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THE WILSON BULLETIN

AN ILLUSTRATED QUARTERLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED
TO THE STUDY OF BIRDS IN THE FIELD

Edited by LYNDS JONES

OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL
CHAPTER OF THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION

OLD SERIES, VOLUME>?I. K 1 1 NEW SERIES, VOLUME VII.

1900

Published by the Chapter at Oberlin, Ohio

■^^J/^u.^'^^^^f

INTRODUCTION,

NEARLY six 3ears ago the writer issued a call to members
of the Wilson Ornithological Chapter of the Agassiz
Association, to begin a critical study of Warbler songs (family
Mniotiltidic) . The object of this call was to secure a mass of
notes descriptive of the songs, from man}- sources, so that by
comparison and tabulation a fairly accurate representation of
each song could be put upon paper. It was also hoped that
the diurnal as well as the seasonal song period of each species
could be determined accurately, and that many other little
understood phenomena might become better known. The
author of the scheme of study well understood the wide lack
of acquaintance among the class of lay ornithologists with the
large majority of the family, and hoped that this might be
a means of awakening widespread interest in our most beauti-
ful and interesting group of birds. But the responses were
few indeed, indicating that the difficiilties were greater than
could be overcome by the average bird student. Lack of
time to devote to the swiftly passing migrants in the early
days of May was undoubtedly one great obstacle in the way
of many a willing worker.

Failing in this plan, but anxious to bring the host of
Warblers closer to those who do not already know them by
their voices, the writer has undertaken the task of bringing
together all printed descriptions of Warbler songs at his com-
mand, combining them with such contributions as have been
made in manuscript, and his own notes representing fifteen
years of study, thus presenting what is known to him of the
songs of the Warblers. On another page will be found a
complete list of the works consulted, including books and
periodicals. The writer full)' realizes that this is far from a
complete bibliography of the subject, but it will illustrate the
resources at hand.

The task of bringing together such a mass of printed and

2 W ARBITER vSONCiS.

manuscript descriptions has been second only to the task of
determining in each case what must be allowed as a margin
for the personal equation of the describer, and how much must
be allowed for variation in the species. No intelligent com-
parison of' the several descriptions could be made without a
fairly satisfactory solution of these two difficulties. The
method has been to select some species whose songs are clearlj'
distinctive and not seriously variable. Three were selected :
Oven-bird, Maryland Yellow-throat and Black-throated Green
Warbler. The variation among the individual describers,
when determined, will give the variation of the species.

There must be a large margin for mistakes allowed, par-
ticularly^ with the species whose songs are not personally
known to the writer. A little study of ones notes in successive
years will serve to show that we are prone to variations in our
methods of representing the same songs from year to year,
allowing as much as we please for variations of the individuals
composing the species. The way our ears hear bird songs is
often deterrhined by our digestion. But there is always the
possibility of finding an average for the whole series of notes.
That has been the writer's effort in the body of the paper — to
present the average of all notes of equal value.

Five years of teaching Ornithology in Oberlin College to all
sorts of students, serve to show that descriptions of color
patterns and habits are not adequate to the task of bringing
this assemblage of small birds to the notice of the average
person who becomes interested in birds. The song seems to be
the missing link in the chain of acquaintance. Both the e3'e
and the ear must be educated if one would learn the birds, and
my experience indicates that the ear is the readier learner. Is
that probably due to a tendency to color-blindness, or to weak
eyesight on the one hand, and to a long series of unconscious
ear training, on the other?

It is to the class of bird students who hope to find pleas-
ure in acquaintance wdth the Warblers, rather than to those
who already know them that this paper is addressed. It is
hoped that by arranging the species in groups according to
greater or less resemblance to each other it will enable the
student to give special attention to one group before at-
tempting the larger study of the whole group, thus some-

WARBI.KR SONGvS 3

what simplifying the process of study. If this paper should
prove of any assistance to lay ornithologists, and to those who
find pleasure in casual notice of birds, the labor of preparing
it will be fully repaid.

Acknowledgements are gladly made to Mr. H. W. Carriger,
Sonoma, Calif. ; Mr. N. Hollister, Delavan, Wis. ; Miss Ethel
Dane Roberts, Wooster, Ohio ; and Mr. Benj. T. Gault, Glen
Ellyn, 111., for valuable manuscript notes upon original field
work. Particularly to Mr. Frank L. Burns, Berwyn, Pa., for
painstaking study of several species not accessible to the
writer, and for constant interest and encouragement when the
future of the study looked dark and forbidding. Most of all
are thanks due Professor Albert A. Wright for constant en-
couragement, and for patience and forbearance with me during
" warbler time," when the many voices from the tree-tops
proved more alluring than the duties which rightly called my
attention away from the birds. Finally, it is with real pleasure
that the writer reminds the reader of the close companionship,
so often more than hinted in former numbers of this Bulletin,
between himself and Rev. W. L. Dawson, now of Ahtanum,
Washington ; a fellowship to which the paper now presented
owes far more than appears upon its pages.

While the serial arrangement of the species* does not follow
that adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union, the
nomenclature does. The number following the name of the
species will indicate its systematic position. It has seemed
better to group the species according to their songs rather
than according to their structural relationships. The geo-
graphical range, which always closes the discussion of each
species, has been taken bodily from the A. O. U. Check List
of North American Birds.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WARBLER SONGS.

^ I ^HE following list of books and periodicals contains only
-^ those in which something of use bearing directly upon
the subject has been found. General works on birds which con-
tain no mention of Warblers are therefore excluded, but books
treating the general subject of bird song, even tho they con-
tain nothing specifically upon the warblers, are included.
Neither here nor in the bod}^ of the report does it seem de-
sirable to cumber the pages with exact references in the
majority of cases. In many of the books the Warblers maj'
readily be found in their systematic position, arranged in the
accepted systematic order, and in nearly ever}' book the index
will prove a sujBicient guide to the page from which the
reference has been taken. With periodicals the case is some-
what different, and here specific references will be given where
they seem necessary, in the body of the paper.
American Ornithology. Alexander Wilson.
A-birding on a Bronco. Florence A. Merriam.
A Bird Lover in the West. Olive Thorne Miller.
A Dictionary- of Birds. Alfred Newton.
Bird Craft. Mabel Osgood Wright.
Birds in the Bush. Bradford Torrey.
Bird Life. Frank M. Chapman.

Bird Migration in the Mississippi Vallej-. W. W. Cooke.
Birds of Belknap and Merrimack Cos., N. H. Ned Dearborn.
Birds of Colorado. W. W. Cooke.
Birds of _ Indiana. Amos W. Butler.
Birds of Iowa. Keyes and Williams.
Birds of Maine. Ora W. Knight.
Birds of Michigan. A. J. Cook.
Birds of Minnesota. P. L. Hatch.
Birds of Ohio. J. M. Wheaton.
Birds of Okanogan Co., Wash. W. L. Dawson.
Birds of Outagamie Co., Wis. F. L. Grundtvig.

(5 WARBLER SONGS.

Birds of the Northwest. Elliott Coues.

Birds of Wa3'ne Co., Ohio. Harry C. Oberholser.

Birds Through an Opera Glass. Florence A. Merriam.

Bird Ways. Olive Thorne Miller.

Bulletin U S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the

Territories. Vol. IV, Nos. 1, 2, 3.
Cage Birds and Sweet Warblers. J. M. Bechstein.
Cambridge Natural History, The, Birds. A. H. Evans.
Citizen Bird. Mabel Osgood Wright.
Days Out of Doors. C. C. Abbott.
Elements of Ornithology, The. St. George Mivart.
Evolution of Bird Song. Charles A. Witchell.
Hand-book of the Birds of Eastern North America. Frank

M. Chapman.
In Bird Land. Leander S. Keyser.
Key to North American Birds. Elliott Coues.
Land and Game Birds of New England. H. D. Minot.
Eand Birds of North America. Baird, Brewer and Ridgway.
Life Histories of Birds. Thomas G. Gentry.
Manual of North American Birds, A. Robert Ridgway.
Nests and Eggs of North American Birds. Oliver Davis.
Our Birds in their Haunts. Rev. J. H. Langille.
Our Common Birds and How to Know Them. John B. Grant.
Reports of Explorations and Surveys to Ascertain the Most

Practicable Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River

to the Pacific Ocean. House Reports. 1853-5.
Some Common Birds. P. M. Silloway.
vStory of the Birds, The. James Newton Baskett.

PERIODICALS.

Atlantic Monthly, April, 1883. Bradford Torrey.

Auk. Particularly Vol. I, pp. 210-17. Eugene P. Bicknell,

The Singing of Our Birds. J. A. Allen. Ed. New York

City.
Bird-Eore. Frank M. Chapman, Ed. Englewood, N. J.
Birds and All Nature. C. C. Marble, Ed. Chicago, 111.
Bulletin of the Cooper Ornithological Club, now The Condor.

C. Barlow, Ed. Santa Clara, Calif.
Bulletin of the Maine Ornithological Association. O. W.

Knight, Ed. Bangor, Me.

WARBLER SONGS. 7

Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. Leon J. Cole,
Grand Rapids, Mich.

Iowa Ornithologist, now Western Ornithologist. I'D. L. Sav-
age) C. C. Try on, Ed. Avoca, la.

Museum, The. W. F. Webb, Ed. Albion, N. V.

Nidologist. H. R. Taylor, Ed. Alameda, Calif.

Oologist, The. Frank H. Lattin, Ed. Albion, N. Y.

Ornithologist and Oologist. F. B. Webster, Ed. Boston, Mass.

Osprey, The. (W. A. Johnson,) (Elliott Coues, ) Theo. D.
Gill, Eds. Washington, D. C.

Wilson Bulletin. The. Lynds Jones, Ed. Oberlin, Ohio.

WARBLER SONGS.

IN the development of birds away from the primitive
reptilian tj'pe, there has been, in general, a tendenc}^ to
decrease in size as well as to structural modifications brought
about by changing environment. In order to increase greath^
in numbers there must be a decrease in size if the world were to
contain the host. Along with decrease in size there .seems to
have developed a tendency to vocal expression, culminating at
the present day in utterances second only to speech — song.
We are unable to attribute to a bird's vocal utterances, how-
ever complex they may seem, more than a momentary state of
feeling, unless it be taught by man. Only the vSmaller birds
truly sing ; the muscles of their syrinx enabling them to give
utterance to ^'aried notes instead of a monotonous repetition of
the same note.

In the higher development of the Oscines — the singing
birds — there naturally grew differences in song just as there
grew differences in .structure and habits, producing more or
less well defined groups. We might reasonably expect that
if a group be sharply marked off from other groups structur-
ally its style of song would al.so be sharply marked ; that it
would possess a distinct song-type ; and if there be gradations
between groups there would naturally be gradations in song
likewise. In general we find this to be true, but in particular
there are exceptions. Thus, while the Warblers certainly
possess a song-type it distinctly grades off to the Sparrows,
which are not otherwise closel}- related to them. So we are
forced to find and define the song-type and work both ways
from it out to the limits, and there .seek to di.stingui.sh cer-
tainly between the two which .seem to grade into each other.
The warbler song-tj'pe may be defined as a high pitched,
hissing whistle consisting of two well defined parts, usually-
on a different pitch. There are many and decided departures
from this type, the one extreme being a monotonous repetition

10 \\"arbij<;r soNCrS.

of a single note like the Chipping Sparrow, the other a com-
posite song so varied that it approaches a mimicry of many
songs. I have selected the Yellow Warbler as representing
nearly the type song of the family. We might further say
that this type song usually consists of about eight syllables,
the first phrase of four or five uttered more slowly, the remain-
der more rapidly and on a different pitch, sometimes higher,
sometimes lower. With some species the pitch is so high that
it approaches the vanishing point to many ears. But there
is an indefinable woodsy quality to all warbler songs which is
not shared by the members of any other group which bears
any troublesome resemblence to the warbler songs. It is a
quality that can be learned in a little time with the birds as
they sing, but cannot be transferred by word of mouth or
printed signs. Before leaving the song-type let me define the
hissing whistle. It can be closely imitated by forcing the
breath over the tip of the tongue as it is held against the
upper teeth, modulating the pitch of the resulting thin whistle
with the lips instead of with the tongue as in the ordinary
direct whistle.

SONG PERIODS. DIURNAL.

Having learned the Warbler song-type, we are prepared to
begin a study of the separate songs as the species pass in
review before us. We shall not proceed far in this study before
we discover that certain times of the day are preferred for
singing by most of the species. Their day begins in the early
morning twilight with a burst of .-song, and is carried with the
quest for food as the light strengthens ; the intervals between
songs gradually lengthening as the da}' advances, until the
appetite is satisfied, when the bird ceases song to rest until the
afternoon brings round the feeding time again. The after-
noon song period is marked by less singing than the morning,
and the twilight marks its close. It is difficult to say when
the morning period ends and the afternoon begins in the case
of any individual birds ; but in general, we hear few songs
between ten in the morning and three in the afternoon, es-
pecially during warm weather, when the noon hours are of
high temperature. During cool or wet weather the morning
period begins later and the evening closes earlier, while some

^VARBI.EK SONCS li

birds will be in song all day long. But it must be renienil^ered
that some species do not follow any rule about their singing,
and that with the majority of the species we know little about
them except as they pass us on their way to the north. It
may well be that the all night journey, as they migrate, makes
the noon-day sleep necessarj-, while at their breeding grounds
they have little need for that rest and so sing all day. But
with many of the species which remain with us to nest there
is the noon-day resting time all the season.

SEASONAL.

There are seasonal song periods as well as diurnal. These
will be spoken of in the discussion of the several species, .so
that I need only discu.ss here the general subject.

Most male Warblers sing more or less during their north-
ward journey, and until the care of the young leaves no time
for song. Singing begins at least as soon as the northward
journey begins, reaches its height while the mate is brooding
over the eggs, then gradually declines as the cares of the fam-
ih^ increase, ceasing entireh' with the beginning of the molt
which follows clo.sely the complete development of the young
into independent foragers. After the plumage has been re-
newed, some species have a short song period before leaving
for the south again. It is difficult to say how large a number
thus renew their .song, but the writer's list includes twelve
species positively identified, with several others about which
there may be .some doubt. It is more than likely that a far
larger number sing at some time during the autumn months,
either regularly or occasionally. Few songs will be heard,
during this second song period, except in the early morning
hours under favorable conditions. With .some species the sec-
ond song period is marked by a .somewhat different .song, and
with many by a weaker one.

It is suggestive that the species which are known to sing
during autumn are those whose color patterns are practically-
the same at all seasons, or at least not markedly different in
fall from the spring dress. The spring song period is accom-
panied by enlargement of the reproductive organs, but the re-
sumption of song in the fall is rarely so accompanied. It is
not likely that all individuals of a species which has a second

U WARHI.IvR SONGvS.

song period sing- then, but that a few do. Man>- are too fat
to sing, and no doubt many do not sufficiently reco^'er from
the debihtating effects of the molt to sing.

It is not unusual to hear feeble attempts at .song early in
the autvmm from not fully fledged birds, sounding like a
bird whose vocal chords were unable yet to respond to the
will. Gradvially the .song becomes more and more perfect as
the days pass until it again becomes normal. Many times
these are not young birds, but old ones just completing the
molt. Disuse of the' vocal muscles, or change due to the molt
may account for these first unsuccessful attempts at song re-
newal.

TWO KINDS OF SONG.

We .shall not proceed far in our study of Warbler songs
before we are greeted with surprises. We shall find that all
of the individuals of a species do not sing alike, and that the
same individual is not always confined to one style of song.
Sometimes the variations may be considerable, sometimes
scarcely worth noting. We shall not proceed far in our study
of these variations before we maj^ be greeted to a fresh sur-
prise in the form of a song wholly different from anything be-
fore heard from the bird, which cannot be forced under the
designation 'variation.' It is something apart from the ordi-
nary utterance, both in quality and quantity. The manner of
utterance strongly suggests that this is a passion song. We
are now forced to distinguish between what we have before
considered the song of the species and this newly discovered
song. For convenience the first one may be designated the

CALL SONG.

What do we mean b>- Call Song ? It is the song which
we hear commonly: the .song of every day, uttered under no
special .stress of circumstances, as a sort of accompaniment to
the usual activities. It is an announcement to all other birds
within hearing, of the singer's whereabouts. It becomes a
di.stinct mate call when the breeding grounds have been
reached, if it could not be .so considered before. After mat-
ing and the selection of the nest .site it becomes an announce-
ment of ownership and a warning to all trespas.sers. During

WAKBI.KR SONC.S. KJ

mating it is often a challenge or cry of defiance, and may
sometimes become the battle cry when the fight is on. With
some, possibly many, species it is used during courting as a
love song, when it may be somewhat modified, thus approach-
ing the passion song. It is always an announcement of some
sort to some other birds, and may, therefore, be properly
termed a call song. Not usually being reserved exclusively
for the mate nor for himself, it might also be designated the
altruistic song, as distinct from the egoistic or

PASSION SONG.

What, then, is the Passion Song? It is an outburst of
melody of such richness and fullness, such thrilling ecstasy,
that the singer is lifted into the air on quivering wings to
pour out his melody without a pause until the inspiration has
passed. The call song is the product of a deliberate purpo.se,
but the passion song wants no purpose. It bursts forth un-
bidden. We have supposed that the passion song is purely a
love song, intended only for the mate, since it is usually ut-
tered only in seclusion and at times when vulgar ears are not
supposed to be listening. There is little doubt that during
the mating and nesting season it is a love song, but I have re-
peatedly heard the song of Oven-bird long after the young had
left the nest and were no longer dependent upon their parents.
I venture the suggestion that this song is induced by an over-
flow of energy which finds expression in this way. It is a
.sort of hymn of praise for the mere privilege of life. It is so
far different in execution from the call song that there is no
ground of comparison. The performance is a continuous
thrilling warble with no plan nor suggestion of pause, accom-
panied by fluttering flight or swift dartings about an open
.space in the woods. The favorite time is just as twilight be-
gins to cast its hush over nature; but it may be heard in the
morning twilight, or .sometimes during a dark, damp day
when there are twilight conditions. Once I heard it from an
Oven-bird on the approach of a thunder storm about nine in
the morning. While the song is so unlike the call song, it
may be a medley of the notes of that song, or begin with a
few notes of the call song and close with a complete rendering
of it.

14 \\"arbli':r songs.

I doubt if a hard and fast line can be drawn between the
two stj^es of song-, and I question if even now there are not
some species whose call songs are not growing toward the pas-
sion song. Certainly some show a tendency in that direction,
both in the modification of the notes of the song and the man-
ner of utterance at stated times or under peculiarly favorable
conditions. Some species manifestly employ the call song for
love making without much modification. When the song is
given during the chase after the female it is uttered in the
throat or only faintly warbled b}' many species, as tho the at-
tention could not be divided between the flight and the song,
each needing it all.

The writer knows of only a dozen species who have a fairly
distinct passion song. Preeminent among these stands the
Oven-bird, so often mentioned above. It is not likely that
these are all that sing so, since nearly every year hitherto has
seen the list swelled. I would not be bold enough to say that
all Warblers sing a passion song that is unlike the call song,
but there can be Itttle doubt that more than this dozen should
be found to.

VARIABILITY IN THE CALL SONG.

To the most of us a Yellow Warbler is a Yellow Warbler
be he number one or number one thousand in the list of indi-
viduals. We recognize no difference in the different individu-
als of a species in any limited region where we study. And
it is true that the individual differences of color pattern, while
sufficiently unlike to make a mistake among the birds them-
selves as to which is their mate unlikely, are practically alike to
us. But it is not so iiniversall}^ true with the songs. A singer
is not confined to one style of utterance, even under like condi-
tions. I meali many species are not, possibly all. But some
are far more variable than others. A common variation lies
in shortening or lengthening the usual song by dropping or
adding syllables. Another common method is the change of
position of syllables that are somewhat different, or a change
of accent. Sometimes a single syllabled song ma^^ become
double syllabled, or vice ver.'-a. The closing cadence may
either rise or fall at the pleasure of the singer. But these va-
riations do not much affect the character of the song, nor

•\varbll:r st)N(;s. i.-)

make it difficult to identify to any but the one who is hearing
it for the first time. Another variation often indulged in by
some of the more versatile singers is the substitution of one
vowel sound for another. When this is accompanied with the
variations noted above there may be some difficulty at first,
but v\'hen the style of utterance is once learned variations are
not deceptive, but rather pleasing for their variety. Each
species has a style all his own which can be relied upon in any
given localit3^ however variable his song may be.

There seems good evidence that there is also a .seasonal
variation, or a migratory variation. Some birds sing one style
of song when they start from their winter homes for the
north, another during the latter part of their journey, and
still another when they are well settled for the sunnner. How
universal this is I am unable to say. With some species the
difference between the songs is decided, in others nuicli less so.
It would be interesting to know whether nesting birds of one
species sing the same in all localities where they nest, or
w'hether there is variation of much consequence. My own
notes .show only that with the few species which nest in
lyorain county, Ohio, the .songs of the birds which remain are
somewhat different from the songs of those that pa.ss further
north. Do the Ontario nesting birds .sing like tlie Ohio nest-
ing ones? Probably.

Is there a longitudinal variation as well as a latitudinal
one ? If any probably far less marked. With .some other
species, notably the Dickcissel, there is a marked difference
betw^een the singing of the Iowa and the northern Ohio birds.
If there is such a difference among the Warblers the notes at
hand give no evidence of it. We might naturalh' look for
.some variability in the .sub-species, growing into recognizable
permanent differences, .since they are variations in other
respects from the .species. But w^e might argue from this that
since genera are assemblages of .species which in .some prehis-
toric time evolved from a common stock by differentiation, that
therefore the .songs of all the members of a genus .should bear
a clo.ser resemblance to each other than to tho.se of any other
genus. Either this is not true, as we shall .'^ee, or else the
present sy.stem of classification is wholly wrong ; an unlikely
suppo.sition. Often .species of widely separated genera re.sem-

U) WARHI.KK SONGS.

ble each other more than species of the same genus. But it
must be said that the closest resemblances anywhere found do
lie within the genus, and between the species which are placed
side b)^ side in classification. An artificial key to the songs
would therefore group the species as unnaturally structurally'
as an artificial key to their colors. But let us defer further
discus.sion of variability until the study of the several species
again brings it into prominence.

We have become somewhat biased, I am afraid, in our
opinion that among the birds song belongs only to the males.
In large measure that is undoubtedly true, but it is not
universally true. The female Redstart sings at least one of
the variations of the male, and I have heard a feeble song
from the female Maryland Yellow- throat. The female Audo-
bon's Warbler is said to sing. I have suspected the female
Yellow- Warbler and the female Oven-bird of it.

DIFFICULTIES, AND METHOD OF
PRESENTATION.

^ I ^HE difficulties which one who attempts a description of
-^ the songs of the Warblers meets at the outset seem al-
most uusurmountable. First of all is the ' personal equation '
of the describer as well as the ' personal ecpiation ' of the one
for whom the description is attempted. This may be min-
imized by combining notes from many describers, thus securing
a sort of Volapuk description, which will really be a general-
ized song possibly suggestive to most persons already familiar
with the song, but practically useless to the novice. The
writer's practice, where there is considerable difference in the
descriptions, is to combine those that are alike into a type,
and then illustrate each type. Where this is not df)ne practi-
cal agreement may be assumed.

Another difficulty lies in the variability of individual birds
composing the species. Without such variabilit}' there would
be no progress of the species toward a more perfectly devel-
oped song. But the variation here is less of a hindrance to
the intelligent understanding of a description than the diffi-
culty stated above. Indeed, I am not sure but this difficulty
is a blessing in disguise, for some one of the variations may
fit the description for the learner, where an unvariable one
would utterly fail.

The one great difficulty lies in the almost entire lack, among
human signs and symbols, of anything to even approximately
represent birds' voices. We can only suggest with the means
at hand. Our sy.stems of musical notation are wholly artificial
and mechanical, theirs wholly natural and unhampered. Our
ears have become so accustomed to certain fixed intervals in the
chromatic .scale that we are prone to regard them as ab.solute ne-
cessities to any sort of melody. But if that be not true, there
yet remains the entire lack of characters with which to repre-
,sent the avian music in terms of human music. The learner's
first need, then, is to become accustomed to bird music experi-
mentalh". It is not necessary- to know what species is .singing;

IS WARBLKR ^^OXGS. *

that will follow in good time. Equipped with the knowledge
of what bird music is, the student can go on to a study of the
characters common to the members of some group, this in turn
followed by study of the individual species. It is not at all
necessary to know the songs of many species of a group before
the group type is learned. The .songs of a half dozen or less
will be enough.

To appreciate the realness of tlie.se difficulties one need
only scan the pages of a few books wherein bird songs are de-
scribed. Taking each description at its face value we should
be compelled to believe that there is no constancy to a song-
type within the species. But these diver.se descriptions are
often descriptions of the same individual bird, sometimes writ-
ten by different persons at the .same time standing .side by side.
It simply illustrates the first mentioned difficulty: that we see
things differently, hear sounds differently, call up the same
impression differently, are differently impre.s.sed by the same
thing ; and, of course, represent the .same thing differently.

In view of this it would be time and effort wasted to at-
tempt a description of the melody in the .song of each species.
Rather let the effort go into a representation of the more
mechanical production of the song. The melody can be
hinted in word description, and more or less of it will appear
if the attempt be made to reproduce the .song from the descrip-
tion given.

THE METHOD.

There are objections to any system of representation, be-
cause each, and even all taken together, are wholly inadequate,
but some method must be employed. The system most widely
used is the system of .syllables. The birds do not speak syl-
lables, but our minds seem to need something of the sort to
fix upon as a suggestion of the sort of sound produced. We
seem to a.ssociate high pitched, shrill .sounds with the vowel e,
low whistling sounds with o, or a as in ah; terminal .sounds
not too high pitched become u. Short, high-pitched sounds are
like / in it. The chief objection to this system probably lies
in the great diversity of the vowel sounds, making uncertain
what sound is intended. This may be obviated in large meas-
ure by agreeing what sound each vowel shall always represent.

AVARHLKK S<)X(iS. J<)

In this paper a, c, o and u are long, but /" as in it. Double
vowels represent a prolongation of the note which the syllable
represents. The consonants have the sounds which their posi-
tion necessitates. In addition to syllables, a sy.stem of dots
and dashes, which I have found valuable in field work, is
given where greater clearness seems to be gained by its use.
The chromatic scale has not been used enough in the printed
descriptions, nor in my own field work, to make its use here
practicable. It would no doubt prove of great value if used
for every species, furnishing means for fairly exact compari-
sons, but when employed only here and there and for but a
few species the gain over arbitrary characters would be slight.

The method employed for presenting the subject differs
from that usually employed. 'Instead of treating the species
separately and in systematic order, it has seemed better to
largely disregard the sj-stematic arrangement for the .sake of
grouping the .songs according to similarities exhibited in
method of delivery, expression, or what not. Assuming an
evolution of song, the order within the group is, .so far as
practicable, from the most primitive to the most .specialized.
But where a type has been taken, the order is from the ones
mo.st similar to those most dissimilar to the type. This leads
us to speak briefly of the probable origin of bird song.

Mr. Charles A. Witchell, in his book, " The Evolution of
Bfrd Song,"-'^ .says in .substance, that voice probably grew out
of grunts and hisses accidentally uttered during extreme fright
or during combat. These became call notes by bringing to
the aid 'of the one in di.stre.ss those of his own kind as helpers.
Call notes grew into call songs by the repetition of the simple
call notes, modification naturally following to produce, in time,
a song more or less different from the call note. And I may
add, the call .songs have grown into passion .songs by a process
of still further modification induced by an overilow of phy-
sical and perhaps mental vigor at certain seasons, no doubt
emphasized by the migratory habit of the larger proportion of
the class. We cannot stop to follow out the steps in the de-
velopment of bird song here. Tho.se who desire to do .so
should read the book above referred to.

*The Evolution ok Bird-Song ; | With | Observations on the Influence of | Heredity
and Imitation. 1 Bv Charles .\. Witrliell. | London. ' .Adam and Cliarles Black. 1K96.

WARBLER SONGS.

^ 1 "^HERE are, or were at the last count, fifty-seven species
-■- and sixteen subspecies of warblers accredited to North
America north of Mexico. Of this number the writer has
been able to find described more or less fully the songs of
forty-six species, leaving eleven species yet to be studied. Of
the subspecies it may be said that the songs are so similar to
the songs of the species from which they have sprung that
they are practically indistinguishable and so need not be
counted in the final result. If there are exceptions I have
been unable to find them.

These forty-six species (with their subspecies where any
occur) can readily be divided according to the style of .song,
and the divisions subdivided, but it must be understood that
this .style of division plays havoc with the accepted .systematic
arrangement of the group. For convenience we may first
distinguish two groups : Those with whistling songs ; those
with song otherwi.se. Treating the latter group first because
it includes the more generalized species if not the more gen-
eralized types of song, the sub-group whicli .seems naturally
to stand first may be designated :

THIN, WIRY, HIGH PITCHED .SOX(iS.

While this may .seem an arbitrary and therefore unnatural
group, it is convenient in bringing together songs which are
readily over-looked amid the May medley of stronger voiced
singers. If, as .seems likely, this type of .song is the more
primitive one, the group is not an unnatural one.

Perhaps the only character strictly common to ever\- mem-
ber of the group as here con.stituted, is the high pitch of the
.song. Some songs are wir^-, some insect-like, some thin with-
out being wiry, but all are high in pitch — so high that some
ears seem incapable of hearing them unless close at hand. But
it does not follow that the.se .songs are weak. On the contrary,
.some of them carry far. just as the shrillino^ of the cicada
carries far.

Grouping" within this group seems so impracticable that a
treatment of the species separately in systematic order would
appear more desirable.

Black and White Warbler. Mniofilfa varia. b'8(i.

The migrating song of this warbler is a thin, wiry sibilant
of repeated single syllables, or a series of double syllables,
ending, in both cases, with two shorter syllables. The one
typ>e is well represented by the syllables tse tse tse te te: the
other by ki-tse ki-tse ki-tse se sc. Not seldom the performance
seems to consist of a series of closely connected syllables, like
" i-]it'-a-wee-a-u>ce-a-u>cc '' ( Bums). The accent on the syllable
" wee." In every double syllabled .song the accent is on the
second syllable.

Apparently the migrants .sing but little and then fitfully.
Some .seasons none are heard singing at any time. It is one
of the last warbler songs that most of us are likely to learn,
unless the circumstances be more than usually favorable.
According to Nuttall the latter, presumably the breeding,
.songs are decidedly mellowed and somewhat resemble some
.songs of Redstart.

During the migrations the birds are to be found in con-
siderable numbers in almost anj- .sort of woods, as well as in
village and city parks and tree lined streets. The)^ are not
found we.st of the Plains, but are birds of the eastern United
vStates.

Blue -"winged Warbler. Hchuiufhophila pinus. (541.

The ordinary call .song of this species has a decided
insect quality. He seems to inhale a shrill zre-e-c-e-e-e and
immediately exhale a buzzing z^ve-r-e-e-c-e, the whole perform-
ance comprising a perfect double run thru about half an octave
of the scale. Often it seems to be a .simple zive-e-e-e-e-e ze-e-e-
e-e-e^ the latter part merely a .sputter. At its best the song is
a drow.sy, locu.st-like .shrill, belonging rather to mid-summer
than to spring.

There is another .song which is usually given during the
early summer months, but which I have heard shortly after
the arrival of the bird in the last days of April or the first
davs of Mav. This son<r is far more varied and has a far

\varbij-:k soxc.s. -i.)

better claim to be called a song. Mr. Chapman renders it
'Zi'ec, chi-chi-cln-clii, c/iur, chef-chiir, Mr. Burns reports still
another : c)u'-de-ih'-i\ Llu--c-de-(ie, che-de-dc-dcf, resembling the
Chickadee some what. These songs may possibly stand for
passion songs, since they are far sweeter and more jiowerfnl
than the other ; but they are not flight songs.

There are two definite song periods, the fir.st beginning
with the bird's arrival and ending about the middle of June,
during which time the in.sect song is given almo.st entirely ;
the second one beginning late in July or early in August and
continuing to the third week in August, this period being
characterized by the more varied song, but not to the entire
exclusion of the other.

The Blue-wing delights in the second growth bordering
uncut woods, where the ground completely dries only in mid-
-summer. Here he perches on the topmost twig of some am-
bitious young sprout or high bush and sings his hours away.
For his later .song he seems to prefer a le.ss con.spicuous perch
among the lower growth.

This is another eastern species, ranging west to Nebraska
and Texas, and north to .southern New England and Minnesota.

Parula "Warbler. Compsothlypis anicrica)ia. <)4S.

Parula's song is hardly wiry, but it is fine and delicate -
more like hair than wire. The more delicate singers seem to
sa}^ pc-isi\ pc-tsc, pe sec see, with a slight accent on the second
syllable of each phra.se. A rendering less delicate and probably
more commonly heard, Mr. Burns represents thus : cher-rc-rc.
chcr-re-re, cher-re-rc, and c/ier-er, c/ier-cr, chcr-er chc-c-c-c.
This is heard often during the migrations. There is a ten-
dency to an increa.se in volume to the end, the first notes being
more .softly uttered.

Mr. Bicknell recognizes two distinct songs. "In one,
the notes coalesce into a fine insect trill ; in the other, four
similar notes are followed by four others, weaker and more
quickl}' given."

It sings thruout its spring migration, and is .sometimes
heard during its return south. I have been unable to find
any record of the time when its song closes at its breeding
grounds.

n WARKLlvR SONCiS.

Northern Parula Warbler. CoDfpsof/ihpfx
auwricaua usnccc. (i-l-Sa.

The remarks on song are here given under the specific form
for the sake of uniformity, but they really apply to the sub-
specific form. The Parula Warbler is the southern form, occur-
ing in the south Atlantic and Gulf states, north in the interior
to Mt. Carmel, 111. ; the Northern Parula Warbler breeds along
the norther tier of states and into Canada, and west to the
plains. There is nothing to indicate that the songs of these
two forms differ perceptibly.

Cape May Warbler. Dendroica figrina. (ioO.

The lack of much definite imformation abovit the song of
this warbler in the literature of bird songs, will attest the
general rarity of the species. The only studied attempt at a
description seems to be that of Prof. A. W. Butler in his Birds
of Indiana, ''a-wii a-wit a-mit a-ioit a-tvit^ each pair of sylla-
bles repeated five times with moderate rapidity in the same
tone, with no inflection." This description answers very well
for the songs which I have heard if it be added that the effect
is only less wiry than that of the Black and White Warbler.
The birds sing on their northward journey but nave not been
reported on their return south among the singers.

I have found more individuals in orchards than an^-where
else. The only ones seen in Lorain County, Ohio, to my
knowledge, have been in the orchards within the village. But
they are known to flock with other members of the family in
the woods.

In the nesting haunts the male seems to delight in mount-
ing to the top of a tall tree and there pouring ovit his song
while the female broods over the eggs in a low bush at some
distance, thus misleading the nest hunter.

Another eastern species, west to the plains and north to
the Hudson Bay Territory.

Cerulean Warbler. Dendroica rara. ()o<S

Six different writers agree in their descriptions of this
bird's song. It consists of two distinct parts, the first of
several definite single syllables with a comma pause between

WARBIvKK SUNGvS. '27)

each two, followed by a trilled syllable of about double the
length of the first part. There is thus a marked resemblance
to Parula's song. The syllables fse, tse, tse, tse, te-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e,
serve to recall it to mind. The song rolls up the scale quietly
and evenly. The effect is less delicate than Parula's song, yet
not more wiry. A larger song from a larger bird.

My notes indicate that this warbler sings from his arrival
in the first week in May until the third week in May, and-
again during the last of June and first week of July. I have
never heard it sing during the fall migrations and find no
record of a song period then.

This is a bird of the interior of the United States between
the Alleghanies and the Plains and north to Ontario.

SONGS OF STRIKING CHARACTER.

Under this heading are grouped those species in who.se
.songs there is not only distinct individuality to .so great a de-
gree that resemblance to any other species is too faint to be
considered, but in which there is a decidedly striking effect.
It does not follow that the songs are loud, nor that they are
always sharp and clear, but .simply that they arrest the atten-
tion by reason of their individualit3^ Here, again, we are
unable to arrange the group logically, so that we must fall
back upon the s^'stematic arrangement. First in order and
probably also first in prominence is

Protonotary Warbler. Prothonotaria citrca. ()i)7.

It is sufficient to say that Prothonotaria rings out a pect,
tsweet, tszveet, tsiccct, fszcecf, tszvcet, which sounds like the Soli-
tary Sandpiper in the distance. One could hardly mi.stake it.
It is high pitched, penetrating and startling. Mr. Nehrling
calls him a fitful singer, but heard at all times of day and in
all weathers. Mr. Nehrling akso reports a passion .song which
is like the Oven-bird's passion song, reserved for select occa-
sions only.

This is a water-loving .species, frequenting low trees and
bushes which hang over the water or w'hich grow in swamps-
places. But there are many instances of more upland occur-
rence during the breeding sea.son. In some regions at least.

2(i WARBLKR SONGS"

the birds are familiar objects about the premises, and may also
nest about bridges which are in constant use. Dr. Thomas S.
Roberts has an interesting article in the July, 1899, Auk, in
which he figures nests of this bird in a bridge over the Missis-
sippi River opposite La Crescent, Minn.

I find no evidence of a second song period.
■ This Warbler is found over the eastern part of the country
west to Kansas and Nebraska and north into Minnesota, breed-
ing thruout its United States range.

Sennett's "Warbler. Compsothlypis nigiilora. 649

The only note relating to the song of this Warbler that I
have been able to discover is contributed by the discoverer,
Mr. George B. Sennett. He says of it: "Its notes are so
clear that the}^ can be heard at a long distance, and are readily
distinguishable from those of all other birds. There is thus a
marked departure from the type of the other member of this
genus.

In the United States this species is confined to the valley of
the lower Rio Grande in Texas. ^

Black-throated Blue "Warbler. Dendroica
caridesceyis. (>54.

This bird's versatility is one of his chief characteristics.
And the college campus birds seem to be rather more musical
and more versatile than those in the woods. Here, on the
campus, in one season, I have recorded the following varia-
tions :

tu, cuu euu eeee-e-e, soft at first, loud and rattling at the close.
chivcu cJnveii chzvcji, uniform thruout.
chw' chw' chw' chwee, the last syllable strong and full.
twe twe twe z-z-z-z-z \ indistinct at first, gathering force
te zzvee zwee zzcee-e-e-e, { and closing high and shrill.
we zve z-z-Z'Z-z-z, harsh and penetrating.

All writers agree that the song begins faintly, rapidly
gathering force until the shrilling climax of the last syllable
is reached. It is difficult to describe; but perfectly distinctive.

The spring migrants are with us for two or three weeks in
May, singing during their stay, and returning in September
when thev rarelv sing.

WARBLKR SUNGS. -27

The birds love the underbrush in the woods, but remain
well up in the trees on the campus where they associate with
the other tree haunting species.

Another eastern species which ranges west to the plains
and north to Labrador. The form which inhabits the higher
Alleghanies has been described as

'Cairns' Warbler. Dendroica ccerulescens caunisi. 654a.

The song and habits are likely identical with the species.
Golden-cheeked Warbler. Deyidroica chrysoparia. 666.

This species is given this place on the strength of a .state-
ment that its song of 'tser, iveasy-weasy-twea\ bears a resem-
blance to the song of the next species. The song is described
by Mr. Nehrling as compo.sed of soft notes. It also .suggests
some of the variations of Redstart.

It is a Mexican species which crosses into south-western
Texas.

Black-throated Green Warbler. Dendroica virens. 667.

While there is great diversity in the descriptions of this
Warbler's song, there is clearly evident in all the descriptions
the one peculiar type of song. No better illustration of the
diversity in hearing and interpretation could be afforded than
this list of syllable descriptions. The syllables which best
describe the type song to me are : pe, te, che-o, te, or pe, tc\
che-to, che. The enunciation is clear cut and the effect very
pleasing. It is an unique song. In musical notation it would
stand something like this : " ' ' . ' Not seldom there is a
double variation which might be represented thus: ■■■.".•
In every case the third and fourth syllables, and in the second
case the fifth and sixth also are tied together, the others being
staccato. It is the one Warbler song that students beginning
the stud}' of birds hear and heed.

During its stay, this Warbler is decidedly common on the
college campus as well as in the woods. It al.so ranges the
village streets — overhead.

The birds are usuall}' with us for the first three weeks of
Mav, singing during the whole time. They return again in

28 \V ARBITER SONOS.

September, but I can find no evidence of another song period
then.

The range is the same as the other eastern Warblers, reach-
ing the Plains in the west and Hudson Bay Territory in the
north.

To"wnsend's Warbler. Dendroica toiunsendi. 668.

Of this western species Mr. Merrill says: "The song is
like de, dc, de-dc, de, all especially the first three notes, like
Black-throated Green. It is different later in the season."

Western North America, east to central Colorado, north to
Sitka, Ala.ska.

Prairie "Warbler. Dendroica discolor. 673.

The remarkable quaintness of this Warbler's song cannot
be suggested on paper, unless Dr. Cones has done so in his
remark that it is "Like a mouse complaining of the tooth-
ache." The notes seem to suggest zee syllables repeated six
or seven times, deliberate at first, increasing to rapid at the
close. It is perhaps sufficient to sa)^ that no one, not even the
novice, could listen to the song without having his attention
instantly riveted.

I find no notes regarding the length of its song period, nor
as to whether it has a second song period.

The bird delights in thickets and brushy fields and pas-
tures, or almost any treeless thicket.

It is another eastern species, ranging west to the Plains and
north to Michigan and southern New England.

Macgillivray's Warbler. Geothlypis tolmiei. 680.

Rev. W. ly. Dawson's description of this western species'
song seems to fit the case, sheep, sheep, sheep, shear, shear,
sheep, or sheep, sheep, sheep, sheep, shear, sheep, bearing a good
resemblance to the song of Dickcissel.

It is a bird of the western United States, from the eastern
foot hills of the Rockies to the Pacific coa.st, and north into
British Columbia.

Hooded Warbler. ]\lisonia mitrata. 685.

Mrs. Wright represents this Warbler's song thus : che-

WARBLER SONGvS. -_><)

2veo-tsip, tsip, chc-wc-eo. While Mr. Chapman makes the bird
say, "You must come to the woods or you won't see me."
Rev. J. H. Langille recognizes a day song, che-ree-cherec, chi-
di-ee ; and a twiHght song, whe-j'ee-zi'hce-rce-eeh. The first
three sj'llables of the day song are loud and bell-like, the next
two uttered rapidly, the last with falling inflection.

According to Mr. Bicknell, the fir.st song period closes late
in June or rarely as late as early in July, the second during the
fourth week in August. He recognizes the two sorts of song
which seem to be of the nature of individual variation rather
than two distinct sorts.

Eastern North America, w^est to the Plains, north and east
to southern Michigan, southern Ontario, western and .south-
eastern New York, and southern New England. Breeds from
the Gulf of Mexico northward.

SONGS RESEMBLING THAT OF CHIPPING SPAR-
ROW (AND JUNCO).

The common character of this group is the trilling. Some
of the songs are decidedly shrill and almost wir\-, but
lack the distinctive characters of the first group. Some are
fairly round and full, but could not properly be designated
whistles. Some are somewhat striking in character, but all
are distinctly trilled. It must not be understood that the .songs
necessarily bear a clo.se reseniblance to the monotonous trill of
the Chipping Sparrow becau.se that species has been u.sed as a
comparison, but .simph' that the sparrow is the bird most likely
to be most generally known. The order adopted in this group
will be from the closer to the less close resemblance to the .song
of Chipping Sparrow, which is a trill or twitter of succe.s.sive
chipping .syllables, monotonous, high pitched and weak in
utterance.

"Worm-eating" "Warbler. Heliminthcrus vermivonis. '):^,i).

Song of the Chippy quality, but weaker, and bearing some
resemblance to that of Junco. Mr. Burns describes a song that
resembles that of Goldfinch : chat-ah-chc-chc chee-ckee-chee,
which seems to correspond well with a pa.ssion song in the
manner of utterance.

:{0 WARHLKR .S( JNG.S.

The favorite resort of this bird is a dry, wooded, nioder-
atel}' rough region, where the brush)- hillsides alid ravines
furnish a cover. He sometimes ventures into the open also.

This Warbler sings from his arrival in earl}' Maj^ until the
end of the first week, rareh' into the second week, of July.
Mr. Bicknell records a second song period during the latter
part of August.

Eastern United States, west to Nebraska, north to southern
New York and New England. Breeds throughout its United
vStates range.

Bachman's Warbler. Helminthopila bachnianii. 040.

According to Mr. O. Widmann, this Warbler, the Worm-
eating, Junco and Chipping Sparrow sing remarkably alike.
But the song of Bachman's W^arbler is shriller than that of
Chippy instead of being weaker. There is a little uncon-
firmed evidence that it also has a passion song. Mr. Brewster
describes the migrating .song as resembling that of Parula
Warbler.

I find no evidence of a second song period.

While migrating it keeps well to the treetops, but Mr.
Widmann found the breeding birds in the St. Francis region
of Missouri singing in the trees perched rarely higher than
forty feet. His paper on the finding of the first nest of this
species, in the Auk, Vol. XIV, page 305 to 309, is an admirable
account of the habits of the birds.

Hitherto Bachman's Warbler has been assigned to the
south Atlantic States (southern Virginia and Florida) and
westward to Eouisiana, but Mr. O. Widmann's labors have
• extended its range into south-eastern Missouri.

Golden-winged Warbler. Helminthophiia chrysoptera.

642.

The monotonous is emphasized in this bird's song hj its
being lazily and and drawlingly uttered. It is an unmusical
song. Mr. Samuels ha^ described it : zce-zee-zee-zce-zee.

There seems to be nothing relating to the length of the
song period, nor whether there may be a second one.

The bird haunts the scrubby .second-growth, or even the

WARHI.KK SONGS. :51

borders of dense woods, but when singing prefers the to])s of
the taller trees.

Eastern United States, north to southern New England,
southwestern Ontario, and southern Minnesota, breeding onlv
in the northern parts of its range.

Tennessee Warbler. Hdminthophila pcnorhia. (547.

