70

AMERICAN REDSTART.

The Chat is a common summer resident and may
be found in thickets on the edges of woods and in
wild bushy fields, preferably near water. He is gen-
erally heard in the Zoo, often near the Chevy Chase
entrance. The nest is bulky, of grasses, leaves and
wild grape vine, and is usually in the crotch of a bush
near the ground. The eggs, 4 to 5, are white,
marked with reddish-brown.

American Redstart: SctopJiaga ruticilla.

Length about 5^2 inches; tail long.

Male, upper parts, throat, and breast shining black.

Sides of the breast brilliant reddish-orange; belly white.

Wings and tail with orange band and wings lined with
orange.

Female, very different; greenish-gray where the male is
black, and yellow where he is red.

Uncommon in summer; winters in the tropics.

This little beauty is rarely seen here in mid-sum-
mer, but during the spring migration, from April
eighteenth to the middle of May he is abundant, and
is scarcely less so from the middle of August to the
last of September. He will be found in trees in
woodland, and is so active that it is hard to get him
within the focus of your glass; but you can be sure
of him w^ithout it, from his habit of constantly open-
ing and shutting his tail like a fan as he flits zig-zag
over the branches, searching for ants and spiders.

In Cuba he bears the pretty name of " Candelita,"
meaning little torch, so glowing is the flame-color on
his coat. His song resembles the whistle in a rubber
toy, although that comparison does not do it justice,
for it is not unmusical.

Redstarts build a compact little nest in the crotch
of a tree, ten to twenty feet up. The eggs, 4 to 5,
are spotted, chiefly at the larger end, with reddish-
brown.

VIREOS.

The Vireos, or Greenlets, are dainty little lairds
whose leaf-tinted dress harmonizes so well with the
foliage of their haunts that they often pass unnoticed.
They have sweet voices, and bnild beautiful basket
nests, suspended from forked twigs. They are insect
eaters and are most useful in preserving our shade
trees from the ravages of caterpillars, inch-worms,
and leaf-eating beetles. Four species nest here, the
Red-eye, White-eye, Warbling, and Yellow-throated,
while in migration the Blue-headed, and possibly the
Philadelphia, may be seen.

Red-eyed Vireo: Vireo olivaceus.

Length about 6 inches.

Upper parts grayish-green; crown gray, bordered with
black.

A conspicuous zvJiitc Hue over the red eye.

Under parts pure white.

Resident (abundant) from April 25 to October 15; winters
in Central and South x-\merica.

The Red-eye is the most common of our Vireos
and is found wherever there are large trees — in wood-
land, in orchards, and in the shade trees of our lawns.
Mr. Burroughs writes: " The first among the less
common birds which I identified when I began the
study of ornithology, was the Red-eyed Vireo, the
little gray bird with a line over its eye, that moves
about all day with its incessant cheerful warble, and it
so fired mv enthusiasm that before the end of the

7-2

WARBLING VIREO.

season I had added a dozen or more (to me) new
birds to my list."

The Red-eye is always hunting among the foliage
tor his insect food, and is most commonly seen with
upturned head, carefully gleaning from the under side
of leaves. He sings, or talks, as he works, in short
musical sentences, given between mouthfuls,
" Where's a worm? Where's a caterpillar? Where's
a worm? he queries as he goes, answering his own
questions very comfortably to himself," as MisS Mer-
riam says. While his summer diet is chiefly insects,
late in the season he eats berries and wild grapes, and
Dr. Warren tells us " His white shirt front is often
soiled with the bright juices of the fruits on which
he feeds."

The basket nest of the Red-eye is woven of strips
of grape-vine bark and lined with finer material. It
hangs rather low from a forked twig, about which it
is so firmly woven that it often withstands the winter
storms in good condition, so well indeed that one
must look twice to ascertain if it be old or new. The
eggs, 3 to 4, are white, lightly speckled at the larger
end.

This Vireo has a loud complaining note when
troubled, somewhat like the Catbird's mewins: crv.

Warbling Vireo: Vireo gilvus.

Length 5^ inches.

Upper parts grayish-green; no wing-bars.
Under parts white, slightly washed with yellowish.
Resident (rather common) from April 28 to September 10;
winters in the tropics.

Warbling Mreos are city birds, and when you wish
to make their acquaintance you must take your opera-

YELL Oil'- Tf/R OA TEP I IRRO. y 3

glass and go to Lafayette or Franklin Park or to
the Smithsonian grounds, rather than to the woods.
They will be found in the upper stories of large trees,
where thev hang their pensile nests and \varl)le the
liappy days away. These are thought to be the sweet-
est of the Mreo singers, and Langille characterizes
their song as " an inimitable melody like that of some
celestial f^ute or flageolet, never out of tune and never
failing to charm."

Warbling X'ireos have no distinguishing marks
and their soft tints are almost exactly those of a pop-
lar leaf.

Yellow-throated Vireo: Virco flavifrons.

Length about 6 inches.

Upper parts bright olive-green; two distinct white wing-
bars.

Throat and breast bright yellow; belly white.

Resident (common) from April 20 to September 15; win-
ters in the tropics.

This A^ireo is distinguished from the rest of his
family by his bright yellow breast. He has the same
coloring as the Yellow-breasted Chat, but is decidedly
smaller and the Chat has no white wing-bars. While
the Yellow-tliroat is considered a woodland bird, he
is not shy and often comes near dwellings to build
his nest, wdiich is the prettiest of all the Vireo baskets,
being decorated outside with delicate white lichens.
It is generally found at the end of an oak branch,
where it is sheltered from sun and rain, and hidden
from observation by the thick overhanging leaves.
Often the end of one or two leaves will be glued to
the edge of the nest, making a secure canopy. In a
nest found near Rockville, the hateful Cowbird had

74 WHITE-EYED VIREO.

deposited an egg, and soon after hatching, one of the
Vireo babies was smothered in the over-crowded
domicile. The strong, young Cowbird was the first to
fly and the parent Vireos had a hard time trying to
satisfy his ravenous appetite and yet care for their
own nestlings. They came back to the nest at
longer and longer intervals, finally deserting it en-
tirely, and leaving the little Vireos to die of starva-
tion. ' All Vireos are likely to be victims of CoAvbird
depravity, and when a large ^%^ is found in a nest,
it is only humane to throw it out.

The song of the Yellow-throat is much like that of
the Red-eye, but his voice is richer, and his musical
sentences are more connected.

White-eyed Vireo: Vii'eo iiovcboraccnsis.

Length 5^/4 inches.

Upper parts bright olive-green; two distinct yellowish
wing-bars. Eyes white.

Under parts w^hite, breast and sides washed with greenish-
yellow.

Resident (common) from April 20 to October 7; winters
from Florida southward.

Tangled, sw^ampy thickets are the favorite haunts
of the White-eye, and there the pensile nest will be
hung, generally on the forked branch of a bush.
These Vireos have a fancy for using bits of news-
paper in their nest, and by that the owners may be
known. One pair advertised " The Outlook " by
turning a piece of its title-page to the passers-by.
Their eggs, like those of all other Vireos, are pointed
and lightly speckled at the larger end.

The White-eye resents intrusion, and when we in-
vade his premises we are more likely to hear a sharp

{

WHITE-EYED VIREO. 75

chuck-chuck than his brilHant song. Mr. Chapman
says, " He is a capital mimic and in the retirement of
his home sometimes amuses himseh by combining the
songs of other l)irds in an intricate potpourri."

One must be very near him or have a good glass
to see the white iris which gives this Vireo his name.

7^

CEDAR WAXWIXG.

CEDAR-BiRD.

Cedar Wax wing: Ampelis cedrovum.

Length 7 inches.

Whole body deHcate fawn-color. A conspicuous crest.

Area around bill, and line through the eye velvety black,
a yellow band across the end of the tail: wings often with
red wax-like tips. In young birds, the breast is paler and
striped.

Resident (common) all the 3^ear.

In spring and early summer. Cedar-birds are abun-
dant, and are then always in small flocks like the
Goldfinches. They have a characteristic way of fly-
ing close together, and when they Hght often sit hud-
dled in a row. Mrs. Wright says, " Your best
chance to watch them is either before the leaves are

CEDAR WAXWING. yy

out or after they have fallen, when a flock will some-
times sit for half an hour in a bare tree, exchanging
civilities, stroking each other's feathers and passing
food aroun.d. ( )ne will find a dainty morsel and of¥er
it to his next neighl)or who passes it on — hunt-the-
slipper fashion — until some one makes up his mind to
eat it or returns it to the original owner."

In spring Cedar-birds visit orchards to get the
insects which infest the bark and blossoms of fruit
trees, and of which they eat enormous quantities. If
later, when cherries are ripe, they return for their
well-earned share, we will not grudge it. Although
not at all shy when in flocks, coming freely into the
gardens and parks of the city, after they separate and
retire to woods or orchards for the breeding season,
they are so quiet and stealthy in their ways that they
are less frequently seen than much rarer birds. They
nest late, seldom before the middle of June. The nest
is bulky, and is generally in trees, from ten to twenty
feet above the ground. The eggs, 3 to 5, are grayish-
white, speckled and spotted with black.

Waxwings are especially abundant in autumn,
when they roam about in large flocks, young and old
together.

SWALLOWS.

Swallows have long, powerful wings, small, weak
feet, and wide, gaping bills. Aluch of their time is
spent in the air in pursuit of winged insects, and as
they destroy incalculable numbers of flies and mos-
quitoes, they are among our most valuable birds. We
have nesting here the Barn, Bank, Rough-wanged,
and Eave Swallows, and the Purple Martin. In mi-
gration the Tree Swallow is common.

Purple Martin: Progne subis.

Length 8 inches.

Shining blue-black all over; tail but slightly forked.
Female duller, and grayish-white below.
Resident (uncommon) from April 15 to September: win-
ters in Central and South America.

The unbroken color and large size of the Martin
distinguish him from other Swallows. He is a bird
that likes the proximity of man and was once very
common in Washington, nesting in bird houses, and
also numerously in the capitals of the columns of our
public buildings, but the aggressive, nagging English
Sparrows have driven him away. He is a brave bird
and will fight Hawks and Owls — so that farmers put
up boxes for him in their barnyards as protection to
poultry — but he cannot endure the persecution of the
Sparrows. " Dr. John R. Everhart, of West Chester,
Pa., appreciating that his flock of chattering Martins
was rapidly diminishing before the advance of the

PURPLE MARTIN.

79

Sparrows, some few years ago erected in his yard
a large pole with cross-pieces, from which he sus-
pended, by brass wire chains, each about eighteen
inches long, a number of boxes, in which the Mar-
tins, also Wrens and Iiluel^ircls, nest without any
trouble from their feathered enemy. The swaying
motion of these pendent boxes appears to frighten the
Sparrows, as not one has ever been observed to alight
on or enter them." (Warren.)

Besides the Martin's cheerful twittering, he has a
loud musical call chcc-u, several times repeated, and a
charming, liquid, warbling song; his flight is swift
and graceful, he devours quantities of insects, espec-
ially mosquitoes, wasps, bees and beetles, and is alto-
gether a most desirable neighbor.

So

BARA' SIVA LL oil

BARN SWALLOW.

Barn Swallow: Chclidon ei'ythrogastra.

Length 7 inches; tail nearly half the length.

Upper parts steel-blue; tail deeply forked, with white
spots.

Throat and upper breast chestnut-red; a steel-blue collar;
belly white.

Resident (common) from April i to September: winters
in South America.

His long, forked tail and chestnut breast identify
the Barn Swallow. Seen from below, the spots on
the tail show as a white band.

EA VK S WALL O IV. 8 1 .

When not skimming through the air after insects,
these swallows are likely to be seen perched in rows
on telegraph wires, where

" They twitter and flutter and fold their wings;

Perhaps they think that for them and their sires
Stretched always, on purpose, those wonderful strings."

Barn swallows once built in caves, but now univer-
sally in barns or old vacant dwellings. The nest is
of mud and hay plastered against a rafter, and inside
is good soft stuffing of hay and feathers. A perch-
ing place is often built near, where the male roosts at
night, and to which the young birds take their first
outing. The eggs, 4 to' 6, are white, thickly spotted
with brown.

Dr. Brewer writes of these Swallows: "There is
no evil blended with the many benefits they confer
on man ; they destroy the insects that annoy his cattle,
injure his fruit trees, sting his fruit or molest his
person."

Barn Swallows are noted for their wonderful flights
in migration, when it is said they fly fifteen hours a
day, and as swiftly as a mile a minute.

Eave Swallow; Cliff Swallow: Petrochelidon liini-
frpns.

Length 6 inches.

Back and crown steel-blue; forehead whitish; throat and
sides of head chestnut.

Breast brown, a steel-blue patch in center; belly white.

A light rusty spot on the rump; tail not forked.

Resident (rare) from April to September: winters in the
tropics.

The distinguishing mark of this Swallow is the
light spot on the rump, and he may readily be known
from his neighbor, the Barn Swallow, by his short,

8 2 BANK S WALL O W.

unforked tail. Eave Swallows build most interest-
ing adobe nests under the eaves of barns and other
outbuildings, or beneath the edge of an overhanging
cliff. These ingenious nests are shaped like a flat-
tened gourd or water-bottle, and are plastered against
the ceiling, the neck of the bottle — from three to five
inches long — having a slight downward curve. They
are constructed of bits of clay rolled into pellets, and
stuck, together with some mucilaginous substance,
making a rather brittle, pebbly-looking wall.

It is believed that the settlement of these Swallows
in a neighborhood is determined by the presence of
the right sort of clay for their masonry. They are
greatly persecuted by English Sparrows, which try
to take possession of their nests, and they will desert
anv place when the Sparrows become too numerous.

It is estimated that every Eave Swallow destroys
a thousand insects a day — flies, mosquitoes, wheat-
midgets, and the beetles that injure fruit-trees.

Bank Swallow: Clivicola riparia.

Length 5 inches.

Upper parts grayish-brown, a band of the same color
across the white breast.

Resident from April 15 to September 25. Winters as far
south as Brazil.

This, the smallest of our Swallows, is known by the
dark band across his breast. He is rather common
about Washington and may be looked for wherever
sand banks rise perpendicularly out of the water, for he
nests in holes excavated in a vertical wall. The nest
is generally two or three feet in from the entrance,
and the v.hite eggs, 4 to 6, are unmarked. Bank
Swallows nest in colonies, and rows of their nesting

KOC 'G/i- IVIXGED S \ I \4LL O J V.

83

holes may be seen in the Potomac banks below the
city, and at Bay Ridge.

The Bank Swallow is famous for having a greater
range than any other land bird, and is Um\u\ over the
entire temperate portion of the world.

Rough- winged Swallow: Stelgidoptcryx serripennis.

Length 5^ inches.
Upper parts brownish-gray.
Throat and breast paler gray, belly white.
The outer wing^-l'eather has a rough edge.
Resident (common) from Apiil 7 to September ; winters
in the tropics.

The Rough-winged is much like the Bank Swallow
in general appearance, but without the dark band
across the breast. He nests in holes in sand-banks,
although not in colonies like the Bank Swallow, and
he does not excavate for himself, but takes a ready-
made burrow, sometimes the abandoned hole of a
Kingfisher. Most frequently, however, he builds in
cavities in masonry, and all along the canal above
Georgetown nests may be found in crevices of the
canal walls; also about Aqueduct Bridge and at Glen
Echo.

These nests are usually composed of bits of dead
leaves, but Dr. Coues says that the birds take any
material that is at hand, and tells of a nest near a
poultry yard which was entirely of feathers. The
eggs, 4 to 5, are pure white.

84 SCARLET TAX ACER.

Scarlet Tanager: Piranga eiythromelas.

Length 7^ inches.

Male, bright scarlet, except wings and tail, which are
black.

Female, olive-green above, greenish-yellow below.

Resident (not common) from April 28 to October 7; win-
ters in Central and northern South America.

This brilliant beauty is a northern bird and has no
fancy 'for the lowlands about Washington, but as the
country rises north and west of the city one is occa-
sionally seen, and as far out as Rockville and Sandy
Spring, he is not uncommon. During the spring
migration he is abundant everywhere, and a common
and picturesque sight is a flock of Scarlet Tanagers
flitting about in the blossoming dogwood trees. The
males precede the females by several days, and no one
would guess that the demure leaf-tinted birds follow-
ing along by themselves belong to the gay, stylish
company ahead.

The Tanager's scarlet coat is a shining mark for
bird enemies, both animal and human, as the beauty
doubtless knows, for he always greets intruders with
an anxious, querulous chip-cJiurr quite at variance with
his joyous tree-top song — a swinging song which
bears a strong resemblance to that of the Robin.

\Miile the natural habitat of Tanagers is secluded
woodland, they sometimes come close to dwellings
to build, evidently seeking protection from Crows and
other enemies. Their nest is frequently on the lower
branch of a large tree, and is likely to overhang a
path or wood-road.

Scarlet Tanagers will immediately desert an unfin-
ished nest if they find themselves watched, and in
studying their operations one must be exceedingly
wary to keep them for neighbors. The nest is built

SUMMER TANAGER. 85

of fine rootlets and its walls are often so thin that the
eggs can be counted from below. The eggs, 3 to 4,
qre bluish-white, nuich speckled with brown.

Summer Tanager: Piranga nibra.

Length '/Yi inches.

Male, rose-red all over, except a little brown on the wings.
Female, olive-green above, and yellowish below.
Resident (uncommon) from April 15 to September 25;
winters in Central and South America.

The Sununer Tanager is less brilliant than his scar-
let cousin and without the black wings and tail.
He is a bird of the Southern States, and Washington
is nearly the northern limit of his breeding range.
While uncommon in this vicinity, he is not so rare
near the city as the Scarlet Tanager, and may gener-
ally be found at Takoma Park and Brookland, also
at Mount Vernon. He likes open, deciduous woods,
and builds much like the Scarlet.

Mr. Ridgw^ay thinks the Summer Tanager a finer
songster than the Scarlet and says his song is " very
Robin-like but much more vigorous and sustained
than that of the Robin." His call-note Dr. Palmer
gives as pc-tup-ka.

SPARROWS, ETC.

Grosbeaks, Finches and Sparrows are included in
one family, and so we find classed together, the bril-
liant Cardinal, sunshiny Goldfinch, and plain little
Chippy. While these differ greatly in form, color
and habits, they are all alike in being seed-eaters, and
have stout, conical bills, admirably adapted to cracking
seeds.

The dull-colored birds live generally in open fields
where their brownish, striped coats make them almost
invisible to enemies, while those of brighter plumage
find it safer to keep under the cover of trees.

All these birds feed largely on insects in summer,
but the rest of the year they live almost entirely on
seeds of weeds and grasses. Their economic value as
destroyers of the seeds of injurious plants cannot be
overestimated.

Those of this family resident here in summer are
the Indigo-bird, Blue and Cardinal Grosbeaks, Che-
wink, Goldfinch, Song, Field, Vesper, Chipping,
Grasshopper, and Henslow's Sparrows. Several of
these remain through the winter. (See list of winter
birds, page 187.)

American Goldfinch; Thistle-bird: Spiniis trisiis.

Length 5 inches.
Male, whole body bright yellow.

Cap, wings and tail black, with some white markings.
Female, brownish, without black cap, her wings and tail
dark brown.

Resident (common) all the year.

It is easy to know the merry Goldfinches from other
yellow birds by the black wings and tail, and the

GOLDFIXCJ/. 87

" little l)lack ca]) ti])pc(l down cncr the eyes." • They
are also known by their bounding flight " as if sailing
over imaginary billow^s." They sing as they go, /Vr-
chk-o-rce or 0-zvdit-for-mc, in the sweetest of voices.
Thev are often called " Wild Canaries," and both their
call and warbling love-song resemble those of the
common Canary, but the notes have a more plaintive
tenderness.

Goldfinches are always in small flocks except when
nesting, and they are the latest of all our birds to
build. Indeed, the happy-go-lucky little creatures
put of¥ their housekeeping so long it is a wonder that
some Goldfinch babies are not frost-bitten before they
get their feathers. Although supposed to build in
July, w^e found a nest near Washington in which the
last ^^% hatched the first day of September and have
heard of others still later. The little home is ex-
quisite, composed largely of thistle-down, or other
plant down, interlaced and bound together with fine
strips like grape-vine bark. It is often built in a
fruit-tree, resting on a horizontal branch and woven
about some upright twigs. The eggs, 3 to 6, match
well the dainty nest, being clear wdiite, tinged with
green or blue.

If you want a flow^er garden gay wath Goldfinches
plant in one corner small sun-flowers and fancy
grasses, and when their seeds are ripe the birds will
surely come. In autumn the male Goldfinch changes
his yellow coat for a brown one, like that of his
mate.

88 J'ESPER SPARROW.

Vesper Sparrow; Grass Finch: Pooccetes gramineus.

Length 6 inches.

Upper parts brown streaked with black.

Under parts white, breast and sides streaked with black.

Outer tail-feathers white.

A rare permanent resident, but abundant in migrations.

Ill spring and autumn, Vesper Sparrows are seen
in small flocks, when they are readily known by their
white tail-feathers, which are very conspicuous as
they fly. They are true to the name of Grass Finch
and keep to grassy fields, preferably to those that are
high and dry. We seldom see them outside of migra-
tions, although their nests have been found in a wild
field north of Fort Myer, and also near Silver Spring.
The nest is sunk in the ground, and the eggs, 4 to 5,
are thickly spotted.

Mr. Chapman writes of the song of the Vesper
Sparrow: "When singing he generally selects an ele-
vated perch and gives himself entirely to his musical
devotions. Early morning and late afternoon are his
favorite hours, but he can be heard at other times.
His song, which is loud, clear, and ringing, may be
heard at a distance of several hundred yards. It
resembles that of the Song Sparrow, but is sweeter
and more plaintive. When heard in the evening it is
a truly inspired and inspiring melody."

HEXSLO ir S SPAKROIV. 89

Grasshopper Sparrow; Yellow-winged Sparrow:
Animodramus sa7'annaruin passerinus.

Length sVa inches.

Upper parts streaked black, brown and ashy; crown black
with biiffy line through the center; bend of the wing bright
yellow.

Under parts buffy, iinstreakcd.

Resident (common) from April 15 to October 25; winters
from North Carolina to Cuba.

The Grasshopper is one of tlie prettiest of the
Sparrows, the dark markings above, and plain, light
under parts having a particularly trim, tailor-made
effect. Look for yellow on the wings and a black
crown with a yellowish line through the center.

