•11111111111111111111111 1 III iiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiii 11111111111111111 lit Mil nil 111111111111111111

Dues for 1935

ANNUAL DUES FOR 1935 ARE NOW PAYABLE

This is the Treasurer’s first notice to all members that dues for 1935
are now due and payable to the Treasurer

Mr. W. M. Rosene,

City State Bank,

Ogden, Iowa

You are earnestly requested to remit at your earliest convenience^
thus saving postage to the Club and much time to the Treasurer. A
receipt will be returned only if requested.

Life Members $100.00

Sustaining Members $5.00 Annually

Active Members $2.50 Annually

Associate Members $1.50 Annually

The Club values the continued support of every member, and every
resignation is received with regret.

It is especially desired that members do not neglect payment of their
dues at this time. We are now planning a large March number, to
contain close to one hundred pages, and to avoid loss we will be
forced to limit our mailing list to paid-up members. The extra cost
of publication, the extra cost of mailing, will make it necessary for us
to check our mailing list carefully. As always, if any member who
finds it inconvenient to remit before March will just drop a card to the
Editor or Treasurer it will be a pleasure to continue the name on the
mailing list.

In behalf of the Officers of the Club the Wilson Bulletin extends
the greetings of the Season to all its readers.

MMMIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIimMIIIMIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIMMlimilllllMlimilllllltlflllinilMIMMmtllimilMMItlllllMMimUHl"

APR 3 1935

THE

WILSON BULLETIN

A Quarterly Magazine Devoted to the Study
of Birds in the Field

and the Official Organ of the

WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

Edited by
T. C. Stephens

Myron H. Swenk L. W. Wing

Volume XLVII

1935

Published Quarterly
by the

WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB
at

Sioux City, Iowa

PAST OFFICERS OF THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

President

J. B. Richards, 1888-1889.

Lynds Jones, 1890-1893.

* Willard N. Clute, 1894.

R. M. Strong, 1894-1901.

Lynds Jones, 1902-1908.

F. L. Burns, 1909-1911.

W. E. Saunders, 1912-1913.

T. C. Stephens, 1914-1916.

W. F. Henninger, 1917.

Myron H. Swenk, 1918-1919.

R. M. Strong, 1920-1921.

Thos. L. Hankinson, 1922-1923.
Albert F. Ganier, 1924-1926.
Lynds Jones, 1927-1929.

J. W. Stack, 1930-1931.

J. M. Shaver, 1932-1934.
Josselyn Van Tyne, 1935-

Vice-P resident

C. C. Maxfield, 1893.

R. M. Strong, 1894.

Ned Hollister, 1895-1903.

W. L. Dawson, 1904-1905.

R. L. Baird, 1906-1908.

W. E. Saunders, 1909-1911.
B. H. Swales, 1912-1913.
Geo. L. Fordyce, 1914-1919.

II. C. Oberholser, 1920-1921.
Dayton Stoner, 1922-1923.

Wm. I. Lyon, 1924.

Thos. H. Whitney, 1925-1928.
George Miksch Sutton, 1929-1931.
Edwin L. Moseley, 1932-1933
Josselyn Van Tyne, 1933-1934.
Alfred M. Bailey, 1935-

Second Vice-President

Josselyn Van Tyne, 1932-1933
Alfred M. Bailey, 1933-1934
Mrs. Margaret M. Nice, 1935

Secretary

Lynds Jones, 1888-1889.

J. Warren Jacobs, 1890-1891.
Willard N. Clute, 1892.

J. Warren Jacobs, 1893.

Wm. B. Caulk, 1894.

J. E. Dickinson, 1895-1897.

W. L. Dawson, 1898-1901.

John W. Daniel, Jr., 1902-1905.
Frank L. Burns, 1906.

T reasurer

R. M. Strong, 1892-1893.

Lynds Jones, 1894-1901.

F. L. Burns, 1902-1905.

B. H. Swales, 1906-1908.

W. F. Henninger, 1909-1913.

P. B. Coffin, 1914-1916.

Editor

Benj. T. Gault, 1907-1911.

C. W. G. Eilrig, 1912-1913.
Orpheus M. Schantz, 1914.
Thos. L. Hankinson, 1915-1916.
G. A. Abbott, 1917.

Albert F. Ganier, 1918-1922.
Gordon Wilson, 1923-1925.
Howard K. Gloyd, 1926-1928.
Jesse M. Shaver, 1929-1931.
Lawrence E. Hicks, 1932-

Frank M. Phelps, 1917-1919.
Geo. L. Fordyce, 1920-1922.
Wm. I. Lyon, 1923.

Ben J. Blincoe, 1924-1926.

J. W. Stack, 1927-1929.

W. M. Rosene, 1930-

Lynds Jones, 1888-1924. Frank L. Burns, 1901.

T. C. Stephens. 1925-

* Resigned.

193b

Vol. XLVII MARCH, 1935 No. 1

. _C ^ ^

THE

WILSON HJimiN

A Magazine of Field Ornithology

Published by the

WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

at

SIOUX CITY, IOWA

Entered as Second-class Mail Matter, July 13, 1916, at the Postoffice at
Sioux City, Iowa, under Act of March 3, 1879.

'U-

! J

CONTENTS

The Natural History of the Long-billed Marsh Wren

By Wilfred A. Welter 3-34

A Study of the Savannah Sparrow in West Virginia

By Thos. E. Shields 35-42

Notes on the Renal Blood-Vessels of Raptorial Birds

By F. L. Fitzpatrick 43-44

Robert Henry Wolcott By Myron H. Swenk 45-49

Birds at a Rain-pool in Massachusetts in October, 1933 49-56

Bird Notes from the Bighorn Mountain Region of

Wyoming By John W. Aldrich 57-59

Water Birds of a Virginia Mountain County

By J. J. Murray 59-67

Changes in the List of Birds of Yellowstone National

Park By Emerson Kerasies 68-70

Editorial ' 71

General Notes 72-80

Proceedings 81-95

Communications 96

THE WILSON BULLETIN

is published quarterly in March, June, September, and December, as the official
organ of the Wilson Ornithological Club, at Sioux City, Iowa, and is sent to all
members not in arrears for dues. The subscription price is $1.50 a year, invari-
ably in advance, in the United States. Single numbers, 50 cents. Outside of the
United States the rate is $1.75. Single numbers, 60 cents. Subscriptions should
be sent to the Editor.

All articles and communications for publication, books and publications for
review, exchanges, and claims for lost or undelivered copies of the magazine,
should be addressed to the Editor.

The current issue of the Wilson Bulletin is printed by the Vei'stegen Print-
ing Company, Sioux City, Iowa.

THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

Founded December 3, 1888. Named after Alexander Wilson, the first Ameri-
can ornithologist, and called the “Father of American Ornithology”.

The officers for the current year are:

President — Dr. Josselyn Van Tyne, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
First Vice-President — Mr. Alfred M. Bailey, Chicago Academy of Sciences,
Chicago, 111.

Second Vice-President — Mrs. Margaret M. Nice, Columbus, Ohio.

Treasurer — Mr. W. M. Rosene, Ogden, Iowa.

Secretary — Dr. Lawrence E. Hicks, Botany Dept., 0. S. U., Columbus, Ohio.
Editor — T. C. Stephens, Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa.

The membership dues are — sustaining membership, $5.00 1 active membership,
$2.50; associate membership, $1.50 per year.

THE WILSON BULLETIN

A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OE ORNITHOLOGY
Published by llie Wilson Orniliiological Club

Vol.XLVII MARCH, 1935 No. 1

Vol. XLll (New Series) Whole Number 171

THE NATURAL HISTORY OE THE LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN"

BY WILFRED A. WELTER

In recent years there has been a noticeable trend toward the in-
timate study of various animals. In 1914 Allen (1) published his
report on the Red-winged Blackbird and, since that time, numerous
other workers have carried on investigations of a similar nature in the
field of ornithology. With the appearance of Howard’s works (16, 17)
new interpretations of bird behavior, previously hinted at, became es-
tablished, lending impetus to the growing interest in this field of study.
The surface has hardly been scratched, however, as each species pre-
sents new problems which can be answered only by intensive study.

Much attention has been devoted recently to certain phases of the
House Wren’s life history and much novel information has been un-
covered by various workers in the Baldwin Research Laboratory.
Allen (1) has completed a very careful and detailed life history of
the Red-winged Blackbird and a parallel study of a breeding associate
of this species is considered worth while as environmental factors
affecting the species can be better studied. The Long-billed Marsh
Wren (Telinatodyfes palustris) which is very abundant in certain
localities affords a wealth of material for a comparable study. Tins
species, due to its secretive habits and its more or less inaccessible
habitat, is not particularly well known and many phases of its life
history have not been worked out.

Most of the field work was carried on during the year 1931. Erom
the time of arrival in the S])ring until the birds had de])arted in the
fall some time was spent in the field nearly every day, and from May
to September the greater jiart of each day was thus engaged.

The first brood of T. p. dissaeptus was studied in the Renwiek
Marshes at Ithaca, New York, while the second brood of T. p. iliacus^

*A portion of a thesis presented to the graduate school of Cornell University
for the Ph.D. defiree.

The writer wishes to acknowledge his indehtedness to Dr. A. A. Allen for
his vahiahle counsel during the course of this investigation.

4

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

was studied at Staj)les, Minnesota, later in the year. Additional notes
were obtained from the Montezuma and North Sjiencer marshes in the
Ithaca ree;ion.

The observations recorded in tbe subsequent pages have been ob-
tained from tbe intensive study of approximately forty pairs of birds
and their nestlings. Many hours were spent in an umbrella blind
studying and pbotographing the birds at close range. During the
earlier part of the season much of the time was spent at a slight ele-
vation above tbe marsh to enable the writer to keep a large number
of birds in sight at a given time in order to figure out the limits of the
various territories. Each new territory was investigated as often as
possible and each newly-built nest was tagged and its position was
plotted on a map. Records of the beginning of egg laying, completion
of each clutch, and the time of hatching of the young were recorded.
Each nestling was marked with a colored thread about its leg to en-
able identification when the daily weights were taken. Eull notes
were kept upon the activities of the adults and their offs])ring so that
a fairly complete picture of the life of the species in its summer home
has been obtained.

A series of adults and nestlings was collected in order to study
growth of feathers, wear, molts, winter and nuptial plumages, and food
habits. Skins were also borrowed from several museums to augment
the Cornell collection in the study of the eastern subspecies.

Migration

Surprisingly little has been written on the migration of this
species. Early and late records are few and in many cases quite mis-
leading due to the fact that marsh habitats are not particularly invit-
ing early in the season. Only a single reference concerning the man-
ner of migration has come to the writer’s attention. Eaton (11), in his
Birds of Neiv York, made the statement that the Marsh Wren migrates
at night high in the air. Another indication of night migration was
the discovery, by Mr. George B. Saunders, of a skeleton of a member
of this species beneath the lighthouse at Cape May Point during the
fall of 1931.

The average date of arrival, both at Ithaca, New York, and at
Minneapolis, Minnesota, a])])roximates May 10. The variation in time

T. f). iliacus is readily distinpiiishahle from dissa'eptus and should unqueslion-
al)ly he recognized. While alniosi of the same size as dissaeplus, the lighter
color of the upper parts and the much hrifihter cinnanion-])uff to cinnamon flanks
and sides separate this form. In winter plnmape ihe nnderparts make a very frood
(list in<niishins character as this “foxey” brown is distinctly different from the
russet and wood brown of dissniiptits.

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

5

Fig. 1. The Marsh Wren at its nest. Carrying a dragon-lly to feed young,
upper left; female arriving with insect food, u|)per riglit; searching for
excreta-sac, lower left; excreta-sac in hill, lower right.

6

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

of arrival between regions of this latitude and farther south is very
slight, due perhaps to a lack of accurate dates for early migrants.
The records for time of departure, on the other hand, are less num-
erous. According to the data obtained from the files at Cornell Uni-
versity and the University of Alinnesota, it would seem that the aver-
age time of leaving for the latest individuals is between October 15
and 25. A few young birds remain much longer than the vast majority.

During the spring of 1931 daily trips were made to the marsh
from April 20 to July 10. A close count of the number of birds and
their locations in the marsh was kept each day and, in this way, a
knowledge of the order of arrival was obtained. During the period
of migration it is easy to locate the various individuals of the species
because the growing marsh vegetation projects only a few inches above
the water. As a resident male arrives he establishes himself almost
immediately in a particular area of the marsh, and in this way the
new arrivals are easily distinguished from the earlier birds by their
locations.

The first arrivals in the spring are male birds. The migrant males
arrive with the residents and may tarry for a day before continuing
their northward flight. On May 10 the vanguard of the birds arrived.
Five birds were observed on this day; two remained in the marsh while
the other three went on. At this time the testes are enlarged to their
full extent, as no birds taken later in the season showed greater de-
velopment. A few more males put in an appearance on May 13, and
a large number came in on May 16. Many of these established them-
selves in the marsh while a few again went on to more northerly
locations.

Between May 20 and May 28 the females appeared in the breed-
ing territory. Only a few were observed on the first day but many
more came in during the week, so that nearly all the males obtained
mates.

On June 4 a few more males took up residence, while on June 16
a very noticeable increase was observed, together with an additional
number of females. These birds, together with several stragglers
which arrived later in the summer, were j)erhaps young of the pre-
ceding year.

The order of migration might he summarized as follows:

1. Arrival of resident and migrant males.

2. Arrival of resident and migrant females.

3. Arrival of young males.

4. Arrival of young males and females.

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

7

There is no marked exodus of birds from the marsh at a given
time in the fall. At first the young of the year remain in family
groups but. as the time of departure approaches, there is an apparent
flocking together of young birds, usually near the water’s edge. At this
time twenty-five or thirty birds may be observed together feeding near
the surface of the water. The next day the numbers may be greatly
reduced and in a short time only a few birds remain.

From the birds collected and from observations made at Itbaca,
New York, and at Staples, Minnesota, during tbe fall of 1931, the
fall migration might be divided into two sections. The first birds to
leave are the adults and some of the young of the first brood. No
adult birds were included in tbe collections made after September 10,
and none were observed after this time as a special effort was made
to collect any specimen which might prove to be an old bird. Tbe
wrens which remain after September 10 are either in juvenile plumage
or are in the process of acquiring the winter plumage. These birds
were, for the most part, young of the second brood, as tbe earlier birds
had acquired their winter dress by September 1. As these birds com-
plete the molt they, too, depart for their winter homes so that, by
October 20, only a few scattered individuals remain. By the first of
November these, also, have dej)arted.

There are occasional winter records for the species in this lati-
tude. Whether these stragglers are young or old 1 am unable to say,
but certainly they are only unusual instances and not a part of the
normal cycle of the species.

Territory

Since Howard (16) published his “Territory in Bird Life”, much
information has been obtained on the relationships between a given
species of bird and the nesting area. Most birds have been found to
live during the reproductive period in a small isolated territory from
which all other members of the species are ejected. The Long-billed
Marsh Wren is no exception to this rule, showing a very strong attach-
ment to his chosen S])Ot and fighting relentlessly but harmlessly to
keep others of his kind from intruding.

Continuous work with a given group of birds enables one to
recognize each member as an individual. A variation from the usual
song in one instance, a broken tail feather in another, and many other
minor variations aid tremendously in following individuals from the
time of arrival through the nesting cycle. While it was impossible to
mark each individual, the writer was enabled by these minor differ-
ences and continuous work with a selected groiq) to distinguish one

8

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

bird from another and thus work out the role of territory in their lives.

On the day of arrival the male is quiet hut is busy moving about
over a limited area in the marsh. It is at this time that he actually
selects the territory wdiich he wdll inhabit in raising his first brood.
The preferred habitat is not, as one might suppose, a dense tangled
mass of dried and broken cat-tails, remnants of the preceding season,
but a comparatively open area with a few tattered stalks and an
abundance of some species of Carex.

He soon forms a rather clear conception of the size of the terri-
tory that he wishes to hold, for an intrusion over an imaginary hound-

Fig. 2. Map of a portion of Kenwick Marsh showint: Marsh Wren
territories in relation to the dominant plants.

ary by another male is (juickly resented and a fight is apt to follow'.
Fighting over territorial rights between males is, to a large extent, a
matter of outhluHing the ojtponent. A male ap])roaching too closely
to the boundary of another’s area is challenged by the song of the
rightful owner. This is usually sullicient for the intruder, hut some-
times the challenge is acce])ted by the visitor giving voice to his emo-
tions and continuing to transgress upon the area in ({uestion. The first
male in this case Huffs out his feathers to impress the other and, if

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

9

necessary, Hies at his opponent. The usurper usually reciprocates by
Hying at his neighbor a time or two and then, at least in all instances
observed, becomes the vampiished and dej)arts from the scene of battle.

On the second day the males are most concerned with holding
the area they have selected. It is perhaps on this day that they sing
more than at any other time up to the arrival of the females. Several
song perches are selected in different parts of the territory and the
owner continues to go from one to another singing enroute. If other
males are about looking over prospective territories tbe occupant of a
given area will sing almost continually.

The actual territory controlled by a single male is dependent
upon several factors. In an area 400 by 650 feet in the Renwick
Marsh at the head of Lake Cayuga eight males took up residence in
the spring of 1931. The area was bounded on the east and southeast
by water. A rather dense growth of cat-tails and sedges covered the
north, east, and south sides while marsh grass, Calamagrostis cana-
densis, was the dominant j)lant in the middle area. The cat-tail-sedge
association was greatly prel erred to the grass association by the male
birds in selecting territories. Allen (1) considered the sedge associa-
tion the optimum condition for nesting of this sjjecies. Typha angusti-
folia is much preferred to T. latijolia as a nesting site. This observa-
tion is in accord with Saunders (27). The male territories in the
favored area were noticeably smaller than in the grassy area. A single
monogamous male occupied a territory of from 13,000 to 15,000 square
feet, while in the grass association this was extended to apjjroximately
30,000 square feet. The territory of a polygamous male, on the other
hand, was considerably larger than that of a monogamous male nest-
ing in the same sort of vegetation. For example, territory number one,
occupied by two females, was almost twice as large as number two
where one female nested. This difference in size can readily be ac-
counted for by the fact that the female Inrds do not tolerate each other
during the nesting season. As a result those males intent u|)on leading
dual lives must separate the objects of their affection as widely as
possible.

The boundaries of a territory, and even entire territories, are
sometimes changed after the coming of a female. To illustrate, if a
female entered the marsh and tentatively located in an area unclaimed
by any male, one or perhaps several males in adjacent territories
would immediately try to extend their boundaries to include the

10

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

favored spot. Many battles and much singing would follow until one
of the birds had established his right to the plot and its tenant. Such
performances have been observed even when one of the participants
was already satisfactorily mated. Number one succeeded in obtaining
the female which became his second mate by annexing some extra
territory adjacent to number two even before the latter was mated.

Unusual weather conditions may lead to modifications of original
territories. In the spring of 1931 a Hood in late May led to many
changes in boundaries. Male number two had occupied and success-
fully defended an area between numbers four and five, and including
a part of four as now illustrated. With the coming of the flood his
domain did not meet with his wholehearted approval and he moved
completely to the new station. Numbers three and four extended their
rights to include a portion of the marsh containing a considerable
number of erect cat-tails of the previous year.

After incubation is well under way the territory instinct becomes
somewhat weakened although the area is defended until the young
have left the nest. At this time territorial boundaries no longer remain
important as the young, lacking in a knowledge of the limits of the
area defended by their parents, go where they will. The feeding in-
stinct is strongly developed at this time so the adults forget the former
barriers and follow their offspring and administer to their wants.

The parents usually take up a new territory in a more open area
to rear the second brood. Nests at this time are located nearer the
water’s edge or in areas less given to dense growths of cat-tails. The
territorial instinct is redeveloped but it is not as strong then as earlier
in the year. After the second brood has left the nest all the birds live
together harmoniously until time to depart for their winter homes
in the south.

Courtship

When a female wren arrives each male does his best to convince
her to settle in his territory. Howard considers display as the chief
way of winning a mate but, in the case of the Long-billed Marsh Wren,
song is so closely associated with display that both will be considered
under this category.

The display of the male is quite simple but interesting. When
the female is near he will take his station a foot or two above her,
fluff out his breast feathers and under tail coverts, and jauntily cock
his tail over his back so that it almost touches. He now resembles a
tiny ball of feathers perched among the reeds. As he becomes more
animated he beats his partially folded wings up and down rapidly

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

11

and sways his head dizzily from side to side. The female probably
will fail to notice him, or at least she will not indicate any interest,
and, after pursuing her and displaying for several minutes, he will
burst into song and fly to another portion of the territory. This
same sort of display is often used to impress another male in disputes
over territorial rights.

Song does not seem to be as important in attracting the female as
display. Of course the song originally attracts the prospective mate
into the territory and then display becomes first in importance. When
the females begin to arrive from the south the males sing almost con-
stantly. It is then that they sing at night as recorded by Hunt (18).
The early morning is the time when the male sings the optimum num-
ber of songs per minute. During the period of strife between males
contending for desirable sites, the songs average about twenty-five per
minute. When the females first arrive this number is again often
reached. After the nest is under construction, however, the songs
become less numerous and the intervals between singing periods be-
come longer. On May 31, during tbe period of greatest song for tbe
day, a male sang an average of 6.4 times per minute. Tbe female in
this instance had almost completed her nest. On June 5, the songs
of this same male had been reduced to less than five per minute. On
June 7, a male sang approximately five songs per minute while his
mate was incubating and eight songs while she was off the nest. The
number of songs per minute becomes less and less as incubation be-
comes more advanced until the males seldom are heard at mid-day
and infrequently in the morning and evening. As the young leave
the nest the males sing a bit more often but a week later have ceased
almost entirely.

One male bird in an area under investigation was heard singing
very energetically after the other males had slowed down to a very
few songs. A count on June 12 gave an average of 12.5 songs per
minute during the optimum period for the day. A careful investiga-
tion of his territory upheld the suspicion that he was unmated. On
June 16 he obtained a mate and his behavior now began to agree with
that of the others In the colony. It seems ])ossible that his territory,
being composed almost entirely of Calamagrostis canadensis. Ljthrium
salicaria, and the like, was less desirable and, as a result, he received
a mate only after all others were satisfactorily mated.

The song period of the adult birds seems to cease in early August.
The writer has never heard one after the first of the month. Bick-
nell (7) states that the first song period ends in early August. He

12

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

reports that several birds were in full song in October and believes
that this second period occurs subsecjuent to their departure. During
the course of this investigation no adults were heard to sing after the
original song period had come to a close. The young birds, however,
begin to sing in late August. At Hayden Lake, Staples, Minnesota,
the first song was heard on August 23. A series of singing males was
collected throughout the fall and, in all cases, proved to be birds of
the year. Jones (20) rejiorted a male singing on November 19. The
writer feels quite certain that this must have been a young bird.

The song of the adult male during the breeding season is often
associated with a peculiar type of flight. The bird in going from one
song perch to another Hies along near the tops of the Hags, singing
enroute. Suddenly he rises six to fifteen feet into the air, and then
flutters down upon the reeds. Perhaps this type of behavior is a part
of the courtship performance, but the writer is inclined to believe
that the altitude obtained enables the bird to check up on would-be
intruders, and that this is the real reason for this interesting maneuver.

The male alone has the ability to sing. His song has been de-
scribed in many ways, as pointed out by Shufeldt (28), but none seems
to be quite adequate and most authorities are at variance with one
another concerning his vocal powers. It is true that “as a musical
composition, it does not rank high,” but it certainly reflects the spirit
of the singer and adds appreciably to the medley of sounds in the
marsh.

The musical behavior of the male is aptly described by Allen (2)
who says, “From a tangled mass of brown cat-tails comes a peculiar
grinding sound as though someone were gritting his teeth. This is
followed by a clicking noise much like an old-fashioned sewing ma-
chine, and then out of the flags bursts a little brown ball. Floating
upward like a tuft of cotton, it breaks into vivacious music and then
drops back into hiding to continue its scolding.”

Taverner (29) describes the ])erformance thus: “At a safe dis-
tance from the intruder it mounts a tall, solitary stalk to reconnoitre
and then launches itself into the air some ten or fifteen feet and gurgles
out a rij)pling melodious little song as it sinks on fluttering wings to
another station.”

Townsend (30) writes: “The song begins with a scrape like the
tuning of a violin followed by a trill which huhhlcs, gurgles, or rat-
tles, de])ending no doubt on the skill or mood of the performer; at
times liipiid and musical, at other times rattling and harsh, but always
vigorous. It ends ahrujjtly hut is generally followed by a short musi-

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

13

cal whistle or a trill, as if the wren were drawing in its breath after its
efforts. I have heard one sing hfteen times in a minute. The bird
often reminds me of a mechanical musical toy wound up to go off at
frequent intervals.”

Considering the variety of descriptions and the differences in
opinion among the various authorities, one is reluctant to enter still
another description of the Long-billed Marsh Wren’s song. The whole,
however, can be dissected into three parts. The grinding sound men-
tioned by Allen is given first and may pass unnoticed unless the lis-
tener is near the bird. It has somewhat the quality of the call of the
White-breasted Nuthatch. It might he described as aac or ac delivered
in a grating manner with the emphasis on the first part. These notes
are repeated various numbers of times from one to five. The warble-
like part delivered next is no doubt the most musical section. It does
remind one of a sewing machine of the older sort being run rapidly,
but of course it is less metallic and more musical. It has much of the
spontaneity of the House Wren’s song hut is otherwise cjuite distinct.
This middle section begins at a low pitch, climbs upward, and then
descends again. At the end a third section is given, perhaps as an
afterthought. It is a trill which may 1)C described as ee ee ee ee or
i i i i. It again is quite low hut lacks the harshness of the beginning
of the song.

This entire song is given during May and most of June. Toward
the end of the month, however, the last part is often omitted and often
neither the beginning nor the end is heard.

The songs of the young males which begin in late August are
entirely different from those of the adult. Perhaps Langille (22) was
listening to young birds when he described the song as “a sharp me-
tallic twitter” as it is certainly more squeaky than that of the adult.
The first time the writer listened to a bird of the year trying out his
vocal apparatus he was reminded of the efforts of a not altogether
successful Catbird. These early songs have the choppy notes of
Dumatella but are given in a more rasping manner. The grating notes
of the beginning and the trill at the end are usually omitted by young
birds.

The alarm note has been described l)y Hoffman (15) as an ener-
getic Ischuk. During this investigation it was found })ossihle to dis-
tinguish sexes by means of the call notes. The kek kek or tsclwk is
given by the female. The male’s note sometimes resembles this also
hut can usually he distinguished by its more grating nature and may
he described as rrek. A series of notes is usually given together so

14

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

the rrek's do not sound very distinct as they roll into each other pro-
ducing a chattering. The kek notes, however, while also given to-
gether, maintain their identity. The female has a hissing sound that
she gives if too closely pressed by the male. Preceding copulation
the female has been heard to give a trill like that at the end of the
male’s song.

The call notes of the young are quite similar to those of the adult.
The nestling, when the female arrives with food, gives a beady peep
or peet. At first these notes are scarcely audible hut as the young
become older and stronger the peet is clearly heard. As the young
leave the nest the peet gradually develops into a queek. It is much
more squeaky than the adult kek and also lacks the woody quality.
The notes of the ju venal become more and more like those of the
adult until they are indistinguishable.

Sexual Relations

The sexual organs of the male are well developed by the time he
reaches the nesting marsh following his trip from the southland, hut
those of the female are not fully developed at her arrival. As a result
she is often kept busy avoiding the male during the first week in her
new home. If too badly tormented, she will squeeze between the cat-
tails at the water’s edge where the male can not reach her and hiss
at him with the intention of driving him away.

During the period of nest construction she reaches the height of
her development and is ready for the mating act. When the male ap-
proaches her at this time, singing, she climbs up a cat-tail stalk and
gives the trill which has already been described. Then she heats her
wings rapidly, points her hill toward the zenith, and places her tail
well over her hack. The male goes through the courtship display pre-
viously described. At the pro}>er time he climbs upon the hack of his
mate, heats his wings rapidly as the cloacae come in contact and copu-
lation is completed. The whole procedure takes hut a few seconds.
Both remain in the immediate vicinity for a short time, the male with
feathers fluffed out and tail up, the female quiet and demure.

It is usually the male who tries to induce the female into copula-
tion hut on one occasion the female was observed going through the
behavior leading to the mating act to entice the male. In this instance
the act had been completed twenty-five minutes previously. The male,
not giving the proper response, was chased by the female among the
cat-tails and it is not known whether she was successful or not.

It is the belief of the writer that the male Long-hilled Marsh
Wren is essentially polygamous while the female is not. Between one-

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

15

fourth and one-third of the territories, which were carefully studied
in this investigation, were inhabited hy two females and one male. In
these instances the two females occupied the two ends as far from
each other as possible. A probable reason for this apparent lack of
sociability, as previously stated, lies in the fact that the females do
not get along during the nesting season. On several occasions fights
have been witnessed between them. The first one in a territory does
not wish to tolerate any newcomers. The polygamous male, on the
other hand, is quite diplomatic. Approximately equal portions of his
time are spent with his two mates. In this way suspicion is kept at a
minimum and neither female is aware of his dual life. The feeding
range of the female is rather small during incubation and the rearing
of the young so that she never comes into contact with the third mem-
ber of the triangle.

One doubtful case was investigated where it was thought possible
that a single male might have three mates. Owing to the denseness
of the vegetation and the fact that nesting was well under way when
the area was discovered it was found impossible to ascertain this con-
dition with certainty. Another unusual instance was observed in the
same area. Two male wrens were frequently seen in the vicinity of a
certain female. Her nest with eggs was located equidistant from the
territories of the two males in question. It seems that she had no
regular mate as both of the males observed in the area were success-
fully mated. The nest was later broken up so that it became impos-
sible to complete observations proving the fickleness of the female.
It seems reasonably certain that this was a matter of polyandry. It
was the only instance of its kind observed and is not common among
the members of this species.

Nest Building

As a matter of convenience in the treatment of this section the
nesting endeavors of the male and female will he treated separately.
The nest used by the female for the rearing of the brood is given the
designation female nest while the incomplete ones variously known as
“false nests”, “cock nests”, “mock nests”, and “dummy nests”, will he
called male nests.

The male nests of the Long-billed Marsh Wren have been a much
discussed question in ornithological literature. The earlier writers,
not realizing that these were unused, remarked concerning the abun-
dance of nests. Almost any paper dealing with the species has some
notes upon this prolific nest-building activity.

16

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

Various theories have been advanced to explain the function or
purpose of these extra structures. Norris (25) suggests that many
nests are built because meadow mice get into them and the wren will
not continue to use one if it is disturbed in any way. These dummies
have been built for practice, according to Hunter (19), while Allen
has suggested that they may he a means of outlining territorial
boundaries. Shufeldt (28) says, “I am convinced that these ‘mock
nests’ are built as lures, to induce their enemies to believe that the
wrens were not yet laying, or that the eggs had been stolen, so it was
not worth while to continue any further search for them.” Forbush
( 12 ) states that “most of these nests are never used unless the males
sleep in them, but their construction gives the birds an outlet for their
superabundant energies.”

Many of these reasons do not seem to bear investigation. From
my own ex])erience the birds do not desert if the nest or contents are
handled, for I have visited nests from the first day of construction
until the young had left and the adults in no case deserted. The eggs
were counted from day to day, the complete clutches were weighed
in some instances, and daily weights were taken of the young. Cer-
tainly the combination of all these things would have been sulficient
to cause desertion if the birds were easily disturbed. The “practice”
idea hardly seems reasonable as the male builds the dummies and the
female builds the good nest. It may be that the males sometimes
sleep in these extra structures hut in no case has this been observed.
Evening observations indicated that the males went to roost on some
reed stalk. Furthermore these nests become so bedraggled in a short
time, due to faulty construction, that it would he almost impossible for
the birds to enter them. If the territory theory were to he considered,
one would expect the nests to roughly outline the boundaries, l)ut this
is not the case as often all of the dummies are grouped in one end of
the area.

The Long-billed Marsh Wren is not the only member of the
Troglodytidae that exhibits this peculiar but interesting habit of mul-
tiple nest construction, as the Euro])ean Wren {Troglodytes troglo-
ytes) , the House Wren {Troglodytes uedon), the Short-billed Marsh
Wren {Cistothorus stellaris), and the Cactus Wren { lleleodytes hruu-
neica pillus) also engage in this activity. Other families have repre-
sentatives that also exhibit the habit, among them the Ked-shanks
{Totanus totanus), the Little Grebe {Podiceps fluviaiilis) , the Florida
Gallinule {GalUnula chloropus) . the Herring Gull { Ixirus argenlatus) .
and the White-throat {Sylvia eonimunis ) . Owing to the wide separa-

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

17

tion of these species it can not be that this habit evolved at a single
point in avian evolution.

These additional nests are put to some use by certain species of
birds. The Cactus Wren repairs the nests as winter approaches
( Bailey, 4) and uses them as sleeping quarters. The European Wren
also has been known to utilize them during the cold nights of winter.
The question naturally arises whether the male nests are not then built
for this purpose. This hardly seems possible as these nests are built
during the reproductive cycle, usually before the female arrives, in
the case of the Long-billed Marsh Wren.

It is not the male bird in all species that is responsible for the
additional nests. Howard (17) states that the White-throat female
toys with nesting material and actually constructs platforms and shells
before sbe has reached the physiological condition necessary for the
completion of a nest. In the same manner many birds have been
observed playing with nesting material before they are ready to build.