The .song would be scarcelj^ distinguishable from that of
Chippy but for the first two syllables. They are not the ordi-
nary "chip," but more like "twip." There is also a ten-
dency to acceleration and increase in volume as the song
proceeds, in this also being unlike Chippy.

It arrives during the first week in May and tarries well into
the third week, singing during its stay. There is no second
song period on its return, about the middle of September.

My experience indicates that this. Warbler is far more com-
mon in orchards than anywhere else, particularly orchards in
the middle of village blocks. Comparatively few are met with
in woods. Others, however, in other places, find him com-
monly in the woods with other Warblers.

Eastern North America, north to Hudson Bay Territory,
breeding in the northern parts of New York and New England
northward.

Hermit Warbler. Dendroka occidentalis. <)(;•.).

The song is a penetrating tw'itter, harsher and more run
together than that of Chippy. Mr. Chester Barlow describes
the song thus : tsit tsit tsit tsit dice dice dice, the first four sy\-
lables gradual and of uniform speed, ending quickly with
dice dice dice.

There is no mention of the length of the song period, nor
of a second one.

This species ranges from the Rocky Mountains to the
Pacific coast and from Washington southward.

Pine Warbler. Dendroka vioorsii. f'lTl.

Mr. Chapman says of the song of this Warbler, that the
southern ones sing like Field Sparrow, but the northern
ones like Chippy. I have heard but one sing, and his song

;52 WARBIJ'.R SONGS.

closely resembled the song of Chippy, but was higher pitched
and more deliberate.

The birds probably .sing during their stay in the migrations,
but I find no record of a renewal of song on the southward
journey.

Eastern United States, west to the Plains, north to Mani-
toba, Ontario and New Brunswick.

Palm Warbler. Dcndroica palmaruni. 672.

The trill remains as a prominent feature, but the note is no
longer a true chip. Better tsee tsee tsee tsee, with a distinct
swell. Each syllable should be given a half double utterance
except at the middle of the swell, where the greater effort
seems to completely coalesce the half double quality into one
distinct .syllable. There is a little similarity to the song of
Myrtle Warbler, but lacking the liquid quality of that species.

The Palm Warbler arrives late in April and tarries well into
the third week of May, singing fitfully the while. He returns
again in the second week of September, but does not sing.

The Spring setting for this Warbler is a low, damp or wet
woods with a profusion of undergrowth.

This specific form occupies the interior of the United States,
north to Great Slave Lake. Rare in the south Atlantic States
during the migrations. While the

Yellow Palm Warbler. Dcndroica paliuarutn
hypochrysea. ()72a.

Occupies the Atlantic States, north to Hudson Bay. This
sub-species, from all I can learn, does not differ in song from
the species.

Myrtle Warbler. Dcndroica coronata. (555.

There is some variation in utterance with this species, but
the general effect is a trill or twitter, therefore bearing a closer
resemblance to the Chipp}^ than to any other group. The
syllable tsice repeated several times gives a fair idea of the
quality.

The Myrtle Warbler is with us from the third week in
April luitil the third week in M.2c\\ singing constantly; and

WARHIJvR SOXC.S. . :{•}

again throughout October, when no song has l)een lieard nor
reported .

Except when Myrtle bushes entice him away, the Myrtle
Warbler keeps well to the higher woods during the vernal
migration, but seems just as partial to fields during the return.

This is a bird of North America, chiefly east of the Rocky
Mountains, breeding from the northern United States north-
ward. A Pacific coast form has been descril)ed as

Hoover's Warbler. Dcudroica coronafa hoovcri. (Moa.

Audubon's Warbler. Dcndroica auduboni. C.-lf).

Dr. Coues states that the song of this species clo.sely resem-
bles the .song of Myrtle. Without describing it Mr. Merrill
states that the male has two distinct .songs, and that the female
-sings.

The species replaces the preceding one we.st of the Rockies,
north to British Columbia. It is accidental east to the Atlan-
tic coast.

Black-poll Warbler. l^cndroica striata. ()()1.

In execution the song resembles that of the Myrtle — all' in
the same pith and containing a perfect swell, but sounds more
like "striking two pebbles together," therefore lacking the
liquid quality of Myrtle. There are two renderings, the more
musical one containing a prelude of three or fovir distinct
notes, like tsip tsip tsip, followed by a twittering tsce tsec tf.
The other song is merely a twitter.

The Black-polls arrive late and make but a short stay,
singing the while. They have no .song period on the south-
ward journey.

They remain well up in the trees, and .seem rather partial
to th.e woods to the almost entire exclusion of parks.

Nearly the whole of North America east of the Rockies,
and to Alaska and Greenland. Breeding from northern I'nited
States northward.

SPECIES WHOSE SONGS RESEMBLE THAT ()E
YELLOW WARBLER.

Con.sidered accordinsf to the manner of utterance this is a

:W WAKHJJ'IR S()N(ivS.

fairly satisfactory group, and as to quality of tone there is evi-
dent correspondence, but beyond these it is an unsatisfactory
arrangement. The four species which sing alike in many
waj'S may perhaps be sub-grouped by themselves, leaving the
remaining four in another sub-group.

This type of song has a marked singleness and eaniestness
of purpose which at once arrests attention. The song is not
given as a sort of afterthought, or a thing of secondary im-
portance, but it requires a pause in the other activities until
the lay is finished. The syllables are clear cut, and the song-
has a distinct beginning and as distinct an end. It is complete
in itself. The earnestness of utterance often becomes vibra-
tory, approaching the passionate, yet distinctly non-passionate
in style.

All of the songs are high pitched, but clear and smooth,
just too high to be called a shrill whistle. They are simple
songs, every one, yet with a distinct touch of sweetness that
makes them prett}'. Perhaps no better idea of the style of
this song-type can be given than by a careful description of
the song of the

Yellow Warbler, [^endroica (csfiva. ()')2.

While there is no little variability there is little likelihood
of confounding any of the variations with other species. Now
it is sweet siveet szveet siveet siveeter sweeter, now siuect siveef
sweet sweetie, again zvee-chee, zae-chee, zvee-i-u; once more wee-
chee, e/ice, ehce, ehur-zvee. Over all presides the bird's distinct
individuality. In all the variations 1 have heard the penulti-
mate syllable is at a higher pitch, if the last phrase be three
syllabled, lower if the last phrase be two syllabled. There is
also a tendenc}^ to an increase in cadence to the last. The
whole song is forcible and loud, but smooth and pleasing. It
will be seen that in each variation there are two parts, though
the last ma}' be but a double s^'llable.

There is no second song period, because singing does not
cease until the last of July or the first week in August. It
should be remarked, however, that there is a marked decrease
in singing after the middle of July, at least in northern Ohio.
Sometimes individuals are heard singing after the middle of
August for a few days.

\vARi5i,i';i< soN(;s. :]7)

This Warbler's haunts are even more distinctive than his
son,^. He frequents brushy woods and low gardens which
abound in small shrulis, and is a well known orchard singer.
But his favorite nesting place is a swamp tangle of small trees,
bushes, vines and weeds. He does not hide in the foliage while
singing, as .some others do, but mounts to the top of .some con-
spicuous tree or bush and makes a busine.ss of it. He is not
to be seen within the taller woods, but about its edge in the
fringing brush.

In southern Arizona, western Texas and north -western
Mexico this .species is represented by

Sonora Yellow Warbler. Dcudroica irstiva

soi/ojaiia . V)7yla.

And in the coast region of Alaska by

Alaskan Yello"w Warbler. Doidroica cc$tiva
alaskciisis. (i-")2b.

Otherwise the true Yellow Warbler may be found in North
America generally, breeding nearly throughout its range..

Chestnut-sided Warbler. Dcudroica pomsvIvLmica. ().")S.

While the resemblance to the Yellow Warbler is certainly
clo.se in many respects, the .song is distinctly weaker and
usually shorter, uttered with less vehemence. Miss Ethel
Dane Roberts' description is happ}^: ''tsee tscc tscc, happy to
meet you." To my ear the syllables te te te te zee chu are the
most suggestive. But allowing just a little for poetical licen.se
in Miss Roberts' rendering, there is no difference at all. In
both the next to the last syllable must be given a third higher
than the others, which are all on the .same pitch ....'.
would suggest the same arrangement. The' song is often
shortened at either or both ends, but .six syllables seem to be
the limit. It is refreshing to find .such uniformity of descrip-
tion among writers. Nowhere is there greater discrepancy
than in the two descriptions given.

This Warbler arrives about the first of May and remains
two or three weeks, singing during his stay. On his return in
September he is silent.

:5C) WARBI.KR vSONGvS.

The Chestnut-side also frequents brushy places, but more
wooded ones where the brush forms an under-brush. He
shuns swamps, for the most part, as well as villages, prefer-
ring the woods ; yet he regularly visits the college campus —
that Mecca of the Warbler host.

His range is eastern North America, west to the Plains,
and north to Manitoba and southern Ontario, breeding in the
northern part of the range.

American Redstart. Sctophaga mticilla. r587.

In general tone and quality there is a strong resemblance to
the Yellow, but the range of variation is greater, and the song
distinctly belongs to the " ringing aisles" of the woods. The
commoner utterance can be recalled b}- die che chc c/ic-pa, the
last .syllable abruptly falling and weakening. A .soft, sweet
song is like zcce-scc, zvec-see-ii'cc\ with a suggestion, at least, of
lower pitch for the last syllable. Mr. Chapman represents a
strongly accented song by r/z/z/j,'" clung cliec, ser-wee, szctr,
swee-e-e-e. The fundamental difference between this bird's
song and that of the Yellow Warbler is that there is a ten-
dency to acceleration in the Yellow, w^hile there is always a
retard in Redstart. But even more distinctive, the two are not
found in the same situations. Redstart builds him a hou.se
within the woods, singing to the accompaniment of his own
echo.

It is well known now that the female of this species sings
at least the more simple of the variations. I have never heard
her sing the staccato described by Mr. Chapman.

My observations all point to continuous song from the
early May arrival well into August, but Mr. Bicknell has
found that there may or may not be a period of silence in July,
followed by a second song period in August.

The Red.start inhabits the whole of North America to Fort
Simpson, west regularly to the Great Basin, irregularly to
California. It breeds from the middle of the United States
noi'thward.

Magnolia Warbler. Dcndroica maculosa. (557.

Here the song differs from Yellow Warbler in ending in a
fallins: inflection and from the Redstart in having the first

\vari',m-;r songs. :yi

part distinctly double syllabled. I am now speaking of the
commoner songs. There is such great variation that one is at
a loss how to make comparisons. During the few days of mi-
gration I have already distinguished five \ariations, wliile Mr.
S. E. White, in the Auk, describes seven. Rev. J. H. Langille
distinguished the three types for three .stages of the migration
northward. In the south the song is a .soft whcc-cho, ivhcc-cho,
wliee-cho, liiliec-cho; in the north it is chcc-to, chce-to, chec-te-ec;
while the breeding song is crec-e-e-e-c-c.

To Mr. Galloway the .song .suggests a ' ' twisted cater-
pillar."

Mr. White's .seven variations are well worth reproducing
here.

1. Three notes, followed by one lower: ilu-'i^'cech che-
iveccli clie-o.

2. Three sharp clear whistles with a strong sound, then a
warble of three notes, the middle the highest, the latter clear
cut and decisive : pra pra pra r-e-oo.

8. Two quick sharp notes, followed by a warble of three
notes, the middle the highest ; the warble is .soft atid .slurred :
prut prut purreao.

4. A .soft falsetto warble, different in tone froni any other
bird .song : purra-e-io/tu-a.

~). Of the same falsetto tone, uttered rapidly: prut-ut-ut-
ut-ut.

(*). A harsh note like, in miniature, the cr\- of a Jay: d kay
kav kav.

7. A harsh k-t'-c-c-dl, the last syllable higher by a shade,
quick, and subordinated to the first part. The alarm is a
sharp zcck.

The.se fulh' cover the five which I have heard. The first
is distinctly like the Yellow Warbler.

This species sings during its stay in .spring, but I find
nothing to indicate that it sings on its return journey.

The species inhabits the spruce and hemlock woods when
breeding, but in the migrations it is found in any woods, and
not .seldom in village parks.

Eastern North America, west to the Ijase of the Rocky
Mountains and north to Hudson Ba^' Territory, breeding
mostlv north of the I'nited States.

:}8 \varhli-;r songs.

The remaining- four species may be regarded as forming a
transition to the Chipping Sparrow Group, the transition
being most marked in the last species to l^e described under
this heading. Yet it must be borne in mind that these species
in no small sense belong to this group, all of them, rather
than to the other one. *

Canadian Warbler. IJ'ilso/iia i-amu/fnsis. (iSd

Without being very marked, there is a certain similarity to
Yellow Warbler. The pitch is higher, lending a shrill effect,
the song averages shorter, or if longer there is a distinct swell
or small run, before the end instead of at the end. - - —
- - might serve to represent it. Or — — The
syllables I have written are in in tszce tit tii^ the long syllable
being higher pitched. Retaining this general character, the
song may be lengthened or shortened. Mr. Thompson's riip-
it-chee, riip-it-cJice, nip-it-chit-it-lit must be a variation of ren-
dering which I have never heard. The style of utterance
suggests bo^h the Yellow Warbler and Goldfinch.

The birds keep well to the trees, but are common on the
college campus as well as in the woods. They seem to rather
prefer the smaller growths.

Singing during its .stay in spring, but silent in fall.

Eastern North America, west to the Plains and north to
Newfoundland and Lake Winnipeg.

Orange-crowned Warbler. Hclminihophila celata. ()4(1

The song is full and strong, not very high pitched, and
ends abruptly on a rising .scale. My note book renders it chee
chee chee chw' chw\ The fir.st three syllables rapidl}^ uttered,
the last two more slowly. One heard late in the season sang
more nearly like Mr. Thompson's description : c/iip-e, chip-e,
chip-e, chip-e, chip-e^ but with the first vowel changed to c,
thus eliminating what would appear to be a marked similaait}"
to the song of Chippy. Even in this song the ending is
retained.

The Orange-crown sings while migrating northward, but I
find no evidence of any song during the southward movement.

One must look for this bird in the bu.shes fringing woods,

\v.\r]',i,1';k sonc.s. :ji^

or ill the dense iindergrovvtli of woods, where he conceals
himself when singiii";^.

Eastern North America, l^reeding as far north as the
Yukon and Mackenzie River districts. Rare east of the Alle-
ghanies, north of Virginia.

In the western XTnited States, from tlie Rocky Mountains
to the Pacific, the species is represented bv the

Liutescent Warbler. Hclminthop/iila celata
Ititescciis. (')4()a.

And on vSan Clem^iite. vSaiita Cruz, and Santa Rosa I.slands,
Cahfornia, by the

Dusky Warbler. Hclmi)itliophila celata sordicia. ()4()b.

Wilson's Warbler. IVilsonia pusilla. (vs.").

There is a variability in this Warbler's .song which lies
wholly within the group. Mi.ss Roberts has summed it up in
the following sentence: "It is sometimes like the ordinary
song of Yellow, .sometimes more like Redstart, sometimes al-
mo.st unaccented. ' ' But it is always shriller than either, besides
showing a tendency to marked z .sounds. Mr. Nuttall describes
it by the S3dlables ts tsli tsliea^ which strongly suggest a short
song of Yellow Warbler. It is a small .song, both in volume
and quantity.

This black - capped Warbler sings during his northward
journe}-, and I have heard weak songs on its return in
autumn.

Brush}' underwood is its favorite haunt, occasionally
going higher up in the trees. It .seems partial to places near
water.

Eastern North America, west to and including the Rocky
Mountains, north to Labrador, Hudson Bay Territory and
Ala.ska. Breeds north of the United States chiefly.

P'rom the Great Basin to the Pacific and north to Alaska
the form is

Pileolated Warbler. Wilsonia pusilla pilcolata. (is.ia.

Nashville Warbler. Hclminthophila ruhricapilla . (U").

There is considerable variation in execution of the .sons:,

40 WARBLKR SONGS.

some renderings approach closely to the song of Yellow War-
bler, while others resemble Chipping Sparrow. This is the
pivotal species of the transition from one group to the other.
Those which resemble the Yellow Warbler type are halting
and less rotund. Mr. Minot represents this type by the sylla-
bles luce-sec, we-see, ivil-a-wit-a-wit . Rev. J. H. Langille b}^
ke-ise, ke-tse, ke-tsc; chip-ec-chip-cc-chip-ee-chip, which satisfies
my ear better. Mr. Galloway also well represents it by ka-
cheepa cheepa cheepa checpa, pidiepc chip; the transition sylla-
ble from the first to the second part of the song is admirable.
The more Chippy- ward song may be represented thus: k-chip;
k-chip: k-chip: k-chip: chc-chc-chc-chc. The manner of utter-
ance is also transitional, but the whole .song is on the .same
pitch.

The Nashville .spends little more than the finst two weeks
of May with us, singing con.stantly, but on his return he is
.silent.

I have found this Warbler everywhere that trees are grow-
ing, but rather more numeroush' in moderate!}' brush)^ woods
than elsewhere. There he ranges rather low, but spends much
time in the trees.

Eastern North America, west to the Plains, north to the
Fur Countries.

West of the Rocky Mounains it becomes

Calaveras "Warbler. Hclminthophila mbricapilla
oiittiira/is. ')4")a.

WHISTLING SONGS.

Of the Whi.stling songs little need be said in general, except
to define what we mean by whistling. True, there are a
good many different kinds of whistles. Well, this is none of
them. You make it yourself : pucker your lips and blow !
That's the kind ! The types .selected are the Cardinal and
the pe-tee whistle of Chickadee. Here, again, we clearly
recognize a few tran.'^ition .species which it .seems best to
place last.

The group is readily subdivided into two sub-groups :
Yellow-breasted Chat, all others. Giving them this order, we
mav first treat

WARHLlvR SOXf.S. 41

Yello'w-breasted Chat. Ictcria virois. (iS.').

The song of the Chat is unique, not merely in this group,
l^ut in the whole class of birds. It is ventriloquil to a marked
degree, but it possesses a timbre all its own. It would be far
more proper to call the Chat's a performance rather than a
song. To the uninitiated he appears to imitate every other
sort of bird in the woodland, from the Crow and hawk to the
.sparrows ; but to one familiar with him the Chat appears in it
all. The imitation is not perfect, but approximate. Mr.
Burns gives the best syllabled description of the describable
part of the performance that I have seen : cop ! chick ! cock !
cJiack ! CO-CO-CO-CO-CO-CO., the fir.st .softly, .second, third and
fourth emphatically, the remainder loudly and rapidly.
There is usually a considerable pause between each of the first
four syllables. There is endle.ss variation in the performance,
but the.se syllables are conspicuous and form a large part of
the so-called .song proper. While the Chat's range of imita-
tion embraces nearly every voice of the woodland, he does not
attempt an elaborate imitation, but rather snatches here and
there from such parts as be.st suit his purpose.

The " flight song" of this .species is apparently not a pas-
sion .song at all, but rather comparable to the broken wing
tactics of .so many birds, or to the pitiful undone flutter of
Killdeer, since danger .seems necessary to call it forth. You
have been cautiously .searching hither and yon for a bird that
ought to be attached to that voice, but all in vain, wdien you
suddenly become aware of a loose bundle of feathers appar-
ently suspended in the air above you, jerking like a witch and
gradually settling down ; while the air .seems filled with a
most bewildering medley of every sort of bird voice. You
are too near his nest.

While performing, the bird remains well concealed high up
in the foliage of .some small tree, or in a thicket, but he will
umnask if approached unawares. He is wary and alert. His
favorite haunts are the bru.shy thickets bordering woods, or
brier thickets with a few small trees.

He is one of the few night singers, singing at all hours of
the night, but less frequently from twelve to two. It is no
dreamv performance, but a wide-a-wake intentional .song that
rinars and rings again on the still air.

4:2 WARBLKR vSONGvS.

He is singing' when he arrives in the first week in May,
and does not cease until the last of July or first of August.
He has no second song period.

This species occupies nearl}' the whole of the United States
to Ontario and .southern New England, west to the Plains ;
west of the Plains to the Pacific it becomes

Long-tailed Chat. Icferia virois loni^icaiida. ()S3a.

The remainder of the group need not be definitely subdi-
vided. The transition species will be mentioned when they
are treated. For lack of any evident logical order, we may
begin with the best known species.

Oven-bird. Sf/unis aurocapiUus. ()74.

The well-known double syllabled cry of this bird would
.scarcely need more than mention were it not that there is hon-
est difference of opinion regarding the place of accent. As Mr.
Chapman has well said: "It is a long, ringing creschendo
chant, to which Mr. Burrough's description of ' teacher,
teacher. TEACHER, TEx\CHER, TEACHER; is so appli-
cable that no one would think of describing it in any other
way.'" The accent must evidently be upon the first syllable.
The birds that I have heard have persisted in accenting the
second syllable, the first one being weak and .short : /'-chee.
But this difference is rather technical than fundamental, since
any one could readily identify the bird by Mr. Burl-ough's de-
.scription. The description of the passion .song will be deferred
so that the ' ' Water Thrushes ' ' may be treated together.

The birds arrive very near the first of May, usually many
together, and are singing. They .sing well into the middle of
July, but after the third week of June there is a marked wan-
ing. Song is resumed, but less vehementlj^ in August, usually
ceasing before its close. \^ery few songs are full and strong
during this second period.

The accompaniment of the Oven-bird's chant is a high,
damp to wet woods where the upturned roots of fallen trees
leave hollows for little ponds to form.

North America ea.st of the Plains, north to Hud.son Bay
Territory. The breeding range extends from Kansas, the
Ohio Valle}^ and Virginia northward.

WARBLICR SONGS. •!:$

"Water-Thrush. Sciio-us //oirdoraccj/s/s. (>7.").

I shall not .soon forget the an*xious days and nij^hts that
this water sprite caused me before I could rightly .say that I
had .seen him singing. The .song was burned into my mem-
ory: S7cect sweet Sivect chu-chu-'i.ccc-cliH ■ . The

first three .syllables strongly accented and staccato, the last f(nir
short and run together into one phra.se, the next to the last a
third or more higher. Occasionally' one sang to to chc-7cc chc-
icc chc. . ■ ■ The first two indi.stinct, the third, fifth

and last strongly accented and a .sixth higher, the fourth and
.sixth a little lower than these. Both .songs are high pitched,
clear, liquid whi.stles that carry far.

The Water-Thru.sh comes to northern Ohio near the first
of May, and sings during his stay of three weeks. On his
return early in September he is .singing as vigorou.sly as wlien
he departed, for aught I can tell.

I have heard the song only in wet brushy places, prefera-
bly low woods or brushy clearings. The bird has .sometimes
been seen in wooded uplands. One regularly vi.sits a wet tan-
gle well within the village of Oberlin.

From Illinois eastward, north to Arctic America. From
Illinois west to the Pacific coast the form becomes

Grinnell's Water-Thrush. Sciurus iiovebonnoisis
iiotabi7/s. ()7r)a.

Louisiana Water-Thrush. Seiii/ns i/iofacitla. ()7().

The ordinary .song is, to my ear, a .series of double .sylla-
bled, clear, ringing whistles, followed b}^ a soliloquizing twitter.
It is a thrilling burst that is startling and wild. The proper
accompaniment is a wild, wooded glen in which a stream tum-
bles over its rocky bed.

Like the Water-Thrush, this species has two .song periods,
the fir.st clo.sing late in June or earh* July, the .second begin-
ning early in August. I have heard the passion .song in
August al.so.

West to the Plains, north to southern Michigan and .south-
ern New F^ngland, ca.sually to Lake George.

The passion song of the water thrushes are so much alike
that a description of one will serve for all. There is in each

a WARHIJiR SOXCtS.

the same ringing ecstac\' of joy. The song seems to swing
once round a great circle with incredible swiftness but perfect
ease, ending in a bubbling diuiiducndo as the performer lightly
touches the perch or ground with half rigid wings held high.
The song is a flight song, usually occupying less than half a
minute, but jixicked with the intense life of the bird. I have
seen the Oven-bird suddenly vault into the air, mounting to
the tree tops on quivering wings, then dart back and forth in
a zigzag course swift as an arrow% and finally burst into a song
as he floated gently down. There is some difference in the
passion songs of the three species, which seems to be in the use
of some notes of the ordinary song at the close, rareh^ at the
beginning. Sometimes the Oven-bird closes his passion song
with a burst of the perfect call song.

It seems hardly fair to say that the songs of the Water-
Thrushes are thrush-like, since there is almost nothing of the
true thrush timbre to their songs. On the contrary, a careful
analysis disclo.ses, rather, a true Warbler timbre, olxscured
as it is.

Swainson's Warbler. Hclinaia sicaiusonii. <)8S.

Mr. O. Widmann, who has probably given the breeding
song of this Warbler more careful study than any other per-
son, says of it : "It begins like the Water-Thrush and closes
like the I^ouisiana Water-thrush." Mr. Wm. Brewster de-
scribes the song as "A series of clear ringing whistles, the first
four uttered rather slowly and on the same key, the remaining
five or six more rapidly and in a descending scale. ' ' He also
says that in general effect it resembles the song of Water-
Thrush. The Warbler is not a regular singer, according to
Mr. Widmann, but seems to wait for an inspiration, and when
it comes he must needs deliver his message.

I can find nothing definite concerning the song period, nor
as to whether there may be a renewal in the fall.

The haunts of this bird are the va.st swamp tracts of the
southern states, as far north at least as the southern-most
counties of eastern Missouri, where Mr. Widmann found it
nesting. It apparently ranges to south-western Indiana and
west to Texas.

\VAR]51J'",R SONCS. 1.")

Mourning' Warbler, licothlypix Philadelphia. (')7'.).

In quality and style this Warbler's songs bears a strong
resemblance to that of Water-Thrush, the variations having
the same general quality, but the song is considerably less in
volume and lacks the wild thrill of the W^ater- Thrush. The
song which I have heard most frequently is tec tc-o tc-o tc-o
wc-sc, the last couplet accented and much higher pitched. A
4ess common form slighth' resembles the crcschcndo chant of
Oven - bird, but is weaker. It is rather a sw^ell than a
creschcndo. Dr. Merriam describes a variation which I have
never heard : true true true true too, the last and next to the
last syllables with falling inflection and more softh'. The .song
is clear and w'histling.

Song is incessant during the northward movement, but
there is apparently none on the return journey.

This Warbler frequents low brush thickets in rather damp
places, and appears to be solitary in its habits when migrating.

West to the Plains, north into Canada, breeding from the
northern states northward.

Olive Warbler. nendroica otivacca. ()")1.

Very little seems to have been written of the song of this
Warbler. From that little one would be led to expect a high
pitched, melodious, liquid, whistling song, on a descending
scale ; the separate notes not unlike the first note in the
Whipporwill's lay; pos.sibly resembling the last cadence of
Swainson's Warbler.

The Olive Warbler lives in the highlands of Guatemala and
Mexico, north into southern New Mexico and to Mt. Graham,
Arizona.

The songs of the next three species bear a resemblance to
the clear whistles of Carolina Wren ; but the resemblance is
rather in the quality of the whistle than in the manner of
utterance.

Yellow-throated Warbler. Dcndroiea dominica. r)()8.

This song seems to resemble that of Indigo Bunting as
well as Carolina Wren, but it is wilder and more ringing than

4() \\ari51,1';r son(;s.

the Indigo. Mr. Brewster describes it tints : fwsrc-fii'scc-hi'scc-
sec\ the last two rising and terminating abruptly. I find no
mention of a .song period in fall. The song has a certain ven-
triloquial quality.

The birds frequent the tops of trees bordering streams,
moving about rather leisurely for warblers.

This species is confined to the southern United vStates,
north to southern Maryland and Virginia, rarely to southern
New England. The sub-species

Sycamore "Warbler. Doniroira domhiica albilora. <)()8a.

Is the form which inhabits the Mis.sissippi Valley from western
North Carolina to the Plains, north to .southern Michigan.

The described songs seem to be practically identical with
those of the species. Prof. A. W. Butler gives the fullest de-
scription : tiuit, che-e, dic-t\ chc-e, chc-c\ che-a, the first abrupt
with ri,sing inflection, the next four following after a pause,
all on the same pitch, the last ri.sing sharply. While the syl-
lables are different the description is almost exactly as above.

As the name indicates, this Warbler is mo.st at home among
the upper branches of sycamore trees which fringe the streams.
His untiring activity makes .study tantalizing.

Kirtland's Warbler. Dcudroica kirtlaiidl. ()70.

The song of this rare Warbler .shows a marked tendency
toward the Maryland Yellow-throat type, with a full oriole-like
quality, " in marked contrast to the high notes of many war-
blers." It also resembles the .song of the Yellow-throated.
Warbler. There are no syllable descriptions.

The rarity of this Warbler makes his geographical distribu-
tion .somewhat uncertain. But he seems to be one of the
warblers of the eastern part of North America, west at least
into Illinois and Wisconsin, and east to Wa.shington, D. C.
He probably breeds north of the ITnited States

Kentucky Warbler. Dcudroica formosa. (i77.

The song of this species is probably more like the whistle
of the Carolina Wren than any other Warbler. Mr. Burns has

\v.\rhm-;r soxcs 47

studietl the song so carefully that he is fully qualified to speak
for his locality at least. He has clearly distinguished a type
for the earlier migrants and another for such as remain to
breed. The migration type is : pecr-ry pecr-ry pcer-ry peer-ry
pi'cr-n\ often clicc chcc chec perc-ty pcrc-cy perc-cy. The breed-
ing song is : too-dle too-dlc ioo-dle too-dic. The style of delivery
is Cardinal-like, but weaker and finer in tone. The song car-
ries far, ringing thru the woods. The bird seems to prefer to
sing while perched, and rarely if ever does so while feeding.

One must look for this Warbler in rather den.sely grown
wet or well watered woods, more often on the ground than in
the trees. He is one of the Warblers that walk.

Mr. Burns states that the .song period cea.ses about the
middle of July (17 in IS'.)'.)), and no mention is made of re-
newal of .song later.

West to the Plains, north to .southern Michigan. Breeds
from the Gidf states northward.

This properly clo.ses the group of true whistlers. While
the species which follow are tran.sational they are more clo.sely
allied to those which precede than to any others. They are
strong-voiced birds whose .songs possess a carrying power
second only to the preceding species, and exceeding .some of
them. The most familiar one is

Maryland Yellow-throat. Gcof/i/ypis f?-i(/ias. (isj.

The call .song is a repetition of three or four syllabled
phrases, one of the .syllables strongly accented. vSometimes
the accent is on one, sometimes on another syllable. The va-
riation is neither individual nor seasonal, as au}^ one may
readily prove by listening to an individual -sing for half an
hour. The song is well represented by the syllables com-
monly u.sed to describe it : icichity, icichity, ivichity, or iccc-clic-
ti\ for the three - syllabled song, and zvee-te-chec-te or zcec-
tee-sce-fce, for the four-syllabled. In every three-syllabled song
that I have heard the accent has been on the first syllable. In
the four-syllabled it may be on either of the four, at the pleas-
ure of the performer. The accented syllable has the appear-
ance of being longer than the others, and it is often on a
higher pitch.. Not infrequently the third and fourth .syllables

48 WARBIJvR vSOXCiS.

are raised in pitch more or less, in which case the accent is
likely to be spread over both, the third taking- rather more of
it. The song^ usually increases in \'olume as it proceeds.

The tone is shrill, but loud and clear, and closely ap-
proaches a whistle, but having a suggestion of the Warbler
hiss. The bird throws his whole being 'into the utterance.
His perch is usually elevate<:l somewhat above the surrounding;
brush, while singing, but is seldom on the topmost twng.

This species has a passion flight song which is delivered
much after the fa.shion of the Oven-bird, and is not unlike it
in being a medley of its call .song notes.

The Maryland Yellow-throat arrives singing with the ho.st
of warblers in late April or early May. and sings well toward
August. After about a month's rest he resumes the song, but
ceases again about mid-September. Rarely one may hear the
.song all summer long. Mr. Bicknell regards the September
singing rare, but my record of four years shows no latex\ugu.st
singing, but alw^ays early in September full songs.

The specific form is confined to the region east of the Mis-
.sissippi River and south of Hud.son Bay and Labrador. From
the Mi.s.si.s.sippi Valley to the Cascade Mountains it becomes

"Western Yellow-throat. Geofhiypis fridias
occidcntalis. (iSla.

And from Florida to southern Georgia the
Florida Yellow-throat. GeofJjlvpis fn'chas ioitofa. 681 b.

The Pacific coast form is
Pacific Yellow-throat. Geofhiypis fricas arizda. (iS'lc.
It seems likely that the two .south -we.stern forms.
Belding's Yellow-throat. Gcothlypis bcldingi. (182.
which inhabits the southern part of Lower California, and

Rio Grande Yellow-throat. Gcothlypis polioaphala
ralphi. ()S2.1.

which is found in the lower Rio Grande Valley, are not

\\ARMI,KR SONCrS. -19

greatly unlike our eastern form in song. At any rate this
is as good a place for them as could well be found.

Connecticut "Warbler. Ccothlypis agilis. (JTS.

In this song there is a mixture of Oven-bird and Maryland
Yellow-throat, but the resemblance is no doubt closer to the
latter. Mr. Thompson's free-chapple free-chapple free-chapple-
ivhoit will recall it to some. Mr. Butler prefers the word
"beecher." Mr. Gault describes six variations which .seem
well worth repeating' here.

1. Wheat-a: icheat-a: zuheat, gradually increasing in vol-
ume to the last.

2. Wheat, our zcinter wheat, or our zuinter zvheat.

'>. Chip chce-a-7ccc; chip chee-a-ivee ; chip chee-a-wee.

4. Wheat, winter wheat, zv inter wheat, winter wheat.

5. Wheat here, and sometimes only wheat .• this on bright
moon-light nights.

(i. Wheat-it-ta, 7vheat-it-ta, wheat, the last sjdlable some-
times omitted.

No one could doubt the resemblance to Maryland Yellow-
throat from these representations.

I find nothing to indicate the duration of the song period,
nor whether there is the recurrence of song in fall.

The northern tamarac swamps and bogs are the home of
this Warbler. It is one of the "ground warblers," spending
much time on the ground.

It is another of the numerous company of warblers of east-
ern North America, breeding north of the United States. It
passes north with the Warbler host in early May.

There are several species whose songs have not been de-
scribed at all, or inadequately described for the purposes of this
paper. They may be given in systematic order.

Lucy's "Warbler. Helminthophila Incite. ()48.

Arizona and extreme southwestern Utah, from the Santa
Clara ^^allev .southward to vSonora : New Mexico.

50 WARHLKR vSON'GS.

Virginia's Warbler. Hchninthopliila virginicc. ()44.

' ' The male is very nuisical during the nesting season, utter-
ing his sicee ditty continually as he skips thru the bushes in
search of his morning repast ; or having satisfied his appetite/
he mounts to the top of some tree in the neighborhood of his
nest, and repeats at regular intervals a song of remarkable full-
ness for a bird of such minute proportions." — Mr. Aikin, in
Nehrling's Our Native Birds of Song and Beauty, Vol. I,
p. 181).

Rocky Mountain region of the United States, from W370-
ming. Colorado, Utah, and Nevada southward on the table-
land of Mexico and Guanajuato.

Grace's Warbler. Dendroica grader. (iH-l-.

" This beautiful Warbler is pre-eminently a bird of the pines.
It is found as soon as the pine belt is entered, and continues
almost to its upper limit ; but I did not meet with any in the
aspens, firs, or spruces above the pines. Its song is a sweet
warble, frequentl}' uttered from the lower boughs." — Dr. E. A.
Mearns in The Auk, Vol. 7, p. 2(U.

Southern New Mexico and Arizona, and south into Sonora.

Black-throated Gray Warbler. Dendroica
fiiorescens. ()Hr).

The only description that I have been able to find is that
by Nuttall, '' i-shee-tshay-tshaitshee, plaintive." It would be
difiicult to assign its position from so meagre a description.

Western United States, north to Colorado, Oregon and
Briti.sh Columbia west of the Ca.scades.

Painted Redstart. Setophaga pida. 688.
Mountains of Mexico, north to southern Arizona.

Red-bellied Redstart. Sdophag-a miniata. [H<S9.]
Highlands of Mexico. Texas ( Giraud).

WARIUJ'.R S()X(iS. 51

Red-faced Warbler. Cardinclla nibrifons. 690.

Southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, thru
Mexico to Guatemala.

Red Warbler. E)Q;aticus ruber. [691.]
Hij^hlands of Mexico. Texas ( Giraud).

Brasher 's Warbler. HasUeiiterus cidicivorus. [692.]

Central America, from Panama north to Eastern Mexico.
Texas ( Giraud ;.

Bell's Warbler. Basilcutcms belli. [f)<.);i]

Guatemala and Mexico, north to the temperate regions of
Vera Cruz. Texas (Giraud ).

CONCLUSION

It is painfully apparent, from the foregoing discussion,
that the subject is far from exhausted. We have hardly more
than scraped the rind of it yet. We need first of all to learn
the songs of the remaining species and sub-species. We need
to devise some more perfect method of representing the songs
which will admit of more fruitful comparisons than those now
in use make possible. We need to follow the whole course of
the migrating birds in order to learn what the variations are,
where there are any, in the course of the journey northward ;
and if the breeding song differs from the migrating songs,
what the difference is and why. We know so little about the
second, or autumn, song period, that it is necessary to study it
from the beginning with most species. We know that the fe-
males of some species .sing, but under what circumstances and
what part of the whole song of the species is not known.
The.se are questions which can be answered by careful .study.

There are other problems which belong more particularly
to the wider subject of bird song, but which a .study of War-
bler .songs will greatly help to solve. How far the sub-species

-}-2 WAKBI.HR SONC.S.

have departed from the song - type of the species ; whether
there is a recognizable longitudinal variation in keeping with
color variation, as the process of differentiation grows toward
the formation of sub-species from merely geographical races ;
what the difference is between young and old, bright plumaged
and dull plumaged birds within the species ; what is the effect
of environment upon the same individual to determine its
effect upon the species ; how far imitation determines the qual-
it}^ of the song of the individual. And so we might go on
suggesting topics for study to the end of the page. We need
only to perceive that the subject is inexhaustable, and a fruit-
ful one for investigation.

A FIELD KF.Y TO THE SPRING MALES.

I. Throat retl, orange or chestnut.

II. Throat black or dark .slate-color.

III. Throat yellow, white or whitish ; uiider-parts without streaks or spots.

W. Throat white or whitish ; under-parts streaked or spotted.

\'. Throat yellow ; under-i)arts .streaked or spotted.

I. Throat Red, Orang-e or Chestnut.

1. Throat chestnut.

a. Top of head che.stnut ; sides of head black. Bay-brea.sted Warbler.

b. Whole head rich chestnut. ( Extreme .south-west).

Mangrove Warbler.

2. Whole throat, chest and head orange-rufous. ( Extreme

south-west ) . Olive Warbler.

3. Throat orange or flame-color ; crown yellow. Blackburnian Warbler.

4. Throat red.

a. Crown and ear-coverts black. 1 Extreme .south-west).

Red-faced Warbler.

b. Ear-coverts silvery-white. (Extreme south-west). Red Warbler.

II. Throat Black or Dark Slate-Color.

A. Belly white.

1. Back blue-gray; side of head black and white. (\\'estern).

Black-throated Gray Warbler.

2. Back deep blue ; a white spot in wing. Black-throated Blue Warbler.

3. Back black ; a white spot in wing. ( Alleghanies). Cairns' W'arbler.

4. Back black ; sides of head yellow and black.

Golden-cheeked Warbler.

5. Back gray and black ; top antl sides of head yellow.

(Western). Hermit Warbler.

(5. Back green ; cheeks and forehead yellow.

Black-throated Green Warbler.
7. Back olive-green ; line over eye and breast, yellow.

( We-stern 1. Townsend's Warbler.

•S. Back grayish ; a large 3'ellow patch in wing.

Golden-winged Warbler.
9. Back black ; patches of flame-color in wing, on sides of

breast and in middle of tail. Rerlstart.

.IJ WARBI.HR SUNGvS.

B. Belly yellow.

1. Throat slate-color.

a. No white eye-rint; ; l^reast with traces of black.

Mouniins^ Warbler.

b. A white eye-riny,- ; breast witli no traces of black.

Connecticut Warbler.

c. A white .spot on eyelid ; sides of head l)lack. ( West-
ern ). IMacyillivray's Warbler.

2. Throat black.

a. Forehead and cheeks yellow, rest of head black.

Hooded Warbler.

b. Forehead yellow ; crown ^\•itll a black jjatch.

' Bachman's Warbler.

C. Belly red.

1. A large white patch on wing ; no chestnut on head.

(South-west). Painted Redstart.

2. No white wing patch ; chestnut patch on crown, i South-

west). Red-bellied Redstart.

III. Throat Yellow, White or Whitish; Under-
parts Without Streaks.

A. Large as a Catbird.

1. Back olive-green; throat and breast rich yellow.

Vellow-brea.sted Chat.

2. Back olive-gray. (We.stern). Long-tailed Chat.

B. Much smaller.

I. Throat yellow.

a. Whole head, neck and breast l)right yellow.

Protonotary Warbler.

b. P'orehead and cheeks black ; line over yellow eye.

Kentucky Warbler.

c. A broad, rounded black patch on cheeks.

Maryland Yellow-throat.

(Note. — An artificial key to the Yellow-throats would be of such
doubtful value a-field that the reader is referrefl to the habitat of the dif-
ferent forms in the body of the paper).

d. Head and back olive-green ; two white wing-bars. Pine Warbler.

e. Crown blui.sh ash or gray.

1. Upper tail-coverts yellowish olive-green.

(a). Lower parts yellow.

(I). Yellow intense. (We.stern). Calaveras Warbler.

(2). Yellow less intense. Nashville Warbler.

(b). Lower parts white or whitish. ( Western).

Virginia's Warbler.

2. Upper tail-coverts chestnut. (We.stern). Lucy's Warbler.

WARBI.HK SONGS. ho

f. Forehead yellow ; a black line in front of eve.

Blne-winj^ed Warbler.
^. Forehead yellow ; crown l)lack.

r. Duller colored. Wilson '.s Warbler.

2. Brighter colored. (Western). Pileolated Warbler,

h. Head bluish ; breast with a chestnut patch.

1. Underparts yellower; less black on side of head.

I'arula Warbler.

2. Underparts duller ; side of head blacker.

Northern Parula Warbler.

3. Same as I and 2. ( Extreme .south-we.st ). Sennett's Warbler,
i. Head ash-L^ray; line over eye yellow. ( South-we.st).

Grace's Warbler.
j. Top of head with black stripes.

1. Lores chestnut. (South-west I. Brasher's Warbler.

2. Lores black. (South-west). Bell's Warbler.
HL Throat white or whitish.

a. Crown with two blackish stripes. Worm eating Warbler.

b. Crown plain brown. Swainson's Warbler.

c. Crown bluish-ash ; Ijack olive green. Tennes.see Warbler.
(1. Crown with a partially concealed patch of rufous brown ;

back dull olive-green ; underparts pale vellow.

Orange-crowned Warbler.
ee. Above bright olive-green ; brighter underneath.

(Western). Lutescent Warbler.

Another western form, not very different, is Duskv Warbler.

IV. Throat White or Whitish; Under-parts
Streaked or Spotted.

A. A patch of yellow on the side of the breast.

1. Crown and rump with a yellow spot. Myrtle Warbler.
There is no field character to distinguish the western

form. The wing and tail are longer. Hoover's Warbler.

2. Yellow band on middle of wing and tail. Innnature of Redstart.

B. No yellow patch on side of breast.

1 . With con.spicuous wing bars.

a. Back bright bluish. Cerulean Warbler.

b. Back grayish ; crown black. Black-poll Warbler.

c. Back greenish yellow ; sides chestnut. Chestnut-sided Warbler.

2. Without wing-bars. Walking Warblers.

a. Middle of crown with a rufous streak. Oven-bird.

b. Crown plain ; line over eye buff. Water-Thrush.
The form from Illinois westward is larger.

Grinnell's Water-Thrush.

c. Crown plain ; line over white eye. Louisiana Water-Thrush.
■\. Hvervwhere streaked black and white. Black and White Warbler.

5(5 WARRLICR SOXC^S.

V. Throat Yellow^, Under-parts Streaked or
Spotted.

A. Belly while.

:. Line over eye yellow in front of eye. Yellow-throated Warbler.

2. Line over eye entirely white. Sycamore Warbler.

B. Belly yellow.

1. Streaks on the unclerparts rnfons brown.

a. Crown yellow, back .s^reenish. Yellow Warbler.
( NoTK. — The sonth-western form, with back yellower and streaks

underneath almost obsolete, is Sonora Warbler.

The darker form inhabiting Alaska to British Columbia, is Alaskan
Yellow^ Warbler).

b. Crown Chestnut, back brownish.

( I ). Undeparts soiled yellowish-white. Palm Warbler.

(2). Underparts entirely bright yellow. Yellow Palm Warbler.

2. Streaks or spots on the underparts black.

a. A yellow spot on crown and rump. (Western).

Audubon's Warbler.

b. Back grayish, unstreaked ; a necklace of black

.spots on the breast. Canadian Warbler.

c. Back greenish, streaked with black ; crown bluish.

Kirtland's Warbler.

d. Back greenish, streaked with black ; ear-coverts rufous.

Cape May Warbler.

e. Back greenish, with a patch of rufous Vjrown. Prairie Warbler.

f. Back black ; crown grayish ; tail black with a white

band across the middle. ^lagnolia Warbler.

INDEX TO THE ENGLISH NAMES.

Chat, I.ong-taii.kd,
Yellow-breasted, .

42
41

ovkx-biki) 42

Rkdstakt, American. ... 36

Painted 5°

Red-bellied, 5°

Warblek, Alaskan Ykij-ow, 35

Audubon's, 33

Bachnian's, 30

Bay -breasted, 24.

Bell's, 51

Blackburnian 3^^

Black and White, ... 22

Black -poll 33

Black-throated Blue, . . 2d

Black-throated Gray, . . 50

Black-throated Green, . . 27

Blue-winged, 22

Brasher's, 5'

Cairns' 27

Calveras, 4°

Canadian, 3^

Cape May, 24

Cerulean 24

Chestnut-sided, .... 35

Connecticut 49

Dusky, 39

Golden-cheeked 27

Golden-w-inged . . . . -{o

Grace's, 5"

Hermit, 3'

Hooded, ...,•• 2S

Hoover's, 33

Kentucky, 46

Kirtland's 4^

Lucy's 49

Lutescent 39

Macgillivray's,
Magnolia, .
Mangrove, .
^Mourning, .
ZMyrtle. . . .
Nashville, .
Northern Parula,
Olive, . . .
Orange-crowned,
Palm. . . .
Parula, .
Pileolated, .