Although this Sparrow is common, he is not often
seen, as he lives in wild, weedy fields and seldom
mounts higher than the tip of a blackberry spray, or
at most a fence rail, to sing his odd little grasshopper-
like song, which the listener must be very near to
hear. The grassy nest is on the groimd, and the
eggs, 4 to 5, are white, thickly speckled.

Henslow's Sparrow: Ammodramiis henslozvii.

Length 5 inches.

Upper parts chestnut, streaked with brow^n and ashy; bend
of the wing pale yellow; crown light olive-green, streaked
with black.

Under parts white, washed with bufify. the breast and sides
streaked with black.

Resident (locally common) from April 12 to October; win-
ters in the Southern States.

Henslow's much resembles the Grasshopper Spar-
row, but his crown is greenish and black, and his
breast and sides are streaked. While not generally
distributed, in the places where found he is abundant.

90 CHIPPING SPARROW.

His known haunts near the city are the wild fields
about Rock Creek Church and Soldiers' Home, and
those between Arlington and the Potomac. He is
also common at Falls Church and Kensington. He
keeps close in the weeds and must l)e hunted with
patience and perseverance.

The nest is on the ground in a tuft of grass, and
the eggs, 4 to 5, are greenish-white, thickly speckled
with reddish-brown. Dr. Richmond says, " The nest
of l)oth this and the Grasshopper Sparrow are so
thoroughly concealed that expert students are often
unable to find them." His song is given by Air. Jouy
as Sis-r-r-rit — srit-srif, with the accent on the first
and last syllables. He often sings on moonlight
nights.

Chipping Sparrow; Hairbird: Spizella socialis.

Length 5^ inches.

Upper parts brownish, streaked with black; forehead
black; top of head bright chestnut.

Under parts grayish-white, unmarked.

Resident (abundant) from March 15 to November; win-
ters in the Gulf States and Mexico.

Chippy is the smallest and most friendly of our
common Sparrows. He might be called the little
children's bird, he is so tame, and always on the
ground about the house and garden. Noisy plays do
not disturb him, and he will come almost within reach
of the shortest arms, busily looking for food or hunt-
ing stufT for his pretty nest. If bits of string are left
in his way some will be found woven in or attached
as ornament. He gets the name of Hairbird from the
quantity of hair used in lining the nest, usually horse
hair, or that from a cow's tail. One wonders that

FIELD SPARROW. • 91

enough hair can be found for so many nests, as Chip-
ping Sparrows are very common and raise two or
three broods in a season. They build low, in a bush
or small tree, and the eggs, 4 to 5, are light blue,
somewhat speckled.

Chippy's distinguishing mark is his red-brown cap.
When he feels like singing he chants his own name
rapidly, in a high key, cJiippy-chippy-chippy-chippy.
It is likely to be the first bird-sound at daybreak and
the last in the evening, and is sometimes given softly
in the night, as if to assure the brooding mate of his
protecting presence.

Field Sparrow: Spizella pusilla.

Length 5^ inches.

Upper parts bright reddish-brown finely streaked with
black and ashy: crown and bill reddish-brown; whitish
wing-bars.

Under parts white, unstreaked, and tinged with pale red-
dish-brown.

Resident (common) all the year.

The Field Sparrow^ is known by his red-browai
color, and especially by his reddish bill. He is a bird
of varied songs, all sweet and tuneful. Mr. Bur-
roughs gives one as fe-o, fc-o, fc-o, fczv, fezv, few, fee,
fee, fee, '" at first high and leisurely, but running very
rapidly towards the close, wdiich is low^ and soft."
There are two others commonly heard in Maryland,
one of which can be given very nearly on the piano.
Take C, then A below, G adjoining, and back to C.
Strike each key rather rapidly four times, except the
last, w^hich may be one note, three or five, and is some-
times trilled an octave higher, or it may be any other
note than C. It must be remembered that bird songs

92

SOXG SPARROW.

vary with individual singers, and the same bird does
not always sing the same notes.

This Sparrow frequents wild fields, particularly
those that are overgrown with bushes and small ever-
greens. He may generally be found in nesting time
in a field just west of Chevy Chase Circle, but he is
so shy and cunning that it is difficult to get a. good
look at him, as he will usually manage to keep some-
thing, if only a leaf, between himself and the observer.

The nest is on the ground or in a low bush, and
the white eggs, 4 to 5, are much speckled with brown.

Song Sparrow: Melospiza fasciata.

Length about 6^4 inches.

Upper parts streaked, black, brown and gray.
Under parts white, with conspicuous dark streaks: a dark
blotch in center of the breast.

Resident (abundant) all the year.

''The blessed little Song Sparrow! " exclaims Mrs.
Olive Thorne Miller, and so say we all. No bird is
dearer to us than this plain-coated little fellow, whose
sweet and cheery song is heard in all weathers
throughout the year. It sounds especially happy in
early spring, when with the Bluebird he announces
the departure of winter. Go into the Smithsonian
grounds on any mild day in March or even in Feb-
ruary, and your heart may be thrilled by this delicious
bit of melody. It begins often with two or three loud,
clear notes, and then goes rippling round, according
to the fancy of the singer. A homely translation but
one that helps the learner is " Maids, maids, put on the
tea kettle, ettle, ettle."

The distinguishing mark of the Song Sparrow is the
dark blotch on his breast. He lives near water and

CHEW'IXK.

93

will not be found far away from it. The nest is on
the ground or in a low bush, and the eggs, 4 to 5,
are bluish or greenish-white, speckled with brown.

Che wink; Towhee: Pipilo crytJiyophtJialimis.

Length about 8^:^ inches.

Upper parts, throat, and breast black; sides chestnut-red.
belly white.

Wings have white patches, and outer tail-feathers aie
edged and tipped with white.

Female, brown, where male is black.

Resident (very common) from April 15 to October 15;
winters in the Southern States; may winter liere.

Passing along a country road, bordered by woods
where the undergrowth is thick, you are likely to see
the Chewink flitting about in the bushes, showing his
white tail-feathers as he tiies, and you may hear the
musical questioning call which has given him his
name — cJic-z^'iiikF He will also be found in any
woodsy, bushy place where last year's leaves are not
cleared away.

The nest, flat on the ground, is apt to be overhung
by that of a Catbird or Wood Thrush, while in deeply
secluded places the Cardinal may be found in the same
company. It is generally built in dead leaves, and
harmonizes so perfectly with its surroundings, the
whitish eggs being thickly speckled with brown, that
any but the sharpest eyes will overlook it.

The Chewink is very handsome in his tri-colored
suit of black, white, and chestnut-red, and his rich
voice has a metallic quality which would put him
among the brasses in full orchestra. He has only a
few different tones, but by transposition he gets a
variety of sweet phrases. His most common song
has been translated " Come with me," the last word
trilled on his highest note.

94

CARDINAL.

Chewinks are anxious parents, as well they may be
with their open nest at the mercy of every prowling
cat and chipmunk. Dr. Richmond says: " If you go
into a thicket and ' squeak up ' some birds, the first
to come forward and complain of your presence are
Chewinks, Catbirds and Vireos." " Squeaking " is
imitating the cry of young birds, which may be done
by kissing the back of the hand.

*' ]\Iarsh Robin," " Swamp Robin," and " Ground
Robin " are local names for the Chewink.

Cardinal; Virginia Red- Bird: Cardinalis cardinalis.

Length 8^ inches.

Male, whole body and bill bright cardinal-red.

A black mask surrounds the bill and extends on the throat:
a fine long crest.

Female, yellowish-brown, with red bill and a little red on
her crest, wings and tail.

Resident (common) all the year.

Winter and early spring are the best times to look
for the glorious Cardinals, as they are much less shy
than when they have a nest or young birds to guard.
They have been so hunted for cage-birds that it is no
wonder they are timid, and hide their nestlings in
the wildest of wet undergrowth where we can with
difBculty follow. A caged Cardinal, condemned to
solitary confinement with no other occupation than
jumping betw^een two sticks a foot apart, is a pitiful
sight, and not to be willingly endured by any readers
of that immortal story — " A Kentucky Cardinal."

The rich delicious songs of this Grosbeak — for he
has several — can be heard in almost any wild spot
near water. Miss Merriam * writes one as " cue, ciic,

* In Birds of Village and Field.

HL UK GR ( )SBEA K.

95

kip, kip, kip, kip,'' and says: " In the Washington
Zoo Cardinals are common, and after February their
song often rings through the bare woods."

Blue Grosbeak: Giiiraca aenilca.

Length 7 inches.

Male, general color deep blue.

Wings and tail black, edged with blue, the wings marked
with two chestnut bands.

Bill heavy and bluish.

Female, upper parts grayish-brown, under i)arts brownish-
buff.

Resident (rare) from Alay i to September 30.

The dark blue of the male Grosbeak needs sunshine
to bring out its rich beauty, for seen in the shade
it looks almost black. His mate is entirely different,
having soft neutral tints which make her dif^cult to
discern in the weeds and tangled briars where they
make their home. They frequent the wild growth
which borders small streams, and there, in the crotch
of a bush, or in tall weeds, the grassy nest is built,
and in it are laid three or four bluish-white eggs.

These birds are quiet and sedate in their move-
ments, and have a habit, fortunate for the observer, of
sitting motionless for some minutes at a time. Air.
Ridgway says, " The usual note is a strong, harsh
ptchick, and the song of the male is a very beautiful,
though rather feeble, w^arble." While Blue Gros-
beaks are considered rare, they are not infrequently
seen about Kensino-ton, Falls Church and Anacostia.

96 ENGLISH SPA RROU '.

Indigo Bunting: Passerina cyanea.

Length 5^2 inches.

Male, general color bright greenish-blue, darkest on the
head, brightest on the back.

Wings and tail black, margined with blue.

Female, looks like a sparrow; grayish-brown above, whit-
ish below, under parts indistinctly streaked.

Resident (common) from May i to October 15; winters
in Central America.

Indigo-birds are found with the Sparrows in wild
bushy fields. The coat of the male is one of the most
brilliant blues in nature, but his mate is as brown and
plain as her Sparrow companions. The Indigo is
sometimes called '' Blue Canary," and he is an espec-
ially happy, persistent songster, warbling on when the
heat of summer days has silenced most birds. Al-
though a ground bird, building in a low bush and
feeding on worms, caterpiUars, and grasshoppers,
when not kept below by domestic duties or hunger
he mounts to the tallest tree-top and " sings to the
passing clouds."

In nesting season. Indigo-birds are almost always
found in the grounds south of the Soldiers' Home
bordering Glenwood Cemetery, and tliey are often
heard in the Zoo, particularly near the Columbia Road
entrance.

English Sparrow; House Sparrow: Passe?' doines-
ticus.

■ Length 6^ inches.

Male, upper parts streaked with black and chestnut; sides
of throat white, rest of throat and breast black; white wing-
bar.

Female, without black breast, or white on throat or wings.

English Sparrows are generally regarded as an un-
mitigated nuisance, but in spite of their noise and filth,

ENGLISH SPARROW.

97

if they could be kept in check they might be tolerated
in the city, where they give a certain life to the streets
and ])arks and furnish some entertainment to children
and h()use-l)Ound invalids.

It is in the suburbs and country that they are most
objectionable, for they drive away from dwellings and
barns the native birds which would naturally build
about them, and their incessant, unmusical cries
drown all other bird voices. Besides being of no use
— for they eat neither insects nor weed seeds in ap-
preciable quantities — they are positively injurious.
Tn the spring they eat the buds of fruit trees, par-
ticularly those of peach and pear trees, and of currant
and berry bushes and grape vines, while later they
peck at all kinds of fruit and green vegetables. They
also eat an immense amount of grain.

As they are such undesirable tenants, it is worth
while in the country to make an effort to get rid of
them. A shot-gun used occasionally is effective in
keeping them from getting a foot-hold on a new place,
for they are quick to take a hint, and if one or tw^o
of a visiting flock are killed the others fly away and
usually do not return. Nests should be watched for
and destroyed — an iron hook at the end of a long
pole is useful in tearing them out. However numer-
ous these Sparrows have become anywhere, they may
be driven away by persistent shooting and destroying
nests. Poison is sometimes used — grain soaked in
arsenic or strychnine — but not many birds will be
caught by it, and it cannot be recommended as a safe
remedy.

98 CO IVBIRD.

Cowbird: Molothrus ater.

Length 8 inches.

Head, neck and breast brown; rest of the plumage glossy
black with metallic reflections.
Female, dark gray, lighter below.
A rare permanent resident.

In early May if a large gray bird is seen n'alking
about the lawn, and pecking in the grass like a
chicken, you may be sure it is the female Cowbird,
and that the home of some happy little songster in the
neighborhood is likely to be disturbed, if not ruined,
by her intrusion. Mr. Chapman, in his " Birds of
Eastern Xorth America," writes strongly of this bird:
" The Cowbird is an acknowledged villain and has no
standing in the bird world. English Sparrow^s, either
because they are not aware of the customs of New-
World bird life, or because of a possible and not un-
likely affinity, associate with him; but no self-respect-
ing American bird W'ill be found in his company. . . .
In small flocks they visit both pasture and woodland,
and are given to following cattle, clustering about the
feet of the herd, presumably to feed on the insects
found there. They build no nest, and the females,
lacking every moral and maternal instinct, leave their
companions only long enough to deposit their eggs
in the nests of other and smaller birds. I can im-
agine no sight more strongly suggestive of a thor-
oughly despicable nature than a female Cowbird
sneaking through the trees or bushes in search of a
victim upon whom to shift the duties of motherhood.
" The ill-gotten offspring are born with the Cowbird
character fully developed. They demand by far the
greater share of the food, and through gluttony or
mere size alone, starve or crowd out the rightful occu

COIVBIRD.

99

pants of the nest. They accept the attention of their
foster-parents long after they could care for them-
selves; and when nothing more is to be gained, desert
them and join the growing flocks of their kind in the
grain fields."

The rather large egg of the Cowbird is white, evenly
speckled with brown.

lOO

RED- WIXGED BLA CKBIRD.

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD.

Red- winged Blackbird; Marsh Blackbird: Agela-
ius phcc7iicetis.

Length 95^ inches; female smaller,

Male, glossy black, except the shoulders, which are scar-
let edged with buff.

Female, quite different; conspicuously streaked all over
with brown, black and whitish; shoulder patches rusty-red.
sometimes pinkish; touches of yellowish-white on wings.

Resident (common) all the year; abundant in migrations.

Early in March these picturesque birds arrive in
flocks from the South, joining their hardier or more

RED- IVIXGED BLA CKIURP. \ o i

courageous brothers who have spent the winter here.
The males, gorgeous in their epaulets of scarlet and
gold, precede by some days their less showy but
equally well-dressed wives. Ouonk-cr-rce, Quonk-er-
rcc, they cry, and the musical call is as much a part
of spring on the marshes as is the frog chorus with
which it mingles.

Most of the Red-wings soon pass on north, but
some remain to breed in the marshes of the Potomac
and Anacostia Rivers, and in other swampy places in
the neighborhood. Their nest is built low in the reeds
or bushes, and is composed of coarse marsh grasses
and weed stalks, w^ell lined w4th finer grass and root-
lets. The eggs, 3 to 5, vary in color, but are most
commonly pale blue, scrawled and blotched in heavy
dark lines, as if done w-ith a broad stub pen.

These Blackbirds are most abundant in autumn,
when they flock over the Potomac flats in company
with the Reed-birds (Bobolinks). They begin to
gather as early as the first w^eek in August and grow
more numerous with frequent arrivals from the north
until October, when most of them depart to spend the
winter gleaning in southern rice fields.

I02

MEADOWLARK,

-^

MEADOWLARK.

Meadowlark: Stiirnella magna.

Length about ii inches.

Upper parts mixed, brown, black and buffy; outer tail-
feathers white.

Breast bright yellow, with a large black crescent.
Resident (common) all the year.

The Meadowlark is seen flying over meadows, or
singing from a fence rail or a dead branch. He wall
be know^n in flight by his white tail-feathers, and, when
perching, if he faces you, by the black crescent on his
yellow breast.

The Lark has a heavenly voice, and we are grateful
to him for being so generous with it; all day long it
rises from the meadows, and he sings much earlier
and later in the year than most birds. In bird or-
chestra his voice is the flute, carrvino- a clear, sustained

BALTIMORE ORIOLE.

103

melody through aU the varied music of fields and
thickets.

The nest is on the ground and is often domed to
look like a tussock of dried grass. It will only be
found by accident or diligent search, for the old birds
do not drop directly to it, but go down some distance
away and run along through the grass or clover. The
rather large eggs, 4 to 6, are white, thickly speckled
with cinnamon-l)rown.

The winter plumage of the Meadowlark is much
duller than that of summer. Prof. Beal counts him
among our most useful birds, and says he is " entitled
to all possible protection."

Baltimore Oriole: Ictenis galbiila.

Length 7^ inches.

Male, head, neck and upper back black.

Under parts and lower back bright orange: wings and
tail mostly black.

Female, upper parts brown and black; under parts dull
orange; white wing-bars.

Resident (rather common) from ]\Iay i to September;
winters in Central America.

We are always delighted when a pair of Baltimore
Orioles elect to swing their hammock in one of our
tree-tops. Life seems uncommonly well worth living
wdien set to such joyous music as they shower dow^n
on us all day long in earl\^ summer; and then it is a
rare pleasure to see the golden beauty flashing in and
out of the foliage, and to w^atch the domestic ways of
his pretty brown mate with the white wing-bars,
wdiose identity was such a puzzle when w^e first began
to make bird acquaintances. One little dame w^as
friendly enough to let us overlook her weaving and to
graciously accept the bits of string we offered her. The

I04

ORCHARD ORIOLE.

Oriole's nest is a marvel of intelligence and skill, and
one wonders that all the other birds do not learn
weaving and take it for a model. It is a deep pocket,
flexible and strong, hung far out at the end of a
branch, on twigs too slender to support the weight of
marauding crow or squirrel, and so constructed that
the wildest winds cannot loosen it or spill out eggs
or nestlings. Even human ingenuity could scarcely
suggest an improvement.

As a destroyer of injurious insects, this Oriole is of
great value. Nearly half his food is caterpillars and
the rest is largely beetles, ants, grasshoppers, rose-
bugs and spiders. What a difference in our foliage,
fruit and flowers when we have these for bird
neighbors !

While the song of the Baltimore is especially mel-
low and flute-like, his talking note is a rather harsh
kr-r-r-r-r . This note is usually heard when the birds
are about, in or out of the song season. Both Balti-
more and Orchard Orioles nest in the Smithsonian
grounds.

Orchard Oriole : Icterus sptirius.

Length "jYx inches.

Male, head, neck and upper back black; rest of the body
rich chestnut; wings and tail blackish.

Female, upper parts olive-green; under parts dull yellow;
wings dark brown with white bars.

First year males are like female; second year males have
a large black patch on the throat.

Resident (common) from May i to September; winters
in Central America.

*

The Orchard Oriole is more common than the Bal-
timore, but is less frequently noticed, as his colors
are inconspicuous and he keeps rather close in thickly-

PURPLE GRACKLE. 105

foliagcd trees. He is (|uite as desirable a neighbor as
his gav cousin. Their songs are much ahke, though
that of the ( )rchard usually ends with a graceful
flourish, the note next the last the highest, while the
Baltimore leaves his hanging in mid-air with no sug-
gestion of finish.

As the name implies, this is a bird of the orchards,
and the nest is generally in a fruit tree; it is pensile
and flexible, but not so deep as the Baltimore's and is
fastened to upright twigs, so that it has not the free
swing of the other. It is most beautifully woven of
fresh grasses, and often keeps its green color through-
out the season. The eggs, 3 to 5, are bluish-white,
spotted and scrawled with dark brown. The young,
in pale tints of brown, green and gold, are among the
prettiest m Birdland. Major Bendire writes: " Few
birds do more good and less harm than the Orchard
Oriole, especially to the fruit grower. The bulk of its
food consists of small beetles, plant lice, flies, hairless
caterpillars, cabbage-worms, grasshoppers, rose-bugs
and larvae of all kinds."

Purple Grackle; Crow Blackbird: Quiscalus quis-
ciila.

Length 12 inches.

Head, neck and breast iridescent purple and green; rest
of the body glossy black.

Female, without iridescence.

Common in migration and in summer; a few winter here;
winters generally in the Southern States.

The earliest of all the feathered flocks to arrive are
the Crow Blackbirds. Often by the 20th of February
they have taken possession of the large evergreen
trees in the Smithsonian grounds, and " the air is filled

I06 CROW.

with crackling, splintering, spurting semi-musical
sounds which are like pepper and salt to the ear."
(Burroughs.)

Crackles spend much time on the ground, hunting
worms, grasshoppers and other insects, and as they
walk about the city parks, or in the country over
greening meadows and new-ploughed fields, they are
a picturesque part of the spring landscape.

They nest in small colonies, generally building in
the tops of trees. The nest is bulky and deep, and
the eggs, 4 to 6, are dingy white, scrawled and spotted
with brown.

American Crow: Corims aiuericamis.

Length 19 inches.

Black all over, with steel-blue and purplish reflections.

Resident (abundant) all the year.

Residents of Washington are familiar with the sight
of a seemingly endless procession of Crows straggling
across the sunset sky to the famous roost at Arlington.
In the earliest morning hours the same birds might
have been seen passing eastward to their feeding
grounds on the Chesapeake shores. Why Crows
should take this long journey twice a day, often
against strong winds and winter storms, is a mystery;
we wonder that they do not choose a roosting place
nearer their food supply.

The Arlington roost covers from twelve to fifteen
acres, and at times as many as one hundred and fifty
thousand Crows have gathered there nightly, but
since the winter of '94-'95 the number has been much
reduced. The Agricultural Department publishes a
bulletin, " The Common Crow " which is full of in-

FISH CROW. 107

teresting information concerning the habits and
pecuHarities of this very inteUigent bird.

In spring Crows leave the roost and scatter over the
country to breed, building their nests high in trees,
generally in pines. They are most likely to build on
the edge of the woods, l^ut sometimes in a detached
tree in the open. The nest is composed of sticks,
corn-husks, and other coarse material, all very sub-
stantially put together, and lined with grass, leaves
and rags. It is about two feet in diameter outside.
Four to six eggs are laid, generally bluish-green,
tliickly marked with brown. " The young are born
blind and naked, and remain in the nest about three
weeks."