In the case of the Marsh Wren the male arrives in the nesting
territory about ten days in advance of the female. At this time he has
already reached his full sexual development and can complete the
mating act. He begins to play with cat-tail down and other materials
shortly after his arrival. The next stage is the actual construction ol
a nest shell. Many of these are hardly started before they are aban-
doned. If these shells had a purpose would they not be completed?
Furthermore as the female appears on the scene nest building on the
part of the male is tentatively replaced by interest in bis mate. The
female, on the other hand, has not reached the peak of development
and avoids the male at every opportunity. The male then oscillates
between carrying materials to tbe nests be is constructing and paying
attention to the female. As the female reaches the stage in which she
is ready to build she adds a few straws, in some cases to the nest the
male is working on. Later .she starts a nest of her own. At first she
works slowly and for short periods but a change takes place and all
of her time is then devoted to this activity. The male, during this
period, loses interest in his work and pays more attention to his mate
and shortly ceases building almost entirely.

The question now arises as to the reason for the presence of this
activity in certain species when it is entirely absent in others. In the
first place the very fact that the two sexes, in the case of the Marsh
Wren, reach their full development at different times helps to explain
the situation. If the two were to “mature” at the same time would
the male still follow the same course of events? This, of course, can

18

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

not be answered but, in cases where the male was delayed in obtaining
a mate, he built more nests than those birds which were mated earlier.
In such instances nest building continued to be substituted for court-
ship, display, and copulation until a female arrived and reached the
stage when mating could be completed.

Now it is logical to assume that male nests should be of common
occurrence among a multitude of species as in most cases the male
arrives some time ahead of the female. Let us take the case of the
Red-winged Blackbird. The males arrive about the middle of March
while the females do not appear until the second week in April in
the Ithaca region (Allen, 1). Nesting does not begin until some time
later. Allen figures a series of testes and ovaries showing their de-
velopment. It is interesting to note that their maximum development
is not reached until the tenth of May and that both sexes mature at
the same time. In such cases the male would not find it necessary to
substitute nest construction for the sexual relations as both sexes are
prepared for these relations at the same time. Even if the two sexes
of a given species should not reach the height of their sexual develo])-
ment at the same time the male might not enter into nest building.
In different species other substitutes may take the place of this ac-
tivity. The difficulty of obtaining food early in the season may, in
certain instances, cause the birds to devote much of their time to this
need. As an example the Red-wing during the latter part of March
and the first two weeks in April goes to the uplands to feed and thus
spends but a short period of each day in the marsh. Intensive studies
of single species may bring many such characteristics to light. Fur-
thermore. all birds are not as highly sexed as others and one would
expect nest building and similar activities to be substituted for sexual
relations more frerpiently in those which have an abundance of sexual
energy. There can hardly be any question about the wrens as they
are notably a group that is highly developed in this direction. Then
again the mere difference in nervous energy varies among the species
and a slow and comparatively inactive bird would hardly be expected
to show the zeal in any endeavor exhibited by a more active s])ccies.

The males, in certain forms, continue to build nests even after
their mates have begun to incubate. Thus the Marsh Wren may con-
struct several nests during this jieriod but these activities are not ])ur-
sned with the vigor of the ])revious ])eriod. In like manner the Mada-
gascar Yellow-headed Weaver Bird (Foudia sakalava) continues to
aflorn nests with fresh green materials during the period that his mate
is incubating (Rand, MS). If the many nests of the male are de-

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

19

pendent upon the slowness of the female in reaching the height of her
sexual development, why does this activity continue after her full
development? The male continues at the peak sexually for a longer
period while the female transfers all of her energy and time to the
duties of incubation. This is noticeably the case in polygamy where
a male is able to carry on sexual intercourse with a second mate some
time after the first female has passed beyond that stage. During this
interval, before the decline of sexual desire, the males of certain spe-
cies continue to transfer their interest to building and as the cycle
comes to an end nest construction also ceases. Others transfer their
interest to incubation and so sexual intercourse or its substitutes wane.
In like manner the males of some species, while not participating in
the duties of incubation, spend much of their time on guard about the
nest and show much concern over disturbances which might affect
their potential offspring and so these duties serve as an outlet for
their sexual energy.

Considering multiple nest construction from these angles, then,
different species exhibit many modifications of this activity depending
upon the factors influencing the reproductive cycle. The maximum
development occurs in those species in which the male reaches the
sexual peak in advance of the female and maintains this peak for a
longer period. Coupled with these physiological conditions is the lack
of interest on the part of the male in sharing the domestic duties and
guarding the nesting site. The Long-billed Marsh Wren exhibits to a
high degree these characters and is ])erhaps to he considered as one
of the most prolific builders of male nests.

In all cases observed the male commences nest construction the
day following his arrival at the marsh of his choice. From then on
for the next three weeks building is at its height. The average lime
for completion of a single nest is two days. In many instances sev-
eral are under construction at one time and often many are never
finished. Many of those that are carried to completion arc poorly
done. Five nests is a fairly good average for a single male bird, dur-
ing the rearing of the first brood, while several, of course, build as
many as ten different nests.

The dummies are built, as previously mentioned, by the male.
Sometimes, as the female reaches the nest building stage, she may add
a few straws to a dummy on the day or two preceding the beginning
of her own nest. She does very little of the work however, and this
.small part may be considered negligible.

20

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

The location of the male nests above the water is variable. Most
of the earlier ones are built in the dead cat-tail stubs or among the
new growth of sedges and so are between six and twenty-four inches
above the water. Later nests, if built in the sedges, are also neces-
sarily low, hut, if built in the cat-tails, may be as much as six feet
above the water. Most of the dummies are built in the sedges even
though cat-tails are available for the purpose.

Because of the fact that the male and female nests are alike up
to a certain point the actual description of nest structure will be
treated with that of the female.

Between six and fifteen days after her arrival the female bird
begins the construction of her nest. The earlier arrivals seem to spend
more time before starting than the later ones. These first days are
spent searching for food and avoiding the males.

The work on the nest is done almost entirely by the female. In
a few cases the male added a little material, usually cat-tail down. It
is possible to observe the bird at work if one remains perfectly still
at a distance not closer than fifteen feet. The time required varies
from five to eight days.

The nest is most often attached to cat-tails but sedges and grasses
are sometimes used while Ridgway (26) and Bryant (9) report nests
in hushes several feet above the water.

The initial effort in building consists of lashing the supporting
jilants together and in this way form a cup-like foundation upon which
the remainder of the nest rests. Carex and Calama^roslis are the chief
materials used in this jiart of the structure. The outer walls which
are composed for the most part of long strips of cat-tail leaves and
stems and leaves of sedges and grasses is the roughest part of the
structure. Water-soaked materials, often more than a foot long, are
used here as they are more pliable and can he more easily woven to-
gether. The first strands are woven around the long axis and others,
as the nest assumes shajie, are ])ut in at various angles. Some of
these strands are fastened to the supporting structure by actually
weaving these stems into the nest. Some of the growing leaves are
also woven into the outer walls. If the sup|iort is a sedge or a grass,
leaves may form a good share of the ])eriphery. An opening is left
on one side about two-thirds of the distance from the bottom of the
nest. At this stage a dummy would l)e complete. The walls average
at least a half inch in thickness and the external measurements of the
entire structure approximate seven and five inches for the vertical

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

21

and horizontal diameters, respectively. Inner diameters average five
and three inches.

This outer shell is a small part of the completed structure, and
only two days are required to huild it. The remainder of the work
is done from the inside and one must take a nest to pieces to get an
idea of its arrangement. Grass and sedge leaves and small stems are
used to form the second layer. This gives the walls firmness and tends
to fill in the large air spaces which are necessarily present among the
coarse materials of the outer walls.

The next layer to be added seems to function as an insulating
region. Cat-tail down, feathers, small unidentified rootlets, entire

Fig. 3. Longitudinal section through male (“dummy”) nest, left,
and through female (occupied) nest, right.

plants of Lenina, and decayed fragments of Typha and Carex are the
materials most often used. These also are placed into the structure
in a wet condition so that, when dry, they form a compact and tight-
fitting region which serves as a non-conductor of heat, cold, and
moisture.

The innermost region is composed of finely shredded pieces of
the vascular materials of the plants forming the outer layers. A large
proportion of it is very fine stri])s of sedges and grasses of the pre-
ceding year. Feathers of almost any available sort are used here.
Th ose from the following birds have been identified: Red-wingefI

Blackbird, Virginia Kail, American Bittern, Pheasant, Huffed Grouse.

22

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

and domeslic chicken. The projection at the opening is a part of this
inner lining. This “door-step” or sill is always present in the female
nest hut is lacking in the nests of the male. It is possible, therefore,
to determine the sex which built a given nest by checking for the pres-
ence of this sill. This projection forms the floor of the opening and
extends farther into the nest than any other part of the lining. The
nest cavity is surprisingly small in relation to the bulky exterior. This
cavity roughly resembles a sphere which has been compressed on the
sides so that the vertical diameter has been increased at the expense
of the horizontal. The opening into the nest, when viewed in longi-
tudinal section, resembles a tunnel. Actual measurements of the cavity,
together with external measurements, will be given later.

One wonders what the function of this door-step might be. Per-
haps it serves as a protection to the eggs and young as the nest, owing
to the uneven growth of the supporting plants, often assumes a dis-
torted position which would allow the contents to roll out were it not
for this structure. In like manner when the nests are placed in sedges
or grasses winds alter the nests to such an extent that the young or
eggs would he endangered if no sill were there to prevent the catas-
trophe.

Davie (10), Minot (24), Wilson (32), and others also report mud
in the lining of nests of T. palustris. At no time was this found to
he the case during the course of the present investigation. It is pos-
sible that a slight amount of mud adhered to the other materials in
those instances and this was construed as an active desire on the part
of the wren to add such material to the nest.

The outer dimensions are variable hut average about seven by five
inches. The wall at the widest part, at the door-step, averages about
two and one-half inches while the remainder of that side and the bot-
tom are one inch narrower. The back and the top vary from one-
half to one inch in thickness. The opening is usually one and one-
quarter inches in diameter. The depth from the innermost tip of the
step to the bottom of the nest averages two inches while the width of
the interior from front to hack is also two inches.

Dummy nests are not usually used as a basis for a female nest.
In one particular case, however, where a nest was broken up the day
preceding the time of hatching, the female apj)ropriated a partially
constructed nest which the male had worked on earlier in the season
and had abandoned. She completed the nest in four days and on the
fifth laid the first egg. This is the only instance of its kind observed
ami is decidedly out of the ordinary.

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

23

Nests, if carelessly attached to growing plants, are sometimes
ruined. One was observed that was completely turned over due to
uneven growth of two different cat-tails. Those placed in a large ex-
panse of sedges and grasses may he destroyed hy heavy winds and
rain. F'our out of six nests containing eggs or young were demolished
during a severe storm. All of those which were attached to cat-tails
withstood the attack of the elements and none of the young suffered.
It is possible that the mortality from this cause might be very large
during certain seasons.

A peculiar nesting relationship was noted by Beard (6), who ob-
served a compound nest, the lower half occupied by a Red-wing and
the upper half by a Marsh Wren. Evidently the two species lived to-
gether in perfect harmony as both contained clutches of eggs.

Egg Laying

The day following the completion of the nest the first egg is laid,
and from then on until the clutch is complete one egg is laid each day.
The time of oviposition is from five until eight o’clock in the morning.
At Ithaca the first eggs are laid in late May but the largest number
of clutches are not completed until the first week in June, and the
later arrivals do not begin to lay until June 15 or 20. The egg laying
period for the second brood begins in late July. This varies, naturally,
with the degree of success in bringing off the first brood. At Ithaca
a nest was reported as late as August 7, while at Staples, Minn., most
of the clutches were complete hy July 25.

Forbush (12) gives the number of eggs as five to ten, usually five.
Harlow (14) reporting on 196 nests found numbers from three to
seven with five also the average number. Of the forty nests studied
during the summer of 1931, five was the most frequent while three and
six were the extreme numbers. Aldrich (in a pa|)cr read before the
A. 0. U. at Detroit, 1931) reported six the usual number for the first
and five for the second brood.

A series of sixteen eggs in the Cornell collection vary in size from
17.5 mm. by 13 mm. to 13.5 mm. hy 10 mm. with an average of 16.3
mm. hy 12.5 mm. One of these was a runt egg measuring 13.5 mm.
by 10 mm. Two clutches were weighed immediately after the sets
were complete. Individual eggs varied from 1.41 g. to 1.56 g. with
an average weight of 1 .48 g.

Ingubation

The female often begins to incubate before the clutch is complete,
but waits, in all cases observed hy the writer, at least until the third

24

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

egg is laid. In most nests young of two and often three ages can be
found. In all of the nests under observation the eggs hatched on the
thirteenth day. Forhush (12 ) gives the period as ten to thirteen days.
These earlier dates are, perhaps, the result of hguring the period from
the completion of the clutch to the time of hatching of the first young.
Bowles (8) reports the eggs of the Pacific form, T. p. paludicola,
under incubation from the time the first is laid. Wheelock (31) gives
the period of incubation of this form as twelve days.

The duties of incubation are assumed only by the female. The
male seldom comes near the nest and then is driven away by his mate.
Wheelock (31) agrees with the present study in finding that the male
takes no part in incubation while Miller (23) is in disagreement with
this observation.

The female is easily excited during incubation and will leave the
nest on the slightest provocation. Even on the very day the young
are to hatch she will flush at a distance greater than fifteen feet. She
remains near the nest, however, and shows much concern at the dis-
turbance. The male, on the other hand, may be in the vicinity of the
disturbance, but shows no interest in the matter.

On the thirteenth day the egg is cut into approximately equal
halves by the egg tooth of the hatching bird. This cut is so regular
and precise that one must marvel at the mechanical perfection of the
operation.

The Young in the Nest

At hatching the young are blind and helpless. The tender flesh-
colored skin is partially covered on the capital and spinal tracts by a
few pure white neossoptiles. The mouth lining is buff-yellow, the leg
flesh-colored, and the skin covering the eye bluish-hlack. The slit
which opens later is clearly discernible at this time.

The type of food delivered to the young by the female is de-
termined to a certain extent by the age of the nestlings. At first this
consists of very small juicy morsels such as mosquitoes and their
larvae, larval Tipulids, midges, and other delicate forms. The mother
brings a whole beakful of food to the nest at one time and parcels it
out to the hungry occujiants. (Yntrary to the ojiinion of Wheelock
(31), the young at Ithaca were not fed by regurgitation for the food
was not swallowed but crammed along the full length of the tomium.
During the first days the young are so small and helpless that it is
necessary for the female to reach far into the nest to feed them. Dur-
ing the morning and evening approximately ten trips are made per
hour with food, hut during mid-day this number is somewhat reduced.

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

25

As the nestlings grow the insects brought to the nest become ap-
preciably larger in size. Ground, diving, and long-horned beetles,
caterpillars of various assortments, saw-flies and other hymenoptera,
and other accessible forms now constitute the diet of the ever-hungry
young. Sometimes the insect is so large that the young bird experi-
ences difficulties in swallowing it. In such instances the female takes
the hexapod to the side of the nest, chops and tears it into several
smaller morsels, and then brings it back for a second trial which is
usually a success. In one particular case a medium-sized dragonfly
was fed to a ten-day-old nestling. No attempt was made to break the
insect into bits and no difficulty seemed to be encountered in swallow-
ing the morsel.

After they have reached the age of eight or nine days, the nest-
lings stretch for their food so that the female now is not required to
reach far into the nest. The nestlings crane their necks to such an
extent that the parent often stands on the side of the nest and feeds
the open mouths which appear at the opening.

There is much disagreement in the literature concerning the sexes
of the parents which attend to the wants of the nestlings. Most writers
seem to be of the opinion that the male assists in this duty. No male
has been observed, in the nests studied by the writer, bringing food to
the nest. This observation is in accord with Wheelock’s studies (31).
The young can be removed from the nest in the presence of the male
without his showing the least concern while the female becomes greatly
disturbed if one should approach even the vicinity of the nest.

Even when the nestlings are very young little time, during the
day, is given to brooding. Usually after a feeding or two the young
are brooded for a few minutes and then feeding is resumed. My rec-
ords show a total brooding of eighteen minutes per hour when the
young are two days old. As the nestlings increase in size the brooding
periods become shorter and the intervals between such periods become
longer, so that, after the first week, they are discontinued during the
hours of daylight.

There is no need of protecting the nestlings from the sun’s rays
because of the peculiar type of nest construction. It is also possible
that such nests aid in holding the heat given off by the birds so that
brooding is reduced to a minimum.

The excreta, enclosed in their envelopes, are removed by the fe-
male after feeding. These droppings are usually carried some distanee
from the nest and deposited but occasionally the female has been ob-
served eating them. Only one of these envelopes is removed at a time

26

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

and the parent will often hurry up the feeding trips in order to carry
away the remaining ones.

When the young are small the faecal material is deposited in the
bottom of the nest. As the nestlings increase in size, however, they
maneuver about until they assume a position facing away from the
entrance, and the dropping is ejected on the periphery of the nest.
During the later period of nest life the young succeed in ejecting the
excrement with such force that it is carried over the side of the nest
and drops to the ground, relieving the female of the necessity of re-
moving it.

Other materials are carried away in a similar manner. Egg shells
have been observed twenty-five feet from the nest. Infertile eggs also
disappear and it seems that the female must carry them away. No
instance has been observed but the infertile eggs have often been found
wanting after remaining in the nest several days beyond the normal
period of incubation. It is entirely possible that the parent eats these
infertile eggs but, if this is the case, they must certainly be removed
first as no evidence ever remains at the bottom of the nest. Nestlings
which have died from one cause or another are also removed.

The young Marsh Wren, as in the Cowbird in Friedmann’s studies
(13), soon establishes the power of orientation. When placed upon
the back the newly-hatched bird will right itself. At first this is a
difficult procedure due to weakness and a lack of co-ordination.

The food response is quickly acquired by the nestling. This re-
sponse is usually accompanied by a faint peet scarcely audible at first.
During early life contact seems to be the necessary stimulus but later
merely a slight rustling of the leaves as the female approaches the nest
is sufficient to cause the young to open wide their mouths and stretch
forth their necks.

On the third day the eyes open. With the advent of sight fear
begins to develop. At the least sign of danger the young assume a
crouching position with the body flat and the neck drawn in. This
position was often observed during the periods of weighing and seems
to develop at about the fifth day, reaching its height during the second
week of nest life.

During the first three days the nestling lies flat on its belly, hav-
ing no control over the legs, but on the fourth day it assumes a more
erect position, placing the weight on the entire tarsus. It has no con-
trol over the toes, however, and keeps them doubled up until the ninth
day. During this time the wings are an important factor in move-
ment. Shifting about in the nest is a combination of wing and leg

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

27

exercises. Grasping with the toes becomes very noticeable on the tentli
day and the legs appear well developed at this time.

During the last days of nest life, due to the increased activity of
the young, the nest has become considerably worn and no longer has
the neat compact appearance of its earlier days. The opening has

Fig. 4. Graph showing increases in weight of nestlings. Vertical scale
shows weight in grams; horizontal scale shows number of days.

become greatly enlarged and the inner diameters have been increased
by the young to compensate for their increase in size.

A series of nestlings from thirteen different nests was weighed
at a definite time each day to determine the average rate of growth.
More weights were obtained during the first seven days of nest life due
to the fact that several nests and their contents were destroyed through
one agency or another in the subsequent period.

28

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

In the first twelve days the young bird increases in weight ap-
proximately eleven times. The average weight for the newly arrived
wren is .87 of a gram but by the end of the twelfth day this has been
increased to an average of 11.08 grams. During this time the gain
is from 1 to 1.7 grams a day. Due to the difficulty of being present
at the time of hatching very few weights were obtained at that time.
During the period of greatest feather growth the gain in weight drops
off markedly (10th to 13th days).

In order to check on differences in gain in weight between broods
with varying numbers of young, the nests selected for this particular
study contained four, five, and six nestlings. No appreciable differ-
ence was observed so, no doubt, the females with large broods com-
pensated for the additional members by working harder to supply
the necessary food.

When the birds leave the nest they weigh between eleven and
twelve grams. This is increased to approximately fourteen grams by
the time they are ready to begin the southward journey.

On the twelfth day the young, if frightened or disturbed in any
way, will leave the nest. In one particular instance all of the nest-
lings jumped from the nest and disappeared into the undergrowth at
my approach. On the succeeding day, however, one of the birds was
found back in the parental shelter. This was the only record of the
kind observed but it would lead one to believe that the fledglings may
return to the nest to spend the night or to seek protection during in-
clement weather. They usually spend the night perched upon the flags
in the areas of dense rank growth.

The fourteenth day is the normal time of departure for all of the
birds studied. At first they run along the ground or hop and half fly
from one flag to another. This behavior is no doubt correlated with
the fact that the tarsus is much better developed than the wings at
this stage. The parents are very solicitous of the welfare of their
progeny during this period and an approach to their near vicinity will
call forth a series of scolding notes from both adults.

Observations at this season were quite difficult to make, due to
the denseness of the vegetation and the fact that the young spend most
of their time on or near the ground, and, as a result, are not altogether
complete. The parents care for the young for at least two weeks.
Wheelock (31 ) reported the young of the western form, T. p. paludi-
cola, to be fed by the parents for twenty-six days. If this is true of
T. p. (lissaeptus, most of the work of the last ten days must be done
by the male as the female then starts another brood.

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

29

In contrast to the period in the nest, both parents care for the
fledglings. The male does little of the work at first but is usually in
the near vicinity. At this time he seems to be more interested in the
female than in his offspring. Gradually he assumes his share of these
duties and toward the end of the second week after the young have
left the nest seems to he doing more than his share. After the first
ten days out of the nest the young are able to capture some of their
food and so cut down to some extent the labors of tbeir parents.

Tbe family group remains together for some time and it is not
unusual in mid-September to see four, five, and six birds of an age
still keeping together. Tbe young do not remain in the territory of
their parents but wander from place to place. At first, as previously
stated, they spend most of the time in dense matted and tangled places
which offer the most protection. As they develop the power of flight
and so no longer need to depend upon secure hiding places, they begin
to frequent the more open areas near the water. These areas, usually
nearest and farthest from the water, become the localities most favored
by the young during tbe latter part of the summer.

The Second Brood

It is the general consensus of opinion of most writers that there
are only two broods per year. It is extremely difficult to get accurate
data on this subject but from tbe material on band this seems to be
the case. It is entirely possible that, with banded birds, more infor-
mation could be obtained but the difficulty of locating these late nests
due to the condition of the vegetation at that time would make the
task considerably more complex. No instance which could be con-
sidered a third brood was observed by the writer. In some cases very
late nests were located but these could be explained by abrupt and
unsuccessful terminations to earlier attempts.

The second brood is not necessarily reared in the territory origi-
nally occupied by a pair of birds. It is usually tbe case for tbe birds
to move into a more open area. At this time many of the nests are
near the water’s edge while for the earlier brood such locations are
infrequent.

A new nest is built even though the original territory is used a
second time. It is true that the former nest would not be useable
because of its worn condition. The male does not enter into dummy
nest construction with his former zeal, and in many instances none are
constructed. One must not, of course, confuse late arrivals with sec-
ond broods as the very latest birds often are just beginning to build at
the time that the earlier birds are starting tbe second brood.

30

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

The initiation of the second brood naturally depends upon the
success of the first. The female begins her second nest about two
weeks after the young of the first have left the nest. The majority,
of the nests, then, in the regions studied would he started between
July 15 and August 1, with the last week in July the most active period.
Nests with eggs have been found at Ithaca up to August 5.

On the whole the second brood is much more matter-of-fact than
the first. The males seldom indulge in song and long before the young
are out of the nest they have ceased to sing entirely. By the first of
September the adults have fulfilled their responsibilities as parents.
As soon as they have completed the post-nuptial molt they begin their
southern journey and usually leave the young to follow at a later
period.

Food Studies

Because the Marsh Wren is confined to the marshes and swamps
and does not come into contact with human habitations and so provide
an economic problem, its food habits have not been studied intensively.
The most thorough work was done by Beal (5) who examined fifty-
three stomachs of this species. He lists the Hemiptera as the group of
insects most often preyed upon with the Coleoptera and Lepidoptera
second and third. Judd (21) examined five stomachs and reported
Coleoptera and Arachnida as the most important foods.

It has not been the intention of the writer to work out the eco-
nomic status of the species hut rather to try to understand and interpret
the relationships between food supply and food eaten, and manner of
feeding and adaptations and specializations brought about by con-
tinued existence in the marsh, in order to determine the effect these
things might have upon the survival of the birds in a less moist habitat.

Due to the fact that all of the food is obtained in the marsh,
forms which are aquatic for a part or all of their existence constitute
a large portion of the diet. Much of the food is obtained near or
from the surface of the water. The elongated bill and natural agilit)
of the bird are important adjuncts to this mode of feeding. Feeding
operations are also carried on u]>on the stems and leaves of the cat-
tails and other plants. It is not unusual to observe the bird as he
sights a juicy morsel fly into the air and capture it in the manner of a
flycatcher. Insects as large as dragonflies are taken in this way.

There is no actual selection of types of insects by the species but
the food taken depends upon its predominance and accessibility. By
the time the birds arrive in the spring there is an abundance of insect
food. Beetles of various sorts form an important part of the diet

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

31

during this early period, together with aquatic larvae that have passed
the winter in that stage. As the season advances insect food becomes
more plentiful and examinations of stomachs reveal a multitude oi
forms.

Coleoptera and Diptera assume the highest rank while various
other orders are represented to a lesser degree. Carabidae and Dytis-
cidae occur more frequently among the beetles than any other forms
while a large percentage of the Diptera belong to the Tipulidae.

With the limited number of stomachs included in the present
study it is not possible to state definitely any qnportant features con-
cerning the food taken. Both beneficial and detrimental insects are
consumed. It is wholly possible that the Marsh Wren first took up
his present habitat because of the abundance of insect food rather
than a distinct preference for certain forms that are found there, it
is not a matter of kinds of species but numbers of individuals and all
seem equally desirable, if obtainable.

Relations of the Marsh Wren to Other Forms of Life

The chief enemies of the Long-hilled Marsh Wren are some of the
smaller mammals that reside in the marsh. Approximately one-third
of the nests containing eggs or young were destroyed in some manner
and a very large proportion of this destruction can be attributed to
molestation by some form of mammal. No specific case has been
observed but the appearance of the nest leads one to this conclusion.
Entrance in all cases save one was obtained through the opening at
the front of the nest. The structure itself was never torn or ruined in
any way. The smallness of the opening and the fact that the ne.st
was not damaged restricts the size of the intruder considerably. It is
the writer’s opinion that the blame can he placed upon at least one of
three mammals: Meadow Mouse {Micro!, us pennsylvanicus) , Jumping
Mouse iZapus hudsonicus)^ and Bonaparte’s Weasel {Mustela cicog-
nani) . According to Allen (1) all of these forms occur in numbers
in the cat-tail and sedge associations. Meadow Mice were exceedingly
abundant throughout the summer of 19.S1 in the Renwick Marshes.

The Marsh Wrens suffer to a lesser extent from the destruction
wrought by other species. Dr. A. A. Allen has observed Bronzed
Crackles during the late summer consuming the luckless young of the
later nests of the second brood. Other birds are not important from
this standpoint; hawks and owls have a poor chance of adding this
species to their diet as they are never very conspicuous and can easily
hide in the dense vegetation.

32

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

Bumble bees have on various occasions used Marsh Wren nests
for their own purposes. Whether they ever actually drive out the
rightful owner and assume possession I am unable to say. Neverthe-
less it is apparently not unusual to find a colony of these bees in a
nest of this species as Dr. Allen has several cases on record.

The parasites recorded for this species are few. Dr. Eloise B.
Cram kindly supplied records of the flea, Ceratophyllus garei, and the
louse, Philopterus mirinolatus niirinotatus. Hippoboscid flies, evidently
Ornithomio avicularia, have been observed several times hut at no time
was it possible to obtain specimens. The alimentary tracts of more
than fifty birds were ^examined carefully without obtaining a single
cestode or nematode.

The Long-billed Marsh Wren usually lives in harmony with its
associates in the marsh. It practices to some extent the habit of punc-
turing the eggs of other birds in a manner similar to that of the House
Wren. Allen (1) describes this practice in detail and gives the Marsh
Wren the blame for breaking up fourteen out of fifty-one nests of the
Red-winged Blackbird. From these records one would be led to be-
lieve that the habit is very common and that the percentage of pros-
pective birds destroyed in this way is large. It is the opinion of the
writer that these instances concern only a few of the birds and that
the great majority do not enter into this pernicious practice. Many
nests of other species of birds were under observation in the marsh
and at no time were j)unctured eggs found or other indications of egg
eating by the Marsh Wren observed.

Discussion

Undoubtedly the Marsh Wren took np its present habitat a long
time ago as denoted by its degree of specialization. Allen (1) con-
siders the Redwing a comparatively recent addition to the avifauna
of the marsh. Following his method of reasoning the Marsh Wren
must have taken up its ])resent residence at a much earlier period as
indicated by certain factors. In the first place the species has become
specialized as regards the elongation of the hill and the tendency to-
ward reduction in use of the wings. At present the Marsh Wren is a
relatively poor flyer with the female seldom taking wing. A continua-
tion of life in the present habitat will most assuredly lead to further
reduction of this ability. Secondly, all of its time is spent in a marsh
environment. The Redwing takes uj) residence in this situation only
long enough to bring about perpetuation of the sjiecies. Thirdly, it
does not revert easily to dry land when conditions in the marsh he-

The Long-billed Marsh Wren

33

come unfavorable, even though the southern forms occasionally nest
in bushes. At Ithaca a colony was located nesting in a dry marsh
grown up to sedges and grasses. Of the four nests observed in this
region all came to an untimely end due to the heaviness of the nest
in proportion to the supporting plants. The nests were so badly
mangled by a wind-storm that eggs and young fell to the ground.
Nests in cat-tails during the same period easily withstood the onslaught
of the storm. Nests constructed in the cat-tails have a much greater
chance of success than others indicating that the birds, being most
accustomed to this type of supporting plant have been marsh residents
for a long period. Lastly, the Marsh Wren, unlike the Redwing, seeks
shelter in the marsh rather than depending upon flight for safety.

Perhaps originally the Marsh Wren took to the marsh because of
the abundance of food, lack of competition in this less favored en-
vironment. and tbe shelter afforded. Owing to continued existence in
this habitat specializations of various sorts have developed making it
almost mandatory for the species to continue its ])resent mode of
living. Were the species to gradually change its habitat to the more
extensive hut less moist meadows and semi-dry marshes of grasses
and sedges the most necessary change, in my opinion, would be a less
bulky nest placed lower on tbe supporting plants. The Short-billed
Marsh Wren has adajited itself to this ty]>e of environment and its
nesting activities are attended with success.

As the marshes become less extensive tbe Long-bills will find it
necessary to adapt themselves to a life in a dryer situation. This
change will come about gradually as certain members are forced to
nest farther and farther from tbe center of the colony. These birds,
in order to survive, must adapt their nest structure to the nature of tbe
supporting plant and in this way bring about a gradual evolution
which will permit the s|)ecies to continue to exist even when marshes
are no longer present. At the present time some of the nests around
the border of the colony are somewhat modified due to the nature
of the flora in which the birds find it necessary to build.

Tbe Marsh Wren, while unequivocably a specialized species, is
sufficiently adaptable to meet changing conditions and will, as neces-
sity demands, gradually assume a place in an environment consisting
of associations of grasses and sedges. It is a specialized species but
not so specialized that it cannot live apart from its present habitat.

34

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

Literature Cited

1. Allen, Arthur A. The Red-winged Blackbird: a study in the ecology of a

cat-tail marsh. Ahst. Proc. Linn. Soc. N. Y. 43-128. 1914.

2. . April in the marshes. Bird Lore 25:145-146. 1923.

3. . Book of l)ird life. D. Van Nostrand Co., N. Y. 1930.

4. Bailey, Florence M. Birds of New Mexico.

5. Beal, F. E. L. Birds of California in relation to the fruit industry. U. S.

D. A. Biol. Surv. Bull. 30:62-64. 1907.

6. Beard, Dan C. Compound nest of C. palustris and A. phoeniceus. Sci. Am.

47:119. 1882.

7. Bicknell, E. P. A study of the singing of our birds. Auk 1:126-240. 1884.

8. Bowles, J. H. Notes on Parus rufescens in western Washington. Condor

11:56. 1909.

9. Bryant, Walter E. Unusual nesting sites. Forest and Stream 29:463. 1888.

10. Davie, Oliver. Nests and eggs of North American birds. Hann and Adair,

Colundius. 409. 1889.

11. Eaton, Elon Howard. Birds of New York. Albany. 489-491. 1914.

12. Forhush, Edward Howe. Birds of Massachusetts and other New England

states. Mass. Dept. Ag. 111:350-352. 1929.

13. Friedmann, Herbert. The Cowhird, a contriliution to the study of parasitism
in birds. Ph.D. thesis, Cornell Univ. 1923.

14. Harlow, Richard C. Notes on the breeding liirds of Pennsylvania and New

.lersey. Auk 35:14-61. 1917.

15. Hoffman, Ralph A. A guide to the birds of New England and eastern New
York. Houghton, Mifflin and Co., N. Y. 88-90.

16. Howard, H. Elliot. Territory in bird life. John Murray. London. 1920.

17. . An introduction to the study of bird behavior. Cambridge Univ.

Press. 1929.

18. Hunt, Chreswell J. The Marsh Wren's midnight song. Wilson Bulletin
16:13. 1904.

19. Hunter, J. S. The bird fauna of Salt Basin, near Lincoln. Proc. Neb. Orn.

Union 1:28. 1900.

20. Jones, Lynds. Some migration records along the Cedar Point sand pit, Erie

County, Oliio, 1906. Wilson Bulletin 18:130. 1906.