Pine

Prairie, . . ,

Prolonotary, ,

Red, ...

Retl-faced, .

Sennetl's, .

Sonora Yellow

Swainsou's,

Sycamore, .

Tenne.ssee, .

Townsend's,

Yirginia's, .

Wil.son's.

Worm-eating,

Yellow, .

Yellow Palm,

Yellow-throated,

2.S
36
35
45
32
39
24
45
38
32
23
39
3>
28

25
51
51
26

35
44
46

3'

2.S
50

39
29
34

32
45

Water-Thkcsh 43

Grinnell's, 43

Louisiana 43

Yki.i.ow-throat, Bki.dinc's, 48

Florida 4^

Maryland 47

Rio Grande 4^

Western 4^

ERRATA.

Page 3, 6th line from top, for " Anamalium " read Aninialinm.

10, 9th Hne from top, for " kind " read bird.

11, 9th line from bottom, for "kind " read bird.

13, 15th and 2nd lines from bottom, omit quotation marks.

14, 17th line from top, for " loss" read less.

15, 6th line from bottom, under " Average Date When
Common " for " April 8 " read April 3.
19, 6tli line from bottom, insert Autumnal (to precede
paragraph as subtitle).
35, last line, for " infloored " read unfloored.

38, 15th and 16th lines from bottom, for " Duckwood "
read Kirkwood.

39, last line, for " Morrel " read Morrell.
42, 7th line, for "properties" read proportions,
45, 1st line, for " scientific " read intrinsic.
47, 11th line from bottom, for " exlcusion " read ex-
clusion.
55, 4th line from bottom, for " harmless " read barbless.

61, 5th line from top, for " important " read unimport-
ant.

62, 12th line from top, for "group" read ground.
66, 13th line from top, for " 68 " read 38.
66, 10th line from bottom, for " Sreech " read Screech.
72, 16th line from bottom, for "as .something" read
asj-mmetry.

74, 17th line from bottom, for "twenty-three" read
fifty-three.

75, 6th line from bottom, for " corner " read cornice.
78, 3rd line from bottom, for ".specimens" read .speci-
men.
82, 1st line, for "natural" read material.

INTRODUCTION.

^T THIIyE the immense strides taken l)y American ornithol-
ogy during the past score of years has seriously taxed
the energies of the amateur to keep within hailing distance,
and despite the volume of notes annually published in the va-
rious periodicals and books, the demand for complete life his-
tories of even our most familiar birds have not lessened to any
great extent. The life of one person would prove far too short
to attempt a thorough study of a single species in all its char-
acteristics ; hence the absolute necessity' for the co-operative
work advocated and practiced by the Wilson Ornithological
Chapter to obtain results at all satisfactory.

In spite of the devotion of the leisure moments of five 3'ears
and the generous aid of a large corps of enthusiasts, the frank
acknowledgment that the succeeding pages do faint justice to
the subject of this paper, is not a matter of discouragement.
Nature's Book will always contain fresh and delightful pages
for the curious and obser\^ant.

Few have any idea of the magnitude of the literature under
the title of a single name, and the unavailabilit}' of much of it
for a work of this kind, because of its fragmentary or negative
nature. A realization of the latter has caused the writer to
go to the other extreme in frequent cases, with the hope that
the mass of detailed information, while it may detract from the
general appearance of the paper, will prove useful timber for
a more competent builder, or of value for reference.

As far as it was practicable to do so, the compiler has con-
scientiously striven to place the credit of observations where it
belongs, and the quotation marks are u.sed when the exact lan-
guage is extracted from publications.

All notes have been taken under the name that' has held
good for almost a century and a half. This, combined with the
impossibility of the average student positively identifying any
but the extreme types of the subdivided species, has necessi-

2 THK FIJCKKR.

tated the present title. Since the difference which exists is
purely geographical, the detraction from the value of the paper
on this account can scarcely be more than fictitious.

The enumeration of the localities from which notes were
taken, together with those represented in the publications ex-
amined, is dispensed with for the simple reason that the li.st
would occupy too much space. It is sufficient to .state that
no considerable section of the habitat of the Flicker is
unrepresented.

I am greath' indebted to the following gentlemen for valu-
able information, ranging from a local name to extended notes:
Stephen J. Adams. Jos. H. Armfield, Paxil Bartsch, James
Newton Baskett, Jacob Bastion, Jr., Frank A. Bates, A. C.
Bent, Allen Brice Blakemore, Lionel F. Bowers, J. H. Bowles,
Clement S. Brimley, Verdi Burt.sch, Virginius H. Chase, J. N.
Clark, W. W. Colburn, Willard N. Clute, Fred A. Colby,
Francis R. Cope, Jr., Rev. W. L. Dawson, E. A. Everett, W.
A. Foxhall, Prof. Angus Gaines, Albert O. Garrett, Benj. T.
Gault, Otto Grady, Russell Gray, John H. Flanagan, Esq.,
Fred Hamlin, Henry C. Higgins, Ned Hollister, Walter Hoxie,
Erne.st Ingersoll, J. Warren Jacobs, Prof. Lynds Jones, Prof.
Ora W. Knight, Gu.stavus Kohn, Frank H. Lattin, J. Eugene
Law, Dr. Walter W. Maires, Dr. Willard E. Maris, C. C. Mc-
Ginty, E. A. Mcllhenny, C. D. McEouth, H. Harvey McNairn,
J. C. Mead, John C. Meisky, Harry P^dward Miller, H. P.
Mitchell, Walton I. Mitchell, C. H. Morrell, Arthur H. Nor-
ton, W. A. Oldfield, Rev. William Osburn, Rev. P. B. Pea-
body, A. L. Pearse, Amos Peifer, Chief Simon Pokagon, W. C.
Purdin, James B. Purdy, Calvin L. Rawson, Fritz R. Ray-
mond, Dr. Willet E. Rotzell, James Savage, W. G. Savage, R.
P. Sharpies, Burk H. Sinclair, Robert Windsor Smith, D. D.
Stone, Reuben M. Strong, J. W. Suliot, Arthur T. Wayne,
Julius Wendler. To Prof. Jones, Messrs. Jacobs, Smith,
Strong, Gault, Baskett, Hollister and Law, especially, I wish
to expre.ss my appreciation for valuable material and a.ssist-
ance. Frank L. Burns.

Berwvn, Pa., March 1, U)00.

SYNONYMS.

SCIENTIFIC. Polynomials. /^icns varius major a/is
aiireis, Catesby, "Natural History of Carolina, Florida and
the Bahama Islands," Vol. I, plate 18, full size colored figure,
1731.

Caniliis alls deanratis, Klein, "Historiae Avium Prodromus,
cum Praefatione Ordine Anamalium," etc., 17o(), page 30.

Binomials. Ciiai/us aiiratus, Linnaeus, ' ' Sy.stema Na-
turae," IToS, 10th Edition, Vol. I, p. 112.

Piciis aiwaUis, Linnaeus, "Sy.stema Naturae," ITOC), 12th
Edition, Vol. I, p. 174.

Colaptes anratns, Swain.son, "Zoological Journal," 1827,
Vol. Ill, p. 858.

Colaptes atiratus luteus. Part, Bangs, "Auk," 189S, Vol.
XV, p. 117.

Modern nomenclature dates from 17oS, when Linnaeus in-
troduced what is known as the binomial system, consisting of
a generic, followed by a .specific term ; hence Catesby 's many-
worded descriptive name, though the earliest, receives no rec-
ognition. The same may be .said of Klein who, almost a .score
of years later, erroneously placed it with the Cuckoos. Lin-
naeus followed his predecessors closely, considering the differ-
ence in .systems, and to him is given the credit of the .specific
term ; while to Swainson, erecting a new genus almost a cen-
tury after Catesby, is given that of the generic term.

According to Coues, Colaptes is of Greek derivation, signi-
fying " a chi.sel, hammer," and auratus, " gilden, golden (col-
ored"). More appropriate terms could scarcely have been
cho.sen. Bangs' third term, reducing the northern bird to sub-
specific rank, follows to complete the synonymy, illustrating
the in.stability of American nomenclature and the difficulties
placed in the way of a .study of the literature of a .species.

Though the American Ornithologists' Union does not
recognize hybrid forms as even sub-species, some of our lead-

4 THR FUCKER.

ing authorities have at one time or another suggested designa-
tions for this peculiar form. Accordingly, as in the case of C:
a. Intcns, I have added such names in the sense of being pure
synonyms, which apply equally to C. cafcr.

Picus ayresii, Part, Audubon, " Birds of North America,"
1848, Vol. VII, p. 84.S.

Colaptcs hybridits. Part, Baird, "Pacific Railroad Explora-
tion and Survey Report," 1858, Vol. IX, p. 123.

Picus hybridus, aurato-mexicamis, Part, Sundevall, "Con-
spectus Avium Picinarum," 1866, p. 72.

Colaptcs aiiratiisA- Colaptcs cafcr, Coues, "Key to North
American Birds," 1872, 1st Edition, p. 198.

Colaptcs auratus hybridus. Part, Ridgway, "Nomenclature
of North American Birds," 1881, p. 85.

Audubon's type, now deposited in the Philadelphia Acad-
emy of Natural Sciences, is a male in breeding plumage, ex-
hibiting the yellow shafts of auratus and the red malar stripes
of cafcr, and in the absence of intermediate specimens was
thought to have been a good species. Baird found it in all
stages of blending in Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana and the
Dakotas — principally in the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone
river regions — and recognized its true relationship. It is said
that at about this time Cassin was inclined to believe that it
could be broken up into several distinct species ; a belief which
he did not act upon, however. Sundevall and Coues adopt
forms which are comprehensive, while at the same time some-
what unique. Ridgway admits it as a sub-species. I am in-
formed that in the next edition of Coues' ' ' Key to North
American Birds," it was the intention to have it appear as
Colaptcs auratus ayresii, going back to Audubon for the sub-
specific term, which Hargitt has already made use of in the
British Museum Catalogue, omitting the middle term.

VERNACULAR. Happily our subject escaped the servi-
tude of the prefixed per.sonal name, laid on so many of its cla.ss,
which in common with names of an indifferent, irrelevant or
misleading nature, are the chief obstacles to the acceptance
and common use of the ofiicial vernacular titles. Names de-
.scriptive of form, flight, plumage, notes, habits, habitat, char-
acteristics, etc., or of onomatopoetic origin, are preferable if
.short and catch v. With its matchless arrav of marked charac-

THK FLICKICR. n

teristics, any one of which would well deserve the adoption of
a concise descriptive name in a species less excentric, no word
in the English language would prove more apt than the one it
now possesses — the name given it by the earh' settlers.

While the compilation of a dictionary of synonyms was not
originally contemplated, the vulgar appellations or aliases col-
lected from various sources number 124, all of which have
been actually in use, either generally or locally. The probable
derivation and meaning, as well as other notes, have been
added, when it appeared necessary. Although apparently .so
varied in character, there is scarcely a name that cannot be
placed in one of the three divisions : Descriptive, Onomato-
poetic, Misnomers.

Antbird. Minnesota. vSo called from its well known taste
for ants {Hymenoptcra) , of which it devours immense quanti-
ties.

Big Sapsucker. Northern States. Misnomer.

Carpintero. Spani.sh. Obsolete in the United States. Car-
penter— the name given to the whole Woodpecker family in
Spani.sh America.

Cave-due* Maine. Of French Canadian origin. Appa-
rently confounded with the hole-nesting .species of horned or
eared Owls and continued through ignorance of the original.
Along the St. Lawrence river the natives call the horn-owl
" cave-due " or " horn-coot " — Russell Gray.

Clapz^ Claype* Western New York, Western end of Long
Island. Ernest Ingersoll quotes Dr. DeKay as follows :
"Said to have been some provincial word introduced by the
early English colonists." In this instance it is doubtless mis-
applied, as our New York observers unite in the assertion that
it is an imitation of the loud spring call note.

Common Flicker. Sometimes used in the East, but more
frequentl}' in some sections of the West, where both aiirafiis
and cafe r occur.

Cotton-rump. Pennsylvania. From the conspicuous white
patch of feathers on the rump. ( A similar name — Cotton-
tail— has been applied to C. cafer in California according to
H. R. Taylor).

Crescent-bird. West. From the prominent black crescent
on the breast, or the .scarlet occipital crescent, or both.

6 thp: fijckkr.

Eastern Flicker. West. Its habitat from a western stand-
point.

English Woodpecker. LongLsland; Newfoundland. Prob-
ably traceable to the early settlers, who doubtless considered it
nothing more nor less than a ' ' degenerate off.shoot " of a spe-
cies inhabiting that country.

Fiddler. Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I feel pretty sure that
this name is derived from the peculiar sew-saw motions in-
dulged in b}^ the males while courting the females during the
early spring months. — Willard N. Clute.

Flicker. This is the most popular and generally used
name. Some difference of opinion exists as to the exact deri-
vation of the term, .some contending that it is from the .song —
wicker and variations — hence onomatopoetic ; while others are
just as sure that it must have been suggested by the peculiar
twinkling or flickering of the bright shafts when the wings
open and close in flight. The latter would commonly suggest
the name before the bird had uttered a .sound.

Flicker Woodpecker. Middle States.

Flitter. P^astern Pennsylvania. A corruption of Flicker.

French Woodpecker. New Hampshire. Probably derived
from the mongrel term, French-pie, which is one of the local
names in common u.se in .some parts of England for the Great
Spotted Woodpecker ( Piciis major. )

Gaffle Woodpecker. Hudson, Massachu.setts. Perhaps a
provincial corruption for "gaffer" — a talkative old man. —
Frank A. Bates. Or a corruption of " Yaffle," for which see
same.

Gallie. Northern New Jersey. Pretty generally so called
by the l^ird-nesting boys. — Willard N. Clute. Evidently an
abbreviation of the old English title, "Galley-bird," which,
according to Charles Swainson in " Provincial Names of British
Birds," is the Sus.sex name for a woodpecker. The old time
supposition was that all of this tribe were doomed to "inces-
sant toil and .slavery;" hence the term.

Gel Spechtt Gelb Specht. Penn.sylvania. German or "Penn-
sylvania Dutch." Pronounced gail .spycht. Yellow Wood-
pecker.

Golden Sapsucker. Southern New Jer.sey. Conmion nanie
in that region. — Dr. Walter W. Maires.

Till' I'LICKIvR. • 7

Golden-shafted Flicker, Golden-shafted Woodpecker, Gold-
en-wing, Golden-winged Flicker, Golden-winged Woodpecker,
Gold-wing Woodpecker, Golden-wing Woodpecker, Gold-
winged Woodpecker* In more or less fre([uent use, chiefly
tlirono:h the influence of our earlier ornithological writers.

Golden Woodpecker, New York.

Golden-winged Woodcock, Iowa. Misnomer.

Grasshopper Woodpecker. Vermont. From its habit of
frequenting open fields where grasshoppers {Acridid(C), abound
upon which it feeds.

Hairy-wicket, Harry-wicket. New England. Corruption
of the love or scythe-whetting notes.

Hammer-Head. Western part of Hamp.shire county, Mass-
achu.setts. This name is equally applicable to any other wood-
pecker.— W. W. Colburn. A homonym. " Name given in
the Cape Colony, Africa, to Scopus umbrctta, which is allied
to the Herons." — Newton's Dictionary of Birds.

Hick-wall. Connecticut. Obsolescent. A relic of the old
world, of which Hewel and Hew-hole are .said to be cor-
ruptions. The older form of which, " Hick-waw " (Holly
hand) and Hick way and Highawe (Cotgrave) can hardly have
come from anything but the Anglo-Saxon " Higera " or
" Higere " (T. Wright), meaning laughter, and doubtless
referring to the cry of the Green Woodpecker [Gecinus
vi)'idis). — Newton's Dictionary of Birds.

High-hole, High-holer, High-hold, High-holder. Northern
United States and Canada. "From the usual position, of its
ne.st. " — Earnest IngersoU. Further modifications of "Hewel, " '
"Hewhole," " Heigh-hawe," or " High-hawe." — Newton's
Dictionar3^ The terms may have originated in accordance
with Newton's .statement, but are now u.sed only in the sen.se
defined by Inger.soll.

High-ho Woodpecker. Wisconsin. A contraction of
High-hole.

Hittock, Hittocks, Hittuck. Canada. New Jersey. "Said
to have been handed down from the Delaware Indians, being
the Leni-Lenape word for tree." — Heckwelder. "Probably
originated from a fancied resemblance of its notes to the sound
of tlie words. " — Alexander Wilson. ' ' So called by the Swedes
on account of its notes." — Kalm.

8 THE FIJCKRR.

Hivel. New York; Ohio. Origin in doubt. Possibly a
corruption of the old English word Hewel, for which see
High-hole and Hick-wall ; or a contraction of hiv^e-hole, from
the buzzing bee-like sounds emitted by the small young in the
ne.st.

Hybrid Flicker* Name given the mixed birds of the West
by Baird.

Jaune, Joune* Ivouisiana. French. Meaning yellow.
The second a corruption of the first.

Le pic aux ailes dorees* Name given by Buff on. French,
Golden-winged Woodpecker.

Little Woodchuck. Caloosahatche River Region, Florida.
The adjective is used to distinguish the smaller from the " Big
Woodchuck " (Ivory-billed Woodpecker). — ^D. D. Stone.

Meadow Partridge* Wisconsin. Misnomer. From its
hurried, Partridge-like manner of flu.shing from the grass-
fields when startled.

Missouri Red-moustached Woodpecker* Audubon's name
for the hybrid ( C. avresii).

Mo-ning-qua-na. White Earth Reser\'ation. Chippewa
Indians. " Bird with dirty-colored wings." — W. W. Cooke.

Northern Flicker. Prefix given by Outram Bangs to that
portion breeding from North Carolina northward.

Ome-tuc* Maine. Probably of Indian and onomatopoetic
origin.

On-thee-quan-nof-ow. Hudson Bay Region. British Amer-
ica. Natives. " From the golden color of its shafts and lower
sides of wings." — Alexander Wilson.

O-zaw-wan-day Paw-Paw-say. Lower peninsula of Mich-
igan. Pottawatomie Indians. Yellow or Golden-colored Wood-
pecker.

Partridge Woodpecker. Wisconsin; Massachusetts. See
Meadow Partridge.

Paw-Paw-say, plural Paw-Paw-say-og. Lower peninsula
of Michigan. Pottawattomie Indians. ' ' Paw-big (flea ) hence
the word, jumping about quickly in any direction. Our
people did not go into varieties nor define birds and mammals
as Europeans do. For instance : should we want to describe
more particularly the Red-headed Woodpecker, we would say
Mis-qud (red )-o-dib (head ), Paw-Paw-.say (Woodpecker); or

THE FIJCKKR. 9

O - zaw - wan - clay Paw - Paw - say, ( Yellow or Golden - colored
Woodpecker). — Simon, Chief of Pokagons.

Peckwood, Peckerwood. Florida. Georgia, Michigan.
Transposition of Woodpeck and Woodpecker.

Peerit, Pee-ut. New England. Pe-up. Massachusetts.
From its shrill call notes.

Pie-bis» Pie-bris. Louisiana. French. Brown Pie or Mag-
pie. A Misnomer.

Pigeon Woodpecker. New England; New York; Minne-
sota. ' ' Arising from the peculiar pigeon-like attitude when
perched across the branch instead of lengthwise along it as do
other more genuine woodpeckers." — Ernest Ingersoll.

Pink-throat. Mackinac Island, Michigan. In certain lights
the pinkish-cinnemon of the neck appears to advantage.

Picque-bois-jaune. Louisiana. French. Yellow Wood-
pecker.

Piut, Pi-ute. New England. vSame as Pccrit.

Sapsuck, Sapsucker. Southern States. From the belief
that it extracts sap from the trees in which it bores. Mis-
nomer.

Shad-spirit. New England Coast. "A half superstitious
idea of the fi.shermen of former days — and it may be yet — that
this bird came up from the .south and a.scended the rivers just
ahead of vernal migration of shad, in order to inform them of
the approach of the fish ; in other words, a noting of a coinci-
dence."— Ernest Ingensoll. Its spring cry is heard at about
the time the first shad are caught in the Merrimac river. —
Walter Hoxie. A parallel case in the Old World is that of
Macke7-el-bird, on Guernsey Island, for the Wrj^-neck, refer-
ring to its appearance coincident to that of the Mackerel.

Sharp-billed Flicker. Eastern Pennsylvania.

Silver Dollar Bird. Pennsylvania. " From its white rump
mark which it shows .so conspicuously when rising from the
ground." — W. W. Colburn. According to Gould "Hand-
book of the Birds of Australia," the Australian name for
Eicrystormis pacifiais is Dollar Bird, from the silver}' - white
spot in the middle of the wing, which is di.stinctly .shown when
in flight.

Spotted Woodpecker. Name given by Maynard to the
whole genus.

10 THE FLICKER.

Sucker. Florida. See Sapsucko'.

Specht, Speckt, Speightt Spright. Pennsylvania. German.
(Woodpecker ). A corruption — W^oodspitc — is locally in ii.se in
England to designate the Green Woodpecker, according to
Rev. J. G. Wood. — " Popular Natural Hi.story."

Talpa-na-nh Southern Florida. Seminole Indians. It
has no equivalent in English. The first part seems to be a
generic prefix, and the last two syllables are an imitation of a
cry of the kind. — Walter Hoxie.

Taping-bird. Mas.sachusetts. This epithet was applied
because it flies as if " measured off tape." In the " Audubon
Magazine ' ' an error was made in copying from the ' ' Forest
and Stream," making it "Tapping-bird," which would of
cour.se make it have a very different meaning. — W. W. Col-
burn.

Tree-pecker. Lower Delaware Valley. (Obsolete). So
called by the early Swedi.sh settlers, according to Heckwelder.

Wa-cup. New Eondon and Windham counties, Connecti-
cut. " So called by every one .save a few closet bird men." —
C. E. Raw.son. Imitation of its song or greeting notes.

Wah-cup. Ma.s.sachusetts; Eong Lsland. Same as Wa-aip.

Wake-up. New England; New York; Minne.sota. Cor-
ruption of ]]'a-citp.

Wa-wup. New York; Pennsylvania. Same as Wa-ciip.

Weather-hen. Vermont. Doubtless so called becau.se it
becomes, in common with many other species of birds, partic-
ularly^ vociferous just before or after a storm.

Wheeler. Somerset county, Maryland. Probably of ono-
matopoetic origin.

Wild Hen. Maine. ' ' Its practice of laying additional eggs
when the first set is removed gives the bird this name." —
Ernest Ingersoll. Its cackling notes are .somewhat similar to
the common domestic fowl's.

Will Crisson. Dismal Swamp Region, North Carolina.
Given me by a gentleman who visited and hunted in that
.section and heard it applied. I know nothing of its origin or
meaning. — W. W. Colburn. Probably another sound-word,
corrupted until all trace of the cry represented has been lost.

Woodchuck. Berkshire Hills, Massachusetts; Kansas;
North Carolina; Florida. Po.s.siblv the suffix is derived from

THE FLICKER 11

chuck, the original name for hog ; hence Hterally Woodhog, from
its habit of burrowing in the wood in comparison to the root-
ing of the hog in the earth ; or chuck, used in the sense " to
strike," would still be consistent ; and again, the latter word
with other meanings. ' ' To call as a hen to her chickens, to
jeer or laugh," would seem equally relevant and appropriate.

Woodcock. New England; Pennsylvania; Iowa. A homo-
nymn rather than a misnomer.

Wood-lark. Locality unknown. Misnomer.

Woodpeck^ Woodpecker, Woodpicker. Illinois; North Car-
olina, Michigan.

Woodpecker Lark. Georgia; South Carolina. " From the
black crescent of the breast." — Ernest Ingersoll. Owing to a
resemblance in upper plumage as well as the-at-times-similarity
of feeding habits and association while on the ground with the
Meadow-lark.

Wood Pigeon. New England. Misnomer.

Wood-quoi. Connecticut. A mongrel term, possibly from
Wood- pic, for which see French Woodpecker.

Wood-wall. New England. Clearly an early importation
from England, originating from its nesting habits. Said to
have been the ancient name for the Green Woodpecker, and
occurring in the writings of the old English poets. Still in
use in some parts, particularly in the New Forest, Hampshire,
according to Cassell.

Xebec. (Pronounced ze-bec). New Hampshire. This
is the name under which I received a set of Flicker's eggs
.some fifteen j^eairs ago. The collector knew the .species by no
other name. — F. H. Lattin. The original of the name is a
small sea-going vessel carrying much canvas ; hence the nick-
name was doubtless suggested b}^ the most conspicuous identity
mark of the kind at a distance — the white rump.

Yacker, Yecker, Yucker. New York; Massachu.setts.
Doubtless of onomatopoetic origin.

Yaffle. Connecticut. Another importation. " The people
of Surry and Sussex, England, call the Green Woodpecker
'yaffle' or 'yaffel,' from its repeated notes which are com-
pared to the sound of a laugh." — Ca.ssell.

Yarup, Yar-rup, Yaw-op. Middle States. From its ordi-
narv call note.

12 THK PIJCKKR.

Yellow Flicker. West. To distinguish it from the Red-
shafted FHcker, whose range it overlaps.

Yellowhammer, Yellerhammer, Yallerhammer, Yellow-
hammer. In general use, ranking next to the Flicker in pop-
ularity, more frequently heard in the older States, but not
uncommon in the Mississippi Valley, and even cropping
out in the far West, thus indicating C- cafe?-. " Yellowham-
mer is an old Teutonic word, common in Great Britain as the
provincial name of the Yellow Bunting {Emberiza citrinella).
Hammer or 'ammer — it ought to be the latter — means, radi-
cally, the chirper, /. c, a small chirping bird, so that Yellow-
'ammer^ Yellow Songbird. Its application to our Flicker is
the result of ignorance long ago." — Ernest Ingersoll. Doubt-
less the very first settlers, eager to discover something in the
wilderness that would remind them of the land they had left,
so named the strange bird upon the first flash of yellow, irre-
spective of the difference in size, structure and habits ; and the
title continued through a sense of its accidental fitness.

Yellow Jay. New Hampshire, Wisconsin. A misnomer,
but not altogether inappropriate, as it possesses a call note
almost in common with one of the Blue Jay's.

Yellow-shafted Flickert Yellow-winged Woodpecker. See
Golden-shafted Flicker.

Yellow Wing. Cape Ann, Massachusetts.

Yellow-winged Sapsucker. Pennsylvania. Misnomer.

Yellow- winged Woodcock. Iowa. Misnomer.

Zebec ( Young Oohgisf, 'S4, p. 22). See Xebec.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

Geographical Range. ' ' Eastern North America ; from
Florida and the Gulf coast north through the maritime prov-
inces of Canada to Newfoundland and southern Labrador, and
the shores of Hudson Bay to about latitude oS" ; thence in a
northwesterly direction to Alaska, to about latitude f)S° ; west
through about the eastern half of Texas, the greater part of
Indian Territor}', Kansas, eastern half of Nebraska, South and
North Dakota, and the province of Assiniboia and Saskatche-
wan, Dominion of Canada, to northern British Columbia ; acci-
dental in Greenland and Europe." — Bendire's Eife Histories of
North American Birds. Ranging from the sub-tropical climate
of southern Florida and the Gulf coast to the tree limits of
the boreal zone, it would appear not only pu.shing out further
to the west into the territory of cafer, but a foothold which
promises to become permanent has been gained in California.
While frequentl}^ mixed birds, a number of apparently pure
aiiratus have been found ; the first record being from San
Bernardo, taken early in January, IXS.")." — Auk, Vol. II, p.
888. Mr. R. P. Sharpies, during several years' residence in
Oakland, Alameda county, has found it and believes it to breed
there. He also examined one skin in a small collection in
Marin county, and its owner informed him that he had taken
it nearby. This is the mo.st direct route for migrants going to
or from the northwestern breeding grounds, yet a little over a
quarter of a century ago birds exhibiting even traces of the
Yellow-shafted were practically unknown in all that region.
There is one record for Colorado. A straggler taken in Eng-
land in the autumn of 1N8(; is the only record I have been able
to find, though doubtless it has been taken on the Continent
also, and a few may and probably do wander into northeastern
Siberia.

Winter Range* "It is much more abundant in Winter
than in Summer south of latitude 8(5°, usually inhabiting the

14 THR FUCKER.

woods and swamps, where it is reported as very wild, keeping-
well out of the reach of the gun. While it is .said to be usually
a resident as far north as the H<S° parallel, further north it be-
comes less common, and above the 40° parallel is rather .scarce
as a resident, although a few are reported at almost every sta-
tion on the Atlantic slope. ' ' At Cape Cod it is very mischiev-
ous during this sea.son, boring holes through the weather
boarding of vacant summer residences for no apparent rea.son
except for .shelter. Drumming on tin roofs also seems to afford
it pleasure." — J. H. Bowles. "At Taunton, Ma.ss., the few
that remain find shelter in the deep evergreen swamps or in old
ice hou.ses, in which it excavates its winter quarters."— A. C.
Bent. " West of the Alleghenies it is found in small flocks on
Big Island, Burlington county, Iowa ; and is not uncommon at
Oberlin. Ohio, Port Sanilac and Plymouth, Mich.; and at
Mexico, Mo., extending well out on the prairies, seemingly
loss migratory yearly, as it was found throughout the cold
winter of 'y^-'y-t. " At Wady Petra, 111., for three winters —
'y3 to 'yn — an old male was present almo.st ever}' day, though
during the coldest weather he disappeared for as long as a
week at a time ; during the morning he usually sat on the east
.side of the roof of the house." — Virginius H. Cha.se. "At
Oberlin College for two winters — "yo to 'y? — a solitary bird
roosted between the vertical water pipe and wall of Spear
Library, and during the winter of 'y7-'y<S one bird made its
headquarters in the cupola of the Theological Seminary build-
ing." — Lynds Jones. Two records are given for Perry,
Iowa — Nov. IN, 'y8, and Dec. 22, "y4. Regardless of the
Winter weather from one to three have been noticed every
few days throughout December, "f)'^), and January, '00, at
HilLsboro, Iowa, which is within ten miles of the Missouri
border ; and at Waseca, Minn., one was .seen on Dec. 11 and
12, '.SO. At Plymouth, Mich., the cold winters and the .scar-
city or abundance of beech nuts does not .seem to effect the
rarity or abundance of the Flicker as it does the Red-headed
Woodpecker. It does not winter at Glen Ellyn, 111.; Iowa
City, Iowa, or at any station in Wisconsin or Minnesota.
While stragglers have wintered even north of the United States
in mild sea.sons, I believe nearly if not quite all birds found
above latitude 40° to be Winter visitants from further north.

TIIK FI.ICKKR.

15

mainly hardy old males. In this locality it has decreased as a
Winter re.sident during the last fifty years from common to
ca.sual.

Breeding Range. Nesting from Newfoundland to the
Dakotas and from the Florida peninsula to Ala.ska, its range is
more extensive than that of any other American Woodpecker.
It is said to be nearl}^ co-exten.sive with its geographical
range, being found generally below altitudes of 4000 feet. It
is in greater abundance and more generally distributed between
the o(i° and 4()° parallels than anj-where else, and in actual
numbers probably falls but little short of equalling all other
members of the family combined in the same area. It has
been found breeding at Fort Churchill, the most northerly
outpost of civilized man's residence on the west coa.st of
Hudson Bay. Unfortunately but little data is available from
the great northwest, which is doubtless in part owing to its
greater abundance in the States. "At St. Vincent, Minn., it is
at no time abundant, nor is there an appreciable increase
during the autumnal migrations. "---Rev. P. B. Peabody.
G. G. Cantwell found it breeding in numbers along the
Sixty Mile river, N. W. S., on July S, '97.— 0.s-
prey. Vol. II, p. 25. The table given below is compiled
from a large amount of published and unpublished data, show-
ing the average period of Summer residence in various sections
of the countr}'. It is believed to be approximately correct.
The average date of the arrival of the bulk in Maine, while
much later than that given for Wisconsin and Minnesota, is
taken from thirty-four records ; probably a larger number of
dates would make it earlier, and consequently show a longer
period of summer residence in that section :

Locality.

Av. Date

When First

Seen.

Av. Date

When
Common.

Av. Date

When

Bulk Depart

Av. Date
' When
Last Seen.

Av. Period of
Summer
Residence.

S. E. Penn'a

New York

Maine

March 21
April 7
" 17
March 15

22
April 5

April 8

" 12
" 27

" 3

" 3

" 8

Oct. 9

" 3
Sept. 26

Oct. 13

" 2
" 2

Oct. 27
'• 6

" 2
" 26
" 25

" 9

189 days.

174 '''
152 "

S.W. Penn'a,Ohio,

Indiana, Illinois.

Iowa .

193 "
185 "

Wis. and Minn

177 "

MIGRATION.

Exclusive of the work of the United States Biological Sur-
vey but little effort has been made in this country toward
detailed co-operative investigations on a large scale of this
phenomenon ; therefore the finished systematized report pro-
duced from the vast mass of accumulated data should be the
most important publication ever issued by that branch. We
know very little of the migratory habits of the Flicker beyond
that it occurs in large loose flocks by night, published data
being meagre ; under the circumstances no excuse need be
offered for the tabulated forms, incomplete as they are, owing
to the varied terms of years, 1875 to 1899, and fragmentary
nature of the reports. In spite of all that has been said to the
contrary, the homing instinct must have much to do with the
annual northward movement and the alleged failure of the
food supply has less to do with the retrograde movement than
the approach of cold and stormy weather and consequent dis-
appearance of sheltering foliage. In common with a large
number of our birds, the Flicker is peculiarl}^ sensitive to me-
teorological changes which govern its movements to a large
extent. The di.scussion of the probable causes of the semi-
annual restlessness and irresistible impulse to move to more
favorable climes lies beyond the .scope of this paper. If mi-
gration consisted of a uniform dispersion and progression
throughout the country instead of lines of flight along the
coast, rivers and valleys and in irregular waves, the signifi-
cance of the dates would be more apparent ; as it is, a record
may be that of the arrival of a Summer resident or transient,
according to the remoteness or proximity to the line of flight.,
W. W. Cooke in " Bird Migration in the Mis.sissippi Valley,"
states that the Flicker travels faster on the east than the west
side of the Mississippi river. He estimates its average daily
speed at about 12 miles. My calculations place the relative
speed at about the same figure, Intt varying according to season

TIIK FLICKER.

17

and weather condition.s from 7 to 4.S miles per night. It i.s ab-
solutely certain that it does not move steadily night after
night, but only as the weather permits or necessitates and its
physical condition allows; the actual distance covered in a
night's journey is therefore much greater than at first
apparent.

Vernal. During January and February it is foiuid in
flocks of fifty or more individuals in Charle.ston, vS. C.
(Wayne), and the forward movement takes place in the first
mild weather ; the forerunner appearing at Berwyn as early as
Feb. 2 or as late as April 0, according to the promises of the
season, correlating in a measure with the date at which the
fir.st frog is heard peeping. The first arrivals are often soli-
tary birds, frequently hardy old males, that have wintered
nearby, accounting for the irregularity of fir.st appearance.

Locality.

1892

1893

1894

1895

1896

Aver.

No.Yrs.

Earliest

Latest

Berwyn, Pa

Feb. 25

Mar.2o

Apr. 2

Mar. 30

Mar.13

10

Feb. 2
Mar. 13
Mar. 22

Apr. 5
Mar. 21

Apr. 6
Mar. 25
Apr. 14
Apr. 20
Apr. 18

Croton Falls, NY
Ciiicinnatus, NY
Penn Yan, N. Y.

Apr. 4

.■\pi. 3
Apr. 21
Apr. 6
Apr. 9

Apr. 6
Apr 5
Apr. 3

Mar. 22

Apr. 6
Apr. 9

Apr. 12
Apr. 14

Apr. 6
Apr. 13
Apr. 8

7
6
10

Apr. 26

Westbrook, Me.

Apr. 8

7
5
10

7

Apr. 4
Apr. 9
Apr. 12
Apr. 6

Apr. 20
Apr. 27
Apr. 28
Apr. 23

Cornish, Me

Scarce

.\pr. 22
Apr. 26
Apr. 21
Apr. 20

Apr. 15
Apr. 20
Apr. 15
Apr. 22

Apr. 15
Apr. 21
Apr. 18

PittstieW, Me...

Apr. 6
Apr. 6

Apr. 22

Apr 18.

Wavnesburg. Pa
Oberlin O

Mar. 27

Mar. 25

Mar. 19
Mar 5

Jan. 21

Mar. 2

6

Jan. 21

Mar. 27

Waciv Petra, 111.

Mar. 8IFph 2R

Feb. 24
Apr. 5
Mar. 31

Mar. 2
Mar. 29
Mar. 29

3

4
+

Feb. 24
Mar. 25
Mar. 31

Mar. 8

C.lenEllvn. 111..

Mar. 26

Mar. 25
Mar. 18

-Apr. I
.Apr. 2
Mar. 31
Mar. 24

Apr. 5
Apr. 2

Delavan, Wis...
Mt. Sterling, Wis
Meridian, Wis. .

Apr. 2

Apr. 3

.\pr. 2

Mar. 20

Apr. 3

6

Mar. 24

Apr. 13

Feb. 17
Apr. 4
Mar. 10

Feb. 27
Apr. 20
Mar. 4

Odell, Neb

Iowa City, Iowa

Mar. 5

Mar, 6

Mar. 30

3
6

Feb. 18

Apr. 3

Mar. 19

Apr. 2

Waseca. Minn ..

Apr. 3

Mar. 28

Apr. 2

12

Mar. 21

Apr. 9

Narbeth, Pa., March 20-2o ; Vincennes, Ind., about March
1» ; Forest Citv, la., Feb. 14 ('l)l) ; Daw.son. Y. T., May 22

The 'condition of the weather has much to do with the
irregularity, as it has been observed that of the earlier records
those of January and February especially were made in mild
open weather, while the latter dates with one exception were
made after a .sea.son of irregular weather ; March M):>, how-
ever, was generally open and mild, yet it did not put in ap-
pearance until the 2.")th ; the next day more arrived, and in a

18

THE FUCKER.

few day.s it became common. It return.s each succeeding 3^ear
to the same locaUty (Jacobs). It often makes its fir.st appear-
ance at Iowa City, Iowa, in small flocks ; at Delavan, Wis., in
pairs or .small bunches, and at Meridian, Wis., often in quite
large flocks, at other times in pairs or families.

The bulk ordinarily arrives between two and three weeks
later, in Pennsylvania and Illinois, but the number of days in-
tervening gradually diminishes as it moves northward, and the
van leads by .scarcely a week in the northern tier of states. As
far as I have observed, the males appear before the females,
and the migrations are conducted in small companies, these
forming the bulk of transients ; while like most all .species
migrating, there are forerunners and .stragglers (Miller). At
Berwyn, Pa., it becomes common .soon after the hard}- willow
has unfolded its leaves, and about the time the fragrant spice-
wood blo.s.soms, when the ants, .spiders and beetles become
active once more, and ju.st in the height of the arbutus seiason.
It appears to average earlier in the We.st than in the .same lat-
itude in the Ea.st.

Locality.

1892

1893

1894

1895

1896

Aver.

No.Yrs.

Earliest

Latest

Apr. I
Feb. 27
Apr. 17

Apr. 10

Apr. I

Apr. 20

Apr. 12

Apr. I
Apr. 18

II

3

Apr. 23

Penn Yan, N. Y.

Apr. 19

Cincinnatus.NY
Buifalo N Y.

Apr. 9

Apr. 20

.Apr. 10
Apr. 18

Apr. 20

Westbrook, Me.

Apr. 21

.\pr. 24

.A.pr. 22
Rare

Rare
Apr. 22

May I

Apr. 18
Apr. 19
Apr. 20
Apr. 29

Apr. 20

7

Apr. 24

Apr. 21
Apr. 29

10

7

Apr. 12
Apr. 23

Apr. 28

Pittsfield, Me...

May I

May I

Apr. 28

May I

Waynesburg, Pa
Oberlin, O

Apr. I

Mar.i8
Mar. 21

3
6

Mar. 1 2
Mar. 9

Apr. 10

Mar. 9

Apr. 5

Apr. II

Apr. II

Apr. 6
Mar. 25
Mar.2i

Apr. 3
Apr. 14
Apr. 5
Apr. 13

Glen Ellyn 111.

Apr. 2

Apr. 12
Apr. 2
Apr. 2

Apr. 9
Mar.30

7
3

Mar. 25
Mar.2i

Apr. 19

Apr. 5

Mt. Sterling, Wis

Apr. 13

Mar.20

Mar.20
Mar.19

Apr. 13

Mar.28

5

Apr. 3

Mar.30

Apr. 15

May I

Apr. II

6

Mar.26

May I

'

Boothby Harbor, Me., April 10 ('9S); Vincennes, Ind.,
about the middle of March ; Red Wing, Minn., la.st of March
or fir.st of April ; Ramsey, Hennepin, Dakota and Washington
counties, Minn., last of March to April 10. It is found .spar-
ingly during the Winter at HilLsboro, la. Feb. 24, 'i)l), it
began to increase, March 15th the great wave appeared, April
2, all gone except the goodly number that remain to breed.
April 17, '98, when some twelve or fifteen miles off'Cape Ann,
at sea, a Flicker came aboard, perching for a few minutes on

THR FLICKER. 19

the top sail before continuing its northerly course (Morrell).
As nui'nerous as and even more noisy than the Robins, during
nngrations, calling uneasily, flying from tree to tree, often in
considerable companies. It is not confined to the woods, but is
everywhere. This va.st multitude pas.ses northward within a
week after arrival, leaving only the local breeders (Jones).
Some notes taken in the Spring of '96 at Delavan, Wis., by
Mr. Ned Hollister are interesting on account of the waves
recorded ; March 31, first heard at daybreak, calling loudly
from the heavily wooded island in Delavan lake ; five seen
during the day in a walk over this island, all low down near
underbrush between wood and marsh ; April 1, about the same
number in same place ; April 2, common about lake ; April 4,
common everywhere around the shores, having steadily in-
creased since first arrivals ; in the morning, soon after the first
signs of daybreak, it was heard calling from all sides. On
moving into town none were observed until the 12th, when it
became ver}^ abundant all at once, a perfect wave taking the
place of a ver}' large wave of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers that
had taken the town by storm the two previous da^-s. The
Flickers were everywhere, especially in the marshes, orchards
and woodland ; burnt marshes seem to be a favorite place,
feeding on the ground in dozens and large flocks, far from
water. April 10, 20 and 25, abundant ; April 28, 29, common ;
April P)(), abundant ; after this date common until Fall.

During the season of 1X95 there was a marked decrease in
numbers in some localities : for in.stance, at Columbia and Ber-
wyn, Pa., it became rather uncommon, and at Cornish, Me.,
from abundant to quite rare, none remaining to breed. At
only one point was it particularly noticeable in the West, about
Meridian, Wis., where the decrease was placed at 50 per cent
at least. It seems almost incredible that so hardy and re-
sourceful a bird should have suffered so severely from that
long-to-be- remembered blizzard.

While the retrograde movements are conducted in larger
numbers, being recruited by great numbers of birds of the
year, it is scarcely as noticeable, lacking the noise and bustle
of Spring arrivals. Like the Robin, its whole nature seems
to have undergone a change. It no longer solicits notice by
.song or display of plumage, but becomes shy and suspicious,

20

THE FLICKKR.

and while gregarious to a great extent, in flight ever}- one is
capable of looking out for itself. The mature birds are the
most war)', and by example prepare the young for the dangers
of migration and Winter residence in the South, where it is
constantly menaced by hunters. Acknowledging the difficul-
ties in the way, it seems to me that the departure of the bulk
has been sadly neglected nevertheless. In this species at least
its value over dates of last .seen is apparent.

Locality.

1893

1S94

1S95

1896

Average

No. Yr's

Earliest

Latest

Berwyn, Pa

Oberlin. O

Oct. 19

Oct. 19

Oct. 5

Sept. 6

Nov. 10
Sept. 20

Oct. 9

Nov. 14

Sept. 25

Oct. I

4
7
3

Sept. 13

Nov. I

Sept. 20

'• 12

Oct. 19
Dec. 6

Glen Ellvn. 111..
Delavan, Wis. . .

Sept. 20
12

Sept. 25
Oct. 7

Sept. 26

Sept. 28
Oct. 12

At Buffalo, N. Y., the bulk retires in October ; Dunrak,
Pa., first week in October; Meridian, Wis., by Oct. 10 ; and
the same date is given for Hillsboro, la. The departure
of the bulk is alwa3"S dependent upon weather and foliage.
In '9<S the foliage was unusually late in falling, but in '99
rather unusually early with .some chill}'^ weather in October
(Jones). During the cold windy days in October at Taunton,
Mass., it may be found in large numbers huddled together in
hollows and sheltered localities, where it ma^^ be easily ap-
proached (Bent). The last seen are represented by a number
of irregular dates.

Locality.

1892

1893

1894

1S95

1896

Aver.

No.Yrs.

Earliest

Latest

Sept. 28
Sept. 29

Oct. 21

Pittsiield Me. .

Sept. 30

Sept. 9

Sept. 27
Oct. II
Oct. 2

5
4
5

Sept. 9
Sept. 14
Sept. 25

Oct. 6

Westbrook, Me.

Sept. 19
Oct. 4
Oct. 6

Nov. 28

Toronto, Ont . . .

Oct. 11

none

Oct. I

Oct. II

Penn Yan N Y

Dec. 29

Croton Falls NY

Oct. 4

Oct. II
Oct. 19

not seen
Oct. 19

Nov. 4
Nov. 12

6

Sept. 26
Oct. 19
Nov. 10
Sept. 19

Oct. II

Nov. 12

Dec. '8

Waynesburg, Pa

Dec. 10

Sept. 27

Sept, 19

Oct. 19
Oct. 15
Dec. 22

Oct. 18
Oct. 21
Sept. 4

4

Oct. 18

Nov. 18

Oct. 22

5

Oct. 5

Nov. 21

At Croton Falls, N. Y., not present during the fall of '91
and '94 ; Dunrak, Pa., last b^^ October lo ; Germantown and
Narberth, Pa., by last of Octobor ; St. Paul, Minn., late in
October, one lingering until November 7, '95 ; Iowa City,
Iowa, and Glen Ellyn, 111., last week in October; Hillsboro,
Iowa, November <), '99, all but the few that winter.