If a young Crow is taken about the time he is ready
to leave the nest, he readily adapts himself to new
conditions and makes an interesting pet. He will
want raw ^%% and bits of fresh meat at first, but after-
wards any scraps from the table are acceptable. A
tame Crow shows no preference for corn, and only
eats it when he can get nothing else.

Fish Crow: Corvus ossifragns.

The Fish Crow is smaller than the Common Crow,
but the difference is not perceptible in the field. He
can there be distinguished only by his voice, which
has a pronounced nasal quality. Instead of rai*.', he
cries car, "as if through his nose."

Fish Crows will not be found far from water. They
are extremely common about Washington and are
almost always seen in the Smithsonian grounds and
along Rock Creek in the Zoological Park. They are
said to be more destructive to the eggs and nestlings

I08 BLUE JAY.

of other birds than are the Common Crows. About
the Smithsonian they have been seen picking young"
Enghsh Sparrows out of their nests. They build in
the tops of pine trees, rather higher than other Crows.

Blue Jay: Cyanocitta cristata.

Length about 12 inches.

Upper parts and crest grayish-blue; wings and fan-shaped
tail bright blue, barred with black and patched with white.

Under parts grayish-white, a black collar extending up
across the back of the head.

Resident (rather rare) all the year; common in migra-
tions.

The Blue Jay is so large and handsome and noisy
that one need not hunt him with an opera glass nor
puzzle over his identity. His shrill voice at once
attracts attention, and the high crest, black collar, and
barred wings and tail are all conspicuous marks.
Among his many calls and cries one suggests his own
name, jay, jay, another a creaking cart-w^heel.

The Jay is uncommon about Washington, which is
not to be altogether regretted, for he is a great dis-
turber of the peace in Birdland. Out in Maryland,
when we hear a commotion among the woodland
birds, we are pretty sure that a Jay or Crow is at the
bottom of the trouble, and are more likely to hear the
tantalizing scream of the Blue Jay as he flies ofT than
the contemptuous cazu of the black cannibal. Both
these birds are nest-robbers, though ornithologists
say the Jay is not so bad as his reputation, as few
remains of eggs or nestlings have been foimd in the
stomachs examined; so it may be concluded that he
is more mischievous than dangerous. In watching
birds in the woods it is interesting to see how^ different
species will unite against a common enemy — a dis-

BLUE JAY. 109

tressed cry from one bird will luring all the others in
the neighljorhood.

The usefulness of the Blue Jay seems to be in eating
the moth which is destructive to grapes, and in plant-
ing trees. He hides nuts and acorns in holes in the
ground and many of them sprout and grow, so that
we are indebted to him for some of our finest forest
trees — oak, chestnut, and beech.

Jays build in trees, from ten to fifteen feet above the
ground, generally where a branch joins the trunk.
The eggs, 4 to 6, are thickly marked with cinnamon-
brown.

FLYCATCHERS.

Flycatchers have big heads and shoulders, and long,
flat bills, slightly hooked at the end. Their manner of
feeding is hawklike: from a prominent perch, which
gives a free, wide outlook, one will dash out after a
passing insect, seize it with a click of the hooked bill,
and return to his stand in readiness for the next
comer.

As Flycatchers live entirely on insects, they go
south early in the fall. We have nesting here the
Phoebe, Kingbird, Wood Pewee, the Acadian and
Great Crested Flycatchers, and in migration may see
the Alder, Yellow-bellied, and the Least — also called
Chebec.

KINGBIRD.

I 1 1

KINGBIRD.

Kingbird: Tyranmis iyranmis.

Length 8^-4 inches.

Upper parts slate-color; head black with concealed orange-
red crest: tail black, with terminal band of white.

Under parts white.

Resident (common) from April 20 to September; winters
in Central and South America.

When a bird is seen chasing a Crow or Hawk and
driving it far out of the neighborhood, that is prob-
ably the brave Kingbird defending his nest. And if
a rather large gray bird with a white breast, and black
tail tipped with white, is seen perched on a fence-post
or telegraph wire from which he frequently circles out,

1 1 2 GREA T CRESTED EL ] TA TCHER.

it is doubtless this Flycatcher getting his dinner. If
near enough you would hear a sharp click of the bill
at every foray, for he seldom misses his mark.

Kingbirds are abundant, which is fortunate for the
country, as nearly nine-tenths of their food is injurious
insects. They are especially partial to potato-bugs,
grasshoppers, and rose-chafers.

The nest is usually in large trees, from ten to thirty
feet up, and is placed well out on a branch. It is cup-
shaped, built of roots and grasses and lined with finer
stuff. Three eggs are generally laid, sometimes four,
much blotched and speckled with brown Dr. Rich-
mond says " Kingbirds prefer solitary trees in which
to build their nests, probably because they can keep
closer watch on their preserves." These birds are
devoted to their nest and are so vigilant that it is safe
to say it is never molested unawares. The young
are the most petted and pampered of bird children,
and are kept in the tree-tops and fed until they are as
large as their parents and can be distinguished from
them only by the shorter tail!

The fear which Crows have of the Kings was shown
very amusingly by a tame Crow we once had. When-
ever Kingbirds came about the lawn the Crow would
scurry under the porch or fly to us for protection.

Great Crested Flycatcher: Myiarclms crmitus.

Length 9 inches.

Upper parts olive-green. A low pointed crest.
Throat and breast pearl-gray, belly yellow.
Resident (common) from April 25 to September; winters
in southern Florida and Central America.

The Crested Flycatcher is partial to wooded, rocky
hillsides where arbutus and laurel grow, but he may

GRKA T CRES TED EE i X'A TCHER. \ i 3

be found in any open woods, and he also comes to
well shaded lawns. He announces his presence by a
ringing shout, a sort of '' Hurrah," so characteristic
that after a first hearing one is not likely to mistake
it for any other bird-call, but will say with confidence,
" There's a Great Crest 1 " He is a handsome, dis-
tinguished-looking bird as he stands erect on his
perch, turning his crested head this way and that,
watching for winged insects to come within his range.
The pearl-gray and lemon-yello.w of his waistcoat are
a particularly esthetic combination.

This Flycatcher's nest is in a hole, not like a Wood-
pecker's, but in a natural cavity, and most often in a
hollow limb. The nest is interesting from the bird's
habit of using cast-off snake skin in its construction,
presumably with the intention of frightening away
intruders. The eggs, 4 to 6, are creamy-white or bufif,
streaked lengthwise with fine lines as if done with a
pen. These Flycatchers may generally be seen— or
heard— in the Zoological Park, and in the Soldiers'
Home woods.

114

PHCEBE.

PHCEBE.

P h oe b e : Sayornis phccbe.

Length 7 inches.

Upper parts oHve-brown; crown, wings and tail darker.

Under parts white, slightly washed with yellowish; a touch
of white on outer tail-feathers.

Resident from March 5 to October; winters from North
Carolina to Cuba and Mexico.

One of the earliest bird-notes country people bear
in spring is this Fhxatcher's pleasant call of plies' -be.
He is often called Pewee, but incorrectly, as the latter
name belongs strictly to his relative the Wood Pewee.
The two birds are much alike, but the Pewee has white
wing-bars. Mr. Ridgway says an easy and infallible
means of distinguishing between them is the Phoebe's

WOOD PEIVEE.

15

habit of swing'ing' his tail when perching; this the
Pewee never does.

Phoebes build about porches, and in barns and
sheds, generally on a beam; also al)out bridges, and
sometimes under a shelving bank or rock as their
ancestors did when there was no other shelter. The
nest is of mud, lined with fine grasses and horse hair,
and is usually covered outside with bits of feathery
moss which must conceal it admirably when built on
mossy rocks. The eggs, 4 to 6, are pure white, gen-
erally unmarked.

No birds are more useful than Phoebes in destroy-
ing tormenting insects, and those that injure fruit,
flowers and vegetables, and we are fortunate if a pair
settle themselves on our premises, for they can be
depended upon to return year after year.

V^ood Pewee: Contopiis vire)is.

Length 6^ inches.

Upper parts dark olive.

Under parts brown, washed with gray on sides of the
throat and breast.

Two more or less distinct white wing-bars.

Resident (common) from May i to October 16; winters
in Central America.

The woodland song that one is most sure of hearing
any time of day the summer through is the tender
adagio strain of the Wood Pewee. Pc-a-zvcc, pc zvcc,
he dreamily sings, and w^e feel at once something of
the peace and restfulness of the w^oods.

The shallow nest is built high, generally in large
trees, and is covered with lichens like the Humming-
bird's. It so perfectly resembles a knot of the branch
on which it rests that unless you see the bird go on
or off you will not suspect it of being anything else.

1 1 6 ACADIA X FL \ 'CA TCHER.

The eggs, 3 to 4, are white with a wreath of dark
spots at the larger end. A Pewee's nest with the
mother-bird on may be seen at the Smithsonian.

Acadian Flycatcher; Green-crested Flycatcher:

Enipidonax virescens.

Length nearly 6 inches.

Upper parts grayish-green, wings and tail darker; two
conspicuous white wing-bars.

Under parts white, washed with yellowish.

Resident (common) from May 5 to September 15; win-
ters in Central America.

The Acadian, although common, is perhaps not so
well known as the other Flycatchers, for he keeps
to the shady, secluded corners of our woods and must
be looked for. His haunts are in woods near water,
generally by small streams, ponds and springs, and
he is likely to be seen in the lower branches of young
trees, especially where these grow in Nature's own
wild, crowded fashion.

The call-note of the Acadian is peculiar, and is
given as zvick-iip and hick-iip, from which he gets a
nickname of " Hick-up Bird." The nest is shallow
and thin, woven of fine rootlets, grass and dry blos-
soms, and the rim is attached to a forked twig near
the end of a branch, like the Vireo nests. Almost
always some loose bit of stuff is left hanging from the
center.

The eggs, 4, are creamy-white, spotted at the larger
end with cinnamon-brown.

CHIMNE V S IVIFT.

117

Chimney Swift; Chimney Swallow: CJicettira pela-
gic a.

Length about 5^/2 inches.
General color, sooty; throat whitish.

Wings long and slender; tail short and tipped with spines.
Resident (abundant) from April 15 to October 16; winters
in Central America.

" Few sights in the bird world are more familiar
than the bow-and-arrow-like forms of these rapidly
flying birds, silhouetted against the sky." (Chap-
man.) It is interesting to watch a flock at dusk cir-
cling about a big chimney, into which, with a twit-
tering good-night to the darkening world, they drop
one by one, until the last has disappeared.

There are many chimneys in and about the city
which are the summer homes of Swifts, and out in the
country there are but few old ones unoccupied by
them. Swifts are peculiar in never perching as other
birds do, but they hang themselves up against the
brick or stone wall of a chimney by catching their
claws into a crevice and using the short, stifT tail as
a prop.

The nest is a basket of twigs fastened together and
against the wall with glutinous saliva. They gather
the material for it on the wing, breaking off dead twigs
with beak or feet. The eggs, 4 to 6, are pure white,
as in the hidden home no protective markings are
needed.

A Swift's nest in a section of old chimney may be
seen at the Smithsonian.

1 1 8 R UB Y- THR OA TED HUMMINGBIRD.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Trochilus colubris.

Length 3^/^ inches.

Upper parts shining green; throat metallic ruby-red.
Female, without red throat.

Resident (common) from April 25 to September; winters
from southern Florida to Central America.

" Was it a gem half bird?

Or was it a bird half gem?"

The poet's questions seem to suggest this exquisite
Httk creature better than prosy facts as to color and
size ; and indeed, if we see it only when it comes flash-
ing about our honeysuckle and weigelia bushes —
poising an instant on unseen wings before each dainty
blossom — ^^ve can scarcely believe that it has the same
matter-of-fact existence as other birds. But that tiny
body holds as many joys, hopes, and fears as any of
its larger brothers, and it holds also an intense devo-
tion to the loveliest and smallest nest in Birdland.

It is often the bird's anxiety about her nest that
enables you to find it. Walking through the woods
you will perhaps be startled by a loud humming noise
circling your head, and then you may see a Humming-
bird light, uttering a sharp little chip which is her only
speech. By this you will know that the nest is near,
and you need only look over the rather high, slender
branches in the vicinity to discover it. It is possibly
an inch and a half in diameter and saddled to a limb
about the same thickness. It is composed of plant
down, most skillfully felted together, and the outside
is so beautifully stuccoed with lichens that it looks ex-
actly, like a knot on the limb; inside it is scarcely
larger than a thimble, and contains two pearly eggs
unmarred by spot or line.

The beautiful Sphinx moth, which also feeds from

WHIP- POOR- WILL.

119

flower Clips, is sometimes mistaken for a Humming-
bird, but close observation will show the difference in
feet and bill.

^A^hip-poo^-will: Antrostomiis vocifcnis.

Length 9^/2 inches.

Mottled all over with black, brown and white; a conspicu-
ous zvhite hand across the upper breast.

Three outer tail-feathers white, shown distinctly in flight.

Female has buff instead of white band and patches.

Resident from April 20 to October: winters from Florida
southward.

Whip-poor-wills live in dense, wild woods, conse-
quently are not heard near the city, but at Takoma
Park and farther out they are not uncommon. As they
fly only at night they are seldom seen, but in passing
through a bit of thick w^oods in daytime you may
sometimes start one up, when he will fly low for a
short distance and settle lengthwise on a limb or log.
His flight is so noiseless that it seems weird in the
deeply shaded woods. He feeds entirely on in-
sects, chiefly moths, and can engulf the largest
in his great mouth, aided by the long stiff bristles
which surround it. No nest is built, the two speckled
eggs being laid on the bare ground, or on dry leaves.

If near the Whip-poor-will when he is singing, you
may hear the peculiar double cJiiick he gives between
calls, and can imagine that he says to himself, " I
won't," after each threat to whip poor Will. One
little bov, whose summer home is near woods where
he always hears the Whip-poor-will at twilight, calls
him the bedtime bird, and thinks he says " go to
sleep, go to sleep."

1 20 NIGHTHA VVK.

Nighthawk; Bull Bat: Chordeiles virginianus.

Length lo inches.

Male, upper parts mottled, black, brown, and yellowish-
white.

Under parts lighter, banded across with waving lines of
brown.

A broad triangular band of white on the throat, a large
white spot on the wings, and a band of white across the tail.

Female, without white on throat and tail.

Resident (not uncommon) from April 25 to October; win-
ters in South America.

The Nighthawk is seen in the late afternoon and
early evening flying high in the air in erratic bat-like
fashion in pursuit of his " daily bread." As he flies
he utters at intervals a loud squeak, and in breeding
season sometimes drops suddenly toward the earth
with a whirring noise which has been likened to that
made by the swift turning of a spinning-wheel. This
is produced by the air rushing through the stiffened
wings and tail, and can be heard at some distance.
The white spots on the long narrow wings look round
from' below, and are spoken of as " a hole in the wing."

Nighthawks, when resting, perch lengthwise on
limb or log like the Whip-poor-will, and are invisible
to careless observers. They build no nest, and the
two thickly speckled eggs are laid on the ground or
on a rock where they seem to be part of their sur-
roundings and only very sharp eyes will discover
them. If found out and the old birds know it, they
will at once remove them to another place, carrying
them in their capacious mouths. Warren says: " I
have known the Nighthawk to move its eggs a dis-
tance of over two hundred yards within an hour after
I had discovered them."

These birds sometimes breed in the city, laying their
eggs on the roofs of houses.

WOODPECKERS.

Woodpeckers have a large powerful bill, which is
very sharp and is used as a chisel to excavate holes in
trees, and to dig out insects that burrow in the wood.
The tongue is long and barbed and can be thrust far
out of the mouth to extract such insects as the bill
cannot reach. These birds do an immense amount
of good in preserving our forests and orchards from
the ravages of wood-borers, ants, and other insects
injurious to wood.

Instead of having three toes in front and one be-
hind, as most birds do, Woodpeckers have two stout
toes behind and two in front which enable them to
climb tree-trunks easily, and when they stop to dig
or rest they are propped by the hind toes, and by their
stiff, pointed tail-feathers. They are said to often
sleep in this position.

W^oodpeckers do not sing, but with the bill drum
their love-song on a dead limb or other resonant sur-
face. Their hammering power is tremendous, as was
realized by the inmates of a slab-covered lodge which
Red-heads sometimes visited. One could imagine the
consternation among the denizens of a tree-trunk
when a Woodpecker knocks for admittance. He is
often seen to tap and then turn his head to listen as
if locating his prey, which he is said to do unerringly.

Woodpeckers' holes are small at the surface but
roomy inside, and are from six to twenty-four inches
deep. Their eggs are always pure white without
markings.

122 HAIRY WOODPECKER.

Downy Woodpecker: Dryobates piibesccns.

Length nearly 7 inches.

Upper parts black with a white stripe down the middle
of the back, and in the male, a scarlet band across the back
of the neck.

Wings and tail black, thickly spotted with white; outer
tail-feathers white, barred with black.

Resident (common) all the y?.ar.

The Downy is our smallest and commonest Wood-
pecker, and is likely to be seen wherever there are old
trees', even about those of our lawns and gardens. In
spring he is a persistent drummer, and beats his roll-
ing tattoo on a dead limb or a tin roof with equal
energy and satisfaction to himself. He frequently
calls out peck, peck, and gives besides a harsh trill
which he probably intends for a song. When nesting
begins he is much more sedate and we hear only a
quiet tap, tap, tapping on the trees as he goes about
in search of food. He is a sociable fellow, and in
autumn often joins the cheery group of Chickadees,
Tufted Tits, and Nuthatches which roam our woods
through the winter. Mr. Chapman asks, '' Who can
estimate the enormous numbers of insects' eggs and
larvae which these patient explorers of twig and trunk
destroy? "

Hairy ^A^oodpecker: Dryobates villosiis.

The Hairy Woodpecker is hke the Downy except
that the outer tail-feathers are not barred with black,
and he is much larger, being nearly ten inches long.
He seldom nests here, but is not uncommon in spring
and autumn and is sometimes found in winter.

RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

123

RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

Red-headed Woodpecker: Mdanerpcs crytJiroceph-

aliis.
Length 9^2 inches.

Head, neck and upper breast crimson-red.
Upper back, wings and tail bkiish-black.
Lower back, under parts, and a broad stripe across the
wings, white.

Young, gray where aduUs are red.

An uncommon summer and rare winter resident.

In '' Birds in the Bnsh," Bradford Torrey writes of
the Red-headed Woodpecker: ''This showy bird has

124

RED- HE A DED WO ODPE CKER.

for a good many years been very rare in Massachu-
setts; and therefore when, during the freshness of my
ornithological researches, I went to Washington for a
month's visit, it was one of the things which I had
especially in mind, to make his acquaintance. But I
looked for him without success till, at the end of a fort-
night, I made a pilgrimage to Mount A^ernon. Here,
after visiting the grave and going over the house, as
every visitor does, I sauntered about the grounds,
thinking of the great man who used to do the same so
many years before, but all the while keeping my eyes
open for the present feathered inhabitants of the
sacred spot. Soon a bird darted by me and struck
against the trunk of an adjacent tree, and glancing up
quickly I beheld my much-sought Red-headed Wood-
pecker. How appropriately patriotic he looked at
the home of Washington, wearing the national colors,
red, white and blue! After this he became abundant
about the capital, so that I saw him often and took
much pleasure in his frolicsome ways."

The Red-heads are found in various open oak woods
north of the city, at Mount Pleasant, about Freed-
men's Hospital, in Glenwood Cemetery, and often on
the heights above Florida Avenue; but they are wan-
dering, irregular birds and their presence in any par-
ticular locality cannot be depended upon. Out in the
country they are often noticed about old orchards.

In spring they are the noisiest of drummers and
also have a loud, rattling call which proclaims their
presence, but in nesting time they are very quiet.

The hole of the Red-head is often in a half-dead
tree, rather high up, and the eggs, 4 to 6, are laid on
the fine chips left by the bird carpenters.

RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 125

Pileated Woodpecker; Cock-of-the- Woods: Ceopli-
kmis pile a his.

Length 17 inches.

General color dull black.

Head and pointed crest scarlet; male with a scarlet line
from base of bill back to neck.

Some yellowish-white marks about the head and on the
wings, the latter shown conspicuously in flight.

A rare permanent resident.

The Pileated is much the largest of our Wood-
peckers, and is so rare here that the sight of him is
an event even in an ornithologist's calendar. It is
said he was once common all over this country, but
he is by nature wild and wary, keeping to heavy
timber, and with the advance of civilization has with-
drawn to the most secluded localities, until now but
few places can boast his presence. He is still occa-
sionally seen near Falls Church.

Look for him in the tops of the largest trees, and
listen for the hammering of a giant, so loud that the
tapping of an ordinary Woodpecker seems but an
echo in comparison. The hole of the Pileated will
be from 30 to 80 feet above the ground.

Red-bellied Woodpecker: Melanerpes carolinus.

Length 10 inches.

Top of head and back of neck light scarlet; back, wings
and tail regularly barred with black and white.

Under parts dull w^hite, the belly more or less tinged with
red.

Female with top of head ashy-gray.

A rare permanent resident.

The Red-bellied is a southern bird, and this is
about the northern limit of his range. Perhaps the
only place in the District where he may be looked for

126 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER.

with confidence is in a piece of thick, wet woods where
the Fourteenth Street road crosses Piney Branch; but
he is said to be common near Laurel, Maryland. He
cannot be mistaken for any other Woodpecker, as he
is the only one we have here that is barred crosswise,
evenly and distinctly. The red on the belly from
which he gets his name is not conspicuous. He gives
a loud chuck as he lights against a tree-trunk, which
he ascends in a characteristic jerky fashion. His hole
is about twenty feet from the ground.

FLICKER.

12'

7Jt1i

FLICKER.

Flicker; Yellowhammer: Colaptes auratus.

Length 12 inches.

Upper parts yellowish-brown barred with black, a scarlet
band across the back of the neck.

Under parts brownish-white, spotted with black, a broad
black crescent across the breast.

Lining of wings and tail golden yellow. Rump white,
shown conspicuously in flight.

A common summer and rare winter resident.

The Flicker is strikingly handsome and easy to
identify. If he faces yon he will be known by the
black crescent across his spotted breast, and when he

128 KINGFISHER.

flies before you the large white spot on his lower back
will name him. He is a vigorous, dashing bird, and
he and his comrades make a jolly racket in the woods
with their drumming, hammering and loud cries. His
song, ziicka-zvicka-wicka, Audubon calls '' a prolonged,
jovial laugh."