21. Judd, Sylvester I). Birds of a Maryland farm, a local study of economic
ornithology. U. S. D. A. Biol. Surv. Bull. 17:107. 1902.

22. Langille, J. Hibi)ert. Our birds in their haunts. Orange Judd Co., N. \.

,392-394. 1892.

23. Miller, Richard F. Long-billed Marsh Wren. Ool. 23:117-124. 1906.

24. Minot, H. D. J'he land-birds and game-birds of New England. Houghton,
Mifflin and Co., Boston. 77-78.

25. Norris, J. Parker. Nest of the Long-billed Marsh Wren. Orn. and Ool.

If:. 36. 1886.

26. Ridgway, Robert. Ornithology of Illinois. 1:99-101. 1899.

27. Saunders, Aretas A. A question concerning the distribution of the Long-
billed Marsh Wren. Auk 39:267-268. 1922.

28. Shufeldt, R. W. Lile history of the Long-billed Marsh Wren. Ool. 43:154-

156. 1926; 44:2-4, 18-19. 1927.

29. Taverner, Percy A. Birds of Western Canada. Victoria Mus .Bull. 41:338-

339. 1926.

30. Townsend, (Jiarles W. J he birds of Essex County, Massachusetts. Mem.

Nut. Orn. Club 3:306. 1905.

31. Wheelock, Irene G. Birds of California. A. C. McClurg and Co., Chicago.
289-292. 1912.

32. Wilson, Alexander. American Ornithology. Bradford and Inskeep, Phila-
delphia. 58-60. 1810.

Statp: Teacheks (Y)li.ege,

Moreheai). Ky.

The Savannah Sparrow in West Virginia

33

A STUDY OF THE SAVANNAH SPARROW IN WEST VIRGINIA

BY THOS. E. SHIELDS

To me, the Savannah Sparrow { Fasserculus saTidwichensis subsp.j
has been an interesting bird ever since I became familiar with it. That
was one reason why I chose (1) to make a study of this species in
1934. The other reason was that, prior to 1934, there were no nesting
records of the Savannah Sparrow for West Virginia, and I hoped to
find a nest of this species.

Until June, 1931, we did not know that this species was a summer
resident in the West Virginia Panhandle, which includes Hancock,
Brooke, Ohio, and Marshall Counties. In the last week of that month,
Sarah Hine saw a strange bird at Oglebay Park, Ohio County. Rein-
hold Ericke of the Carnegie Museum, was at Oglebay at tbe time, so
he visited the spot where the bird had been seen, and found both a
male and a female Savannah Sparrow. Ericke collected the female (2)
which proved to be an Eastern Savannab Sparrow { Passerculus sand-
wichensis savanna). Examination showed the bird had been brooding.

During tbe summer of 1932, tins species was listed occasionally
at Oglebay. In tbe summer of 1933, it was listed more frequently.
I found at least two different males singing in sejiarate jiarts of tbe
Park, during this period.

In January, 1933, Dr. Sutton’s annotated list (3) of liirds of the
West Virginia Panhandle, was published. He showed the Savannah
Sparrow as “decidedly rare and local as a summer resident,” giving
no nesting records. Sutton also jiointed out that the Panhandle con-
tains Transition Fife Zone birds, as well as Upper Austral Fife Zone
birds. Since Dr. Cbapman (4) showed tbe Eastern Savannah Sjiarrow
as breeding in tbe Canadian and Transition Fife ones, we might ex])ecl
to find it breeding in the West Virginia Panhandle.

All of th ese things led me to believe that the Savannah Sparrow
nests in this locality, so in May, 193‘-4, I started to look for a nest of
this species.

I was not successful until May 26, when, in a field at Oglebay
Phrk, Ohio County, I flushed a female Savannah Sjiarrow from its nest,
when I was but five feet away. I immediately discovered tbe nest,
the first to be recorded in the state of West Virginia. It contained
five eggs.

This record was published in the June, 1934, issue of the Redstart
(5) -(6), the July, 1934, West Virginia Nature Neies (7), and in the
December, 1934. issue of the Wilson Bulletin (8).

36

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

A. B. Brooks, Oglebay Park Naturalist, made several photographs
of the nest on May 27.

hile visiting this nest, I found another pair of Savannah Spar-
rows in a field adjaeent to the one in which I found the nest. I tried
several times to find the nest of these birds, and on June 12 I was re-
warded for my efforts. This nest contained two young birds and one
sterile egg. When I returned to the nest on June 13, the young had
flown, so no photographs of this nest were made.

The balance of this paper is devoted to the information gathered
in my study of this bird. I am indebted to my associates in the Brooks
Bird Club for some of this information. These associates, whose
names aj)pear in this article, are Sarah Hine, A. B. Brooks, Lloyd
Poland, Bussell West. Charles Conrad, Clyde Upton, and James
Handlan.

To my knowledge, the Savannah Sparrow does not occur in West
Virginia in winter. At least, I have not been able to find any winter
records of this species for West Virginia. I am quite sure that it does
not winter in the Panhandle, hecause neither Dr. Sutton nor the mem-
bers of the Brooks Bird Club have listed it during that season, and
they cover a goodly portion of the Panhandle.

This bird readies the Panhandle in its spring migration around
the last of March or the first of April. The local migration records
of this species are rather incomplete, since they cover only 1933 and
1934, but I believe they are apjiroximately correct. In 1933, this
species was first listed on March 28, while in 1934, it was not listed
until April 7 (9l. The earliest migration record for each spring was
made near water. In 1933. Bussell West found this bird at Beech
Bottom Swam]), Brooke (iounty. for the first record, while Charles
Conrad and George Flouer made the first 1934 record at the same
place. This indicates that the species migrates in spring along or near
bodies of water. I recall distinctly that in 1933 and 1934. we did
not find a Savannah Sjiarrow in its summer habitat at Oglebay Park,
which is some distance from any bodies of water, until several weeks
after the bird was seen at Beech Bottom Swamp, even though we were
constantly watching for this species at Oglebay. At the Wheeling
(Country (dub golf course, wbich has small bodies of water scattered
over it, tins bird was listed on Ajiril 8, 1934, one day after it was
recorded at Beech Bottom Swamp.

Apparently tlu' Savannah Sparrow is a sjiring migrant in scat-
tered parts of West Virginia. It certainly occurs in migration at Terra
Alta in Preston (.ounty, where it is a summer resident. I was at this

The Savannah Sparrow in West Virginia

37

place for two weeks in the summer of 1933 and found several pairs
there. Bihhee (10 ) states he has found this species in spring migration
in Wood County. The Panhandle, Preston County, and Wood (iounty
are all some distance apart from one another.

In West Virginia, the summer habitat of the Savannah Sparrow is
in large upland fields and in large fields bordering bodies of water,
at elevations of approximately 1175 feet or more. The seven places
in Ohio County where this bird is known to reside during its breeding

Fig. 5. Nest of the Savannah Sparrow, Oglehay Park, Ohio County, W. Va.,
May 27, 1934. Photographed liy A. B. Brooks.

season all come under the classification of large upland fields. How-
ever, at Terra Alta, I found this species in large fields by Lake Terra
Alta as well as in upland fields some distance from the lake. As to
elevation, the fields at Oglehay Park where I found the Savannah
Sparrows nesting, are approximately 1250 feet high. Another field
at Oglehay, where I found a pair of these birds, lias the same eleva-
tion. The field at Oglehay where this species was recorded in 1931.
1932. and 1933, and where I finally found it in 1934, has an elevation
of about 1175 feet. At Carter’s farm, a short distance from Oglehay.
I found the bird at an elevation of 1300 feet. Clyde Upton re])orted
Savannah Sparrows at the Wheeling Country Club golf course in the
summer of 1934. This place is adjacent to Oglehay and the elevation
there is about 1175 feet. Charles Conrad reported this species at
Romine’s Farm, a few miles from Oglehay, during the same jieriod

38

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

and I believe this farm is approximately 1200 feet high. At Fawcett’s
farm about five miles from Oglehay, A. B. Brooks found a Savannah
Sparrow in the summer of 1983. This farm is the highest in Ohio
County, the elevation there being 1885 feet. The points I have re-
ferred to are all rather high for this region, the average elevation foi
Ohio County being about 700 feet, I believe. At Terra Alta, West
Virginia, where the elevation is close to 3000 feet, I found several
pairs of these birds in the summer of 1938.

The Savannah Sparrows in the West Virginia Panhandle must
begin nesting during the latter part of May. I found a nest on May
26, when the complete set of five eggs was in it; and another on June
12, when the young were almost ready to leave the nest. Forhush (11 )
gives May 21 to June 29 as nesting dates for this species in Massa-
chusetts, while Chapman (4) gives May 19 as the nesting date for
Utica, New York.

The two nests which I found were slightly different in construction.
They were both in small cup-like depressions in the ground, hut the
first was more cleverly concealed than the second. The first nest was
at the foot of a stalk of grass, and did not protrude above the ground.
It was made of a few fine grasses, very neatly placed in a cup-like hole
in the ground. The second nest was bulkier, protruding slightly above
the ground. It was made of coarse grasses lined with finer grasses.
The two nests were at the same elevation, and were separated by a
road. The distance between them was about 150 yards.

There are not enough data available to say how many eggs the
Savannah Sj)arrows in this region lay. One nest I found contained
five eggs, while the other nest must have had three eggs in it, since
there were two young birds and one sterile egg in it when I found the
nest. Keed (12) and Koherts (13) show this species as laying three
to five eggs, and my records check with these figures. However, some
other authors give slightly different figures.

The eggs of this species are ovate in shape. It cannot he said
that the eggs are one particular color, because of their variation. The
many authorities on bird eggs give (piite different descriptions of the
color of Savannah Sparrow eggs. The eggs in the first nest were all
I had to observe, since the sterile egg in the other nest was covered
with excreta. However, of the five eggs in the one nest, four of them
were very pale brown with cinnamon-brown spots about the larger
end. The other egg had a bluish tinge, while the spots on it were
cinnamon and more |)ronounced. It may he of interest to note that
the on<‘ ('gg which was colored more brilliantly than the others was

39

The Savannah Sparrow in West Virginia

the only fertile egg in the nest. I can find no information to the effect
that fertile eggs differ from infertile eggs in color, hut that was cer-
tainly true in this instance, although it may have been only an accident.

The fact that the two nests contained five infertile eggs and three
fertile ones, is very interesting. It is known that birds on the edge of
their breeding range lay a high percentage of infertile eggs. The fact
that the nests I found contained a large number of infertile eggs, may
indicate that the West Virginia Panhandle is on the edge of the breed-
ing range of the Savannah Sparrow, and, since this range lies to the
north, the Panhandle would he on the southern edge. Allen (14) ex-
plains that birds on the edge of their breeding range, are not so likely
to be in mating rhythm as those toward the center of their breeding
range; and, as a result, the birds on the edge of their breeding range
are less likely to produce fertile eggs. There must he some reason
for such a high percentage of infertile eggs (62.5 per centj, and
Allen’s explanation seems plausible.

My nesting records extend the breeding range of this species ap-
proximately forty-five miles southward along the Ohio River in this
district. Formerly, there were no nesting records below Columbiana
County, Ohio, in the Upper Ohio Valley.

I regret to say that I do not have any data on the rearing of the
young of the Savannah Sparrow. I watched the first nest for three
weeks waiting for the eggs to hatch, hut they didn’t hatch. Since,
according to Roberts (T3), the incubation period for this species is
twelve days, I felt sure the eggs would not hatch alter twenty-one
days, so I collected the nest after that much time had elapsed. There
was only one egg which was not cracked by that time, so I broke it
and found a partially developed young bird in it. Apparently the
adult birds had allowed this egg to cool after the embryo had de-
veloped to a certain extent. Of the seventeen days in which 1 visited
this nest, I found one of the birds on it nine times. The adult was on
the nest as late as June 12, or seventeen days Irom the time of my
finding the nest.

The other nest was not found until the day before the young left
it, so, I had no op|)ortunity to observe how these young birds were
raised. The best I could do was to make notes on the pluumage of the
juvenile birds.

Although I cannot say definitely, since the male and female
Savannah Sparrows have practically the same a|)pearance, 1 believe
the female did all of the incubating in the first nest. At least, when

40

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

I was able to distinguish between the two adults. I found that the
female was or had been on the nest.

The two juvenile Savannah Sparrows which I observed, were a
mixture of brown and yellow. The base of the hill was bright yellow,
and the underparts were yellow with brown streakings. These streaks
vs^ere not as prominent as those on adult birds of this species. The
hack was mostly brown, with some yellow parts. There was just a
suggestion of the yellow streak over the eye. Altogether the young
birds were much brighter in color than the adults.

In studying the habits of this species, some interesting things
came to light. One of the first things to impress me was the action
of the female bird when I approached its nest. It would allow me
to come as close as five feet from the nest, before it would leave it.
Then the bird would hop from the nest and drag its wings, pretending
to he wounded. After it was about twenty-five feet away, it would
run through the grass like a field mouse. While this was going on,
the male would keep chirping insistently, scarcely pausing at all. The
female chirped only occasionally and even then not so loudly as the
male.

The Savannah Sparrows in this region are very scary. I could
not get closer than fifteen feet to any of them, except when one was on
the nest or when young were in the nest. Blanchan tI5) says this bird,
in the north, loses the shyness which makes it so little known in the
southern part of its range. It certainly is very shy in this section, and
the same is true of this species at Terra Alta.

When the Savannah Sparrow is Hushed from the nest, and the
observer retires to a spot about fifteen yards away, the male bird
chirps constantly, attracting as much attention as possible. If the
observer keeps his distance for a while, the female will gradually
work her way back to the nest, crawling through the grass for some
distance, while her mate continues chirping. I saw this done a number
of times and the routine never varied, except when the bird was so
frightened that it would not return to the nest for a long while.

If this bird knows yon are watching it, it will peek at you from
some hush, with only its head and neck visible. It will twist its head
around to get a better look at you, hut will keep fairly well hidden.
This halnt helps in identifying the bird.

On several occasions, I noticed the adult Savannah Sparrows
giving a harsh “h.s.s” when I was at their nest. This was a new note
to me. and upon referring to various authorities, I found only For-
hush (11 j recorded this utterance. He said the birds give this note

The Savannah Sparrow in West Virginia

41

when two of them are quarreling, hut I think otherwise. One bird
will give this note when its mate is not near, so it could hardly be
ealled a quarreling note. I am sure it is an alarm note, since I heard
it only when I was very near the nest.

The ordinary chirp of this species is a sharp “tsip”. Its song is
generally recorded with three introductory notes, but the birds in this
region almost always give four introductory notes in their song. Some-
times the observer does not hear one or two of these first notes, if he
is not close to the singing bird. I find only Eaton (16) shows that
this species gives three or four beginning notes in its song.

While the Savannah Sparrow is essentially a bird of the fields,
it is sometimes found in small trees, bushes, and on fence posts. This
bird has a number of favorite perching places, and there the male
sings frequently. Only twice did I ever hear a Savannah Sparrow sing
from the ground, once at Oglebay and once at Terra Alta.

Apparently the Savannah Sparrows in West Virginia nest here
only once a year. On July 14 and July 21, 1934, I visited four sta-
tions in Ohio County and could not find a single Savannah Sparrow.
I am sure I would have seen one had any been there, for I knew a
number of their favorite perches. James Handlan, who spent most
of the months of July and August, 1934, at Terra Alta tells me he
did not list a Savannah Sparrow there after July 20. This indicates
that the birds move to another region after their first nesting period
is ended.

In concluding this paper, I would like to call attention to several
things which I consider important. First, that the Savannah Sparrow
does nest in West Virginia. Then, that the West Virginia Panhandle
may be on the southern edge of the breeding range of this species.
Also, that my nesting records extend the breeding range about forty-
five miles southward in the Upper Ohio Valley. Another thing worth
considering is that this bird may he extending its range southward.
Either this is the case, or we are finding the bird more because we
have become more familiar with it. Camj)bell (17l found similar
circumstances in Ohio and he thought it likely the Savannah Sparrow
was extending its range southward. I am not so sure that this is the
case in the Panhandle. Almost all of the jmesent stations in Ohio
County are fields that have not been covered previously to any extent
l)y ornithologists, and it is possible we may have overlooked this
species.

It might also he well to consider the fact that the Savannah Spar-
row requires an elevation of 1175 feet or more in this region.

42

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

Christy (18) found this species in Western Pennsylvania only at an
elevation of 1200 feet. I am sure that elevation plays a large part in
the Savannah Sparrow’s selection of breeding sites, as there are num-
erous fields in this region which would be suitable for this species,
were it not that they are too low.

I consider the alarm note of the Savannah Sparrow an important
discovery, as is the song which I have recorded dilferent from previous
descriptions of this bird’s song.

Finally, this species is no longer “rare as a summer resident” in
the West Virginia Panhandle. I would call it uncommon in this
region, and I would say that it is still local, since all of the summer
stations of this bird in the Panhandle are within a radius of five miles.

As to its status in the state of West Virginia, I think Brooks’
classification of “decidedly rare” (19) should be changed to “rather
rare and local in distribution”.

Bihliogkapuy

1. Contest News. Charles Conrad. Redstart, Vol. 1, No. 4, jtp. 3-4, 1934.

2. The Birds of Oglehay Park. Reinhold L. Fricke. Cardinal, Vol. 3, pp. 49-54,
1932.

3. Birds of the West Virginia Panhandle. George Miksch Sutton. Cardinal,
Vol. 3, pp. 101-124, 1933.

4. Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America. Frank M. Chapman. Pp.
520-521.

5. Some Ornithological Contributions by the Nature School. A. B. Brooks.
Redstart, Vol. 1, No. 6, j)p. 1-3, 1934.

6. State Nesting Record. Tom Shields. Redstart, Vol. 1, No. 6, pp. 3-4, 1934.

7. Savannah Sparrow’s Nesting Is Recorded. West Virginia Nature News, Vol.
1, No. 1, p. 2, 1934.

H. The First Nesting Record of the Eastern Savannah Sparrow for West Virginia.

Thos. E. Shields. Wilson Bulletin, Vol. -46, p. 256, 1934.

9. Brooks Bird Clul) 1934 Migration List. Redstart, Vol. 1, No. 6, pp. 5-6. 1934.

10. Birds of West Virginia. P. C. Bihhee. Bulletin 258, Agricultural Experiment
Station, College of Agriculture, West Virginia University, 1934.

11. Birds of Massachusetts and Other New England States. Edward Howe For-
bnsh. Vol. 3, pj). 53-56.

12. North American Birds Eggs. Chester A. Reed. P. 253.

13. The Birds of Minnesota. I'homas S. Roberts. Vol. 2, pp. 385-386.

14. Sex Rhythm in the Ruffed Grouse and Other Birds. Arthur A. Allen. Auk,
Vol. 51, pp. 180-199.

15. Bird Neighbors. Neltje Blanchan. Pp. 155-156.

16. Birds of New YOrk. Elon Howard Eaton. Vol. 2, pp. 288-290.

17. A Southward Movement of Breeding Savannah Sparrows in Ohio. Louis W.
Campbell. Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 40, pp. 223-225, 1928.

18. The Summer Range of the Savannah Sparrow. Bayard H. Christy. Cardinal,
Vol. 3, tip. 70-71, 19.32.

19. Birds of West Virginia. Earle A. Brooks. West Virginia Encyclopedia,
I)[). 60-74.

Oglebay Fakk,

Wheeling, W. Va,

Renal Blood-Vessels in Raptorial Birds

43

NOTES ON THE RENAL BLOOD-VESSELS OE RAPTORIAL BIRDS

BY F. L. FITZPATRICK

As has been noted in a previous pajier, text-hook descriptions of
bird kidneys usually refer to the kidneys of the chicken or the pigeon.
Usually these are illustrated as being composed of three more or
less equal lobes.

In the case of Cooper’s Hawk the anterior lobe is much larger
than either the middle or the posterior (caudal ) lobe. Tbe anterior
and middle lobes are continuous, but the posterior lobe is separate.
On each side of the body the ureter appears on the ventral surface
of the middle lobe (kidney), proceeds along the ventral surface of
the posterior lobe, and thence posteriorly, where both oviducts open
separately into the urodaeum.

With slight variations this appears to be substantially the same
situation that is found in the Eastern Red-tailed Hawk, the Barred
Owl, and the Great Horned Owl.

However, in the Turkey Vulture the situation is somewhat differ-
ent. The anterior lobe of tbe kidney is large as in the preceding cases,
but the remainder of each kidney is partially divided by constrictions
into what appear to be three lobes, and tbe ureter emerges at the
posterior end of the kidney.

In the case of the male Eastern Red-tailed Hawk [Buteo h. borea-
lis) the main circulatory connections of the pelvic region proved to
be as illustrated in the accompanying diagram.’ The dorsal aorta
passes between and dorsal to the kidneys in the midline. Two renal
arteries enter the anterior lobes of the kidneys. Earther posteriorly
two femoral arteries are given off which pass dorsal to the middle lobes
of the kidneys, give off a branch in each case to the dorsal body wall,
and extend laterally to the body wall, where they branch to the body
wall and the region of the hind limbs. Although these arteries are
figured as giving off renal arteries to the middle and posterior lobes of
the kidneys (pigeon) in some text-books, this did not appear to be the
case in hawks of the genus Buteo. Then the dorsal aorta gives off a
pair of sciatic arteries which pass laterally, and dorsal to the posterior
lobes of the kidneys.

As will be seen in Eigure 6, a large iliac vein crosses the ventral
surface of each kidney between the anterior and the middle lobe.
Short branches from the anterior lobe connect with this vein in Buteo
1. lineatus and presumably in Buteo h. borealis as well. Tbe two iliac

^Terminology as given by Parker.

44

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

veins unite in the midline to form a large postcaval vein, which of
course is ventral to the dorsal aorta in position.

It will be noted that each iliac vein receives three main branches,
one of which is a renal vein from the posterior lobe of the kidney.
The second is an extension of the so-called “renal portal vein”, which
according to Parker gives off only a few minor afferent renal vessels
in passing through this lobe." This renal portal vein discharges into
the femoral vein just distal to the point where the latter vessel joins

dorsal aorta
postcaval vein
adrenal gland
renal artery

iliac vein
dorsal aorta
femoral vein

femoral artery
renal vein
sciatic artery

renal portal vein

Fig. 6. Diagram of the renal lilood-vessels in a Red-tailed Hawk.

the renal vein to form the iliac vein. The third is the femoral vein.
It is with respect to these branches that variation among different
species is most evident. Finally, two veins which are figured as “renal
portal veins” in some text-hooks extend to the posterior lobes of the
kidneys from the posterior end of the body.

The foregoing description of the larger blood vessels associated
with the urinogenital organs ajipears to lie more or less typical of the
North American hawks and owls mentioned in the foregoing discussion,
although it is subject to some variation among the species studied, and
no doubt to somewhat less individual variation as well.

Teachers College, Columbia University.

New York, N. Y.

“Not(!: d'hpsc hraiudios iui<.dit be efferent renal veins in this case. Parker’s
work refers to the iiigeon.

Robert Henry Wolcott

45

HOBEKT HENKY WOLCOTT

BY MYRON H. SWENK

Dr. Robert Henry Wolcott was born at Alton, Illinois, on October
11, 1868. His father was Robert N. Wolcott and his mother Agnes
(Swain) Wolcott. It was in the neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michi-
gan, however, that as a hoy Wolcott pursued his earliest interests in
biology. His first publication, dealing with bird observations in the
vicinity of Grand Rapids, was published in the Ornithologist and
Oologist in 1884, when he was a sixteen-year-old student in the Grand
Rapids High School, from which he graduated in 1885. Soon after
this graduation young Wolcott entered the University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor, where he received the Bachelor of Law degree in 1890,
the Bachelor of Science degree in 1892, and the degree of Doctor of
Medicine in 1893. As a young man in the University, Wolcott found
numerous opportunities for biological field work in the vicinity of
Ann Arbor. During these years he associated considerably with that
group of Michigan bird students that organized the Michigan Orni-
thological Club in 1895. After the organization of this club. Dr. Wol-
cott contributed articles, dealing with the nesting of different species
of Michigan birds, to the Bulletin oj the Michigan Ornithological Club.

Instead of engaging in the practice of law or medicine, upon the
receipt of his B. L. and M. D. degrees from the University of Michigan,
Dr. Wolcott engaged as a member of a party making a biological
survey of the waters of the state of Michigan, with special reference
to the fish supply, during the summer of 1893. He continued this work
during the summer of 1894, in which year he received a call to con-
tinue graduate study and act as an assistant in the Department of
Zoology at the University of Nebraska, which appointment he accepted.
His work in Nebraska ornithology began, therefore, in the fall of
1894, and continued over a ]>eriod of forty years until his death at
Lincoln on January 23, 1934. On June 2, 1897, Dr. Wolcott was mar-
ried to Miss Clara Buckstaff of Lincoln, who, with a brother, son, and
daughter, survives him.

Four years after his removal from Michigan to Nebraska, in 1899.
while Dr. Wolcott was holding the position of Adjunct Professor in
the Department of Zoology, and with the successful organization of the
Michigan Ornithological Club fresh in mind, he cooperated with Pro-
fessor Lawrence Bruner, then Chairman of the Department of Ento-
mology and Ornithology at the University, in the organization of a
Nebraska Ornithological Club at Lincoln. It so happened that at al-
most exactly the same time, hut quite independently, there was also a

46

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Association organized at Omaha. A combi-
nation of these two organizations in the summer of 1899 resulted in
the establishment of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union, which held
its first annual meeting at Lincoln on the following December 16. Dr.
Wolcott was the first Recording Secretary of the new state organiza-
tion. He retained that office by successive re-elections during the years
1900-01 to 1903-04, and the first three volumes of the Proceedings of
the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union were brought out under his editor-
ship in 1900, 1901, and 1902, respectively. At the close of his fifth
year as Secretary, Dr. Wolcott retired from that office in order to
accept the office of President of the organization, on January 30, 1904.
Subsequently he was three times re-elected to this office, in 1916, 1923,
and 1924.

Dr. Wolcott’s first papers on Nebraska birds included one pub-
lished in the Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club in 1899,
dealing with birds noted in Nebraska in the fall and winter of 1898-99.
and others in the Proceedings of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union
in the years immediately following the establishment of the latter
organization. In 1899, Dr. Wolcott returned to Grand Rapids for a
summer of field work, varied with a month spent in similar work at
Batavia, Illinois. In 1900, he spent the early summer in the field at
Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and August of that year at Indiantown
Island, Maine. During these two summers a great portion of his at-
tention was devoted to the birds, as extensive ornithological notes
during this period from the several localities just mentioned testify.

The year after his arrival in Nebraska. Dr. Wolcott was made an
instructor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Nebraska,
and received the degree of Master of Arts at that institution. Three
years later (1898) he was promoted to be Adjunct Professor of
Zoology. In 1902, he became Assistant Professor of Zoology and
Demonstrator in Anatomy, and the following year was again promoted,
to he Associate Professor of Zoology, in charge of the Anatomy Labora-
tory. Two years later (1905) he was given the rank of a full profes-
sor, with the title of Professor of Anatomy. It was he, largely, who
developed the pre-medical work in the University of Nebraska, then
under the administration of the Zoology Department. In 1909, Dr.
Wolcott was made Chairman of the Department of Zoology and acting
Dean of the College of Medicine. When a permanent location for the
(’ollege of Medicine of the University was to be chosen. Dr. Wolcott
selected Omaha, hut he himself chose to stay at the main University
in Lincoln, as Dean of the Junior Medical College there, and to con-

Robert Henry Wolcott

47

ROBERT HENRY WOLCOTT

48

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

tinue his administration of the Department of Zoology. In 1915 he
severed official connection with the College of Medicine, and assumed
the more restricted duties of Professor of Zoology and Chairman of
the Department, which remained his status until his death.

Dr. Wolcott’s interest in living things was not confined to the field
of ornithology. He was keenly interested in entomology as a hoy and
young man in Michigan, and continued that interest during his resi-
dence in Nebraska. His particular interests lay with the butterflies,
moths, and beetles. At the time of his death he left an incomplete
treatise on the butterflies of Nebraska, and a similar account of the
tiger-beetles and other families of beetles as represented in that state.
His most serious interest, however, was in the family of American
water mites, in which group he became, through researches carried on
at Nebraska during the decade beginning about 1898, the generally
regarded American authority. In 1905, he published a synopsis of the
genera of water mites, this paper following revisions of the North
American species of several of the genera of the grou]). During the
last few years of his life he devoted a great deal of labor to a text-
book in beginning zoology, which was published under the title Animal
Biology only a short time before the onset of his fatal illness. Dr.
Wolcott was one of the co-authors of the Preliminary Review of the
Birds oj Nebraska, published in 1904, and author of An Analysis oj
N ehraska' s Bird Fauna, published in 1909, his two most important
contributions to ornithology.

For almost the whole of his very active life, Dr. Wolcott was in
splendid health, due in ]>art, no doubt, to his love of the out-of-doors,
to which he resorted at every opportunity. He was an enthusiasitc
sportsman, and was elected an honorary member of the Lincoln cha|)-
ter of the Izaak Walton League. Through his summer teaching work,
he was able to broaden his held experiences in different parts of the
United States. In the summers of 1901, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1924, and
1925, he was in charge of the biology courses at the University of
Missouri, at Columbia. In the summers of 1923, 1926. and subse-
quently, he carried on similar work at the Puget Sound Biological
Station in Washington state. He joined the American Ornithologists’
Union in 1901 and in 1903 was elected a member of that organization.
In 1924 he became an active member of the Wilson Ornithological
Club and remained so up to the time of his death. In 1909, he was
invited to represent Nebraska in the Advisory Council of Bird-Lore.
He was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, and a member of the American Society of Zoologists.

Birds in a Massachusetts Rain-pool

4‘J

American Society of Naturalists, American Microscopical Society, Eco-
logical Society of America, Entomological Society of America, Ne-
braska Academy of Science, and an honorary member of the Michigan
Academy of Science, in addition to those societies mentioned above.
He belonged also to the Society of the Sigma Xi, Phi Delta Theta
fraternity, and the American Association of Elniversity Professors.
He was a thirty-third degree Scottish Rite Mason, and his burial in
Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, on January 25, was in charge of Lincoln
Lodge No. 19, A. L. & A. M.

University of Nebraska.

Lincoln, Nebr.

BIRDS AT A RAIN-POOL IN MASSACHUSETTS
IN OCTOBER, 1933

BY SAMUEL A. ELIOT, JR.

Readers of the Wilson Bulletin may he interested to imagine
the Connecticut Valley of New England as a miniature Mississippi
Valley — a north-south trough (a natural migration route) with high
ranges on the west and lower hills on the east. But the average mid-
western bird-student might he surprised that although it is so near
the ocean, this minor inland river-system, with all its ponds and
swamps, lacks or almost lacks a number of water birds. Just because
the sea is within rather easy flying-distance, sea-loving birds are hardly
more than accidental in the middle section of the Valley (that which
crosses Massachusetts), and most shore birds are rare. Among our
“accidentals” may he named the Red-throated Loon, Leach’s Petrel,
Gannet, Barrow’s Golden-eye, Surf Scoter, Ruddy Turnstone, Hudsonian
Curlew, Knot, Purple Sandpiper, Red Phalarope, Great Black-hacked
Gull, Laughing Gull, Common Tern, and Dovekie. Among water birds
which are now and then recorded, not by accident hut as transients
in very small numbers, we list the Doulde-crested Cormorant, American
Brant, Snow Goose (probably Greater), Gadwall, Shoveller, Redhead,
Canvas-back, 01d-sc|uaw, White-winged Scoter, Ruddy Duck, Red-
breasted Merganser, Golden Plover, Black-bellied Plover, Willet (prob-
ably Western), Red-backed Sandpiper, Dowitcher (suhsp.?), Sander-
ling. Northern Phalarope, Black Tern, and Briinnich’s Murre. At the
seashore, a hundred miles away, most of these are regular and some
are abundant. Many of them are far more common in the middle of

50

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

North America, a thousand miles inland, than here. Common both
farther inland and on the coast, but not yet once discovered here, are
the Piping Plover, Western Sandpiper, and others.

With great delight, therefore, was I shown by a bird-loving friend
a rain-pool in Hadley that teemed with water birds. It had existed
only since the terrific rain of September 16, 1983, and was not found
until September 30. It filled the lower angles of two fields separated
by a brook — a hare tobacco-field on the east, a weedy cornfield on the
west. Farther east was a steep ascent, clothed with birch and maple;
farther west, more farm-fields; to the north the bush-bordered brook,
and to the south a stretch of half-drowned, boggy land in which one
could often find shore birds that one had missed at the pool itself.
The Connecticut River makes a great bend around Hadley, and this
pool was not far east of a straight line across the peninsula, such as
migrants flying down-.stream would he likely to take. When flushed,
the birds usually flew southwest or northwest towards the nearer parts
of the river.

The only other places in the vicinity of Northampton where water
birds could be looked for with expectancy were in the Oxbow region,
live miles southwest of this pool; at the six small sewer-heds of Am-
herst, four miles east; and at the sandy river-bank, a mile or two south,
which is a much better place in the late spring shore bird flight than
in summer and fall. A few records of shore birds at these three loca-
tions are included in the accompanying table, but they were merely
supplementary to the surprising assemblies found morning after morn-
ing at the Hadley pool. The latter was forty minutes’ bicycle-ride
from my home, hut so striking was the opj)ortunity that I missed not
a morning from September 30 through November 2.