FLIGHT.

Its usual flight is undulating, so characteristic of the
Woodpecker family as well as the Crossbills, many of our
Finches and some other species. While gaining headway its
wings beat the air rapidly, producing a whi.stling sound which,
upon gaining sufficient altitude and velocity, apparentl}' ceases
altogether, recurring only when about to alight. Perhaps
this noise is onl}' an audible manifestation of its almost per-
petual bustle and restlessness, as I have known it upon rare
occasions to take flight or alight within a few feet of me with
the stealth and noiselessness of an Owl. When flying in flocks,
which by the way are never compact, it does not act with the
unity of action of the majority of our birds ; still there is
considerable regularity of length and inflection of the waves
produced by the alternate opening and closing of the wings.
During 'V)() I took the following notes : June "i"), one flushed
at road-side, rose twenty feet at a distance of seventy-five feet
— -just clearing the comb of a small barn — making five dips of
a])Out three feet or one dip ever}- fifteen feet on an average.
One flu.shed from creek bank and flew- to ground again. Ten
feet rise in forty feet, making two dips of less than one-half
foot. August 1 , several flushed from ground. Ten feet rise
in forty feet, t\vo dips of about three feet or one dip ever}-
twenty feet. It is capable of greatly increasing its usual speed
and sustaining itself with little or no undulation but seldom
ri.sing to any great height above the tree tops except when
migrating. Alighting is best accomplished by a .slightly up-
ward movement, and when at right angles to its perch the
tail plays an important part in the rather awkward feat of
balancing, suggesting a comparatively recent aquirenient and
one not attained by the true Woodpeckers.

ROOSTING.

I do not know how much proof can be offered in support of
the popular belief that it habitually roosts in the tree cavities.
While it is to be inferred that it frequently does so in cold or
stormy weather whenever suitable chambers are available, yet
I very much doubt whether accommodations could be found
within reasonable distances for more than five per cent, of the
number flocking previous to the autumnal migrations as well
as the winter season in the south. During the warm summer
months it is reasonable to suppose that it would prefer the
open air to the hot and stuffy chamber of wood, except of
course the short period necessary to hatch and protect callow
young.

Alexander Wilson relates how a captive slept in a perpen-
dicular position with its head under its wing. An interesting
observation comes from Mexico, Missouri : On a cold blustry
evening of the spring of '5)4, a Flicker was observed roosting
on the south-w^est .side of the bare trunk of an elm close to
the house. The year following, on the warm and balmy even-
ing of April Dth, another bird flew into the same elm and with
a little scrambling and investigation it disappeared behind the
trunk to a nich a little below the crotch of two upright limbs,
with its whole body in contact with the bark of the tree and
its neck .shortened back into its body — it was evidently in a
roosting position. Now^ as it was not know^n whether the
previous visitor had staid all night, this one was carefully and
perhaps too closely watched, as it left at the call of a pa.ssing
mate. The next night was cooler with a north-east wind and
a lowering misty vapor in the west, but not very threatening.
At 6:o0 the same or another female alighted and quietly
shuffled around on the south side to the identical spot occupied
for a time the previous evening, but at 7 o'clack it too had
vanished. — J. Newton Baskett. Bendire quotes a Maine cor-
respondent wdio once found a Flicker asleep on the outside of

THE FUCKER. 23

a tree one moon-light night ; as there was no bird on the nest,
it roosted in that position from choice. At Oberhn College a
single bird roosted between the vertical water pipe and wall of
Spear Library- for two successive winters, and another occupied
the cupola of the Theological Seminar}'' the succeeding winter.
— Prof. Lynds Jones. A correspandent makes note of it
cutting its w'ay through weather boarding of vacant summer
residences at Cape Cod for no apparent reason except for
shelter, and at Taunton seeking shelter in the deep evergreen
swamps or excavating winter quarters in the sawdust lining
of ice houses. It has also been know-n to roost in hollow
trees, outbuildings about farm houses and unused chimnej's
during the coldest sea.sons.

DRUM CALLS.

This form of instrumental music is a b}- no means insig^-
nificant addition to the Flicker's repertoire. It is a musical
long roll of vibrant, far reaching effect, sometimes evidently
demanding an answer as the bird will assume a listening atti-
tude, and at other times preceeding or succeeding a vocal call
or song. In the .spring time it is a very popular means of
attracting the attention of a mate or .sounding an a.s.sembly.
It is .seldom heard after the nesting season has well progressed
and ends before the young have hatched. J. N. Baskett states
that in drumming the beak is struck directly end-on against
the resonant body as shown by an examination of a soft pine
box which was frequently u.sed. The box was nailed to a
tree and by slipping up and throwing a hat over the bird while
it was clattering away, it was finally caught. Either it or
another one was drumming again the next day. Chief Simon
Pokagon relates a little incident which must not be lost. In
his own words : "I asked a class of Indian boys what kind of
music they liked best. One .said ' Pe-nay-shen' ( Bird ) mu.sic.
I then a.sked each one what kind they liked best of all the
birds. One replied ' Aii-pc-tahc' (Robin), another ' Tehin-
dces' (Blue Jay), another ' Aii-nawk" (Thra.sher), another
' We-bin-givan-Pe-ney-shen ' (Bluebird), and to the smallest in
the class I said ' Oiie-zve-zaynes ' (My boy) ' what one plea.ses
you the best ? ' He quickly replied ' O-zaiv-ivan-day Pazv-
Paiv-say ' ( Golden-winged Woodpecker ) . I said ' Why so
my little boy ? ' He quickly answered ' Oh him am such a
me-no (good) Tom-mer Tbw-w*";- (drummer. ) ' Accent almo.st
invariably on la.st .syllable."

VOICE.

The Flicker has a much greater vocabulary and more
modes of expression than any other of our North American
Woodpeckers, and while the contrast between its so-called
song and the inspiring melody of our tree songsters 'is ever so
great, its voice blends harmoniously with the many other
voices and sounds of nature without which the hill, meadow
and grove would lose much of their charms. Individuality
now and then cropping out during and immediately after
mating and the earlier part of the breeding season, appearing
to be constantly varying and improving, seeking to give ex-
pression to its feelings.

Perhaps it is unwise to devote much space to this subject
however enticing it may be, for but few have given enough
time and thought to it to be classed as competent reporters ;
then the variability of the notes according to locality adds
another difficulty. However, as its notoriety has been largely
gained through its versatile voice, it would not do to pass
over this fascinating study without an attempt to condense
and render intelligible the notes in my possession. For brevit}^
and convenience I have separated them under Calls, Conversa-
tional Notes, Common, Scythe-whetting, Flicker and Wake-up
Songs.

Calls. The vocal call is usually high pitched and penetrat-
ing. It is a note characteristic of no particular sea.son and
when uttered in a startling shriek which ma}' be heard at a
distance of almost half a mile or subdued to a soft but im-
patient inquiry unnoticed a hundred yards away, it serves as
a call or an.swer to comrade, mate or 3'oung, challenge to rival,
or precedes the .song as an imperative demand for attention.
Ordinarily a chu. ka, che-u c/ie-a/i, or chu-ah in New York and
Pennsylvania, and in the northern part of the first state often
.sounding like clape and kee-yer. In New England — pea-itp,
ye-Jip, yc-a-np, yar-r-r-}(p, pee-up, kr7( and que-ah. In Georgia

26 THE FLICKRR.

— 7cakc-up. Missouri — cliccr. Illinois — flicker. Iowa —
kee'-yer. There are evidently answers to all calls and it is a
question whether one sex has a note not possessed by the
other. — J. Newton Baskett. During a calm day it may be
heard calling clapc nearly a mile to windward. — H. E. Miller.

Conversational or Soliloquizing Notes. These are neither
calls nor songs and are evidently not intended for the ears of
the public, commonly a scanny, gurgling, almost involuntary
chvr-r-r-r as danger seems to threaten it when on the wing, or
when flushed from the ground or just before a-lighting, which
may be interpreted as a note of warning or announcement of
arrival according to the circumstances. I have heard a low
guttural zvho-dd as it endeavored to balance itself on a slender
branch immediately after arrival. At Wady Petra, Illinois,
an old male who spent three successive winters close at hand,
usually sat on the house roof for a time in the early morning.
On December 1st, '94, he uttered an odd gutteral call of huck-
a-woo'-ah or again onh' ivoo ivoo evidently for his own edifica-
tion.— Virginius H. Chase. At Croton Falls, New York, a
low and .soft a-claiipee belongs exclusively to the nesting
sea.son. — H. E. Miller. From Ponkapog, Mass., we have
another note : On September 12, '94, an adult and four young
flew on a tree overhead, uttering a soft measured .y/r-f;7' several
times. While making these notes they seemed to be in a sort
of ecstacy, holding the limb firmly, .spreading their tails,
drooping their wings, stretching their necks, pointing their
beaks upward and throwing their heads this way and that in
a quick, graceful manner, keeping perfect time to the notes. —
J. H. Bowles.

Common or Cackling Song. This undergoes but few
modifications, being a .simple ka or cuh repeated more or less
rapidly from six to thirty-five or more times in a loud full
voice, rising and falling regularl}^ as the notes are inhaled or
exhaled. To correspondents in Massachu.setts and Michigan
its song sounds like ivet-wct-wet , while to others in the former
state it is yip-a-yip or ivoit-a-ivoit, and in Iowa Iiee-chu, re-
peated over and over again. Its song reminds me of that
occasionally emitted from the throat of our common domestic
hen, although the latter is a tame and feeble imitation in
comparison. It begins in Southern Penn.sylvania on the first

THE FLICKP:R. 27

mild day in March and increasing in length, frequency and
rapidity as the season progresses, with intervals of depression
during cold or stormy weather, until about April lOth when it
becomes monotonous, the notes often being uttered at the rate
of four or five to the second ; this continues until about the
20th, after which it becomes infrequent, much shorter and
rather subdued in tone, until nest building, incubation and
care of young claim its undivided attention and the song is re-
stricted as much from caution as from any thing else, it is only
semi-occasional until late in June when the young are well
along ; it revives once more for a few days in a brief early
morning — o:o() to 7:1-") — or before or after shower song. As a
cooler day appears in August or September it becomes more
frequent and even lively, especially after a refreshing shower,
but by the first week in October is heard no more. A careful
observer at Perry and Madison, Wisconsin, has arrived at about
the .same conclusion, i. e., it begins the cackling .song in the
country previous to the towns, is more clamorous in the morn-
ing and evening, almost cea.sing after it becomes well mated,
and cropping out again in the months of Augu.st and Sep-
tember.— J. Eugene Law.

Love or Breeding Songs. The last three songs are essentualh-
of this character. I am aware that .some are mating notes only
while the active breeding .sea.son claims others exclusively,
yet I am unable to make such .separation. The Scythe-
whetting or Rollicking Song is probabl>- a form of greeting
as well as l<->ve, as it is uttered when two or more meet.
It has been likened to the .sound produced by the sharpening
of a .scythe, and is a sharp metallic icicli-er, zcic/i-ah, zcick-a/i,
7vee-cha\ ka-icick, or co-flick of the New England and Middle
States ; quit-to and qnit-tu, of Ohio ; hurrick-ah, of Minnesota ;
tse-wet and cluick-a-chuck, of Iowa, repeated from two to twelve
times. The Flicker Song is .so hopele.s.sly entangled and inter-
woven with the Scythe-whetting Song as hardly worth recog-
nizing as .separate when all the localities are taken into consid-
eration. The Wake-up Song is le.ss frequently uttered, and is
the same throughout the north, from Maine to Iowa, as an oft-
repeated wake-up, ica-ciip, wc-ciip, zve-cougli, ivick-up, icick-a/i,
or hick-up, and in Georgia chuck-up ; great emphasis being
laid on one or the other syllables, u.sually the first. I regard

28

THE FLICKER.

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THE FLICKER.

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30 THE FLICKER.

this song as by far the most musical of any of its attempts in
this line. On May 16, '96, I heard an apparently rare va-
riation , a metallic ka-tuick-wick-7vick-7vick-wick-7vick-wick-wick-
wick-wick-ka by the male while close to the nest.

Quite a number of birds have certain cries which might
easily be mistaken for the Flicker's notes. Bendire and others
mention the following: Groove - billed Ani, Crotophaga ani^
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, Pileated Wood-
pecker, Ceophlceus pileatus ^ Blue Jay, Cyanocitia cristata^ Long-
crested Jay, C. stelleri macrolopha, and Oberholser in ** Birds of
Wayne County, Ohio,'* states that the imitation by the
Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, was so perfect as to almost
induce an erroneous note book entrv.

MATING.

Immediately after the arrival of a sufficient number of local
birds, (the females appearing last), and the advent of milder
days, courtship commences and continues with increasing vigor
for two or three weeks. It is elaborate and ceremonious, often
bordering the amusing and ridiculous. The male alights close
to the female, often choosing a rather slender and leafless hor-
izontal branch as best suited to an unobstructed view of his
graceful form and gay plumage. The female assumes indiffer-
ence or the silence, dignity and alertness of a critic, while the
male bowdng, hopping, prancing, dancing, strutting, flirting his
wings, pleads and urges his suit with flickering, wacuping and
hickcuping notes ; finally he sidles up to her, .she coyly .sidles
away, and perhaps takes wing, followed by the one or more suit-
ers to another tree, where the whole performance is repeated.
There are sometimes from two to five males, between whom
sharp but apparently harmless encounters occasionall}^ take
place while in the air, determining, as one correspondent .sug-
gests, which one .shall next offer his attentions. In due time
the female shows her preference, and not infrequently joins in
with the bowing and singing of her accepted lover, and if the
rejected suitors have not already left in pursuit of some other
unmated female, the pair unite in driving them from the
premises. As Audubon has .stated that the Flicker never
fights, it is befitting that we insert some of the testimony at
hand : I have not observ^ed the males fighting among them-
.selves for possession of the females, but they display a good
deal of friendly rivalry in their efforts to display their good
points and in paying attention to the desired females. — Angus
Gaines. It is only when approaching the female that the male
gives utterance to the familiar and highly sentimental chuck-a-
chuck-a-chuck, etc. , all the while sidling up to her as she sidles
away. I have seen the pair make the circuit of a tree several
times. It is rare that a rival male molests the actor until the

32 THE FLICKER.

female takes flight, and then he at once pounces upon him. —
I^ynds Jones. That the males do not always conduct the
courtship is proven by Mr. Benj. T. Gault's experience while
collecting in the sunken lands of Arkansas and Missouri — the
vSt. Francis river region. He says : On March ord, '94, while
visiting Griffin island, on the Arkansas side of the river, m\'
attention was drawn to a small troop of these birds, four in
number, clustered together near the top of a dead snag. As
other birds were interesting me at the time, slight attention
was given to them, but on returning to the same spot an hour
or so afterwards, and finding them still there, my glasses were
turned upon them ; somewhat to my surprise the lot, consisted
of three females and one male, the latter holding the most ex-
alted position on the snag, the evident pride of the gentler sex,
who were indulging in quite an animated discussion, idolizing
his lordship — so to speak — but in tones so low they were
scarcely audible from where I stood. I more than judged
their earnest intentions by the peculiar swaying motions of
their heads, which were very amusing to witness. Never hav-
ing seen the female do the waiting upon before or since that
time, I think their actions were a little out of the ordinary.
J. N. Baskett describes a .similar scene of two females courting
a male, in the Osprey. These are the only in.stances on record,
I believe.

When mated the birds become very affectionate and insepa-
rable, few of our native birds excelling them in this respect. It
is constantly calling or answering, the male drumming a long
rolling call and singing the common song at the top of his voice
to equal or excell that of his nearest neighbor ; when .suddenly
mis.sing the female, his calls amount to a perfect .shriek, and
an answer results in a swift galloping flight as he gurgles a
scanny exclamation ; alighting beside her he indulges in a
series of bows and we-cup notes, in which she joins for a time.
As the more .serious side of life begins, the selection and con-
struction of a nesting place, he becomes less and less noisy, and
finally almost .silent altogether, except the early morning and
before or after shower song, although fully as attentive and
helpful to his mate as ever.

NIDIFICATION.

Situation of Nest. — I fail to discover any great uniformity
in the choice of nesting places throughout its breeding range,
which is not surprising, considering the well known capabili-
ties of the bird for adapting itself to existing conditions, and
which indeed is absolutely essential in a species so abundant
numerically and ranging over so wide and diversified a terri-
tory. On Avery's Island, La. , it seems to prefer trees near the
edge of the woods, occasionally close to water or in yards or
pastures. In the South Atlantic States the lowland pine for-
ests, usually a dead pine, now and then an oak, apple, maple,
chinaberry, ash, beech, willow, palmetto, or an unrecogniza-
ble stub. Mr. W. L. Foxhall calls to mind one dead pine,
perforated with 25 or 80 holes, most of which w^ere in use at
one time or another. In the Middle and Eastern States :
apple, sycamore, oak, butternut, cherry, elm, chestnut, maple,
poplar, beech, ash, pine, hickory, etc. In Southwestern Penn-
sylvania Mr. J. Warren Jacobs has found the choice to be about
as follows : 1st, along streams and in orchards ; 2nd. pasture
fields on hillsides ; ;5rd, in woods. He has also found the syc-
amore to be the favorite, with the apple and maple second, the
beech and locust third, oak and cherry fourth, and all other
varieties fifth. At Croton Falls, N. Y.. it appears to have no
marked preference, as it is found in the low wet meadows and
again in the highest and dryest woodland, the fruit trees in
orchards and the willows bordering the water appear favorites ;
while about Cincinnatus and Buffalo the edge of woods,
groves, orchards or isolated trees, always in dead wood, have
their claims. Mr. C. L. Rawson used to fancy that it prefer-
red apple trees at Norwich, Conn., but old orchards disappear
and no particular tree now seems to be the favorite. At
Fitchville a row of old elms are now the homes of half a dozen
Wacups. At Taunton, Ma.ss., it selects perfectly sound apple
trees, occasionally an ash. oak or walnut in an open field ;

34 THE FUCKER.

while about Ponkapog it breeds in orchards, swamps, thinly or
densely wooded ground, with only one instance of a living
evergreen, but any other tree living or dead. At Cornish Me.,
all found in trees standing away from the thick woods, mostly
apple orchards ; and about Pittsfield, almost any locality, ex-
cept perhaps the deeper woods, along the shores of the ponds,
especially in overflowed ash swamps it is found. From Ohio
westward the apple orchard is a favorite with the poplar, wil-
low, maple, oak, elm, walnut, Cottonwood, etc., more or less
resorted to, according to availability. Mr. R. M. Strong states
that, like many other species, it is rapidly adapting itself to
civilization, and gives an instance of a bird excavating a nest
about five feet up in the trunk of a shade tree standing on one
of the most traveled streets of Oberlin, Ohio. At Glen EHyn,
111., Mr. Benj. T. Gault has found that in addition to old and
neglected orchard trees, old and partly decayed white oaks,
black jacks, and both dead and living elms and poplar are
usuall}' selected. At Iowa City, la., Mr. Paul Bartsch says
that while orchards are the favorite, at times it seeks a more
lofty location, such as is afforded by the bare approaches of
that giant of the forest, the sycamore ; and at Grinnell the
favorite trees are the box elder, linden, soft maple, cotton-
wood, white willow, poplar, in the order named, and in fact
almost any tree if it is sufficiently deca\'ed to be easily worked.
Summing up the evidence, it is found to be an inhabitant of
the open country rather than the deep woods in the north and
west.

The preceding maj- be called the natural nesting sites, but
at the same time does not complete the list of available situa-
tions for this remarkable bird. Gate posts, fence posts, tele-
graph, telephone and electric light posts are frequently utilized
on the treeless islands and beaches of the east as well as the
prairies of the west. Mr. J. H. Bowles writes that on Cape
Cod large numbers of poles are literally honeycombed with
holes, some of which are used for nesting purposes. It has
been found breeding far out on the prairie in an old wagon
hub, surrounded by weeds ; also in barrels, and one instance
of an excavation of the regulation size in a hay stack is on
record ; another nested in a crevice of an unused chimney for
several years ; and stranger yet it has been found more than

TPIK FLICKER. 3;")

once occupying Kingfisher's and enlarged Bank Swallow's
burrows. It often cuts through the weather boarding of ice-
houses, and burrowing in the .sawdust lining, lays it eggs, as
well as utilizing for the .same purpose enclosed cornices, gables,
hollow columns, etc., of dwellings and other buildings; not
uncommonl}- in the east and quite frequently in the west.
Mr. G. F. Breninger gave an account of the Flicker cutting
holes in a O-l-foot church tower at Beattie, Kans., and building
on the timbers within, .six pairs bringing forth young. In re-
.spon.se to an inquiry he has given me fuller particulars. The
holes were cut through the .shingles near the top of the tower
and the eggs deposited on the timbers within. The orifice
being so .small as not to admit of even a small boy getting at
them, it was impossible to ascertain whetjier an}- cavity was
dug into the timber or any material used for ne.sts. He has
observed the .same trait carried into effect by the California
Woodpecker in a church tower at Oreville, Cal. Rev. P. B.
Peabody gives some interesting data, .showing how it modifies
its habits when resorting to localities where the usual nesting
conditions are well nigh impossible. In Southwestern Minne-
.sota, where there is very little timber in wdiich it could nest, it
has been found resorting quite commonly to the telegraph
poles and the railway .semaphores. One semaphore contained
five holes, one of which was inhabited by a pair of Flickers,
and another, just above it, by a pair of Tree Swallows at the
time of observation. The holes in the telegraph poles appear
very .shallow', and generally at a height of not less than two
or more than ten feet. Up in northern Minnesota the occu-
pancy of the telegraph poles is quite common and the occu-
pancy of buildings even commoner. For instance, the Church
of St. Vincent has Flicker holes in the cornice of both gables.
Last year it made a new excavation in the north gable while
the Tree Swallows took possession of the .south gable. The
ice-hou.ses of the Great Northern railroad are perforated with
holes, as many as eight in the .south end, which is very .small.
From Ottawa, Kans., conies the particulars of an almost
unique nesting site. Mr. Burke H. Sinclair found a nest con-
taining eggs in the garret of the town high .school. The birds
obtained entrance to this large three-story brick building by
means of a displaced brick. As in all infloored lofts it consi.sts

36 THK FLICKP:r.

of nothing but the parallel rafters, with attached lath and
plaster, which forms the ceiling of the room below. This frail
floor is about ten inches below the entrance hole, and the nest
was situated about one foot from and directh' in front of the
entrance. The place had evidenth' been used for several
years, there being at least a peck of wood chippings. .some
fre.sh, but a large quantity old and di.scolored with age. The.
nest was placed between two of the parallel rafters and com-
posed of the.se chippings, being about six inches thick by
eighteen inches in diameter. This material had been all cut
from the rafters on the floor and the roof overhead. There
had been an infinite amount of labor, as large as 2x<) rafters,
be.sides a large number of smaller studding, were chipped over
half, and others entirely cut through. The birds seem to have
been cutting at the rafters for amu.sement, as well as material,
as everything in the immediate vicinity of the nest was strewn
with chips. The male spent much of his time sitting in the
entrance or demolishing the rafters ; the pecking became .so
vigorous as to disturb cla.sses in session below.

I regard this last instance as a much greater departure from
the normal habits than any other known to me, as in all pre-
viously related instances it was compelled to cut through an
outer .shell after the manner natural to it, except in the occu-
pancy of wagon hub, barrels, chimney crevice and the bank
burrows, which differ in no material way in interior arrange-
ment from hollows and burrows in trees. At this rate it
appears within the range of po.s.sibility for it to breed in prop-
erly constructed bird boxes if protected and encouraged to
do so.

POSITION.

Prof. lyynds Jones voices the general verdict when he
affirms that the trunk of the tree is much preferred, but the
main limbs are sometimes used. It seldom if ever carves out
for itself a home in a perfectly .sound hardwood tree. Soft
punky stubs and trees that are entirely dead or have decayed
portions are almost invariably .selected. If the tree chosen is
a large one, the excavation is confined to that side of the
trunk in which the entrance is made. It excavates with the
grain of the wood, so that if the trunk of the tree is .slanting

THE FLICKER. • 37

the excavation will have the same slant. When the tree is
leaning the entrance will be made on the under side, otherwise
the rain would enter and fill the excavation. Once he found a
nest in the horizontal branch of a tree not more than two feet
from the main stem. The hole was bored in the side of the
branch and carried at right angles toward the tree bole. The
next year the .same entrance was used, but the burrow dug out
of the oppo.site side, the old cavit}- not being used at all.
Natural cavities are sometimes cho.sen and the entrance en-
larged. Once .such a nest came to grief during a heav\' rain,
when it filled with water, ruining the eggs. As to distance
from ground, he .says it would be impossible to state any usual
or preferred height, for there are none. Mr. Cha.se once
found a nest in a willow post with entrance but twenty-two
inches above the ground, and extending down until level with
the surface. The height probably varies almost if not quite
as much in one .section as the other, but apparentl}' averaging
higher in the North and vSouth Atlantic than in the Central
Western States from data at hand :

South Atlantic States— Maximum, 100 feet.

Minimum, 12 feet.

Middle & Eastern " — " 60 "

2 "

Central Western " — •' 90 "

0 "

EXCAVATION.

House limiting begins shortly after the. female has chosen
her mate. The female leads, a.ssiduou.sly seconded by her
partner, in a tour of inspection of all available sites, which
often furnishes occupation for days. The following jottings
from my note book for '9() are pertinent: April 15th, *>
A. M. — A female flew to old .swamp willow, clo.se to creek,
and ran up main stem, examining some old cavities on the
way; male arrived a minute later and went through the same
performance, the female retiring meanwhile ; both silent. At
U:oO the female flew directly to the top of the hollow .stub,
male followed directly after, uttering his love or .scythe-whet-
ting .song upon alighting, in which the female occasionally
joined, but .soon left. At 10 o'clock the pair returned, singing
common .song on the top, apparently decided upon exact spot.
Another pair went through the same ceremony on a tree fur-
ther up the creek at 1 ;-"50 P. M. April 21 st. three individuals

38 . THR FLICKKR.

busy excavating nest cavities, very quiet; until May l*)th con-
structing nests and depositing eggs, rather silent. When
business of so much importance is under way there are no more
loud rappings, cries or songs, but silence usually prevails in
the immediate vicinity of its labors. If love notes are indulged
in they are subdued in tone, and the bird stealthily chiseling at
its dwelling will quietly creep around to the oppo.site side of the
tree upon the approach of an intruder. Rarely a pair will
appear bold and indifferent to observation. With it$ feet close
together, holding on by its claws, and its body well braced by
means of the stiff tail feathers, it swings backward and for-
ward, .showering yeomanlike blows on the spot .selected. The
circular hole, ju.st large enough to admit the bird, but .scarcely
as neat and true as the be.st work of many others of the tribe,
is tunneled in .straight for about six inches, then turned down
at right angles, and enlarged rapidly to the maximum diame-
ter, which is, as Prof. Jones says, about twice the diameter of
the entrance. Often it will chip out .several inches above the
entrance hole, for what purpose I am unable to more than con-
jecture. Maurice Thompson is authority for the statement
that all of our Woodpeckers construct their nests in the form
of a graduall}^ widening pocket or gourd shape, except the
Ivory-billed, which drills a jug-.shaped cavity. Mr. Robert
Wind.sor Smith describes a bird building her nest thirty feet
up in an old post oak on June 10th, '08. The location was
close to a public road and the Georgia railroad, near Duck-
wood, Georgia. In the formation of this nest the female did
all the work ; in fact the male did not make his appearance.
At the time of the discovery she had already made an exca-
vation almost large enough to conceal her entire body. Often
during the operations .she would .sink into the hole leaving
about half her form expo.sed, remaining in that position but a
moment when she would back out and resume her work as
before. When a neighboring tree was rapped with a .stick,
she would creep around to the opposite side remaining there
.several minutes and peering around as if to learn the cau.se ;
if no other effort was made to disturb her .she would again
resume her place and continue the work unmindful of prying
eyes as long as no demonstration was made against her.
Wagons and other vehicles passed beneath her and several

thp: fijckkr. 39

freight trains went lumbering along, but she seemed unmind-
ful of what was going on around her. Mr. Smith watched
this bird for two days, when he was unavoidably called away
for some ten or twelve days and on his return found that the
tree had been cut down and carted away. Nearly all agree
that both sexes assist in the work. Mr. Angus Gaines men-
tions a pair in particular, near neighbors and good friends of
his, selecting a well seasoned snag, hard and tough, both birds
working with a will, turns about, in constructing the nest
hole, and returning to the same upon succeeding years. Mr.
PYancis R. Cope, Jr., says that in one nest he watched con-
struction during the spring of '92, all the chips were carefully
carried awa}- some distance into a neighboring meadow ; but
in all other cases this precaution was not taken, the ground
immediately around the foot of the tree being plentifully be-
sprinkled with chips. In the first instance the male would
work at the hole for about five minutes and then after carry-
ing away all the chips, his place would be taken b}' the female,
who in turn would labor diligently for another five minutes or
so, alwa3'S carefull}- carr3-ing away every chip she made. In
Iowa, Mr. Jones finds that it does not carry the chips from
the excavation any distance from the nest, the chips being
scattered broadcast, some falling at the foot of the tree. Mr.
J. H. Bowles states that it will sometimes desert its nest when
half finished and begin a new one, a trait so common with
man}^ of our Woodpeckers. Mr. Stephen J. Adams has found
that it requires from one week to twenty days to complete this
work and it is often carried on after the eggs are laid, enlarg-
ing and smoothing up the cavity, which accounts for the eggs
found buried in "sawdust" now and then. Mr. James B.
Purdy's experience has been that it takes about two weeks to
complete the nest. On April "i^nd a Nebraska bird was scared
from her nest in a box alder when the cavity was ten inches
deep, and on May 4th seven fresh eggs were collected from
the hole, now twent}--two inches deep. Allowing a week for
deposition, the additional twelve inches must have been hewn
out in five daj'S or less — something over two inches daily.
When a pair has been robbed, Mr. J. Warren Jacobs finds that
in most cases the hole is dug an inch or .so deeper before
another set of eggs is deposited ; and Mr. C. H. Morrel reports

40 THK FLICKER.

the depth of a cavity in an ash tree as but ten inches in '*^n,
and deepened to twenty inches in '97, in both cases containing
eggs.

An old nest is frequently used, thereby escaping days of
hard labor, it being not uncommon for a pair to return year
after year to the same cavity. Some years ago the late Dr.
Willard L,. Maris found it nesting in a hole in a tree situated
in an open field near Melford, Penna., where for three or four
3'ears it successfully reared its broods, and after an interval of
.some three or four years he again examinad the nest — May
10, '94 — and was not disappointed in finding it occupied, but
whether by the same pair it is of course impos.sible to say.
This is but one of man}^ instances of the kind. Messrs. James
B. Purdy, J. N. Clark, James Savage and others have al.so
made note of it.

Many of our birds owe to the Flicker their cozy homes in its
deserted and oft times partly demolished breeding chambers.
It occasionall}' furnishes nesting sites to at least one species of
Ducks — Bufflehead i^Chai-itonctta aIbeola')\ all of our smaller
cavity nesting Hawks and Owls — Pigeon {Falco columbarius)
and Sparrow Hawk {F. sparverhis) and sub-species, Saw-whet
{Nydala acadica) and Screech Owl [Mega scops asio) and sub-
species ; .several Woodpeckers — Downy ( Djyohates piibcsccns )
and Red-head {Melancrpcs crythroccphalus); one Flycatcher —
Crested {Myiarchiis crinitiis)\ one Sparrow — European House
{Passer domesticus)\ at least two Swallows — Tree ( Tachycincta
hicolor) zwdi Purple Martin {Progne siibis); our only cavity
nesting Warbler — Prothonotary {Protonotaria citrea); many
of our Wrens — Baird's ( Tluyothorus bezvickii bairdi). House
( Troglodytes aedon ) and sub-species ; Nuthatches — White-
breasted (Sitta caroliiiensis) , Red-breasted {S. canadensis) and
Brown-headed (5'. //^.y/Z/i?); Titmouse — Tufted {Parus bicolor),
Black-capped {P. atricapilliis) and Carolina [P. carolineusis);
and Bluebird {Sialia sialis).

Composition* The lining or bed upon which the eggs are
placed has been found to consist invariably of fine chips,
probably the last made in smoothing up the chamber. If the
wood is extra .soft and punky, few if any fragments may be
present, at other times some of the eggs will be almost buried

Till' I'lJCKIvR. 41

in the saw-dust-like chippings. No extraneous material is
ever employed.

Dimensions. The data at hand is so incomplete as to admit
of no constant comparison between different parts of the
countr3s or living- and dead trees, and hard and soft grained
woods ; but the depth of excavation appears to be least in the
Southern states ((> to 14 inches), and greatest in New York
and New England (10 to -M) inches), Illinois ( 14 to 24 inches),
Pennsylvania (10 to IS inches), and Minnesota (1) to 18
inches). The averages in general, together with the maxi-
mum and minimum measurements for the United States, are
given in inches and hundredths. The difference in the meth-
ods of measuring are so great that much data other than the
entrance diameter could scarcely be relied upon, but undoubt-
edly the depth of cavit}' depends in no small degree upon the
quality of the wood.

MIN. MAX. .WER.

Diameter of Entrance 2.20 5.00 3.28

Diameter of Cavity near Bottom 4.50 10.00 7.67

Depth of Cavity from Entrance 6.00 36.00 15.79

Total Length of Cavity 9.00 40.00 18.50

EGGS.

Deposition. Almost invariably an egg is laid daily until
the clutch is complete. Indeed, such is the great fecundity of
the species that it will often continue under exceptional cir-
cumstances to deposit an egg daily, with or without an occa-
sional da}' of recoupment, until it multiplies the number in a
typical set several times over, and that wnthout a radical dimi-
nution of the properties of the &gg. Records of even the most
prolific of our wild birds laying more than a single egg dailj^
are so few that an instance given by Air. C. H. Morrell, Pitts-
field, Maine, is of more than usual interest : On May '21st, '97,
at about sunset a cavity in an ash slab was sawed into and the
three eggs taken out, examined and returned ; on the 26th it
contained nine eggs, which were collected. It looks very much
as if two eggs had been deposited in one day and from appear-
ances all mu.st have belonged to the same bird. Certainly no
egg was overlooked upon the fir.st visit.

Arrangement. The eggs usually remain in the position of
deposition, becoming adjusted to the body during the frequent
turning to which they are involuntarily .subjected. When the
cavity is small and the clutch large they are sometimes placed
in two layers, the fine chips protecting them from injury. The
arrangement of a heavily incubated set containing the unusual
number of thirteen eggs taken by Mr. H. J. Flanagan in
Providence Co., R. I., on May -'JOth, '*.>S, was peculiar, if not
unique. The entrance, eighteen inches above the nest, was
about three and one- half feet above the ground, in an apple
tree, and had been previously broken into .so that the eggs
were in plain .sight. The trunk had been hollowed out to a
diameter of ten inches or so, and the eggs laid in one row of
five and two rows of four each. Two eggs which contained
dead embryos appeared of a dark brown color. One was .sit-
uated almost in the middle of the central row, and the other
in the center of one of the outer rows, alxnit one egg .separat-
ino- them.

Tin-: I'ljcKi'.R.

4:5

Clutch. As a rule the niininium iuinil)er of ej<'gs in a set is
found in the south, where the usual clutch appears to consist
of but 5 or 6 eggs, a larger number being rather unusual.
The whole north appears to be more favorable for the mainte-
nance and development of nuich larger broods ; most com-
monly () to 9 eggs are laid ; sets of 10 not uncommonly, while
12, 13, and even 14 eggs are not wanting ; larger sets are un-
known, with one possible exception, published in the Forest
and Stream, Vol. XXV., p. 427 — a brood of 19 young, all
alive and in good condition.

]vOCAI,lTlES.

NO.

OF EGGS IN SKT.

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

12

13

14

Total

N. C, S. C, Ga., Fla., Ala., La..! 3
Del., Pa, N.J. , N.Y.,Ont.(Toronto)i 3

New England 2

0.., Ind., 111., So. Mich., Ky 2

11

9
4
1

2

6
21
5
3
6

if
2
4

11

2
10
20

1
7

22

11
3
2
1

1
6

1
5

3

1

1

76
43
14

36

Total

14

27

41

34

40

17

13

3

1

1

191

The southern bird makes up for the smallnessof her set by
producing a second brood in many in.stances. Mr. Arthur T.
Wayne, Mt. Plea.sant, vS. C. .says that two, and sometimes
three broods, are reared in a season, a fact which has been
noted by Bendire also.

Season's Aggregate. The Flicker has the reputation of
laying more eggs under exceptional circumstances than any
other species. Nearly every observer has something to .say
regarding this peculiarity and the persistence with which it is
carried out. Mr. J. Warren Jacobs has found that on .several
occasions, when the eggs were taken before the set was com-
pleted, he has been rewarded with another egg on his return
the next morning ; and after laying ('> or S eggs, the bird rested
a few days before beginning a new set. Mr. Paul Bartsch finds
it to be a very patient and persistent layer ; if one removes all
the eggs except one from an incomplete set, and keeps this up
day after day, the Flicker will try to complete the set, depo.sit-
ing Q^<g after egg until her supply or patience is exhausted.
He has in this way taken 17 eggs from one nest. Mr. J. H.
Bowles .stated that a friend once collected 2.') eggs from one
nest before the poor bird finally gave it up. Mr. J. B. Purdy

44 THIv I'lJCKKR.

once found a nest in a cavity of an apple tree, and as soon as the
first egg was deposited it was removed, and as fast as all subse-
quent eggs were laid they were removed ; the bird continued
to lay day after day until she had deposited 27 eggs. Mr. F. A.
Colby has known it to lay as many as 28 eggs in a continuous
stretch ; a day perhaps was skipped after the boys robbed her,
but she did not stop laying more than two days at a time when
relieved of four to six eggs in a bunch. Rev. P. B. Peabody
discovered a nest among a dense growth of black oaks, averag-
ing about six inches in diameter. It was placed eighteen
inches from the ground in a cavity, which, according to his re-
membrance, was partly natural and partly excavated by the
birds, the depth being very slight. One or two eggs only were
taken at the time at first, whereupon the mother Flicker, like
so many others on record, began to spin out her " set " to the
number of oO or over before giving up in despair. Mr. J. H.
Armfield reports the taking of a large number of eggs from
a cavity in a maple tree near a .spring, .seven miles S. W. of
Green.sboro, N. C, in '9<S. Five eggs were collected on May
(ith, and every two or three da^'s thereafter all eggs found
were gathered ; the female continuing to lay, not every day,
however, until July 5th, when she had deposited 4S eggs.
This is the next to the largest on record. In relation to that his-
toric and extraordinarily prolific bird of Taunton, Ma.ss., little
can be added to the meagre notes recorded bj- the collector at
the time. The eggs were taken one at a time from a cavity in
a wnllow, beginning Ma}' (Ith, 'SC), leaving a ne.st egg, until 71
had been deposited. Mr. Chas. L,. Phillips informs me that
.some of the eggs were accidentally broken and the remainder
dispo.sed of to Mr. F. B. Webster, the well known dealer, who
in turn writes me that he has entirely lost .sight of the Phillips
collection, and has no means of tracing it, as it may have been
broken up for decorative purpo.ses. No measurements were
taken, and while the collector is inclined to think they were all
the product of one female, it is not impo.ssible that a .second
bird who.se own ne.st had been demoli.shed, may have " jumped
the claim " in preference to chi.seling out a fre.sh nest .so late in
the sea.son, and after one day's interval contributed her .share
to the grand total. Still, as Mr. Phillips argues, it is unlikely.
It is unfortunate that this .series of eggs was not better appre-

THK plicki-:r. -ir,

ciated for its scientific value. While this method of collecting
eggs is hardly scientific and only justifiable in rare cases, per-
mit me to advise the collector occasionally practicing it, to fix
the identity of the female by means of some peculiarity of
voice, habit, or plumage, if possible ; and to carefully number
and measure the eggs in the order of deposition, time on nest,
etc. Collected from all sources we have the following :

Massachusetts 15 eggs, taken in sets, no nest egg

Connecticut 17 eggs, taken in sets, no nest egg

Pennsylvania 17 eggs, taken in sets, no nest egg

Iowa 17 eggs, taken singl}-, nest egg

New York 20 eggs in 27 da3\s, insets, pigeon's nest egg

Connecticut ■ 21 eggs daily, nest egg

Massachusetts 25 eggs daily

Michigan 27 eggs daily, no nest egg

Massachusetts 27 eggs, in sets

Vermont 27 eggs, in sets

Nebraska 2.S eggs, in sets, no nest egg

Illinois 28 eggs, singles and sets, nest egg

Pennsylvania 80 eggs in 40 da3's, in sets, no nest egg

Minnesota 80 eggs daily

Indiana 87 eggs in 49 daN's, in sets, no nest egg

Texas 40 eggs in 40 days, no nest egg

North Carolina 48 eggs in 65 days, no nest egg

Massachusetts 71 eggs in 78 days, nest egg

Mr. C. L,. Rawson, the veteran oologist, who is perhaps
better known as "J. M. W.", of Norwich, Conn., has looked
over some oological data, taken from field ex])eriments made
by himself and his climber since '7H, and has come to the con-
clu.sion that the Flicker lays no more eggs in proportion to the
usual number in a .set when stimulated in .some way, than
many other .species of various genera. Twice by the nest egg
and at times by the substitution process he could take but 21
eggs from the Wacup, but in the same manner his notes .say he
has taken

1 1 eggs from the Common Term ( only one pair

nesting on islet ) Piqual to '■) sets

20 eggs from the Sora Rail (only one pair in

bog ) Equal to 2 sets

4(5

Tin>; I'ljCKKR.

to 3 sets
to 4 sets
to 5 sets
to o sets
to 3 sets
to 3 sets
to 3 sets
to 3 sets

to 2 sets
to 3 sets
to 4 sets
to 3 sets

32 eggs from the l^ol)-wliite (identification of

same bird sure) Eqita

K; eggs from the Marsh Hawk Eqiia

17 eggs from the vSharp-shinned Hawk Equa

13 eggs from the Cooper's Hawk Equa

!> eggs from the Red-shouldered Hawk Equa

'> eggs from the Barred Owl Equa

21 eggs from the Flicker Equa

1 3 eggs from the Meadowlark Equa

1 1 eggs from the Purple Finch ( l)esides 4 eggs

of Cowbird ) Equa

12 eggs from the Vesper Sparrow Equa

1 0 eggs from the Parula Warbler Equa

20 eggs from the Eong-billed Marsh Wren Equa

Numerous instances in which that pest, the European
House vSparrow, has equaled or even exceeded the best ratio
given by Mr. Rawson in the above interesting list, might be
given.

Dates. The nesting period averages much later than is
generally thonght by writers. The time for fresh and com-
plete sets varies of course, according to the season, but the fol-
lowing averages compiled from a large amount of data will be
found in most instances to be approximately correct in average
seasons :

Localities. Average. Variations.

N. C, vS. C, Ga., Fla May 4. ..April 10 to June 7

Penna.,N. J " lo... " 2S " 2(}

N.Y.,NewEng. (except Maine)... " 22... " 14 " (>

Maine, Out., N. S " 30. ..May 14

Eoui si ana

Ohio, Ind., 111., vSo. Mich

Iowa , Neb. , Kans

Minn. , Wis

Ala.ska and N. W. Ter JunelO

Mr. Arthur T. Wayne finds the average date in South
Carolina to be April 21. st, except in 'ilo (a late .sea.son ) when
it was May Dth.

Shape* The contour is .subject to little variation, the typi-
cal Qgg being ovate ; now and then an oval specimen is found.

18
.■) to May 10
2 to June 80
10... April 24 to May 2S
IS... May 10 to June 1

•)•>>

Till', I'lJCKl'R. 47

and more often sets in which the eggs are irregularly elliptical
ovate, sometimes sharply pointed.

Color. Fresh eggs are a beautiful translucent white, the
yolk showing through and suffusing the whole shell with a
mellow delicate pink. When blown this pale wild rose bloom
disappears, the shell retailis the translucency in decreasing
amount until it is dry when it is simply a pearly glittering
white. — Lynds Jones. All colorless fii:e textured eggs, es-
pecially when fresh, seem to emit a faint glow and in this state
are admired by field oologists more than the clear porcelain
white specimens in the cabinet. Not rarely a set of prepared
eggs show a creamy suffusion, which, if the cause was un-
known, would deceive one into believing it to be naturally
produced. If the eggs are left standing unblowi: for a number
of days, the yolks will .settle and the lining absorb enough
coloring matter to stain it a uniform creamy-buff, which, show-
ing through the semi-transparent .shells, gives them the same
appearance. With every reason for the belief that the pre-
historic bird had a reptilian ancestry and that plain white eggs
would most naturally be produced by the descendants of such
progenitors for a time at least, uncolored eggs must be regard-
ed as the least modified as far as external appearance goes.
Some .species advanced along the line of involuntary protec-
tive coloration of their eggs, while others habitually nesting
in dark cavities, in large colonies or practically safe places, as
the Petrels, Pelicans, Pigeons. Owls, Kingfi.shers, Woodpeck-
ers, Swifts, Hummingbirds, etc., have undergone .slight changes
apparently. According to Dr. Brewer, "Any egg, always
excepting a Woodpecker's, is liable to be marked (.stained) by
minute infusions of colored lymph of the parent in exlcusion."
On what grounds he excludes the W^oodpeckers is purely con-
jectural, but if it is on account of the fine texture and polish,
the Kingfishers should also have been made an exception. It
would appear, moreover, that Woodpeckers' eggs are accasion-
ally spotted. It is reported that Audubon once found a se^ of
.spotted eggs of the Three-toed Woodpecker. Angus Gaines,
Viscennes, Ind., noted a .set of eggs of the Red-headed Wood-
pecker with reddish spots at the larger ends ( .see Oo/oo/sf. \'o\.
XII, p. 118) and in Vol. VIII, p. VHi of the .same paper a .set
of four eggs of the Flicker, .spotted with dull red, is recorded

48 T.HK FLICKER.

from Fairbank, Minn.; and J. H. Bowles, Ponkapog, Mass.,
describes the latter .species as sometimes laying eggs minutely
spotted with dots of red or black, for the most part easily
washed off.