Unlike other Woodpeckers, the Flicker spends
much time on the ground, where he hunts ants — his
favorite food. Thrusting his long, barbed, sticky
tongue into an ant-hill, he draws out numbers at a
time.; three thousand were found in one Flicker
stomach.

The Flicker's hole is in a dead or half-dead tree,
or in an old stump, and is at varying heights above
the ground — " two and a half to sixty feet, mostly
between ten and twenty feet." The eggs are pure
white, and have a lustre as if enameled. The usual
number is six or seven, but if the nest is robbed, the
bird keeps on laying, and there is a record of thirty-
seven eggs having been taken from one nest.

Belted Kingfisher: Ceryle alcyon.

Length 13 inches.

Upper parts and high crest bluish-gray: a white spot be-
fore the eye.

Under parts white, a bluish band across the breast.
Female, band and sides brown instead of blue.
Resident (common) all the year.

The Kingfisher is a big bird, considerably larger
than the Robin, with a conspicuous crest and a very
long, heavy bill. He is found along streams wher-
ever there are good fishing places, and is frequently
seen from Rock Creek bridge in the Zoological Park.
He stations himself on a branch overhanging the

KINGFISHER. 1 29

water and watclics until a fish i)asses below, wdien
down he plunges after him, often going entirely under,
but instantly emerging with the fish in his bill. Fly-
ing to a perch near by he shakes himself, beats the lish
against a branch until it is dead, then swallows it
whole.

Each pair of Kingfishers is said to have its own
fishing grounds and not to trespass on a neighbor's
preserves. They always fish up stream and when they
come to the end of their route make a wide detour
back to the starting place, sweeping in with the loud,
rattling cry which is their characteristic call.

The nest is in a hole in a high bank of the stream
and is at the end of a long burrow, five or six feet
from the entrance. A half dozen pure white eggs are
laid.

I30

] 'ELL O IV- BILLED CI TKO O.

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo: Coccyzus amcricanus.

Length 12 inches; tail half the length.

Upper parts brownish-gray with a greenish gloss; wings
black, washed with reddish-brown; outer tail-feathers black
with white patches. Bill yellow at base and on lower man-
dible.

Under parts white.

Resident (common) from May 2 to October 15; winters
in Central and South America.

We have two Cuckoos, the Yellow-billed and the
Black-billed, much alike except for the color of the
bill. The Yellow-billed is the common species, the
other being quite rare. Although a large bird and
rather conspicuous from his long tail with its white
" thumb-marks," he keeps so closely in the densest
trees and is so noiseless in his movements that we sel-
dom notice him. His call, however, is not unfamiliar,

BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO. 131

and is written k-kiil\ k-kuk\ k-kuk. As it is supposed
to be a sig'n of rain, be is eonnncjnly called " Rain-
crow."

A Cuckoo was beard in Icjwa Circle recently, but
that was unusual, for be is a sby bird and seldom ven-
tures into tbe city, probably only wdien tbe trees are
full of caterpillars. His favorite food is tent cater-
pillars, tbe sort tbat make tbeir ugly nests in our trees
and ruin tbe foliage, and be is therefore extremely use-
ful. Mr. Chapman tells of shooting a Cuckoo at six
o'clock in the morning which bad fort>'-tbree of these
caterpillars in bis stomach.

'' Family cares rest lightly on the Cuckoo. Tbe nest
of both species is a ram-shackle affair — a mere bundle
of twigs and sticks without a rim to keep tbe eggs
from rolling from the bush, where they rest, to tbe
ground. Tbe over-worked mother-bird often lays an
Qgg while brooding over its nearly hatched com-
panion, and tbe two or three half-grown fledglings
already in the nest may roll the large greenish eggs
out upon tbe ground, while both parents are off bunt-
ing for food to quiet tbeir noisy clamorings." (Neltje
Blancban.) In this part of the country tbe Cuckoo
more often nests in trees than in bushes.

Black-billed Cuckoo: Coccyzus erytlirophtJialmus.

Tbe Black-billed Cuckoo is much like tbe Yellow-
billed, but besides the different bill his wings have no
brown on them, and his tail-feathers are but slightly
tipped with wdiite. Tbe voice of the Black-billed is
softer than that of the common Cuckoo and bis notes
are more connected. Tbe nest and eggs are much tbe
same. Resident (rare) from May 2 to October 15.

OWLS.

Owls are nocturnal birds of prey, and at twilight
take up the work of the day-feeding Hawks. While
they ao great good in ridding the earth of mischiev-
ous rodents, it must be said that they are destructive
to woodland birds and other harmless creatures.

The plumage of Owls is so soft and downy that it
offers but slight resistance to the air and their flight
is practically noiseless. They catch their prey in their
talons and small victims are swallowed whole, the in-
digestible portions — bones, hair or feathers — being
afterwards ejected from the mouth in the form of pel-
lets. Numbers of these pellets will be found about the
roosting places of Owls.

Owls' eyes are in front instead of at the sides, as are
those of other birds, and they are fixed so that the
birds cannot roil them, but must alwavs move the head
to look about; curiously enough, they have the power
of turning the head entirely around from front to
back. In the Owl family, as in that of Hawks, the
females are larger than the males.

Several of our Owls may be seen in cages at the
Zoo.

American Barn Owl; Monkey-faced Owl: Strix
pratincola.

Length i8 inches.

Upper parts mixed gray and yellow, speckled with white
and black.

Under parts varying from white to bright tawny, dotted
with small round black spots.

Face triangular in shape. Eyes small and black.

Resident (not rare) all the year.

While most Owls inhabit woods, the Barn Owl lives
in barns, church-belfries and similar places. In the

LONG-EARED OWL. 133

towers of the Sinitlisonian, and also in the Jail towers,
he makes his home and rears his young. His food is
largely rats and mice, sometimes birds, all of which, if
small enough, he swallows whole, as is the custom of
Owls.

The nest is composed of any convenient rubbish,
together with a few feathers. The eggs, 5 to 9, are
white, and somewhat pointed.

American Long-eared Owl: Asio ivilsonianus.

Length 15 inches.

Upper parts mottled, gray, tawny and blackish.
Under parts grayish-white indistinctly barred with brown,
black and tawny.

Face bright buff, bordered narrowly with black.
Long, conspicuous ear-tufts. Eyes yellow.
Resident (common) all the year.

'' The Long-eared Owl is one of our most beneficial
species, destroying vast numbers of injurious rodents
and seldom touching insectivorous birds." (Fisher.)
This Owl never hunts during the day, but keeps
closely in thick evergreen woods or swampy thickets.
It seldom builds a new nest, but remodels an old one
of a Crow or Hawk. Five eggs are usually laid.

134

BARRED OWL.

^i-

\^

4

^ .^ r^

BARRED OWL (Syrnium nebulosum).

Barred Owl; Hoot Owl: Syrnium nebulosum.

Length 20 inches.

No ear-tufts. Eyes large and black. General color dark
brown and btiffy-white, barred crosswise all over except on
the belly, which is striped.

Resident (not uncommon) all the year.

This is the Hoot Owl, whose nocturnal cry is so
startling to the unaccustomed ear. " JVho, zvho, zi'Jio

SCREECH OWL.

135

pesterin' zve all? " Uncle Remus gives it, and it is
heard at a long distance.

This large Owl must be a terror to the smaller
inhabitants of the woods, for it eats rabbits, squirrels,
shrews and moles, as well as mice. It sometimes
takes poultry, l)ut not often, and is considered on the
whole beneficial. It spends the day sleeping in thick,
dark woods, rarely hunting except at twilight.

The Hoot Owl nests in a hollow tree and occupies
the same place year after year. Only two or three
eggs are usually laid; these are more than two inches
long.

Screech Owl: Mcgascops asio.

Length 7 to 10 inches.

Our only small Owl with conspicuous ear-tufts.
Upper parts reddish-brown or sometimes gray.
Under parts paler, mottled and streaked with black.
Resident (common) all the year.

Screech Owls are very common and so useful that
Dr. Fisher says " Whoever destroys them through
ignorance or prejudice should be severely con-
demned." The wailing cry of the Screech Owl is an
uncanny sound at night, and makes the listener glad
of human companionship.

These Owls nest rather low in hollow trees. Old
orchards are favorite places, and they keep the same
home for years. They hunt in the daytime as well as
at night.

The plumage of the Screech Owl is sometimes red-
dish-brown and sometimes gray, " two totally distinct
phases, having no relation to sex, age or season."

1 36 GREA T HORNED O IVL.

Great Horned Owl: B?ido virginianus.

Length about 2 feet.

Large, conspicuous ear-tufts. Eyes large and yellow.
Upper parts mottled, black, brown, and gray; wings and
tail barred; white band on the throat.
Under parts buff, barred with black.
Resident (rare) all the year.

The Great Horned Owl is fortunately rare in this
vicinity. Dr. Fisher calls him' " a tiger among birds,"
and says that, besides eating all kinds of poultry, birds
and rabbits, he takes Hawks, Crows and even other
Owls'. His loud, deep notes are all on one tone, who,
zcJw, who, and at a distance are said to resemble the
barking of a dog.

These Owls do not often build, but fix up an old
nest of Crow, Hawk or Squirrel, more often in ever-
greens than in deciduous trees, and usually near the
top. The eggs, two in number, are laid early in Feb-
ruary.

HAWKS.

The first thing to learn about these birds is that
there are good Hawks and bad Hawks. We have six
species resident in this vicinity, only two of which
are harmful; the others are among the farmers' best
friends. The shooting of a good Hawk always results
in a distinct loss to the farmer of such products as are
destroyed by field mice, rats and rabl^its. In some
agricultural districts, where there has been ignorant
and indiscriminate shooting of all Hawks, there has
frequently followed a field-mouse plague, which has
done incalculable damage.

It is not so difficult as one might suppose to dis-
tinguish betw^een injuriotis Hawks and those that are
beneficial. The two harmful species, Cooper's and the
Sharp-shinned, have long tails and slender bodies;
while the good Haw^ks, — the Red-shouldered, Red-
tailed, Broad-winged and Sparrow Hawk — are rather
stocky, with short tails. The different habits of the
two kinds are even more distinguishing than their ap-
pearance. The Poultry Hawk conceals himself in a
clump of evergreens or dense shrubbery near farm
buildings, from which he darts out among the poultry,
seizes a chicken and is off, perhaps without being seen
or heard.

Chicken Hawks seldom soar in the open as do the
mouse-hunting Hawks. Useful species often suffer
for the sins of the chicken thieves, for if a farmer
misses poultry and observes a Haw^k soaring over his
meadows, he at once concludes that he sees the mis-
creant and gets his gun, when the real culprit is prob-
ably concealed in the nearest thicket, digesting his
last m.eal.

138 SHARP-SHINNED HAWK.

When either a Cooper's or a Sharp-shinned Hawk
finds a poultry yard easy of access he generally con-
tinues his visits until all the chickens are gone or he
is killed. On one farm sixty chickens were taken and
a large number of useful Hawks were unfortunately
shot before the thief — a Cooper's — was discovered.

Notice the size of the different Hawks. Cooper's
is sixteen inches long, the same as the Broad-winged,
and the Sharp-shinned is eleven inches, about the
same as the useful little Sparrow Hawk. The other
good species, the Red-tailed and Red-shouldered, are
larger, the former being a foot and a half and the latter
two feet long.

Sharp-shinned Hawk: Accipiter velox.

Length 11 inches.

Upper parts slaty-gray, with a few white spots; tail lighter,
with dark band and tipped with whitish.

Under parts white, barred with light brown, the throat
with dark streaks. The young are dark brown and rusty
above, and streaked instead of barred beneath.

Resident (common) all the year.

The food of the Sharp-shinned consists almost en-
tirely of young poultry and small birds, and Dr. A. K.
Fisher of the Biological Survey, the authority on
Hawks and Owls, says there is little in its favor ex-
cept its fondness for the English Sparrow, and that
it "is gradually learning that there is a never-failing
supply of food for it in the larger towns and cities."
He has seen it chasing Sparrows in the Washington
parks.

The Sharp-shinned nests later than other Hawks
and usually builds in a thick evergreen tree about
twenty feet from the ground. The eggs, 4 to 5, are
heavily spotted and blotched.

COOPE/^!'S H.Ul'K

139

COOPER'S HAWK vAccipiter cooperii)

1 40 CO OPER S HA il 7v'.

Cooper's Hawk: Accipiter cooperii.

This little Hawk is like the Sharp-shinned, but larger,
being 16 inches long.
Resident (common) all the year.

" Chicken Hawk " is a common and fitting name for
Cooper's. He takes larger poultry than the Sharp-
shinned and is especially fond of tame pigeons, as well
as all kinds of wild birds. Meadowlarks, Robins and
Flickers are mentioned as frequent victims. He also
eats English Sparrows.

The nest is usually in the top of a tree, either ever-
green or deciduous, and looks like a Crow's nest. The
eggs, 4 to 5, are bluish-white, sometimes lightly
spotted with brown.

RED- TA /LED HA J J 7v'

141

'■^ \ j£t T; ./■ i

6 . ^.. -'M -*'»^"V''

RED-TAILED HAWK (Buteo borealsI.

142 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK.

Red-tailed Hawk: Biiteo borealis.

Length about 2 feet.

Upper parts very dark brown marked with reddish-brown
and whitish; tail in adults rusty red with black band near
the end, and white tip.

Under parts white tinged with bnffy; belly streaked with
brown.

Common in winter, rare in summer.

The Red-tailed is the Hawk most frequently seen
in winter circling high over open ground. He eats
mice, rats and other small mammals. Dr. Fisher
says 'that on the new land of the Potomac flats a rank
vegetation has grown up wdiich gives shelter and sus-
tenance to hordes of mice, and " in winter and early
spring it is not uncommon to see ten or fifteen Red-
tailed Hawks in different parts of this flat attracted
hither by the abundance of their natural food." In
migration he has seen a flock of sixty-five Red-tails
passing southward in large sweeping circles. He also
says that w^ien taken young this Hawk soon becomes
reconciled to captivity and makes a gentle and inter-
esting pet. The nest is generally in a high tree from
forty to seventy feet up. The eggs, 2 to 4, are dull
white lightly marked with brown.

Red-shouldered Hawk: Btiteo lineatus.

Length about 18 inches.

Upper parts dark brown with a reddish cast; shoulders
rusty red; tail black, with white bars and a white tip.
Under parts reddish-brown barred with white.
Resident (common) all the year.

The Red-shouldered . Hawk receives only praise
from those who know its habits. Sixty-five per cent
of its food is mice, and the rest various small mam-
mals, frogs, fish and insects. Dr. Fisher says that in

BROAD- WING ED HAWK. ,^3

all his experience he has never seen it attack a fowl
nor has he found the remains of one in the stomachs
examined. He writes: "This Hawk, like most other
birds of prey, makes a very interestmg pet. and on
account of its varied food is easy to keep. Appar-
ently it is less shy than the Red-tail, nevertheless under
ordinary circumstances it will not allow a man on foot
to approach within orunshot. Like other Hawks, it
shows no fear for one on horse-back or in a wagon,
and in this way can be easily ap])roached. Bottom
lands grown up with large deciduous trees, or the
neighboring hill-sides, are the favorite nesting-sites of
this bird. The nest is placed in one of the large
trees, forty to eighty feet from the ground, and usually
in the fork where the main 1)ranches diverge from the
trunk. A pair will inhabit the same locality for vears
and often occupy a nest for several seasons."

Broad-winged Hawk: Biiteo latissiuuis.

Length 16 in dies.

Upper parts dark brown, darker on the back; tail blackish
with broad bands of gray or brownish-white.

Under parts reddish-brown, broken by wdiite transverse
spotting.

The food of this Hawk consists principally of in-
sects, small manmials, reptiles and batrachians, and
occasionally of young or disabled birds.

" During the summer the Broad-winged Hawk
often may be seen sitting for hours on the dead top
of some high tree. At other times it is found on the
smaller trees in the deep woods, along streams, or on
the ground, where its food is more often procured.
'Although sluggish and unusually heavy in its flight,
it is capable of rapid motion and sometimes soars high

1 44 SPA RR O JV HA WK.

in the air. One of its notes resembles quite closely
that of the Wood Pewee." (Fisher.)

The Broad-winged nests late for a Hawk, generally
about the middle of May. The nest is like that of the
Crow, but larger, and two or three eggs are laid.
The male is said to assist in incubating the eggs as
well as in bringing up the young.

Sparrow Hawk: Falco sparverius.

Length lo inches.

Male, upper parts bright reddish-brown generally barred
with black, the tail bordered with a broad black band and
tipped with white; forehead gray, irregular black stripes
on the side of the head; wings grayish-blue with black
markings. Under parts generally buffy or pale reddish-
brown, with or without black markings.

Female, under parts streaked with brown. The wings are
brown barred with dusky, and the tail is narrowly barred with
dusky.

Common in winter, rare in summer.

The handsome Sparrow Hawk is the smallest of his
family, being about the size of a Robin. His hooked
bill and high shoulders proclaim him a Hawk, and the
gray forehead and distinct black markings on the side
of the head identify him. He is supposed to eat small
birds, hence his name, but rarely have any been found
in the great number of stomachs examined at the
Biological Survey, except in winter, and then only
when other food could not be obtained. He is a great
destroyer of meadow-mice and injurious insects,
especially grasshoppers and crickets, so he should be
protected.

The nest, unlike that of other Hawks, is in a hole
in a tree, either in a natural cavity or an old Wood-
pecker's hole.

SPARROW HAWK.

H5

The eggs, 5 to 7, are finely and evenly marked.
Sparrow Hawks are more common here in winter
than in summer. They have been suspected of nest-
ino- in the Smithsonian towers.

SPARROW HAWK (Falco sparverius).

10

146 FISH HAWK.

Marsh Hawk; Harrier: Circus Jmdsonius.

Length 19 inches.

Male, general color ashy-gray; under parts white, finely
marked with rusty; rump white in both sexes, shown con-
spicuously in flight.

Female, general color rusty brown.

July to April. Common.

The Marsh Hawk will be seen beating low over
marshes or meadows in search of mice and insects.
It is not known to breed in this vicinity, but is so
common the greater part of the year that it is thought
best to distinguish it as a good Hawk. Doctor Fisher
writes: ''Its presence and increase should be en-
couraged in every way possible, not only by protect-
ing it by law, but by disseminating a knowledge of the
benefits it confers. It is probably the most active and
determined foe of meadow mice and ground squirrels,
destroying greater numbers of these pests than any
other species, and this fact alone should entitle it to
protection, even if it destroyed no other injurious
animals."

The nest is on the ground in marshes. Eggs, 4 to
6, are dull white, unmarked.

Fish Hawk; American Osprey: Paiidion haliaehis
carolinensis.

Length about 2 feet.

Upper parts dark brown; tail banded.

Head and under parts white, sometimes spotted.

Resident (uncommon) from March 25 to October.

" We do not know of any nests within the District,
but have seen them lower down the river; the species
properly belongs to the category of summer residents.
It is often seen sailing over the Potomac and Ana-

BALD EAGLE.

147

costia Rivers, or perched upon the branches of dead
trees overhanging- their banks. Its migrations corre-
spond to some extent with those of the fish upon
which it feeds, and it consequently appears in spring
about the time the fishing season begins." (Avifauna
Columbiana.)

The note of the Fish Hawk is said to be a high,
rapidly repeated, plaintive whistle.

Bald Eagle: LLaliceettLS lencocephaliLS.

Length about 3 feet.

Adults, head, neck and tail white; rest of the plumage
dark brown. Bill and feet yellow.

The plumage of the first-year birds is a uniform dark
brown, almost black, with no white perceptible, while that
of the second-year birds is a lighter color and begins to
show white on head and tail.

Resident (not common) all the year.

Our national bird very appropriately makes his
home at Mount Vernon, where one pair have lived
for many years. He is also found at Great Falls, and
in both localities may be seen soaring high over the
Potomac with characteristic dignity and grace. He
lives almost entirely on fish, and, it is said, often makes
the Fish Hawk give up his prey.

The nest is generally in the top of a tall tree and is
very large — a platform of sticks, often six feet across
and three or four feet in depth; it is lined with coarse
marsh grass. Two large white eggs are laid.

148 MOURNIXG DOVE.

Buzzard; Turkey Vulture: Cathartes aura.

Length 2^^ feet.

Plumage, blackish edged with gray.

Head and neck without feathers, the skin bright red; bill
white. Young with head and bill blackish.
Resident (abundant) all the year.

Buzzards are valuable scavengers, and by their
prompt disposition of all carrion, keep the woods and
fields clean. Their scientific name, cathartes, means
" purifier." They are protected by law, a fine being
imposed for kilhng one.

Numbers of these great Vultures will sometimes be
seen perched on a fence in the vicinity of their latest
meal, grotesque and unattractive; but when they
mount into the air, and far above the earth circle
about for hours at a time with the utmost ease and
grace, they command our admiration. Their sight
and sense of smell are wonderfully acute, and they
patrol a large territory.

Buzzards do not build nests, but the eggs are laid
on the ground, often under a pile of rails or brush, or
in a hollow stump. When the nest is disturbed, the
old bird makes a blowing sound like escaping steam.
Two large eggs are laid, much blotched and speckled.

Mourning Dove; Turtle Dove: Zeiiaiduramacroiira,

Length 12 inches.

General color dark fawn; sides of the neck iridescent;
a dark spot on the side of the head.

Tail bordered with black and tipped with white.

Under parts pinkish.

Resident all the year, common in summer.

The mournful, monotonous coo-aJi. coo-ah, coo of the
Turtle Dove is not the most cheerful of riu"al sounds.

BOB- WHITE.

149

but he is such a (hiiiUy, ])retty creature that we are
always glad to have one come whirring- our way, or
to see a pair fly up before us iu a woodsy road.

They build in a variety of places — on the ground,
in a bush, on a stump, or on the lower branch of a
tree. They use a few dry tw^igs and rootlets which
they put together so loosely as to justify the observa-
tion of a Maryland Uncle Remus that " dey builds
mighty triflin' nesses." Two pure white eggs are laid.
Langille says " The young doves are well matured be-
fore they leave the nest, and sit side by side upon the
ordinarily rude affair. At night the old one sits cross-
wise upon them, even when they are cjuite large, the
nest and birds together making a grotesque pile."
Outside of nesting season these doves gather in flocks
and visit grain and corn-fields.

Bob- white; Quail; Partridge: Coliiius virginianus.

Length 10 inches.

General color chestnut-brown, marked with black, gray,
and yellowish-brown; throat, and a broad line over the eye
white; a black patch on the upper breast.