On the first day, the friend who took me to the pool had seen,
he said, “a lot of Dowitchers, and some Stilt Sandpipers”. The latter
has never been recorded here, and Dowitchers (since 1901) only in
September, 1905, 1919. and 1928; so I was keenly disappointed that
a few hours later neither species could be found. We did observe
many Killdeers, several Greater and Lesser Yellow-legs, 3 Pectoral
and 2 Solitary Sandpipers, and 1 Sni])e; also a dozen Blue-winged
Teal, 2 Green-winged, and 1 Pintail. The next day, arriving about
sunrise, I noted 10 Blue-wings. 5 Green-wings, the Pintail, 5 Black
Ducks, 3 Wood Ducks, and a Pied-hilled Grebe, besides the shore birds

Birds in a Massachusetts Rain-pool

51

recorded on the tal)le. Of these, the great ])rize was of course the
Baird’s Sandpiper. At Pittsfield on August 30, 1933, I had made what
seems the first record of this species in western New England north of
the Connecticut coast. At Hadley, on October 1, 1 saw the first in the
Connecticut Valley.

The two Least Sandpipers of October 1 were seen by another
observer later in the morning. The White-rump was noted by still
others in the late afternoon, consorting with the Baird’s. One Least
was at the pool October 2, 4, and 6 — probably one and the same bird,
temporarily absent on the “odd” days. The species had never jirevi-
ously been seen hereabouts later than Sejitember 7. The White-rump,
though missed on October 2, was present on the six following days.
After a week of none, another showed up on October 16, a third Octo-

Fig. 7. The Rain-pool, with Mt. Holyoke in the distance (left), and i\1t.
Tom (rifiht), between which the Connecticut River Hows. Rhotopraphed by
Dr. W. Elmer Ekhlaw.

her 19 and 21. On the 22d visibility was ]ioor and the two smaller
sandpipers companioning the first thrilling, too-ahsorhing Red-hacked
flew away before they were well viewed; hut Whitc-runiji is the most
probable identification. On the 24th no shore birds were at the })ool
when it was reached, at 7 A. M., hut at 7:45 a dock of Killdcers with
the still strangely red-hacked, unmolted Duidin I had noted among
them on the 23d flew to it from the north, and a small sandpi])er,
“probably White-rump hut perhaps Semi])almated” as I wrote at the
time, came from the south and joined them. This flock fed on the
upper, dry part of the tobacco field, not at the pool’s edge. It flushed

SHORE-BIRDS AT A TEMPORARY RAIN-POOL IN HADLEY, MASS., IN OCTOBER, 1933
IFigure-s in brackets represent l)irds reported by other oliservers there]

52

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

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Birds in a Massachusetts Rain-pool

53

promptly, flew far southwest, and descended on anotlier waterless field
there. On the 25th. the Dunlin and White-rump were feeding at the
water’s edge but flew up to join the Kill deers on the higher ground
and departed with them for another dry field to the west. Later an-
other, more brownish, scaly-hacked, summery White-rump appeared
at the pool’s margin with two very small Pectoral Sandpipers. On the
26th, after a frigid night, the pool was iced over, but a reconnaissance
across the farm land to the west flushed two Dunlins, in the gray dress
proper to the season, and chanced upon the headless body of a gray
White-rump, probably destroyed by a cat. On the 27th the pool was
not visited until noon, when little ice was left. Two Red-backs were
there, with — not a White-rump — but a most surprising Semipalmated
Sandpiper. This species had shown an orderly wax and wane in the
first nineteen days of f)ctober, its numbers swelling to a maximum of
seven on October 10, then dwindling evenly to the last one, October
17-19. Our latest previous date had been October 11 (1919 ) at Spring-
field. Three White-rumps on the 27th had, however, already been seen
at the Amherst sewer beds. The last was at the partly frozen pool at
noon October 29; and a second small sandpiper, probably of the same
species, flew off before it could be well observed. Later that day a
friend found there the last Red-backed Sandpiper. Our latest Wbite-
rump record is October .51, 1925, but the Red-back has been very rare
with us (the only recent record I know of is October 16-17, 1932) ; so
these several late-coming birds at or near tbe pool were a very wel-
come find.

On only two days in all October did I completely miss water birds
at this pool. October 20 was tbe first day of the pheasant-shooting
season and I suppose that early hunters had scared the birds away
before I got there. October 28 a strong north wind was blowing, and
the birds were probably in the more sheltered, marshy country just
to the south, where on October 30 and 31 I found the three species
recorded on the table for those days. On November 1 these had gone
and a single Killdeer was all I could find; November 2 there was noth-
ing, and I ceased daily visits. On November 8, though the pool itself
was frozen, two Greater Yellow-legs were to the south; and on Novem-
ber 11, when not a bit of unfrozen water or soil remained, one bird
of this species, young-of-the-year, flew mournfully by, soutbeastward,
faintly calling. Our latest previous date for Greater Yellow-legs was
October 24, 1932.

Tbe Lesser Yellow-legs, hitherto not known later than September
26, lingered at the pool until October 10. Tbe Solitary Sandpiper was

54

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

last seen tliat same day. It has been recorded as late as October 20
(1929). The Spotted Sandpiper was not noted at the pool at all, but
one was on the sandy river-beach October 17, two weeks later than its
normal departure-date. The Pectoral Sandpiper resembled tbe Greater
\ellow-legs in numbers and dates. It has become much more com-
mon here in the last few years than it used to be. The “Birds of
Massachusetts” gives October 30 as its normal, November 11 as its
latest, final date, but we know of one killed twenty miles south of here
on November 23, 1901, at a still-open meadow spring. Two snipe
were shot with it, and once or twice snipe have occurred even in De-
cember, but the extraordinary thing about the Hadley snipe of Octo-
ber, 1933, was not their date or even their large flocks but their overt,
unwary assembling on the bare tobacco-field, where they probed the
mud left by the slowly evaporating pool precisely as dowitchers
might. Only their peculiar crouch, and immobility in that ungraceful
pose, showed that instinctively they still relied on protective colora-
tion— effective indeed among grasses but almost useless on this ex-
posed site. Prominent they certainly were, second in this respect only
to the Yellow-legs and Killdeers. Killdeers were the most noticeable
bird about the pool, the only one remarked by most passers-by. The
sixty counted on October 21 formed the biggest aggregation of Kill-
deers we have ever beheld here. This species was always the first to
take alarm, and give it. In the early part of the month one flushed
the Killdeers and, counting them in the air, watched them depart with
real relief to be rid of their screaming, before one tried to scrutinize
the other birds present. If any had flown away with the Killdeers, it
or they usually returned at once, whereas the two-belted alarmists
were not likely to come back while the observer stayed.

The three other plovers provided the happiest surprises, next to
the Baird’s Sandj)iper, of this unprecedented shore bird month. The
Golden Plover’s arrival and departure, both, were witnessed. At 7:30
on October 5, a cloudy day of chill northeast winds, its sharp iambic
call in the northern sky heralded its descent to the pool, where it asso-
ciated with the Pectorals, Semipals, and White-rum|)s. It made a long
(light westwards towards the river when too closely neared, but re-
turned when the regretful observer retired. The next morning, about
the same hour, after a night of rain, this immature plover rose into
the air with the first scary Killdeers and headed their flock, flying
with a single sharp call almost directly south. The Killdeers zig-
zagged and circled; they were not hoimd for South America; but this
dark-eyed youngster, all aloiu', absolutely inexperienced in migration.

Birds in a Massachusetts Rain-pool

55

seemed to have a compass in his brain, knew what was “south” and
went there, straight and swift. Once an abundant fall migrant down
our river (Forbush, 1912, p. 344), the Golden Plover has been almost
absent for half a century. The only recent record before this was one
of a similar lone young bird associating with Kill deers on the river
sands, August 31, 1931.

The Semipalmated Plover was a very tired, quiet young-of-the-year
discovered at the pool’s edge at 7 :30 on October 18. The single Pec-
toral and Semipalmated Sandpipers bathed, preened, and fed close by
it, while it stolidly rested. At 8:30 next day it was more active, and it
was seen by others that afternoon. It probably departed early October
20 when every other shore bird deserted the pool. This species has
become a regular late-May transient in recent springs, but is still un-
usual on its southward flight, and our latest date heretofore was Sep-
tember 12.

Tbe Black-bellied Plover is merely casual with us, and when the
young bird of October 26 was first glimpsed, running over a harrowed
field near a frozen little pool, and a single Killdeer, it was taken for
another Golden. Like the Golden, it returned after being Hushed. Its
long bluish legs and cool rather than brown coloration looked sus-
picious, and of course in (light its white croup, black axillars, and
warble positively identified it. The previous night had been very cold
(the main pool, two miles farther east, was ice-skimmed and without
birds), and this occurrence seems phenomenally late.

The ducks that were at the pool on October 1 have been mentioned
above. On October 2 there were 12 Green-winged Teal. October 3,
stalking the western, weedy part of the pool behind corn-shocks, I got
close to a Hock “dij)ping” on it of 12 Green-wings, 1 Blue-wing, 6
Black Ducks, a female Mallard, 3 Pintails, and a male Wood Duck.
This was the high point. October 5. 1 Green-wing and 2 Pintails;
October 6, 2 Green-wings; October 7, a Pintail and a Black Duck;
October 11, 1 Pintail; October 15, 2 Green-wings; October 16, the
same ( ? ) two in the air, closely accompanied in all their evolutions by
six snipe; October 17, 2 Black Ducks, 1 Green-wing, and 2 larger,
white-bellied ducks, either Wood or (I rather guess) Bald])ate; and
October 18, 1 Black, completes the duck story. Such a list, for a tem-
porary, shrinking pool exposed to a road (and the duck-shooting sea-
son opened on October 16), is somewhat notable.

Of land birds the most conspicuous were Pipits and Busty Black-
birds. The former were seen every day and were more numerous than
I ever imagined they could be here, but on the last three days of Octo-

56

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

ber only a few appeared, and on November 1 and 2 only a single bird.
The Rusties swarmed in the cornfield, but they too declined in numbers
after October 25, whereas Crackles and Redwings proportionately in-
creased then. Several times Redwings attacked Yellow-legs in the
air, as if the latter were birds of prey, but the other blackbirds did not.
Horned Larks first appeared October 23, and were noted in small
flocks, flying, on most subsequent visits; and on October 30 hundreds
of them were studied on the meadows to the west, and found to include
a white-browed Prairie Horned Lark among each fifty or so Northerns.
In the thickets to the east the first Fox Sparrow of the fall was noted
on October 16, and the first Tree Sparrow October 21. A single Mourn-
ing Dove (rare here in autumn) was present for eight days, October
18-25. Remarkable late records were those of an adult male Nashville
Warbler October 19 and 20, a Phoebe October 23, and a Northern
Yellowthroat October 26. A Junco with peculiarly blackish colora-
tion, extending farther down its breast than usual, and with two dis-
tinct but narrow white wing-bars, was observed at close range on Oc-
tober 23; and another with brown back and pinkish sides on October
28; but no names or claims are to he attached to either. Eight or nine
kinds of hawks were noted during the month, including a Duck Hawk
October 31 and two Rough-legs October 16 and 29; and the body of a
recently shot Short-eared Owl was stumbled on in the fields to the west
on October 31.

Disappointments, besides that at the failure to confirm my friend’s
Dowitchers and Stilt Sandpipers, were the absence of Sanderling.
Western Sandpiper, Phalaropes, Coot, Gallinule, Ruddy Duck, and
Horned Grebe. For each, I entertained some hope until the ice closed
down. So far as I know, no member of the heron family ever visited
the place, and I heard of hut one Woodcock in the adjacent thickets.
Rut a backward survey of the thirty-four consecutive visits paid to this
spot is deeply satisfactory, and a gratifying memory to keep for years
to come.

Smith College,

Northampton, Mass.

Bird Notes from Wyoming

BIRD NOTES FROM THE BIGHORN MOUNTAIN REGION

OF WYOMING

BY JOHN W. ALDRICH

During the summer of 1930, I spent the months of July and Au-
gust collecting birds for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
in the central northern part of Wyoming. During about six weeks of
my stay I made my headquarters on the Bear Claw Ranch which is
owned by Dr. Gordon N. Morrill, of Cleveland. This ranch is located
on the northeastern slopes of the Bighorn Mountains four miles north-
west of Dayton, and about seven miles south of the Montana border.
The elevation of the ranch varies from 4,500 to 5,500 feet. The other
two weeks were spent in the mountains themselves at altitudes varying
from 7,000 to 11,000 feet.

The birds obtained on this trip have been carefully identified by
Dr. Harry C. Oberholser by comparison with large series of specimens.
The nomenclature used is as given by him. The following annotated
list is comprised of such species as were deemed worthy of report
because of the unusualness of their occurrence in the region described
or because the locality was close to the supposed limits of their range.
In most cases specimens were taken and when this was not the case the
bird is not here recorded unless it is one with which I am very familiar
in the field.

Canadian Long-billed Curlew. Niwienius americanus occiden-
lalis. Two juvenile specimens, male and female, were taken on the
open prairie at Bear Claw Ranch, altitude 4,500 feet, on July 20.
These two specimens were taken from a group of three birds seen on
several preceding days near the same place.

Black-billed Cuckoo. Coccyzus erythropthalmus. On July 3
two of these birds were seen in the fringe of aspen and box elder bor-
dering Smith Creek at about 4,500 feet. On almost every day there-
after one individual was observed up until July 20. No specimens
were taken, hut on one occasion, when I was not collecting, I was suc-
cessful in calling the bird up to within fifteen feet of where I stood by
imitating its call. At this distance the red eye-ring was clearly visible
and identification positive.

Western Red-headed Woodpecker. Melanerpes erythrocephalus
erythrophthalmus. Only one of these birds was seen on the trip. It
was a juvenile male specimen collected on the Tongue River near Day-
ton on July 26.

Western Kingbird. Tyrannus tyrannus hespericola. This sjiecies
was seen regularly all over the countryside below 6,000 feet. One

58

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

pair nested near tlie ranch house. One or more birds were seen on
every trip around the ranch. On August 6, eight kingbirds were seen
in the vicinity of Dayton.

Catbird. Durnetella carolinerisis. In brushy places about the
ranch one might expect to run into this species fairly regularly. On
July 3 and 4 I saw six birds each day. One was seen almost daily in
the flower garden beside the house.

American Pipit. Anthus spinoletta rubescens. Above timherline
(10,000 feet) on the rocky alpine slopes of Elk Peak, which was
climbed on July 16, this was the only bird recorded. Six pipits were
constantly Hying nervously about from rock to rock “pipping” continu-
ously. It is assumed that their actions denoted the presence of young
birds in the vicinity. Certainly the Hocks of pipits which I observed
in August behaved in an entirely different manner. The latter birds,
which were observed at about 9,000 feet, ran along quietly on the
ground and would not have been noticed had they not been Hushed
by my approach, so closely did their colors harmonize with their sur-
roundings. Even in Hight they were absolutely silent. The Hock con-
tained both pipits and Western Vesjier Sparrow's {Fooecetes graini-
neus confinis). The records of pipits seen in the Bighorn Mountains
are as follows: July 16, Elk Peak, altitude 11,000 feet, six; August

12, twenty-five miles west of Dayton, altitude 9,000 feet, five; August

13, at the same locality, about fifty. One specimen was collected on
August 12.

Western Yellow Warbler. Demlroica aestiva morcomi. In the
low willows bordering streams at the lower altitudes this was a very
common bird. It was freipiently heard singing in the shrubbery about
the house. On July 31 a specimen w'as taken on Bear Claw' Ranch
at an altitude of 4,500 feet. On August 15 two yellow' warblers were
seen in the willows along Fool Creek in the Bighorn Mountains at an
elevation of 8,000 feet. These individuals probably did not breed
there as they had not been seen previously at so high an altitude.

American Redstart. Seiophaga ruticilla. This species was seen
on four occasions in the box elders fringing Smith (ireek at an eleva-
tion of about 5,000 feet, not more than one j)air being seen on any one
day. The dates of oliservations were between July 3 and 29.

Bobolink. Dolichonyx oryzivorus. Several pairs of these birds
were found nesting in the alfalfa fields at Bear Claw Ranch between
4,500 and 5,000 feet. On July 11, I found a young Bobolink just out
of the nest and unable to lly more than a lew feet. On August 6, a
Hock of ap})roximately Iwenty-Hve juvenile Bobolinks were observed

Water Birds of Virginia

59

feeding in the hay fields near Dayton. One of this group was collected.

Bronzed Crackle. Quiscalus quiscula aeneus. During the first
few days of July a few scattered grackles were seen about the ranch.
On July 6 a juvenile specimen barely able to fly was collected near
the ranch house. By July 21, flocks of grackles had begun to gather
and were seen roosting about in the trees and feeding in the hayfields.
These flocks grew steadily in size and on August 27 I estimated 500
birds seen in the vicinity of Dayton. Fifteen specimens of Bronzed
Grackles were collected on July 6, 24, 26, and August 2 and 3. All of
these turned out to be juvenile birds in various stages of molt.

White-winged Junco. Junco aikeni. On August 12, a juvenile fe-
male specimen of this species was collected from a flock of Pink-sided
Juncos {Junco mearnsi) in the Bighorn Mountains, twenty-five miles
west of Dayton at an altitude of 9,000 feet. If this example repre-
sents a breeding record, as it seems to do, it is an extension of the
breeding range of the species from the Bear Lodge Mountains in the
northeastern corner of Wyoming.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History,

Cleveland, Ohio.

WATER BIRDS OF A VIRGINIA MOUNTAIN COUNTY

BY J. J. MURRAY

A mountain county in Virginia seems an unpropitious place for
the study of water birds. And it is true that as compared with the
coastal regions of any of the Atlantic states or with the lake country
of the north our water bird life is not large. But in the course of a
considerable amount of field work, with special reference to water
birds, I have been struck with the number both of species and indi-
viduals that can be found here. So little work has been done in th is
section during the migration period that the results of this field work
may be of some interest.

The county on which this study is based is Rockbridge (.ounty,
Virginia, and the data were gathered over a period of five years, from
1928 to 1933. Rockbridge County, taking its name from its famous
Natural Bridge, is centrally located in the Valley of Virginia, just
south of latitude 38°, and about two hundred miles from the coast
and the great tidal waters of Chesapeake Bay. The northern boundary
of the county is the watershed between the Shenandoah and James
River systems; the eastern is the crest of the Blue Ridge; while the
western runs along the top of some outlying ridges of the Alleghanies.

60

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

The altitude at Lexington, the county seat, is 1,000 feet, most of the
valley land running from 800 to 1,500 feet. The mountains generally
reach an altitude of something over 3,000 feet, some points in the
Blue Ridge rising to 4,000 feet. One can pass in an air line distance
of seven miles from an elevation of 750 feet at Balcony Falls Gap to
4,000 at the peak of Thunder Hill. The eastern half of the county,
from the foot of the Blue Ridge westward beyond Lexington, is rolling
hill country, while the western half is very rugged, with high hills,
mountain ridges, and isolated peaks. The fauna of the valley floor is
Carolinian, while that of the higher foothills and mountain areas
covers the extremes of the Alleghanian zone. One would expect to
find the Canadian zone in areas above 3,500 feet, but since these areas
only occur as islands and there are no high coniferous forests no
(Canadian birds bave been found breeding within the county.

Rockbridge County has but one large river, the James, which cuts
across its southeastern corner. Most of its territory is drained by tbe
North River, a small tributary of the James, with two branches, the
South River, flowing at the foot of the Blue Ridge, and the North River
proper, or Maury River, coming out of Goshen Pass in the Alleghanies
and flowing east through the center of the county. The county is
abundantly supplied with small streams, all of wbich are swift and
rocky, with only occasional stretches of quiet, deep water. There are
no natural lakes. The Adcox Knob Lake, from wbich Lexington gets
its water supply, is an artificial lake high up in the mountains covering
about fifteen acres and surrounded by woods. The caretaker tells me
that flocks of ducks stop on it at times, but tbe only birds that I have
found on my occasional visits are Pieddfilled Grebes. Cameron’s Pond,
three miles north of Lexington, is a shallow marshy stretch of water
of three or four acres, varying greatly in size according to the wetness
of the season. It is surrounded l)y open pasture, except for a willow
thicket at one end. There are no houses near. I have driven an
automobile within a few feet of the water's edge and watched ducks
feeding a hundred yards away, sometimes forty to sixty individuals
and as many as six species at once on this tiny pond. Big Spring Pond,
seven miles west of Lexington, is slightly larger, with long fingerdike
reaches stretching away from the main area. It is fed by large springs.
The water is from two to five feel deep, grown up except in the center
with cat-tails, Nympluiea, Bidens, and other water plants. At the ends
there are thickets and patches of o])en woods. For the rest it is sur-
rounded by pasture and bordered by a farm yard. In spile of the
fact that the farm house is situated on the hillside only fifty yards

Water Birds of Virginia

61

from the water ducks come to the pond rather freely. Most of my
water bird records have been made at Big Spring and Cameron’s Pond.

Surprisingly small places are utilized here by water birds during
the migrations. I have known ducks and grebes to spend the night on
the city reservoir, which is merely a concrete basin some thirty yards
in diameter, set on an open hilltop near a highway. In spite of the
small number of suitable places I have listed twenty kinds of ducks.
Marshy spots are very scarce in a region like this and mud banks not
at all common, consequently fewer species of shore birds have been
recorded. We have only one resident water bird, the Killdeer, and
only four summer residents of which I am sure, the Great Blue Heron,
Green Heron, Upland Plover, and Spotted Sandpiper. The Pied-billed
Grebe, Bittern, and Woodcock possibly breed very sparingly. This
paper presents data on fifty species of water birds, all but one of
which I have personally observed. Tbe list follows:

Common Loon. Gavia immer immer. Rare transient. Mr. Chas.
0. Handley, who was a student at Washington and Lee University at
Lexington from 1919 to 1921, saw one on North River, May 8, 1921.
One was shot on the same river about 1890. An injured bird was
brought to me on December 13, 1932. It died a few days later after
being liberated at Big Spring.

(I have seen a mounted specimen of a Red-throated Loon (Gavia
stellata) in winter plumage which had been taken near Covington, in
the adjoining county of Alleghany. On April 14, 1933, from the top
of Jump Mountain (3,190 feet ) I saw a flight of seventeen loons. They
were too high overhead for me to be certain about the species hut
appeared small enough for stellata).

Horned Grebe. Golymhus aurltus. Uncommon transient. Mr.
Handley tells me that a dead bird of tins species was found on April
11, 1920. I saw four in bright breeding plumage at Cameron’s Pond,
April 13, 1928; one in winter plumage on North River, December 24,
1929; two in breeding plumage at the city reservoir, March 31, 1933;
and one in gradually deepening breeding plumage at Cameron’s Pond,
March 24 to April 13, 1933.

Pied-billed Grebe. Podilymhus podiceps. Fairly common tran-
sient, in spring, March 19 to May 18; in fall, September 1 to Novem-
ber 17. I saw twenty-one together at Adcox Knob Lake, September 17,
1928. Prof. R. S. Freer, of Lynchburg, Va., and I watched a pair at
Big Spring, April 3, 1931, in courtship antics, one in full breeding
plumage with bill distinctly banded, the other still in the duller hues
of winter. The fact that a grebe was seen there as late as May 18

62

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

makes me think they may have bred. At this season and later the
growth of Bidens in this pond is so high as to make it almost im-
possible to locate nesting birds.

Double-crested Cormorant. Phalacrocorax a. auritus. Acci-
dental. On April 30, 1924, a cormorant struck a high chimney on the
campus of Washington and Lee University and fell, only slightly in-
jured. It was kept alive for several days, some of the students fasten-
ing a cord to one of its feet and taking it to a nearby stream, where it
dived for fish. It later escaped, was shot and brought back to the
biological laboratory. It was preserved in alcohol but was later
thrown away. I did not know of it until too late to see it. It was
identified as a cormorant. There was some question at the time as to
the species, but it was most likely, of course, auritus.

Great Blue Heron. Ardea h. herodias. Uncommon summer
resident March 2 to September. Seen mainly along North River and
Buffalo Creek. I have no evidence of breeding. One bird bas win-
tered each season from the fall of 1928 to the spring of 1932 in the
neighborhood of Big Spring, which because of its springs never com-
pletely freezes over.

American Egret. Casnierodias albus egretta. Rare summer visi-
tor. I had it reported to me by a good observer in tbe summer of
1929. I saw one at Big Spring on many occasions from July 26 to
September 26, 1932; one at Roop’s Pond, near Lexington, July 9.
1933; and two at Big Spring July 18, 1933.

Little Blue Heron. Florida c. caerulea. Fairly common visi-
tor in mid-summer in the white phase, June 29 to September 5, mainly
in early July, occurring usually in small flocks but sometimes as many
as twenty together. I have seen them at Cameron's Pond and Big
Spring, and they occur at other small ponds. They seem to be in-
creasing in number, and during July. 1933. were abundant. 1 have
seen no blue birds here.

Eastern Green Heron. Butorides v. virescens. Common summer
resident. March 22 to October 21. I found a nest with two eggs. May
20, 1927. in an apple orchard a mile from the nearest stream; a nest
with four eggs, June 28, 1932; and other nests with young late in June.

American Bittern. Botaurus lenligijiosus. Uncommon transient
in spring. Eight records, April 1 (1933) to May 18 (1931). It is
possible that this last date may indicate a breeding bird.

Common (Canada Goose. Branta c. canadensis. Rare transient,
formerly common. Flocks are not infrequently heard passing over,
but I have only two recent records of their stopping. I saw three at

Water Birds of Virginia

63

Big Spring, March 30, 1931. One of these was noticeably smaller
than the other two, apparently small enough to he a Hutchins’s Goose
( B. c. hulchinsi ) . They were within a stone’s throw of the farm house
but did not appear very restless, not even taking flight when I exposed
myself to view. The caretaker at Adcox Knob Lake reported fourteen
on November 19, 1931.

Common Mallard. Anas p. platyrhynchos. Common winter visi-
tor, October 3 to April 8, less common in mid-winter. Although not
so common as several other ducks, this is the most generally distributed
of the ducks that occur here.

Red-legged Black Duck. Anas r. rubripes. While it is usually
too difficult to distinguish this subspecies from the next in the field.
I have felt certain of seeing this form in one or two cases, particu-
larly an apparently crippled bird that I watched for a long time from
cover at very close range at Big Spring on April 4, 1930. The bright
coral legs and yellow bill were clearly seen in bright sunlight.

Common Black Duck. Anas rubripes tristis. Common transient,
October 29 to December 24, and March 5 to April 13. I have a record
for February 1, 1930, but no January records. I also have records
of a crippled bird on May 27 and 31, 1930. On July 2, 1930, I saw
two standing on a rock in Buffalo Creek that showed no signs of being
crippled. When I stepped out of the automobile they rose rapidly
and flew away at high speed.

Gadwall. Chaulelasmus streperus. Rare transient. Two males
and a female were seen at Big Spring, along with three Black Ducks,
on various occasions from November 25 to December 30, 1929; a fe-
male at Cameron’s Pond. October 31, 1932; and a pair at Cameron’s
Pond, November 7, 1932.

Baldpate. Mareca americana . Uncommon transient. I have five
spring records, March 11 to 28. including a Hock of eight males in
very bright plumage and six females at Cameron’s Pond, March 11,
1930; and a male, with crown strongly tinged with buff, along wdtb
two females at Big Spring, March 20, 1931; also one fall record of a
female at Big Spring from October 27 to December 2, 1930.

American Pintail. Dafila acuta tzitzihoa. Uncommon transient.
I have six spring records of some eighteen birds, February 20 to April
6; also one fall record of a female brought to me on November 13,
1928, a male having been shot at the same time.

Green-winged Teal. Nettion caroUnense. Transient, fairly com-
mon in spring, March 16 to April 18; scarce in fall, three records,
October 31 and November 1 and 3, all in 1932.

64

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

Blue-winged Teal. Querquedula discors. Transient, common in
spring March 20 to May 12; one fall record, a female at Big Spring,
(3ctober 1, 1931. They occur on the rivers as well as on the ponds.
I have seen as many as twelve in a Hock.

Shoveller. Spatula clypeata. Transient in spring, uncommon,
nine records of some sixteen birds, March 23 to April 8; one fall rec-
ord. a male at Cameron’s Pond, November 12 and 14, 1932.

Wood Duck. Aix sponsa. Bare transient in spring. Mr. Handley
saw a male fly up from the ground on the bank of North River some
time in the spring of 1922. I have seen the following at Cameron’s
Pond: a female, March 8, 1930; a pair, April 4, 1930; a pair, April
14, 1930.

Lesser Scaup. Nyroca affinis. This is our commonest duck, oc-
curring mainly in spring. March 1 1 to May 4; one fall record, a male
at Cameron’s Pond, November 12 and 14, 1932. I saw a male on
June 10, 1929, and a pair on June 13. 1929, which were probably
cripples although they could fly well, and another male on July 6,
1929, that was still badly crippled. These late birds were at Cam-
eron’s Pond.

Redhead. Nyroca americana. Rare transient. A male seen at
Cameron’s Pond and on North River from March 20 to April 6, 1929.
It was very tame, swimming in the river without noticing cars passing
on a highway not over thirty yards away. A female was seen on May
2, 1932.

Ring-necked Di ck. Nyroca collaris. Uncommon transient, nine
records of twenty-eight birds in spring, March 18 to May 2; three fall
records, a female brought to me from Buffalo Creek on November 25,
1929, a female at Cameron’s Pond on October 31. 1932. and a male
on North River, December 12. 1932.

Canvas-back. Nyroca valisineria. Rare transient, one female at
(iameron's Pond, March 24, 1933.

American Golden-eye. Glaucioneila clangula americana. Un-
common transient. Five records: a male found dead at Cameron’s
Pond, March 18, 1929; a male in North River, April 3. 1930, swim-
ming near a much travelled road and hut little disturbed by the pass-
ing cars; a female at Big Spring, December 22, 1932; a male, March
21, 1933; a female, April 21, 1933.

Buffle-head. Charitonetta albeola. Rare transient. Three rec-
oids, a female, April 15, 1929; a female, March 23, 1932; and a
young male, March 28, 1932; all at Cameron’s Pond.

Old-Sqitaw. Clangula hyernalls. Rare transient. One record, a

Water Birds of Virginia

65

male with molt to summer plumage incomplete, April 14 and 15, 1929,
at Cameron’s Pond.

Ruddy Duck. Erismatura jamaicensis rubida. Uncommon tran-
sient, four spring records and one fall record, all in female or im-
mature plumage: Big Spring, November 17, 1930; Reservoir, Novem-
ber 11 and 12, 1932; Cameron’s Pond, November 8 and 10, 1932,
November 21, 1932, and April 3, 1933.

American Merganser. Mergus merganser americanus. Rare tran-
sient. An adult female was brought to me by a hunter on January 14,
1930, and I have the skin. He said that be had shot three out of a flock
of a dozen, all of which resembled this one. On January 5, 1933, I
saw a male on James River at Snowden, just outside the county.

Hooded Merganser. Lophodytes cucullatus- Fairly common
transient in spring, March 17 to April 21, occurring in pairs and
small flocks at Cameron’s Pond, Big Spring Pond, and on North River.

Northern Clapper Rail. Rullus longirostris crepitans. Acci-
dental. A very unusual record is that of a specimen of this salt water
bird which was found dead, hanging on a barbed-wire fence, on a
country road near Lexington, about November 1, 1928. The feathers
were very much soiled but the body was mummified and without odor,
as it had dried out in the wind and sun. It was identified by Mr.
J. H. Riley and Dr. C. W. Richmond of the U. S. National Museum,
where I deposited the specimen. 1 believe this is the only record of
this species at any distance from the salt marshes. For a fuller ac-
count cf. the Auk, XLVI, January, 1929, page 106.

Virginia Rail. Rallus 1. Uinicola. Rare transient. 1 saw one
in dull plumage at Big Spring Pond, September 26, 1932, and what
was probably the same bird on October 1. I do not see why this bird
should be so rare here.

SoRA. Porzana Carolina. Common transient, in spring from April
13 to May 27, and in fall from August 29 (and ])rohahly earlier) to
October 29, at Cameron’s Pond and Big Spring. It was scarce in the
spring of 1931 and 1932, and absent in the fall of these years and
in the spring of 1933. On June 9 and July 7, 1930, I heard rails at
Big Spring which sounded like this species hut of which I could not
get sight.

Florida Gallinlile. Gallinula chloropus cachinnans. Rare tran-
sient. Th ree records. One was captured by a negro hoy near East
Lexington, May 1. 1927, and brought to the biological laboratory of
Washington and Lee. I saw one on Ajiril 19 and 25, 1929, and an-
other on May 3, 1932, both at Big Spring. I have heard sounds at
the same place in summer that suggest this bird.

66

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

American Coot. Fulica a. americuna. Fairly common transient,
in spring from April 4 to May 6, in fall from October 9 to November
14. One winter record of two birds on December 5, 1932.

Semipalmated Plover. Charadrius semipalmatus. Rare transient
in spring. I saw one on May 12 and 15, 1929; six on May 13, 1932;
three on May 14, 1932; one on May 17, 1932, all at Cameron’s Pond.

Killdeer. Oxyechus v. vocijerus. Resident, common in summer,
fairly common in winter. They raise two broods, as I have seen
downy young on May 25 and on June 27.

American Woodcock. Philohela minor. Uncommon transient,
possibly remains occasionally to breed. Mr. Handley saw one, Sep-
tember 27, 1921. One was brought to me on November 15, 1928, that
bad been shot on a high wooded hill where a covey of Bob-white had
been scattered. The hunter thought when he shot at it that it was one
of the covey rising. I saw one one June 2, 1930, in a marshy spot
near Lexington; one at Big Spring, September 14, 1931; two in a
marsh near Glasgow on James River, September 28, 1931; and two
on March 21, 1932, on a hill in thin woods.

Wilson’s Snipe. Capella delicata. Common transient in spring,
February 20 to May 7; uncommon in fall, September 14 to November
21. 1 have two winter records at Big Spring, January 13, 1930, and

December 8, 1931.