Texture. The shell has a fine smooth surface with a por-
celain-like glo.ss normally. A .set of five in my cabinet col-
lected at Avery's Island, La., is quite unu.sual in having no
gloss whatever. Granulations appear upon the larger ends
not infrequently, being much more noticeable on a white and
polished surface than upon a colored or lusterlcss specimen.
,Mr. Jacobs, in describing the abnormally large egg in the
Ottawa, Kansas, set, notes a number of dead white granula-
tions .scattered over the .shell at random, and at one side a
decided hump ; a large circular patch on the larger end is also
dead white, indicating a thin spot in the shell.

Measurements. The average of over 500 eggs, nearly all
of which were taken in the United States, is 1.09X.85. 173
eggs taken in New York and Pennsylvania are but a very small
fraction above the general average. When amassing data, the
extraordinary amount of variation to which it proves subject
was not taken into account and what was at first considered
a fair number of measurements proves insufficient material for
a series of locality averages. The South, Northeast, and
Northwest show surprisingly little difference in general aver-
ages. Leaving out the series of 48 eggs taken from a single
bird inhabiting the mountains of Western North Carolina,
reduces the Southern average to 1.06X.84, and a further re-
duction to 1.02X.88 is made by not including the Louisiana
(Avery's Island) series which are large eggs al.so. On the
other hand many eggs from Maine, Iowa, Minnesota and Ne-
braska are unusually small, thus lowering the averages of their
respective localities.

IvOCAIJTY. NO. EGGS. AVER. MAX. MIN.

IS^^i'^^"^' '^''^'''} 1^^ 1.098 X. 849 1.24 X. 92 .90x.75

Northeast (New England, ) f 1.15 x .91 1.00 x .75

New York, Ontario — To- I 23.3 1.090 x .855 j 1.22 x .86 .96x.80
ronto— , Pennsylvania) . . | ( 1.21 x .88 .97 x .73

Northwest (O., Ky., Wis, 1 -.g^. 1088^8^-,,', 1 41 ., qq qq v fi'^
Kas., Neb. , Iowa., Minn. ) / -^^^ -^'^^^ ^ '^'^'^ -^'^^ '^"^ '^'^ '^^

The major axis is .stibject to much greater variation than

THE FIvICKER. 49

the minor axis, which is I beheve, the case with all kinds of

A set collected at Mt. Pleasant, S. C, April '21 st, and now
in the collection of Mr. R. P. Sharpies, measure 1.17X .''*>^',
1.24X.92, 1.19X.W, 1.10X.S4, and the collector— Mr. Arthur
T. Wayne — says they might easily be mistaken for the eggs of
the Pileated Woodpecker. It remains for the Ottawa, Kansas,
bird, already referred to as building in a school house loft, to
break the record in the dimensions of one egg. The set is
now in the collection of Mr. J. Warren Jacobs and measures
1.16X.94, 1.15X.91, l.lSx.'SS, 1.17X.94, 1.21 X .92, l.lOx
.91, 1.41X.9o. Equally remarkable is a set of small eggs col-
lected by Prof. Ora W. Knight, Bangor, Maine, June 14, "1).') —
.85X.75, .99X.79, .9SX.77, .87X.79, .77X.72— and is prob-
ably a second or third .set. The average of IB eggs known to
be of the second laying is slightly le.ss than the general average
— 1.07X.84. Mr. Chas. ly. Phillips, who took 71 eggs from
one hole in 73 days, .states that the}' appeared of the usual
dimensions with very little variation ; a fact also noted by J.
Parker Norris in the Ornithologist and Oolooist after he had
collected 30 eggs from one pair and found the last i^gg as large
as the first. The measurements of the 4S eggs taken from one
bird near Green.sboro, N. C, as already briefly mentioned
under the head of Season' s Aggregate, are before me, although
unfortunately not in exact order of deposition, and exhibit a
great difference in .size — from 1.08X.80to 1.17X .87— much
larger than the general average. Runt eggs are by no means
scarce, in fact I consider them more often occuring in this
species than in any other of the family. Mr. Otto Grady,
Ludlow, Ky., found a nest June 24, '95, containing .six young
ready to leave, piled pellmell on top of one another, and three
runt eggs; one being as thick as an ordinary Robin's egg and
much longer than the average Flicker's egg, the second the
.size of a Red-headed Woodpecker's egg, and the third almost
globular. An Orleans County ( N. Y. ) collector took 20 eggs
from a pair in 27 days, the 8th and 9th being runts. Another
is incidently mentioned by another New York oologist, but no
particulars given. There is a distinction between the small
fertile eggs such as are given in the locality table, and the

•'>0 THE FLICKER.

runts which are excluded from all averages ; such as I have
measurements of appear below :

Toronto, Canada June 7, '95, in set of 8 eggs, .70x.56

Grinnell, Iowa .67 x .58

A verj^'s Island, La May 14, '95, in set of 6 eggs, .79x.62

Port Hope, Ontario, Canada June 10, ,98, in set of 4 eggs, .79x .65

Philo, Illinois May 11, '98, in set of 9 eggs, .83x.67

In Other Birds* Nests. When the exact circumstance of
deposition is unknown, the owner of a ne.st in an old Wood-
pecker cavity is the bird placing the lining therein, the cham-
ber being vacant. It is hardly probable that the Flicker would
intrude unless its own nest had been destro^^ed before the
completion of its quota. On June 6th, '89, while collecting
near Lake Assawamsett in Plymouth County, Mass., Mr. A.
C. Bent explored an old orchard. One tree contained a Blue-
bird's nest with five eggs of the owner and one of the Flicker's,
and in a neighboring cavity a deserted nest of a Tree Swallow
with the same number of eggs. A not much frequented place
and while possibly the work of .some boys, it is hardly proba-
ble. A .similar instance is recorded by E. G. Elliot, Bradford,
Mass., May l()th, '84, of a .set of five eggs of Bluebird and
one of Flicker, nest of grass and feathers. Records of Euro-
pean House Sparrow and Red-headed Woodpecker eggs in
freshly excavated quarters with one or more eggs of the Flicker
are not uncommon, and upon investigation the latter proved to
be the aggrieved party in every instance. In the Oologist, Vol.
XII, p. 70, Walter Draper, Barahoo, Wis., gives an interesting
account of an " Eccentric Flicker. ' ' He observed a Mourning
Dove's nest in process of construction on a limb of an oak tree
near a path, and a few mornings later was surprised to see a
female Flicker on the nest. She was not disturbed at that
time, but returning at noon to investigate, the Dove was
flushed from her own two eggs and a cracked &g^ of the in-
trudor found near the edge where it had probably been shoved
by the proprietor.

INCUBATION.

Few birds so timid and defenceless as the Flicker, sit so
closel}' and presistently. While occasionally it may be seen to
fly from its nest at a near approach, it is usually very hard to
drive out ; shouting and pounding upon. the base of the tree
having little effect, and often it is necessary to prod the bird
with a stick or reach in and pull her out by the beak. She is
gentle and harmless, never offering to claw, bite or strike, al-
though capable of inflicting a painful wound if disposed to use
her strong beak. When caught she will struggle violently for
a moment or utter a long wailing, despairing shriek which will
be answered by the mate if within hearing distance. In one
instance described by Mr. Jacobs the female returned and en-
tered the partly destroyed cavity, emerging only to re-enter
and re-examine her home the second and third time ; and at
another time when the female was flushed and set collected
after dark, she came quite near and alighted on his back acting
as if verj' much dazed or blinded. Prof. Jones has found it
occasionally making fierce dashes at the intruder and also re-
lates an incident of his first experience with it as a close sitter,
taking it for an Owl and dropping three large stones upon it
in the vain hope of causing it to vacate. When the nest was
opened she was found pinned dow^n by the stones but so care-
fully protecting the eggs that not one was broken, and happily
she seemed unharmed also. For a bird habitually nesting in
dark situations, it seems strange that it exhibits such a dislike
and inaptitude for movement after the sun has set, acting
stupidly and deserting the nest for good if disturbed at such a
time. Incubation may commence soon after the first egg is
deposited, or in accordance with the great majority of birds,
after the set is completed. More than 90 per cent, of the sets
of which I have data .show the latter condition, and curiously
enough, all but two instances (Xouisiana and Kentucky) of
irregularly incubated eggs occur in the New England and

52 THE FLICKER.

Middle States ; from which we may infer that this species, as
well as the Cuckoos and Kingfishers, are more addicted to this
sort of thing, for which I believe no cause has yet been as-
signed, in the east than in the west. Most birds incubate by
squatting upon their eggs in an upright position. One obser-
ver suggests that the Flicker maj^ assume the posture of a
Screech Owl while upon the nest, as in every case where he has
opened the chamber it has been found lying upon the eggs ;
but it is more than possible that the parent lay close but mo-
mentarily to avoid the ialling dedr/s, protect the young or eggs,
or in the vain hope of escaping notice. Mr. Sinclair has had
exceptional opportunities of observing the bird on her nest
without disturbing her in the least, in the garret of the school
building alluded to under the head of Position ; the loft being
pitch dark excepting the light entering the rough entrance, in
front of which the female sat upright like an^^ ordinary bird.
I have ample proof that it is doubly monogamous, though the
observers with few exceptions have not found the male taking
his turn at covering the eggs. It may be a more common trait
in the east, where the bird is frequently lifted from a set of eggs
well along in incubation. Sometimes near the middle of the day
the male appears and utters a few love notes, when he is at
once joined by his brooding mate, who .soon hurries off in
search of food, while the devoted male takes her place on the
eggs. On June 12, '97, I was in the vicinity of a nest placed
35 feet up in the dead top of a chestnut tree in the woods,
while the change was being effected. Time, 1:45 P. M.; birds
on tree ; short duet of ivick-a-n'ick or breeding song ; both flew
away, male returning in five minutes, alighting 12 feet below
entrance, and after a thorough reconnoitre in which he undoubt-
edly observed me, ascended almost imperceptibly, halting four
times to look about. Silent and very cautious, taking 25 min-
utes to get within a foot of entrance. Still .suspicious and will
not enter, but noi.selessly flying to a bare hmb and dropping
from it to a lower and yet lower branch and back to main stem.
As I stole softly away from the foot of the tree, unable to re-
main longer, he peeped shjdy around the trunk at me. On
May 28, '98, at 12:30 P. M., I took a male from a nest contain-
ing 7 eggs, in which incubation varied from commenced to
small embryos, the absence of abdominal feathering proving

thp: flickrr. 53

that it was a regular task. The female was feeding at the op-
posite side of the grove. Prof. Lynds Jones has one record of
the duration of incubation, which was 14 days. Major Ben-
dine gives it as about 15 days in his Life Histories of lYorf/i
Ameriean Birds. It doubtless varies to .some extent, accord-
ing- to localitv and season.

YOUNG.

It is hatched both blind and naked, remaining in this help-
less and callow condition for over a week. It is not known
when the white membranous process which extends from
either side of the base of the lower mandible disappears, but
it probably goes at a very early age. This formation is appar-
ently peculiar to all young Woodpeckers, as suggested by
Frank A. Bates in the Ornithologist and Oologist, Vol. XVI.,
p. 35, but its use is unknown. The young are often piled on
top of one another, but soon learn to cling to the side of the
cavit}' and avoid too much crowding. On cold or stormy days
one of the old birds covers them at intervals, as well as at night,
when extremely young. Nearly every one is familiar wdth the
sounds uttered by the unfledged brood, which has been com-
pared to the hissing of a nest full of snakes ; as they grow
larger, to the winding of a clock ; and finally to the click and
clatter of a mowing machine. If the tree or stub in which
they are situated is pounded, their combined voices increase to
a perfect storm of vociferation. Both sexes feed the young
with equal assiduity, and up to the time they leave the nest,
by the process of regurgitation only. Nuttall appears to have
been the first to discover this peculiarity, but when it was
more fully commented upon a few years since by Olive Thorn
Miller \n A^esting Time, William Brewster in Auk, Vol. X.,
p. 281, and J. N. Baskett in Nidologist, Vol. II., p. 110, it ap-
peared something in the nature of a revelation. Mr. Baskett
kindly furnished me with some data relating to the same nest
full of young, from which he took the notes for his article in
the above magazine, and is substantially the same. The par-
ents appeared to have different places from which to procure
food, and were gone at irregular intervals, rarely both present
at once. Nothing was ever visible in their mouths, and the
regurgitation, while labored, never seemed to indicate that an}^
large portion was being thrown up. The parent drove its

THE FLICKER 55

beak down the gaping and screaming throat of the nesthng
and began a jerking and riggling motion which seemed to tax
the efforts of the youngster to hold on, the process lasting for
some seconds and seldom repeated at the same visit. As the
adults do not remove the excrement, the bottom of the basket-
like nest soon becomes foul, but the young manage to keep
clean holding tight to the w^alls by means of their sharp claws,
soon creeping to the entrance to peep out on the great world
without or to look and listen for the parents, there to receive
the food. Thus a period of from two to over three weeks is
passed, after which they emerge to spend the day on the tree
trunk or large branches, blinking and sunning themselves in
the bright light, returning to the security of the chamber on
the approach of a storm, threatened danger or return of night ;
for after all it is their home nest, snug and safe, and by no
means the "black hole of Calcutta" imagined. In a few
more days the adults, by means of much beseeching, encourag-
ing and threatening language, persuade one after another to
try its wings, and short flights are made from limb to limb and
tree to tree amid much excitement and flurry. Prof. Jones
says that the ability to fly seems to be an individual character-
istic, some being able to do so much earlier than others of the
same brood. They depend on the food, small fruit and ants
mainly, brought them by the old birds for some time after de-
parting from the home-tree, and are supplied with a small
quantity of gravel (grinders) before leaving the nest. Ap-
parently the juvenile makes its first essay to supply its own
wants while on the ground, as nearly all June and July speci-
mens were shot from that position. The tongue of the nest-
ling is harmless ; just when the barb appears I am unable to
say. One bird over a week out of its nest had not developed
it. Mr. Baskett says that in the fall the young of a family
keep well together.

MOLT AND RENIvWAL.

The single annual molt, which is complete, occurs directl}'
after the breeding season in the manner described b}' Prof.
Ivynds Jones for this paper : The molt of our common Flicker,
as illustrated by four specimens, follows the general law of our
smaller land birds, with the differences peculiar to the Pici.
In these four specimens there are exhibited some individual
peculiarities of no importance except as illustrating the princi-
ple stated by Witmer Stone, in his admirable paper on the
molting of birds, that there are likel}' to be individual pecul-
iarities of molt within the species. It is well known that
among the Woodpeckers, who.se tail is used as a support in
clinging to perpendicular .surfaces, that the middle pair of tail
feathers are the last to be lo.st, and that they are retained until
the next pair has grown to a functional length. Apparently
the middle feathers, rather than the outer ones, are retained
because they are the strongest and are therefore the best able
to .sustain the weight of the body unaided by the others. Of
the four specimens, two are males and two females. I am
unable to decide whether they are birds of the year or old
ones. There is no apparent difference in the process of molting
of the sexes. In common with mo.st other .small land birds,
the Flicker first molts the middle row of the abdominal tracts,
followed almo.st immediately by the innermost — the 10th —
primary and the outermost greater wing-covert. The 9th pri-
mary is next shed, and with it the middle row of the pectoral
tracts, the two rows next the middle row of the dorsal tract,
the middle of the humeral tract and the lower row of the
femoral tract. Next the 8th primary, throat, sides of crown
and scattering feathers on the thighs. At this .stage the re-
gions of fir.st molt are beginning to show new feathers and the
molt of the contour feathers has spread somewhat in all di-
rections. With the 7th primary the next to the middle pair of
tail feathers, the whole head except the middle of the crown.

THE FLICKER. 57

Enough old feathers remain in the crown to form a covering.
With the 6th primary the next pair of tail feathers, the outer
rows of ventral tracts, middle wing-coverts. With the 5th
primary the next to the outer pair of tail feathers, next to
the inner secondary, middle of crown. With the 4th primary
the outer tail feathers, inner secondary, lower row of lesser
wing-coverts, two outer pairs of upper and under tail-coverts.
With the 3rd primary the remaining upper and under tail-
coverts, outer rows of dorsal tracts. At this point the plumage
assumes a smooth, clean appearance, the new feathers almost
completely hiding the old ones. With the 2nd primary the
middle tail feathers, outer secondary, and inner tertiary drop.
With the 1st primary the remaining inner rows of the abdo-
minal tracts and humeral tracts, the remaining lesser wing-
coverts, with any other unmolted feathers, are lost, completing
the molt. With their renewal the plumage is again complete.
The last three primaries — 1st, 2nd and 8rd — are molted in
rapid succession, the third one being but half grown when the
first one breaks its sheath. The slow molt of the tail is char-
acteristic of this order, and is a necessity, as hinted above.
As a rule among the small birds the tail feathers are molted
practically simultaneously. Almost everywhere over the body
some old feathers remain unmolted until the new ones are
nearly or quite grown. The old plumage presents a much
faded appearance, lacking the marked contrast of the new, and
appearing much harsher and coarser, due to the worn tips and
edges. At no stage of the molt is there any part of the body
entirely bare, nor are the flight feathers molted rapidly enough
to hinder flight. During the molt the birds seem to feed
largely upon such insects as can be easily caught upon the
ground or in the grass, indicating a relatively low state of vital
force. As to the time of molt : One of the specimens before
me. which has the molt fully half complete, was taken on July
5th. Another with the molt complete but with the iir.st pri-
mar)' about two thirds grown, was taken on October 17th.
This specimen does not seem to be a bird of the j^ear, the
other ma}^ be. It is hardlj^ possible that one bird requires all
the time from the last week in June to the third week in Octo-
ber to complete the molt and renewal. Probably half that
time is amply sufficient.

58 THE FUCKER.

My series of adult birds relates more to the renewal than
to the earlier stages of the molt, and in nearly every particular
attest to the correctness of the sequence revealed bj^ Prof.
Jones' minute examination. The middle rectrices grow more
slowly than the first, second and third primaries, which are
.shed almost simultaneously and grow rapidly. Three .speci-
mens taken on September 26th, two on October ord and one
October 10th — all at Berwyn, Penna. — show the middle feath-
ers from half grown to almost equal to next pair, while the
primaries are complete, although the last sheath has not always
disappeared. Of two Georgia specimens taken September 10th,
the fir.st shows the ord primary three-quarters, the 2nd two-
thirds grown and the 1st not shed, central tail-feathers dropped
and pin feathers on chin and throat ; the other shows the 3rd
primary four-fifths, the 2nd and 1st one-half grown, middle
pair tail feathers one-half grown, al.so pin feathers in malar
and chin. A June 10th specimen from the same locality, varies
in having the outer rectrices one-fourth and four-fifths grown,
otherwise apparently complete renewal. This bird must .surel}^
have remained unmated or lost its mate early in the season,
otherwise it could scarcely have been in so line a dress at that
date. Another peculiar state is represented by a hybrid from
Santa Cruz, California, September 3rd, with the 3rd primary
one-half, outer secondary three-fourths grown at the same
time, next to middle pair of tail feathers molted, malar and
forehead just renewed. Apparently the feathers about the
head and throat begin to drop early but new feathers develop
slowl3\ The central rectrices are the last important feathers
to attain their growth.

The juvenile Flicker molts and renews its entire plumage
the first year in common with all Woodpeckers, which are
numbered with the few groups among the Al trices doing so.
It varies little if at all from the adult. Seven Georgia birds
but a few weeks at most out of ne.sts, taken between June 28th
and July 18th, are in various stages of molt and renewal ; the
red cap often confined to the forehead. A bird taken July
lOtli had commenced to molt on nape, malar, breast and rump,
the 6th primary almost complete, top of head renewed except
forehead, a pair of new feathers of the autumnal dress had
appeared on either side of the breast, and all signs of the red

THE FLICKER. 59

cap had vanished. Thi.s bird i.s in a very ragged condition. I
am inclined to ascribe the early disappearance of the red cap
to growth and abrasion in a similar manner to the small
patches of natal down in which man}- of the Altrices appear,
i. e. : the gray feathers growing beneath on the same stem
pnsh the red tips upward where they become dead and brittle,
rapidly crumbling away. The forehead does not always show
signs of molt and possibly may occasionally remain until the
following fall.

In Penns^-lvania the renewal is complete b}^ the first of
October usually, often a week or so earlier.

FOOD.

From an economic standpoint the supreme test as to the
beneficial or injurious nature of a very large number of our
birds is adjudged from a knowledge of their food habits, more
especially if their value as an article of food or for manufac-
turing purposes is important. To be wholly beneficial a species
must feed upon that which is directly or indirectly injurious
and in a manner entailing the least possible damage to that
which may be utilized by man. Few birds will be found to
meet all of the requirements of so exacting a standard, and if
the good overbalance the bad qualities, or even if their habits
are of a neutral or doubtful character, the}^ should be pro-
tected as far as it is possible to do so. Recent investigations
conducted by the United States Agricultural Department war-
ranted the statement that ' ' Judged by the results of stomach
examinations of the Downy and Hairy Woodpecker and Flick-
er, it would be hard to find three other species of our common
birds with fewer harmful qualities." The Flicker differs from
all other Woodpeckers in being more terrestial. Being equally
adept in foraging above or upon the ground, it has a much
greater variety' of food to select from, consequently waxes fat,
is more numerous and covers a greater area than any other
member of the family in North America. There is little dif-
ference in the nature of its food and feeding habits, north,
east, south or west ; though of course being somewhat more
insectivorous in the warmer climes during the colder months.
It is almost completely insectivorous from the latter part of
March until well into June. Ants form the staple food however.
Professor Beal of the United States Nation Museum, places it
at about 75 per cent, of the insect food or 45 per cent, of the
whole matter for the year. It is often di.scovered .standing
over a colony, catching the ants as they emerge or digging
vigorou.sly into the soil with its .sharp pickax to unearth them,
its bill being almost constantl)' coated with earth from this

THE FLICKER. 61

habit. In Michigan it seems to have a preference for the
mound-building ants (Purdy). In Georgia there are myriads
of small red ants which infest every path and byway in sum-
mer and one cannot help noticing their funnel-shaped a])odes ;
upon these ants it wages eternal warfare so that its flesh
becomes so thoroughly impregnated with the pungent odor so
peculiar to these little insects as to be clearly preceptil)le when
removing the skin. It also preys upon a black ant found
luider the bark of dead trees, but as they are not so plentiful
as the former, they do not predominate as an article of food
(Smith). I have the result of an examination of twenty-five
stomachs, including seven taken from juveniles, collected in
DeKalb County, Georgia, by Mr. Robert Windsor Smith.
Every month in the year is represented with the exception of
May, August and November. In all but two, quantities of
either red or black ants were found, with a fair amount of un-
determined fragments of Cokoptera in ten, one contained a
mole cricket in addition to the ants, another three grubs and a
large black ground beetle, while the October bird had eaten its
fill of gumberries, the same fruit being found with an assort-
ment of insects in the two September birds. Somewhat to my
surprise the January bird had eaten the largest number of
insects, its stomach being distended with the S41 ants, frag-
ments of 2 ground beetles and S pieces of white gravel ( 20!)
small red ants, 492 small winged ants, 40 pupa, 8 mound-
building ants, 7 ants — species undetermined). The .seven
young birds had left the nest, though occasionally fed by
adults, and were taken between June 2Sth and July ISth — five
in '9<S and two in '91). All contained red ants with the addi-
tion of wild cherries in them, and beetles in a fourth. A small
quantity of white gravel found in all or nearly all young. The
stomach of one taken on July 12th contained .several pieces of
red gravel, in addition to quite a quantity of the usual white
flint, and another that two days later had swallowed a splinter
of weather-beaten w^ood, probably their first attempts to feed
themselves. In Iowa it is often seen darting after in.sects in
the manner of Flycatchers. Stomachs examined have inva-
riably contained remains of Carabid and Scarabid beetles, with
the skins of Lepidopterus larvae and numerous ants (Jones ) .
In Pennsylvania I have found as much as 157 large black

62 THE FLICKER.

ants, 7 May beetles, and a large green larva in a single stom-
ach, lyarge grubs, crickets and red ants are commonly found.
I think there should be no question regarding the inestimable
services rendered in keeping within reasonable limits the nu-
merous varieties of ants. In Indiana it not only devours large
quantities of mature insects, but their eggs, larvae and chrj^-
salides (Gaines). Wilson says it also feeds upon woodlice.
Grasshoppers when in season form no inconsiderable portion
of its food. In early spring and early fall its manner of feed-
ing on the ground is to collect in small, loose flocks, travelling
back and forth along the edges of a wood, around a hillside or
in a meadow; silently clearing the group oi its insect pests,
only flying up when disturbed or satisfied ; in this manner
often mixing in with the Meadowlarks, and in the West
extending well out on the prairies at a considerable distance
from timber or trees of an}^ kind.

As a correspondent suggests, birds, like other bipeds, only
" scratch for a living" when necessit}^ makes it compulsory.
Whether its system demands a change of diet or to put its
young in the waj^ of feeding themselves or from sheer laziness,
it becomes largely frugivorous from late July to November or
until its departure, feeding upon the fruit, as it ripens, of the
wild strawberry, raspberry, serviceberry , mulberry, red cherry,
dewberry, blackberry, huckleberry, elderberrj'-, pokeberry,
black cherry, grape, dogwood, black alder, wild plum, haw-
berr}', gum and hackberry; a perfect profu.sion and succession
of wild fruit ; often to the almost entire exclusion of inset life,
growing fat upon the pulp diet. It is noted by Mr. Robert
Windsor Smith tliat when the bird is gorged with berries but
little gravel is found in its stomach ; this also applies to
many others of our so-called insectivorous birds. I have
known it to eat so largely and continuously of certain small
fruits that the stain of the highly colored juices would pene-
trate and saturate the intestines, abdomen, and even dye the
bases of the feathers a rich red or purple ; particularly so when
pokeberries are indulged in.. It is extremely fond of the fruit
of this plant, and in this connection I wish to state that Dr.
W. E. Rotzell has given some 'attention to the effects of poke-
berries upon birds ^Hahnneniannian Monthly, '91, p. 790).
An extract of this fruit has been prescribed for obesity under

THE FLICKER. 63

the j^^enerally accepted theor}^ that it acts as an anti-fat agent,
but the result of his examination tends to prove that wild
l:)irds which were gorged with the berries were alwaj's in good
condition and frequently quite fat.

When the gumberries ripen in September and October, the
sour gumtree (A/j'ssa Sylvatica) is the centre of attraction, and
its fruit the staple food. If the Flicker is fond of other fruits
it loves the gumberry. At this period of its existence it is in
the very best of condition, and hundreds are annually shot for
food and sport, being, as a southern observer says, fully as
good eating as Doves. Man 3' a country Ijoy's first game has
been this large, handsome and palatable bird while it was glut-
tonoush' feeding upon gumberries. Picture if you can a calm,
hazy, autumnal sky, a cool, green, swampy meadow in which
grows an old gum tree wntli its deep-green wax-like leaves
already turning to scarlet ; the boy creeping Indian fashion
from bush to bush or along the old worm fence ; the slight de-
gree of uncertainty highly magnified makes it all the more
fascinating to him. The murderous report of the old nuisket
loaded with a generous and well-rammed charge of coarse
black powder and large shot, the whirl of many wings fol-
lowed immediately b)' the scream of the wounded, appeals but
momentarily to his better nature. Stimulated b}' excitement
he hurriedly gathers the dead, wrings the necks of the
wounded, and retires within easy gunshot. In a few minutes
the Warblers, Cedarbirds and Thrushes appear, shortly fol-
lowed by the Robins ; the Flickers scattered to the four
winds, call from tree to tree, and finally a young male, totally
lacking in experience, flies straight for the tree on galloping
wings. He .sees nothing suspicious, and after a lusty, long-
drawn call, which apparently means "all's well," plunges
deep into the foliage to greedily partake of the tempting ban-
quet. The bulk now come trooping in, racing with the Blue
Jays, and the clatter becomes deafening when "bang" goes
the gun, down come several more victims, and again the sur-
vivors go scurrying away, only to return as before and repeat
the experience, gradually becoming more and more warj', until
those that are left become so wild and alert as to defy the gun-
shot range. Unfortunately this slaughter does not end with
the boys, but is often carried on more or less systematically by

64 THE FLICKER.

the so-called sportsman, but I am happy to say not nearly as
frequently as formerly, in this section at least.

Of course the Flicker occasionally tastes of the cultivated
fruits and grains, such as the blackberry, cherry and mul-
berry, and corn in the milk ; but so seldom as to call forth no
complaint. In Illinois he is far less destructive in this respect
than his red-headed relative (Gault). The only serious dam-
age reported comes from Farboro, N. C, where he is quite de-
structive to the peanut crop while the nut is maturing, congre-
gating in great numbers in the fields and playing havoc, often
making half a dozen holes near a vine probing for the soft
kernel. During the month of August, however, it resorts in
great numbers to corn fields in quest of corn worms (Foxhall).
Maynard says it is verj' fond of over-ripe pears and apples.
In the North, as the .season wanes, the trees, shrubs, bushes
and vines become stripped of their fruit, f6r the Flicker is not
the only bird foraging, and the bulk retire southward, leaving
the hardy winter resident, u.sually an old male, to adapt it.self
to the existing conditions, be what the}' may, and becomes
everything but carnivorous (Bowles). Almost omnivorous, its
maw receives the dried or frozen remnants of the wild fruits
already named ; also the berries of the red cedar, hawthorn,
mountain ash and woodbine ; the seeds of the sumac, poison
ivory, clover, grass, and various weeds ; as well as acorns,
beechnuts, corn from shocks, and oats, wheat and rye from
stacks ; while ants, beetles and larvae are sought from bark
• and wood of decayed trees and stumps or gleaned from the
bare ground or creek banks. During the winter of '87-' 88 a
single male took up his quarters in a corn crib near Grinnell,
Iowa, and waxed fat on the corn and oats in the bins, but suc-
cumbed to a temperature of 20° below zero on the 14th of Jan-
uary (Jones). In Michigan its winter food seems to consist
mostly of corn, for where there is a field of corn standing only
there the Flicker is found. It also resorts to corn cribs, and
probably a few beechnuts and acorns, as well as such insects as
can be had are eaten (Purdy). Apparently the Flicker per-
forms the same service in Michigan as the Crow does in east-
ern Pennsylvania for the slothful farmer, but doubtless less
thoroughly. Further south it fares better during the colder
season. Near Raleigh, N. C, it feeds upon the waste peanuts

THE FLICKER. 65

on the ground after the crop has been gathered ; also on the
berries of holly and cedar (Brimley). According to Baker,
specimens from Florida often contain the berries of the cabbage
palmetto. The large amount of insect food secured by a Geor-
gia bird in January has been already commented upon.

It is presumed that where a large number of telegraph
poles are perforated or honey-combed, it is not always with
the intention to nest, but that the motive is most often sug-
gested by the humming of the wires which it probably mis-
takes for the boring of insects. It must be admitted, how-
ever, that this occurs almost wholly in treeless localities like
Cape Cod and Nantucket, Mass., and the great plains of the
West. It performs a good service in scattering the seeds of
many useful plants and trees, not among the least of which
is the pokeberry, whose young and tender shoots are so highly
esteemed in the culinary art. It doubtless assists in the^pread
of the poison ivy {Rhus radicans) and poi.son shumac or poison
dogwood {R. vcrnix), since it eats the berries in the fall and
winter seasons.

ENEMIES.

Its natural enemies are few and rather unimportant in the
extent of their depredations, as far as the adults are con-
cerned, confined almost exclusively to the Hawks and Owls.
Mr. J. H. Bowles observes that the swift little Accipiter velox
considers it a great delicac5^ I witnessed one instance of its
unsuccess, however, while watching a number of Flickers feed-
ing in a meadow. Suddenl)^ a commotion occurred half way
up the hillside, exciting the whole community; a j^oung male
Sharp-.shin had darted to where a pair were feeding. Tumbling
over in their haste and terror, they dodged and ran with half-
spread wings, uttering despairing shrieks, finally taking flight,
hotly pursued by the now confident Sharp-shin until directly
overhead, when I gave him the contents of my little CS-caliber
collecting gun ; he instantly wheeled to the right and made for
the woods, but dropped dead before going fifty yards. Mr. J.
N. Baskettonce found a Sparrow Hawk {Falco sparverius^ and
a Flicker on the ground clutched in a life and death struggle,
while dozens of the latter species sat on near-by trees, simply
sneezing an alarm or threnody. I am inclined to think they
are much less successful when attacking it about the tree
trunks on account of its skill in dodging.

Mr. Bowles offers circumstantial evidence in the form of
numerous feathers discovered in nesting cavities, of nocturnal
visits of the Sreech Owl {Alegascops asio) which he places
among its most dreaded foes. An unique instance of these two
birds dwelling together in peace and harmony is furnished by
Mr. John Meisky, Columbia, Pa. One day in May — about
the 16th — he found a nest of the Flicker in a limb of a chest-
nut tree, and in the same hole was a Screech Owl. Visiting
the place twice subsequently he found both birds present,
seemingl}^ contented. Although occupying the same cavity
the Owl was not on the eg^s.

The eggs and callow young are sometimes destroyed by

TIIK FLICKER. G7

Red Squirrels {Sciun/s /nidso?iicus) and subspecies, Flj'ing
Squirrel {Ptcromys voliicella). Weasel (Mustela vulgaris).
Mice of .various species, Red-headed Woodpecker { Mclancrpcs
erythroccphalus). Crows {Corviis aincricanus), (C. ossifragus),
Jays, {^Cyanocitta cristata) ; and probably a few others. Mr.
C. L,. Rawson. who has had a wide experience in collectinjy,
says that he has never seen snakes in holes in trees, a la
school books, but mice, Red and Flying Squirrels often.

Mr. A. O. Garrett, Fort Scott, Kans. , writes that the
Flicker appears to be subject to internal parasites to an un-
usual degree. In skinning a number he found wire worms in
the stomachs of fifteen or twent}*; also parasites where noticed
on the occipital bone in several cases.

Undoubtedl}' quite a number succumb to extremely cold
weather. Prof. Jones records an instance observed in Iowa.
Mr. J. H. Armiield notes it among the birds that suffered
during the extremely cold winter. One found dead in a po.st
oak cavit}', Feb. 22, '90, at Greensboro, N. C. Harry Gordon
White made note of one found dead with its feet frozen to a
sheet of ice on the floor of a cavity, many ^-ears ago.

Man is its greatest enemy. Protection is needed par-
ticularly in the South, where most of the surviving adults,
plus their progeny, reside for at lea.st one-third of the year.
Dr. M. T. Cleckley, writing from Augusta, Ga., states it is
being gradually exterminated by the hunters. Mr. Gustave
Kohn sa3's that it is shot during the winter season by most
hunters, as it is considered as good eating as Doves. He
has seen them in bunches for sale on the streets and in the
markets of New Orleans, La. This practice, although com-
mon enough in the times of Wilson and Audubon, has long
ago ceased in the older Northern States. Mr. Fritz V. Ray-
mond, referring to the town of Ludlow, Ky. , writes that it is
difficult to study birds whose nests are easily- found, as a class
of destructive boys scour the country for miles aroiuid and kill
and plunder for the very love of it, stringing eggs like beads
and taking the 3-oung birds. Plainly' the most intelligent
])eople of America are often too thoughtless and indifferent to
instruct their children by precept and example in the common
laws and economy of nature. As to the ignorant, next to en-
lightenment— with which I do not qualify my remarks when

68 THE FLICKER.

including the vicious — a deep-rooted superstition tending to the
protection and preservation of our birds is wanted. For exam-
ample, the absurd saying, " The sting of a humming bird re-
sults in death," has stayed many a hand itching to examine
this living gem. Again, the number of Catbirds slain on the
altar of a deep-rooted prejudice cannot be estimated.

Mr. Walter G Savage, Hillsboro, Iowa, says he can note
no increase or decrease in the past five years, but there has
been a decrease of about 20 per cent, in the last twenty
years.

MEASUREMENTS.

Doubtless a very large series of skins would show a grad-
ual-increase in size from south-northward in all measurements
except perhaps the bill and feet. In a small series this can be
emphasized only when the mean is obtained from remote local-
ities. The table showing the sexual, individual and geograph-
ical variation requires no further comment than that the meas-
urements are in inches and hundredths, and were taken by the
wTiter from the dry skins of adult birds, secured on their
breeding grounds. Late fall, winter and early spring speci-
mens are not included. The measurements of young birds but
a short time out of their nests follows. It would be well to
state here that the first primary which is spurious or rudimen-
tary, measures but a little over two inches in the juvenile, and
less than two, usually about one and a half inches in the
adult.

Bill

Nostril Depth Width
wing Tail Tarsus to Tip at Nostril

xr^ tT,«,-„ r 1" fAver. 6.04 4.15 1.07 1.09 ..33 .35

TT •? Vc/^ 1 \ Max. 6.30 4.46 1.14 1.14 .36 .40

United States males | ^^.^^ ^ g^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^ 2^ 32

ind 43° par 13 f-^^'^^' ^^ ^'^^ ^'^^ 1 11 '^^ -^^

11 1 1 FT f 1 i Max. 6.27 4.55 1.10 1.23 .35 .37

aiieisiat.) L lemaies j^ ^j^^^ ^_r;^ 3_gQ -^_qq j^^g .28 .31

Southern C 9
UnitedStates males

fAver. 6.00 4.07 1.07 1.07 .32 .35
\ Max. 6.25 4.62 1.10 1.15 .39 .39

(Between 33°' ^ ^"^- ^-^'^ ^'^^ ^ ^^ ^^^ '^^ ^^

^fo^o] TA (Aver. 6 00 4.01 1.09 106 ..34 .35

nii?T f 1 -^ Max. 6.23 4.62 1.12 1.13 .41 .39

allellat.) I females ] j^.^_ ^^^ 3 gg ^^. gg 29 .32

fAver. 5.75 3 66 .95 1.07 .31 .34

9 Juveniles ^ Max. 6.00 4.05 1.08 l.Il .40 .36

(Min. 5.55 3.10 .80 1.01 .22 .31

PLUMAGE.

Individual Variation. I will first attempt the description
of a typical spring specimen, collected April 20th, '98, 'in
Chester county, Penn'a. Interscapular region, sepia ; Scapu-
lars, wing coverts and exposed parts of secondaries, hair
brown ; and the whole barred with deep brown, almost black.
Rump white, upper tail coverts white, marked with black.
Tail feathers glossy black above, the basal portion of all but
the central shafts, chrome yellow ; under surface wax 5^ellow,
tipped with black. Primaries and secondaries above, dark-
brown ; under surface with chrome yellow shafts and wax yel-
low vanes — with the following exceptions : beginning on a line
near the base of the first primar}- and running diagonall}' to
the tip of the first secondary, a deep edging of light chrome
yellow extends to the body, and from the same line out to tip
of wing an edging of dark-brown, heaviest at the tips, encir-
cles the primaries. Bend of wing pale-yellow, spotted with
black. Top of head, sides and back of neck, ashy-gray.
Scarlet-vermillion crescent on back of head, and a broad black
crescent across the breast. Sides of the head, chin, throat and
forebreast, fawn color. Remainder of under parts dull white,
with circular spots of black on each feather, becoming cordite
on flanks and anal region. Sides and flanks washed with a
pale fawn-cinnamon. Bill dead brown-black. Toes and tarsi
plumbeous. Iris brownish. Individual variation is ver)"
great, particularly in the upper plumage. The back or inter-
scapular region, runs through bi.stre, sepia, olive and hair
brown to drab - grey in different specimens, sepia being the
most common ; my only example of drab-gray coming from
Georgia, where we are led to expect only the darkest birds.
The scapulars, wing-coverts and exposed secondaries are
U-suall}' a shade lighter, often as light as broccoli - brown ;
the bars vary only in width. The top of the head is
occasionally wa.shed with umber or tawny, and the nuchal

THE FLICKER. 71

crescent varies greatly in extent and in color from scarlet to
vermilion. The .sides of head, chin, throat and forebrea.st
from drab through fawn, ecru-drab to vinaceous-cinnamon.
The black breast-patch being a generic character remains
fairly con.stant. The under parts vary in the extent and
depth of tone of the pale fawn-cinnamon wash, and the size
and shape of the black spots. In four specimens the bend of
the wing is apparently immaculate, but the small black spots
are discovered beneath the surface. The absence or presence,
nimiber and extent of the light edgings on the tips and outer
vanes of the primaries, and the tips, edgings and barrings of
the rectrices offer a more complicated study, as variation
occurs more frequently in these parts, and can be successfully
investigated only with un.stinted material.

Aside from the black malar stripes or " moustaches " which
vary in length and breadth, a usually greater width of nuchal
crescent, and an apparentl}' le.ss frequently .spotted condition
of the tips and outer vanes of the primaries of the male, I can
detect no constant difTerentation of sexes. The pattern of col-
oration of the fully fledged j'oung is very near the same as the
adults, but the spots and bars are u.sually much broader, giv-
ing a coarser and darker effect. The immature female as well
as the male resembles the mature male in having black malar
.stripes, and the female in having a narrower nuchal band and
in the extent of primary markings. The wings and tail are of
a duller yellow and the feathers of the forehead and crown are
u.sually tipped or mottled with .scarlet vermilion, dragon's
blood or brick-red, posteriorly fading to a rusty brown or burnt
umber over the ashy-gre}', which extends almost ai-ound the
eye in .some .specimens. The lores are frequently blackish,
and one .specimen has a dusk}- superciliary .stripe. The throat
is often tinged with a.shy, pronounced in one specimen, and oc-
casionally a dull vinaceous-buif. The black breast tract is
.shaped more like a semi-circle than the crescent of the adult,
and the whole body has a fluffy, lustrele.ss appearance.

The color pattern of the tail coverts is subject to much
variation at any period of the bird's life, but ordinarily follows
a definite line of progression. Chapman, in Bulletin American
Museum Natural History, Vol. III., p. 314, illu.strates the de-
velopment of the long upper tail coverts in fifteen figures,

72 THE FUCKER.

beginning with the barred, running through the intermediates
to the concentric or longitudinally striated, and terminating
with the white-edged black feather. He says : "If we assume
that the phases just observed epitomize a transition which is
occurring in auratus, and if we furthur assume that auratiis is
the most recent offshoot of the Neotropical genus Colaptes, we
should expect the more southern and older species to exhibit
only the earlier stages of a color-pattern which in aurafiis has
reached its highest degree of development. Unfortunately
ver}^ large series of the extra-limital species are wanting ; so
far as my specimens go, however, the}' seem to support the
theory advanced." The posterior upper tail-coverts of two
Georgia specimens in juvenile plumage, now in my collection,
are black with minute white spot at tip ; a distinct and more
primitive pattern than any described above, from which I infer
it to be a stage almost outgrown and as seldom met with as the
white-edged black feather — its present highest stage of color-
pattern development. In the variation or transition of the
color-pattern of the spurious rectrices, we have a similar condi-
tion due mainly to age. This rudimentary tail feather, present
in all the Woodpeckers, lies concealed between the present
outer and next to outer tail feathers. I consider it of suffi-
cient importance to illustrate in twelve natural sized figures,
showing the progression from the primitive dot to spots, cross-
bars, and lastly the white-edged black feather, as something
seldom occurring. My series of skins is not large enough to
contain all stages ; hence the sequence may be faulty and is
undoubtedl}^ incomplete. Correlative data is incorporated with
the explanations on next page.

Seasonal Variation. There are two distinct phases of col-
oration, autumnal and vernal, although but a single annual
molt. The post-breeding molt and renewal results in a some-
what deeper coloring of the upper plumage from nape to rump,
and a pronounced primrose suffusion of the under parts, and
occasionally the rump. After a few months of wear there is a
gradual fading of the upper plumage and a more pronounced
change in the lower parts, the primrose or straw-yellow first
disappearing from the flanks and anal region, the middle of
the abdomen only occasionally retaining a faint yellowish tint.
The breeding season is particularly' hard on the feathers of

THE flickp:r.

73

'h.

t I *

Expi^AXATiON. — Nos. 1, 2 and 3, Juvenile, 9 examples. Upper tail
coverts— black with white dot, incipient bars, or complete transvi-rse bars.
Nos. 4. 5 and 6, first renewal, 31 examples. Upper tail coverts — 14
barred, o concentric, 12 intermediate. Nos 7, 8 and 9, second renewal,
or third stage, 9 examples. Upper tail coverts— 6 intermediate, 3 con-
centric. Nos. 10, 11 and 1*2, most advanced stage, 10 examples. Upper
tail coverts — 2 intermediate. 8 concentric.

74 THE FLICKER.

this bird. It.s cavity-haunting habits gradually wear away the
light-colored tips which have more or less obscured the bars
and spots until all of the darker markings are fully exposed,
resulting in a mvich heavier and darker appearance.

Geographical Variation. Dr. Allen, in the Bulletin Amer-
ican Museum Natural History, Vol. IV., p. 36, says : "It has
been suggested that the resident form of South Florida would
prove separable as a sub-species from the birds at large further
north on the basis of its smaller size and darker colors. The
average difference, however, as shown by a large amount of
material, proves too slight and too inconstant, in either size or
color, to make a separation practicable, as is readily shown by
comparison of a considerable number of breeding birds from
South Florida with a corresponding series from the Middle
States or New England. Specimens nearly as dark occur,
however, in New Jersey and Massachusetts, so that the ave-
rage difference in color between Florida and northern birds is
not appreciable. There is a lightening of colors as we ap-
proach the Plains. This is very noticeable, even in Minnesota
specimens, and still more so in specimens from the Dakotas,
Nebraska and Kansas. ' ' . Since the above was written the sep-
aration has been made and the southern form given as resident
in the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast region. Comparing my
series of skins — twenty-three specimens — collected in DeKalb
county, Georgia, with those collected in Chester and Mont-
gomer}^ counties, Pennsjdvania, Lorain county, Ohio, and
Walworth count}^ Wisconsin, I fail to find 2i\\y constant dif-
ference in coloration, and defy any one to select the so-called
C. a luteus from the mixed lot with any degree of certainty,
except by means of the labels.