Female is buff where male is while.

Resident (common) all the year.

How familiar and pleasant is the clear, musical
whistle of the Bob-white! When you hear it floating
over the fields, let your glass sweep all the fence-stakes
in the direction of the sound, and on the top of one
you will almost surely discover the handsome '' game-
l)ir(l." He is so shy and gentle that we always
ardently hope he may escape the merciless dog and
gun which we know will soon be after him and his
pretty flock.

Quail know well the value of their protective color-
ing, and when surprised they keep to the ground,

ISO

RUFFED GROUSE.

scattering in every direction, and then are so still that
they can scarcely be seen even when the eye rests on
them. If forced to take wing, they rise with a loud
whirr that is startling to one who does not know what
to expect. When all danger is past, soft, sweet call-
notes bring them together again.

The nest is on the ground in grassy fields, and the
eggs (usually lo to 15, although ]\Ir. Ridgway once
found 2G) are pure white. As soon as the downy
young are out of the shell, they run about and are
marVelously quick. Quail are extremely useful to
agriculturists, eating potato-bugs and the moths that
produce cut- worms.

RufTed Grouse: Bonasa umbellus.

Length about 18 inches.

General color reddish-brown, variegated with black, buff,
gray, and white.

Under parts whitish, barred with brown.

A broad black band at the end of the tail which is tipped
with gray.

A large loose tuft of glossy black feathers on each side of
the neck, like a ruff.

Resident all the year, but very uncommon.

Mr. Rowland Robinson writes : " The wild turkey
is passing away, and it is a question of but few years
when he shall have departed forever. In some locali-
ties the next noblest of our game birds, the ruffed
grouse, has become almost a thing of the past, and in
some years is everywhere so scarce that there are sad
forebodings of his complete disappearance from the
rugged hills of which he seems as much a belonging
as the lichened rocks, the arbutus and the windswept
evergreens."

AMERICAN WOODCOCK. 151

The Ruffed Grouse likes the wildest, thickest woods,
preferably those which have never been disturbed by
man. He may still be found in some places in Vir-
ginia, rarely at Falls Church.

W ild Turkey: Meleagris gallopavo.

The Wild Turkey resembles the domestic fowl, but
is more brilliant in color and his tail and its coverts are
tipped with chestnut-red instead of white.

The nest is on the ground, generally under a bush.

Resident (rare) all the year.

American "Woodcock: Philohela minor.

Length 11 inches.

Upper parts mixed black, brown, tawny, and gray.

Under parts reddish brown of different shades; a white
patch on the throat.

Very long bill, and short, round tail.

Resident (rather common) from February to November;
a few winter.

Woodcock will be found in damp woods or thickets
near the Potomac or Anacostia swamps. They keep
secluded during the day and go out towards evening
to bore for worms. If, in the late afternoon, you
come across a group of small round holes freshly bored
in the mud you may know that Woodcock are near.
They are exceedingly shy birds and only by keeping
yourself unseen and unheard may you perhaps "' catch
the beam of that dark liquid eye that has no equal on
earth," or witness the famous aerial dance.

The nest is on the ground, generally in the woods,
but sometimes in a corn-field. Four buffy, speckled
eggs are laid in a depression in the earth, with only a
few leaves under them. When the bird is sitting she
looks so like dead leaves herself that it is hard to see
her.

1 5 2 KILLDEER.

Spotted Sandpiper; Tilt-up: Actitis macularia.

Length 73^ inches.

Ohve-brown above, white below, spotted all over with round
black spots. Young without spots below.

Very long legs and long bill.

Resident (uncommon) from April 5 to September 3; more
abundant in winter.

This pretty little Sandpiper will be known by his
distinctly spotted plumage, and also by the peculiar
tilting of his body when on the groiuid. When flying
he often sails for a short distance and then his long,
narrow wings show a white band. He calls pcet wcct
as he flies.

He is likely to be found anywhere along streams,
and is commonly seen by Rock Creek in the Zoologi-
cal Park.

The nest is on the ground, frequently in planted
fields near water. The eggs, 4, are buff, much spotted
and speckled with brown.

Killdeer: ^-Egialitis vocifcra.

Length 10^ inches.

Upper parts grayish-brown and rusty; forehead, throat,
collar and wing-patches white.

Upper tail bright orange-brown; tail-feathers tipped with
black and white.

Under parts white, two black bands across the breast.
Long yellowish legs.

Resident all the year; abundant only in migration.

Killdeer are usually seen in small flocks in ploughed
or grassy fields. They have a characteristic way of
running rapidly over the ground hunting worms and
grasshoppers, and when startled take wing with a shrill
cry of kildee, or dec, dec. This cry is unmistakable
and as distinguishing as their peculiar markings.

GREEX HERON.

153

Killdeer are found most commonly in the vicinity
of water. While few nest in the District of Columbia,
they are not unconnnon in Montgomery County,
Maryland, and are said to breed abundantly about
Gainesville and Manassas in Virginia. The nest is
in the grass and the four blotched eggs are pear-
shaped.

King Rail: Rallies elegans.

Length 15 inches.

Upper parts blackish, the feathers edged with olive-gray;
chin white and some white on wings.

Neck and breast bright chestnut; belly and sides dark
brown barred with white.

The down}^ young are black.

An uncommon summer resident: may occur in winter.

The King Rail is also called Fresh-water Marsh-
hen, which name indicates his haunts. All Rails are
timid and hide in heavy grass, only flying when forced.

The nest is on the ground in a tussock of grass.
The eggs, 7 to 12, are buffy, much speckled with
brown.

Green Heron; Fly-up-the-Creek: Ardea virescens.

Length- 18 inches.

Upper parts and low crest bright glossy green; long neck,
bright chestnut.

Lower parts grayish.

Resident (common) from April 15 to September; winters
from Florida southward.

Herons are quaint, foreign-looking birds with their
long necks and low plumy crests. The Green Heron
is likely to be found in any damp w^oods near water.
Its nest is in trees or bushes, and is only a platform

1 54 LEAST BITTERN.

of twigs and sticks. Before the young are large
enough to fly, they creep about in the tree-tops or sit
in a row on a branch waiting to be fea. The eggs,
3 to 6, are dull greenish-blue.

Great Blue Heron: Ardea herodias.

Length about 4 feet.

Upper parts bluish-gray; long neck pale brownish-gray,
streaked with black spots down the front.

Low crest black, except middle feather^s, which are white.

This splendid Heron is more or less common all the
year, and is supposed to breed in this vicinity, but is
not positively known to do so. He wanders about in
the w^ater, hunting fish and frogs, and is said to eat
mice and snakes also. He hunts at night as well as
by day. These Herons nest and roost in trees, gen-
erally in colonies. The nest is a platform of sticks,
and the eggs, 3 to 4, are dull blue.

Least Bittern: Ardetta exilis.

Length 13 inches.

Male, head and neck glossy black; back of neck chestnut-
red.

Under parts buffy.

Female, head and back brownish; under parts darker than
in male and streaked with brown.

Resident (not common) May 5 to September 25.

This is the smallest of the Herons and is exceedingly
shy and retiring, keeping in the thickest reeds and
grasses of the marshes. He seldom flies unless alarmed
and then only a few yards. He feeds mostly at night
and is not likely to be seen before sunset.

The nest is on the ground in thick rushes or in a
low bush. The eggs, 3 to 6, are bluish-white.

WOOD DUCK. 155

Black-crowned Night Heron; "Quawk": Nyctico-
rax nycticorax ncuvms.

Length about 2 feet.

Crown and upper back glossy greenish-black; lower back,
wings and short tail, ashy-gray.

Under parts white, often tinged with yellowish or lilac.

Long bill, black. The adults frequently have three long
white plumes on the head.

Not uncommon in summer; occasional in winter.

The Black-crowned Herons live in colonies, build-
ing in the tops of small pines. They are generally
found on the road to Falls Church. The nests are
built of sticks and the eggs, 4 to 5, are dull blue.

These Herons keep quiet during the day, only going
out after sunset, unless they have young birds to feed.
As they fly they call quawk, from which they get their
common name.

Wood Duck: Aix sponsa.

Length 18 inches.

Greenish crest; white markings on sides of head; back
greenish-brown: neck and upper breast bright chestnut,
with fine while spots. Lower parts white, the sides barred
with black.

Female, head brownish; breast and sides grayish-brown
streaked with bufTy.

Resident (uncommon) all the year.

The beautiful Wood Duck is less rare in spring and
fall than the rest of the year, and may be found by
streams and ponds where they are bordered with
woods.

The nest is in a hole in a tree or stump. The eggs,
8 to 14, are buffy white. It is said the downy young
are carried from the nest to the ground in the bill
of the parent.

MIGRATION.

There are two annual migrations of birds, one in
autumn and one in spring. On the approach of cold
weather most insect-eating birds go south and remain
through the winter, returning in spring as soon as
their food is assured. The birds that do not migrate
live on flesh, buds of trees, wild berries, and the seeds
of weeds and grasses, which may be found at any time.
A few species that are insect-eating to a great extent,
change their diet to one of seeds and buds when win-
ter comes, and are thus enabled to remain in a cold
climate. On the other hand, many seed-eating birds
go south because they find food more abundant there.

In both spring and fall migration the time of arrival
of every species at a given place is known, and seldom
varies more than a few days except in case of unusual
storm. In the spring of 1882 extreme cold and very
severe storms occurred along the Atlantic coast wdth
the effect of retarding all migrants at points south of
Washington; these being suddenly released by a
change of weather came on in hosts, and for several
days the streets and parks of the city were crow^ded
with the most beautiful and rare birds — a sight never
to be forgotten. In this part of the country migrants
from the south pass up the coast to Cape Henry,
thence up the Chesapeake Bay, and up the Potomac,
Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers to their northern
breeding-places.

It is interesting to notice that as these migrants
roam through the woods in search of food all move-

MIGRATION. 137

nient is in the direction of their migration, and thus
the close of a day finds them some distance farther on
their way. The male birds of some species migrate
before the females and the adults before the voune.

Although many birds, like the Warblers and
Thrushes, travel leisurely and consume weeks in the
journey, some make wonderful flights. Pigeons have
been killed in New England with their crops full of
undigested rice, which could only have been picked
up the day before in the great rice-fields of Georgia
or Carolina. Ducks and geese fly at the rate of sixty
or seventy miles an hour, while the Northern Black
Cloud Swift, it is said, averages eighty miles an hour,
and can cover from fifteen hundred to two thousand
miles a day.

The distances between the summer and winter
homes of different birds vary greatly. Many of our
summer residents winter in the Southern States, com-
paratively near, while other birds that nest far north
migrate to South America.

The vernal migration is much more satisfactory to
observers than the autunmal, for in spring the birds
are in song, and the males wear their gayest colors,
while in fall their voices are heard only in call-notes,
many of the males have changed to dull and incon-
spicuous hues, and the strange-plumaged young are
also there to complicate matters. From the middle
of April to the last of May, however, a morning spent
among the birds is not only interesting but is posi-
tively exciting as one tries to identify the many species
within sight and hearing.

Around Washington there is no better place to
observe the migrations than the unfrequented parts
of the Zoological Park and Rock Creek Park adjoin-

MIGRA TION.

158

ing. This piece of well-wooded and watered country
has long been known to ornithologists as a regular
stopping-place for many migrants, including some
rare ones, and its public use has not yet made any
perceptible change in the birds, except with such ex-
tremely shv species as naturally avoid man.

C. M.

DESCRIPTIONS OF MIGRANTS AND WINTER
RESIDENTS.

"Wilson's Thrush; Veery: Tiirdus fuscescejis.

Upper parts cinnamon-brown, not so bright as in the
Wood Thrush; sides of the throat and breast lightly spotted
with brown, the spots small and wedge-shaped; sides whit-
ish. Length jYz inches. April 25 to May 28. Common.

Gray-cheeked Thrush: Turchis alicice.

Whole of upper parts uniform greenish-olive: eye-ring
and cheeks grayish; under parts white, sides of throat and
breast faintly tinged with yellowish and spotted with black;
sides ashy. Length 7^ inches. May 10 to June 5. Rather
common.

Olive-backed Thrush: Ttirdus ustulatiis szvainsonii.

Like the Gray-cheeked, except that the eye-ring is deep
cream-buff, and whole throat and breast are strongly tinged
with yellowish. Length 7 inches.

Hermit Thrush: Turdtis aonalaschkce pallasii.

Upper parts olive-brown; tail reddish-brown, contrasting
strongly with color of back; under parts white, breast and
sides of throat heavily spotted with black. Length 7^
inches. April 20 to May 3. Very common; may winter.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet: Reguhis calendula.

Upper parts olive-green, wings and tail dusky, the former
with two white bars; crown bright red; under parts white,

l6o MIGRAXTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS.

slightly washed with yellowish. Female and young without
the red crown. Length 4^ inches. April 5 to ^May 8.
Abundant.

Golden-crowned Kinglet: Regiilus satrapa.

Upper parts olive-green, wings and tail dusky; crown
rich orange in male, yellow in female, in both bordered with
black; under parts dull whitish. Length 4 inches. Octo-
ber 5 to April 25. Abundant. .

R.ed-breasted Nuthatch: Sitta canadensis.

Upper parts bluish-gray; top of head and a wide stripe
through the eye, black in the male, bluish-gray in female;
line over eye white; white patches on the tail; under parts
reddish-brown. Length 43^2 inches. September 18 to May
10. Irregularly abundant.

Brown Creeper: Certliia fainiliaris amctHcana.

Upper parts brown, streaked and mottled like the bark
of a tree; rump light reddish-brown; tail-feathers stiff and
sharply pointed; under parts white. Length 5^ inches.
September 25 to April 20. Common in winter.

Winter ^A^ren: Troglodytes liicmalis.

Upper parts dark cinnamon-brown, wings and tail finely
barred with black; under parts paler, the sides and belly
barred with black. Tail very short, carried more or less
erect. Length 4 inches. September 25 to ]May i. Common
in winter.

Bewick's Wren: Tliryothorns bewickii.

Upper parts dark cinnamon-brown; central tail-feathers
barred, outer ones black with whitish tips; tail longer than
wings; a white line over the eye; under parts white. Length 5
inches. April 5 to 20; November 25 to December 20. Rare.

MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS. i6l

American Pipit; Titlark: AntJuts pcnsilvanicus.

Upper parts brownish-gray, a white line over the eye;
outer tail-feathers white; under parts buffy, streaked with
black. Hind toe-nail as long as the toe. Length 6^ inches.
October 15 to April 25. Sometimes abundant in winter.

Golden- winged Warbler: Helminthophila chrysop-
tera.

Upper parts bluish-gray; crown and large wing-patch
golden-yellow; white tail-patches; white and black mark-
ings about the head; a black patch on the throat and upper
breast, which is grayish in female; rest of under parts
wdiite. Length 5 inches. May i to 25; August. Uncom-
mon.

Tennessee Warbler: Hehniiithophila peregrina.

Back bright olive-green, top and sides of head bluish-
gray; no wing-bars; under parts white. Length 5 inches.
Very rare in May, sometimes common in fall from August
25 to October 15.

Nashville ^vVarbler: Helminthophila rtificapilla.

This Warbler is like the Tennessee except that the under
parts are yellow instead of white, and there is a partially
concealed chestnut patch in the center of the crown. Wings
and tail edged with olive-green. May 5 to 20; September
5 to 20. Uncommon.

Cape May W^arbler: Dendroica tigrina.

Upper parts olive-green streaked with black; white on the
wings; ear-patch chestnut-red; under parts yellow, heavily
streaked with black. Fernale without ear-patch. Length
5 inches. May 5 to 20; August 5 to October 5. Sometimes
common, usually imcommon.

11

1 62 MIGRAXTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS.

Black-throated Blue Warbler: Dendroica cceniles-
cens.

Male, upper parts grayish-blue; a white spot on wing;
sides of head and throat black; under parts white, sides
black and white mixed. Female, upper parts olive-green,
under parts yellow. Length 5^ inches. April 25 to May
25; August 25 to October 15. Very common.

Myrtle Warbler; Yellow-rumped ^A^arbler: Den-
droica coronata.

Upper parts bluish-gray streaked with black; breast marked
with black more heavily in the male; wing-bars, tail-patches
and throat white; rump, crown and sides of breast yellow.
Length 5^ inches. October i to May 20. Abundant.

Magnolia Warbler: Dendroica maculosa.

Upper parts black, much white on wings and tail; a white
line behind the eye; under parts and rump yellow, the
breast and sides distinctly streaked with black. Length 5
inches. April 25 to May 30; August 15 to October 10.
Common.

Chapman says this bird may be known in any
plumage by the white patches on the tail being at the
tips instead of near the middle of the feathers.

Chestnut-sided Warbler: Dendroica pensylvaiiica.

Upper parts olive-gray streaked with black; sides chest-
nut; crown yellow, bordered with black; sides of head and
under parts white. Young very different; upper parts yel-
lowish-green; under parts white, the sides sometimes with
spots of chestnut. Length 5 inches. April 28 to June i;
August 10 to October i. Abundant.

MIGRANTS AND WINTER RTS/DENTS. 163

Bay-breasted ^Varbler: Dendroica castanea.

Back thickly streaked with black and gray; white wing-
bars and tail-patches; crown chestnut in male, olive-green
and black in female; forehead and sides of head black;
throat, upper breast and sides chestnut-red; lower breast
and belly bufify- white. Length 5^ inches. May 10 to 20;
September i to October 20. Sometimes abundant, usually
uncommon.

Black-poll ^A^arbler: Dendroica striata.

Upper parts ashy streaked with black; two white wing-
bars and white tail-patches; crown black; under parts
white streaked with black. Female, upper parts olive-green,
distinctly streaked with black; under parts tinged with yel-
low. Length 5^2 inches. May i to June 5; September 6
to October 20. Abundant.

Blackburnian Warbler: Dendroica blackbnrnice .

Upper parts chiefly black, wings and tail largely marked
with white; throat and breast, cheeks, and center of black
crown bright orange-red. In the young the orange is dull
yellow. Length ^Yi inches. May 6 to 20; August 20 to
October. Common.

Black-throated Green Warbler: Dendroica virens.

Upper parts clear olive-green; wings and tail dusky;
wings with two white bars, outer tail-feathers mostly white;
forehead and sides of head yellow; throat and upper breast
glossy black; rest of under parts yellowish-white, the sides
streaked with black. Length 5 inches. April 25 to May 28;
August 28. to October 20. Very common.

164 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS.

Yellow Palm Warbler: Dendroica palmarum hypo-
chrysea.

Upper parts olive, greener on the rump; crown chestnut,
brighter in male; no wing-bars; tail with broad white patches
near the end; under parts, and line over the eye bright yellow;
throat, breast, and sides streaked with chestnut. Length
SVa inches. March 28 to April 30; October. Common.

Palm Warbler: Dendroica palmarum.

Much like the preceding, but the belly is dull whitish
instead of yellow, April 30 to May 18; September. Rare.

Water-Thrush : Seiuriis noveborace7isis.

Upper parts dull grayish-olive; no white wing-bars or
tail-patches; a buffy line over the eye; under parts yellow-
ish-white, streaked all over with black, including throat.
Length 6 inches. April 25 to May 25; July 20 to Septem-
ber, Common.

Connecticut Warbler: Geothlypis agilis.

Upper parts olive-green, no wing-bars or tail-patches;
head and breast ashy; eye-ring white; belly yellow; sides
washed with olive-green. Length 5^ inches. Rare in
spring, late May; common from August 28 to October 15.

Mourning Warbler: Geothlypis Philadelphia.

This species is like the preceding, but has shorter wings
and longer tail, and no white eye-ring. May 15 to 30; Au-
gust. Very rare.

Hooded Warbler: Wilsonia ^niirata.

Upper parts olive-green, head and neck glossy black,
a broad band of golden-yellow passing through and beyond
the eye; under parts bright yellow. Length 5^ inches.
May I to 30; August 15 to September 15. Rare.

MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS. 165

Wilson's Warbler: Wihotiia ptisilla.

Upper parts bright olive-green, no marks on wings or
tail; black crown-cap; tinder parts bright yellow. Female
and young without black cap. Length 5 inches. May 8 to
20; August 28 to September 15. Rather common.

Canadian Warbler: IVi/soma canadensis.

Whole ui)per parts gray; a necklace of black spots
across the yellow breast. Female duller. Length 5^ inches.
May 5 to 25; August 7 to September 25. Very common.

Philadelphia Vireo: Vireo philadelphiciis.

Much like the Warbling Vireo but without spurious
primary, and entire under parts are pale greenish-yellow.
May to September. Very rare.

Blue-headed Vireo: Vireo solitaritis.

Upper parts olive-green; top and sides of head bluish
gray; eye-ring white; two white wing-bars, and white on
tail. Length 5^ inches. April 10 to May 10; September
to October 25. Common.

* Migrant Shrike: Laniiis ludoviciantis vtigra7is.

Upper parts slaty-gray; wings and tail black, the wings
with a large white spot, and the outer tail-feathers tipped
with white; under parts white. Length 9 inches. August
10 to April 5. Rare.

Tree Swallow; White-bellied Swallow: Tachyci-
ncta bicolor.

Upper parts glossy metallic-green; under parts pure white.
The young are bluish-gray above, with white on wings.
Length 6 inches. April i to May 25; July 10 to September.
Common.

^Wm. Palmer, Auk, July, 1898, p. 244.

1 66 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS.

Purple Finch: Carpodacus puj'pureiis.

Male, general color rose-red, brightest on crown, rump
and breast. Under parts lighter, becoming \vhite on the
belly. Female, very different; upper parts grayish, finely
streaked with black like a sparrow; under parts white,
streaked and spotted. Length 6J4 inches. September 15 to
May 15. Common in migrations.

American Crossbill: Loxia ciirvirostra minor.

Tips of bill crossed; body dull red. Female and young
dull olive-green, the young sometimes mixed with red.
Length 6 inches. Irregular winter visitors, sometimes abun-
dant.

Pine Siskin: Spintis pimis.

Upper parts streaked brown and gray, darkest on head
and neck; lower back, rump and wings pale sulphur-yellow;
under parts buffy-white, heavily streaked with black. Length
5 inches. Irregularly abundant.

Savanna Sparrow: Ammodramus sandivicJiensis sa-
vanna.

Pale yellow line over the eye and yellow on the bend of
the wing; upper parts dark, under parts light, much streaked
all over with black and brown, the marks on the breast
wedge-shaped. Length 5^/^ inches. March 20 to May 5;
October 15 to November 15. Abundant in migration; a few
winter.