Upland Plover. Hartrarnia longicauda. Fairly common tran-
sient, uncommon summer resident, from April 6 to July 23 (and pos-
sibly later). They were once common in this section, I am told, but
now only a few small flocks are seen passing north in spring, and a
few pairs remain to nest. This must he the extreme southern limit of
its breeding range now. I saw a nest in a hay field, June 3, 1930. with
four young just hatched and still about the nest. A farmer caught a
half-grown young bird not far from this spot on June 21, 1933.

Spotted Sandpiper. Actitis macularia. (iommon summer resi-
dent. April 25 to July 18 (and probably considerably later, for I have
been able to do little field work in late summer). I have found young
just from the nest from June 8 to July 2. I have seen the birds lead
their young out into the grain fields some distance from water, the
adults Hying about over the young and alighting on fence posts and
shocks of grain.

Solitary Sandpiper. Tringa s. sohtana. Transient, common in
spring, from April 6 to May 18, less common in fall from July 26 to
as late as October 28.

Greater Yellow-legs. Tolonus mclanoleucus. Uncommon tran-

Water Birds of Virginia

67

sient in spring. April 5 to May 14, mostly at Cameron’s Pond, a few at
Big Spring.

Lesser Yellow-legs. Tot anus flavipes. (iommon transient in
spring, April 2 to May 17, mostly at Cameron’s Pond — a few at Big
Spring.

Pectoral Sandpiper. Pisobia melanotos. Bare transient. Prof.
R. S. Freer, Mr. M. G. Lewis, and I saw five in a marshy place along
the Lee Highway two miles south of Lexington, April 3, 1931. One of
them, which already had a broken wing, I collected. I saw three at
the same place on April 5 and 8, 1931.

Least Sandpiper. Pisobia niinutilla. Fairly common transient
in spring, April 2 to June 13, all at Cameron’s Pond.

Semipalmated Sandpiper. Ereunetes pusillus. Uncommon tran-
sient in spring. Five records: one. May 7, 1928; three, May 12, 1929;
three. May 15, 1929; two. May 11, 1932; one. May 13, 1932, all at
Cameron’s Pond. I have taken specimens of the Least and Semi-
palmated Sandpipers in order to make identification certain. A small
sandpiper seen on September 5, 1932, seemed to be this form rather
than the Least.

Ring-billed Gull. Earns delawarensis. Accidental. I collected
an adult female at Big Spring, February 13, 1932, which was already
crippled. It was in winter jilumage and was very thin. It was feeding
in shallow water. Several times, as it flew about tbe pond, it lit on tbe
ice, and twice lit in the snow on a nearby billside.

Bonaparte’s Gull. Earns Philadelphia. Rare visitor. Mr. M. G.
Lewis, then of Lexington, saw one in adult breeding ])lumage at Cam-
eron’s Pond, April 29, 1928; and I saw anotber in adult breeding
plumage at tbe same place and, curiously enough, on tbe same day in
1929. The latter bird stayed in tbe neighborhood for several days. I
saw two adults in winter plumage resting on Maury River at East Lex-
ington, January 8, 1932.

Black Tern. llydrochelidon nigra snrinamensis. Accidental.
Mr. Handley saw one over Maury River near East Lexington, May 10,
1919; and I saw one in adult plumage at Big S|)iing, May 18, 1931.

Note: Since this paper was prepared I have recorded two addi-

tional species in Rockbridge County: an adult Black-crowned Night
Heron, Nycticorax n. hoactli, seen at Cameron’s Pond, April 10, 1931,
and a Red-breasted Merganser, Mergns serrator. jirobably an imma-
ture male, shot at Goshen Pass, December 13, 1934, the head and wing
of which were given to me.

Lexington, Virginia.

68

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

CHANGES IN THE LIST OF BIRDS OF YELLOWSTONE

NATIONAL PARK

BY EMERSON KEMSIES

The following notes are intended as a partial revision of the
author’s paper published in the Wilson Bulletin on the birds of Yel-
lowstone Park.* Seven new species are here added and three sub-
species are dropped. The total recorded for the Park thus is 216
species and subspecies.

Although Yellowstone is the oldest of the National Parks and it
has become known the world over as a game preserve, comparatively
little work has been done on the bird life and practically nothing on
the winter bird life.

Two birds which are nearly extinct still breed in small numbers
in the Park, the Trumpeter Swan and the Whooping Crane. It seems
also that this region may prove to be one of those transition areas
where a good many subspecies intergrade. For these reasons it is
hoped that an extensive and thorough study of the bird life may he
undertaken in the near future.

Wood Ibis. Mycteria americana. This species was first reported
for the Park in July, 1925, by Mr. A. C. Bent. It was again seen the
summer of 1930 in the vicinity of Tower Falls by Mr. and Mrs. Arnold
of the permanent ranger force. It seems clear that this species is ac.
occasional visitor to the Park during its post breeding season wan-
derings, a habit which it shares with the egrets and some of the other
herons.

Trumpeter Swan. Cygnus buccinator. During the past summer
11933 ) I had the good fortune to observe two pairs of these great birds
in the Park. One pair had probably hut a single young while the
other pair had six. It is possible that a few other pairs breed in the
Park and a few more in the vicinity; these together with the few known
from British Columbia and Alberta are all that remain of this splen-
did species.

An interesting thing which I observed and of which I have no
aderpiate explanation is that a color phase apparently exists in the
young birds. In the brood that I saw with six young, three of the
cygnets were pure white while the remaining three were a dark gray.
All of the birds were of the same size and about half grown. The
single cygnet of the other pair was also pure white.

*Rirds of the ^ellowstoTie National Park, with some recent additions, ity
Emerson Kemsies. Wit, son Ruu.etin, XLII, Septemher, 19.30, pp. 198-210.

Birds of Yellowstone Park

69

Tlie only reference to the white phase of the young of the Trum-
peter Swan that I have been able to find occurs in Wright’s “Fauna ol
Our National Park”. Seemingly, Mr. Wright has taken it for granted
that the occurrence of phases is well known, for he merely suggests
that perhaps the gray young have a better chance of attaining ma
turity than the white ones.

The permanent rangers who have seen the Trumpeter Swan each
summer for years have all noticed the occurrence of both white and
gray young in almost every brood.

The only explanation I can offer at this time is one suggested by
Mr. C. L. Sibley, of Wallingford, Conn., who suggests that the Trum-
peter Swan may he inclined to throw genetic mutations in the same
way that the European Mute Swan does. Species as they near extinc-
tion show great variation; is it possible that perhaps because of the
interbreeding which must he occurring the white cygnets are produced?
The entire subject should certainly he studied before the species is
extinct.

Common Canada Goose. Branta canadensis canadensis. It seems
best in the absence of collected specimens to regard all the Canada
Geese in the Park as belonging to this form. Therefore, it hecome.'^
necessary to drop the Hutchins’s Goose of previous lists, now known
as Lesser Canada Goose (Branta canadensis leucopareia) . For a com-
plete study of the races of this species, see Annual Report of National
Museum of Canada, “Status of the Races of the Canada Goose”, by
Taverner.

Ring-necked Duck. Nyroca collaris. This species is likely at
times to be confused with the scaups, and was not recorded for the Park
until the summer of 1930, when attention was first called to it by
Ranger Naturalist Cooke. It has since been seen each summer and 1
saw it this past summer. It is probably a fairly common migrant and
may breed in small numbers in the lake region.

Old-squaw. Clangula hyemalis. The Old-squaw has been re-
corded during the past two or three winters by Permanent Ranger
Frank Anderson. It probably occurs only as a casual winter visitor.

Sandhill Crane. Crus canadensis tahida. Roth this form and
the Little Brown Crane (Crus canadensis canadensis) have been re-
corded in the Park. In the absence of specimens and since the two
races nearly overlap in size, a sight record is hardly sufficient to admit
this bird to the Park list. If it does occur it would probably occur
only during migration, as it breeds much farther north.

70

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

Forster’s Tern. Sterna forsteri. There is a specimen of this
species in the Lake Museum collected the summer of 1931, identified
at the time as a Common Tern but should he referred to this species
instead. Although this is the only record for the Park I imagine it
occurs fairly frequently and may possibly breed in the marshes that
border the Lake.

Snowy Owl. Nyctea nyctea. Rather strangely this species was
not recorded in the Park until November, 1931, when Permanent
Hanger Ben Arnold saw one in Lost Creek Valley near Tower Falls.

Great Gray Owl. Scotiaptex nebulosa nebulosa. The first record
lor this species is of a bird seen by Permanent Ranger Frank Anderson
in the late fall of 1930. Since then several have been seen and one
was collected and is mounted in the Lake Museum. It may breed
occasionally in the Park.

Howell’s Nighthawk. Chordeiles minor howelli. There is a
specimen in the Lake Museum which seems clearly referable to this
race. A specimen of the Pacific Nighthawk (C. m. hesperis) is also
in the same collection. Just what the status of the two races in the
Park is, I cannot say. It seems quite possible that the two forms inter-
grade in this area.

Desert Horned Lark. Otocoris alpestris leucolaema. No speci-
mens of the larks have been collected in the Park, but specimens col-
lected in Wyoming in nearby areas are of this race. Accordingly it
seems best to regard those of the Park as of this race; the sight record
of the Hoyt’s Horned Lark should be omitted as it is practically im-
possible to distinguish the two in the field.

Northern Sage Sparrow. Arn phispiza nevadensis nevadensis. I
found this species fairly common in the sage brush areas near Tower
Falls in July, 1933. Several people had reported hearing a strange
song in this region but had not been able to find the bird. It is
|)robable that it occurs in similar sage brush areas in other parts of
the r^ark; it should be especially looked for in the area between
Gardiner and Mammoth.

Lakewood, Ohio.

Editorial

71

EDITORIAL

The Pittsburgh Meeting proved to be one of the most successful we have
held. The annual meeting for this year will he held in conjunction with the Ameri-
can Association for the Advancement of Science at St. Louis, Mo., on December
30 and 31, 1935. The location of the 1936 meeting has not been decided. In
1937 it will be held at Indianapolis, Ind., again with the A. A. A. S. Wheeling,
W. Va., has been suggested for 1938.

The following hgures

give a

comparative

summary of

the organization fo

past hve years:

Des Moines Cleveland

New Orleans

Columbus

Pittsburgh

1929

1930

1931

1932

1934

Local Attendance

.. 106

41

11

92

49

Out-of-town Attendance 96

122

81

65

129

Total Attendance

.. 202

163

92

157

178

Dinner Attendance

.. 77

98

35

69

72*

Titles on the Program..

.. 36

33

27

35

39

Honorary Members

9

7

7

7

6

Life Members

5

7

7

10

12

Sustaining Members ....

.. 66

58

57

75

44

Active Members

.. 245

227

214

175

154

Associate Members

.. 397

479

461

469

407

Total Membership

.. 717

775

744

734

621

Pages in the Bulletin

.. 272

312

334

256

288

Total Income

..12167

$2451

$2686

$2191

$2230

Fiscal Balance

.. $530

$675

$731

$547

$842

*A minimum number is given here, since accurate determination was impos-
sible under the circumstances.

It is with much regret that we announce the temporary incapacity of our
Treasurer, Mr. Rosene. Mr. and Mrs. Rosene suffered a very serious automobile
accident early in January, and they both have been confined to the hospital up
to the time of this writing — late February. As a result the customary notices for
1935 dues were not sent out at the usual time. In view ol the situation there
seems to be no alternative but to send tbe March Bulletin to all members regard-
less of whether their dues are paid for the current year. And we will trust that
all members will remit their dues to the Treasurer at their earliest convenience.
Those who do not intend to renew their membership lor 1935 will confer a great
favor by returning to the Editor the copy of the .March issue sent to them.

72

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

GENERAL NOTES

Conducted by M. H. Swenk

Caspian Terns in North-central Iowa. — A flock of eighteen Caspian Terns
(Hydroprogne caspiu imperator) was observed by the writer at Lake Cornelia,
Wright County, Iowa, on September 12, 1934. While this species occurs some-
what regularly as a migrant in eastern Iowa, it is of irregular or rare occurrence
through the central part of the state. — Philip A. DuMont, Des Moines, Iowa.

Some Shore Birds Collected in South Dakota. — On September 15, 1934,
while on an observation trip to Brant Lake, Lake County, South Dakota, a single
Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites subruficoUis) was seen and collected. Also,
on September 16, 1934, a single Ruddy Turnstone {Arenaria interpres morinella)
was collected at Lake Herman, Lake County, South Dakota. Both of these speci-
mens are now in the permanent possession of the Zoology Department of Iowa State
College. — Gekald B. Spawn, Zoology Dept., Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa.

Northern Phalaropes in Northwestern Iowa. — On September 13, 1934,
the writer observed a flock ol at least 110 Northern Phalaropes (Lohipes lobatus)
on East Okohoji Lake, Dickinson County, Iowa. These birds were swimming and
feeding in the shallow water near the State Fish Hatchery at Orleans Station.
Their distinctive habit of “spinning” in the water, presumably to stir up food
particles, was interestingly contrasted with the steady feeding of a pair of Sander-
lings on the sandy shore near by. — Philip A. DuMont, Des Moines, Iowa.

McCown’s Longspur in Southwestern North Dakota. — The writer in
May, 1934, made a trip through Grant, Adams, Slope, Hettinger, and Bowman
Counties, in southwestern North Dakota, and noted particularly the near absence
of McCown’s Longspurs (Rhynchophanes mccoicni) . At liist the idea of the
f)rolonged drouth came to mind as an explanation of its absence; yet here were
thousands of nesting Lark Buntings, Horned Larks, and Chestnnt-collared Long-
spurs present, feasting on the tiny grasshoppers. It is apparent that the McCown’s
Longspur is actually deserting this part ol North Dakota as a breeding ground.
On the entire triji of a good many hundred miles, on highways and section lines,
the writer did not see more than fifteen of the birds. — Wm. Youngworth, Sioux
City, Iowa.

An October Record of the American Egret in Lee County, Iowa. —

A single American Egret {Casmerodius albas egretta) was observed by Deputy
Wardens Walter L. Harvey, F. T. Tucker, and the writer on October 30, 1934, at
Green Bay, Lee County, Iowa. This bird was seen feeding in one of the bayous,
and we were able to watch it for some time. Apparently it had been wounded,
hut it still was able to fly short distances at a time. We concluded that this was
the reason for finding this single bird at such a late date, several weeks alter the
flock of three hundred or more which had been present had moved southward. —
Li.oyi) Smith, Lake View, Iowa.

Specimen of Greater Scaup Duck Found in Northern Iowa. — An adult
male Greater Scaup Duck (Nyroca marila) was found dead by William Schuenke
at Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, on Maich 29, 1934. Mr. Schuenke
believed the bird was killed by Hying into the telephone wires. The head of this
specimen was entirely green, no ])urplish rellections being ai>parent. The measure-
ments of the s|)ecimcn in inches are as lollows: Wing (])rimaries straightened

along the ruler), 8.75; wing (chord), 8.50; width of culmen, 1.07; exposed cnl-

General Notes

73

men, 1.87; length of “nail” on hill, .51. This specimen, which was preserved by
Mr. Schuenke, constitutes the second authentic existing Iowa specimen of this
bird. — Philip A. DuMont, Des Moines, Jotvu.

Second Record of the Starling in Douglas County, Kansas. — On October
4, 1934, Mr. John McFarland brought to the Museum an adult male Starling
{.Sturnus vulgaris) in the llesh. Mr. McFarland says it was taken about two nules
east of Lawrence, from a (lock of Cowbirds and Bronzed Crackles, but he could
not determine whether there were any more in the Hock. This is the second
record of the Starling in Douglas County. The first was of two birds taken
seven and one-half miles southwest of Lawrence, by Ora Scott and the writer, on
December 25, 1933 {Auk, Vol. LI, No. 4, p. 534). This bird seems to be increas-
ing rapidly, and has become so common around Wichita that we may expect a
nesting record from there soon. — W. S. Long, Museum of Birds and Mammals,
Lawrence, Kctns.

Eastern Tree Sparrows Wintering in Christian County, Kentucky. —

Since Christian County, Kentucky, lies near the southern limit of the area from
which wintering Eastern Tree Sparrows (Spizella a. arhorea) are regularly re-
corded, the writer offers the following ohservations. Coming in at the end of
an ice storm in late Decemher, 1932, Tree Sparrows were seen periodically on the
U. S. Covernment Hospital Reservation at Outwood, Christian County, Kentucky,
for two months. The first record was made on December 25, 1932, eight birds.
On January 5, 1933, the number had increased to twenty birds. Thereafter, until
February 6, from five to fifteen Tree Sparrows were seen almost daily, consorting
with numerous Field Sparrows of the sedge fields. From February 6 to February
22 the birds seemed to have dropped from sight, and none were recorded. How-
ever, on February 22, two birds were seen in the same area that the larger flock
had occupied earlier. This was the last record of the season. Dr. Cordon Wilson
has previously recorded this species a number of times in the Wilson Bulletin
from Bowling Creen, Kentucky, which lies somewhat southeast of Outwood, but
the writer knows of no time when the birds were seen over so long a period of
time as that recorded above. — Compton Crook, Dept. Biology, Boone High School,
Boone, N. C.

Notes on the American Egret and Little Blue Heron in Iowa.- —

These two southern-nesting herons are each year becoming more common in Iowa
during the late summer and early fall. The birds are found in all parts of the
state where the necessary water and food are available, as is evidenced by the
following reports. During late August, 1934, American Egrets were seen at East
Twin Lake in Hancock County and at Elk Lake in Clay County. The next week
a flock of nine of the birds were seen at Storm Lake in Buena Vista County.
On August 11, 1934, four American Egrets {Casmerodius albus egretta) were
seen near Montrose in Lee County, and on the next day seven birds of this
species were found feeding on the river at Fairport in Muscatine County. A few
days later the first Little Blue Heron {Florida caerulea caerulea) was seen on
the Iowa River west of Conesville, in Louisa County. During mid-September
both species were found in greater numhers along the Mississippi River. On
September 11, 1934, a lone American Egret was seen near Montrose in Lee
County. A few miles up the river at Devils Lake, Lee County, a count revealed
thirty American Egrets and twenty-one Little Blue Herons. The next day was
spent in the Creen Bay region, and here we saw more than 200 American Egrets

74

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

and about 125 Little Blue Herons. On the following day fifteen American Egrets
were seen near the mouth of the Skunk River in Des Moines County. The last
American Egret seen was on September 15, just al)ove Muscatine. It should be
added that all the Little Blue Herons were in the white plumage. This increase
in nutnhers of these two species of southern herons in Iowa is probably due
mainly to E. A. Mcllhenny’s work on Avery Island, and it is reasonable to expect
even greater numbers of these birds, with a good sprinkling of Snowy Egrets
and other herons, in the next few years. — Wm. Youngworth, Sioux City, Iowa.

Some Bird Notes from Belmont County, Ohio. — The following birds were
seen at the Belmont Hills County Club grounds, in Belmont County, Ohio, by
Victor Kehrer and myself, on August 26 and September 2, 1934.

Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterns subsp.). Seen on September 2.
-\pparently a new record for Belmont County, although this species is a common
migrant in other parts of the region.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus subsp.). Observed on September 2, as it dove
into the lake for a hsh. Although this species is not known to nest in this
region, a hsherman reported to us that this bird had been at the lake for at least
six weeks previous to the time we saw it. This species is a rather rare migrant
for this region.

Pigeon Hawk (Fulco columharins subsp.). Seen on August 26 at close
range, as it flew over the lake which is on these grounds. 1 believe this to be the
first record for this species in Belmont County, and for the region as well.

Red-headed Woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephaliis) . This species is very
common at Belmont Hills, nesting there each year. This seems surprising, since
the same species rarely breeds in the West Virginia Paidiandle, but thirteen
miles away.

Yellow-bellied Elycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris) . Seen on August 26.
Probably a new record for Belmont County. Apparently an early migrant. Al-
though I realize the difficulty in distinguishing between this species and the
Acadian Flycatcher, I am positive this bird was a V^ellow-bellied Flycatcher. At
a distance of ten feet, we saw through 4x glasses the yellow throat, buffish-yellow
breast and yellow belly. The bird was smaller than an Acadian Elycatcber.

Cliff Swallow { Petrochelidon albifrons subsp.). Two seen on August 26.
This bird is considered a rare migrant in this region. — Thos. E. Shields, Oglehay
Park, Wheeling, W . V a.

Some Bird Tragedies. — In the sjuing of 1924, while passing a nest of my
favorite bird, tbe Meadowlark (Sturnella niagna wugna) , I noticed a common
Hog-nosed Snake ( Heterodon platyrhinus) with a six-inch distention in the center
of the body. Picking the re[itile up and giving it a number of shakes caused it
to regurgitate three young Meadowlarks. Last spring on one of my nature rambles
at West Point, Illinois, my attention was drawn to the nest of a pair of House
Wrens (Troglodytes aedon addon) by the alarm notes of the owners. Uiion
making an investigation 1 found it necessary to remove a Garter Snake (Tham-
nophis sirtalis) from the nest, while the process of digesting five young wrens
continued uninterrupted.

'I'he following casualties may also interest my readers. As a Mallard (Anas
p. platyrhynchos) duckling floated near my place of concealment, it failed under
the guidance of its mother to escape being captured by a Coojier’s Hawk (Accipi-
ter cooperi) that dropped from above and snatched it from the surface of thr

General Notes

75

water. A Killdeer (Oxyechits v. vociferus) feediiifi under my observation was
instantly killed when it ran its head into a steel trap that some trapper had
placed along the shore of a small stream and failed to recover. A hrood of
Phoebes iSayornis phoehe) that 1 had l)anded, after being tortured in an insect-
infested nest, leaped to their watery grave below. Mr. (iharles Guthrie of Wesi'
Point, Illinois, told me that he placed a cover on a chimney at his home one
spring and the following September removed it and found the skeletons of several
Chimney Swifts (Chaetura pelagica) in the chimney well. Mr. Nor Roe of Dallas
City, Illinois, informs me that a Robin (Turdus migratorius) last spring flew
into a window at his home. Upon questioning Mr. Roe 1 learned that a shade
had been pulled down, forming a mirror in which the bird saw its image. A
Chimney Swift which had been banded (No. 687741) by me at West Point, Illinois,
on September 9, 1932, was killed when it struck a wire near Stillwell, Illinois, on
May 18, 1933. Stillwell is a little more than two miles from the place where the
bird was banded. — Lawrence E. Hunter, Dallas City, III.

Migration of Hawks in Wisconsin. — Supplementing the article by Ralph
Beebe, “Influence of the Great Lakes on the Migration of Birds” (Wilson Bul-
letin, XLV, No. 3, p. 118), the following notations may be of interest. Similar
observations of bird migrations have been carried on rather intensively by a
group of Milwaukee ornithologists since 1921 at the mouth of Bar Creek, She-
boygan County, Wisconsin, about forty miles north of Milwaukee.

Mr. Beebe indicates that the flight of raptors is well developed at Whitehsh
Point on Lake Superior and crosses Northern Michigan through Luce and School-
craft Counties to follow the north and west shore of Lake Michigan. Personal
observation shows the route to continue through Door County, Wisconsin, and
along the shore so that as far south as the vicinity of Bar Creek it is very nar-
rowly defined in an air highway from a quarter to half a mile wide.

At Bar Creek the flight of rajitors is sometimes most spectacular. On num-
erous occasions censuses of hawks have been made of which the following notes
are examples:

Septendjer 25, 1921. H. L. Stoddard and the writer took counts of the num-
ber of hawks {lassing a certain point for hve-minute i)eriods. Eight such counts
were made during the day and the average number of birds per hour calculated.
A reasonably conservative estimate indicated that 2,040 hawks jiassed between
8:00 A. M. and 4:00 i>. M. These were largely Sharp-shinned Hawks and Cooper’s
Hawks, although nine sjiecies were listed.

Novendier 2, 1924. With L. Friedman, tlie writer noted ap[)ioximately 300
hawks, mainly Buteo, seen from 7:30 A. m to 11:30 A. m. Ten species were listed.

Septendier 28, 1930. Flight of hawks, mainly Broad-winged, but including
thirteen species of raptors. Four counts for Hfteen-minute periods during the day,
averaged, gave a very conservative estimate of 5,280 liirds passing a given jicint.

October 1, 1933. M. Deusing, 0. .1. Gromme, and the writer made an ap-
proximate count of 2,200 migrating hawks. Twelve s[)ecies were noted.

These are fair indications of the number of birds that ]>ass at this point
along the west shore of Lake Michigan. Hawks drift through from September
10 to November 5 and of course vary in alnindance Iroin year to year. Two or
three miles back from the lake, the (light is practically absent, indicating bow
narrow and well dehned the lane of flight is.

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The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

The mijrration of hawks lias been seen in the city of Milwaukee along the
bluffs that form the water front. In llights over the city it has been observed
that the raptors travel at a great height (800 to 1,500 feet I should judge). The
direction of llight south from the city has not been ascertained by observation.

Abundance of hawks in migration seems directly related to the movement
of passerine birds. When there is a concentrated migration of warblers and
sparrows, it is a corollary that a hue llight of raptors may he expected. — Clak-
ENCE S. Jung, Milwaukee, Wis.

The Louisiana Paroquet in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. — Recently,
■Mr. Charles C. Beam of Bluffton, Indiana, loaned the writer a copy of a very
rare publication by David Thomas entitled, "Travels through the Western Country-
in the Summer of 1816”. This hook was published in 1819 by David Rumsey,
Auburn, New York, and is the diary of a journey through the western parts of
New \ork and Pennsylvania, the northern projection of Virginia (now West
Virginia), the southern part of Ohio, the northern part of Kentucky, and the
interior and western parts of Indiana. It is carefully and authoritatively written,
and the broad interests and training of the author are shown by the space de-
voted to the botany, zoology, geography, geology, industry, and agriculture of the
regions visited. Many bird species are mentioned, especially the now extinct
Louisiana Paroquet (which of course was then known as the Carolina Paroquet).
As these references are not readily accessible and have apparently been lost to
the ornithological world, the most important notes are quoted below.

Thomas speaks of seeing wild “parroquets” in Kentucky shortly after leaving
Cincinnati. He writes: “These birds, which are about the size of wild pigeons,

are also sometimes seen on the Miami.” A footnote adds, “Drake says on the
Scioto.” (Both of these streams are in Ohio). On the hanks of Indian Creek,
Kentucky, he writes: “On the approach of any large bird the Parroquets immedi-
ately commence flying round and round in (locks, screaming most hideously. In
this way they escape the hawks.”

Forty miles west of Louisville, in the state of Indiana, Thomas writes: “The
parroquet commits depredations on the wheat in harvest, but it is a bird of un-
common beauty. The head is red, the neck yellow, and the body a light green.”
Again at French Lick, Indiana, he writes: “This place is the favorite residence
of the parroquet, flocks of which are continually flying around. These birds
seem to delight in screaming.”

North of Vincennes, Indiana, Thomas mentions parroquets eating boring in-
sects of cottonwood trees, “To procure this food, the parroquets have been busily
employed, at times, through the day; hut though they have become so familiar;
and though they excel all the birds of this country in beauty of plumage, their
scream is so discordant, and their fierceness of disposition so apparent, as to
preclude every sensation of attachment. These birds build their nests in hollow
trees. The strength of their necks is remarkable; and we are assured that when
both wings and feet are tied, they can climb trees by striking their hills into
the hark.”

A quotation is also given from an old “Topographical Description of the
State of Ohio”, as follows: “The green parroquet with a yellow crown, a species

of parrot, is very common. It has a harsh, uiqdeasant note, and although easily
tamed, it cannot he taught to imitate the human voice. The habits of these birds
in some respects are singular. 'I'hey are always seen in flocks, which retire at

General Notes

77

night in hollow trees, where they suspend themselves by their bills. These birds
also retreat to hollow trees in winter. There have been found, after a severe
winter, prodigious numbers in a large tree, tilling the whole cavity, where they
had perished by the severity of the cold.” — Lawrence E. Hicks, Ohio State Uni-
versity, Columbus, Ohio.

Notes on a Hand-reared Flicker. — What bird lover does not revel in the
joy of close contact with his feathered friends, when a bond of sympathy is
developed lietween them, so that the bird will perch on his finger or shoulder?
An even greater joy comes to him who has had the privilege of being a foster
parent to some baby bird, watching it from day to day, growing from helpless
babyhood to adult proportions and plumage, to have that bird’s affection for him
become so firmly fixed that when adult it continues to return to him as its foster
parent for food, drink, and attention.

We have had this joy this summer (1934) with a Northern Flicker, which
we called Chee-Chee. In years past we have raised many nestlings and fledglings
of such birds as Eastern Robins, sparrows, and pheasants, such being merely a
matter of patience and the selecting of the proper food. But when one con-
siders that the mother flicker eats her food, digests it, and then regurgitates the
same to feed her babies, tbe hand raising of a young flicker is an entirely differ-
ent matter. So when this unfortunate orphan came into our possession we were
at our wit’s end as to the proper method of procedure. Shredded wheat softened
in boiling milk was added to the yolk of a hard-boiled egg; this was triturated
and then dried ant’s eggs and insects, in conjunction with cod liver oil, were
added. The mixture might have been saifl to be about like pie dough in con-
sistency. Pellets of this were pushed down the baby’s throat, followed by seed-
less grapes or raspberries as dessert. I greatly feared rickets, or some other
disease, due to malnutrition, but to our great surprise and delight the baby
flicker grew and developed beautifully.

His first home was a box, in which he nestled in tissue j)aper and soft
cloths, ft was amusing to see him peep out from under the cloth, as he would
raise himself on his weak and woblily legs, and complacently watch us moving
about the room, or the dogs on the floor. After a few days he would slip from
under the cloth, climb to the edge of the box, and balance himself there. Shortly
after this, he would climb up tbe curtain and perch on the curtain rod above
the window. A perch was made for him, of old branches fastened to a base,
on which he could climb about. In a few weeks the porch afforded abundant
place to practice climbing. On rainy days lace curtains indoors .served the same
purpose; or if he had flown to the floor, anybody convenient served as a tree,
and up he would come in a hurry. When the drumming instinct first manifested
itself, our heads, ears, and spectacles were used indiscriminately. This is a
sensation which cannot adequately he described.

The dogs he never minded, when on the floor, allowing them to come, right
up to him, and sniff at him as much as they wished, with no resentment on his
part. But Chee-Chee did not like the parrot, which would fly down at him when
he was on the floor. This invariably precipitated a fight. The belligerents were
separated at once, and so no harm was really inflicted, ft was after one of these
impromptu battles that I felt Chee-Chee would probably prefer having his free-
dom, for he was absolutely fearless and seemed able to give a good account of
himself. So I took him out into the garden, .set him on the edge of a bird bath.

78

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

and away he flew into a cherry tree. Apparently he had a {lood time climbing
up and down the main trunk (his first real tree) and flitting about the branches.
An hour and a half later he began to call lustily for help. Evidently he had
become very hungry, and possibly tired, too. On going to the tree, he scrambled
down far enough so 1 could reach him, when he was taken indoors and fed. He
seemed very tired after this excursion, and was content to remain indoors the
balance of the day.

On the following day he was very anxious to get out of doors again, so we
liberated him a second time. As on the first day, an hour and a half seemed
to satisfy him, and he called to he taken in. But the garden was fnll of clothes
drying and fluttering in the sun. Evidently this was a fearful spectacle when
viewed from a tree top, so he would not come down the tree where we could
reach him. Finally Islay put uj) a twenty-foot ladder, and was barely able to
reach him from the upper rung.

On the third day Chee-Chee made no attemjtt to get out until in the evening.
As he had returned so nicely on the previous days, we turned him out without
any hesitancy, hut to our great dismay, just about dusk, he flew across the street,
crossing telephone and trolley wires. Islay followed him, calling repeatedly, until
she lost sight of him in the woods beyond. That was a sad and disconsolate
night, for we were thoroughly convinced that we wonld never see Chee-Chee again,
as we thought that on awakening iTi the morning he would find himself in a
strange environment, the houses on the other side of the street being grouped
differently and the trees also being different; all told, a new place. But at 5:30
the following morning, he was in the ash tree adjoining Grandma’s room, calling
lustily for breakfast. What was to he done? Grandma hurried down stairs,
stepped into the garden, called “Chee, Chee, Chee”, and with a rush he alighted
on her shoulder. He had tested his strength and courage, and was absolutely
sure of himself.

Since then he has never been confined indoors, only lor such periods of
time as were of his own choosing. Sometimes after a meal he rests for an hour
or longer, preening his feathers, stretching his wings, talking to us, or quietly
to himself, or tucking his head under his wing and taking a real nap, and then
flying away at his own di.scretion. He usually returns about six times a day for
his meals, announcing his return from either tree or cornice by calling until
somebody goes out to get him. He (lies dow7i on to one's shoulders, or low down
on a tree where he can he easily reached, or onto the fence posts. Frequently
he clings to the sereen, from whence he steps onto a proffered hand or finger.
Lately, on hearing him, we merely open the .screen door. Then he may fly directly
into the kitchen and alight on his perch; or he may alight on the parrot’s perch
on the porch, which immediately starts belligerency on the part of the parrot,
who climbs after Chee-Chee as rapidly as he can. Chee-Chee hurriedly scampers
up the longest branch, which projects into the kitchcTi, when with a single hound
he alights on his perch, half way across the room. .Some times he makes a
longer detour, (lying through the breakfast room, and thence into the kitchen.
■Some days he hops the entire way up the four steps onto the jiorch, across the
door of the porch and breakfast room, into the kitchen, and then allows himself
to he picked up.