A small spring specimen taken in Bradford count}', Florida,
has a dull, faded appearance, slightly exceeding in size a breed-
ing male, taken in Cleburne county, Arkansas. Both of these
birds should belong to the southern form. It strikes me, how-
ever, that the stability of a sub-species must be ver}^ uncertain
when it requires a painful scrutiny in the best light to deter-
mine the best shade effects of the upper plumage or a careful
and laborious measurement of width of crossbars, combined
with the slight and consistent geographical gradations in size,
observable in all species having a wide range.

THE FLICKER. 75

Abnormal Coloration. Albinism is said to be verj' rare
among the Picidcr. Ruthven Deane described the only exam-
ple that had come under his notice — D. A^. O. C, Vol. V., p.
2() — a beautiful specimen, taken near Providence, R. I., in '79,
the red nuchal crescent and gold-shafts of the wings and tail
being the only normal colors remaining, the rest of the plum-
age creamy-white. Chas. K. Worthen describes a similar ex-
ample in the Osprcy, Vol. I., p. 24, said to have been taken in
Lee county, Iowa. It is also cream-white, with the exception
of a pink nuchal crescent, and the under parts of the wings a
rich yellow. A specimen in the young of the j-ear plumage,
taken in New Jersey and now in the Philadelphia Academy of
Natural Sciences, closely approaches the albinistic phase, hav-
ing a general washed-out appearance. One of my Georgia
skins, an old male in rich autumnal dress, has a single white
feather near the center of the occiput.

Melanism, a yet rarer condition of plumage, is represented
by a single case cited by Mr. Deane in the above periodical.
Records of the last are extremely unreliable unless the speci-
mens are in hand. In proof of this, witness Mr. J. N. Baskett's
experience : His little boy called his attention to a bird on the
lawn ; it seemed to the eye to be perfectl}' black, but under the
opera glass faint markings characteristic of the Flicker, ap-
peared; the bird's pose, shape and movements already estab-
lished its identity. As it was Sunday and in town, this
apparently remarkable melanistic form could not be shot, and
the next day it could not be found. A small boy, however,
appeared on the following day with the identical bird, it hav-
ing been shot by his father while it was engaged in digging
holes in the corner of his house. On closer examination its
plumage proved grimy and greasy with soot with which it had
doubtless came in contact while occupying a used chimney
as a resting place. This specimen came from the hands of the
taxidermist but slightly darker than normal, he having ex-
ceeded his instructions and given it a thorough cleansing.

HYBRIDISM.

In order to introduce the subject a brief synopsis must
be given of the suppositions advanced by some of our
most eminent ornithologists to account for this interesting
condition : Although Baird had apparently solved the ques-
tion satisfactorily away back in '58, other causes were sug-
gested or assigned from time to time, almost up to the present
date. Although suggesting that it might be due to environ-
ment or climatic influences, Maynard seemed convinced that it
was but the insensible gradation of one to the other, C. cafe)'
being but a more highly colored race ; Ridgway appeared to
have considered it the remnant of a generalized form from
which the eastern and western representatives had sprung ; an
opinion shared by Newton at the present time. Coues was un-
decided as to whether it was a hj^brid or transitional form.
Hargitt, though leaning toward the theory of hybridization,
suggests that it might be a sign of reversion to a remote
ancestral plumage.

While hybridism has appeared the only solution to Ameri-
can ornithologists in recent years, it was not until 'i)2 that
seemingly overwhelming proof of the fact was presented by
Dr. Allen in a paper entitled The North American Species of the
Gemis Colaptcs ivith Special Reference to the Relationship of C.
anratus and C. cafer. He finds a complete blending "along
the line of juncture of the two .species from Southeastern Texas
northward along the western edge of the Plains into British
America, and then westw^ard in- British America to the Pacific
Coast in Southern Alaska." Mixed blood is of quite recent
introduction in California, apparently, probably within the
last thirt}^ years. It is now quite common, particularly in the
central and northern Pacific slope counties. While many are
migrants from the north a number are residents or breeders.
I have examined males taken in San Bernardino and Santa
Cruz — April 27, '83, and Sept. o, '95 — which undoubtedly

THE FLICKER. 77

belong to the latter class. A beautiful specimen, taken at Palo
Alto, Nov. 26, '<)(), resembles Audubon's C. ayrcsi, with a half
concealed red crescent, tipped with grey, and the orange-
ochraceous wings and tail of auratus ; head, throat, fore breast
and malar stripes of cafcr ; and intermediate back. Cross-
breeding is not confined stricth' to the Red-shafted ; the North-
western form C. c. saturatior also blends with the Yellow-
shafted, as exhibited in a pair collected at Puyallup, Wa.shing-
ton. The male taken April 8, '90, has a small patch of red on
either side of the occiput, strongly suggesting an incipient nu-
chal crescent, several creamy-white feathers contrasting with
the vinaceous of the rest of the breast, and the fourth rec-
trices are yellowish. This is probably a young bird, hatched
the previous summer, as quite a few of the feathers in its fore-
head are red. It is only recently that auratjis has come in con-
tact with the Gilded Flicker, C. chrysoides, if at all. A suppo.sed
hybrid is described in the Osprey, Vol. III., p. lo, a bird taken
in Arizona, showing red on the nape. No instance of the ac-
tual pairing and interbreeding of the pure Yellow-shafted with
the Red-shafted Flicker has ever been publi.shed, but a writer
in the Auk — Vol. II., p. 284 — mentions having witnessed the
courting of a true auratus and a hybrid in Southeastern Dakota;
and Chas. T. Morrison— 6*. and O., Vol. XIV., p. 146 — found
the hybrid mated with the ca/er in the Big Horn range, and se-
cured the eggs and parent birds. Rev. William Osburn writes
me that he has been informed that the hybrid mates with ca/e?-,
nesting and producing young. Comparing and contrasting the
plumage of the two species, the pattern of coloration is the
same, with the exception of the nape, yet excluding the cre-
scentric breast patch of black, there is a complete dissimilitude
in coloration. The prevailing color is yellow on one and
red on the other, even to the tint on the rump ; and the grey
head and brownish throat of one are transposed on the other.
Hybrids and mongrels present a bewildering number of regular
and irregular combinations. Red in the malar or nape is the
first to appear as well as the last to di.sappear. This color
about the head being characteristic of the Woodpecker famiU',
is in line with the Darwinian principle of hybrids, showing a
tendency to revert to the ancestral stock.

In the event of the we.stern representatives becoming

78 THE FLICKER.

absorbed, which, strange as it may .seem, is a not impo.ssible
happening, it appears to me that it would not be replaced by
a richer colored bird, such as the Palo Alto specimen for in-
stance, combined with the more advantageous hardiness and
aggressiveness of the eastern and northern bird, as suggested
by a recent writer (Rhoads in Science, Vol. XX., p. o25), but
rather, conforming to the general rule that complete hybrids
are seldom fertile, a constant infusion of pure aiu-atus blood
would cause the cafcr characteristics to become less and less
evident until obliterated entirely. The very close affinity of
the North American tj'pes in which the divergence in colors is
the greatest, tempts me to propound the following question :
Is it less than improbable that the original Colaptes stock has
been dichromatic, the yellow phase evolutionizing into one
group of which auratus is an example, and the red phase
into another group of which cafer is a representative and
chrysoides standing for the intermediate ? The Red-shafted is
less prone to wander ; a few specimens have been taken in
Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. A hitherto unpublished record
from Forest City, Winnebago county, Iowa, by J. Eugene
lyaw is the eastermost perfectly authentic record I have seen.
Mr. lyaw assures me that it is an unquestionablj- pure cafcr,
shot and brought to him by some of his scholars on Sept. 19,
'90. The specimens taken in Van Buren county, Iowa, in
March, '78, by William vSavage, proves to be a well-defined
hybrid.

ATAVISM.

It need not necessarih^ imph- that all birds varying slight!}^
from the normal are the result of mixed union, because un-
doubted mongrels along the line of contact sometimes possess
similar characteristics, since Darwin says : " In a breed which
has not been crossed, but in which both parents have lost
some character wdiich their progenitor possessed, the tendency,
whether strong or weak, to produce the lost characters might,
for all that we can see to the contrary-, be transmitted for any
number of generations. When a character which has been lost
reappears, the most probable hj-pothesis is that the character
in question has been lying latent, and at last under unknown
favorable conditions, is developed." As previously mentioned,
there is an occasional specimen, more noticeable in the juvenile,
having the crown more or less tipped or washed with brownish
or with scarcely more than a su.spicion of ash on the throat,
colors belonging to the western species, just as truly as the
scarlet malar stripe or ruby colored shafts, although not as con-
spicuous. An anomalous specimen, .secured in Xew York
markets and described by Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., in the Ak/c,
Vol. XIV., p. 275, is an almost perfect intermediate between
ai/rafits and the Cuban Flicker C. chrysocaideiis, and would
doubtless be con.sidered a hybrid but for the fact that the
breeding ranges of the two .species do not overlap. To the
best of my knowledge this is the only specimen with spotted
rump taken on the North American continent. Possibly the
abnormal Gilded Flicker noted under the head of Hybridism
belongs properly to this .section. An old male showing the
effects of previous gunshot wounds in wing and mandible,
taken in DeKalb county, Georgia, Jan. 27, 'V)9, has a single
red fea.ther over the right eye. I shot an adult male near
Berwyn, Chester county, Penn'a, Oct. 3, '94, which has a
narrow border of .scarlet on the upper margin and end of the
black moustache ; a not at all remarkable condition, occurring

80 THE FLICKER.

repeatedly in almost every State in which the Flicker is found,
and quite as frequently along the Atlantic coast as anywhere.
With the exception of the apparent hybrids taken near
Toronto, Philadelphia and New Orleans, scarcely a well
marked mongrel has been captured east of the Mississippi.
The so-called hybrids varying but little from the normal, are
often separated by a thousand or more miles from known
points of interbreeding, and are surrounded by hundreds of
pure birds as far as can be told by the plumage. In view of
these facts we may ponder on the probable source of the alien
blood. If it is the fading vestiges of an earlier infusion, it
should have been much more noticeable twenty j^ears ago,
since a hybrid crossed regularly with pure stock would soon
have a very small proportion of foreign blood, 1 in 16,384 in
fifteen generations for example. Mr. James Newton Baskett is
very much inclined to attribute such instances, especially when
found on the Atlantic slope, as pure variation, either rudimen-
tary or vestigial, perhaps the latter, since the genus is quite
probably of southern origin, and most all southern and south-
western species and races incline to red moustaches ; C. aura-
tns being a late northward-tending species, showing occasional
tendencies to revert. A hj'pothesis in part or in whole shared
by not a few. Dr. W. E. Rotzell also questions the occurrence of
hybrids in the East, C. cafemoX. being present ; and inclines to
the opinion that we must of necessit)' seek a better understand-
ing ; the so-called hybrids maj^ be explained by the fact that
there is a strong atavistic tendency in C. aiiratus, the form re-
verting so frequently in some particulars to the ancestral type,
exemplified so frequently in the head of the young.

CONCLUSION.

It is not my purpose to generalize or make further deduc-
tions from the evidence collected, but there are some facts and
thoughts which appear to me to have not an unimportant
bearing on the subject in general. Few species offer greater
possibilities and at the same time more difficulties in the way
of a close study, than this bird. To deduct the general facts
or principles underlying the migration, reproduction, moult-
ing, mode, variation, hybridization, etc., of this one species
would in all probability go far toward solving the many vexed
problems so important to science and yet so imperfectly under-
stood. The Flicker is both progressive and energetic — a tj^pi-
cal American. It may be said to be perfectly fitted or designed
to meet the conditions of its environment, but the surround-
ings are changing, and its habits, food or plumage may alter
perceptibly in the not remote future. It doubtless represents
a comparatively recent off -shoot of the genus, and is j-et under-
going certain modifications of an evolutionary nature. Un-
doubtedly its comparative! 3^ weak curved beak, so like a pick
and .so unlike the drill-shaped bill of the Woodpecker, would
become so less able to withstand the strain of hardwood cut-
ting the less it is u.sed for that purpose, and burrowing in the
earth, soft wood and bark become the extent of its capa-
bilities in that line ; but it by no means follows that its chisel-
ing power is suffering marked diminution within recent years
or the immediate prospect of its curtailment as long as timber
is so plentiful. Favorable to the preservation and increase of
the species, I maj' mention an almost perfect protection during
the critical breeding time from the inclemency of the weather,
and carnivorously inclined beasts, birds and reptiles ; great
powers of reproduction ; abundance of suitable food : hardi-
ness ; absence of harmful traits ; case of adaptation to conditions
of surroundings ; and the possession of the great advantage
over nearly all of our Woodpeckers in having a much less con-

82 THE FLICKER.

spicuous if not mimetic plumage. Its very natural advantages
over all other members of the tribe inhabiting the same regions
would tend to its preservation, increase and comfort when the
less versatile or adaptive species decreased or became extinct
under changed conditions ; exceptions being made to the
Downy {Dryobates pjibescens) , for which there appears a dis-
tinctive place, and whose dwarfishness exempts it from
persecution by man — Nature's worst enemy.

KIRTLAND^S WARBLER {Dcndroica kirtlandi) AT

OBERLIN, OHIO.

It has been 1113' rare good fortune to meet face to face three
Kirtland's Warblers during the season of migration just past.
On May 7 it was seen and heard singing in an orchard of some
three acres just outside the limits of Oberlin. The earl}^ hour
— 4:1.") A. M. — an overcast sky with fine rain and searching
north wind made a satisfactory scrutinj^ of the bird impossible.
Consequently its identity was not fixed. One could not see
the markings clearly in the feeble light. May 9th, at 5:00
A. M., in company with a considerable number of students, one
was heard singing in the " South Woods '' about a mile south
of Oberlin. Here, again, circumstances made it impo.ssible to
obtain a satisfactory scrutiny of the singer, but the song was
carefully studied and written out. On our return from the
woods at r5:oO, past the orchard mentioned above, the song was
heard again and the bird clearly seen and studied for some
time. Half an hour later the bird was in my hand for positive
identification. It .seemed a great pit^' to sacrifice .so sweet a
singer for a museum specimen.

One may ask why I speak so confidently of three individu-
als when but one of them was positiveh" identified. In the
first instance it was both .seen and heard, and in the .second
clearly heard, and there is no Warbler .song like it. Even the
students remarked upon the unusual quality of the song and
its striking character. It was given from three to .six times in
succession at intervals of about fifteen seconds, then with a
prolonged pau.se .sometimes lengthening into ten minutes, but
often not over two minutes. It is likely, however, that the
longer pause was occasioned by the bird flying from one tree
to another because of my inquisitiveness. One does not meet
so rare a Warbler every day, and .so may be excu.sed for a de-
gree of over inquisitiveness. The song was loud and full,
given wdth all the vigor of a Wren or Kinglet ; the body being
straightened to almost a perpendicular direction, and the beak

2 BULLETIN No. 32.

pointing straight up. It was no bj'^-talk nor incidental song,
but manifestly an earnest and purposeful call song. The song
is a double phrased one, the first part slightlj^ longer and a
little less rapidly uttered, the second part quickly and more
vigorously uttered. I have written it thus: ter ter ter tee ;
tswee te chii. The first three syllables have the r trilled slightly
and the syllables on the same key, the fourth one about a sixth
higher pitched ; the first syllable of the second phrase is a third
higher than the first three, the second syllable of the second
phrase a note above the preceding one and much shorter, while
the last syllable is on the same pitch as the first three, slilding
a third or more below ; it is therefore somewhat prolonged.

- . It is difiicult to represent the song by characters

" but the scheme given maj^ prove suggestive to
some.

There are two distinct field characters which appear to me
most strongly, which I venture to give. First, because first
seen usually, the yellow underparts, from the chin to the tail,
without any markings on them except along the sides at the
edge of the wings ; second, the middle of the bluish gray back
with distinct black streaks — four in this specimen. This back
pattern is so unusual that to me it was the most striking
character. The bird was not at all wary or timid, but allowed
an approach within ten feet on both mornings, but in rather
heav}' foliage.

I claim two records for this rare Warbler, with a probable
third. But since the bird captured was in the same orchard as
the first one seen, and but two days later, the first and the
third may be the same individual. Clearly the one heard
singing in the woods could not have gone to the orchard w^hile
we were returning, more especially' since the natural route of
the woods bird would have been at right angles to the direction
of this orchard.

lyYNDS Jones, Obei-lin, Ohio.

A DAY IN RUBIO CANYON, CALIFORNIA.

The day dawned brightly as California daj^s are wont to.
I had dreamed the night before of " takes " and " finds," and

BULLETIN No. 32. 3

that day in " Rubio " was a realization. And now as I look
back at it in the dizzy retro.spect of years it .seems like a beauti-
ful dream. Starting from home "Lomita," in the Calmenga
Valley near Los Angeles, I met my friend, a true old noble-
man of Nature, clad in his rustic garb and carrying a time-
worn market basket. But beneath his rough clothes, donned
purposely for the trip, there was one of the keenest and best
ornithologists of the west. We took the train, and as we
passed the country- lying from Los Angeles to Pasadena, the
scenery was grand. Lemon orchards, palms, little farms here
and there as neatly kept as a front ^^ard of a cit}^ dwelling,
came and went away before the eyes as we peered out of the
car windows.

The City of Los Angeles is truly a citj^ of angels to me.
And I believe if an angel would drop down from heaven and
view around, he would soon soar to that dainty little city
cuteh" ensconced amid a range of the Sierra Madre in .southern
California, and say, throwing down his mantle and lowering
his wings, " I'm back in heaven. lam back in the City of
Angels. ' '

We soon reached our gettiug-off-place and .soon started over
the rough country of the foothills. Bevies of Valley Quail
greeted us along the pathway. A flock of down}' 3'oung come
.skampering down the path but a glimpse of us was enough
and sent them .scurrying awa}- in the high gra.ss nearby. An-
na's and Black-chinned Hummers were common, and as we pro-
ceeded up the canon, along a little .stream, we found many of
their nests with eggs. Phainopeplas and Black-tailed Gnatcatch-
ers were common now, and as I passed a little .stream I saw for
the first time in life a Pileolated Warbler drop down from its
green bower, and pau.sing, drink from the pebbly shallows of
the little stream. We found a Black-tailed Gnatcatcher's nest
and one of the Western Flycatcher. The former was in a
live up-right, far up ; the latter amid ferns and other growth
beneath the overhanging face of a bank near the stream.
Louisiana Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Black Phoebes,
several kinds of Warblers and California Thra.shers were com-
mon. I found a beautiful set of the Desert Sparrow Hawk in
a cavity of a live oak. It comprised five eggs, the most beau-
tiful I ever .saw for this species ; I got nearly eaten up by ants

4 BULLETIN No. 32.

while up after this set. Mosquitoes are not in it when ants
are in comparison.

While we were eating lunch a California Condor soared high
up above the canon and gave me my first sight of this bird in
life. I don't know, in view of circumstances which seem to
condemn it to extinction, that I shall ever see it again.

We ascended the canon to its end and spent one of the
happiest days of my life in Rubio. The gentle climate and
new surroundings were exhilarating and it causes me a re-
freshing thought whenever I recall that day with M. in Rubio.
John W. Daniel, Jr., Lynchburg , Va.

FIVE ACRES OF BIRDLAND.

We had scarcely set foot within the five acre enclosure of
the Ahtanum parsonage before I recognized its possibilities as
a haunt for birds and determined to register them in the order
of their appearance. The parsonage demesne is pleasantl}'
diversified b}' the presence of a winding stream and plentiful
.shade. In fact, this five acre plot contains a little bit of every
thing. In it are to be found a wheat field, a lowland meadow
of wild grass, two alfalfa meadows, an upland pasture with
salt grass, rye grass, and .sage, a tule' swamp, a rose brush
thicket, abundant willows skirting the stream, a fine lawn
sprinkled with bo"k elders, maples and young elms, an orchard
of thirty trees or .so, and a garden. Besides these there are
weedy tangles and brush heaps, such as birds delight in ; over-
grown fence corners galore ; and be.st of all, " The Island," a
low lying coppice which the creek almost surrounds and above
which towers a numerous company of young balm trees.

On the first of June I .set out to see how many birds would
visit the enclosure within the year, or a given time. In pur-
suance of this plan the following rulings were establi.shed :
On my fence is in my yard, and. Over my yard is in my yard.
If the desideratum were very near and apparently in need of
encouragement I did not scruple to assist nature by making a
retreat into the parsonage lot .seem more desirable than my
approaching presence ; but further than that I did not pass the

BULUrriN No. 32. 5

bounds : even thus, birds that I thought I had a good right to
escaped me. A certain Lark Sparrow would sing his heart out
from one of the trees in an adjoining j'ard but he avoided me
as if I were a kodak fiend. An ill .favored Turkey Vulture
passing up the valley on his daily round of inspection was
always careful to give us a considerable berth. Of course we
readily excu.sed the omission on sanitary grounds. Many a
time did I endeavor to " shoo " a Dusky Horned Lark, nesting
in an adjoining back lot, within bounds, but all to no pursose.
Finally, at the expiration of four months the bird came of its
own accord, and came often, b}' way of asserting its inde-
pendence.

Of course we had rare visitors. June 5th was a gala day at
the parsonage, for although I mistook the name on the cards,
at first, I soon made out To^vnsend' s Warblei's. The trouble
was due to their high plumage. It was brighter, that is
"higher," than Coues' description of it. Thus : In the adult
male the crown was pure black, not jet black indeed, but still
dead black, unstreaked, and most inten.se on the forehead.
Instead of merely " jugulum black " most birds were black
clear tip to the bill, altho — and this is important— .some birds
were not. This exten.sion of the black throat led me, care- .
lessly enough, to assume D. occidentalis ; but the other mark-
ings are positive and determinative. The bird is an exqui.site
and no mistake. Not less than a dozen .spent the day with us
in orchard and shade trees. The birds .sang freely. The .song
was very much like that of D. virens in general character,
only somewhat lighter and more varied. A returning bird was
noted on Augu.st 2ord and he was still in .song.

Other notables worthy of .special mention are : Lute.scent
Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak, Least Sandpipers, MacFar-
lane's Screech Owl and Black-headed Jay. The latter was
slipping through the country very quietly, knowing that he
was about twenty miles off his beat.

The time covered by the following ' ' yard list ' ' is nine
months ; for owing to removal from the parsonage in February
it is not thought worth while to add tho.se accidentally noted
since March 1, 1900. The sixty-three .species are recorded in
the order of their occurrence.

6

BULIvETiN No. 32.

June 1-4.

1. Rusty Song Sparrow.

2. Western Chipping Spar-

row.

3. Yellow Warbler.

4. Pileolated Warbler.

5. Western Yellow-throat.

6. Russet-backed Thrush.

7. Louisiana Tanager.

8. Mourning Dove.

9. Western Robin.

10. Western Meadowlark.

11. Barn Swallow.

12. Western Wood Pewee.

13. Goldfinch.

14. Lazuli Bunting.

15. Brewer's Blackbird.

16. Spotted Sandpiper.

17. Pine Siskin.

18. Wilson's Snipe.

19. Warbling Vireo.

20. Cowbird.

21. Cliff Swallow.

22. Kingfisher.

23. Cassin's Vireo.

24. Kingbird.

25. Western Kingbird.

26. Bullock's Oriole.
June 5.

27. Townsend's Warbler.

28. Lutescent Warbler.

29. Western Vesper Sparrow.
June 7.

30. Burrowing Owl.

31. Killdeer.

32. Red-winged Blackbird.
'33. Tree Swallow.

June 8.

34. Cedarbird.

35. Saj^'s Pewee.

June 9.

36. Brewer's Sparrow.
June 10.

37. Western Nighthawk.

38. Crow.
June 14.

39. Hammond's Flycatch-

er.
June 16.

40. American Magpie.
June 17.

41. Gairdner'sWoodpecker.

June 22.

42. Black -headed Grosbeak.

June 26.

43. Red-shafted Flicker.
July 5.

44. Spurred Towhee.
July 8.

45. Oregon Chickadee.
July 24.

46. Bank Swallow.
August 12.

47. Calliope (?) Hummer.
August 22.

48. Red-breasted Nuthatch.
August 26.

49. Least Sandpiper.
August 29.

50. Desert Sparrow Hawk.
September 10.

51. American Pipit.
September 11.

52. Audubon's Warbler.
September 15.

53. Oregon Junco.

54. Inter. Crowned Spar-

row.
September 18.

55. Pigeon Hawk.

BULLETIN No. 32. 7

September 21. October 15.

56. Dusky Horned Lark. 60. Western Golden-crown-
September 24. ed Kinglet.

57. MacFarlane's Screech November IS.

Owl. 61. Northern Shrike.

October 1. November 24.

58. Rubj'-crowned Kinglet. 62. Redpoll.
October 4. February 16, 1900.

59. Black-headed Jay. 63. Green-winged Teal.

Rev. W. L. Dawson, Ahtamim, Wash.

MOLTING OF TROCHILUS COLUBRIS.

The molt as evidenced in a series of females of cohibris
offers quite a field for investigation. I have before me twenty
examples of Trochilus colubris. It has been claimed that no
molt is to be observed while the birds are here on their brief
summer sojourn with us, but this is only correct in a measure,
for certain it is that certain specimens taken in early spring
differ widely from those taken later on and into the fall. The
change is easily accounted for to an extent, when we remember
that these birds perhaps reared their offspring, and in sitting
upon their frail structures, protecting their young and their
frail homes from the summer storms, very naturally, they more
than ordinarily exposed their delicate plumage to wear. But
however this may be viewed and giving it its full weight, there
is something more than a change, due to these conditions,
noticeable in some of the lingering specimens that are taken in
the late fall, and attention of working ornithologists should
be drawn to it. In this I hope that we may soon have some
happy results. The study of the plumage of the juveniles is
also interesting, the various stages of it, from the young fellow
who is just discovering what his wings are intended for to the
final stage of the ruby-throated gallant who flirts around in
the sunshine amid the flowers, twittering and whirring his tiny
pinions in the balmy air. The extremely young nestlings are

no less interesting.

There is not much investigation done along these lines and
only a certain class of scientific ornithologists take enough

8 BULLETIN No. 32.

interest to investigate. But to know a bird well it is necessar}'
to know all about it and the study cannot commence too early
in its life history.

The formation of the rubythroat patch commences first
in a grayish patch of black or brownish spotted feathers ; these
are margined with gra5dsh, which gives the " grayish " aspect
or cast to the patch. Then a brilliant patch of ruby will
break out on this other patch and finally devour it, as it were,
in a brilliant gorget of iridescent fire. The young male
does not look unlike the adult female when seen at a short
distance. The throat-patch of the male is dead black, when
the bird is placed upon its back and a direct downward view
taken, while if the bird be laid upon its side, the beauty of the
layers of loveliness and sunshine are seen in the bright rufous
red or garnet of the throat when the sun strikes it transversely.

Another interesting item is the great variation to be noted
in the size of the bills. In the series I am examining there is
a very noticeable variation. But to turn back to the question
of molt. There is a field for close study, not only in the
matter of toiubris but in all birds, and the tenor of this article
is to call attention to rather than point out the importance and
the value of such an investigation ; also to seek aid and to
request others to help me advance this line of bird study, by
contributing notes upon it to our Bulletin.

John W. Daniels. Jr., Lynchburg , Va.,

ANOTHER NEW BIRD FOR LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO.

It gives me pleasure to record two occurrences of the Short-
billed Marsh Wren in I^orain County, Ohio. The first was
seen by Mr. R. L. Baird in a low place just outside of Oberlin
south, the other by the writer one mile west of North Amherst,
on the north side of the south lake ridge. Both were singing
lustily and were closely approached, but were not captured,
our familiarity with the species in other places making that
unnecessary. Mr. Baird's record is May 12 and mine May 19.

It is interesting to note, in this connection, that Carolina
Wren, which was first seen in the county on September 6,

BULLETIN No. 32. 9

1890, at Chance Creek, spent two weeks or more in Oberlin
village during the latter part of x\pril. Its song was one of
the conspicuous ones in the morning chorus during its stay.
None have 3'et been heard at Chance Creek, but I have no
doubt that they are nesting there.

Lynds Jones, Oberlin, Ohio.

A CORRECTION.

I learn that it will be necessary to name a substitute for the
Alder Flycatcher of the horizon lists of Milton Township, Du-
Page County, Illinois, published in No. 28 of this Bulletin.

Instead of the Alder Fh-catcher {Empidoiiax traillii alno-
rujn), it should be Traill's Flycatcher {Empidonax traillii).

The nest and four eggs mentioned in the remarks of June
29th were afterwards taken, together with one of the birds,
the male, b}' the writer. The skin was forwarded later to Mr.
Walter Deane of Cambridge, Mass. , b)^ whose courtesy it was
placed in the hands of Mr. William Brewster for comparison.
Concerning this Flycatcher, Mr. Deane has written me under
date of April 9th, as follows : " Your bird is E. traillii. The
characters that separate alnorum from traillii, ' upper parts
richer and more olivaceous, the wing bands yellower and bill
decidedly smaller ' , are not borne out in your specimen. Typi-
cal traillii from further west has a larger bill than j'our bird,
while the bill of your bird is decidedly larger than alnorum.'''
Bver since the original naming of alnorum by Mr. Brewster,
the writer has entertained the idea, erroneous as it seems, that
the birds found here during the nesting season were of this
eastern form, and it is with pleasure that the present oppor-
tunity- is now offered for setting matters right.

The foregoing facts also are of interest in showing that this
section of Illinois comes .some where upon the dividing ridge,
or over lapping line, between several eastern and western forms.
Interesting examples of these are our House Wrens and Water
Thrushes, which prove at times quite puzzling in their proper
disposition.

Ben-j. T. Gault, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

10 BULLETIN No. 32.

ALL DAY WITH THE BIRDS.

The first attempt to determine how many species of birds
could be found in a single day in Lorain County, Ohio, was
made on May 17, 1898, by Mr. W. L- Dawson and the writer,
which resulted in a record of 102 species. May 8, 1899, wit-
nessed the experiment repeated, but on that day Mr. Dawson
could not continue the work after 8 a. m. The day's record
was 112. There have been two days devoted to this object
during 1900 ; the first on May 5, by Mr. R. L. Baird and the
writer, the second on May 19, by the writer alone. The May
5 record is 93, the May 19 record is exactly 100. The small-
ness of these two records is largely accounted for by the state
of the weather. May 5 opened with a temperature of 30° and
heavy frost, with a brisk north-east wind blowing ; conse-
quently there was not much movement among the birds. The
19th opened at a temperature of 50° with a strong north-east
wind and fine penetrating rain for the whole morning, driving
the birds to the dense underbrush where the foliage and the
dark morning conspired to effectually hide them from view.
The early morning work was disappointing in the extreme.
The reader will remember that the 1898 and 1899 records were
made under some difficulties, especially in the way of wet roads
which made the use of wheels impracticable, but on neither
occasion was the temperature low, nor was there any apprecia-
ble wind. There is probably little likelihood of being able to
take advantage of an ideal day for this work, if indeed there
should ever be one. However, if the first half of Ma}^ could
be spent entirely with the birds it is more than likel)' that a
more favorable time would be found than any yet taken advan-
tage of. But that is a dream for which there is no likely
fulfilment.

A comparison of the species seen on these four occasions
proves not a little interesting, especially so as the range of
time covers no less than fourteen days in May. If it were
possible to give an accurate summary of the weather for the
first two weeks or more of May for these three years, this
comparison would throw some light upon the influence of the
weather upon the several species of late migrents, but that is

Blackburnian Warbler. Dcndroica blackbnrnia. B(i2.

We might reasonably expect this rather large Warbler to
favor us with a robust song. On the contrary, he seems unable
to produce more than a shrill, thin song, which runs up the
scale to end in a high z. I can recall it \>y the syllables tsive
tsxi'c tszcc, te ze ze z-z. Mr. Minot detects some difference be-
tween the spring and summer songs. The summer song is a
repetition of the syllables zvee-see, with the accent on the sec-
ond ; while the spring song is more ambitious : wee-see, wee-
see, tsce-tsce, tsee, tsee, tsee-tsee, tsee, tsee, ending shrill and fine.
While the song differs in execution from the Yellow Warbler
it yet retains somewhat of that character, and should form the
beginning of the transition to the Chippy type.

Blackburnian is not a persistent singer, and ma}^ sometimes
pass northward in almost silence. He has not been heard
singing during the return journe3^

This promethean presence gleams from the upper foliage of
trees, but delights in the shade trees of parks and lawns fully
as much as the wood-land, usually shunning the deeper woods.
His is a familiar presence on the Oberlin campus during the
early da3\s of May.

Eastern North America, west to eastern Kansas and Mani-
toba, breeding from the northern United States northward to
Labrador.

^if^^ri'irii

BULLETIN No. 32.

11

a separate topic. The li.st of .species .seen on each of the four
occasions is of sufficient interest to be given here :

SPECIES COMMON TO ALL THREE YEARS.

Am. Herring Gull.

Common Tern.

Virginia Rail.

Spotted Sandpiper.

Killdeer.

Bob-white.

Mourning Dove.

Red-shouldered Hawk.

Sparrow Hawk,

Belted Kingfisher.

Hairy Woodpecker.

Downy Woodpecker.

Red-headed Woodpecker.

Flicker.

Chimney Swift.

Kingbird.

Crested Flj^catcher.

Phoebe.

Prairie Horned Lark.

Blue Jay.

American Crow.

Bobolink.

Cowbird.

Red- winged Blackbird.

Meadowlark.

Orchard Oriole.

Baltimore Oriole.

Bronzed Grackle.

American Goldfinch.

Vesper Sparrow.

Grasshopper Sparrow.

White-crowned Sparrow.

White-throated Sparrow.

Chipping Sparrow.

Field Sparrow.

Song Sparrow.

Towhee.

Cardinal.

Indigo Bunting.

Scarlet Tanager.

Purple Martin.

Cliff Swallow.

Barn Swallow.

Bank Swallow.

Rough-winged Swallow.

Red-eyed Vireo.

Warbling Vireo.

Blue-winged Warbler.

Nashville Warbler.

Tennessee Warbler.

Yellow Warbler.

Black - throated Blue War-
bler.

Magnolia Warbler.

Cerulean Warbler.

Oven-bird.

Water-Thrush.

Louisiana Water-Thrush.

Maryland Yellow-throat.

American Redstart.

Catbird.

Brown Thrasher.

House Wren.

Long-billed Marsh Wren.

White-breasted Nuthatch.

Tufted Titmouse.

Chickadee.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

Wood Thrush.

American Robin.

Bluebird.

70( + 21^17).

12 BUIvLETIN No. 32.

Besides these 70 species seen on each of the four occasions
there is a list of 17 species seen on three of the four, and a
further Hst of 21 species which are sufficiently common to
make their being seem practically certain under favorable con-
ditions of weather and work. It is evident, therefore, that
the county boasts a list of no less than 108 species which one
could confidently expect to see during favorable weather in
the earl}^ part of May. The possibilities which lie within the
Warblers are 8 and all other species 16, not including species
which may fairly be called rare or casual, and it does not make
any provision for the accidents which make the bird student's
work so fascinating. The writer does not intend to be boast-
ful for the region in which he finds himself placed. On the
contrary this record of what may be found in Lorain Count}^
Ohio, is given in the hope that others in other places may be
encouraged to make a similar study of the birds of their region
so that instructive comparisons may be possible. The promi.se
of interest and profit which such a study affords is great, and
for an in.spiration to him who is looking for new things noth-
ing could surpass it.

Lynds Jones, Obcrlin, Ohio.

GENERAL NOTES.

The Old Squaw Duck. — To the average amateur orni-
thologist the wild-fowl do not seem to present the interest that
the smaller birds possess, and the explanation seems to be that
the}^ are hard to study on account of the difficulty of near
approach and the nature of their habitat. But to some they
are far more interesting, especially so if the student has in-
herited a love for hunting. The bulk of the migrating wild-
fowl pass this section in March and April, but one must watch
the open waters in February if he would study that most
erratic visitor, the Old Squaw. Wheaton gives the Old Squaw
the name of being rare in the interior and it is rather uncommon
here except in ver}' severe winters, when it occurs frequenth'.
When the ice locks up their food in Lake Erie the}' are apt to
be found in unusual locations. On the 20th of Februar}', 1899,

BULLETIN No. :V2. 13

I saw a male of this species on a small j^oiul almost in the
business part of the city and a few days later one lit in my
neighbor's yard seemingly almost exhausted but possessing
enough vitality to fly away when alarmed. Most authorities
agree that the Old Squaw is unedible when killed on the great
lakes, but here they vary their diet with worms and are far
better eating than Scaup or Golden-eye. I have found the
common angleworm and a large green worm resembling a cut-
worm in their throats. The specimens seen here are mosth'
males. I have one specimen taken the 14th day of April,
180.S, in full breeding plumage. The white on the anterior
portion changes to black and the scapulars from white to black
with brown edgings to the feathers. They are very unsus-
picious when approached. I have seen them here as late as
Ma}' in winter plumage, and this spring succeeded in getting
a picture of one flying. Wh}^ some should retain winter
plumage two weeks later than the time others are in full breed-
ing plumage puzzles me and I would welcome an)^ explanation.

Wm. B. Haynes, Akron, Ohio.

Migration Notes from Durham, N. H. — The Warblers
are now here in great numbers. The mass of them came the
11th in.st. On that day Blackburnians, Magnolias, Redstarts,
Ovenbirds and Parulas were abundant, yet none of them ap-
peared before the 10th, so far as I know. Palm Warblers are
still common as are also Myrtles. A single Wilson's — a bird
I have seen but little of — appeared on the 18th, and on the
morning of the same day I heard for the first time the song
of the White-crowned Sparrow. There were three males
about, and between them they kept up a song nearly all the
morning. The song was oftenest delivered from a tree,
though it came freely from a bird on a w^ood pile. It re-
minded me of the White-throated Sparrow in its beginning,
and of the Vesper Sparrow in its ending. The first two notes
were clear, whistled tones, D sharp and G sharp, delivered
precisely like the Chickadee's '' pe-xve'' ; these were followed
by three quick notes somewhere between the first two, but
just where I could not determine, and these by a cadence very
like that of the Vesper Sparrow. The order of the two open-
ing notes was sometimes reversed but generally D sharp came

14 BULLETIN No. 32.

first, then the lower note, G sharp, came after. The volume
was light, and the song seemed feeble, considering the size of
the singer. During the past winter, I have seen a greater
number of winter visitors than ever before. Red Crossbills and
Siskins were abundant during the fall, while Redpolls, Pine
Grosbeaks and White-winged Crossbills were common during
the winter. To these I must add, for this immediate vicinity,
a flock of ten Cedarbirds which wintered here and still remain,
feeding on juniper berries, which are plentiful.

Ned Dearborn, Durham, N. H.

EDITORIAL.

We are pleased to notice that The Maine Sportsman is
awakening interest in bird protection among its readers by
vigorous editorials upon that subject. As a magazine in the
interest of Maine sportsmen, or anj^ .sportsmen who desire
genuine .sport, it is invaluable. Its high standard of excellence
is constantly maintained.

In another place there is a call for notes on migration
which it is very important that every reader of this paper
should heed and comply with. The time covered by this call
has never been carefully worked over for any considerable
space of country, but it is the time above all others which is
worthy of careful attention. Address all letters to Oberlin,
Ohio, as heretofore.

It has been necessary to cut this issue down to twenty-
four pages instead of twenty-eight, as first planned, due
largely to the increse in the number of pages of the two
preceding numbers — 30 and 81. The time which would nor-
mally have been given to the solicitation of copy was largely
demanded by the increase of work which fell to the editor's
lot on account of sickness in the teaching force of his de-
partment.

Bird-Lore continues to su.stain its high standard, under the
editorship of Mr. Frank M. Chapman, as a magazine which
not only champions the cause of the birds from a logical and
proper view point, but also continues to encourage the u.se of
the camera in the .study of the birds by concretely illustrating

BULLETIN No. 32. 15

what the camera can accompH.sh. Every effort of the magazine
is bent toward educating its readers into a proper appreciation
of the birds.

The editor expects to spend July and August in the moun-
tains of central Washington with Rev. W. L. Dawson, in
search of rest, recreation and birds. He hopes that many of
the mountain birds will condescend to have their pictures
taken so that others may share in the pleasures of the outing.
During this absence the business of the Bulletin will be
taken care of by Mrs. Editor, from Oberlin as heretofore.
All communications will receive prompt attention.

The two preceding ' ' Special ' ' Bulletins have crowded
out the department of Publications Received, cau.sing a con-
siderable accumulation which it has seemed worth while to
give fully in this number. Attention is especiall}^ called to
Mr. Frank M. Chapman's Bird Studies with a Camera as a
book which should be in the hands of every one who essa3\s to
photograph birds. The book is a picture gallery of birds as
they are seen in the full enjo3'ment of life and liberty.

We are in receipt of the speech of Hon. John F. lyacej^ of
Iowa, in the House of Representatives upon the bill to " pro-
hibit the transportation by interstate commerce of game killed
in violation of local laws, and for other purposes." The bill
applies to all birds as well as to game. This speech is a masterly
defence of the birds from the standpoint of a statesman who
knows what he is talking about. Surel}' the signs are multi-
plying which indicate a widespread and wholesome interest in
bird life. Let the good work go on to the saving of our best
friends while 3'et there is time.

■ • The magazine Birds which was the first magazine to intro-
duce the process of color photography into nature study pub-
lications, later changing its name to Birds and All Nature when
other subjects than birds were introduced, now changes its
name to more appropriateh' designate its contents to Natiire
and Art. This does not involve a change of plan in the make-
up of the magazine, but we notice that the range of subjects
is somewhat broadened and the publishers have secured the
services of a number of men as contributors who are well

16 BULLETIN No. 32.

informed upon the subjects of which they write, rather than
trusting to scattered contributions from all sources. This
magazine fills a distinct want in the popular literature of the
times, and is doing a good work in the education of the people
to the proper appreciation of ' ' All Nature.

A most encouraging sign of the deep interest that is being
manifested in birds by all classes of people is the demand for
courses of Ornithology in colleges and universities. There are
at hand circulars announcing a summer school of Ornithology
at Princeton, New Jersuy, to be conducted by Mr. W. E. D.
Scott, Curator of the Department of Ornithology in Princeton
University ; and " Bird Study at Wood's HoU Marine Biologi-
cal Laboratory," under the direction of Dr. Thomas H. Mont-
gomery, Jr. , as.sisted by Drs. Whitman and Herrick and Messrs.
Stone, Dearborn and Chapman. These courses will not be
such as to require the sacrifice of life of any bird but will be
directed toward the .study of the living bird in its natural
environment in the enjoyment of full liberty. We rejoice in
the movement for supplying a real want on the part of these
great universities.

It has been impos.sible to fulfil the promise made last Nov-
ember to issue the Bulletins for 1900 on time. The editor
has fretted over this at least as much as anyone, but he has
been powerless to avoid it. But he feels a certain satisfaction
in at last seeing in print the results of years of earnest work.
The compilation of these reports was completed more than a
month before they were due to appear, but from their nature
the proof was slow in passing thru our hands. In spite of the
most careful scrutiny there must be .some typographical errors
or some omissions which nothing but an errata page can reach.
Accompanying this number will be found slips to be inserted
in No. 30 on the pages indicated in the index. We confidently
expect (that is, as confidently as our broken promises will per-
mit) that* the October number will be mailed in October. At
this distance it begins to appear that the title of the October
number will have to be changed on account of a lack of ma-
terial out of which to make a report on Migration, but we can
promise something worth reading at an}' rate.

BULLETIN No. 32. 17

WANTED.

The editor desires migration notes from every reader of
this notice, for the first five days of May, for as many years
as possible, but particularly for 1900. These notes should
cover records of first seen, of the species that become com-
mon, of those last seen during the five days. It is not nec-
essary that these notes should cover several years, nor that
they should include a large number of species, to be of value,
but only that they should reach the editor not later than the
first of September. A consciously fragmentary record will
be just as welcome as any. Please give this matter your
immediate attention.

Lynds Jones, Oberlin, Ohio.

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

In numbers 1200 and 1201 of the Proceedings of the U.
S. National Museum, Vol. XXII, Dr. Charles W. Richmond
describes the new species Dendrornis striatigularis, from Alta
Mira, Mexico ; and Aithopyga anomala^ Criniger sordidus,
Ttirdinulus granii, all from Lower Siam, collected by Dr. W.
L. Abbott in the province of Trong. — L. J.

Catalogue of a Collection of Birds fro7n Aladagascar. B)^
Harry C. Oberholser. From the Proceedings of the U. S.
National Museum, Vol. XXII, pages 23-5-248. (No. 1197).

The 110 specimens of which this paper treats are referable
to fifty-seven species and thirty-two families. The rare species
Lophotibis cristata and Ardeola xantJiopoda are most worthy of
attention. The annotations are chiefly oh plumage and color
pattern.

The systematic arrangement of the paper is like that of
Notes on Birds Collected by Doctor W. L. Abbott in Central
Asia. — L. J.

Calif oriiia Water Birds. No. IV. Vicinity of Monterey
in Autumn by Leverett M. Loomis. With one plate.

The first part of this paper is devoted to a daily calendar
of the migrations of the water birds from September 18 to

18 BULLETIN No. 32.

November 14, 1896, thus bridging the gap between the summer
and winter observations previously made. Following this cal-
endar the author proceeds to discuss the general subject of
migration as illustrated by the movements studied , and to draw
a conclusion : " It is held that bird migration is a habit evolved
by education and inheritance which owe their origin and per-
petuation to winter with its failure of food." The last six of
the forty-five pages are devoted to an annotated list of the
forty-two species observed during this series of studies. The
paper is printed in large clear type on good paper, and the
typography is above reproach. — L,. J.

Our Comino7i Birds. By C. F. Hodge, Ph. D.

This is number 2, of the Biology Series of Nature Study
Leaflets issued from Clark University. It consists of thirt}'-
five pages and thirteen illustrations. The subject matter of
this leaflet is another of the earnest pleas for the preservation
of our native birds through the medium of education. The
suggestions for introducing the subject of bird study into the
school room as well as the out door studies, are admirable.
The birds are estimated at their true value, while sentimental
exaggeration is absent. The pages are plentifully sprinkled
with apt quotations of prose and verse, and frequent direct
references to careful investigations by experts, and, foot notes
add value to the paper. It is a leaflet which teaches of Nature
Study in schools would find useful. Prof. C. F. Hodge, Wor-
cester, Mass., is prepared to supply copies at five cents each.
-L.J.