White-crowned Sparrow: ZonotricJiia leiicophrys.

Top of head has pure white stripe bordered by black lines
of equal width; general color ashy-gray, the wings and tail
darker, and wings with touches of white. Length 7 inches.
April 15 to May i; October 15 to December i. Irregu-
larly common; may winter.

MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS. 167

White-throated Sparrow; Peabody Bird: Zono-
trichia albicollis.

A black crown divided by white stripe; white patch on
throat; yellow line before eye and bend of wing yellow;
upper parts brown streaked with black; two white wing-
bars; under parts whitish. Length 6^ inches. September
28 to May 20. Very common.

Tree Sparrow; Winter Chippy: Spizella monticola.

Crown bright chestnut; line over eye, cheeks, throat and
breast gray; rest of plumage brownish streaked with darker;
black spot on throat; two whitish wing-bars. Length 6^
inches. November i to April 5. Abundant winter visitant.

Slate-colored Junco; Snowbird: Jiinco hyemalis.

Upper parts, throat and breast slate color; belly pure
white; no wing-bars; outer tail-feathers white. Length 6^
inches. October 5 to April 25. Abundant.

Lincoln's Sparrow: Melospiza lincohiii.

Lincoln's Sparrow, which is a rare migrant, is distin-
guished by a cream-buff band across the breast. Length 5^
inches. May and October.

Swamp Sparrow: Melospiza georgiana.

Forehead black; crown chestnut-red, in winter with
black stripes; a gray line over the eye, and sides of neck
gray; back brown, broadly striped with black, with touches
of bufif and rusty; throat and belly white, breast grayish.
Length 5^ inches. April to May 15; September 25 to
October 30. Very common migrant; a few winter.

Fox Sparrow: Passer clla iliaca.

Our largest Sparrow. Upper parts reddish-brown, wings
and tail brighter; under parts whitish; throat, breast and
sides heavily spotted with reddish-brown like a Thrush.
Length 7^ inches. February to April 5; October 25 to
November. Abundant migrant; a few winter.

1 68 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak: Habia hidoviciana.

Male, upper parts and throat black; under parts and rump
white; much white on wings and tail; breast and wing-
linings with large patches of rose-red. Female, brownish,
with a white line through the crown and over the eye; saf-
fron-yellow under wings. Length 8 inches. May i to 20;
August 25 to October i. Rather common.

BOBOLINK.

Dickcissel; Black-throated Bunting: Spha aineri-
cana.
Upper parts brownish, streaked very much like English
Sparrow; a yellow line over the eye; throat black, breast
yellow, with black patch in the center. Female, duller, with-
out black on throat and breast. Length 6 inches. For-
merly common, now very rarely seen.

MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS. 169 .

Bobolink; Reed-bird; Rice-bird: Dolichonyx ory-

zivorus.

Male in spring plumage, head, wings, tail and under parts
black; back largely grayish-white, a buff patch on the back
of the neck. Female, young, and male in fall, brownish
streaked with black; under parts buffy. Length 7% inches.
Common in spring, abundant in fall.

Rusty Blackbird: Scolecophagiis carolbms.

Lustrous bluish-black all over; iemalc in spring, slate
color. Winter plumage of both birds tipped with rusty.
Length 95/' inches. October 25 to April 25. Common.

Horned Lark; Shore Lark: Otocoris alpestris.

Upper parts pinkish brown; tail black, outer feathers
marked with white; forehead, throat and line over the eye
sulphur-yellow. Horns, sides of throat, and a patch on the
breast black. Length 7>^ inches.

Alder Flycatcher: Enipidonax traillii alnoriim.

Upper parts olive-brown, wings and tail dusky; under
parts whitish, washed with gray on the breast and sides,
and on the belly with yellowish; throat pure white; wing-
bars whitish. Length 6 inches. May 10 to 28; August 15
to September 25. Irregularly common.

Least Flycatcher; Chebec: Enipidonax minimus.

This is almost precisely like the Alder, but is smaller,
being only about 5 inches long. April 25 to May 25; Sep-
tember I to 25. Common.

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher: Enipidonax flaviventris.

Upper parts bright olive-green; under parts yellow, bright-
est on the belly; throat, breast and sides washed with
olive-green; wing-bars and eye-ring yellowish. The bright

170 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS.

yellow under parts distinguish this from other Flycatchers.
Length 5>^ inches. May i to 30; August i to October i.
Rather common.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: SpJiyrapicus varius.

Crown and throat deep scarlet. Upper parts black and
yellowish-white in irregular bars; a broad white line from
the bill outlines the scarlet throat-patch, and a narrow white
line passes through the eye; breast black; belly yellow;
much white on wings. Female paler and duller, without
scarlet patches. March and April; October. Occasional
m winter; common migrant.

Pigeon Hawk: Falco columbariiis.

Upper parts slaty-blue, a broken rusty collar; indistinct
wing-bars; tail banded with gray or tawny, and tipped with
white; throat white; under parts tawny, heavily streaked
with dark brown. Length 10 inches. Not uncommon in
migrations.

Short-eared Owl: Asio accipitrimis.

General color tawny; upper parts variegated with dark
brown; tail barred broadly and evenly with dark brown;
under parts streaked with brown. Length 16 inches. Com-
mon winter visitant.

Saw-whet Owl: Nyctala acadica.

Upper parts cinnamon-brown, the back and wings spotted
with white; tail with three white bars. Length 7.^/^ inches.
The smallest Owl in the Eastern States. A rare winter
visitant; October to March.

Snowy Owl: Nyctea nyctea.

White, more or less barred with brown. Length 2 feet.
Irregular: sometimes common in winter.

MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS. 171

Wilson's Snipe: Galliiiago dclicata.

Crown black, divided by a buff stripe; upper parts dark
brown, barred and mottled with bright tawny and buff;
throat and belly white; breast pale cinnamon, indistinctly
marked with darker: narrow white wing-bars. Length
II inches. March to May; fall. Common. Remains in
very mild winters only.

Dr. Coues says he used to go Snipe shooting in the
*' slashes " north of X and west of Fourteenth streets.

Pectoral Sandpiper: Trino-a maciilata.

Upper parts black, the feathers all bordered with light
tawny; throat white; neck and breast heavily streaked with
black and buffy; upper tail-coverts black. Winter plumage
similar but darker. Length 9 inches. April; August to
November. Common.

Least Sandpiper: Tringa ininutilla.

Upper parts blackish, the feathers edged with bright chest-
nut, more or less tipped with white; under parts white,
the breast speckled with blackish. Toes without webs be-
tween the bases. Winter plumage upper parts brownish-
gray. Length 6 inches. May; August to October. Un-
common.

Greater Yellow-legs; Yello^A^-shanks: Totarms vie-
lanolciiciis.

Upper parts black, streaked and speckled with white:
conspicuous white rump; tail barred irregularly with white:
white breast heavily spotted with black; belly white. Win-
ter plumage, upper parts brownish-gray, edged with whitish;
breast only lightly streaked. Length 14 inches. April and
May; July 25 to November. Rather common.

1^2 MIGRANTS AND WIXTER RESIDENTS.

Yellow-legs; Summer Yellow-legs: Totamis fla-
vipes.

Like the Greater Yellow-legs, but smaller. Length lo or
II inches. Rather common.

Solitary Sandpiper: Totamis solitaritis.

Upper parts dark olive-brown, faintly speckled with white;
under parts white, dark brown markings on throat, breast
and sides. Winter plumage, upper parts grayish-brown;
dark markings fainter. Length 8^ inches. April to May
25; July 25 to November. Common.

Bartramian Sandpiper; Upland Plover: Bartramia
longicauda.

Head, neck and upper parts, black and yellowish-brown;
breast faint yellowish marked with dusky; belly and throat
white; crown divided by a buff line. Length 11^4 inches.
April to ]\Iay; July to September. Rare.

Virginia Rail: Ralliis virginiamis.

General effect of color chestnut-red. Upper parts dark
brown streaked with chestnut; throat white, under parts
chestnut. Length 9^ inches.

Sora; Ortolan: Porzana Carolina.

Upper parts mixecf, olive-brown and black, feathers edged
with white; throat and breast pale bluish-gray; belly white;
flanks barred with black and white. Length 8^ inches.
March to May; July to November. Common.

American Coot; Mud Hen: Fulica americana.

General color dark slate, paler below; head and neck
black; bill flesh color, red at the base; legs and feet green-
ish. Length 15 inches. March to May; September to Oc-
tober 15. Common.

MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS. 173
American Bittern; Indian Hen: Botaurtis leiitigi-

710S2LS.

General color greenish-brown, upper parts speckled with
different shades of brown, black and white; a glossy black
patch on either side of the neck; throat white; under parts
buft'y white with wide streaks of brown and gray. Length
2^/2 feet. Rather common.

American Merganser; Goosander: Merganser
amerieanus.

Head and upper neck dark glossy green; lower neck,
greater part of wings, breast and belly white; back black;
under parts tinged with salmon. Female, head reddish-
brown, upper parts ashy-gray. Length 2 feet. Rare.

Red-breasted Merganser; Fish Duck: Merganser
serrator.

Head and throat greenish-black; a white ring around the
neck; upper breast and sides of lower neck bright reddish-
brown; serrate bill, the upper mandible hooked. Length
22. inches. Female, head grayish-brown, upper parts ashy-
gray. Winter resident. Uncommon.

Mallard: Anas bosclias.

Head and neck glossy greenish- or bluish-black, bor-
dered below by a white ring; breast rich chestnut; under
parts pale gray, marked with undulating black lines. Length
about 2 feet. Winter resident. Common; w^as once resi-
dent all the year.

Green-winged Teal: Anas caroli7iensis.

Head and neck bright chestnut, except a shining green
band from eye to nape of neck; green band on wing; a
white band in front of the wing; belly white. Female,
brownish, without green except on wing. Length 15 inches.
September to April. Common.

174

MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS.

Blue-winged Teal: Anas discors.

A curving white band in front of each eye: bhie on wings,
also white. Female, without white band before the eye, and
throat white. September to April. Common.

Shoveller; Spoonbill: Spatula clypeata.

Head and upper neck dark glossy green; lower neck
and upper breast white; lower breast and belly bright chest-
nut; patches of white and grayish-blue on the wings. A
distinguishing feature of the Shoveller is the spoon-shaped
bill, which is much longer than the head, and twice as wide
at the end as at the base. Length 20 inches. Winter resi-
dent. Not common.

Pintail: Dafila acuta.

Head and neck glossy olive-brown; back of neck striped
with black and white; back grayish; a green patch on
wing; lower parts white. Central tail-feathers much elon-
gated. Female, duller, no green wing-patch. Length 2^
feet. October to April. Not uncommon.

Redhead: Ay thy a america?ia.

Head and upper neck bright chestnut-red: lower neck,
extending on the upper breast and back, black; rest of the
body grayish; lighter below. Female, head and neck graj'^-
ish-brown; upper throat white. Length about V/i feet.
Common in winter.

Canvas-back: AytJiya vallisneria.

Much like the Redhead, but the bill is longer, the head
is brown, and crown and chin are black. Length i^ feet.
Winter visitant. Rare.

American Scaup Duck: Ay thy a marila nearctica.

Head and neck, extending on breast and back, black,
the head with greenish reflections; back with wavy bars of
black and white; under parts white, belly and sides marked

MIGRANTS AXD WINTER RESIDENTS.

175

with wavy black bars. Female, brown where '\nale is black;
region around bill white. Length i^ feet. Winter resi-
dent. Rather common.

Ring-necked Duck: Aythya collaris.

Similar to Scaup, but has a chestnut band around the
neck. Female like female Redhead, but smaller and browner.
Length i^ feet. Winter resident. Not rare.

American Golden-eye; Whistler: Clangula clangiila
ainericana.

Head green, an oval white patch in front of the eye;
iris golden-yellow; neck, under parts and large area on wings
white; rest of plumage black. Female, head cinnamon-
brown, and less white. Length 20 inches. October to April.
Not rare.

Buffle-head; Butter-ball: CJianto7ictta albeola.

A broad white band across the back of the head; rest of
head and neck beautiful iridescent green and blue; back
black; remainder of plumage mostly white. Female, throat
and upper parts dark brown; a white patch on sides of
the head. Length 15 inches. September to April. Com-
mon.

Ruddy Duck; Rook: Erismatiira jamaiccnsis.

Crown black, cheeks and chin white; neck, back and sides
of the body chestnut-red; under parts silvery-white, some-
times mottled; stiff, pointed tail-feathers. Female, upper parts
dark grayish-brown and buffy; sides of head and throat
whitish. Length 15 inches. September to April. Common.

Canada Goose; Wild Goose: Branta canadensis.

" Winter visitant, arriving in the fall on the ap-
proach of cold weather. Few probably settle on the
waters within the District, but it is no uncommon
sight to see files of geese flying over,, and they are

176 MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS.

found in the markets and restaurants all through the
wmter." (Avifauna Columbiana.)

American Herring Gull; Sea Gull: Lams argentattis
sinitlisoniaiiiis.

Back and wings pearl-gray, the wings with black mark-
ings; rest of plumage white. Length 2 feet. October to
March. Common.

Ring-billed Gull: Lanis delawarensis.

Back and wings pearl-gray; wings marked with black and
white; rest of plumage white; bill greenish-yellow, encircled
near the end with a broad black band. Length 20 inches.
February to April 5; October to November. Very common.

Bonaparte's Gull: Lams Philadelphia.

Much smaller than the preceding. In summer, head and
upper neck dark slate color; back and wings pearl-gray;
rest of plumage white. Immature birds and adults in fall
without black head. Length 14 inches. April to May 5;
October to November. Common.

Black Tern: LLydrochelidon nigra snrinamensis .

In summer, head, neck and under parts black; back,
wings and tail slate color; bill and feet black. In winter,
forehead and under parts white. Length 10 inches. Some-
times common in August and September.

Loon: Gavia iinbcr.

Head and neck dark bluish-green, patches of mottled
white on throat and sides of neck; upper parts and sides
glossy black, conspicuously spotted with white; under parts
white. Length 2^ feet. September to April 25. Common.

MIGRANTS AND WINTER RESIDENTS.

177

Horned Grebe: Colymbiis atudtiis.

Large black rufif around the head, two brownish yellow
plumes above the eyes; back and wings blackish; neck,
upper breast and sides chestnut; belly white. Length 14
inches. In winter, all under parts silvery-white. October
to May. Common.

Pied-billed Grebe; Dipper: Podilyinbus podiceps.

Upper parts blackish-brown; throat black; upper breast
and sides mottled; under parts white; black band across
the bill. In summer, throat white and no black band on
bill. Length 14 inches. August 25 to May. Common, but
less so in midwinter.

12

LIST OF ALL BIRDS FOUND IN THE DISTRICT OF

COLUMBIA.

BY

DR. C. W. RICHMOND,

Of the Smithsonian Institution.

CO

ts.
tumn

CO

5^

.

fi

s

s <i \

■'3

^

Pw 1

«

•*>

•v -J

Os!

*

"tS'^

^

s

s

.!2

~o Oi!

fi -r."

=c

'2S

!^

^

e s

«.?-'

!3

li

g

S

2^^ '

■«

s

^

)~

S

s

s

2

o

X

X

V

X

s

o

1. Bluebird

X

2. American Robin .... ...

X

X

X

X*

3. Wood Ttirusb

X

X

April to Oct.
April and May ; Aug.
and Sept.

4_ "Wilson's Thrush

X

5. Gray-cheeked Thrush.

X

May; Sept. and Oct.
( Several records; Oct.

6. Bicknell's Thrush......

X*

■{ 3, 1885 ; May 14 and
1 18, 1888, etc.

7. Olive-backed Thrush...

X

K/*

May; Sept. and Oct.
; Oct. to May. Usually
■| rare in winter.

8. Hermit Thrush

X

X*

9. Golden-crowned Kinglet'

X

X

Sept. to April.

I Sept. to Nov.; April

10. Ruby-crowned Kinglet..

X

X*

•< to May. Rare in
1 winter.

11. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. .

X

X

April to Sept.

1'2. "White-breasted Nuthatch

X

X

?

X

13. Red-breasted Nuthatch..

X

X

Sept. to May.

14. Tufted Titmouse

X

X

X
X*

X

(Irregular; Oct. to
1 April.

15. Chickadee

16. Carolina Chickadee. .

X

X

X

17. Brown Creeper

X

X

Sept. to April.

( Rare near Washlng-

18. Mockingbird

X*

X

X

■< ton ; very rare In
1 winter.

19. Catbird

X*

X

X

X

( April to Sept. Rare
J in winter.
j April to Oct. Rare In
( winter.

20. Brown Thrasher. .

?

X

X

X

21. Carolina "Wren

i X

X

X

1

J March and April ;
■| Nov. and Dec.

22. Bewick's Wren

X*

X*

23. House Wren

X

X

April to Sept. or Oct.

24. Winter Wren

i
1

X

X

Sept. to May.

* Rare at this season.

BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLLM/U.l.

179

to

to

s
a
s

to

1

S to-

^

■«

s

'4.

"«

"S

•w .^

•c*

*(.*

^.

e so

1

s

s £

1

to

e

8

55

0

s

X*

g

J

0

2o.

Short-billed Marsh Wren

j Two records : May 9,
/ 1890; May 3, 1893.

26.

Loug-bllled Marsh Wren

X

X

April to Oct.

27.

American Pipit

X

X
X

X*

Oct. to May.

28.

Black and White Warbler

April to Oct.

29.

Prothouotary Warbler. .

X

; Three or four rec-
■| ords in May.

3U.

Worm-eating Warbler. . .

X

X

April to Sept

31.

Blue-winged Warbler . . .

X*

X*

April to Sept.

32.

Brewster's Warbler

X*

Two records: May
■ 15, 1885; May 1, 1895.

33.

Golden-winged Warbler.

X*

J May, Aug., and prob-

/ ably Sept.

34.

Nashville Warbler. ....

X*

May ; Sept.

35.

Orange-crowned Warbler

X*

j Two records : Oct. 13,
1 1889; Oct. 14, 1894,

36.

Tennessee Warbler

X*

( May (very rare) ;
y Aug. to Oct.

37.

Parula Warbler

X

X

April to Oct.

38.

Usnea Warbler

X

j April to May ; Sept.
\ to Oct.

39.

Cape May Warbler

X

May ; Aug. to Oct.

40.

Yellow Warbler

X

X

April to Sept.

41.

Black-throated Blue
Warbler

X

April to Oct.

42.

Myrtle Warbler

X

X

Sept. to May.

43.

Magnolia Warbler

X

( April and May ; Aug.
") to Oct.

44.

Cerulean Warbler

X*

•?

j Two records : May 5,
1 1888; May 11,1890.

45.

Chestnut-sided Warbler.

X

S April and May ; Aug.
) to Sept.

46.

Bay-breasted Warbler. . .

X

j May ; Aug. to Oct. Ir-
/ regularly common.

47.

Black-poll Warbler

X

j April to June ; Aug.
\ to Oct.

48.

Blackburnian Warbler . .

X

May ; Aug. to Oct.

49.

Yellow-throated Warbler

X*

2

April or May to Sept.
Rare in summer.

50.

Black-throated Green \
Warbler ]

April and May ; Aug.
to Oct.

X

51.

Kirtland's Warbler

X*

?

j One record ; Sept. 25,
■j 1887.
March to Oct.

52.

Pine Warbler

X

X

53.

Palm Warbler

X*

Late April to May;

Sept. and Oct.
March and early

54.

Yellow Palm Warbler...

X

< April ; Sept. and
{ Oct.

55.

Prairie Warbler

X
X

X
X

April to Sept.
April to Oct.

56.

Oven-bird

57.

Water-Thrush

X

j April and May; July

■| to Sept.

* Rare at this season.

l8o BIRDS IX THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

a

S

St

£
s .

^

Xi

'C

sa5

^

s

*i^

s

s

s

•s^

a

s

•<*

3i

1

X

g

1

X

58.

Grinuell's Water-Thrush

J Three records : May
1 and Aug.

59.

Louisiana Water-Thrush

X

X

April to Sept.

60.

Kentucky Warbler. .....

X

X

May to Sept.

61.

Connecticut Warbler . . .

X

\ May (rare) ; Aug. to
1 Oct.

62.

Mourning Warbler

X*

May; Aug. to Oct.

63.

Maryland Yellow-throat.

X

X

April to Oct.

6i.

Yellow-breasted Chat

X

X

April to Sept.

65.

Hooded Warbler

?

X*

J April to June; Aug.
1 and Sept.

66.

Wilson's Warbler

X

May; Aug. and Sept.

67.

Canadian Warbler

X

May; Aug. and Sept.

68.

American Redstart

X*

X

April to Sept.

69.

Red-eyed Vireo

X

X

April to Oct.

70.

Philadelphia Vireo

X*

May ; Sept.

71.

Warbling Vireo

X

X

April to Sept.

72.

Yellow-throated Vireo...

X

X

April to Sept.

73.

Blue-headed Vireo

X

April to Oct.

74.

White-eyed Vireo

X

X

April to Oct.

75.

Northern Shrike

X*

Nov. to Feb.

76.

Loggerhead Shrike

?

X*

Aug. to April.

77.

Cedar Waxwing

X

X*

?

X*

J Common in spring
j and autumn.

78.

Purple Martin

X
X*

X

April to Sf pt.
April to Sept.

79.

Cliff Swallow

X

80.

Barn Swallow

X

X

March to Sept.

81.

Tree Swallow

?

X

« March to May; July
\ to Oct.

82.

Bank Swallow

X
X

X

April to Sept.
April to Sept.

83.

Rou2;h-winged Swallow..

X

84.

Scarlet Tanager

X*

X

April to Oct.

85.

Summer Tanager

X*

X

April to Sept.

86.

Pine Grosbeak

X

X*

X

No recent records.

87.

Purple Finch .

Sept. to May,

1 Formerly rare and

' ^

88.

American Crossbill

?

?

X

?

< irregular; now
( common in winter.

89.

White-winged Crossbill..

X*

X

No recent records.

90.

Redpoll

X*

X

No recent records.

91.

American Goldfinch

X

X

X

j Nests very late ;
1 July-Sept.
Irregularly common

92.

Pine Siskin

X

X
X

?

X

-< in winter ; Oct. to

93.

Snowfiake

1 May.
Irregular.

94.