While being fed he carries on a rapid-fire conversation, which is continued
during the entire feeding time. He sips water from a cup, when it is presented

General Notes

79

to him. At times he takes one or two sips, hut sometimes as many as nineteen.
He likes cocoa, too, sitting on my arm, from which point he can easily reach my
cup. Feeding: is still done in the same fashion as when he was a tiny hahy; the
food must l)e pushed down into his throat, he making; absolutely no attempt to
help himself. When fully satisfied he Hies to the shoulder of the person feeding
him, thence out through the window, or around by way of the breakfast room,
and on to the porch, clinging to the screen until the door is opened for him,
and away he soars into the trees. This performance is varied at times, when he
deliberately allows himself to he carried out of doors, making no attempt to fly
until on the outside. Not always does he fly away promptly, hut he will some-
times perch on the hand before leaving, and administer a few vigorous whacks
on the fingers with his powerful heak. Apparently it is a form of play. Oftimes
he comes home with his long beak coated with dry mud, evidently having been
digging ants in wet ground. And even his feet may be caked with mud. But a
wet cloth soon restores them to perfect cleanliness. This cleaning process has
never been resented in the least.

One day while sipping water he acted as if he wanted to bathe, so Grandma
carried him to one of the bird baths, and gently put him down into the water.
On releasing him, he had a most wonderful hath. Finally, he flew into a tree
to preen his feathers, and then flew down into the lawn, where he lay with out-
stretched wings until dry. Some weeks ago he made more than his usual noise
on coming home, and there he was, in the top of an enormous tree, with three
rollicking companions. Grandma called him, and two of his companions flew
away, hut Chee-Chee and one other Hew into our own garden, and then he indi-
vidually Hew down onto his beloved shoulder, whence he was taken indoors, fed,
and flew back into the tree where his chum was still waiting for him. The thrill
of this wild creature coming back repeatedly to he fed, taken indoors, fussed
over, talked to, and to fly out again at his pleasure, is indescribable. We have
never experienced anything quite like it. We dread the onset of autumn, fearing
he may respond to the great spirit of migration, and leave us for the sunny and
genial South. And yet, he may do like a Robin we had years ago, that returned
to us for three successive springs. — Dr. G. A. Hinnen, Ml. Lookout, Cincinnati, O.

The Incubation Period of the Sora Rail. — In searching through the lit
erature of ornithology 1 find no definite incubation period given for the Sora Rail
(Porzana Carolina). Having made many observations of this species during the
nesting season, I have harl the good fortune of following three nests from the
beginning of incubation on through hatching, and wish to publish these records.

The first of these nests was found May 10, 1920, at RelleMie, Eaton Gounly.
Michigan, when it contained four eggs. The set wuis completed on May 15, when
it contained nine eggs. The period from then to May 31, when the last egg
hatched, would he the incubation period for that certain egg, which would he
sixteen days. The eggs hatched from May 29 to May 31, indicating that incuba-
tion began at least two days before the last egg was laid.

The second nest was found on May 11, 1930, in Convis lownshij), Calhoun
County, Michigan. It contained four eggs and the female was flushed from the
nest, even though it was during the middle of the afternoon. Ibis set was com-
plete on May 17, when it contained ten eggs, and these hatched from June 1
to June 3. The period of incubation for the last egg in this case was seventeen
days.

80

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

The third nest of this group was found May 10, 1934, when it contained
seven eggs, in Convis Township, Calhoun County, Michigan. The nest contained
a complete set of nine eggs on May 12. When visited on May 27 it contained
five downy young, two of which were still wet, and four eggs. Since this was
early in the morning probably one or two of these had hatched on the previous
day. The other four eggs probably hatched that day and the day following'.
May 28. This would make a period of sixteen days between the laying and
hatching of the last egg.

In the case of the second nest, if the bird had commenced incubation when
she was flushed from the four eggs the incubation period for these eggs would
be about twenty-one days. In the case of the fifth egg in the third nest, assum-
ing the bird to lay one egg each day, it would have been deposited on May 8 and
hatched on May 27, a period of nineteen days. Since the bird was sitting when
the nest was found, when it contained only seven eggs it is hard to state just
when incubation began, l)ut tbe incubation period for that certain egg would be
from seventeen to nineteen days.

In the three nests the eggs hatched in each case over a period of three days
and there was a similarity in the nund)er of days incubated for the last egg laid,
either sixteen or seventeen days. The incubation period for the Sora Rail with
the birds incubating could be stated as being sixteen or seventeen days, with the
possibility that some of the eggs required two or three days longer. — Lawrence
H. Walkinshaw, Battle Creek, Mich.

The Golden-winged Warbler in South Dakota. — The following are the
four known records of the Golden-winged \^arbler iVerniivura chry.soplera) in
South Dakota: (1). A mounted specimen of an adult male is in the Henderson

Natural History Museum at Redfield, South Dakota. The label bears no date,
but this specimen was taken in South Dakota a number of years ago. (2). On
September 7, 1931, Dr. Brenkle placed band No. F18828 on a female or immature
at Northville, South Dakota. This individual returned to the water trap on Sep-
tember 9, 1931. (3). On May 10, 1933, the late Mr. E. C. Anderson collected a

male at Dell Rapids, South Dakota. The specimen was identified by Dr. T. C.
Stephens of Sioux City, Iowa. The skin is now in the South Dakota State Uni-
versity Museum at Vermillion, South Dakota (Wieson Biilletin, XLV, December.
1933, pp. 197-198). (4). On September 11, 1933, the writer banded with hand

No. L21404 an adult male at Northville, South Dakota. Further records of this
species in .South Dakota will be appreciated by the writer. — Paul R. Thompson,
Nnrthville, S. Dak.

General Notes

81

PROCEEDINGS OF THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL

CLUB

By Lawrence E. Hicks, Secretary

The Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Club was held
at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 28-29-30, 1935, in connection with
many other organizations affiliated with the American Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science. The business and program sessions were held in the
Lecture Hall of the Carnegie Museum. Short business sessions were held Friday
and Saturday mornings. The four program sessions Friday and Saturday, morn-
ing and afternoon, included thirty-nine papers, slide talks, and movie presenta-
tions. The maximum attendance at each session was 86, 103, 96, and 87.

Friday evening the Wilson Ornithological Club Annual Dinner was held at
the University Club in conjunction with the dinner of the American Society of
Zoologists. Many in attendance were members of both organizations. No exact
check could be made on the attendance but at least seventy-two Wilson Orni-
thological Club members were present. President Shaver represented the W. 0. C.
on the program. The feature address of the evening was given by Dr. George L.
Streeter of the Carnegie Foundation. Following the dinner, all botanists and
zoologists attending the meeting joined in the Biologists’ Smoker, an important
event of the annual A. A. A. S. conventions.

Saturday evening eighty-two meml)ers and friends attended a most enjoyable
0[)en house and reception in the research laboratories of the Museum. This fine
event was made possible through the courtesy and planning of the Carnegie
Museum, the Museum Staff, and the Local Committee composed of W. E. Clyde
Todd, Bayard H. Christy, Sidney K. Eastwood, Charles Agostini, ,J. Warren Jacobs,
and John W. Handlan. The evening was spent viewing parts of the museum study
collection of 110,000 bird skins, the library and research facilities, and the distri-
bution maps of Pennsylvania birds. The session was terminated by the viewing
of three reels of splendiil movie films de[)icting the nature study educational
values of “The Birds and Animal Life of k’rick Park”. These were presented by
Mr. H. S. Crass, Supervisor of Prick Park.

■Sunday morning a number of members joined a party of local observers on a
field trip to Frick Park, observing some of the wild lords and mammals there
which become remarkably tame through feeding and protection.

ExtnciT.s

Another outstanding feature of the annual meeting was a splendid exhibit of
Wilsoniana assembled largely through the efforts of Mr. Bayard H. (Jiristy of the
Local Committee. This was made possible through the cooperation of a number cf
individuals and the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Dr. Jliomas Bar-
bour, Director, who loaned exhibit material. The exhibit included manuscripts,
drawings, mounted birds, [)iints of engravings, book.s, personal effects, and por-
traits, in such variety and quantity as to picture to the mind’s eye the circum-
stances under which Wilson’s great Ornithology was projected and carried
through to accomplishment.

The most notable items in the exhibition came from the Thayer collection,
and were generously loaned by the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Witmer Stone, of Philadelphia, kindly contributed a
long anrl interesting letter and a number of engraved portraits as well. Mr.
Strickland Kneass, Jr., of Sewickley, loaned an autographed hook. Mr. Bayard

82

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

H. Christy’s collection of Wilson’s published works was displayed, with supple-
mentary material loaned by Mrs. Tracy W. Guthrie, of Edgeworth, and by Miss
Phoebe Knappen, of Washington, D. C.

Other items exhibited were four of Wilson's letters, a receipt book of Wil-
son’s, the gnu which he used in collecting, each edition of his hooks published,
and six water color and one j)en and pencil drawing — the originals made by
Wilson for the plates of his hook.

There were probably few present who viewed these exhibits of the man who
has long given both his name and his inspiration to the Wilson Ornithological
Club, but that shared the ideas expressed by Mr. Bayard H. Christy in comment-
ing on the exhibit : “These many and various articles, that taken singly are

slight and insignificant, possess in the aggregate a surprising evocative power.
We are dazzled by the products of mechanical processes of today — by the thou-
sand-fold abundance of facile achievement. But for all their achievement these
modern men have not caused ns to overlook nor to forget the patient, plodding,
loving work of Alexander Wilson. As one looks and meditates, the years between
slip away; the objects themselves become instinct with the sj)irit of the man. It
is as though he had hut yesterday wrested them from his hand. And they are
eloquent of a careful, painstaking, intelligent worker, master of himself, master
of what he was doing. We begin to look upon him as we conceive his associates
looked upon him, to take satisfaction as they must have taken satisfaction, and
to feel the shock and keenness of their regret that the stroke of death should
fall when the great undertaking was at the very point of completion.”

Attendance

d'he 1934 meeting was one of the largest and most successful in the history
of the organization. The total registration was 178 hut a considerable number,
mostly local visitors, failed to register. However, records available would indi-
cate that in spite of the small local attendance (49), that the Pittsburgh meeting
ranks second only to the Des Moines meeting in total registration, and ranks
first in the history of the organization in the number of out-of-town visitors
registered (129).

.Seventeen colleges and universities, and ten museums and other institutions,
were represented in tbe attendance at the Pittsburgh Meeting. These included:
Carnegie Institute of Technology, Columl)ia University, Cornell University, George
Peabody College for Teachers, Morningside College, North Carolina College for
Women, North Carolina State College, Otterbein College, Ohio State University,
Pennsylvania State College, Slippery Rock College, University of Illinois, Univer-
sity of Michigan, University of Pittsburg, University of West Virginia, Western
Reserve University, Wooster College, Carnegie Mnsenm, Etnergency Conservation
Committee, Hawk and Owl .Society, National Association of Audubon Societies,
Ohio Division of Conservation, Ohio State Museum, United States Biological
.Survey, Department of the Interior, .Soil Erosion Service, and National Park
.Service.

Business Sessions

.Short business sessions were held Friday and Saturday mornings. President
Shaver presiding.

The minutes of the 1932 meeting were approved without being read, since
they had previously been published in the Wilson Bulletin (Vol. XLV, No. 1,
pp. 37-.50). The .Secretary's and Treasurer’s reports for the year 1933 were ap-

Proceedings

83

proved as published in the Wilson Bulletin (Vol. XLVI, No. 1, pp. 67-69). The
Secretary’s and Treasurer’s reports for the year 1934 were also approved. The
Secretary’s report indicated that during the past year thirty-hve nieinhers had
assisted in the membership campaign by making nominations resulting in the
securing of one or more members each. In spite of tliese additions, a small
decrease in the total number of members was reported. A list was presented of
the 114 new mendiers secured in 1933 and of the 112 new mendiers secured
during 1934, and previously confirmed by the electoral board. These were elected
to membership.

The Secretary also juesented a list of 128 members from thirty-eight states,
each of which, though unable to attend the Pittsburgh Meeting, had written a
letter acknowledging the meeting notice, expressing regret at being unable to
attend, and sending best wishes for the success of the meeting. The receipt of
so many unsolicited letters indicates that the great bulk of the Wilson Orni-
thological Club mendiership consists of persons actively interested in furthering
the ornithological studies and the educational and conservation work sponsored
by the organization. The Secretary expressed his thanks for the many encourag-
ing and stimulating news letters received from the members throughout the year,
and voiced his regret at being unable to rejily except by brief delayed notes or
through the pages of the Wilson Bulletin.

The Editor presented a carefully detailed report, including tables indicating
the cost of each item involved in the total cost of each issue of the Wilson
Bulletin. The report was too lengthy to be read in its entirety, so was sum-
marized and made available for examination. Its examination enabled the mem-
bers present to appreciate the demands made uiion the time and energy of the
Editor in assembling the four issues of the Wilson Bulletin each year. In the
absence of the Treasurer, his reiiort was summarized, made available for exami-
nation, and at the Saturday session was adojited u[)on recommendation of the
Auditing Committee.

The following temfiorary committees were ajipointed by the President: Nomi-
nations, T. C. Stephens, W. E. Clyde Todd, and Mis. Margaret M. Nice; Resolu-
tions and Amendments, Albert E. Ganier, E. N. Blanchard, and F. I^. Fitzpatrick;
Auditing, Chas. J. Spiker and Bayard H. Christy.

The Committee on Resolutions offered the following resolutions, all of whir-h
were adopted by motion:

Resolved, that the Wilson Ornithological (4ub commends the Nalional Asso-
ciation of Audubon Societies for the educational campaign it has launched in
the interest of beneficial hawks and owls of North America.

Resolved, that the Wilson Ornithological Club hereby expresses its approval
and commendation on the acquisition of Hawk Mountain in Pennsybania hy the
Emergency Conservation (iommittee, and hopes that it may become a permanent
sanctuary for wild life.

Resolved, that the Wilson Ornithological Cilub, at this concluding point of a
most successful meeting at Pittsburgh, ilesires to express its appreciation and
gratitude to —

The Carnegie Museum and its Director, Dr. A. Avinoff, for placing the splen-
did facilities of this institution at our disposal lor these sessions.

The Ornithological Staff of the Museum for their many courtesies and con-
stant attention to the details of the occasion.

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The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

The Local Committee of Arrangements, which, under the chairmanship of
Mr. W. E. Clyde Todd, planned the meeting and coordinated it with other
zoological meetings.

Mr. Bayard H. Christy for assembling the interesting collection of Wilsoniana,
and those who kindly loaned articles for the exhibit.

The Officers of the W. 0. C., especially the Secretary, Treasurer, and Editor,
for the considerable amount of time and talent which they have generously given
to the Club during the past year.

The Committee on Nominations offered the following report:

President — Josselyn Van Tyne, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
First Vice-President — Alfred M. Bailey, Chicago Academy of Sciences,
Chicago, Illinois.

Second Vice-President — Margaret M. Nice, Columbus, Ohio.

Secretary — Lawrence E. Hicks, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Treasurer — W. M. Rosene, Ogden, Iowa.

Councillors — Albert E. Ganier, Nashville, Tennessee.

Lynds Jones, Oberlin, Ohio.

Myron H. Swenk, Lincoln, Nebraska.

The report was adopted by motion, and the Secretary was instructed to cast
the unanimous ballot for the nominees. This being done all were declared
elected for the ensuing year. The session then adjourned sine die.

Communications

December 27, 1934.

To Lawrence E. Hicks,

Secretary of the Wilson Ornithological Club:

Greetings from the A. 0. U. and best wishes for a successful meeting of the
Wilson Ornithological Club. I only regret that I can not be with you in Pittsburgh.

Very cordially yours,

T. S. Palmer, Secretary A. 0. U.

Program of Papers

The Friday morning session began with an address of welcome by Dr. A.
Avinoff, Director of the Carnegie Museum, to which President Shaver responded.

The papers as presented, with brief abstracts, are given below, varyimi
slightly in sequence from that announced for the meeting. All meetings were
held in the Lecture Hall of the Carnegie Museum.

Friday Morning Session

1. The Eighth International Ornithological Congress at Oxford. (15 minutes).
Margaret M. Nice, Columbus, Ohio.

An account of this notable meeting, telling of the papers dealing with the
study of the live bird, of the brilliant social occasions, and of the memorable
trip to the bird islands off the coast of Wales.

2. Bilateral and Unilateral Ovaries in Raptorial Birds. (15 minutes). Fred L.
Fitzpatrick, Columbia University, New York City.

Dissection of adult female owls reveals only unilateral development of the
ovaries, the right ovary apparently never occurring as an adult structure. In
many sf)ecies of hawks, however, both in Europe and America, several sources
suggest that bilateral ovaries are the rule in early embryonic development,
and that in ailidts of some species both ovaries persist, the right often con-
siderably smaller than the left.

Proceedings

S5

3. Hawk Mountain. (10 minutes). Mrs. Charles N. Edge, Emergency Conserva-
tion Committee, New York, N. Y.

Hawk Mountain, a peak of the Kittatinny Mountains of Pennsylvania,
lying between Hamburg and Pottsville, is a concentration point for many
birds of i)rey which in migration follow this ridge of the Appalachians. Here
for several decades hunters have slaughtered .several thousand birds annually.
During the summer of 1934 the Emergency Conservation Committee was suc-
cessful in leasing the mountain and engaged Maurice Broun as ornithologist-
guardian of the area. Strenuous efforts were successful in eliminating all
shooting. It is planned to purchase the area and provide it with sufficient
endowment to insure its preservation as a perpetual wild life sanctuary. More
than 10,000 birds of prey were counted passing the mountain during the fall
of 1934. These were of great interest to bird students and included the fol-
lowing species: Vultures, 166; k)astern Goshawk, 125; Sharp-shinned Hawk,
1913; Cooper’s Hawk, 333; Eastern Red-tailed Hawk, 5609; Eastern Red-
shouldered Hawk, 90; Broad-winged Hawk, 2026; Rough-legged Hawk, 20;
Golden Eagle, 39; Bald Eagle, 52; Marsh Hawk, 105; Osprey, 31; White
Gyrfalcon, 1; Black Gyrfalcon, 2; Duck Hawk, 25; Pigeon Hawk, 19; Spar-
row Hawk, 13.

4. Ornithological Activities of the E. C. W. Program in Our National Parks.
(20 minutes). Chas. .). Spiker, Naturalist-Technician for the National Parks
East of the Mississipf)!, Washington, D. C.

This paper summarized the new species of birds added by park naturalists
to the published lists of birds for their respective areas and reviewed the
efforts being made to give special [irotection and encouragement to the species
already present. Water conservation, grazing restrictions, and extension of
park boundaries were methods used to accom[)lish bird conservation measures.

5. Bird Cases and Specimens for Educational Uses in Schools. (10 minutes).
Reinhold L. Ericke, Department of Education, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh,
Pa.

An informal discussion of the preparation and use of jiortable school ex-
hibits of birds, illustrated with examples of birdskins in glass tubes and
various types of cases. A part of tbe cases are family grou[»s of individual
mounts, and others are habitat groups with photographic backgrounds por-
traying a pair of birds with their nest and eggs.

6. Report on the .lohn B. Semple Expedition (1934) to British Columbia. (20
minutes). George M. Sutton, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. \.

The ex[)edition made many ornithological finds in this region of beautiful,
unexplored wilderness. The Black Pigeon Hawk was collected on its breed-
ing territory and reports were received of Trumpeter Swans occurring in num-
bers. It was also found that traders in British Columbia were encouraging
the Indians to kill Eagles by offering rewards of .f2.50 for the wings and tail
of each bird. This plumage was later sold at a handsome profit to Indians
in the southwest, especially to the Hopis and the Indians of the Plains, and
sometimes hrought as much as .fl.OO [ter feather.

7. Notes on the Life of Alexander Wilson. (20 minutes). Gordon Wilson, Teach-
ers College, Bowling Green, Ky. Read by Bayard H. Christy, Sewickley, Pa.,
with additional comments on the Wilsoniana Exhibit.

3. An Experiment in Bird Study in West Virginia. (15 minutes), .lohn W. Hand-
lan. Wheeling, W. Va.

The city of Wheeling, West Virginia, owns a 750-acre i)ublic property
known as Oglebay Park. The public is invited to meet here each Sunday
morning the park naturalist for a conducted nature field trip covering two
miles or more of the Park’s eleven-mile chain of trails. The success of this
fine educational work in natural histoi'y is attested hy the fact that more than
50,000 people have taken these “bird walks” during the past seven years, with

86

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

an average atleiulance ol 115 on each trip. The chief leader of these trips
has been A. B. Brooks, Park Naturalist. The interest aroused led to the
lorniation in 1932 of the Brooks Bird Clul) which now publishes the Redstart,
sponsors a broad program in the interests of ornithological education, and
has Ijeen instrumental in the formation of several bird study clubs in the
West Virginia region.

9. A Study of the Savannah Sparrow in West Virginia. (20 minutes). Thomas E.
Shields, Wheeling, W. Va.

Field work done in 1933 and 1934 indicated that the species breeds regu-
larly in tbe panhandle comities of West Virginia, though uncommon and quite
local. Several nests found were studied in detail. All nesting records to
date were at altitudes exceeding 1175 feet.

Fkio.ay Afternoon Session

10. The European Starling as a Banding and Research Subject. (15 minutes).
Lawrence E. Hicks, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

The study of 52,000 Starlings captured in central Ohio, of 33,000 banded,
and of more than 8,000 used as specimens, emphasizes how much may yet be
learned of the fundamentals of bird life by using these easily procured birds
as “Guinea Pigs” in ornithological investigations. We have the unusual oppor-
tunity of being able to study an introduced migratory species and can work
with tbe large numbers necessary to answer many perplexing questions. It
was strongly urged that ornithologists report on the sex ratios found at each
season in flocks of Starlings of their home areas.

11. Bird Collections in the Carnegie Museum. (15 minutes). Ruth Trimble, Car-
negie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa.

A brief account of the history and scope of the Carnegie Museum’s study
collection of birds, wbich consists of approximately 110,000 specimens, and is
the fourth largest collection in North America.

12. Six Years’ Records on the Singing of One Song Sparrow. (15 minutes).
Margaret M. Nice, Columbus, Ohio.

A male studied (4M) starts his awakening song in the morning at about
0.2 foot candles of light, which in clear weather occurs about one-half hour
before sunrise. He sings from eight to nine months each year. He had nine
songs in his repertoire from 1929 to 1934. During four autumns he started
singing between September 28 and 30, but in 1929 began on September 10.

13. Protocalliphora as Parasites of Birds. (10 minutes). Edward S. Thomas, Ohio
State Museum, Columbus, Ohio.

A review was made of the literature relating to these nest parasites. Dr.
Plath reported 61 per cent of the nests ol ten species were jiarasitized, an
average of thirty-six larvae per infested nest and 5 to 10 per cent or more of
the nestlings killed. Three species of this blowfly are known from North
America and are recorded as parasitizing no less than thirty-six bird species.
A wasp-like chalcid lly parasitizes this parasite. In Ohio many infested nests
have been found recently of bluebirds and several species of sparrows and
warblers.

14. Twenty-four Hours in the Kirtland Warbler Country. (10 minutes). William
C. Baker, Salem, Ohio.

Trips to Crawford County, Michigan, in 1933 and 1934, resulted not only
in the finding of the nest of the Kirtland’s Warbler, but of many other species.
A total of ninety-two breeding species were recorded for the region.

15. The Effect of Light on the Keinoduction and Growth of Chickens. (10 min-
utes). (Lantern). E. L. Dakan, I’oultry Department, Ohio State University,
Columbus, Ohio.

16. Methods for Studying the Al)undance of Birds. (20 minutes). S. Charles
Kendeigh, Biological Laboratory, Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.

Proceedings

87

Various methods exist for determining the relative and absolute abundance
of non-game birds. Nesting and handing censuses appear the most reliable,
as demonstrated by fourteen years records of the abundance of the Eastern
House Wren [Troglodyte.^ a. aedon). To analyze the factors affecting yearly
Huctuations in numbers, amount of reproduction, and survival over winter
must be considered separately. Both biological and climatic factors have been
found important, with the former more signibcant in controlling reproduction
and the latter in determining survival.

17. The Harris’s Sparrow’s Eggs and the 1931 Ornithological Expedition to
Churchill, Manitoba. (40 minutes). (Lantern). George M. Sutton, Cornell
University, Ithaca, N. Y.

A report of the findings of the hist nests of the Harris’s Sparrow and
beautifully colored slides showing the nests and adults of many species of
sparrows, shorehirds, gulls, and warblers.

Satukday Morning Session

18. A Preliminary Report on the Breeding Birds of Columbiana County, Ohio.
(25 minutes). William C. Baker, Salem, Ohio.

Columbiana County is the southernmost of the eastern tier of Ohio counties,
being on the glacial boundary. The breeding of 121 sjiecies has been estab-
lished, nests of eighty-eight being found and small young of hfteen additional
species. Several northern species reach their southern breeding limits in
the county.

19. Distribution of Some of the 179 Species of Birds Known to Breed in Ohio.
(15 minutes). (Lantern). Lawrence E. Hicks, Ohio State University, Columbus.
Ohio.

Maps indicating distribution by townships were shown of some thirty
species which reach their northern, southern, western, or eastern breeding
limits in the state. Stress was placed upon the importance of securing exact
detailed data on the present and past distribution of each breeding species.
During the past twelve years a maj) has been prepared for each species on
which has been plotted all known published or uni)ul)lished breeding data as
contributed by most of the ornithologists ol the state. It is hoped to soon
make some of this information available in published form.

20. Local Distribution of Western Pennsylvania Birds. (20 minutes). (Lantern).
W. E. Clyde Todd, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Colored maps illustrating the breeding ranges of thirty sjiecies of birds in
western Pennsylvania, were exhibited on tbe screen, with some remarks on
each, dhe ranges as iilotted show considerable variation affecting species
supposed to belong to the same life zone.

21. Our Vanishing Raptors — A Conservation Problem. (30 minutes). (Lantern).
Warren F. Eaton, Upper Montclair, N. J.

At least 75 per cent of the reports received on the numbers of bawks,
eagles, kites, and owls, indicate decided increases due to cbanges in the nat-
ural environment or due to killiug for sport, trophies, or so-calleil “vermin
control”. Unusual problems present themselves in attenijiting to save the rem-
nant of our birds of prey population, but these must be surmounted or these
economically and aesthetically valuable birds will disappear as have those
of Europe.

22. Some Problems of a Teacher of Ornithology. (10 minutes). E. L. Dakan,
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

A discussion in which the audience participated, as to the best procedures
to follow in most effectively presenting ornithological education to university
classes.

23. Food Habits of the Bald Eagle. (12 minutes). Frank R. Smith, Frederick-
town. Pa.

A summary of the status ol the Bald Eagle on the eastern shore of Mary-
land. The value of the eagle in removing disea.sed or wounded muskrats and

88

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

I'wateriowl was slressed. The eaples, now much reduced in numhers, destroy
little of value and during the past forty years have not l)een known to molest
landjs.

24. A Photo Record of Interestintr Nest Sites. (12 minutes). (Lantern). A. R.
Brooks, Wheeling, W. Va.

Photos of many odd nest locations, including several of robins located on
railroad cars, the parent birds following the nests many miles to new locations
or taking daily trijis of several miles without deserting the nests.

Saturday Afterimoon Session

25. The Beach-Combers of Lake Superior. (20 minutes). Bayard H. Christy,
Sewickley, Pa.

An account of the shore birds and passerine birds which frequent the lake
shore.

26. Blood Stiulies — the Number of Erythrocytes in Migrating Birds. (15 minutes).
(Lantern). Leonard B. Nice, Department of Physiology, Ohio State Univer-
sity, Columbus, Ohio.

The number of red-blood coiquiscles in White-throated and White-crowned
Sparrows, Juncos, Song, Lincoln, Chipping, and Tree Sparrows, ranged be-
tween 4,846,000 and 5,702,000 per cubic millimeter of blood. Cardinals aver-
aged 5,123,000, Tufted Titmice 4,368,000, Cowbirds, 6,055,000, and Bobwhites
3,532,000.

27. The Canadian Comj)onent of West Virginia Bird Life. (15 minutes). Maurice
Brooks, Morgantown, W. Va.

A comparison was made of the bird life of the former West Virginia spruce
belt as it is today, and as it was when Dr. W. C. Rives wrote of i,^ thirty-six
years ago, before the Spruce was cut. Twenty-three species dehnitely classed
as Canadian in the Check-list were recorded as summer residents by Rives.
Recent Held work by the author of the paper disclosed that no species has
been lost to the state, although some range restrictions have occurred. Several
new breeding species have been added to the list by tbe recent work.

28. A Study of the Roosting Behavior of the European Starling. (12 minutes).
(Lantern). Charles A. Dand)ach, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

A report of detailed ol)servations on an outdoor roost of 32,000 birds
located on a hillside oak thicket near Zanesville, Ohio, during the last five
months of 1934.

29. A Survey of the Bald Eagles of the Lower Mississippi Valley. (20 minutes).
(Lantern). Albert F. Ganier, Nashville, Tenn.

A large map was shown indicating the location of the nests of about
thirty-five pairs of eagles studied in a strip of Mississij)pi bottomland several
huiulred miles in length.

30. The Comparative Ability of the Ring-necked Pheasant and the Bob-white
Quail to withstand Cold and Hunger. Paul L. Errington, Iowa State College,
Ames, Iowa. (Paper presented by Charles A. Dambach, Ohio State University,
Columbus, Ohio).

The comparative experimental and observational data indicate that the
pheasant is strikingly superior to the Boh-white in its ability to withstand
cold when emaciated, to endure hunger, to retard star\ation by feeding upon
low (piality herl)aceous foods, and to regain lost weight quickly and far more
completely when op[)ortutdty presents it.self. Both species die of starvation
when reduced down to about 57 per cent of tbeir original normal l)ody weight.
No sexual differences in resistance were found for either sj)ecies.

3f. Action .Scenes of Louisiana Marsh Birds. (45 minutes). (35 mm. motion pic-
tures). Edward A. Mcllhenny, Avery Island, La.

Five re(4s of films sliowing marsh birds, waterfowl. Snowy Egrets, Blue
Geese, and otlier aidmul life of tlu; swanqis.

Proceedings

89

Satuhday Evening Session

32. The Bird and Animal Life of Frick Park, Pittsburgh. (3 reels of 16 mm
motion pictures). H. S. Crass, Siii)ervisor of Frick Park, Pittsburgh, Pa.

The lollowing ]Kipers were read by title:

33. Recent Observations on the Waterfowl Supply Along the Atlantic Coast. (20
minutes). T. Gilbert Pearson, National Association of Audubon Societies,
New York, N. Y.

34. Views of the Home Life of the Atlantic Murre. (20 minutes). Robert A.
Johnson, Oneonta, N. Y.

35. Experiences with the Golden Plover and Other Rare Birds of Indiana. (22
minutes). Mrs. Horace F. Cook, Anderson, Ind.

36. The Relationship of the Great Blackdiacked Gull to Certain Other .Species on
the Nesting Grounds of Canadian Labrador. (25 minutes). (Lantern). Robert
A. Johnson, Oneonta, N. Y.

37. Wild Life Cycles. (15 minutes). Leonard W. Wing, Madison, Wis.

38. Some Experiences of an Amateur with Birds in Canadian Labrador. (15 min-
utes). (16 mm. motion pictures). A. A. Myrus, Oneonta, N. Y.

39. Virginia Mountain Studies of the Blackburnian Warbler. (8 minutes). F. M.
Jones, Abington, Va.

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY FOR 1934*

To the Officers and Members of the Wilson Ornithological Club:

During the past year, the intensive campaign for new members was continued
by the Secretary, to aid in offsetting the mend)ership and financial losses due to
the prevailing economic conditions. The work was handicapped by the continued
high postal rates, increased printing costs, and by the depression retrenchments
which prevented dozens of interested prospects from affiliating with our organi-
zation. If the members of the Wilson Ornithological Club, during the coming
year, make a special attempt to acquaint friends with the benefits of the organiza-
tion and forward to the officers the names of all membership prospects, it is
believed that the 1935 report will show a decided gain in the number of new
members. And a little encouragement will induce many members to carry on
in spite of difficulties.

The membership campaign was quite successful. In 1932, 113 new members
were secured and in 1933, 114. During 1934, 112 new mend)ers were added to
the rolls. These 112 new mendjers were: Sustaining, 1; Active, 18; and Asso-

ciate, 93. The new members were distributed through 34 states and })rovinces:
Ohio, 15; Iowa, 11; Wisconsin, 10; West Virginia, 9; New York, 7; Illinois and
Michigan, 6 each; Kentucky, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, and
California, 3 each; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,
Virginia, and Utah, 2 each; Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Mani-
toba, Massachusetts, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada. New Brunswick, Oklahoma,
Oregon, and Saskatchewan, 1 each.

Disregarding some duplications in nominations, the various members respon-
sible for the applications of new members, were as follows: Lawrence E. Hicks,

* Revised to the end of December, 1934.

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The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

86; T. C. Stephens, 7; John W. Handlan, 5; W. M. Rosene, Philip A. DuMont,
Maurice Brooks, Mabel Slack, Frank N. Blanchard, and Brasher Bacon, 3 each;
J. M. Shaver, Charles J. Spiker, Gordon Wilson, and Joseph W. Stack, 2 each;
Paul Errington, Oscar M. Bryens, Albert F. Ganier, Thomas E. Shields, R. A.
Johnson, J. Reeder, Lyndon L. Hargrave, William G. Fargo, Noel J. Williams,
Margaret M. Nice, J. J. Murray, M. G. Lewis, Laidlaw Williams, J. E. Patterson,
W. M. Dawley, 0. A. Stevens, David Damon, Sidney K. Eastwood, Winton Weyde-
rneyer, Donald W. Douglass, L. Irby Davis, and G. M. Cook, 1 each.