Notes on Birds Collected by Doctor W. L. Abbott in Central
Asia. By Harry C. Oberholser. From the Proceedings of
the U. S. National Museum, Vol. XXII, pages 205-228. (No.
1195).

This collection of 142 specimens, representing sixty-two
species and twenty-three families, was collected by Dr. Abbott
in Cashmere and Ladak in 1895 and 1897- The annotations
give the altitude range of most of the species, with some
notes on plumage and habits. We notice that the systematic
arrangement departs from that adopted by tlie American
Ornithologist's Union committee, following instead the British
system, which appears to us the more logical. — L. J.

BULLETIN No. 32. 19

Notes on Some Birds from Santa Barbara Islands^ California.
By Harry C. Oberholser. From the Proceedings of the U. S.
National Museum, Vol, XXII, pages 229-234. (No. 1196).

This is an annotated list of a collection of birds made by
Mr. Clark P. Streator, under the auspices of the Bological
Survey of the Department of Agriculture, from April 9 to
July 20, 1892. The list comprises twenty-seven species. The
annotations have chiefly to do with range and plumage. — L. J.

Birds in Horticulture. By Wm. E. Praeger.

We have seWom seen twelve printed pages so full of sound
logic and indisputable fact, and so full of suggestions that can
readily be acted upon, as this one. The author clearly shows,
first the damage done by insects to crops in the state of Illinois;
second, how much of insect food the birds destroy during the
year, and finally estimates how much value in grains, fruits
and garden vegetables would be saved if the bird population
could be increased by one per cent. The latter part of the
paper is naturally devoted to answering the question How can
we bring about this increase of one per cent. He w^ould en-
courage the growth of wild fruits upon which the birds are
wont to feed, instead of cutting it down as so much rubbish.
Mulberry trees are possibilities in every yard, and furnish the
birds with a royal banquet just at the time when cherries and
blackberries ripen. The encouragement of wild fruits ser^^es
a twofold purpose ; furnishing the birds with an easily pro-
cured food supply and so lessening their appropriations from
the orchards and gardens. He does not deny that birds may
sometimes do damage, but makes it plain that these few depre-
dations can readily be prevented by the use of scarecrows and
other harmless devices. We heartily commend the paper to
our readers. — L. J.

Half Hours with the Birds. By Christopher Greaves.

This little twenty-seven page pamphlet treats of ' ' The
Cardinal at Home," "The Blue Jay as He Is," " The Shrike
or Butcherbird," "A Chat on Birds' Eggs," " A Remedy for
the Sparrow Plague," "The Orioles." These topics are
treated in a popular chatty manner, wnth a hint or more about
the colors and songs and food habits of the birds, with some
touches of life history. It seems to us unfortunate that the

20 ^ BULLETIN No. 32.

author ha.s confu.sed the Northern Shrike with the smaller
summer form. The Northern being the winter bird and the
lyOggerhead (or Migrant?) the summer form. It is no less
unfortunate that he seems to favor the egg collecting mania
which attacks every bo}' ; better to discourage such practices.
But in his discussion of the Orioles the author has turned to
the other extreme by not a little overdrawing the picture for
the the average case when the male of a pair has been killed.
We turn eagerly to the ' ' Remedy for the Sparrow Plague ' '
in the hope of at last solving the problem gf the Sparrow\
The author is undoubtedly right in his statement that the only
sure remedy is to find some bird which will prey upon the
Sparrow, but the difficulty will be to find one that is sufficiently
numerous to make any impression. The author thinks that
the ' ' Great Northern Shrike ' ' is the bird. The first difficulty
with the selection of this bird is that he already has the name
of being an indiscriminate butcher. Education may eliminate
this difiiculty. The second and more serious difficulty is the
small numbers of the Shrikes as a group and the fact that they
do not, and probably can never be induced to build in cities
nor sufficienty near to them to be of any use there. But we
can encourage the increase of all small birds of prey and to cease
prosecute them in the hope that they will in time become bold
enough to prey upon the Sparrows wherever they may be
found. The pamphlet is neatly gotten up, printed on good
paper and the typography is almost faultless. A half tone of
the author as a frontispiece adds to the interest of the paper.
-I.. J.

Chapman' s Bird Studies With a Camera/^

It is seldom that a book has been so opportunelj^ placed
before the public. The study of birds with a camera is the
youngest child of Ornithology, but already it gives abundant
promise of a development which can accomplish nothing less
than a complete revolution of a world-wild attitude toward the
birds. The author of this little book has spared neither time

*Bird Studies | With a Camera | with introductory chapters | on the outfit and meth-
ods I of the bird photographer | By Frank M. Chapman | Assistant Curator of Vertebrate
Zoology in the American Museum of Natural History, and author of Handbook of the
Birds of Eastern North America, Bird-Life, etc. | with over one hundred photographs
from nature by the author. | New York. | D. Appleton and Company, | 1900. | Si. 75.

BULLETIN No. 32. 21

nor study to the development of this new method "of bird
studies, and is therefore al)le to anticipate the needs of bird
students who would use the camera if they but knew how to
begin.

After an introduction in which bird photography is describ-
ed as " the use of the camera as an aid in depicting the life
histories of birds," some unanswerable arguments upon " the
scientific value of bird photography," and " the charm of bird
photography " contrasted with the sportsman's apparent pleas-
ure in killing the birds, the author gives a careful and clear
statement of what the bird photographer's outfit should con-
sist of and the methods he should emplo}' to attain the greatest
degree of success. "The camera — The lens — The shutter —
The tripod — Plates — Blinds — vSundries," are all discussed from
the standpoint of one who has had large experience not as a
professional photographer but as a bird photographer. The
discussion of methods covers "Haunts — Sea.sons — Nests and
eggs — Young birds — Adult birds, ' ' from large experience with
the camera.

After discussing the outfit and methods, the author pro-
ceeds to illustrate concretely in ten chapters what can be ac-
complished in bird .studies in all sorts of situations and under
all sorts of circumstances. The 110 illustrations, frontispiece,
tailpiece and tvi'elve initial illu.strations are all the work of the
camera and are a picture gallery of more than usual interest
not to .say an education in pha.ses of bird life.

The table of contents will better illustrate the wideness of
the field covered in the text than could be done otherwi.se.
" Bird photography begins at home, The Chickadee — a study
in black and white. The Least Bittern and some other reed
inhabitants, Two Herons, Where Swallows roost. Two days
with the Terns, Perce and Bonaventure, The Magdalens, Bird
Rock, Life on Pelican Island, with some .speculations on the
origin of bird migration." The 214 pages of text are full of
information both photographic and ornithologic. The book
.should be in every librar}' where it is desired to create interest
in the birds among the children as well as among older persons.
The book is written in ]\Ir. Chapman's clear and pleasing .style,
the type is large and clear-cut, the paper heav}' enamel upon
which the illustrations .show sharp details, and the typography is

'22 BULLETIN No. 32.

almost perfect. The book is a distinct addition to ornithology
and a much needed guide to the art of bird photograph)^ — L. J.

Proceedings of the Nebraska Ornithologists'' Union.

In the distribution of this collection of papers the Nebraska
Ornithologists' Union has vindicated its right to exist. Its
members are not content to stop with a complete list of the
birds of their state, but are engaged in the stud}' of habits and
characteristics. Their object is to advance our knowledge of
birds along all lines.

In the President's Address, "Ornithology in Nebraska,"
Prof. lyawrence Bruner makes a strong plea for the protection
of the birds b}^ the sure method of introducing bird studies
into the public schools of the state. There follow four papers
which partake of the nature of local lists with annotations.
The first, " A Tweny-three Years' Record Kept by Dr. A. L.
Child of Plattsmouth, Neb.," by Dr. R. H. Wolcott ; "Ad-
ditional Notes and Observation on the Birds of Northern
Nebraska," by Rev. J. M. Bates ; "The Bird Fauna of the
Salt Basin, Near Lincoln," by Mr. J. S. Hunter; "Some
Bird Notes from the Upper Elkhorn," by Mr. Merritt Gary.
"Some Notes on the Nesting of the Raptores of Otoe
County, Nebraska," by Mr. M. A. Carriker, Jr., treats of the
ten species which are known to the author to breed in the state.
"How to Popularize Ornithology," hy Mr. Wilson Tout, is
discussed from the standpoint of a teacher, urging the import-
ance of education as a means of saving the birds from wanton
destruction and of bringing before the people the debt we owe
to the birds. In making " A Plea for the English Sparrow,"
Mr. lyawrence Skow, a native of Denmark, endeavors to show
that the Sparrow has a distinct right to life and unlimited in-
crease. Not many Americans will agree with Mr. Skow on
this point. The last paper, ' ' Suggestions as to an Accurate
and Uniform Method of Recording Observations," by R. H.
Wolcott,. will be read with much interest b}' all field students
of the birds. The author would give absolute values to the
terms commonly used — abundant, common, etc. — thus secur-
ing absolute uniformity in observations from all field workers.
It is a step in the right direction. Such a scheme, however,
while a boon to the earnest bird student, would scarcely be

BULLETIN No. 32. • 28

tolerated by the casual observer who wished to get the most
enjoyment with the least effort from bird study. But we are
not concerned about that class of people. It seems to us that
a species cannot well be more than abundant, and that there-
fore the qualifying adjective " very " might well be omitted.
Before any such scheme can be put into practical use it needs
to be carefully tested by a series of field studies by two persons
working side by side, the one counting the birds and tabulat-
ing the results according to this scheme, the other taking notes
upon the general impression made by the numbers, but count-
ing the individuals seen to be avoided. That is to say, the
scheme should be, as far as possible, shorn of its arbitrariness
by making it as natural as possible. The result would proba-
bly be that different values would be given to the large birds
than to the small ones. Thus, five Bald Eagles to the mile
would be abundant, while that number of Vesper Sparrows to
the mile would be only common. Dr. Wolcott is to be highly
commended for his efforts to bring about uniformity in the
field work of ornithologists. — L. J.

Ame7'ican Monthly Microscopical Journal. Vol. XXI, Nos.

2, 4, 5.

Bird-Lore. Vol. II, Nos. 1,2. 8.

Birds and All Nature. Vol. IV, No. 5 ; Vol. VII, Nos.

Bittern, The. Vol. I, No. 1.
1, 2, 4, 5.

Book Reviews. Vol. VII, No. 10 ; Vol. VIII, Nos. 1, 2,

3, 4, 5, 6.

Bulletin log. Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station.

Bulletin 47-50. Pennsylvania State College Agricultural
Experiment Station.

Bulletin of the Wisconsin Natural History Society. \o\. I
(new series), Nos. 1, 2.

Condor, The. Vol. II, Nos. 1, 2, 3.

Cornell A^ature Study Quarterly. Nos. 2, 3.

Entomological Student, The. Vol. I, No. 1.

Farm Studenf s Reviezv. Vol. V, No. 1.

Fern Bulletin, The. Vol. VIII, Nos. 1,2.

24 BUI^LRTIN No. 32.

Hummer, The. Vol. I, Nos. 8, 9.
J 02irnal of Applied Microscopy. Vol. Ill, Nos. 1, 2.
Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society. 1890. 16th
year. Part 2.

Jo2i7'nal of the Maine Ornithological Society, The. Vol. II,
Nos. 1,2."

Legislation for the Protection of Birds other than Game
Birds. By T. S. Palmer. Bulletin No. 12, U. S. Department
of Agriculture.

Maine Sportsman, The. Vol. VII, Nos. 76-82.

Museum, The. Vol. VI, Nos. 2^5.

NatiiralisV s Farm ajid Fancier'' s Revieiv, The. Vol. II,
Nos. 8, 4.

Nature and Art. Vol. VIII, No. 1.

North America Farina. No. 17. Revision of American
Voles of the genus Microtus. By Vernon Bailey.

Notes on Rhode Island Ornithology . Vol. I, No. 1.

Plant World, The. Vol. Ill, No. 5.

Seventeenth Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the
Public Museiun of the City of Milwaukee.

Sportsman' s Magazine. Vol. IV, Nos. 1-4.

Western Ornithologist, The. Vol. V, No. 1.

WITH THE BIRDS IN FOURTEEN STATES.

" How can I pass the time? " is the all-absorbing question
to those who must travel far by rail or water. To such per-
sons it must seem at least peculiar that anybody could deliber-
ately plan a 7(M)() mile journey for the sole purpose of studying
birds, partl)^ to be sure, on the ground, but partly also aboard
train. It may be putting it a little strong to say that the sole
purpose of this journey was bird stud\% but for the writer it
came near that.

This Summer's work was largely a partnership work,
hence the report of the results will be double-barreled. Rev.
Winiam Leon Dawson, the partner in question, makes his re-
port under the caption " Wing Shots and Rests," which report
pretty fully covers the partnership part of the work, while the
writer supplies the horizons from both note-books for this part,
and adds his own work done alone. Little more need be said
in introduction further than the restatement that this piece of
work is the natural outgrowth of the close intimac}' which
grew up between these two bird-lovers engaged in study at the
same college. It is but fair to say that Mr. Dawson was the
prime mover in the scheme, and his personal knowledge of the
west from residence in Washington made it feasible.

It is needless to say that this idea of studying birds by rail
is not new. Indeed, it is nearly a score of years old. The
onl}^ new feature introdiiced is the keeping of horizons for cer-
tain places, or certain lengths of time aboard train or steamer,
in the effort to more clearlj' illustrate what one might hope
to find in retra versing this region.

In a rapid work of this kind there must be a considerable
margin of error, yet we think this has been greatly cut down
by eliminating every record about which there may seem to be
a doubt. A sharp lookout, a quick eye and discrimination,
born of long practice and familiarity with many species, where
two are working together, leave little room for misidentifica-
tions where the bird is seen well. Yet there are probably
errors.

For the sake of continuitj- it seems best to give space first
to the report of Mr. Dawson, followed by the horizons in chro-
nological order, accompanied by a few explanatory notes.

lU'JJ.KTIX No :5:5.

WING SHOTS AND RESTS.

On the evening of June "iS, 1900, the editor and the writer
boarded the west-bound Santa Fe train at Chicago. Our plan
was to spend about ten days en route to Seattle,, Wash., via
Albuquerque, Pasadena and Portland, and to devote the re-
mainder of the summer to the mountainous region of northern
Washington.

In spite of the fact that we had the summer before us we
were anxious to get to bed. But the gentleman who pre.sides
over the fortunes of the itinerant public couldn't get it thru
his Ethiopian skull that we had to get up at five o'clock in
the morning to look at the birds. There is nothing which will
so pleasantl}- relieve the tedium of railway travel as the taking
of a bird horizon. To be sure 3'our fellow-passengers look
askance at you as you suddenly thrust your head out of the
window to get the last wing-flash of an unexpected friend or
as 3^ou dash out of the car door to make the most of a station
stop. The}' will think you odd if you hasten to the edge of a
near-b}' swamp and listen, one ear strained for bird music and
the other on the engine bell ; but " what's the odds so long's
you're "appy ? " You have only to recall that your passage is
paid for, and that you are living in a larger world than is
allowed to some.

There were no revelations and few notables until we
reached the high prairies of eastern Colorado. By the time
the Spanish Peaks were sighted the Lark Bunting and the
Desert Horned Lark had become familiar. Not until we
turned to skirt the Rockies did the distinctly " western " spe-
cies appear. These in turn had become so familiar that we
gave a shout of glad surprise when we heard Dickcissel at
Shoemaker, N. M. He was holding forth bravely at this dis-
tant outpost of his tribe. One could not help admiring his
taste. An encircling rock wall, with a convenient stream-cut
exit, in case the sheriff were incontinently to appear at the en-
trance, shut in a little paradise of meadow, shrubbery and
rest. Within Dickcissel held undisputed sway over a railroad
water tank, a farm house and the green ; while the Rock
Wrens, clamorous but cheerful, manned the battlements.

From Las Vegas the chase became exciting. A Zone-

r.ri.urnx Xo. iv.). .)

tailed Hawk was harrying a rabbit within fort>- yards of the
passing train. At Ribera the Long-tailed Chats gave lis a spe-
cial matinee. Here was the place we onght to have stopped
instead of at Thornton as we had planned. At Rowe, Arkan-
.sas Goldfinches were filling the air with their penetrating
sweet notes.

TIIOKXTOX AXI) THK KIO C, KAX I)i:.

We fonnd Thornton to be a desolate little "dobe" village
about two miles from the Rio Grande. The country surround-
ing was ver}' di.sappointing, inasmuch as it was almost entirely
destitute of vegetation. However, we were in for it, so we
packed up our knapsacks and struck out for the distant fringe
of green. It, and especially the bleary ej^e of the river, seemed
ever to recede across the barren sands. W^e came up with it
long after sunset and simultaneousl}- with a sandstorm.

Huddling on the .sand, behind the clump of osiers on the
river bank, we ate a very dusty " snack " and cherished grave
misgivings for the night. But never w^as a serener .sky than
that which greeted us at the time of the first turn-over in bed.

The Rio Grande is a very insignificant stream at this time
of year. We w'aded its ten rods or .so of muddy water repeat-
edly, having a care for the quicksands and holes. The west
bank was well wooded with a dwarf cotton wood, and it was
here that we made our principal finds.

The early morning hours were busy ones. Old bird notes
were refreshed in my mind and new ones disentangled. Prom-
inent among these latter were those of the Western Blue Gros-
beak. In seeing and hearing this bird one gets the impression
of an Indigo Bunting on a larger scale. The song is, however,
more varied as well as stronger.

The Long-tailed Chat is the great mimic here. Nuthatch,
Oriole and Flicker notes were distinctly traced to his door.
The imitations were remarkably clo.se. One bird reproduced
the ' ' Klyak ' ' note of the Flicker so perfectly as to ([uite deceive
us for a while.

Arkansas Goldfinches were common. This species .seems
to emphasize the connection between Goldfinch and Siskin.
A yellowish-white spot on their wings shows conspicuously in
flvins:, an illumination something after the fashion of vSi.skin.

4 lU'IJ.HTlN No. :!:{.

Ill their songs, too, they preserve a note which easily shows
generic connection with Spinus piiuis, "Kezeem," or " Ke-
ziim," of peculiar pathos and penetration.

FLAGSTAFF AND THE SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAINS.

The next stop was made at this trim little town in the
Arizona highlands. Of course the ornithologist's first desire
upon getting into the average " new " town is to get out. We
did so at once. As we set out from Flagstaff we had no inten-
tion of climbing San Francisco Peak, reported to be 12,oBl ft.
high ; but as we journeyed toward it along the level pine-clad
valley which lies at its feet, the desire grew upon us
until it became a determi. ation. A prospector whom we
met toiling toward town with a couple of burros, kindly
sold us a three-pint canteen, so that the water question w^as dis-
posed of. Up that carpeted valley we crept, every faculty on the
qui Vive for birds, until we reached a picturesque little canon
with solid, perpendicular walls, from the north side of which a
tiny stream of water trickled. This empties into a trough
which is evidently a great resort for the birds. On the way
the Chestnut-backed Bluebird and L,ong-crested Jay had come
to swell the life horizon. Here at the spring birds thronged
continually. Cassin's Finches, Arkansas Goldfinches, Lark
Sparrows, flycatchers, hummers, blackbirds, warblers — -a
vitascope, always in motion, ready to the eye, was the scene
of this spring.

Time would fail to tell of the ascent, which was accom-
plished by noon of the next day. The panorama presented
from the summit of vSan Francisco Peak is rather unique for
its command of plain and de.sert and high plateau. Bird-wise,
however, this mountain mass is not large enough to attract a
great variety of strict mountaineers. Our mountain horizon
includes o.ly eight that one might not reasonably expect to
find in comparatively level countr}'.

Here we had an experience of Ca.ssin's Kingbird which I
shall not soon forget. This bird was really first noted at
Thornton, where verticalis was also common. The resem-
blance was so close that cassini was suffered to pass as a pos-
sible young verticalis. Experience on the lower slope of San
Francisco Mountains, however, dispelled this illusion. When

]ui<ij;tin No. m. r.

I heard the distant "Chebew," which is the distinctive note
of this bird, I could not doubt that we had a new species. In-
vestigation proved that a pair of these birds were soHcitous for
young, presumably well grown. Jones and I shot three times
without success, and then squandered the best part of an hour
chasing the provoking creatures from branch to stub and
from stub to boulder, around in the open woods. Never was
the range set at a certain tussock of grass but the bird made
off with a mocking wail a pace or two before the goal was
reached. Never w^as a snap shot attempted but the bird
dodged behind a tree as the gun was coming up. " Chebew,
chebew," and for aught I know those woods are still re-echo-
ing that doleful, aggravating .sound.

MELLEN AXD THE COLOK.\DO RIVER.

Arizona is certainly well named. Except for the pine
section about the San Fra cisco Mountains all we saw was
fearfully desolate. There was, how^ever, a genuine fascina-
tion to be felt in the clear-cut mountain ranges of the west.
For the most part absolutely bare, these intruders pierce the
expanse of level plain like the dorsal fins of some titanic sea
monster. Nature has not veiled her secrets here. He who
runs, even by rail, may read. The ash piles in this her dis-
heveled back yard look precisely as the}' might have looked
when first dumped down. Jagged outlines are the rules rather
than the exception in these volcanic ranges ; and the culminat-
ing point is reached in the "Needles," near the Colorado
River. Altho twelve miles distant from the Santa Fe bridge
they seem but a step, so simple and so clear cut are they.
Nothing but oil can do them justice, for half their charm lies
in their marvellous coloring, which both in intensity and deli-
cacy of shading almost surpasses belief.

Our last ornithological stop was made here at Mellen, by
the Santa Fe bridge over the Rio Colorado. We found the
Colorado a much more formidable stream than the Rio Orande.
Its course is very changeable. Just now it is engaged in tear-
ing down the east bank for the mile or so above the station,
and the crash of great chunks of alluvium as they fell into
the river's jaws was a constant feature of our stay. And

<I lU'LLKTIN No. ;{:*>.

dirty ! if anything it is a little dirtier than the Missouri —
and that is enough said.

We had barely time to force our way through the dense
willows of the lower or alluvium level, and emerge on the
acacia flat above, before dark. It was time enough, how-
ever, to completely turn our heads with the prospect of birds.
After a swim we lay down at the edge of the third, or desert,
level ; but not, as it proved, to sleep. The moon was too high
and the air was too hot and the mosquitoes were too numer-
ous. Finally we retired further into the desert and there,
wrapped in the soft mantle of the sky, we slept.

From 4:00 A. M. until 8:00 it was "birds," and from then
till 7:00 P. M., when we boarded the tardy west-bound train
it was heat. The place certainly abounded in birds, but the
heat, after eight o'clock, put an effective quietus on man and
bird. The daj^'s work was done.

The willow flats were the haunts of such birds as^he
Yellow Warbler, Bullock's Oriole, Traill's Flycatcher, and the
Long-tailed Chat ; while the characteristic birds of the acacia
level were the Gambel's Partridge and the Verdin. The Par-
tridge is easil}' the most abundant of all birds in this region.
Altho very secretive ( we were not able to secure a specimen)
they piped from every bush and scurried from every brush
heap.

The Verdins are not by nature obtrusive, but some idea of
their numbers can be gathered from the fact that nearly every
other clump of acacia contained a nest. These nests are balls
of twigs clustered, without attempt at concealment, about
some lower limb, at a height of from four to eight feet. The
structure is quite compact, entered through a hole in the side,
and always warmly and softly lined. Altho a dozen or so
were examined none were found occupied at this time (July
.")th. )

Truth to tell we did not do much bird study here. We
shot at .sight and identified hastily, and then succumbed to the
heat. Never had we seen the like before. After lolling under
the willows of the river bottom and voting them insufferably
hot, we sought the shelter afforded by the railroad water-tank,
and where the temperature was just appreciably mitigated by
the dripping waters. The air was literallj- a blast from a fur-

lU'LLHTiN Xo. :\:v 7

iiace, for a strong wind blew off the Needles, which l(X)ked in
the offing like glowing coals. This wind, together with the
dripping water, produced a curious effect on the rousing con-
sciousness. Several times did I start up from a doze, pos-
sessed with the idea that I was in a burning building. The
hot air was realistic enough, and the dripping of the water on
the pebbles beneath did duty for crackling flames.

In .spite of the almost intolerable heat we shall hold
Mellen in grateful remembrance as being the place where the
"life horizons" grew at the most rapid pace we had ever
known. An introduction to thirteen new .species inside of six
hours is granted only to the tyro, who doesn't know how to
count his mercies, or to the traveler in foreign ports. To my
mind there is nothing else in ornithological experience quite
equal to the joy of making new^ acquaintances in a new field.
The fresh po.s.sibilities of note and action possess an irre.sistible
fascination for an "old hand."

After leaving Mellen our editor took a side trip in South-
ern California, of which a separate account appears in this
number; while I proceeded to Blaine, in Washington, where I
fitted out for the mountains. Mr. Jones rejoined me at Ever-
ett, ten days later, and we headed toward the Chelan country
via Wenatchee and the Columbia River route.

If bird-gazing from a railroad train be an absorbing pas-
time, birding from the deck of a river steamboat is the very
embodiment of luxury. A Columbia River steamboat is a
thing S2ii ge)ie?'is, a creature of tough sinews and stubborn
w'ill. Our attention on the trip up the river was about equalh'
divided between the droves of magpies which swarm on the
rugged sides of the canon and the plucky steamer as she
.steadily fought her way up the rapids.

The trip up Lake Chelan was less exciting as an athletic
feat, but the scener}' disclosed as you ascend is second to none
in America. Birds w^ere for the moment forgotten as we gazed
upon those stupendous piles of granite and porphyry amongst
which w^e were to spend a month. Upon landing at the head
of the lake we lost no time in putting the vStehekin River
between us and the last vestige of civilization, a trim little
mountain hotel called "Field's." Then we surrendered to
nature and her vocal interpreters.

8 Bl'LLKTIN No. :',:\.

An incident of the ascent up Pershall Creek toward
Wright's Peak was the discovery of a Calaveras Warbler's
nest containing three fresh eggs. The nest was a bulky affair,
composed of coarse grasses, with a lining of finer grass ; and it
was placed three feet high in the top of an elkweed or " devil's
club," in the brushy tangle of a draw.

Strange voices filled the air as we made the first reaches
of the mountain proper. The Western Winter Wren poured
forth his tiny cataract of song. Cassin's Finches trilled or
hummed tunes softly to themselves. The Mountain Creeper
peeped lustily as if to shame my complete oversight on a pre-
vious trip ; while that rarest sound, the ravishing sweet call of
the Dwarf Hermit Thrush, penetrated the woods like an angel
voice which haunts the groves of Paradise. If birds of a
feather may flock together, count me always among those who
babble through the woods or wing at will over the glaciers
and awful heights of Wright's Peak.

Our camp was pitched on a heather meadow just bursting
into flower. Within a stone's throw I gathered a bouquet of
thirty-three species, and I suppose the resources of the season
were only half developed. Beside us was the glacier, and only
the barren aiguilles rose above. Bird life at that height was
fairly abundant. Leucostictes, Pine Siskins, Juncoes, Moim-
tain Bluebirds, Grouse and Ptarmigan were the characteristic
species. Of the last named species we found one bird moult-
ing and unable to fly. He had been hiding in the rocks of the
main ridge. We came, I suppose, as near as any one has to
finding a Leucosticte's nest. We were accomplishing the a.s-
cent of the peak proper by a new route, and were within 200
feet of the top when we came upon a bulky nest of grass
placed on a ledge of rock, without attempt at concealment. It
was on the exposed south slope, and doubtless for a purpose.
The nest was in good condition, and the bod}^ cavity would
tally with the requirements of a Leucosticte. The birds which
hovered about did not betray any particular emotion at our in-
spection of the old nest, but they evidently called that vicinity
home .

The panorama this year from Wright's Peak was all that
heart could wish. Mounts Stuart, Rainier, and Baker, with
Glacier Peak, were in the horizon, while Manchehorner and

r.ri,i,i:ri.\ no :v.', o

the teiilative " Mt. Oberlin" invited coiuiiiest in the near dis-
tance. Our hearts swelled in eager anticipation of the expected
triumphs of the next fe\v weeks. Alas 1 the golden chalice
was to be dashed from the hand ere long. Returning the next
day from the ascent of vSplinter Peak we found the l)est part of
our equipment in ashes. A deep-seated punk log had trans-
mitted our .smouldering camp fire and spread it in a devastating
circle thru the peaty heather beds. Mr. Jones was the heavy
lo.ser. Specimens, photographic plates, notes, blankets, pocket
book, return railroad ticket, gone — ugh ! We had stood that
day on one of nature's pinnacles. A slight misstep on the
ridge of vSplinter Peak, a pitching forward, would have been —
no, fiof f'/fsfaui death. One could have leaped r/f/icr 7i'ay and
not have struck short of 12") feel. But we were down now —
way down !

Our losses compelled an instant relinquishment of the
cherished plans. Dropping, part way down the canon that
evening we made the Field's the next day, where we secured
supplies enough to enable us to undertake the journey, on foot,
from Stehekin, via Cascade pass, to the Skagit River. On the
vSkagit we could count on finding other conveyance.

The return journey over the mountains was everywhere
brightened by our study of the birds and, as may be noted
elsewhere, some handsome horizons were taken. The scenic
interest, however, so often overshadowed the ornithological
that I fear the readers of The Bulletix will take me to task
and remind me that I am supposed to be talking about l^rds.
vStill, if I succeed in dragging a bird or two in, I may perhaps
be pardoned for .speaking of the view from the divide. Leav-
ing my knapsack beside the iron post which marks the summit
of the Stehekin-Hamilton horse trail, I climbed up a neigbor-
ing spur, centrally located, for a commanding view. The
mountains visible from this spot are certainly grander than
anything visible from any American railroad ; and I have been
on them all so far as mountains are concerned. Ivleven well
defined glaciers were visible from this point : but the\- only
held the flanks of the mountains; the unfettered, unconquera-
ble peaks rose thousands of feet above. The incessant thun-
der of the avalanche was only fit praise for the majesty of
these untamed monarchs. A mile or so down the trail on

10 P.riJ,F,TlN No. 3:1

the west side one gets the finest view of a mountain whose
aspect and dimensions are simpl}' terrific. A glacier clings
midway, whose breaking members must topple over such a
precipice as makes one shudder — and adore. One would
hardly try, in thought, the awful peak. One is, somehow,
content to recognize as part of the eternal fitness of things
that this mountain should be considered unscalable.

Well, didn't a fussy old Ptarmigan fly up into my face
and interrupt all this ! Good cause for alarm tho, I was near
stepping on some of her chicks. Never did a mother conduct
a more gallant retreat than she, as she shrieked her rage from
a near-by rock, or dashed at my face in very act to consume
me, while her fledglings of every size scuttled off thru the
heather. I caught one of the youngest in my hand, where-
upon the mother made such a furious onslaught that I was
obliged to defend myself with my left. I did not hurt her, but
I speedily let the youngest go for fear I should have to. Such
spirit I never saw before. What if a hen were as big as a
man !

This much is clear : That the female White-tailed Ptar-
migan begins incubation as soon as the first egg is laid. I
made out ten young and probably missed others. The largest
was near a third grown, while the youngest had not broken
shell above a da}-.

Here is a good place to rest. One cannot tell it all, even
ornithologicall)'. Of course we saw more birds ; and, of
course, we got back. Never mind that. Mr. Jones has gone
on down the trail. Leave me here on m}^ mountain.

William Leon Dawson.
Columbus, Ohio.

THE HORIZONS.

Our first horizon out of Chicago began at LaPlata, Mis-
souri, at o o'clock in the morning and ended at noon, when we
pulled into Kansas Cit}-. The slight change in topography
and vegetation was accompanied by a very slight change in the

nruj-rnx no. -xv

11

birds. Here we recorded Dickcissels, White-runiped Shrike
and Western Yellow- throat as new for the rear.

LaPlata to Kansas City,

Oreeii Heron.

Mourninpf Dove.

Turkey Vulture.

Red-shouldered Hawk.

Red-headed Woodpecker.

Flicker.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Belted Kingfisher.

Chimney vSwift.

Kingbird.

Blue Jay.

American Crow.

Bobolink.

Cowbird.

IMeadowlark

Red-winged Blackbird.

Baltimore ( )riole.

Mo., Jnne 2i»tli.

Bronzed (irackle.

Cardinal.

Towhee.

Indigo Bunting.

Dickcissel.

White-rumped Shrike.

Cliff Swallow.

Barn Swallow.

Bank Swallow.

Yellow Warbler.

Western Yellow-throat.

Catbird.

Brown Thrasher.

House Wren.

Robin.

Bluebird

Nightfall found us at Stafford, Kansas, with Swainson's
Hawk and Western Meadowlark added to the year list and
Burrowing Ow4 the first addition to my life list, marking the
beginning of a new era in my bird study.

Kan.sas Cit}- to Stafford. Kan., June 21)th.

Killdeer.

Bob-w^hite.

Mourning Dove.

Turkey Vulture.

Swainson's Hawk.

Burrowing Owl.

Belted Kingfisher.

Red-headed Woodpecker.

Flicker.

Nighthawk.

Chinmey Swift.

Kingbird.

Blue Jay.

American Crow.

Prairie Horned Lark.

Cowbird.

Red-winged Blackbird.

Western Meadowlark.

Bronzed Cirackle.

Cardinal.

Indigo Bunting.

Dickcissel.

Cliff Swallow.

Barn Swallow.

Yellow Warbler.

Yellow-breasted Chat.

Wood Thrush.

Robin.

Bluebird.

The second day out proved the banner day, so far as new
.species were concerned. Of the •>>< species seen during the day

12

lu'ij.irrix X(

22 were new to my life list. Daylight found us in Lajunta,
Colorado, and our horizon closed at <> o'clock, just before the
train left us at the miserable little adobe station — Thornton,
New Mexico. The large number of new species on this hori-
zon is accounted for by the entirely new topography. The
plains ha\-e been lost in the distance, and now we are sur-
rovmded by the mountains. Of the new acquaintances Lark
Bunting was both the most abundant and most interesting.
One could not mistake the large white wing patch and the
unique bat-like flight. The prairie dogs interested me greatly.
Their lookout mounds which occupied railroad property, and
many of them be}-ond the fence, were composed of cinders.
Examination of several failed to reveal any hole within several
feet of the mound, and the hole was not surmoiuited by the
regtilation funnel-shaped mound. Each itiound seemed to be
owned by a small group of the " Dogs," who would rush to it
upon the approach of the train, and scurry away to their holes
from fancied danger.

Lajunta, Col., to Algodonnes, X. M., June •■'>•'.

Great P.lue Heron.
Killdeer.
^Mourning Dove.
•Turkey Vulture.
Zone- tailed Hawk.
Svvainson's Hawk.
Ferrujjji nous Rouv^h-leti.
Prairie Falcon.
Desert Sparrow Hawk.
Burrowintr Owl.
Lewis's Woodpecker.
Sennett's Nit^hthawk.
Kingbird.

Arkansas Kingbird.
Cassin's Kingbird.
Say's Phoebe.
Desert Horned Lark.
American IMagpie.
White-necked Raven

American Crow.

Red- winged Blackbird.

Western Meadowlark.

House Flinch.

Arkansas (ioldfinch.

Western Lark Sparrow.

Western Chipping Sparrow.

Abert's Towhee.

Dickcissel.

Lark Bunting.

Purple Martin.

Cliff Swallow.

Barn Swallow.

\'iolet-green .Swallow.

Bank Swallow.

White-rumped Shrike.

Long-tailed Clial.

Rock Wren.

Western Robin.

Nothing more need be said of the Rio Orande horizon
than that we stumbled upon the nest of a Long-tailed Chat

lUI.Lin'IX No :xi.

V.i

while beating our way through the willow tangles of the east
bottom. One of the three fresh eggs was a Cowbird's.

Rio Grande River, Thornton, N. M., June •')() to July 1

Spotted Saiulpi]K-r.

Kilkleer.

Mourning Dove.

Desert vSparrow Hawk.

Burrowing Owl

California Cuckoo.

Broad-tailed Hutnniinghird.

Arkansas Kingbird.

Cassin's Kingbird.

Western Wood Pewee.

American Crow.

Desert Horned Lark.

Cowbird.

Red-win<red Blackbird.

Western Meadowlark.
Arkan.sas Goldfinch.
Hou.se Finch.
Cassin's Purple Finch.
Western Lark Sparrow.
Black-headed Grosbeak.
Western Blue Grosbeak
Barn Swallow.
Bank Swallow.
Yellow \\'arbler.
Long-tailed Chat.
Western Yellow-throat.
Mockingbird
Catbird.

July i^nd, on board train.

The only notable species seen during the ride from Thornton to
Flagstaflf were .\merican Raven and Roadrunner.

A brief comparison of our list of San Franci.sco Mountain
birds with that of Dr. Merriam in North American Fauna,
No. 8, pages S7 101, is interesting. It should be' borne in
mind that Dr. Merriam' s work covered all of two months
while we were covering the distance from Flagstaff to the
summit of the highest peak in one whole day between two half
days. W'e were therefore concerned with resident birds and
breeders only. Our bird records were incidental to the moun-
tain scaling. Of the l')l species recorded by Dr. Merriam, a
little over ()<) were possible for us in this limited time. We re-
corded but oo of this number, but found two which do not
appear on Dr. Merriam" s list, Cowbird and Cassin's Purple
Finch. About these two there can be no shade of doubt.
Among the -{"i unrecorded possibilities there are less than ten
probabilities, so that we feel that the cream of the fauna was
gathered even in this incidental way. In such vast reaches
one needs far more time for study than we could possibly
afford.

14

p.ri.LRTiN No. :n.

Flagstaff, Arizona, Jul}' 2,
Mourning Dove.
Turke\' Vulture.
Western Red-tail.
Ferruginous Rough -leg.
Golden Eagle.
Desert Sparrow Hawk.
Western Horned Owl.
Burrowing Owl.
Cabanis's Woodpecker.
Red-shafted Flicker.
Western Nighthawk.
White-throated Swift.
Broad-tailed Hummingbird.
Cassin's Kingbird.
Western Wood Pevvee.
Wright's Flj-catcher.
Long-crested Jay
White-necked Raven.
Clark's Nutcracker.

4. San Francisco Mountains.

Cow^bird.

Brewer's Blackbird.
Cassin's Purple Finch.
Arkansas Goldfinch.
Western Lark Sparrow.
Western Chipping Sparrow.
Red-backed Junco.
Louisiana Tanager.
\'iolet Green Swallow.
Plumbeous Vireo.
Audubon's Warbler.
Rockt Mountain Creeper.
Rock Wren.
Western House Wren.
Mountain Chickadee.
Pygmy Nuthatch.
Western Robin.
Chestnnt-backed Bluebird.
Mountain Bluebird.

The Colorado River horizon ^ at Mellen, Arizona, was the
last joint horizon of the outward trip. The chief interest at-
taching to this place was the tropical character of the fauna
and flora — and the weather ! We were grateftil to a band of
Sonoran Red-wings for worrying a Spotted Owl from his hid-
ing place. Bendire's Thrasher spent the morning singing to
us. Far in the distance there .sounded a voice sympathising
with Poor-Will as he lay upon his sand couch amid hungry
mosquitoes. But the waning moon brought rest.

Colorado River, Mellen, Ariz., July o.

Killdeer.

Gambel's Partridge.

Mourning Dove.

Turkey \'ulture.

Spotted Owl.

California Cuckoo.

Texan Woodj^ecker.

Poor-will.

Western Nighthawk .

Arkansas Kingbird.

Ash-throated Flycatcher.

Traill's Flycatcher.

Cowbird.

Sonoran Red-wang.

Bullock's Oriole.

Yellow-headed lilackbird.
House Finch.
Desert Song Sparrow.
\\'estern Blue Grosbeak.
Arizona Cardinal.
Cliff Swallow.
Rough-winged Swallow.
Cooper's Tanager.
Least Vireo.
Yellow Warbler.
Long-tailed Chat.
Western Cruatcatcher.
Verdin.

Bendire's Thrasher.
Western Robin.

I'.rLLKTIN No. X', ir.

Between Flagstaff and Melleii, on July 4, I'inon Jay an<l Scorched
Horned Lark were added to our lists.

At about 2 o'clock on the morning of July <)th our ways
parted for a time. Mine to visit relatives in Pasadena, Cali-
fornia, Dawson's to be with his family in Blaine, Washington.
It was an unfair advantage which the lone wanderer naturally
had over the man of family ties, for Los Angeles county- was
richer in new .species than an}- other region visited. It was to
the writer a veritable bird paradise. But we must not be
too hasty.

By morning twilight we were racing down the west side
of the Coa.st Range away from the sun. As we looked out to-
ward the Pacific it seemed to approach us far more rapidly than
we were coasting down the mountain side. Yonder loomed
Catalina, and over there the other rocky masses seemed to float
over the rolling billows. Now I began to appreciate the per-
fect transparency of the air of this wonderful western region,
for I knew that those islands must be many miles away.
But — Presto I before I could gather my.self together we
plunged into a dense fog bank that was rolling up the moun-
tain side. My islands were mountain peaks ! There were no
birds to be seen in this thick cloud, but as we descended and
the cloud rose, the mistiness gave place to a heavy morning
air, saturated, bttt clear below the clotid bank.

As we neared San Bernardino and passed through and
beyond it. I was struck by the marked similarity of the appear-
ance of the country to my old home country in central Iowa.
I felt almost like a wanderer come home again. Soon, as we
sped down and on. the apple orchards (?) gave place to apri-
cots, prunes, lemons, oranges in regular procession. It was
garden, desert, garden, de.sert, garden, the lines sharply drawn
between them. My time was poorly divided between the birds
and the country and fruit, but there were a few interesting
bird records. The Mexican Horned Larks, California Wood-
peckers, Turkey X'ultures, Magpies and Mockingbirds, seemed
to invite attention. A bevy of Valley Partridges scurried
away from the fl>ing train. I was wondering how much fur-
ther away Pasadena might be when a chance glance from the
window sent me scurrying for the door with bag and baggage.
Eight vear's in middle life makes little change in one's friends.

i(i I'.rijjvTiN No. ;v?.

There is no need to sing the praises of Pasadena, for they
have been sung already far more enticingly than I could hope
to. It is a beautiful place whose growth in all ways can be
checked only by the upheaval of another chain of mountains
where the ocean bathers now battle with the surf. We do not
anticipate such a calamity will befall soon !

While the object of my visit was to renew acquaintance
with relatives and friends, which there is no need to dwell upon
here, it would have been both ungrateful and impossible to ig-
nore the bird life. The birds are one of the chief charms of
this unusually favored city. Some of them thrust themselves
upon your notice, while some entice your attention away.

During the .eight full days spent in Los Angeles county
visits were made to Mount Lowe, elevation ()1()() feet. Long
Beach and Terminal Island, Los Angeles with its numerous
lakes and parks, Baldwin's Ranch and the surrounding mesas
and arroyos and the mountain canons. A half day clambering
over the tules of a small lake or large pond south of Pasadena,
was fruitful in results. Here Coots, Pied-bill Grebes, Florida
Gallinule, Black-crowned Night Herons, Bitterns, Tule Wrens
and other species found their way into the note-book. The
Black Phcebe was in evidence here. It was here also that the
Phainopepla was best seen and studied, but many more were
seen in the orange groves and about the pepper trees.

On the way to Long Beach a Roadrunner very kindly
trotted out into the open, affording an excellent study. This
was the only one seen by the writer during the whole trip. At
the beach Western Gulls were seen flying about in the ofhng,
but there were no other water birds. However, the surf bath-
ing more than atoned for any lack of birds. I wonder if any-
where on our coast line there is better surf bathing. An hour
playing with the huge rollers sped swiftly. I turned longing
eyes upon Santa Catalina, but sufficient time could not be
given to that trip. There was some consolation in knowing
that the time of year was not the most propitious for the bird
student over there.

Mount Lowe was by no means the least interesting inci-
dent of my short stay. It was here that the Black-throated
Gray Warbler danced and sang to me by the half hour. He
needed no invitation to perch and sing within three feet of my

luj.urrix No. •.):]. 17

nose. Around the summit White-throated Swifts made merry,
their long pointed wings cutting the air into bewildering zig-
zags. But we cannot stop to tell all the secrets which the
mountain gave up.

The reader will remember that Pasadena is the home of
Mrs. Elizabeth and her son, Joseph Grinnell. The hour spent
in that home with Mrs. Grinnell w^as the most entertaining
and profitable of my stay in the city. The lawn and garden
are strictl}' set apart for the birds, and they show their appre-
ciation of this attention by coming in numbers to make their
homes. The little book which mother and son have written,
" Our Feathered Friends," is but the natural outgrowth of this
appreciative friendship for the birds and a longing to guide the
steps of the children into this same friendship instead of the
usual carelessness of bird life. Would that more of our lawns
and gardens were planned for the birds.

Pasadena w^ill rest in memory as a bird paradise.
Here no less than thirty-eight of the eighty-three species re-
corded were new to my life list, while twenty-eight species
were seen here and nowhere else during the entire trip. But
this is not all. Birds are everywhere in Pasadena. Mocking-
birds greet you from every house-top at all times of day and
night. Goldfinches, towhees and hummingbirds of several
kinds are everywhere. Brewer's Blackbird adds tone by con-
trast to the tropical splendor all about. But I cannot begin to
tell — \'ou must go and see for yourself.

Los Angeles County, Cal., July (> to 12*.

I'ied-billeil Grebe. Brewer's Blackbird.

Western Gull. Cassin's Purple Finch.

American Bittern. House Finch.

Black-crowned Night Heron Willow CToldfinch.

Florida (iallinule. Arkansas Goldfinch.

American Coot. Western Lark Sparrow.

Spotted Sandpiper. Western Chipping Sparrow.

Killdeer. Brewer's Sparrow.

Plumed Partridge. Thurber's J unco.

Valley Partridge Heemian's Song Sparrow.

^Mourning Dove. Samuel's Song Sparrow.

Turkey \'ulture. Spurred Towhee.

Bald Eagle. Cireen-tailed Towhee.

Prairie Falcon. Anthony's Towhee.

Desert Sparrow Hawk. Western Martin.

18

r,rij<i"rix x<> :}:{.