Lapland Longspur

X

X

J One record ; Dec. 11,
/ 1886.

95.

Vesper Sparrow.

X

X*

X

X*

: Oct. to May; rare in
mid-winter.

96.

Savanna Sparrow

X

X*

( Oct. to May ; rare in
"j mid-winter.

97.

Grasshopper Sparrow. . .

X

X

March to Oct.

* Rare at this season.

BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. i8l

98. Henslow's Sparrow.

99. Nelson's Sparrow . . ,

100. Lark Sparrow.

101. White-crowned Sparrow.

102. White-throated Sparrow.

103. Tree Sparrow

104. Chip pinj.' Sparrow.

105. Field Sparrow

106. Slate-colored Junco.

107. Shufeldt\s Junco

108. Bachman's Sparrow.

109. Song Sparrow

110. Lincoln's Sparrow. ..

111. Swamp Sparrow

112. Fox Sparrow

113. Towhee; Chewink.

Cardinal

Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Blue Grosbeak

Indigo Bunting

Dickclssel

114.
115.
116.
117.

118.

119.
120.
121.

122. Yellow-headed Blackbird

European House Sparrow

Bobolink

Cowbird

123.
124.

l-'5.
126.

127.
128.

Red-winged Blackbird.
Meadowlark

Orchard Oriyle

Baltimore Oriole

Rusty Blackbird

Purple Grackle

s

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i

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s

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2 5

*>

-«?

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•~

tJn

03

^

X

X

X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X
■X

X

X

X
X*
X
X

X

X

X

X

X

?

X

X*

X

X

X

X*

X*

X

X

X

X*

X*

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

X*l X

X
X

X*

X
X

X

X'
X*

X*

X

X

X

X

X

April to Oct.

\ Two records: Sept.,

I 1862 ; Sept. 18, 1893.
Several records :
Aug. 25 and 27, 1877;
Aug. 8, 1886.
Oct. to May ; Irregu-
lar and rare in
winter.

Sept. to May.

Nov. to April.

J March ; Nov. Rare

( in mid-winter.

Sept. to May.

J One instance : April

1 28, 1890.

\ One Instance : April

■> 29, 1896.

( Common, but more

") so in migrations.

J Several records:

1 May and Oct.

j Sept. to May. Rare

I in mid-winter.

j Oct. to April. Rare

I in mid-winter.
April to Oct. Irregu-
larly present in
winter.

j Less common than

( formerly.

May; Aug. to Sept.

j May to Sept.; of local

1 distribution.
May to Oct.
Formerly common,
now very rarely
seen.

May; Aug. to Oct.

( One record : Aug. 29,
i 1892.

., _ most

April to Sept. 1 common

\ iu the
April to Sept. j migra-
J tious.
Oct. to April.
( Winters only in very
1 mild seasons.

* Rare at this season.

1 82 BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

s.

129. Bronzed Grackle

130. Blue Jay x

131. American Crow x

132. Fish Crow x

133. Horned Lark

134. Prairie Horned Lark

135. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

136. Kingbird 1

137. Arkansas Kingbird

138. Crested Flycatcher

139. Phoebe x

140. Olive-sided Flycatcher..

141. Wood Pewee

142. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

143. Green-crested Flycatcher

144. Alder Flycatcher (Traill's)

145. Least Flycatcher

146. Euby-throated Hum- |

mingbird )'

147. Chimney Swift

14a. Whip-poor-will...

149. Nighthawk

150. Hairy Woodpecker

151. Downy Woodpecker.,.

152. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

153. Pileated Woodpecker..,.

154. Red-headed Woodpecker

155. Red-bellied Woodpecker

156. Flicker ..

157. Belted Kingfisher.

158. Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

159. Black-billed Cuckoo. .

160. Carolina Paroquet.

161. American Long-eared |

Owl t

162. Short-eared Owl

163. Barred Owl

164. Saw-whet Owl.

165. Screech Owl ..

166. Great Horned Owl.

X

X

X

X

X*

X*

X

8

s .

s ?

S SI

X

X*

X
X
X

X
X
X

X

X

X
X*

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

e<5

1

V)

0?

ts- I

5~

«

s

ss

05

1

a

1

X*

X

X

X

X*

X*

X='

X='

X

X"

X*

X

X ! X

X

? X*

X

X

Aug. to April ?

April to Sept.
j One record : Sept. 30,
I 1874.
April to Sept.
Winters irregularly.
One record: Sept. ,1881.
May to Oct.
May; Aug. to Oct.
May to Sept.
May ; Aug. to Sept.
( April and May; Aug.
1 to Sept.

Late April to Oct.

April to Sept. or Oct.
April to Oct.
April to Sept.

Sept. to April. Rare

in winter.
Frequent near Falls

Church.

A permanent resi-
dent when winters
are very mild.

May to Oct.

May to Oct. Rare.
Now exterminated ;
one recorded In-
stance, Sept., 1865.

i Nests in pine woods

( In old crows' nests.

I F o u n d along the

) marshes.

i Uncommon in the

; immediate vicinity

( of Washington.

Oct. to March.

Rare In immediate
vicinity of Wash-
ington.

* Rare at this season.

BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 183

167. Suowy Owl

168. American Barn Owl.

169. Swallow-tailed Kite.

170.
171.
172.
173.
174.
17.5.
176.
177.

178.

179.

180.
181.

182.

Marsh Hawk

Sliarp-shinued Hawk..

Cooper's Hawk

American Goshawk. . . .

Red-tailed Hawk

Rod-shouldered Hawk.
Broad-wiuged Hawk. .
American Rougli-

legged Hawk

Golden Eagle

X

Bald Eagle X

Duck Hawk

Pigeon Hawk -

Sparrow Hawk X

183. American Osprey.

18i. Turkey Vulture; Buz
zard .

185. Black Vulture. .

^■\

186. Passenger Pigeon.

187. Mourning Dove . . .

188. Ground Dove.. ..

189. Wild Turkey

190. Bob-white

191. Ruffed Grouse

192. Turnstone

193. American Golden Plover

194. KiUdeer

195. Seraipalmated Plover.

196. Belted Piping Plover..

197. American Woodcock .

X

X

X

X

St J-

X

X

X*

X

x^
x^

x*[

X*

X x=

X

X

Si

S &5

X

X

X

i Irregular;sometimes
") common in winter.
\ Nests inSmitlisonian
'/ and Jail towers.
\ In two instances ;
{ Aug. 3, 1895, and
I April 11, 1897.
■July to April.

Irregular.

Rather uncommon.
Irregular.

\ Breeds at Mt. Vernon
'( and Great Falls.

Uncommon.

I Most common in

I winter.
Seen at times in sum-
mer, but does not
nest.

fin one instance ;

\ March 30, 1895.

i Now very irregular ;

J mainly in Sept.

( and Oct.

Rare in mid-winter,

I In two instances;

- Sept., 1844, and Oct.

{ 14, 1888.

fRare or exterminat-

I ed near Washing-

\ ton, but found in

I heavy timber in

[ Virginia.

Several records.

May ; Aug. and Sept.
j March ; May. Two
I records.
i Remains in very
"1 mild winters only.

* Rare at this season.

1 84 BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

198. Wilson's Snipe

199. Dowitcher

200. Long-billed Dowitcher

201. Stilt Sandpiper

202. Pectoral Sandpiper

203. Baird's Sandpiper

204. Least Sandpiper

205. Red-backed Sandpiper..

206. Sernipalmated Sandpiper

207. Western Sandpiper

208. Sanderliug

209. Greater Yellow-legs

210. Yellow-legs

1^

211. Solitary Sandpiper

212. Willet

213. Ruff

214. Bartrarnian Sandpiper.

215. Spotted Sandpiper

216. Long-billed Curlew.. ..

217. Red Phalarope

218. Northern Phalarope

219. King Rail

220. Clapper Rail

221. Virginia Rail.

222. Sora

223. Yellow Rail

224. Black Rail

225. Florida Gallinule.

226. American Coot

227. Sandhill Crane ....

X

s
£

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X

X*

?

?

X

X

?

1

X

X

X*

X

X*

X*

X

X

X

X*

X

X*

X

X*

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

{Remains in ve ry
mild winters only.
) One record : Sept.
\ 1879.

J One Instance : April,
I 1884.

i One record : Sept. 8,
\ 1885.

April; Aug. to Oct.
Two records; Sept,
3, 1894, and Sept.
25, 1894.
May; Aug. to Oct.
April ; Oct.
May; Aug. to Oct.
Sept.

Sept. and Oct.
J April and May ; July
I to Oct. or later,
( April and May; Aug,
I to Oct, or later,
j April and May; July
I to Nov.

( In one instance;

I Sept. 3, 1894.

J March to May ; July

( to Sept.

April to Sept. or later.

J One record : Oct. 17,

■j 1885,

J One record : Aug. 31,

1 1891.

May occur in winter.

i One record : Sept. 8,

■) 1882.

j May remain until

'/ winter.

j March to May ? and

I Aug. to Nov.
March to April or
May? and Sept.? to
Nov.

j Sept.; Oct. Few rec-
ords.
April — ; Aug. to Oct.
Possible in mid-
winter.

j March to May ; Sept.

I to Oct. or later.

S One instance years

"I ago.

* Rare at this season.

BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

185

228. American Bittern

229. Least Bittern

230. Great Blue Heron

231. American Egret

232. Snowy Heron

233. Little Blue Heron

234. Green Herou

235. Black-crowned Night j

Heron j

236. Wood Ibis

237. Glossy Ibis

238. American Merganser. .

239. Red-breasted Merganser

240. Hooded Merganser

241. Mallard .

242. Black Duck

243. Gad wall

244. Widgeon

245. Baldpate

246. European Teal

247. Green-winged Teal

248. Blue-winged Teal

249. Shoveller

25C. Pintail

251. Wood Duck...

2.52. Redhead

253. Canvas-back

254. American Scaup Duck..

255. Lesser Scaup Duck

2.56. Ring-necked Duck

257. American Golden-eye

258. Barrow's Golden-eye. ..

259. Buffle-head ....

260. Old-squaw

261. American Eider

262. American Scoter

263. White-wjuged Scoter

264. Surf Scoter

K

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X

X*

X

X

?
X

?

X*

X*

X*
X

X

?

?

X

X

X
X

X

X
X
X

X

X
X

X

X

X-

X*
X

X

X
X
X

X

X
X

X

X

X
X

X
X

X

X*

?

X

X

X

X

X*

X*

X

X

X

X

X*

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X*
X*

X*

orX
orx
orX

?

Aug. to April.
May to Sept.
1 Found throughout
•< year, but does not
f breed here ?
j Usually rare. May to
I July or later.
Irregular in late
summer or early
autumn.
July and Aug.
May to Sept.

j Several records in
1 July.

I One record, about
< 1817. Liable to
( occur in spring.
Sept. to March.

( Sept. to March or
"/ later.
Oct. to April.
Oct. to April.
Aug. to April.
i Two records
I and fall.
Oct. to April,
j One inbtance
] 1885.
Sept. to April or Maj'.
Sept. to June.
) Sept. to March or
1 April.
Oct. to Ajiril.
Rare in summer:

less so in spring

and fall.
Oct. to May.
Oct. to April.
Oct. to March.
Oct. to April.
Sept. to April.
Oct. to April.
Two instances?
Sept. to April,
j Uncommon. Oct. to
J April.

j One instance long
I ago.

spring

April,

Oct. Mud Nov.

*Rare at this season.

1 86 BIRDS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

265 Ruddy Duck

266. Cauada Goose

267. Brant

268. Whistliug Swau

269. American White Pelican.

270. Doutole-crested Cormo- )

rant )

271. Audubon's Shearwater..

272. Leach's Petrel

273. Hawaiian Petrel

274. Wilson's Petrel

275. Black Skimmer

276. American Herring Gull. .

277. Ring-billed Gull ...

278. Laughing Gull

279. Bonaparte's Gull . . .

280. Gull-billed Tern ....

281. Caspian Tern

282. Forster's Tern

283 Common Tern

284. Least Tern

285. Black Tern

286. Briinnich's Murre..

287. Loon

288. Red-throated Loon..

289. Holboell's Grebe

290. Horned Grebe

291. Pied-billed Grebe...

s

5^*

5

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X
X*

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orx
X

?

X*

X
X

X

X
X

?

X

X*
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1
X

X*
X

X

X
X

X

X
X

X
X

?

X*

X

X*

?

X

X

X

X

Sept. to April.

j Oct. to probably

/ April.

Oct. to March or April.

( Casual in spring and

I autumn.
April; July; prob-
ably also in au-
tumn.

\ Two or three in-

'/ stances.

Several instances.

^ T wo specimens (hur-

^ ricane of Aug. 29,

{ 1893.)

I One instance, many

•< vears ago (about

{ i859.)

S One instance, long

"/ ago (Sept. 8, 1858.)

Oct. to March.

j Oct. to Nov. and Feb.

I to early April.

I In Sept. Very few

) records.

j Oct. to Nov. and

I March to May.

^ Late summer and
early autumn. No

\ recent records.
In one instance, after
hurricane of Sept.
29, 1896.

\ In late summer or

1 early autumn.

Spring and autumn.

Spring and autumn.

f Common in early au-
J tumu (Aug. and

j Sept.) Rare or

l^ wanting in spring.

( Several speci mens

\ late in Dec, 1896. No

( other records here.

^ Sept. to April. Less
common in mid-

/ winter.
Very few records ; all
in late autumn or
early winter.
Sept. to Nov. Possi-
bly through winter
to April.

Oct. to May \ Less

> common in
Aug. to May ) mid-winter

* Rare at this season.

BIRDS THAT MAY BE SEEN IN WINTER.

Bluebird

American Robin*
Hermit Thrush*
Ruby-crowned Kinglet*
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Carolina Chickadee
Chickadee*
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Carolina Wren
Mockingbird*
American Pipit*
Myrtle Warbler*
Loggerhead Shrike*
Northern Shrike*
Cedar Waxwing*
Cardinal

Towhee; Chewink*
Fox Sparrow*
Swamp Sparrow*
Song Sparrow
Slate-colored Junco
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow*
Tree Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Savanna Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow*
Pine Siskin*
American Goldfinch
American Crossbill
Purple Finch*
Purple Grackle*
Rusty Blackbird

Meadowlark

Red-winged Blackbird

Cowbird*

Fish Crow

American Crow

Blue Jay*

Prairie Horned Lark*

Horned Lark

Phoebe*

Flicker*

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Red-headed Woodpecker*

Pileated Woodpecker*

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker*

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker*

Belted Kingfisher*

Great Horned Owl

Screech Owl

Saw-whet Owl*

Barred Owl

Short-eared Owl

American Long-eared Owl

American Barn Owl

Sparrow Hawk

Bald Eagle

Broad-winged Hawk*

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Marsh Hawk

Turkey Vulture; Buzzard

Mourning Dove*

Wild Turkey*

RufTed Grouse*

Bob-white

* Rare.

BIRDS THAT NEST WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS.
(Furnished by Dr. A. K. Fisher.)

Robin

Song Sparrow-
Catbird
Wood Thrush
Cardinal Grosbeak
Chipping- Sparrow
House Wren
Purple Martin
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Red-headed Woodpecker
Carolina Chickadee
Barn Owl

Long-billed Marsh Wren
Yellow Warbler
Rough-winged Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Hummingbird
Fish Crow
Purple Crackle
Tufted Titmouse

ADDITIONAL SPECIES BREEDING IN
BROOKLAND.

(Furnished by Mr. Robert Ridgway.)

Bluebird
Brown Thrasher
Towhee; Chewink
Field Sparrow
Carolina Wren
Prairie Warbler
Redstart
Oven-bird
Yellow-breasted Chat

White-eyed Vireo

American Crow

Wood Pew^ee

Summer Tanager

Indigo-bird

Goldfinch

Great Crested Flycatcher

Flicker

Maryland Yellow-throat

BIRDS SEEN BY MR. WILLIAM PALMER AT MT.

VERNON,

May 25, 1894, evening.

Bluebird
Wood Thrush
Catbird

Song Sparrow

Cardinal

Indigo-bird

LOCAL LISTS.

189

Marsh Wren

Black and White Creeper
Yellow Warbler
Maryland Yellow-throat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Redstart
Red-eyed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
Barn Swallow
Bank Swallow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Henslow's Sparrow

Field

Bobolink
Meadowlark
American Crow
Kingbird
Wood Pewee
Chimney Swift
Downy Woodpecker
Turkey Buzzard
Bald Eagle
Osprey

Spotted Sandpiper
Wood Duck
Sparrow

BIRDS SEEN BY MR. WILLIAM PALMER AT
KENSINGTON,

Septemb

Wilson's Thrush
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Tufted Titmouse
Chickadee
Catbird

Black and White Creeper
Tennessee Warbler
Parula Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-poll Warbler
Black-throated Green War-
bler
Pine Warbler
Oven-bird
Water-Thrush

Maryland

er 15, 1895.

Redstart

Philadelphia Vireo
Goldfinch
Cardinal
Indigo-bird
American Crow
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Chimney Swift
Whip-poor-will
Nighthawk
Downy Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Flicker

Sharp-shinned Hawk
Turkey Buzzard
Yellow-throat

BIRDS SEEN BY MR. WILLIAM PALMER AT
KENSINGTON,

May 10, 1896.

Bluebird Scarlet Tanager

Robin Pine Siskin

Wood Thrush Grasshopper Sparrow

I go

LOCAL LISTS.

Olive-backed Thrush
Chickadee
CaroHna Chickadee
Catbird

Brown Thrasher
CaroHna Wren
House Wren

Black and White Creeper
Worm-eating Warbler
Parula Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Myrtle Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black-poll Warbler
Black-throated Green War-
bler
Prairie Warbler
Oven-bird

Maryland Yellow-throat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Canadian Warbler
American Redstart
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Cedar Waxwing
Rough-winged Swallow

Henslow's Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow-
Song Sparrow
Chewink
Indigo-bird
Bobolink
Meadowlark
Orchard Oriole
Blue Jay
American Crow
Kingbird

Great Crested Flycatcher
Phoebe

Wood Pewee
Green-crested Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Hummingbird
Chimney Swift
Downy Woodpecker
Flicker
Kingfisher

Yellow-billed Cuckoo .
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Turkey Buzzard
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper

BIRDS SEEN BY A BOY IN ZOOLOGICAL PARK,

On the morning of May 14, 1898.
H. W. M.

Yellow Warbler

Blackbird

Mourning Dove

Song Sparrow

Catbird

Chipping Sparrow

Wood Thrush

Blue Jay

Cedar Waxwing

Golden-crowned Kinglet

White-throated Sparrow

Phoebe

Myrtle Warbler

Chimnev Swift

LOCAL LISTS.

191

Hummingbird

Crow

Cardinal

Carolina Wren

Maryland Yellow-throat

Goldfinch

Yellow-breasted Chat

Chewink

Oven-bird

Flicker

Indigo-bird

Black and White Creeper

Scarlet Tanager

Baltimore Oriole

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Red-eyed Vireo

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Redstart

Spotted Sandpiper

Yellow-throated Vireo

Buzzard

Prairie Warbler

OBSERVATION OUTLINE

ABRIDGED FROM

'BIRDS OF VILLAGE AND FIELD'

BY

FLORENCE A. MERRIAM.
By permission of Houghton, Mitflin & Co.

POINTS TO NOTE TO ASSIST IN IDENTIFICATION.

Name Common. ^^

Iscientinc.

I. Size (compared with English Sparrow, Robin, Crow).

II. Colors. Bright— Dull.

III. Markings.

1. Top of Head.

2. Back.

3. Breast.

4. Wings.

5. Tail.

IV. Shape.

1. Body. — Long and slender — Short and stocky.

2. Bill. — Short and stout — Long and slender — Long
and heavy — Hooked — Curved.

3. Wings. — Short and round — Long and slender.

4. Tail. — Forked — Notched — Square — Fan-shaped.

OBSER VA TION O UTLINE.

193

V. Movements — Hop— Walk— Creep up trees— Bob head

and wag tail — Twitch tail from side to side.

VI. Flight.

1. Fast. — Direct— Abrupt and zigzag — Smooth and
circling.

2. Slow. — Flapping — Sailing or soaring — Flapping
and sailing alternately.

VII. Localities frequented — Gardens — Orchards — Road-

side fences — Meadows — Thickets — Woods — Rivers
— Lakes — Marshes.

VIII. Food and manner of obtaining it.

IX. Song.

1. Manner and time of singing. — From perch — In
the air.

2. Character of song. — Plaintive — Happy — Long —
Short.

3. Call notes. — Signal — Warning — Anger — Fear —
Pain — Protest.

X. Habits.

1. Go IN FLOCKS.

2. Form roosts. — Winter — Summer — Migration.

3. Perform curious actions during courtship. —
Dances — Aerial evolutions.

XI. Nest.

I. Location. — In or on the ground — In tree trunks
— On branches — Hanging from branches.

2. Size (compared with Hummingbird, Robin, Crow).

3. Shape. — Cup — Pocket — Basket — Wall-pocket — Oven

— Gourd.

4. Materials. — Clay — Grass — Rootlets — Leaves —
Twigs — Hair — Fur — Feathers. '\

18 '

1 94 OBSER VA TION O UTLINE.

5. Method of construction. — Excavated — Woven —
Plastered.

6. Number of days required.

7. Habits of male during nest-building. — Works
with female — Works alone — Sings while female
works — Brings material to female — Absents him-
self from nest.

XII. Eggs.

1. Number.

2. Color. *

3. Markings.

XIII. Incubation.

1. Length of incubation.

2. Habits of male during time. — Takes place of
female on nest — Feeds female on nest.

XIV. Young.

1. In nest.

Position of feather tracts.
Times when eyes open
Time spent in nest.

2. Cared for by parents. — Food brought in bill —
Food regurgitated.

3. Condition on leaving nest.

4. Notes and actions of young.

5. Nestling plumage.

USEFUL 1^)()()KS FOR liIRD STUDENTS.

Robert Ridt^way,

IClliott Coues, . . . .
Florence A. Merriam,

Frank M. Chapman,

John Burrouglis,

OhveThorne Miller, .

Mabel Osgood Wright
Mabel Osgood Wright,
Elliott Coues, . . .
Neltje Blanchan,
Bradford Torrey,
Frank Bolles, . .
J. M. Baskett, .
F. C. Kirkwood,
Coues and Prentiss,
W^illiam C. Rives, .

. Manual of North American

Birds. 2d ed., 1896 .

Nomenclature of Colors . .