In spite of these increases, the Wilson Ornithological Club has had a slight
decrease in net membership nund)er, due to the large number of resignations and
delinquencies for 1934 forced by present conditions. The total number of mem-
bers lost during the year 1934 from all causes was 151, 1 being Honorary, 2 Sus-
taining, 37 Active, and 111 Associate. Thus, there has been a net loss of 39
members during 1934.

This leaves the present membership of the club at 621, distributed as fol-
lows: Honorary, 6; Life, 12 (2 are also Honorary); Sustaining, 44; Active, 154;

Associate, 407.

The Secretary wishes to take this opportunity to thank the many members
who have assisted in the membership camj)aign, helped with the staging of the
annual meeting, or otherwise advanced the work of the Wilson Ornithological
Club during the past year. It has been particularly gratifying to have received
in all nearly 300 letters from the members giving news ol their own work, ideas
and suggestions on ornithological topics, or words of encouragement and con-
structive criticisms of the work being done. It is greatly regretted that the pres-
sure of other duties has made it imjtossible to answer many of these directly, or
to reply except by abbreviated note.

Respectfully submitted,

Lawrence E. Hicks, Secretary.

REGISTER OF ATTENDANCE AT THE PITTSBURGH MEETING
From Canada : Arthur C. Twomey, Camrose, Alberta. PTom Illinois: Victor
E. Shelford, Champaign; L. G. Brownian, L. V. Domm, Robert Redfield, Mandel
Sherman, Chicago; Helen Jacobs, Mrs. A. C. Twomey, Urbana. From Indiana:
Martha B. Lyon, M. W. Lyon, Jr., South Bend. From Iowa: T. C. Stephens,
Sioux City, k'rom Massachusetts: Harry D. Eastman, Sherborn; K. L. Hussey,
Swanqiscott. From Michigan: Frank N. Blanchard, George Wallace, Frank J.
Hinds, Ann Arbor; D. L. Sargent, East Lansing; 1). H. Janzen, Lansing. From
Missouri: Louis M. Weber, St. Louis; A. F. Satterthwait, Elizabeth A. Satter-
thwait, J. M. Magner, Webster Groves. From New Jersey: Norman McClintock,
New Brunswick; Warren F. Eaton, U[)per Montclair. From New York: George
M. Sutton, Ithaca; E. E. .Segerstorm, Johnstown; Mrs. C. N. Edge, F. L. Fitz-
[latrick, Cecelia Moore, Theodora Nelson, New York City; Jessie J. McCall,
Potsdaw. From North Carolina: A. Shaftsbury, Greensboro; Z. P. Metcalf,
Raleigh. From Ohio: Pauline Belle Wyss, Bridgeport; Charles A. Dambach,
Burton; 11. B. McConnell, Cadiz; Mr. and Mrs. J. L. F’loyd, Canton; Helen Dor-
nette, Cincinnati; .S. Prentiss Baldwin, S. Charles Kendeigh, Cleveland; Mr. and
Mrs. E. L. Dakan, Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Gordon, Mr. and Mrs. T. L. Langlois,
Leonard B. Nice, Margaret M. Nice, Raymond C. Osborn, John Price, John H.

Proceedings

91

Scliaffner, Coliiml)iis; R. D. Book, Corning; William Ireland, Jr., Grandview;
A. W. Lindsey, Granville; E. L. Wickliffe, Grove City; Paul 11. Stewart, Leetonia;
William C. Baker, Salem; Lee Roach, Urichsville; C. T. Cutriglit, Wooster; J. L.
Beeghly, Mr. and Mrs. Grant M. Cook, Youngstown; Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence E.
Hicks, Zanesville. From Pennsylv.ani.a outside of Pittsburgh: Robert W. Glenn,
Avalon; Harry A. McGraw, Altoona; R. H. Reiher, Ben Avon; Dorothy Cleveland,
Mrs. F. N. Cleveland, California; W. E. Dilley, Erie; Frank R. Smith, Frederick-
town; Stanley j. Seiple, Greenville; Thomas S. George, Grove City; Dwight E.
Sollherger, Ingram; Earnest Lakin, Johnstown; Maximilian Duman, Ann Gorski,
Latrohe; Garl Auerswald, Dorothy Auerswald, Millvale; Edward C. Rainey, New
Castle ; C. H. Manley, New Kensington ; Bayard H. Christy, Margaret M. Hal-
worth, Martha A. Porter, Mrs. J. R. Rose, 0. C. Reiter, Jennie B. Wallace, Frank
A. Hegner, Sewickley ; Anna May Arnold, Ernst Lachner, Keller Shelar, R. A.
Waldron, Sli[)pery Rock; Sidney D. Small, Edgewood; F. G. Hess, Mrs. K. G.
Kutchts, Wilkinshurg; George J. Free, George L. Green, Oliver P. Medsger, State
Gollege; J. Warren Jacobs, Wayneshurg; R. M. Corbett, West Sunhury; Sidney
D. Small, Edgewood. From Pittsburgh : Charles T. Agostini, E. W. Arthur,
William L. Black, Helen Blair, Kate Blair, Mrs. A. C. Brandewyk, Margaret Bran-
dewyk, J. A. Brown, John W. Brown, Helen Cashdollar, Edward L. Clark, Mary
Lou Connell, Olive A. Corbett, H. S. Crass, Janette Dickson, H. D. Eastman, Fred
Eherle, Agnes Fortman, Catherine Fricke, Reinhold L. Fricke, Laura Friel, Frank
Glines, Dorothy Hartung, Alice Haworth, Ann Heese, Alva Held, Charles W.
Hetzler, Frank Hinds, Marie B. Knaus, Robert Lehman, G. A. Link, Mr. and
M rs. A. C. Lloyd, M. Graham Netting, James M. Norris, J. J. Palmarin, Julius J.
Palmisaro, Agnes Portman, 0. G. Reiter, Robert L. Scott, H. L. Scribner, J.
.Sumpstein, Harold Thom|ison, George B. Thorp, W. E. Clyde Todd, Ruth Trimble,
Millie R. Turner. From Tennessee: Albert JL Ganier, John T. McGill, Jesse M.
Shaver, Nashville. From W.ashington, D. G.: Paul Bartsch, H. C. Bryant, Phoebe
Knappen, Charles J. Spiker, John .S. Wade. From West Virginia: Harold

Bergher, A. B. Brooks, Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Brooks , Charles Conrad, Karl
Haller, James Handlan, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Handlan, Thomas E. Shields,
Clyde Upton, Russell West, Wheeling; D. Lee Shilliday, Barhoursville ; Chester
M. Shaffer, Dorcas; Charles K. Llewellyn, Leonard Llewellyn, Robert C. Patter-
son, Keyser; J. L. Poland, Martinsburg.

Summary of ATTENUANrE: Canada, 1; Illinois, 7; Indiana, 2; Iowa, 1;

Massachusetts, 2; Michigan, 5; Missouri, 4; New Jersey, 2; New York, 7; North
Carolina, 2; Ohio, 32; Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh, 38; Pittsburgh, 49;
Tennessee, 3; Washington, D. C., 5; West Virginia, 18. Total attendance, 178.
Total outside of Pittsburgh, 129. Maximum number at each iirogram session:
Friday morning, 86; Friday afternoon, 103; Saturday morning, 96; Saturday
afternoon, 87. Number at Annual Dinner, about 72. Nuiuher at Museum Open
House, 82. Number of papers listed on program, 39.

92

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

REPORT OF THE TREASURER FOR 1934
From December 30, 1933 to December 15, 1934

Receipts for 1934

December 30, 1933, Balance on hand from last report $ 697.88

The following was collected as dues from members:

2 Associate members for 1932 $ 3.00

1 Active member for 1932 2.50

8 Associate members for 1933 12.00

2 Active members for 1933 5.00

333 Associate mendiers for 1934 499.50

151 Active members for 1934 377.50

33 Sustaining members for 1934 165.00

8 Foreign members for 1934 15.50

48 Associate members for 1935 72.00

15 Active members for 1935 37.50

13 Sustaining members for 1935 65.00

6 Foreign mendiers for 1935 9.03

1 Associate member for 1936 1.50

1 Sustaining member for 1936 5.00

Total from membership dues $1,270.03

The following was collected from subscribers:

59 Subscribers for 1934 $ 88.50

1 Active subscriber for 1934 2.50

13 Subscribers for 1925 19.50

3 Fractional subscriptions or memberships 2.88

Total from subscriptions $ 113.38

The following were miscellaneous receipts:

Collected for reprints $ 15.10

Sale of back numbers of Bulletin 9.25

Subsidies toward' publication 16.50

Contribution toward publication 100.00

Mi.scellaneous receipts 8.35

Total miscellaneous receipts $ 149.20

Total receipts, including old balance $2,230.49

Proceedings

93

Disbursements for 1934

Printing four issues of Bulletin $1,037.12

Cost of halftones, zincs, etc 99.67

Other expenses in Editor's office 68.53

Cost of reprints 5.40

Publication costs

Expenses in Secretary’s office .f

Expenses in Treasurer’s office

Subscriptions refunded account of error

Exchange on Canadian checks

Three checks returned (later made good)

U. S. Tax on 41 checks at 2 cents each

$1,210.72

112.44

47.61

7.05

1.53

8.00

.82

General costs

$ 177.45

Total disbursements $1,388.17

Balance on hand, December 15, 1934 842.32

Total $2,230.49

(An itemized list of the disbursements with vouchers is attached for the Auditors).

Respectfully submitted,

W. M. Rosene, Treasurer.

Ogden, Iowa, December 15, 1934.

Endowment Fund

December 30, 1933, Balance on hand from last report $1,379.59

Interest second half of 1933, from City State Bank 17.70

Interest first half of 1934, from City State Bank 23.43

Interest last half of 1934, from City State Bank - 21.30

December 15, 1934, Balance on hand $1,442.02

Th is balance is deposited in the Savings Department of the City State Bank,
of Ogden, Iowa, at 3 per cent interest, and is covered by the Federal Deposit
Insurance. Nothing has been paid out of this fund during the year.

Report of the Auditing Committee

The undersigned have examined the report of the Treasurer of the Wilson
Ornitholoftical Club for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1934, and vouchers
accompartying the same, and have found them correct.

Respectfully submitted,

Chas. .1. Spiker.

Bayard H. Chrlsty.

94

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

Fig. 8. Group at the Annual W. 0. C. Meetin^r, Pittsburgh, 19,84.

Proceedings

95

REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN FOR 1934

Ann Arl)or, Michigan, January 16, 1935.

I have the honor to present herewith the fourth report of the Librarian of
the Wilson Ornithological Club.

Exchanges. During the past year the lil)rary has received regularly on ex-
change loua Bird Life and the University of Iowa Studies in Natural History.
The Librarian can not overemphasize the value of this material. The exchange of
the Bi'i.i.ETiN for not only domestic hut also foreign journals will l)e of ines-
timable scientiHc value to the Club and its library in the field of research. In this
field the exchanges may quite naturally become the very backbone of the re-
search library.

Reprinting. On the matter of reprinting out-of-print numbers of the Bulle-
tin some progress has been made. With funds available from the sale of back
numbers 100 copies of Bulletin No. 10 (September, 1896) were made liy the
lithoprint process during the winter of 1934. This Bulletin is available for
•SLOO to non-members and for 80 cents to members of the Club, which is the
same price that is charged for Bulletin No. 9.

Stock. During 1934 our stock was augmented only by the return from
Dulau & Co., of London, of forty-two numbers of the Bulletin (Vols. 37-39) for
which the Librarian had to send $3 25 for carriage charges.

Book Plate. As yet no hook plate has been adopted by the Club although
several have been submitted.

Donors. The Librarian takes pleasure in acknowledging gifts to the Club
Library from the following during 1934:

Mr. Samuel Harriot, New York, N. Y.

Mr. E. L. Sumner, Jr., Berkeley, Calif.

Mr. Warren J. Willis, New \ork, N. Y.

The gifts to the library for 1934 total 22 hound volumes and 242 separates, re-
print.s, and unbound nundiers of periodicals. This makes a total for the four-year
period of the existence of the library of 178 hound volumes and 1387 separates.

Resiiectfnlly submitted,

F. P. Ai.len, Librarian.

KEY to group photograph OF THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUR
1, William Ireland, ,lr. 2. fJeor^c B, Thorp. 8. Boy Black. 4. William C. Baker. .8. Paul
H. Stewart. 6, Ruth Trimble. 7, Jesse M. Shaver. 8, I'. C. Stephens. 9. Lawrence K. Micks.
10. Margaret M. Nice. 11. Albert F. Lanier. 12, Ann Gorski. 13. Carl Aiierswald. 14. (Tias. J.
Spiker. 15. Bayard H. Christy, 16, Charles A. Oambach. 17, Bobert W. (Menn. 18, Dorthy Har*
tung. 19, Ann Heese. 20, Clyde Upton. 21. James Handlan. 22, Thos. F. Shields. 23. Mr. Bond.
24, Mrs. J. L. Floyd. 25, J. I^. Floyd. 26. I). M. Janzen. 27, Warren F. Katon. 28. Mr. Miller.
29, E. W. Arthur. 30, John W. Brown. 31. S. Prentiss Baldwin, 32, Louis M. Weber. 33, Eliza-
beth A. Satterthwait. 34, Edward S. Thomas. 35. Olive A. Corbett. 36, Agnes Fortman. 37,

38. Alva Held. 39, Laura F'riel. 40. Alice Haworth. 41. Dwight E. Sollberger. 42. Martha Porter.
43, Mr. Barney. 44, Leonard B. Nice. 45. E. L. Oakan. 46, Mrs. Lawrence E. Hicks. 47, Frank
Glines. 48, J. L. Poland. 49, Frank B. Smith. 50, J. Warren Jacobs. 51. Mr. Bowe. 52, W'. E.
Clyde Todd. 53, J. Sumpstein. .54, Mrs. C. N. Edge. 55. George M. Sutton. .56, James Beeghly.
57, George Wallace. .58, Theodora Nelson. 59, Frank Hinds. 60. Mrs. Maurice Brooks. 61. Charles
T. Agostini. 62. Norman McClintock, 63, John W. Handlan. 64. Mrs. John W. Handlan. 65, Cath-
erine Fricke. 66, Beinhold L. Frickc. Copies of the 1934 \\ . O. C. group picture may be had for
.50 cents each by writing to B. P. Hay. Industrial Photographer. Loeffler Building. Oakland, Pitts-
burgh, Pa.

96

The Wilson Bulletin — March, 1935

COMMUNICATIONS

To the Editor:

I have just received and read throufih the Deceniher issue of the Wilson
Biillei'in, and was particularly interested in the article hy Mr. P. T. English,
descrihing the observations on Red-tailed Hawks in the Williamston project. The
article is very illuminating l)ut it is difficult to believe that the conclusions on
page 235 are unbiased.

In the author’s introductory paragraph he states that the Red-tailed Hawk is
not numerous. In fact, he was able to find only one pair to work on; and this
pair raised only one young. Yet he has compared the results of one investigation
with the data of other investigators, notably Warren and Fisher, whose work was
undertaken on a far larger scale.

Furthermore, considering the game birds taken on this area, the author
admits that the Hungarian Partridges released in that vicinity were wing-clipped
birds and, therefore, handicapped in their chances to escape the hawks. It is,
therefore, not reasonable to expect that any Red-tailed Hawk, in any area, would
have the same feeding habits as this particular pair.

Moreover, assuming that one pair of nesting Red-tailed Hawks would take
three and two-tenths per cent of the game on a 5000-acre area, is this justifi-
cation for destroying one of our rapidly disappearing and most interesting of
American birds? Game breeding for slaughter, especially of imported birds, is
being carried too lar. If killing of Red-tailed Hawks is recommended on all
game-management [irojects it becomes difficult, if not illogical, to stop their being
killed on every other [)lace.

Conclusion No. 7, indicating that weasels might he beneficial rather than
harmful, is unjustified from his investigation as he has not shown that the mice
are in any way injurious to the game birds, or that the wmasels are harmful.
Why should not the conclusion he drawn that the weasels had been killing game
and by the killing of the weasel save many of the game birds?

Furthermore, while the article in general is quite fair in stating both sides
of the question, it hardly .seems to justify the elaborate and apparently scientific-
seeming conclusions which are based on inadequate study and that only one
pair of nesting birds was considered, and that was in a game area.

It is my contention that even though a nesting Red-tailed Hawk takes a
number of game birds, and if it is as rare a bird as Mr. English’s investigations
would leave us to believe, in the area considered, it would he better to overlook,
for esthetic reasons, if for no other, the comparatively small damage done hy the
depredations. On page 234 he quotes Stoddard to the effect that unless red-tails
are numerous they may as well he tolerated in game preserves, etc.

In my mind the imi)ortant fact to consider is to what extent we are to allow
private gain to reduce or destroy .some of our wildest, most interesting, and estheti-
cally desirable forms of bird life, such as the Red-tailed Hawk, irrespective of its
economic status in any particular situation? The facts, while they may appear
damaging from a game management point of view, are certainly none other than
would be expected of a pair of hawks nesting in almost harn-yard conditions.

Very truly yours,

Warren F. Eaton,

In Charge National Association of Audubon
Societies' Hawk and Owl Campaign.

TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Our members are urged to submit articles for publication in the Bulletin.
Short items are desired for the department of General Notes, as well as longer
articles pertaining to life-history, migration, ecology, behavior, song, economic
ornithology, field equipment, methods, etc. Local faunal lists are desired, but
limited space makes slower publication inevitable. In preparing such lists for
publication in the Bulletin follow our existing style, and use the nomenclature
of the fourth edition of the A. 0. U. Check-List.

The Manuscript. The manuscript, or copy, should be prepared with due
regard for literary style, correct spelling and punctuation. We recommend the
Manual of Style, of the University of Chicago Press, as a guide in the prepara^
tion of manuscripts. Use paper of good quality and of letter size (8^4x11).
Avoid the use of thin paper. Write on one side only, and leave wide margins,
using double spacing and a reasonably fresh, black ribbon. The title should be
carefully constructed so as to indicate most clearly the nature of the subject
matter, keeping in mind the requirements of the index. Where the paper deals
with a single species of bird it is advisable to include the scientific name of the
species in the introductory paragraph. If the author will mark at the top of the
first page the number of words in the paper, a little of the Editor’s time will
be saved.

Illustrations. To reproduce well as half-tones photographic prints should
have good contrast with detail. It is best to send prints unmounted and un-
trimmed. The author should always attach to each print an adequate description
or legend.

Bibliography. The scientific value of some contributions is enhanced by an
accompanying list of works cited. Such citations should be complete, giving
author’s name, full title of the paper, both the year and volume of the periodical,
and pages, first and last. In quoting other works care should be taken to carry
over every detail, verbatim et literatim.

Proof. Galley proof will be regularly submitted to authors. Page proofs
will be submitted only on request. Proofs of notes and short articles are not
ordinarily submitted, unless for special reason. AH proofs must be returned

promptly. Expensive alterations in the copy after the type has been set must

be charged to the author.

Separates. The club is unable, under present financial conditions, to furnish
reprints to authors gratis. Arrangements will be made, however, for such re-
prints to be obtained at cost. A scale of costs, based on the number of pages, is
given below. If a blank page is left in the folding it may be used as a title page,
which will he set and printed at the rate indicated. If a complete cover with
printed title page is desired it may be obtained at the rate shown in the last

column. Orders for reprints should accompany the returned galley proof on

b!a;iks provided for that purpose.

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JgjmiiiiintimtiminntmiiimnmtmmiHiiiiiinnifnninnmiiiinHuimniiimiiiniintniiitiimuffj

Annual Meetings of the Wilson Ornithological Club

Retiring

1914 — Chicago. February 6. President

Chicago Academy of Sciences.

1914 — Chicago. December 29-80.

New Morrison Hotel ..T. C. Stephens

1915— Columbus. December 28-29.

With the A. A. A. S. T. C. Stephens

1916 — Chicago.....December 27-28.

New Morrison Hotel T. C. Stephens

1917 — Pittsburgh. January 1-2, 1918.

With the A. A. A. S. W. F. Henninger

1919 — ^St. Louis. December 29-80.

With the A. A. A. S. M. H. Swenk

1920 — Chicago. December 27-28.

With the A. A. A. S R. M. Strong

1921 — Chicago. December 26-27.

The Field Museum R. M. Strong

1922 — Chicago. October 26 T. L. Hankinson

1923 — Cincinnati. Dec. 31, 1928-Jan. 1, 1924.

With the A. A. A. S T. L. Hankinson

1924 — Nashville. November 28-29-30.

Peabody College A. F. Ganier

1925— Kansas City. December 28-29.

With the A. A. A. S A. F. Ganier

1926 — Chicago. November 26-27.

Chicago Academy of Sciences A. F. Ganier

1927— Nashville. Dec. 80, 1927-Jan. 1, 1928.

With the A. A. A. S Lynds Jones

1928 — Ann Arbor. Nov. 81-Dec. 1, 1928.

Museum of Zoology Lynds Jones

1929 — Des Moines. December 27-28.

With the A. A. A. S Lynds Jones

1930 — Cleveland. December 29-80.

With the A. A. A. S J. W. Stack

1931 — New Orleans. December 28-29.

With the A. A. A. S J. W. Stack

1932 — Columbus. November 26-26.

The Ohio State Museum Jesse M. Shaver

1934 — Pittsburgh. December 28-29.

The Carnegie Museum and A. A. A. S.
Jesse M. Shaver

tilniiMmnmimiiiiiintmtmuiimnitminniiinmnniH»ii»nuiunintintttiimimnumuMiimi>in

JUL 2 3 W35

lij

Vol.XI.VII JUNE. 19, ’,.5 No. 2

A '. . ,

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THE

VILSON BUim»

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A Magazine of Field Ornithology

Published by the

WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

at

SIOLTX CITY, IOWA

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Entered as Second-class Mail Matter, July 13, 1916, at the PostoflPice at
Sioux City, Iowa, under Act of March 3, 1879.

CONTENTS

A Study of the Nesting and Family Life of the Red-

throated Loon By R. A. Johnson and Hazel S. Johnson 97-103

The Constancy of Catbirds to Mates and to Territory

By Geoffrey Gill 104-106

Forest Edge Birds and Exposures of Their Habitats

By J. Richard Carpenter 106-108

Notes on Nestling Robins By W. J. Hamilton, Jr. 109-111

The Duck Situation in the Prince Albert District, Cen-
tral Saskatchewan By 0. C. Furniss 111-119

Erythrocytes and Hemoglobin in the Blood of Some
American Birds

By L. B, Nice, Margaret M. Nice, and Ruth M. Kraft 120-124

Food Habits of Burrowing Owls in Northwestern Iowa

By Paul L. Errington and Logan J. Bennett 125-128

Bird Migration Records from Southeastern Wyoming

By Otto C. McCreary and Arthur B. Mickey 129-157

General Notes 158-165

Ornithological Literature 166-174

Editorial

175-176

THE WILSON BULLETIN

is published quarterly in March, June, September, and December, as the official
organ of the Wilson Ornithological Club, at Sioux City, Iowa, and is sent to all
members not in arrears for dues. The subscription price is $1.50 a year, invari-
ably in advance, in the United States. Single numbers, 50 cents. Outside of the
United States the rate is $1.75. Single numbers, 60 cents. Subscriptions should
be sent to the Editor.

All articles and communications for publication, books and publications for
review, exchanges, and claims for lost or undelivered copies of the magazine,
should be addressed to the Editor.

The current issue of the Wilson Bulletin is printed by the Verstegen Print-
ing Company, Sioux City, Iowa.

THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

Founded December 3, 1888. Named after Alexander Wilson, the first Ameri-
can ornithologist, and called the “Father of American Ornithology”.

The officers for the current year are:

President — Dr, Josselyn Van Tyne, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
First Vice-President — Mr. Alfred M. Bailey, Chicago Academy of Sciences,
Chicago, 111.

Second Vice-President — Mrs. Margaret M. Nice, Columbus, Ohio.

Treasurer — Mr. W. M. Rosene, Ogden, Iowa.

Secretary — Dr. Lawrence E. Hicks, Botany Dept., 0. S. U., Columbus, Ohio.
Editor — T. C. Stephens, Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa.

The membership dues are — sustaining membership, $5.00; active membership,
$2.50; associate membership, $1.50 per year.

THE WILSON BULLETIN

A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OE ORNITHOLOGY
Published by the Wilson Ornithological Club

Vol.XLVII JUNE, 1935 No. 2

Vnl. XLII (New Series) Whole Numl)er 172

A STUDY OE THE NESTING AND EAMILY LIEE OE THE

RED-THROATED LOON

BY R. A. JOHNSON AND HAZEL S. JOHNSON

The following notes on the Red-throated Loon are taken from our
study of the birds of the North Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence
during two summers spent in the vicinity of Cape Whittle in Saguenay
County, Quebec. In 1931 we were at Wolf Bay, some nine miles west
of the Cape for nine weeks, and for ten days on the St. Mary Islands
which are located approximately twelve miles east of Cape Whittle.
For a six week period in 1934 we made the St. Mary Islands our head-
(juarters while working there and on the Boat Islands near by.

Eleven nesting pairs of l)irds were studied: one on the mainland
in 1931 and ten pairs during 1934, six of which were within the St.
Mary Island Sanctuary and four outside its protection on the Boat
Islands. Observations were made from a blind, of incubating birds
at the Wolf Bay nest in 1931, and at one nest in the sanctuary in 1934.

The Wolf Bay nest was typically located on the hank of a fresh
water lake a few yards long and half as wide. While this lake was on
the mainland all other nesting lakes observed in 1934 were insular.
On one island two occupied lakes were not more than fifty yards aj)art.
All nests were placed so near the brink of their lakes that the loon
could slide into and under the water with one “push off”. The laying
date for one early nest in the sanctuary was May 25, and for another
on the Boat Islands was June 29. This latter one was a second nest-
ing attempt for the season, as the one at Wolf Bay on June 28, 1931,
may also have been.

While the two drab colored eggs were laid in a slight hollow of a
nest which had only enough depression to kee|) them from rolling into
the water, there was, in every case, collected nesting material — usually
sphagnum moss, crowberry vine, and reindeer moss.

Three pairs of the birds observed in 1934 attempted to re-nest
after losing their eggs during the early incubation period. In each
case a second nest was made a few feet from the location of the old

98

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

one. In other cases the birds which lost their eggs remained in
possession of the lake but did not, apparently, try to re-nest.

An adequate description of the size and color of the eggs has been
given by Bent^. In every instance known to us two eggs were laid in
each nest. From the Wolf Bay nest one egg was lost in some unknown
way, but the remaining egg was cared for and hatched.

Incubation begins when the first egg is laid, so that the chicks
hatch from twenty-four to thirty-six hours apart. Both sexes share in
the duties of incubation and it may he said that they are quite devoted
to the nest. Unless disturbed one or the other of the pair will be found
on the nest throughout the day and night. When one egg is lost the

Fig. 9. Left, sea-shell found in Red-throated Loon’s nest with egg.
Right, young loon about three weeks old.

birds continue incubation as shown in two cases observed. But the
most remarkable instance of their devotion to the nest was shown
by an incident observed in August. 1931. A pair of birds incubating
on the second nest site had lost their eggs or had had none — no eggs
were seen and they were faithfully sitting on a spiral shaped sea shell
of about the same size as a loon's egg. (See figure 9). We cannot
explain how the shell got into the nest and was adopted. It may have
been dropped near the nest site Iry a gull, hut this seems unlikely since
the shell was not fresh hut very old and worn. A|iparcntly the pair
of birds had been sitting on the shell for several days as it was pol-
ished (fuite smooth. To make certain of this record, the nest was
visited five times in three days, twice before dawn. In all cases an

'I.ife Hi.«torios of North Anierican Diving Birds, hy Arthur Cleveland Rent,
United States National Museum Bulletin 107, 1919.

Nesting Habits of the Red-throated Loon

99

incubating bird was at tbe nest. Three times it was seen hovering
the shell. Finally on August 2 the shell was collected to encourage the
faithful pair in a more profitable oecupation.

The incubation period of the Red-throated Loon is thirty-eight to
forty days. This was determined in the summer of 1934 in the fol-
lowing manner. On June 30 a nest containing one fresh egg was
found on the Boat Islands. By August 2 this nest had not hatched

so the two eggs were taken and placed under a broody chicken hen

which had been brought from the States for that purpose. One of
these two loon eggs hatched under the chicken on August 7, thirty-
nine days after the first egg was laid.

The incubating bird always faced the water. As it sat on the
nest it was often seen to pull twigs of crowherry, labrador tea, and
moss about its breast or to rearrange them to better advantage. When
returning to the nest lake the bird did not always go onto the nest at
once. Although no sound was made in the blind the loon might sud-
denly fly from the water and its wail could he heard as it circled
about the nest lake. This action might he repeated two or three times
before the bird attempted to climb the hank from the water to its

nest. Failing to gain the brink the first time, the bird would swim

along the shore several feet, trying at several places until it gained
a foothold. Coming to the nest from the hack or side the bird turned
in such a manner as to face the lake, lowered its breast onto the front
rim of the nest and, with its feet, attem])ted to adjust the position of
the eggs to the incubation spot which is far hack on the long body.
If this position failed to satisfy, the bird would raise up and with
the mandibles slightly parted, ])ush the eggs into the desired position.
Again lowering itself onto the eggs, it settled with the usual rolling
motion of an incubating bird. One settled to its liking, the bird sat
ffuietly, even dozing now and then; caught a passing lly in its bill or
picked at its wings and back. At tbe least note of warning from a
passing gull the loon would stretch its neck upward turning the head
from side to side. At such times a slight ex|)ansion of the throat
muscles could be seen, and if the alarm continued the bird would
stretch head and neck flat along the ground, to escape detection, ap-
parently. Slight notice was taken of a visiting Eider Duck on the
nest lake.

Tbe young of the Red-throated Loon is black over the upper por-
tions of the body and smoky black beneatb with a mergence of both
shades about the neck and over the head. After three weeks it appears
lighter and more blue-black in color.

100

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

The chick seems to have hut one call which is a low, rasping,
drawn out “crz/-ce-c/>”, that can be heard from only a short distance.
This cry is heard when the bird is chilled and wants to he hovered
or when it is hungry.

The chicks were never carried on the parent’s hack, although
one young bird was occasionally seen atteni])ting to climb onto the
hack of a parent while in the water. Hovering always took place on
the hank of the nest lake. So far as protection is concerned the young
are dependent upon their color which makes them nearly undiscernihle
along the lake shore, and u])on their ability to dive, an accomplishment
at which they are most adept.

When young the chicks need hovering more often than in later
life. The parent bird left the water many times a day, climbing onto
the bank at the nest site or that of an old nest and settling itself com-
fortably facing the water. The chicks followed hut were never seen
to climb onto the hank unless preceded by the adult although they fre-
([uently went back to the water alone. A quotation from our notes,
taken from the blind in 1934 while observing a four-day-old chick, is
of interest in describing the life of the young loon. ‘"6:50 P. M., July
6. one parent and one chick are swimming about in the center of this
small nest lake keeping close together. Once the parent dived, so did
the chick, and they swam together again; 7:00 o’clock, chick began
to whimper. Temperature is 52° F. Soon the parent bird swam to
an old nest site on the o])posite shore of the lake, climbed out and set-
tled itself. The chick immediately followed, went to hack of parent,
crawled forward and up under the wing which was held out for it.
The chick then hovered as observed htfore. up on the crural feather
tract under the tips of the secondaries from where its head sometimes
protruded above the hack feathers of the adult. After ten minutes of
hovering the second adult alighted on the lake with a fish ajiproxi-
mately hve inches huig, swam near to the hovering bird and gave a
low throaty ‘car-oir-()w-w\ Meanwhile it kej)l dipping the fish helou
the surface of the water. Soon the chick came to the edge of the
water hut turned hack and was hovered again as before. The adult
with food continued to call. In three minutes the ymung one swam
out .«ome three feet, took the fish and struggled with it for a minute;
then started to shore, drojijied the fish, and went hack to he hovered,
this time under the other wina; of the old bird. The adult which
brought the fish, recovered and ate it, then remained on the lake for
ten minutes. During this time both old birds exchanged cooing notes
sounding similar to the courting calls of the male Eider Duck, excejit

Nesting Habits of the Red-throated Loon

101

Fig. 10. Left, nest of Red-ihroated Loon. Right, young loon, about four
weeks old, swimming alone in lake.

Fig. 11. Nest of Red-tliroated Loon, with newly hatched young and egg.

102

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

that they were pitched much lower. The hovering bird then slid into
the water, gave two ’’car-ow-ou'-w's and both adults Hew from the lake.
In three minutes one adult returned and hovered the chick.”

Numerous observations were made from the blind on the food and
feeding of the young at different stages of growth. So far as we could
determine whole fish were fed from the beginning. These were un-
believably large for the size of the young bird. On two occasions a
bird three weeks old seemed to be taking Caddis Fly larvae from the
lake. This note, however, could not he verified. Among the fish fed
the Sand Lance [ Ammodytes ainericunus ) , Gunnel (Pholis gunnellus) ,
and Capelin {Mallotus villosus) were identified. One adult loon was
observed on several different days fishing in a sandy harbor where
Lance were numerous and carrying her catch to an island about two
miles away.

The growth of the young of the Red-throated Loon is compara-
tively slow. One chick was observed periodically from the day it
hatched until it was five weeks old. At this time it was about two-
thirds grown but had only begun to show feathers about the shoulders.
The flight plumage appeared to he ])ins about one inch long. Mr.
Fred Osborne, the Sanctuary kee])er at St. Mary Islands, believes that
these young do not fly before they are two months old. Our studies
indicate that his estimate is fairly accurate. When we left the Sanctu-
ary on August 7 no young birds had as yet llown from the nest lake.
The oldest one at that time was approximately seven weeks old.