Road-runner
California Cuckoo.
Belted Kingfisher.
Cabanis's Woodpecker.
Gairdner's Woodpecker.
California Woodpecker.
Red-shafted Hicker.
Texan Nighthawk.
White-throated Swift.
Black-chinned Hummingbird.
Anna's Hummingbird.
Rufous Hummingbird.
Calliope Hummingbird.
Arkansas Kingbird.
Ash-throated Flycatcher.
Black Phoebe.
Western Wood Pewee.
Western Flycatcher.
Traill's Fl3-catcher.
Mexican Horned Lark.
Blue-fronted Jaw
American Crow.
Red-winged Blackbird.
Tricolored Blackbird.
Western Meadowlark.
Arizona Hooded Oriole.
Bullock's Oriole.

Violet Green Swallow.
Bank Swallow.
Phainopepla.
California Shrike.
Warbling Vireo.
Cassin's Vireo.
Hutton's Vireo.
Least Vireo.
Vellow- Warbler.
Audubon's Warbler.
Black-throated Gray Warbler.
Western Yellow-throat.
Long-tailed Chat.
Mockingbird.
California Thrasher.
Pasadena Thrasher.
Rock Wren.
Dotted Canon Wren.
Western Winter Wren.
Tule Wren.
]\Iountain Chickadee.
California Bush-Tit.
Western Gnatcatcher.
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher.
Western Robin.
Western Bluebird.

The first twilight of Jtily 14 found us well out upon the
desert again spinning toward San Francisco. Nothing of spe-
cial interest was seen until we reached Oakland. During the
quarter hour wait on the pier a fine specimen of Pink-footed
Shearwater paid me a visit. From concealment it was easy to
make out the distinctive features, for the bird came within one
hundred feet of the infallible Binoculars. While crossing the
bay numerous California Murres forgot to dive until we were
almost above them. Western Gulls were feeding and sporting
over the ba3^

Majave to vSan Franci.sco, Cal., Juh' 14,

California Murre.
Western Gull.
Pink-footed Shearwater.
Great Blue Heron.

Lewis' Woodpecker.
Arkan.sas Kingbird.
Mexican Horned Lark.
American Raven.

• lU'ijjvTiN Xo. :j:5. 19

(>reen Heron American Crow.

Mountain Parlrid^'e. Brewer's Hlackl)ird.

Mourning Dove. Western Meadowlark.

Turkey Vulture. House Finch.

Desert Sparrow Hawk. California Shrike.

]5urrowin<( Owl. Cliff Swallow

July 1') and IC), aljoard train, placed Ruddy Horned Lark
and California Jay upon my life list, but otherwise they were
uninteresting bird-wise. Perhaps it was on account of the
mountain scenery that the birds were not more in evidence.
Shasta was my first snow-clad peak. You who have seen the
snow peaks need no description of mine. You, for whom that
pleasure is an anticipation, could not understand my feelings
if it were possible to describe them. The only proper thing to
do, in the presence of that giant, .seemed to be to get up there
on his highest pinnacle.

Anderson, Cal., to Glendale. Ore., July 1"); and Albany to
^ Portland, Ore., July K').

IMountain Partrid,ije. American Crow.

IMourninj^ Dove. Red-winged Blackbird.

Desert Sparrow Hawk Brewer's Blackbird.

Belted Kingfisher. Western Meadowlark.

California Woodpecker. Heeman's Song Sparrow.

Arkansas Kingbird. Western Chipping Sparrow.

Ruddy Horned I^ark. Western INIartin.

California Jay. Cliff Swallow.

American Raven. Violet Crreen vSwallow.

At Portland, Ore., on July \i\ there was time between
trains to climb the hill west of the city where Streaked Horned
Lark, Gambers Sparrow and Russet-backed Thrush were
added to the li.st. It was on this height that the lifting clouds
revealed the icy cap of St. Helens. It was not until the
Columbia river was behind us that I e\en suspected the pres-
ence of other snow-clad peaks, because not until now did the
clouds break awa>-. I feel certain of being forgiven for the
break in the bird record after Adams and Ranier joined St.
Helens to form as matchless a company of snow-clads as any-
where graces a landscape. As we wound around now toward

•20 BrijjrriN No. :5;j *

them, now away they were always changing, reveahng some
hidden grandeur or beauty. It was a glorious interlude.

Portland, Ore., July IC).

Oreat Blue Heron. Tree Swallosv.

Belted Kingfisher. Violet Green vSwallow.

♦ Gairdner's Woodpecker. Cliflf Swallow.

Western Wood Pewee. Bank Swallow.

Streaked Horned Lark Louisiana Tanager.

American Crow. Cassin's Vireo.

American (xoldfinch. Yellow Warbler.

Gambel's Sparrow. Russet-backed Thrush.

Western Chipping Sparrow Western Robin.

A water .sprite .spirited me away from Seattle, landing me
at Everett in the dead of night. It was miserably cold, and
nowhere could even so much as a cot be found at that time
of night. Those three miserable hours stretched out into
weeks. But with the dawn came the birds and some degree of
comfort physically. Not until mid-afternoon did Dawson ap-
pear. Meanwhile the hill overlooking the bay and town had
given up its secrets. No less than thirteen species added
themselves to my list of personal acquaintances. Chief among
these were Pileolated and Macgillivray's Warblers, Red-
breasted Sapsucker and Oregon Towhee. They seemed anx-
ious to know who and what I was, and they sang for me by
the half hour.

Everett, Wash., July 17.

Bonaparte's Gull. Lazuli Bunting.

Western Red-tailed Hawk. Black-headed Grosbeak,

Desert Sparrow Hawk. Oregon Towhee.

Harris's Woodpecker. Louisiana Tanager.

Red-breasted Sapsucker. Warbling Vireo.

Belted Kingfisher. Macgillivray's Warbler.

Vaux's Swift. Pileolated Warbler.

Olive-sided Flycatcher. Bank Swallow.

Hammond's Flycatcher. Oregon Chickadee.

Northwest Crow. Russet-backsd Thrush.

Rust}' Song Sparrow. Western Robin.

The distance from Everett to Wenatchee was covered
during the night. The "Switch-back" climb over the moun-
tains was a novel experience. Now a tunnel greatly shortens

itrij.ivTix .\(i. :v.i 21

the distance and the time over the Great Northern, l)oth east
and west. As each forward and backward switch brought the
summit nearer, the air became sharp and the lights in the
valley far below were a cluster of dots about the tunnel's
mouth.

Once out upon the surging, boiling waters of the Colum-
bia, swinging from bank to bauk, away from the tortuous
currents, birds agaiu became the absorbing interest. The
Red-breasted Mergansers were unwilling to leave the water, but
literally flew through it in their haste to get away. Perhaps
it would be nearer fact if I .should say that they ran on all
fours over the water. One got the impression that they used
their wings alternately instead of .simultaneou.sly, but that
may have been an optical illusion. In either ca.se they were
making no effort to rise above the water, for they ran across
the whole width of the river in this way.

It would, perhaps, have been fairer to separate the Co-
lumbia River horizon from the Lake Chelan hori/.on, since we
spent one afternoon on the shore of this beautiful lake, and
one morning with a whole day between ; but the physical con-
ditions were so similar that the horizons would have been
materiall}- the same. Indeed, Lake Chelan owes its existence
to the terrace of the Columbia which chokes the mouth of the
great gorge in which the lake lies. The larger and older river
has scoured out a valley upon which the debris of the tow-er-
ing mountains finds a resting place, but along the course of
the lake the only habitable .spots have been built up by the
detritus at the mouths of the side canons. But for these side
canons with their streams of ice water, it would be a perfectly
walled lake on each side, with walls towering to thousands of
feet above water level and with their foundations 2(>()() feet
below. Birds were not numerous here, yet they were in evi-
dence ever}' where.

Columbia River and Lake Chelan, Wash., July 1'^, !!•. -!<>.

Loon. Say's Plutbe.

Bonaparte's Ciiill. American ]\Iaj<pie.

Red-breasted Merijanser. American Crow.

Great Blue Heron. Bullock's (Oriole.

Spotted Sandpiper. Western Meadowlark.

K'illdeer. Brewer's Blackbird.

r.rivi.KTiN No. :«.

Mourning Dove.
Ferruginous Rough-le^
Prairie Falcon.
Duck Hawk.
Desert Sparrow Hawk.
Pigeon Hawk.
Richardson's Merlin
Belted Kingfisher.
Lewis's Woodpecker.
Red-shafted Flicker.
Rufous Hummingbird.
Kingbird.

Arkansas KingV>ird.
Western Wood Pewee.

American Ooldfinch.
Western Chipping Sparrow.
Rusty Song Sparrow.
Spurred Towhee.
Louisiana Tanager.
-Cliff Swallow.
Bank Swallow.
Rough-winged Swallow.
White-rumped vShrike.
Warbling Vireo.
Cassin's Vireo.
Yellow Warbler.
•Catbird.
Western Robin.

It was interesting to note the changes in bird-life as we
climbed to higher altitudes. In the Stehekin valley, in the
dense .shrubbery, Russet-backed Thrushes sang, while in the
highest reaches of the mountain side we listened to the sweeter
notes of the Dwarf Hermit Thrush. In the valey Rusty Song
Sparrow made merry, while on the mountain top Hepburn's
Leucosticte complained to his mate. Up the almost continuous
cascade of Pershall Creek the Dipper haunted the waters like
a phantom. But for the fire-wrecked forests bird life would
doubtless have been more abundant, for iti the remnants of the
forest the birds were numerous. No insect-eating bird could
find an excuse for going hungry here. With my clumsy
hands I caught and killed over 8(10 deer flies in fifteen
minutes.

One is impressed with the fact (or coincidence ?) that the
majority of the birds are no fonder of the wilderness than are
the majority of mankind, or else that birds and men are kin in
preferring the same regions. All along the government train
from Stehekin to the Skagit River, birds were far more num-
erous than in the mountain fastnesses. To be sure, it is large-
ly, but not wholly, valley. But here, also, men may be found
ever 3^ da3^

vStehekin to Wright's Peak and return. July 21 to 'Kk

Baird's Sandpiper.
Spotted Sandpiper.
Sooty Ci rouse.
I'Vanklin's Grouse.
White-tailed Ptarmisian.

Brewer'.s Sparrow.
Oregon Junco.
Rust}' Song .Sparrow.
Louisiana Tanager.
Barn Swallow.

uruj-TiN No. .'n

23

(jolden Eajj;le.
Bald Ka^le.
Richardson's Merlin.
Desert Sparrow Hawk.
Belted Kinj^fisher.
Harris's Woodpecker.
Red-shafted Flicker.
Vaux's Swift.
Rufous Hummer.
Olive-sided F'l^catcher.
Western Flycatcher.
Black-headed Jay.
Clark's Nutcracker.
Cassin'si'urple Finch.
White-winj^ed Crossbill.
Hepburn's Leucosticte.
Pine Si.skin.

X'iolet (ireen Swallow.

Cassin's Vireo.

Calaveras Warbler.

Audubon's Warbler.

Macgillivra\''s Warbler.

American Dipper.

Rock Wren.

Western Winter Wren.

Rocky Mountain Creeper.

Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Western (rolden-crovvned Kinglet.

Townseud's Solitaire.

Ru.sset-backed Thrush.

Dwarf Hermit Thrush.

Western Robin.

Arctic Bluebird.

A comparison of the li.st which follows with that which
precedes will show that while the ntiinber of species is almost
the same, there are some interesting differences, due partl}^ to
topography, partly to progress westward. All was valley,
practically, except the climb tip the eastern side of the pass.

Stehekin to Summit Ca.scade Pass, Jul}- 27, 2'S, :>().

Spotted Sandpiper.
Dusky Grouse.
Gray Ruffed Grousp.
Western Goshawk.
Desert Sparrow Hawk.
Belted Kingfi.sher.
Pileated Woodpecker.
Red-shafted Flicker.
Western Nighthawk.
Vaux's Swift.
Black Swift.
Calliope Huinmingbinl.
Olive-sided Flycatcher.
Western Wood Pewee.
Black-headed Jay.
Clark's Nutcracker.
Pine Si-skin.
Cassin's Purple Finch.
Western Chipping Sparrow.
Rusty Song Sparrow.
Arctic Towhee.
Lazuli Finch

Louisiana Tanager.

Violet Green Swallow.

Cedar Waxwing.

Warbling Vireo.

Cassin's Vireo.

Calaveras Warbler

Lutescent Warbler.

Vellow Warbler.

Hermit Warbler.

Pileolated Warbler.

Catbird.

Western Winter Wren.

Rockv Mountain Creeper.

Red-brea.sted Nuthatch.

Mountain Chickadee.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee.

Western (Tolden-crownetl Kinglet.

Townseud's Solitaire.

Russet-backed Thru.sh.

Western Robin.

A'aried Thrush

Mountain Blue))ird

24 lU'LIJ-rriN No. :VA.

We have left Dawson on the mountain-top, revelling
in the wild scenerj' of the Cascade summit. For mountain
scenery this is certainly the climax of our travels. The
greater humidity and consequent greater erosion on this side
of the Cascades has sculptured the mountains of rocks into
huge pillars, over which cloud masses rest. Here, too, the
trees are at least a third taller than those on the other side,
and the brush)^ jungles are correspondingly impenetrable.
Huge trees seem to delight in completely blocking the trail.

The descent of the western side of the pass to the Ca.scade
River level consumed the rest of the morning. After a lunch
of Grape-nuts and water, and huckleberries whicli are abun-
dant on this slope, we dragged our blistered feet down the
trail toward the Skagit River. The monotony of the forced
march was pleasantly relieved by the notes of Varied Thrush,
by the chatter of the jays in the tree tops, and by the excited
cries of warblers in the brush fringing the trail. Dippers were
diving for dinner into the rapids ; one would scarcely step
aside where we cros.sed the mouth of a rushing torrent. A
gray old Bald Eagle refused to be startled from his favorite
perch just across the river, but sat and gazed at us while we
studied him at leisure and then pa.ssed on. But the longest
journey has an end. The ferry put the first stage of our return
behind us. But we cannot dwell upon the experiences which
followed on the remainder of the homeward march. How, oh
the second day, too foot-sore to tramp further, we built a
raft on which we floated ten dangerous miles down the Skagit
without a mishap other than a severe shaking up as we bumped
over one riffle. Of the early morning start in a driving rain to
catch the stage four miles beyond, and of the stage ride over
stretches of corduroy road, root road and gullied road, on the
keen jump ; when we were not holding the seat down it was
gathering itself to receive us lovingly, vigorously! But not
even physical discomforts could turn our notice away from the
abiuidant Ospreys, Ravens and Northwest Crows, along the
river's ceurse.

Skagit River, Aug. 1 .

Great Blue Heron. Northwest Crow.

Spotted Sandpiper. American Crossbill.

American Ospre}-. Rusty Son<T Sparrow.

Hnj.KTIN No. :{.•{.

25

Belted Kingfisher.
Harris's Woodpecker.
Northwest Flicker.
Vaux's Swift.
Olive-sided Flycatcher.
Western Flycatcher.
Hammond's Flycatcher
Traill's Flycatcher.
Steller's Jay.
American Raven.

Oregon Towhee.
Black-headed Oro.shcak.
Barn vSwallow.
Bank Swallow.
Violet Green Swallow.
Warbling Vireo.
Audubon's Warbler.
Slender-billed Nuthatch .
Oregon Chickadee.
Russet-backed Thrush.

All afternoon, niorht and morning, spent between Mount
Vernon and Burlington, proved fruitful in species. It was
here that Vigor's Wren mocked our efforts to make his ac-
quaintance. The elusive Pileated Woodpecker gave us the
merest glimpse, but Lewis's Woodpecker was very much in
evidence. Steller's Jay was e\-erywhere, and even more talk-
ative than his eastern cousin. Oregon Junco, Oregon Towhee,
Oregon Chickadee, .seemed to feel a community of interest.

Burlington, \\'a.sh., Aug. 2 ».

California Partridge.

Band-tailed Pigeon.

Desert Sparrow Hawk.

American Osprev.

Belted Kingfisher.

Harris's Woodpecker.

I'ileated Woodpecker.

Lewis's Woodpecker.

Northwest Flicker.

Vaux's Swift.
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Flycatcher.
Traill's Flycatcher.
Hammond's Flycatcher.
Steller's Jav.
American Raven.
Northwest Crow.
Bullock's Oriole.
Western Meadowlark.
Brewer's Blackbird
American Crossbill.
Cassin's Purple Finch

Oregon Junco.

Gambel's .Sparrow.

Rusty Song Sparrow.

Oregon Towhee.

Black-headed Grosbeak.

Lazuli Finch.

Louisiana Tanager.

Barn Swallow

\'iolet Green Swallow.
Tree Swallow.
Bank Swallow
Yellow Warbler.

Western Yellow-throat.

Western Winter Wren.

\'igor's Wren.

Oregon Chickadee

Western Golden-crowned Kinglet.

Russet-backed Thrush.

\'aried Thrush

Western Robin.

Western Bluebird.

On the homeward stretch we were too much excited over
the prospect of seeing familiar faces once more to notice birds.

2(5 BI'LLKTIX Xo n:'..

A chance glance from the window caught a Turkey Vulture on
the wing — a rarit}- here. At Whatcom gulls swarmed over
the bay.

The four days spent at Blaine were not wholly given to
bird study, yet some effort was made to make a fairly accurate
survey of the species to be found at this time of year. One
half day was given to the Canadian shore line, when the Loon,
Marbled Murrelet and Pigeon Guillemot were added to the
list. One half day on the waters of the bay, and another
baking clams on the sand spit, clinched our records of the
three gulls, the two Scoters and Old-vSquaw, and added five
sandpipers and the Black Brant. It seemed a wonder that so
many commonl}^ supposed northern birds should be here. The
boating trip proved that they were wounded birds, unable to
accomplish the long northward journey. They haunted the
long rafts with gulls, terns and sandpipers, and clumsily wad-
dled into the water upon the approach of danger. Bonaparte's
Gull, by far the commonest bird about the bay, constantly
hovered about the salmon canning plants and the reducing
plant during the da}-, and many roosted under them and under
the walks from .shore to buildings, during the night. At low
tide gulls and sandpipers followed the waters to and fro over
the mud and sand flats, feeding upon whatever might be
stranded, but during high tide the larger gulls, with most of
the .smaller ones and ducks and sandpipers, waited patientl)- on
the rafts, for the turn of the tide. They literally covered the.se
.small rafts, and rose from them, on our approach, in a cloud.

Blaine, Wa.shington. Aug. 4-S.

Loon. Western Flycatcher.

Marbled Mnrrelet. Hannnond'.s Flycatcher.

Pigeon Guillemot. Northwest Crow.

Western Ciull. Western Meadowlark.

California Gull. Cassin's Finch.

Bonaparte's Gull. Pine Siskin.

Common Tern. GambePs Sparrow.

Old-Squaw. Western Chipping Sparrow.

White-winged Scoter. Soot}- Song Sparrow.

vSurf Scoter. Oregon Towhee.

Black Brant. Black-headed Gro.sbeak.

Great Blue Heron I^azuli Finch.

Baird's Sandpi])er. Cliil" Swallow.

P.rKLIvTIN No.

27

Seinipal mated Saii(l])iper.
Western San<lpiper.
Western vSolitary SandpijxT.
Spotted Sandpiper.
Rand-tailed I'ii^eon.
American (Xsprey.
Desert Sparrow Hawk.
Belted Kingfisher.
Lewis's Woodpecker.
Northwest Flicker.
Western Xighthawk.
Black Swift.
Vaux's Swift.
Allen's Hiiniminy1)ird.

Barn Swallow-
Tree Swallow.
Bank Swallow.
Rough-winged Swallow
Cassin's Vireo.
Cedar Waxwing.
Yellow Warbler.
Audubon's Warbler.
Parktnan's Wren.
\'igor's Wren.
Oregon Chickadee.
Ru.s.set-backed Thrusli.
We.stern Robin.
Western Bluebird.

The lonely homeward jotirney began when the boat .swung
free of the wharf at Blaine, at about three o'clock in the after-
noon of August 20. If we could believe that every parting was
but the promise of another meeting we should avoid a great
deal of sadness.

Beyond the long slender sand spit, beyond the forest of
salmon nets, everywhere, even into the fading twilight,
swarmed the gulls and scoters, while an occasional flock of
sandpipers scurried across our bows. The white caps of the
distant Olympics threw back the rays of the setting sun.
Surely the setting of these Thousand Isles of the Pacific
cannot be rivalled in an)- land. The islands themselves are
diversified beauty and grandeur, still po.ssessing, in large
measure, their primitive characters.

Morning dawned upon a birdless waste of water, but Vjy
full day the gulls had awakened and ducks had come out of
their hiding places. But these do not appear in the da3''s
horizon. Onh- those are entered which could be seen from the
wharf after arrangements had been completed for the overland
joitrney. Only the gulls ventured near enough to the wharf-
to be .seen clearly.

It was an interesting and varied land.scape that passed
in review during the day's ride from Seattle to Pasco — from
tide water, over the most humid stretch of country in the land,
up and over the Cascade range, down the course of the Yakima
River to and across the Columbia. Naturally the bird life was
varied, yet scarcely equalling the topography in that respect.
Nothing new appeared until we were racing down the east side

•28 BULLKTIX No. 38.

of the Cascades, when a .short stop near EHensbiirg gave the
opportunity to see satisfactoril}^ the Mountain Song Sparrow.
Further along, beyond Dawson's late parish — Ahtanum — in
the sage bru.sh region of Toppenish, I was made glad by the
sight of a flock or small company of Sage Grouse as they
clumsil}' made way for the train. Many times during the re-
mainder of the day, as well as on the following day, the Sage
Grouse left the track on the approach of the train. The
The Dusky Horned Lark was the last addition to my life list
for the day, as we approached the Columbia River.

vSeattle to Pasco, Wash. Aug. 10.

California Gull. Arkansas Kinj^binl.

Western Gull. Streaked Horned Lark.

Bonaparte's Crull. Dusk)' Horned Lark.

American Coot. American Magpie.

Spotted Sandpiper. American Raven,

Killdeer. American Crow.

Sage Grouse. Northwest Crow.

California Partridge. Western Meadowlark.

Mourning Dove. ~ Brewer's Blackbird.

Turke}- Vulture. Cassin's Purple Finch.

Swainson's Hawk. Mountain Song Sparrow.

Prairie Falcon. Sooty Song Sparrow.

Richardson's Merlin. Oregon Towhee.

Desert Sparrow Hawk. Barn Swallow.

Belted Kingfisher. Bank Swallow.

Lewis's Woodpecker. White-rumped Shrike.

Northwest Flicker. Oregon Chickadee.

\\'estern Nighthawk. Western Robin.

Kingbird. Western Bluebird

Daylight left us creeping over the sage brtish plains and
hills of south-eastern Washington, but found us again safely
in Montana, hemmed into the valley of the North Fork of the
Columbia. This was August 11, a day with manj' pleasant
surprises. The first surprise came while w^e were toiling up a
sharp grade at a slow walk. On a small pond beside the track
a flock of Cinnamon Teal sat undisturbed while we passed.
Not far bej'ond a smaller flock took wing and 'went to join the
others. Along the bottoms of the Flathead River Western
Vesper Sparrows were playing the same antics I have so often
seen in their eastern relatives. At Missoula Bobolinks took

lU'LLKTIX No :]:]. -29

me wholl}' by surprise. Nor was I jirepared to see so many
White-winged Scoters on the head waters of the Missouri.
Just before we reached Bozeman, during a gentle shower, Arc-
tic Towhee came into view, and in a field just beyond the out-
skirts of the city a family of Columbian Sharp-tailed Orouse
skurried awaj' under the fence. Thus ended the second day
ornithologically, but not meteorologically. During the day
there had been an ever increasing indication of trouble ahead,
but nothing definite could be learned. The rumors of a great
washout on the Yellowstone be^'ond Billings began to die out
as darkness settled down upon the walled valley of this great
river. Near midnight our dreams of the green fields of the old
home were rudely dispelled by the summons to leave the train.
A few moments later the intelligence that no trains would
leave Billings for three days came rather startlingly, but even
midnight wayfarers can find where to lay their heads. There
had been a great cloud-burst in the Yellowstone valley which
left broken embankments and ruined bridges in its wake.

Thompson's Falls to Livingston, Mont. Aug. 11.

Cinnamon Teal. Arkansas Kins(bird.

White-vvinji^ed Scoter. Say's Phoebe.

Great Blue Heron. Desert Horned Lark.

Spotted Sandpiper. American Magpie.

Killdeer. American Crow.
Columbian Sharp-taileil Grouse. Bobolink.

Mourning Dove. Brewer's BlackVnrd.

Mar.sh Hawk, Pine Siskin.

Sharp-shinned Hawk. Western \'esper Sparrow.

Swainson's Hawk Western Lark Sparrow.

P'erruginous Rough-leg. Mountain Song Sparrow.

Desert Sparrow Hawk. Arctic Towhee

American Osprey. Green-tailed Towhee.

Belted Kingfisher. Black-headed Gro.sbeak.

Lewis's Woodpecker. Barn Swallow

Red-shafted Flicker. Bank Swallow.

Western Nighthawk. Yellow Warbler. '

Kingbird. We.stern Robin.

^Mountain BluelHrd

Serious as delay at fir.st appeared, it proved a boon in real-
ity, for the opportunity to study the birds of the region was a
rare one. Among the thirty-seven species recorded two were
new to my life list and ten were new to the trip.

;}0 BrivIvKTIN No. :5:5.

Billings lies near the middle of a broad valley made fertile
by irrigation. On three sides the Bad I^ands rise abruptly two
or three hundred feet like a fortification wall. The river
washes the talus from the east and south wall, crossing the
narrowed mouth of tlie valley below the city.

Eastward t()ward the river, in the fenced cattle ranches,
the sage brush and the weeds which grow along the irrigation
ditches afforded shelter for innumerable sparrows, while the
alkali ponds occupying old river beds fairly swarmed with
waders and both Blue and Green- winged Teal. The old birds
flew from me and circled as long as I remained in the vicinit}',
but the young and many of the females lost themselves com-
pletely in the thick growth of rushes. It was at one of these
sinks that a Grinnell's Water-Thrush startled and electrified me
by perching on a stump not four feet awa}', scolding vocifer-
ously. I had started out to climb the higher ea.stern cliff, but
the river turned me back to the northern one. In crossing a
sheep ranch one could not help noticing the entire lack of birds
due to the fact that the sheep had cropped the herbage of every
sort except the cactus, to the ground. There was no refuge
for the birds.

The talus of this north cliff has accumulated to the depth
of nearly a hundred feet from the level of the valle}', and a
convenient crack in the wall of soft stand-stone helped me the
rest of the way to the upper level. The sand-stone is capped
b}^ a relatively thin stratum of poorlj^ cemented conglomerate.
The few stunted trees which cling to the edge of this sand-
stone bluff add picturesqueness to the scene. Here it was
that a troop of Woodhouse's Jays paid me a visit. The}'
worked vig<^rously among the cones in the tree-tops for a few
minutes, then passed nervousl}' on down the valley. Here the
Rock Wren alternately scolded me in true wren fashion and
sang for me when I stood still. In the wind caves and beneath
overhanging rocks Cliff Swallows had hung their bottle nests.
White-throated Swifts vied with each other in cutting the air
into sections about my head, but I could find none of their
nests. At the foot of the bluff Arkansas Kingbirds patrolled
rocks and bushes, while farther out on the level vallex' King-
birds replaced them. Among the outlying hou.sefe Robins and
Bluebirds were feeding and singing.

lU'Li.KTIN No. :vi. :•{!

Early on the morning of August \-'> the Western Meadow-
larks were in full song, making a chorus with Robins, Western
Lark Sparrows and Desert Horned Larks. A flock of Pipits
passed overhead. But we can not stop to call all by name.
The list which follows will do that. What most impresses one
who is familiar with the eastern regions is the almost lack of
birds anywhere out of the valley or at a distance from water.
Under such conditions it is far easier to find the birds than
where we must look for them ever3-where. With an S-power
Bausch and Lomb one can almost sweep the breadth of the
valley from the bluff top.

At about '.) o'clock some good atigel suggested the possi-
bilit}' of a train leaving during the morning. Sure enough,
there was barely time to pack and get back before time to
start." But once aboard the train there seemed to be no hurry!
We did finally start some time after 11 o'clock.

Billings, Mont. Aug. 12-1;'..

Green-winged Teal. Desert Horned Lark.

Blue-winged Teal. \Voo<lhouse'.s Jav.

Lesser Yellow-legs. Western Meadowlark.

Semipalmated Sandpiper. Pine Siskin.

Spotted Sandpiper. American Goldfinch.

Killdeer. Western Savanna vSparrow.

Mourning Dove. Leconte's Sparrow.

Marsh Hawk. Western Lark Sparrow.

Ferruginous Rough-leg. Clay-colored Sj^arrow.

Desert Sparrow Hawk. Western Field Sparrow.

Red-shafted Flicker, Arctic Towhee.

Western Nighthawk. Barn Swallow.

White-throated Swift. Yellow Warl)ler.

Kingbird. Grinnell's Water-Tlirnsh.

Arkansas Kingbird. American Pipit

Sa^'s Phcebe. Rock Wren.

Western Wood Pewee. Western Robin.

Mountain Bluebird.

Progress was slow. Dtiring the afternoon frecjuent and
considerable stops had to be made, both on account of the soft
embankments and on account of a heavier train which had
started some hours in advance. The cloud, in bursting, had
emptied more water close to the south bluff than could find its
way into the natural channels, so it rushed straight on to the
railroad embankment and tunneled it in a Inmdred places with-

32 bullp:tin No. :v.\.

out actually displacing the track, except that whole bridges
were gone from the larger streams. If the stops had been made
between stations the bird list- would have been larger. As it
was Krider's Hawk and Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse exhibited
themselves conspicuously.

Billings to Miles City, Mont. Aug. 18.

Great Blue Heron. Arkansas Kingbird.

Cireater Yellow-legs. Western Meadowlark.

Yellowlegs. Bullock's Oriole.

Western Solitary vSandpiper. Brewer's Blackbird.

Spotted Sandpiper. American Goldfinch.

Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse. Western Vesper Sparrow.

Swainson's Hawk. Western Lark Sparrow.

Krider's Hawk. Barn Swallow.

Desert Sparrow Hawk. Tree Swallow.

American Osprey. Bank Swallow.

Belted Kingfisher. Yellow Warbler.

Red-headed Woodpecker. Catbird.

Red-shafted Flicker. Brown Thrasher.

Western Nighthawk. Chickadee.

White-throated Swift. Western Robin.
Kingbird.

The morning of the 14th found us racing over the plains
of western North Dakota, crossing river valleys and so get-
ting a better impression of the whole countr}-. Bad Land con-
ditions were giving place to the long rolling swells of the vast
prairie region, but .still inadeqtiately watered. Gradually
water became more abundant, gathered into ponds and small
lakes held between the hills. Here waders and swdmmers
swarmed. The sight of the packs of sandpipers resting on the
water or at its edge, of ducks in masses, made m^- fingers tin-
gle, for the species could not even be gtiessed at. Btit there
was no stopping here. We fairly flew^ after the smoking spot
far ahead untl it began to lengthen, and as it careened around
a ctirve, the cars might be counted. Then otir speed .slack-
ened, and once we were obliged to stop on a prairie .switch. Be-
side a ditch j U.St over the fence I made out the motionless form
of a Wilson's Snipe. The poor fellow stood there on one foot
during the whole five minutes of our stay, and did not so much
as wink, for all I could see. The Long-billed Curlew was the
only species added to the life list in North Dakota. At

HrivLKTIN No 33.

:5:5

one place they were numerous. As we neared the Minnesota
line native trees began to put in appearance, and water became
more abundant. But across the river in Minnesota the phj-si-
cal conditions seemed so different that a separate horizon was
kept. It will be .seen from the lists that the bird life was not a
little different also. Doubtless more Minnesota forms would
have been seen in North Dakota if the time of day had been
favorable.

North Dakota. Aug. 14.

Pectoral Sandpi])er.
Vellowle.wjs.
Solitary Sandpiper.
Bartramian Sandpiper.
Long-billed Curlew.
Killdeer.
Prairie Hen.

Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse.
Mourning Dove.
Marsh Hawk.
Swainson's Hawk.
Ferruginous Rough-leg.
Desert Sparrow Hawk.
Prairie Falcon.
Burrowing Owl
Belted Kingfisher.
Western Nighthawk.
Red-headed Woodpecker.
Red-shafted Flicker

Kingbird.

Arkan.'ias Kingbird.
Desert Horned I^rk
American Crow
Bobolink.

Western Meadow lark.
Brewer's Blackbird.
American Goldfinch.
Chestnut-collared Longspur.
Western Vesper Sparrow.
Western Chipping Sparrow.
Song Sparrow.
Lark Bunting.
Cliff Swallow.
Barn Swallow.
White-rumped Shrike.
Red-eyed Vireo.
Brown Thrasher.

in Minnesota timber became more abundant and small
lakes glimmered everywhere. Here and there broken skele-
tons of huge trees told the story of great forest fires, and
brought back the picture of the fire swept mountain sides
bristling with blackened needles. We have passed from the
desert into a garden.

Western Minnesota. Aug. 14.

Pied-billed Grebe.
Blue-winged Teal
Great Blue Heron.
Wilson s Snipe
Greater Yellow -legs.
Vellow-legs.
Mourning Dove.

Nighthawk

Kingbird.

Prairie Horned Lark.

American Crow.

Bobolink.

Redwinge<l Blackbird.

Western Meadowlark

M4 HrLLKTIX No. :{.*$.

Marsh Hawk. Bronzed Cxrackle.

Red-shouldered Hawk American Goldfinch.

Sparrow Hawk. Western Vesper Sparrow.

Black-billed Cuckoo, Song Sparrow.

Belted Kingfisher. Dickcissel.

Red-headed Woodpecker. Barn Swallow,

l-'licker. Yellow Warbler.

' Western Yellow-throat.

At midnight we were in the St. Paul depot, the first train
out leaving at seven the next morning. So far as eyes could
see St. Paul has a midnight closing ordinance, rigidly enforced,
which applies to saloons, hotels and boarding houses indis-
criminately. But the depot was warm and the seats arranged
for one — sitting upright.

The day on which I should again be at my old Iowa home
opened ornithologically as we were crossing the Mississippi
River, where four of the five possible swallows were breakfast-
ing. The bird world had now become wholly familiar, and
beyond the likelihood of introducing anything new, yet it was
none the less interesting. I felt among friends and familiar
acquaintances once more, after weeks of foreign travel. The
greatest interest attached to the changing ph3'sical conditions
well illustrated by the farming interests. Passing through the
distinctively wheat belt and the transition belt, poorly defined
of course, we emerged into the midst of the great corn belt.
Never have I seen such corn ! It was simply a marvellous crop,
barring accidents late in the season. In natural things one
could not help remarking the disappearance of the continuous
or nearly continuous woods of Minnesota, and in its place the
woods-dotted rolling prairies of Iowa. In the more settled
regions Minnesota and Iowa can not be told apart.

St. Paul, Minn., to Grinnell, Iowa. Aug. 15.

(yreater Yellow-legs. Cowbird.

Yellow-legs. Red-winged Blackbird.

Solitary Sandpiper. Meadowlark.

Spotted Sandpiper. Baltimore Oriole.

Mourning Dove. Bronzed Grackle.

Red-tailed Hawk. American Goldfinch.

Broad-winged Hawk. Vesper vSparrow.

Sparrow Hawk. Lark Sparrow

Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Dickcissel.

nrLurriN x... ;{;{.

A-)

Red-headed Woodpecker.

nicker.

Chimney Swift.

Kin,nhird.

IMuebe.

Prairie Horned Lark.

lUne Jay

American Crow.

Bobolink.

Cliff Swallow.
Rarn Swallow.
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow.
White-rumped Slirike.
Yellow Warbler
Western Yellow-throat.
House W^ren
Robin.

Readers of The Bullktix must be familiar with the land-
scape sttrrouiidiiig Grinnell, from former descriptions of mine.
It is but a part of this same woods-dotted rolHng prairie, upon
which countless artificial groves have sprung up with the farm
hou.ses. There is now practically no native prairie in all that
region. In a quarter of a century great changes have taken
place which have .seriousl)- affected some birds, cau.sing more
or le.ss modification in the habits of most of them, but the
fauna is made up of the .same species still.

I was at Grinnell from Augtist 17 to "io, alwaj-s on the
lookout for birds, but making only two special efforts to find
them. One of the.se was an early morning, when ->•> species
w^ere recorded, .some of them fall migrants. The other was an
hour spent in the old home woods where birds first came to be
anything to me. It was mid -afternoon. The wealth of bird
life in this singularly favored spot is attested by ol species
seen. Btit the day of its glory has pas.sed. Next June corn
will spring up where trees have stood for centtiries. One of
mother Nature's pearls has been cast before — but it isn't the
old home any more.

Grinnell, Iowa. Aug. 17-'2').

Yellow-legs.
Spotted Sandpiper.
Bartramian Sandpiper.
Killdeer.
Bob-white.
Mourning Dove.
Cooper's Hawk.
Red-tailed Hawk.
Red-shouldered Hawk.
Sparrow Hawk
Screech Owl.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Bf)bolink.

Red-winged Blackl>ird.
Meadowlark.
Baltimore Oriole.
Orchard Oriole.
Bronzed Crackle.
American Goldfinch.
Field Sparrow.
Towhee.

Rose-breasted Orosbeak.
Indigo Bunting.
Dickcissel.

m

BULI.KTIN No. 3:5

Black-billed Cuckoo.

Hairy Woodpecker.

Downy Woodpecker.

Flicker.

Red-headed Woodpecker.

Whippoorwill.

Nij^hthawk.

Chimne)' Swift

Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Kingbird.

Crested Flycatcher.

Plicebe.

Wood Pewee.

Traill's Flycatcher.

Least Fl}'catcher.

Prairie Horned Lark.

Blue Jay.

American Crow.

Covvbird.

Cliff Swallow.

Barn Swallow.

Bank Swallow.

Rough-winged Swallow.

Bell's Vireo.

Black and White Warbler.

Yellow Warbler.

Western Yellow-throat.

Wilson's Warbler.

Canadian Warbler.

American Redstart

Catbird.

Brown Thrasher.

House Wren.

Short -billed Marsh Wren.

White-breasted Nuthatch.

Chickadee.

American Robin.

Bluebird.

A night and the following half day spent with Mr. Benj.
T. Gault, at his delightful suburban home in Glen EHj'n, 111.,
was a most grateful rest and change from the pu.shing crowds
of the "Windy City." We enjoyed going over together the
ground where Mr. Gault made his " Early Summer Horizons"
for Milton Town.ship, DuPage County. The writer also had
the pleasure of looking upon the bush where the first Kirt-
land's Warbler for Illinois sat. The muddy borders of a
small lake afforded excellent feeding for a company of sand-
pipers, while the surrounding woods were filled with returning
warblers. No less than 4o species showed themselves during
the early twilight tramp. During the post-breakfast walk into
the fields eight more were recorded, making an unusually
good half day's work.

Glen Ellyn, 111. Aug. 28.

Pied-billed Grebe.
Great Blue Heron.
Least Sandpiper.
Yellow-legs.
Solitary Sandpiper.
Spotted Sandpiper.
Mourning Dove.
Red-tailed Hawk.
Red-shouldered Hawk.

Baltimore Oriole.
American Goldfinch.
Field Sparrow.
Song Sparrow.
Rose-breasted Gro.sbeak.
Scarlet Tanager.
Cliff Swallow.
Barn Swallow.
Cedar Waxwing.

BULLKTIX No. .'5.'].

37

Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Belted Kingfisher.

Downy Woodpecker.

Red-headed Woodpecker.

Flicker.

Night hawk.

Chimney Swift.

Kingbird.

Wood Pewee.

Traill's Fh'catcher.

Prairie Horned Lark.

Blue Ja}\

American Crow.

Bobolink.

Red-winged Blackbird.

INIeadowlark.

While-runiped Shrike.
Red-eyed Vireo.
Yellow-throated Vireo.
Black-and-white Warbler.
Tennessee Warbler.
Black-throated Blue Warbler.
Magnolia Warbler.
Blackburnian Warbler.
American Redstart.
Catbird.

Brown Thrasher.
Short-billed IVIarsh Wren.
Chickadee.
Wood Thrush.
Olive-backed Thrush.
American Robin.
Bluebird.

There are occasions when we wish for the abttndance of
time which seems to be at the service of the Orientals. It was
but a short call, scarcely more than a glimpse, with a few of
the man)' Chicago friends. But even a glimpse remains as a
pleasant memory.

The return from Glen Ellyn to Chicago marked the close
of the ornithological reconnoissance, for we left Oberlin at
nightfall and returned during the night. The time covered
was thus exactl}- two months — June '29 to and including August
28. The states traversed are Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New
Mexico, i\rizona, California, Oregon, Wa.shington, Idaho, Mon-
tana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, not to men-
tion a few hotus spent in British Columbia among the Band-
tailed Pigeons. There were stops, from inconsiderable to con-
siderable, in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Washington,
Montana, Iowa and Illinois. Idaho should really be counted
out, since darkness hid it from view. Of course there was
much of the countrj- passed over during the night which cotild
not be seen, and not a few breaks in the bird life, but on the
whole there was far more profit than loss. A second time over
the same ground would no doubt discover some species over-
looked the first time, but under practically the same conditions
there would necessarih' be far smaller results.

The species recorded number oOV), ISl of them being new
to the writer's life list. Of this number ( l^l ) onlv 18 were seen

38 BULLETIN No. 33.

aboard train and then onh^ while the remaining 168 were
approached closely enough to make identification certain, or
were captured. Among these 18 there are none about which
there can be any reasonable doubt. Either the region in
which they were seen made a mistake out of the question, or
else their characters were unmistakable, usuall)- both. Taken
all in all it was a most enjoyable and satisfactory horizon, with
Pasadena the brightest spot. To one who knows onl}' the re-
gion east of the Great Plains the mountain fauna is pretty sure
to be disappointing, even after repeated and urgent warnings
from those who know.. Unknown conditions make an under-
standing of these warnings impossible. But the scenic gran-
deur and beauty of the mountains more than compensate for
the paucity of bird life. I am bound to say, however, that in
my opinion the bird life would not seem so little were it less
difficult to follow the moving companies. It is like an Ohio
winter woods, where one unacquainted with the habits of the
birds may roam the woods for hours without so much as hear-
ing one bird, simply because he does not happen to come upon
one of the roving companies. So on the mountain side one
has to choose his way with great care ; he must wait for the
birds to come to him, for he cannot go to them. But the birds
one sees upon the mountain tops are among the most interest-
ing to be found anywhere. In the wooded vallej^s and canons
there is no lack of individuals. The greatest difficulty here,
on the west side of the Cascades, is the stupendous height of
the trees and the impenetrable tangle of the underbrush.

There can be but one thing better than this reconnois-
sance, and that is another similar one.

Lynds Jones, Oberlin, Ohio.

BULLETIN No, :«.

ERRATA.

39

Page •"), line 10, for "fins" read "fin," and line 23, for

"rules" read "rule."
Page 1<), line 10, for "Pied-bill" read "Pied-billed."
Page 17, left column, 3d name, for " Finch " read " Finch."
Page IS, at bottom, for " Majave" read " Mojave."
Page 22, line o of coarse print, for " valey " read " valley."
Page 24, insert the following horizon :

Cascade River Basin. Jul}- 30-31.

Bonaparte's GulL
Oregon Ruffed Grouse.
White-tailed Ptarmigan.
Band-tailed Pigeon.
Bald Eagle.
Richardson's IMerlin.
Desert Sparrow Hawk.
American Osprey.
Belted Kingfisher.
Harris's Woodpecker.
Pileated AVoodpecker.
Northwest Flickei.
Western Nighthawk.
Black vSwift.
Vaux's Swift.
Allen's Hummingbird.
Rufous Hiinimingbird.
Calliope Hummingbird.
Western Wood Pewee.
Western Flycatcher.
Steller's Jay.
Oregon Jaj'.
Clark's Nutcracker.

American Raven.
Northwest Crow.
Pine Siskin.
Oregon J unco.
Cassin's Purple Finch.
Rusty Song Sparrow.
Black-headed Grosbeak.
Lazuli Finch.
Lutescent Warbler.
Yellow Warbler.
Audubon's Warbler.
Macgillivray's Warbler.
American Pipit.
American Dipper.
Western Winter Wren.
Rocky Mountain Creeper.
Red-breasted Nuthatch.
Chestnut-backed Chickadee.
Western Golden-crowned Kinglet.
Townsend's Solitaire.
Russet-backed Thrush.
Dwarf Hermit Thrush.
Western Robin.
Varied Thrush.

Page 32, line •'*! from bottom, for " untl " read " until.

9-<><><><><><> CH><><><K>CK><><><><><^

Old Series, Vol. XII. New Series, Vol. VII, No. I.

THE WILSON BULLETIN.

No. 30.

Issued Quarterly by the Wilson Ornithological Chapter
of the Agassiz Association.

WARBLER SONGS.

{MxioTiLrrn.^..

BY LYNDS JONES.

Subscription 50 cents a year.

Oberlin, Ohio, January, 1900.

O Eiitircii at t/ie /•ost-njjficf at Oberlin. Ohio, as second-class mail iiiattcr.

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Old Series, Vol. XII. New Series, Vol. VII, No. 2.

THE WIL50N BULLETIN.

No. 31.

Issued Quarterly by the Wilson Ornithological Chapter
of the Agassiz Association.

A MONOGRAPH OF
THE FLICKER.

{COLAPTES A URA TUS. )

BY FRANK L. BURNS.

Price 50 cents.

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Old Series, Vol. XII. New Series, Vol. VIl, No. 3.

THE WILSON BULLETIN.

No. 32.

Issued Quarterly by the Wilson Ornithological Chapter
of the Agassiz Association.

GENERAL NOTES.

EDITED BY LYND5 JONES.

Subscription 50 cents a year.

Oberlin, Ohio, July, 1900.

Entert-d at the post-ojffice at Oberlin. Ohio, as second-class mail matter.

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oo-oo-o-o-

Old Series, Vol. XII

THE WILSON BULLETIN.

No. 33.

issued Quarterly by the Wilson Ornithological Chapter
of the Agassiz Association.

A SUMMER RECONNOISSANCE IN
THE WEST.

BY LYNDS JONES AND W. L. DAWSON

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