. Key to North American Birds

. Birds of Village and Field .

A-i)irding on a Broncho . .

Birds through an Oj)era-Glass

. Handbook of Birds of Eastern

North America

Bird-Life

, Wake-Robin

Signs and Seasons

Pepacton

. In Nesting Time

Little Brothers of the Air . . .
. Birdcraft. 2d ed., 1897 . . .

I Citizen Bird

. Bird Neighbors

. Birds in the Bush

. From Blomidon to Smoky . .
. The Story of the Birds ....
. List of the Birds of Maryland .
. Avifauna Columbiana ....
. Birds of the Virginias ....

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INDEX.

About Birds in General 21
Acadian Flycatcher 116
Accipiter

cooperii 140

velox 138
Actitis macularia 152
iKgialitis vocifera 152
Asrelaius phoeniceus 100
Aix sponsa 155
Alder Flycatcher 1G9
Ammodramus

henslowii 89

sandwicheusis savanna 166

savaunarnm passerinus 89
Ampelis cedrorum 76
Anas

boschas 173

carolinensis 173

discors 174
Anthus pensilvanicus 161
Antrostomus vociferiis 119
Ardea

herodias 154

virescens 153
Ardetta exilis 154
Arkansas Kingbird 182
Asio

accipitrinus 170

wilsonianus 133
Audubon's Shearwater 186
Aythya

americana 174

collaris 175

marila nearctica 174

vallisneria 174
Bachman's Sparrow 181
Baird's Sandpiper 184
Bald Eagle 147
Baldpate 185
Baltimore Oriole 103
Bank Swallow 82
Barn Owl, American 132
Barn Swallow 80
Barred Owl 134
Barrow's Golden-eye 185
Bartramia longicauda 172
Bartramian Sandpiper 172
Bay-breasted Warbler 163
Belted Kingfisher 128
Belted Piping Plover 183
Bewick's Wren 160
Bicknell's Thrush 178
Birds found in District of Co-
lumbia 178

migration of 150

of garden and orchard 19

Hirds found in District of Co-
lumbia

of meadow and wild field 19

of roadside and fences 19

of the woods 19

seen in winter 187

size of 40

that show white in fiyiug 19
Bittern

American 173

Least 154
J {lack and White Warbler 59
IJlack and Yellow AA'^arbler (see

Magnolia Warbler)
Black-billed Cuckoo 131
Blackbird

Crow 105

Marsh 100

Red-winged 100

Rusty 169

Yellow-headed 181
Blackburnian Warbler 163
Black-crowned Night Heron 155
Black Duck 185
Black-poll Warbler 163
Black Rail 184
Black Skimmer 186
Black Tern 176

Black-throated Blue Warbler 162
Black-throated Bunting 168
Black-throated Green Warbler

163
Black Vulture 183
Bluebird 41
Blue Canary 96
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 45
Blue Grosbeak 95
Blue-headed Vireo 165
Blue Jay 108
Blue-winged Teal 174
Blue-winged Warbler 60
Bobolink 169
Bob-white 149
Bonaparte's Gull 176
Bonasa umbellus 150
Botaurus lentiginosus 173
Brant 186

Branta canadensis 175
Brewster's AVarbler 179
Broad- winged l[awk 143
Bronzed Grackle 182
Brown Creeper 160
Brown Thrasher 49
Brown Thrush 49
Briinnich's Murre 186
Bubo virginianus 136

198

INDEX.

Buffle-head 175

Bull Bat 120

Bunting

Black-throated 168
Indigo (Indigo-bird) 96

Buteo

borealis 142
latissimus 143
lineatus 142

Butter-ball 175

Buzzard 148

Canada Goose 175

Canadian Warbler 165

Canary-
Wild 87
Blue 96

Canvas-back 174

Cape May Warbler 161

Cardinal 94

Cardinalis cardinalis 94

Carolina Chickadee 47

Carolina Paroquet 182

Carolina Wren 53

Carpodacus purpureus 166

Caspian Tern 186

Catbird 52

Cathartes aura 148

Cedar Waxwing 76

Ceophloeus pileatus 125

Certhia familiaris americana 160

Cerulean Warbler 179

Ceryle alcyon 128

Chsetura pelagica 117

Chapman, Frank M., Field Key
25

Charitonetta albeola 175

Chat, Yellow-breasted 69

Chebec 169

Chelidon erythrogastra 80

Chestnut-sided Warbler 162

Chewink (Towhee) 93

Chickadee 178

Chickadee, Carolina 47

Chicken Hawk 140

Chimney Swallow 117

Chimney Swift 117

Chipping Sparrow 90

Chippy, Winter 167

Chordeiles virginianus 120

Circus hudsonius 146

Cistothorus palustris 56

Clangula clangula americana 175

Clapper Rail 184

Cliff Swallow 81

Clivicola riparia 82

Coccyzus

americanus 130
erythrophthalmus 131

Cock-of-the-Woods 125

Colaptes auratus 127

Colinus Yirginianus 149

Colymbus auritus 177

Common Tern 186

Compsothlj-^pis americana 61
Connecticut Warbler 164

Contopus virens 115

Cooper's Hawk 140
Coot, American 172

Cormorant, Double-crested 186
Corvus

americanus 106
ossifragus 107
Cowbird 98
Crane, Sandhill 184
Creeper, Brown 160
Crested Flycatcher (Great Crest-
ed) 112
Crossbill

American 166
White-winged 180
Crow

American 106
Fish 107
Crow Blackbird 105
Cuckoo

Black-billed 131
Yellow-billed 130
Curlew, Long-billed 184
Cvanocitta cristata 108
Dafila acuta 174
Dendroica
festiva 61
blackburnise 163
cserulescens 162
castanea 162
coronata 162
discolor 63
dominica 62
maciilosa 162
palmarum 164
palmarum hypochrysea 164
pensvlvanica 162
striata 163
tigrina 161
vigorsii 62
virens 163
Dickcissel 168
Dipper 177

Dolichonyx oryzivorus 160
Double-crested Cormorant 186
Dove

Ground 183
Mourning 148
Turtle 148
Dowitcher 184

Long-billed 184
Downy Woodpecker 122
Dryobates

pubescens 122
villosus 122
Duck

American Scaup 174
Black 185
Fish 173

Lesser Scaup 185
Ringed-necked 175
Rud7ly 175
Wood 155
Duck Hawk 183
Eagle

Bald 147
Golden 183
Eave Swallow 81
Egret, American 185
Eider, American 185

INDEX.

199

Empidonax

flaviveutris 169 .

minimus 100

traillii aluorum 169

virescens 116
Euglish Sparrow 96
Erismatura .iamaiceusis 175
European Teal 185
Faleo

columbarius 170

spai'verius 145
Field Key (J<\ M. Chapman) 25
Field Sparrow 91
Finches 86
Finch

Grass 88

Purple 166
Fish Crow 107
Fish Duck 173
Fish Hawk 146
Flicker 127
Flycatchers 110
Flycatcher

Acadian 116

Alder 169

Great-crested 112

Green-crested 116

Least 169

Olive-sided 182

Scissor-tailed 182

Yellow-bellied 169
Fly-up-the-Creek 153
Florida Gallinule 184
Forster's Tern 186
Fox Sparrow 167
Fresh-water Marsh Hen 153
Fulica americana 172
Gad wall 185

(jaleoscoptes carolinensis 52
Gallinago delicata 171
Gallinule, Florida 184
Gavia imber 176
Geothlypis

agilis 164

formosa 66

Philadelphia 164

trichas 68
Glossy Ibis 185
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray 45
Golden-crowned Kinglet 160
Golden-crowned Thrush 64
CJolden Eagle 183
Golden-eye

American 175

Barrow's 185
Golden Warbler (see Yellow

Warbler)
Golden-winged Warbler 161
Goldfinch, American 86
Goose

Canada 175

Wild 175
Goosander 173
Goshawk, American 183
Graekle

Bronzed 182

Purple 105
Grass Finch 88

Grasshopper Sparrow 89
Gray-cheeked Thrush 159
Great Blue Heron 154
Great Crested Flycatcher 112
Greater Yellow-logs 171
Great Horned Owl 136
Grebe

Holbcell's 186

Horned 177

Pied-billed 177
Green-crested Flycatcher 116
Green Heron 153
Greenlets 71
Green-winged Teal 173
Grinnoll's Water-Thrush 180
Grosbeaks 86
Grosbeak

Blue 95

Cardinal 94

Pine 180

Rose-breasted 168
Ground Dove 183
Ground Robin 94
(i rouse. Ruffed 150
Guiraca caerulea 95
Gull

American Herring 176

Bonaparte's 176

Laughing 186

Ring-billed 176

Sea 176
Gull-billed Tern 186
Habia ludoviciana 168
Hairbird 90
Hairy Woodpecker 122
Haliaeetus leucocephalus 147
Harporhynchus rufus 49
Harrier 146
Hawaiian Petrel 186
Hawks 137
Hawk

American Rough-legged 183

Broad-winged 143

Cooper's (Chicken Hawk) 140

Duck 183

Fish 146

Marsh 146

Pigeon 170

Red-shouldered 142

Red-tailed 142

Sharp-shinned 138

Sparrow 144
Helminthophila

chrysoptera 161

peregi-ina 161

pinus 60

ruficapilla 161
Helmitherus vermivorus 59
Henslow's Sparrow 89
Hermit Thrush 159
Heron

Black-crowned Night 155

Great Blue 154

Little Blue 185

Green 153

Snowy 185
Hlck-up Bird 116
Holbojll's Grebe 186

200

INDEX.

Hooded Merganser 185
Hooded Warbler 164
Hoot Owl 134
Horned Grebe 177
Horned Lark 169

Prairie 182
House Sparrow 96
House Wren 55

Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 118
Hydroclielidon nigra surinamen-

sis 176
Ibis

Glossy 185

Wood 185
Icteria virens 69
Icterus

galbula 103

spurius 104
Indian Hen 173

Indigo Bunting (Indigo-bird) 96
Jay, Blue 108
J unco

Sliufeldt's 181

Slate-colored 167
Junco hyemalis 167
Kentucky W^ai'bler 66
Kilideer 152
Kingbird 111

Arkansas 182
Kingfisher, Belted 128
Kinglet

Golden-crowned 160

Ruby-crowned 159
King Rail 153
Kirtland's Warbler 179
Kite, Swallow-tailed 183
Lanius ludovicianus migrans 165
Lapland Longspur 180
Lark

Horned 169

Prairie Horned 182

Shore (Horned Lark) 169
Lark Sparrow 181
Larus

argentatus smithsonianus 176

delawarensis 176

Philadelphia 176
Laughing Gull 186
Leach's Petrel 186
Least Bittern 154
Least Flycatcher 169
Least Sandpiper 171
Least Tern 186
Lesser Scaup Duck 185
Lincoln's Sparrow 167
Little Blue Heron 185
Local Lists 188
Loggerhead Shrike fMigrant

Shrike) 180
Long-billed Curlew 184
Long-billed Dowitcher 184
Long-billed Marsh Wren 56
Long-eared Owl, American 133
Longspur, Lapland 180
Loon 176

Red-throated 186
Louisiana Water-Thrush 65
Loxia curvirostra minor 166

Magnolia Warbler 162
Mallard 173
Marsh Blackbird 100
ISIarsh Hawk 146 •
Marsh Robin 94
Martin, Purple 78
Mai-yland Yellow-throat 68
Meadowlark 102
Megascops asio 135
Melanerpes

carolinus 125

erythrocephalus 123
Meleagris gallopavo 151
Melospiza

fasciata 92

georgiana 167

lincolnii 167
Merganser

American 173

Hooded 185

Red-breasted 173
Merganser

americanus 173

serrator 173
Merriam, Florence A.

Introduction 11

Observation Outlines 192
Merula migratoria 42
Migrant Shrike (Loggerhead

Shrike) 165
iligrants 159
Migration of Birds 156
Mimus polyglottos 50
Mniotilta varia 59
Mockingbird 50
Mocking Wren 53
Molothrus ater 98
Monkey-faced Owl 132
Mourning Dove 148
Mourning Warbler 164
Mud Hen 172
Murre, Briinnich's 186
Myiarchus crinitus 112
Myrtle Warbler 162
Nashville Warbler 161
Nelson's Sparrow 181
Nighthawk 120
Northern Phalarope 184
Northern Shrike 180
Nuthatch

Red-breasted 160

White-breasted 48
Nyctala acadica 170
Nyctea nyctea 170
Nycticorax nycticorax nsevius 155
Observation Outline

Florence A. Merriam 192
Old-squaw 185
Olive-backed Thrush 159
Olive-sided Flycatcher 182
Orange-crowned Warbler 179
Orchard Oriole 104
Oriole

Baltimore 103

Orchard 104
Ortolan 172
Osprey, American 146
Otoeorls alpestris 169

INDEX.

20

Oven-bird 64
Owls l:J2
Owl

Amerinan Barn l'{2

American Long-eared 133

Barred 134

Great Horned 136

Hoot 134

Monkey-faced 132

Saw-wliet 170

Screech 135

Short-eared 170

Sno-wv 170
Palm Warbler 164
Pandion lialiaetus carolineusis 146
Paroqnot. Carolina 182
Partridge 140
Parula Warbler 61
Parns bicoloi' 46
Parus carolinensis 47
Passenger Pigeon 183
Passer doinesticus 96
Passerella iliaca 167
Passerina cvanea 96
Peabody Bird 167
Pectoral Sandpiper 171
Pelican. American White 186
Petrel

Hawaiian 186

Leach's 186

Wilson's 186
Petrochelidon hniifrons 81
Pewee, Wood 115
l*lialarope

Northern 184

Red 184
I'hiladelphia Vireo 165
Philohela minor 151
Phoebe 114
Pied-billed Grebe 177
Pigeon Hawk 170
Pigeon, Passenger 183
Pileated Woodpecker 125
Pine Grosbeak 180
Pine Siskin 166
Pine Warbler 62
Pintail 174

Pipilo erythrophthalmus 93
Pipit. American 161
Piranga

erythromelas 84

rubra 85
Plover

American Golden 183

Belted Piping 183

Semipalmated 183

Upland 172
Podilymbus podiceps 177
Polioptila cserulea 45
Poocsetes gi-amineus 88
Porzana Carolina 172
Prairie Horned Lark 182
Prairie Warbler 63
Progne siibis 78
Prothonotarv Warbler 179
Purple Finch 166
Purple Grackle 105
Purple Martin 78

Quail 149

Quawk 155

Quiscalus quiscula 105

Kail

Black 184

Clapper 184

King 153

Virginia 172

Yellow 184
Rallus

elegans 153

virginianus 172
Red-backed Sandpiper 184
Red-bellied Woodpecker 125
Red-bird, Virginia 94
Red-breasted Merganser 173
Red-breasted Nuthatch 160
Iled-eyed Vireo 71
Redhead 174

Red-headed Woodpecker 123
Red Phalarope 184
Redpoll 180

Red-shouldered Hawk 142
Redstart. American 70
Red-tailed Hawk 142
Red-throated Loon 186
Red-winsred Blackbird 100
Reed-bird 169
Regulus

calendula 159

satrapa 160
Rice-bird 169
Richmond, Dr. C. W.

List of Birds found in Dis-
trict of Columbia 178
Ring-billed Gull 176
Ring-necked Duck 175
Robin. American 42
Rook 175

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 168
Rough-winged Swallow 83
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 159
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 118
Ruddv Duck 175
RufC 184

Ruffed Groiise 150
Rusty Blackbird 1G9
Sanderling 184
Sandhill Crane 184
Sandpiper

Baird's 184

Bartramian 172

Least 171

Pectoral 171

Red-backed 184

Semipalmated 184

Solitary 172

Spotted 152

Stilt 184

Western 184
Sapsucker. Yellow-bellied 170
Savanna Sparrow 166
Saw-whet Owl 170
Sayornis phoebe 114
Scarlet Tanager 84
Scaup Duck

American 174

Lesser 185

14

202

INDEX.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 182
Scoleconhagus carolinus 169
Scoter

American 185

Surf 185

White-winged 185
Screech Owl 135
Sea Gull 176
Seiurus

aurocapillus 64

motacilla 65

noveboracensis 164
Semipalmated Plover 183
Semipalmated Sandpiper 184
Setophaga ruticilla 70
Sharp-shinned Hawk 138
Shearwater, Audubon's 186
Shore Lark 169
Short-billed Marsh Wren 179
Short-6ared Owl 170
Shoveller 174
Shufeldt's Junco 181
Shrike

Loggerhead (Migrant Shrike)
180

Migrant 165

Northern 180
Sialia sialis 41
Siskin,Pine 166
Sitta

canadensis 160

carolinensis 48
Size of Birds 40
Skimmer, Black 186
Slate-colored Junco 167
Snipe, Wilson's 171
Snowbird 167
Snowflake 180
Snowy Heron 185
Snowy Owl 170
Solitary Sandpiper 172
Song Sparrow 92
Sora 172
Sparrows 86
Sparrow

Bachman's 181

Chipping 90

English 96

Field 91

Fox 167

Grasshopper 89

Henslow's 89

House 96

Lark 181

Lincoln's 167

Nelson's 181

Savanna 166

Song 92

Swamp 167

Tree 167

Vesper 88

White-crowned 166

White-throated 167

Yellow-winged 89
Sparrow Hawk 144
Spatula clypeata 174
Sphyrapicus varius 170

Spinus

piuus 166

tristis 86
Spiza americana 168
Spizella

pusilla 91

monticola 167

socialis 90
Spoonbill 174
Spotted Sandpiper 152
Stelgidopteryx serripennis 83
Stilt Sandpiper 184
Strix pratincola 132
Sturnelhi magna 102
Summer Tanager 85
Summer Yellowbird 61
Summer Yellow-legs 172
Surf Scoter 185
Swallows 78
Swallow

Bank 82

Barn 80

Cliff 81

Eave 81

Rough-winged 83

Tree 165

White-bellied 165
Swallow-tailed Kite 183
Swamp Sparrow 167
Swamp Robin 94
Swan,AVhistling 186
Swift, Chimney 117
Syrnium nebulosum 134
Tachycineta bicolor 165
Tanager

Scarlet 84

Summer 85
Teal

Blue-winged 174

European 185

Green-winged 173
Tennessee Warbler 161
Tern

Black 176

Caspian 186

Common 186

Forster's 186

Gull-billed 186

Least 186
Thistle-bird 86
Thrasher, Brown 49
Thrush

Bicknell's 178

Brown 49

Golden-crowned 64

Gray-cheeked 159

Hermit 159

Olive-backed 159

Wilson's 159

Wood 44
Thryothorus

bewlckii 160

ludovicianus 53
Tilt- up 152
Titlark 161
Titmouse, Tufted 46

INDEX.

20

Totanus

flavipes 172
inelanoleucns 171
solitarius 172
Towhee (Ohewink) 03
Tree Sparrow 1G7
Tree Swallow 165
Tringa

macnlata 171
miiiutilla 171
Trochilus colubris 118
Ti'oglodytes
aedon 55
hiemalis 160
Tufted Titmouse 46
Turd us '

alicise 159

aonalaschkae pallasii 159

fuscescens 159

nuistelinus 44
ustxilatus swainsonii 159
Turnstone 183
Turkey Vulture 148
Turkey, Wild 151
Turtle Dove 148
Tyrannus tyrannus 111
Upland Plover 172
I'snea Warbler 179
Veery 159
Vesper Sparrow 88
Alreos 71
Vireo

Blue-headed 165

Philadelphia 165

Red-eyed 71

Warbling 72

White-eyed 74

Yellow-throated 73

flavifrons 73

gilvus 72

noveboracensis 74

olivaceus 71

philadelphieus 165

solitarius 165
Virginia Rail 172
A'irginia Red-Bird 94
Vulture

Black 183

Turkey 148
AVarblers 58
Warbler

Bay-breasted 163

Black and White 59

Black and Yellow (see Magno-
lia Warbler)

Blackburnian 163

Black-poll 163

Black-throated Blue 162

Black-throated Gi-een 163

Blue-winged 60

Brewster's 179

Canadian 165

Cape May 161

Cerulean 179

Chestnut-sided 162

Connecticut 164

Golden-winged 161

Golden (see Yellow Warbler)

Warbler

Hooded 164

Kentuckv 66

Kirtlaud's 179

Magnolia 162

Mourning 164

Myrtle lt>2

Nashville 161

Orange-crowned 179

Palm 164

Parula 61

Pine 62

I'rairie m

I'rothonotary 179

Tennessee 161

Usnea 179

Wilson's 165

AVorm-eating 59

Yellow 61

Yellow Palm 16-i

Yellow-rumped 162

Yellow-throated 62
Warbling Vireo 72
Water-Thrush 164

Grinuell's 180

Louisiana 65
Waxwing, Cedar 76
Western Sandpiper 184
Whip-poor-will 119
Whistler 175
Whistling Swan 186
White-bellied Swallow 165
White-breasted Nuthatch 48
White-crowned Sparrow 166
White-eyed Vireo 74
White-throated Sparrow 167
White-winged Crossbill 180
White-winged Scoter 185
Widgeon 185
Wild Canary 87
Wild Goose 175
Wild Turkey 151
Willet 184
Wilsonia

canadensis 165

mitrata 164

pusilla 165
Wilson's Petrel 186
Wilson's Snipe 171
Wilson's Thrush 159
Wilson's Warbler 165
Winter Chippy 167
Winter Residents 159
Winter Wren 160
Woodcock, American 151
Wood Duck 155
Wood Ibis 185
Wood Thrush 44
Woodpeckers 121
Woodpecker
Downy 122
Hairy 122
Pileated 125
Red-bellied 125
Red-headed 123
Wood Pewee 115
Worm-eating Warbler 59

204

INDEX.

Wren

Bewick's 160

Carolina 53

House 55

Long-billed Marsh 56

Mocking 53

Short-billed Marsh 179

Winter 160
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 169
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 170
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 130
Y^ellow-breasted Chat 69
Yellowhammer 127
Yellow-headed Blackbird 181
Y'ellow-legs 172

Greater 171 .

Yellow-legs

Summer 172
Yellow Palm Warbler 164
Yellow Rail 184
Y'ellow-rumped Warbler 162
Yellow-shanks 171
Y'"ellow-throated Vireo 73
Yellow-throated Warbler 62
Yellow-throat, Maryland 68
Yellow Warbler 61
Y''ellow-winged Sparrow 89
Zenaidura macroura 148
Zonotrichia

albicollis 167

leucophrys 166