Oire young loon three weeks old weighed 152 grams and showed
primary pins one quarter of an inch long. No other feathers were
showing in this bird. On another lake a young bird of about three
weeks of age weighed 185 grams. The tarsus measured ItV inches,
the wing spread nine inches. The eye was chocolate brown color with
a black pupil.

Like most other forms of bird life the Red-throated Loon has
many natural enemies. Rut in this study only two could he seen to
play a very im})ortant role. These were the Great Black-backed Gull
and man. The gull is a notorious egg eater and will usually take the
loon’s eggs if they are found un])rotected. The fact that they are so
nearly the color of the ground is of course some protection. Young
loons are undoubtedly taken by gulls. On one occasion we visited a
lake where a three weeks old l)ird was swimming about, ap])arently
normal. After the bird had dived three or four times it could not get
under the water again until it had rested for a few moments. This
bird was lost that day probably to a gull. It may be that this loon

Nesting Habits of the Red-throated Loon

103

had been weakened from some other cause and should not he charged
entirely against the gulls. On another lake two birds not more than
three weeks old were lost, presumably to gulls. There were no other
predators on the island. Two nests of eggs were known to have been
taken by gulls and others were thought to have gone the same way.

Man is also a notorious egger but, in case of the loon, his dam-
age is, for the most part, unwittingly committed as an ally of the
gull. When the loon is frightened at the approach of man, it will, as
a rule, leave the nest, often staying away for some time. As soon as’
man leaves the island the gulls settle down to the business of securing
any available food. If the loon has not returned to its nest the eggs
may be taken. The Great Black-hacked Gull seems to be a very in-
telligent bird. We have seen individuals which appeared to learn to
give a false alarm as a means of getting a chance at the eggs of nest-
ing birds of other species which have come to depend upon the gull
to announce an approaching enemy.

With the incubation of this loon known, and the length of time
spent on the nest lake approximately determined, it is safe to assume
that the late hatched birds from second nests which do not Hy until
about October 1, have hut a poor chance to survive. The one such
nest in 1931 was hatched August 6 and one in 1934 on August 7.

The ten pairs of birds observed in 1934 made thirteen nests. One
late nest was collected. An egg in one nest was left addled. Pre-
sumably two other eggs should have hatched, since their mates did.
Twelve eggs were lost before incubation was completed. Three young
loons were raised, each from a different nest. The four young that
were lost went at the following ages: one at one day of age, three at
approximately three weeks, although no two went at the same time.
Thus the twelve nests produced three birds this year. We believe
that this is far below the normal production and that the severe dam-
age done hy gulls must he considered in light of the fact that the
natural food (fish) for gulls was so scarce that at least seventy-five
per cent of their young starved to death.

Any attempt to evaluate the nesting success of a species should
consider the effect of the study as a factor. Accordingly, of the total
damage done hy gulls, two nests of eggs and one young bird were lost
when the old loons were away from the nests due to our activities or
those of other people on the island. Perhaps this loss should he
charged to the study. Certainly we were the indirect cause of the loss
although some of it might have occurred in any case.

Oneonta, N. Y.

104

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

THE CONSTANCY OF CATBIRDS TO MATES AND TO

TERRITORY

BY GEOFFREY GILL

At Huntington, Long Island, New York, during the last three
years, the writer has been interested in the study of Catbirds {Dumc-
tellu carolinensis ) in relation to territory. Many resident nesting
Catbirds have been handed with colored bands and it is possible to
ascertain the constancy of pairing and to territory during a single
season and following seasons.

Of twelve nests studied during the past three seasons in which all
parent birds were banded, in four cases, both parents wore colored
bands and in the remaining eight cases at least one of the parents
were so marked.

In the Bulletin of the Northeastern Bird-banding Association (Vol.
I, pp. 48-49) Mrs. H. G. Whittle records a case of a pair of Catbirds
which were constant throughout a season, successfully rearing two
broods. In the twelve cases recorded here there is no similar case,
because not a pair in my records were successful in raising two broods
in a single season, hut cases of constancy do exist.

The most interesting records are of a pair of this species which,
for convenience, are named “6M32”, being the male on territory 6 in

1932, and “6F32”, his mate. These two birds were handed in mid-
June, 1932, and it is thought that due to the lateness of the date of the
nest building, some ten feet east of the handing station, that this was
a second nesting. Their brood of two left the nest on July 18. While
the female or the young were never seen or taken in the traps again
that season, the male repeated on August 20.

In 1933, 6M32 returned on May 13 and was observed singing on
territory 1 the next day. This territory proved to he his home for

1933, located some 250 feet southeast of his 1932 residence. This
territory was occnjiied during the jirevious year by another pair so
was decidedly not a ]>art of his original territory. 6M32 won a new
mate and built a nest a foot from the nest-site of the 1932 occupants
of this thicket. During incubation, on June 8, the four eggs and the
female disappeared. 6M32 was very silent for two weeks Imt was seen
fre([uently on the same territory. Another mate, an unhanded bird,
ap|)eared on June 23 and it is believed that a second nesl was huill
some seventy feet south of the first attem|)t, however the nest was never
found. The male re|)eated in our traps on August 6.

6M32 a|)peared again in our traps on May 17, 1931, and he was
seen singing three days earlier on territory 1, being constant to terri-

Constancy of Catbirds to Mates and Territory

105

tory for the second season and third nesting. His mate for the first
nest was a bird lianded on the left leg. Again the nest was hiiilt in
almost the same spot as in previous years and again the eggs were
stolen.

The second nest, with a new mate, handed hy us on June 16 and
wearing colored hands, was built to the southward a short distance
hut was too well hidden for discovery. The male repeated in our
traps again on August 17'", ol)viously molting.

The above male changes mates apparently with each nesting hut
was fairly constant to territory.

6F32, the mate of the above male in 1932 was not retaken in our
traps until July 1, 1933, but she was found on May 21, 1933, mated
with a bird banded on the right leg on territory 7, 310 feet east of her
former territory and the closest Catbird neighbor to her mate of the
former year. During incubation the four eggs disappeared, hut both
birds stayed on the same territory. A new nest was started shortly
afterwards some sixty feet farther east and the three young left this
nest on July 30. One of these young repeated in our traps on August
19, hut all others of the family were never seen or trapped again. In
this case the female changed territories and mates from one season to
the next hut she was constant to her mate and to her territory during
a single season.

In the case of 2F33, on territory 2, 300 feet northeast of the hand-
ing station, she mated with a bird handed on the right leg throughout
her two known nestings in 1933 and the first nesting of 1934. The
second nesting for 1934, if it existed was not recorded. These two
birds changed territory with each nesting in 1933, being first on terri
tory 2 and then building a second nest, after the first was broken up,
on territory 8, some 200 feet north of the first nest-site. Their first
nest in 1934 was again on territory 8. This pair shows the greatest
constancy of mating, if not to territory, if the male was always the
same bird handed on the right leg. This fact is doubtful as 1 have
handed 494 of these birds and many of this si>ecies are handed on the
right leg. Only ninety individuals wear colored hands.

In the case of 9M33 and 9F33, it is interesting to note that this
male, handed August 11, 1932, is one of the few immature birds which
I have recorded to return. He was lound on May 20, 1933, with his
mate, nesting on territory 9, 250 feet west ol the handing station. The
four young left the nest on June 16. Tlie female repeated in our traps

*lt should 1)6 noted that with the exception of the Hist year, this hint only
aiipeared in our traps as stated, allhoujih residin|j: less than 300 feet away from
the trapping station.

106

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

on June 18, and again on July 11 and 29. On July 15 the male, with-
out a tail and obviously molting was taken in our traps for the first
time that season. If a second nest existed it was never found. On
May 12, 1934, 9M33 returned and with a new mate nested again on his
1933 territory, building a nest thirty feet south of the former site.
During incubation the nest was destroyed, probably by a cat. The
birds were not found again until the male repeated in our traps on
August 10. This bird was not constant to his mate hut was constant
to territory.

In the nine nestings mentioned above constancy is shown by Cat-
birds in varying degrees to mates and to territories. Of the three re-
maining nests in which birds were recognizable by colored bands none
of them returned or during a single season showed any constancy.
Huntington, L. I., N. Y.

FOREST EDGE BIRDS AND EXPOSURES OE THEIR HABITATS

BY J. RICHARD CARPENTER

In studying the bird population of forest edge communities of
University and Brownfield woods near Urbana, Champaign County.
Illinois, during the winter and spring of 1932-33 it was found that
there was a marked selection by the majority of birds in regard to
the exposure-direction of the habitat selected. The prevailing winds of
the region during that period of the year are from the west and south-
west and it was apparent that the birds selected exposures on the ‘‘lee”
sides of the woods in both of the tracts studied.

The dominant vegetation of the thickets of the forest edges studied
was redbud {Cercis canadensis) , flowering dogwood i Cornus florida),
young elms {Ulrnus arnericana ) , spicebush (Benzoin aestivale), but-
ton bush (Cephalantlius occidenlalis) , several species of ash (Fraxinus
spp.j, and haw (Crataegus spp.j. Eor a further description of the
tracts of woodland studied see McDougall ’22, Smith ’28, and Blake ’31.

Data regarding the bird population were obtained by cruising
through the forest edge, recording all of the birds in a strip approxi-
mately twenty feet wide, which included the major portion of the
thicket at the edges of the woods. In both cases the route of observa-
tions was about one mile long and since in both cases also the woods
were slightly longer than broad, the north and south exposure observa-
tions are over a slightly smaller area than are the east and west
observations.

The accompanying table lists the birds oltserved, with notations
following the individual figures as to where the majority of that given

Exposure of Habitats of Forest Edge Birds

107

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108

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

species for that date occurred. The statistical summary at the con-
clusion of the table gives the total nnmher of birds in each exposure
for that woods that day.

In the winter and early spring a great number of birds occupy
one preferred exposure to the marked exclusion of those habitats
which are more rigorous; the Brown Creeper, Titmouse, Chickadee,
and Blnejay were most noticeable among these. In the late spring
the total population is spread over more exposures with much less
noticeable selection; these birds, save the Junco, were apparently con-
sistent in their lack of discrimination of habitat. The Junco indi-
viduals which spend the late spring and summer months in the region
showed a marked selection for the northern exposures; this was not
evident for the winter residents of the species. The east exposure ( the
‘‘lee” side with reference to the prevailing winds) had by far the
greatest bird population in all seasons observed. Insect population
studies conducted during the same period gave no similar habitat se-
lection with respect to exposure.

It is interesting to note that while the average nnmher of species
observed was eight during the winter and early spring (the hiema!
and prevernal periods), the late spring (vernal) practically doubled
the number of species observed each day. Seasonal progression and
the arrival of species is also evident.

Literature Cited

Blake, Irvin^ H. 1931. Further studies on deciduous forest animal communities.
Ecolofiy, 12:508-527.

McDoupall, W. B. 1922. .Symbiosis in a deciduous forest, I. Bot. Gaz., 73:
200-212.

.Smith, Vera G. 1928. Animal communities of the deciduous forest succession.
Ecology, 9:479-500.

Univeksity of Oklahoma,

Norman, Oklahoma.

Table I

(.See preceding jiage)

Selection of Habitats and Exposures by Forest Edge Birds
November 12, 19B2- April 30, 1933

Exiu.anation of Symhoi.s Used in Tari.e
1) Observation made at the Brownheld woods.

It Observation made at the Lniversily woods,

n Individuals found exclusively in northern exposures,
e, w, s Individuals exclusive to respective exposure: east, west, or south.

n Most of the individuals in north exposures, hut not exclusively so.

(\ w. s As in n for the respective cx|)osures.

c Cosmopolitan: individuals occurring in three or more exposures.

No initial: in two habitats, more or less evenly distributed and showing
no apjiarent selection.

Notes on Nestling Robins

109

NOTES ON NESTLING ROBINS

BY W. J. HAMILTON, JR.

The following notes were made at Ithaca, New York, over a four-
year period (1930-1933). Data were secured on four sets of Robin
nestlings; the nests being located in exceptionally favorable situations
which made observation easy. As little has been recorded oii the
change in weight, both gains and losses of altricial birds, the records
tabulated may prove useful to some bird students.

Plumb (ISST)* made thirteen weighings of two nestling Robins
from July 28 to August 9. The average weight at one day was 5.9
grams, and on the thirteenth day they averaged 55 grams. One bird
showed a loss during the last two days in the nest; the other showed
no loss but did not increase in weight during the same period. Plumb
attributed the loss in weight to a severe infestation of lice.

In securing data on weights, the young birds were removed from
the nest immediately upon hatching and weighed before they were first
fed. It is possible two of tbe six birds weighed at hatching had been
fed, but I am not certain on this score. Thereafter, the young weje
weighed at the same hour (7 A. M.) daily, until they had left the nest.

The average weight of twelve freshly laid Robins’ eggs was 6.58
grams. Due to the evaporation of gases from the egg during incuba-
tion, a perceptible loss was noted after ten days of incubation. The
small number of eggs weighed does not give indicative figures regard-
ing the correct percentage of this loss. The weighings do suggest a loss
of more than twenty-five per cent of the original weight.

Newly hatched Robins average 6.6 grams. At fourteen days, wben
leaving tbe nest, they weigh 56 grams. This is an increase amounting
to more than eight times the original weight.

Age in days

No.

weighed

Average weight
of one (grams)

fJain or loss
in weight

Daily per cent
gain or Ittss in weight

At hatching

6

6.6

,

1

in

8.9

+2.3

+35

2

in

14.3

+5.4

+60

3

in

21,3

+7

+49

4

in

26.6

+5.3

+25

5

10

.32.2

+5.6

+21.5

6

in

40.1

+7.9

+24.5

7

10

47

+6.9

+ 14.4

8

10

52

+5

+ 14.7

9

10

55.2

+3.2

+ 6.1

10

10

54.9

— .3

— .54

11

10

56.3

+ 1.4

+ 2.55

12

10

54.8

—1.5

— 2.66

13

10

55.7

+ .9

+ 1.64

14

6

56

+ .3

+ .54

*Pluml), Charles. 1884.
(82), p. 159. Aug. 29.

Increase in Growth of Young Rohins. Science 4

no

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

The loss in weight on the TOth and 12th day is difficult to account
for. The birds were in good health, not unduly disturbed, and free
from all external parasites, while the remiges and rectrices were well
erupted.

The nests under observation were favorably placed, being on win-
dow ledges, cornices of porches, and other low situations. Two that
were placed on windows made it possible for the observer to take
notes ten inches from the nest without being seen.

The food during late May and early June consisted principally
of cutworms. From the earliest period these larvae form a prominent
share of the menu. From two to six, depending on the size, are
brought to the nest at one time. Usually two large cutworms repre-
sented an average meal throughout the day. By closely observing
several pairs of Robins throughout the nesting season, it was possible
to estimate the daily number of visits these birds paid to the nest. An
average of ten visits per hour, from 5 A. M. to 7 P. M. accounts for 140
daily trips made by the old birds. Being extremely conservative, we
might reckon a hundred trips daily to be a fair average throughout the
fourteen days that four sets of nestlings spent in the nest. This would
entail 1400 trips by the parents in feeding the young.

In order to determine the quantity of food eaten by the young
birds, the freshly fed cutworm, adult insects, worms, etc., were occa-
sionally removed from the young with blunt forceps, immediately
upon being fed by the parent birds, and immediately weighed. This
])rocedure was inaugurated while the birds were but a day or two old,
and continued on alternate days until the young left the nest. By
this method it was estimated the birds brought to the young approxi-
mately two grams of food at each visit, or a daily feeding of 200
grams of animal matter to the nestlings, be they three, four, or five.

The estimate is high for the early days in the nest and low for
the days immediately preceding the time of leaving the nest. It is
thought to he fairly accurate and, at least, gives some clue to the
amount of food eaten. Robins feed their young, a])parently regardless
if there be three or five, a])proximately 3.2 ))ounds of food during the
two weeks while in the nest. The observations were made several
weeks before cherries ripened and. because of this, the food consisted
almost entirely of animal matter.

Birds take the most available food, providing it is acceptable to
them. During an entire day in early June a pair of Robins hrougli!

Duck Situation in Central Saskatchewan

111

to their young numbers of the large cranefly { Tipula trivittata) , which
were everywhere common. The mating insects were easily caught, and
frequently a bird would approach the nest with two, or even three,
pairs of these mated flies.

Cornell University,

Ithaca, N. Y.

THE DUCK SITUATION IN THE PRINCE ALBERT DISTRICT,
CENTRAL SASKATCHEWAN

BY O. C. FURNISS

There has been a great deal of controversy lately over the decrease
in the numbers of ducks; so much so, that the writer decided to make
a fairly detailed survey of a particularly favorable area in an attempt
to draw conclusions as to the existing conditions in that area.

This report is based on a survey of ninety-nine potholes and
sloughs on sixteen quarter-sections about five miles south of the city
of Prince Albert.

The Prince Albert district is on the dividing line between the
typical Canadian and Transition life zones. It is in the heart of the
pothole country and as a breeding ground for ducks is looked upon as
excellent. The area worked consisted of a creek, which backs up in
the spring to keep the water level of some of the sloughs fairly con-
stant throughout the summer, wooded areas with aspens as the main
tree, field crops such as wheat, oats, and barley; and hay meadows.
The surface of the land is rolling which accounts for the large number
of sloughs and {lotholes.

It w'as necessary to work ((uickly in order that the water levels ot
all the area worked would he in the same ratio with one another, to
avoid counting one brood more than once, and also to have the “cover"’
of one slough to compare with that of another. The work was started
late in July in order that the water levels and food might he more
readily discernible.

The potholes and sloughs examined varied in size from one-hall
acre to twelve acres, the average being 2.6 acres. The areas taken
were those of the open water. Every pothole in the list has open water
throughout the summer.

The Graph 1 (Fig. 12) shows the number and size of the bodies of
water examined.

Data for Graimi 1

Smallest Largest

acre 12 acres

No.

99

Average

2.6 acres

112

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

Many of the potholes contained fresh water, particularly those
that were fed by the overllow from the creek in the spring. There was
no evidence of excessive alkalinity in any of the water in the whole
area.

In listing the surrounding “cover” about the sloughs and potholes
only the main characteristic plants are mentioned. The provision foi
suitable nesting sites was the basis for the terms “good”, “poor”, and
I air .

Those classed as “good” had a good stand of Scir])us or Typha
in the water and a secondary ring around the land edge of Panicularia
grandis, Scolochloa festucacea. or various species of Cyperaceae such
as Scirpus americanus or some of the Carex group. The inner ring
being considered suitable for the diving ducks and the outer satis-
factory for the surface feeding. Those classed as “fair” had either one
of these rings but not both; and those classed as “poor” had neither
of these rings or only traces.

Cl-ASSIFICATION ACCOHDING TO CoVER
No. (/ooi) Faib Poor

No. Per rent No. Per cent No. Per rent

99 62 62.62 16 16.16 21 21.21

The main plants found to form the cover around these sloughs
and potholes were: Scirpus validus, Scirpus americanus, various Carex,
Panicularia grandis, Scolochloa festucacea, and other grasses. In one
or two cases odd patches of Phragmites phragmites were noted. No
attempt was made to estimate the particular ])ercentage of any one
plant with any other plant around a ])articular body of water. In-
stances of traces of other plants than those mentioned were discarded;
only the characteristic plants were considered.

The grazing of livestock around the edge of some sloughs seriously
affected the outer growth and destroyed the nesting sites for surface
ducks. However, most of the j)otholes and sloughs in this area have a
growth of aspens and willows around them, very often to within thirty
or forty yards of the water, thus alleviating conditions to a certain
extent. Mallards in particular frequently nest in willow growth around
small potholes.

Most of the l)odies of water classed as “fair” had the outer land
edge of cover destroyed by stock.

Tbe following table gives the number of bodies of water contain
ing s[)ecific cover ])lants abundant enough to form a characteristic
part of the cover around them.

Duck Situation in Central Saskatchewan

113

S]iccific plant abundant enough
to form one of the charac-
teristic covers

Typha lati folia

Scirpus validus

Scirpiis americamis —
Panicularia prandis

llordeum juhatum

Scolocldoa festiicacea
Carex ssp

No. of sloughs
in which it was
abundant

Percentage of
sloughs in which
it was abundant

62

52

32

41

2

35

62.62

52.52

32.32

41.41

2.02

35.35

A^ariotis species were very common

Food plants were noted as being common. As with the “cover”
plants, no attempt was made towards a detailed list at any slough;
those mentioned were the more readily apparent and in most cases
seemed abundant.

Sloughs with ample food Sloughs with food noted as scarce

No. Per cent No. Per cent

87 87.87 12 12.12

The following table gives the number of bodies of water contain-
ing specific food plants abundant enough to form a characteristic part
of the food in them.

Specific plant abundant enough
to form one of the char-
acteristic foods

No. of sloughs Percentage of

in which it was sloughs in which

abundant it was abundant

Potamogeton ssp

pectinatus

perfoliatus

Cyperaceae

.S. americanus
S. valiflus
Carex ssp.

Scolochloa festucacea
Ranunculus aquatilis

Lemna minor

Naias flexilis

61 61.61

56 56.56

35 35.35

7 7.07

5 5.05

5 5.05

Other foods jiresent hut not in abundance:

Huppia maritima.

Sagittaria latifolia.

Polygonum amphihium.

Eleocharus palustris.

In twelve of the deeper sloughs no food was readily apparent, this
may have been because the food was beneath the surface and not so
readily discernible.

Many of the bodies of water containing an abundance of food did
not shelter a single brood. The following table is based on the eighty-
seven sloughs and |)otboles that did contain ample fond which was
readily apparent.

Food and Duck Broods Food and No Duck Broods

No. Percent No. Percent

40 45.96 47 54.04

31

30

29

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

IG.

miiif

size

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

m acres.

29

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

O

1

0

'iG.

Iflll

loii:

ac

Duck Situation in Central Saskatchewan

115

number that contained broods.

116

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

The water in the area showed a tendency to lower levels than last
year. The supply may he considered as coming from two sources:

1. Those ])otholes and sloughs that depend mainly on the sur-
rounding surface run-off during the spring thaw, and

2. Those sloughs and potholes that keep their level mainly hy
the overllooding of the creek hanks at low ])oints during the spring
flood.

The following table shows the relative water levels as compared
with the season of 1933.

Total Total Same Total Lower Total Higher

Sloughs No. Per cent No. Per cent No. Per cent

99 47 47.47 50 50.50 2 2.02

Those bodies of water flooded by the creek in the spring stand
up to summer evaporation much better than those that receive their
water from the surface run-off as is shown by the following table:

Total (^reek Sloughs
21

Creek Sloughs Same
No. Per cent

14 66.66

Creek Sloughs Lower
No. Per cent

7 33.33

Total Surface Kun-ofT Same

Surface Sloughs No, Per cent

78 34 43.59

Surface Run-ofT Lower
No. Per cent

42 53.85

Surface Run-off Higher
No. Per cent

2 2.56

The spring surface rim-oflf varies according to the spring. If the
weather is mild during February and March, the snow packs and does
not melt so quickly, with the result that most of the moisture goes
itito the ground.

To fill the surface sloughs a hard, cold winter with ample snowfall
and a short, quick spring ])ractically assures a good surface rnn-olT.
The spring of this year, 1934, was very slow, consequently the sloughs
were very low, more so than they have ever been before. Seven inches
of rain in June, which came in heavy storms and ran off, alleviated
conditions somewhat and helped to bring some hack to last year’s
level, two being slightly higher.

A total of 101 broods was counted, with an average of 1.02 per
pothole. Actually, however, only 44 sloughs and potholes contained
families. Diving ducks were much more numerous than the surface
feeding s])ecies and comprised 65 of the 101 families observed; pos-
sibly this was l)ecause conditiotis were more favorable for them.

.‘>loiipli.‘; .euitahle
for (living: (liick.«

No, Per cent

57 57.57

.Sloiifilis suitable
for sm face durks
No. Per cm!

42 42.42

.Sloufibs .suitable
for both types
No, Per cent

16 16.16

Duck Situation in Central Saskatchewan

117

There appeared to be a great deal of overlapping and several
times it was noted that a slough or pothole classed as being a surface-
feeding slough had a family of diving ducks on it. Those classed as
being suitable for diving ducks had either no land cover but a good
stand of S. validus or T. latifolia; or the water was considered too
deep for the surface feeders. Those classed as being suited for the
surface feeders had a good land cover and the food was on or near
the surface. Those classed as being suited to both types had a combi-
nation of the aforementioned characteristics.

The female ducks with broods almost invariably swam out into
the open water with their young behind them; only when surprised on
the smaller potholes did they try to hide among the cover.

The following tables show the specific broods.

Surface Ducks

Species

Broods

Average
b rood

Smal lest
brood

Largest

brood

Percentage of
surface feeders

Mallard

.... 5

6.40

5

8

12.95

Widgeon

.... 5

7.00

6

8

14.89

Green-winged Teal ..

.... 1

5.00

5

5

2.02

Blue-winged Teal ....

.... 14

7.35

3

10

41.70

Shoveller

.... 3

6.33

5

8

7.73

Pintail

.... 8

6.63

3

9

21.45

Diving Ducks

Average

Sniallc.st

Largest

Percentage of

Species

B roods

b rood

b rood

b rooil

diving ducks

Redhead

.... 3

5.00

4

6

4.54

Canvasback

.... 18

5.50

3

8

27.28

Lesser Scau[»

.... 19

7.05

2

9

28.78

American Goldeneye

2

4.50

4

5

3.03

Bufflehead

2

4.50

3

6

3.03

Ruddy

.... 21

5.28

2

9

31.81

Percentages

lor Both

Grouiis

Percentage of

Species

'I'otal young

total young

Mallard

... 32

5.12

... 35

5.60

Green-winged Teal ..

... 5

.08

Blue-winged Teal

... 103

16.50

.Shoveller

... 19

3.02

Pintail

... 53

8.49

... 15

2.40

Canvasback

... 99

15.88

Lesser Scaup

... 134

21.47

American Goldeneye

9

1 ,44

9

1.44

Ruddy

... Ill

17.78

Average young per 1:

irood

... 6.18

118

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

The Graph 2 ( Fig. 13) shows the relationship between the size of
the sloughs and potholes, and the actual number containing broods.

None of tbe sloughs or potholes appeared to be overcrowded; in
one slough, covering about six acres, nine families were noted. This
was the only instance where more than five families were noted on the
same body of water.

Graph 3 (Fig. 14) shows the nund)er of sloughs and the actual
number of broods on each.

Fig. 14. Grajih No. 3, showing actual number of liroods. The vertical
.scale indicates the numlier of .sloughs sheltering the numher of broods indi-
cated in the horizontal scale.

It will be noted that Mallards were not common. This is prob-
ably due to the time of the year that the count was made. Mallards
are the earliest nesting duck in the district and it is quite common to
see them with their young by May 24. Tins means that the earlier
hatched birds are two montlis old by ihe time that this survey was
made; and, if out in the water, are very dillicnit to se|)arate from the
adult females, particularly so if tlu‘ adults are iu the eclijjse stage.

Duck Situation in Central Saskatchewan

119

An estimate was made as to the probable breeding conditions for
the season 1935 and it was found tliat after due allowance was made
for surface evaporation during August and with an average winter, that
conditions on the whole would he fair to normal. The normal not of
ten years ago but of the last five. Out of the total of ninety-nine
sloughs and potholes the situation should be about as follows:

Good Fair Poor

No. Per cent No. Per cent No. Per cent

52 52.52 21 21.21 26 26.26

The classification ‘‘good” includes food, water, and cover all being
favorable. ‘‘Fair” includes cover and water both being favorable,
and “poor” minus two of the three necessary qualities.

In conclusion, after surveying the whole situation in what is
termed a very favorable area, particularly during the last five years
when compared with the prairie regions, it appears that conditions
were more favorable in this area for ducks to raise families than the
actual number that did. It would he impossible to ascertain the ex-
act number of broods raised; hut when a large number of sloughs and
potholes contained ample food, suitable cover, had a good water level,
and no evidence of overcrowding noted (see Graph 3), but contained
no duck broods (see Graph 2), it forces us to the conclusion that
either there were not the ducks here to breed or that some unknown
factors were working. The former reason sounds the more logical.

In making a survey of this kind it was found that two counts per
season should he made. The first about the end of June when only
Mallards and Pintails should he noted; and a second about the end of
July to determine the other species of ducks, food, cover, and water
levels. As has been stated before. Mallard broods may he noted as
early as May 24, yet on July 25 of this season a Blue-winged Teal
was flushed from a nest containing seven eggs.

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

120

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

ERYTHROCYTES AND HEMOGLOBIN IN THE BLOOD OF SOME

AMERICAN BIRDS^^

BY L. B. NICE, MARGARET M. NICE, AND RUTH M. KRAFT

In Europe a number of reeords have been published giving the
number of red corpuscles in the blood of birds. Stresemann (’27-34)
states that in one cubic millimeter of avian blood there are from
1,500,000 to 5,500,000 red blood cells in contrast to 2,000,000 to
18,000,000 in mammals. He says that the number of erythrocytes
within the same group varies in inverse proportion to the size of the
birds, citing the following examples: Galliformes: European Quail

(Coturnix coturnix) 4,000,000, Domestic Fowl 3,300,000, Turkey
2,300,000; Anseriformes : Australian Duck (Anas superciliosa) 2,800,-
000, Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) 2,150,000; Passeriformes: Waxbill
(Estrilda subflava) 5,400,000, European Tree Sparrow (Passer mon-
lanus) 5,200,000, Raven iCorvus corax) 3,930,000.

Other records of interest are given by Ponder (’24) : Carrion

Crow iCorvus corone) 2,490,000 erythrocytes; Peregrine Falcon (Falco
peregrinus) 2,547,000; Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) 2,478,000; Spoon-
bill (Platelea) 3,400,000; White Stork (Cinconia alba) 2,189,000;
Arabian Ostrich (Struthio camelus) 1,620,000.

Several studies have been made on the blood cells of domestic
fowls and pigeons. Forkner (’29) reports twenty-nine counts on
fowls ranging from 2,300,000 to 4,620,000 averaging 3,267,000. Lan-
dauer and David (’33) found that four cocks averaged 4,310,000 ery-
throcytes and five hens 3,395,000. As to pigeons, De Eds (’26-’27)
found a median of 3,350,000 red blood cells in twenty-five birds. Ken-
nedy and Climenko (’28-29) gave averages of 4,295,000 erythrocytes
for five male and 3,563,000 for five female pigeons.

The most extensive and detailed work on the subject has been
done by Riddle and Braucher (’34) who made 1,583 erythrocyte counts
“throughout the year on suitably inbred races of the pigeon and the
ring dove”. Males showed higher erythrocyte counts at all seasons
than females. “Mean values were 3,228.000 in males and 3,096,000 in
females (pigeons) ; and 3,045,000 in males and 2,989,000 in females
(doves)”. “Highest erythrocyte counts were found in autumn, lowest
in summer. In pigeons the autumn excess is 10 per cent; in doves
9.4 per cent.”

Since no work of this nature .seems to have been done on native
American birds, we decided to determine the number of erythrocytes

*From the Department of Physiology, the Oliio .State University.

Blood Studies on American Birds

121

and amount of hemoglobin in some of the s])ecies wliich were being
caught for banding purposes.

The subjects were taken to the laboratory in collecting cages
covered with a dark cloth and kept for about an hour, so that they
might recover from their excitement. A drop or two of blood was
then obtained by puncturing a radial wing vein with a needle. The
blood was drawn up to the .05 mark in a standardized pipette and
diluted with eosin in Ringer Solution. After letting the blood in the
])ipette stand for some time and then carefully mixing it by shaking,
the erythrocytes were counted on a double Neubauer ruled hemocy-
tometer. In all cases double check counts were made, and in the event
of disagreement, repetitions were made until they did check.

Results

A summary of our findings on eighty-six birds of sixteen species
examined from October to May are shown in Table I.

It will be seen that the number of erythrocytes in the Passerine
species averaged from 4,200,000 to 6,055,000; the lowest individual
count being 3,930,000 (Tufted Titmouse), and the highest 7,645,000
( Junco). The median count of all the birds was 5,23(J,000 (Lincoln
Sparrow). There is a wide range between the counts of individuals
in the same species in some cases, yet with the exception of the single
Towhee (a female) the average counts of the Fringillidae fall close
together. The nine Song Sparrows gave somewhat lower results than
the others. Among the other Passerines there is a wider range, but
the representatives of each species are small in number. The three
Tufted Titmice gave low counts and the three Cowbirds high counts.

As to the comparative size of these fifteen Passerine s})ecies, the
smallest bird (Chipping Sparrow) weighed fourteen grams, while
the heaviest (Crackle) weighed ninety-nine grams, seven times as much.
The three heaviest of the Passerines (Crackle, Thrasher, and Cowbird)
all have blood counts well above the median. There is no evidence
from our results that there is an inverse relationship between size of
bird and the number of erythrocytes. Probably this relation holds
only with marked differences in size.

The three Bob-whiles (all females) had a decidedly lower blood
count than did the Passerines. This is in keeping with the findings
of European workers.

We found no consistent difference between the counts in males
and females. Perhaps larger numbers woidd have shown a difference.
Neither did there appear to be differences between migrating and non-
migrating birds. As to season, counts in the fall and winter with

122

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

Table I

Average Number of Erythrocytes per Cubic Millimeter of Blood.

M=Male.

F — Female.

Passeriformes

Red Blood Corpuscles

Fringillidae

Averages

Range

28 White-throated Sparrows

(Zonotrichia alhicollis)

5272000

4010000 -6770000

18 .1 uncos

(Juiico hyemalis)

55O7000

4405000(F) -7645000(M)

9 Song Sparrows

(Melospiza melodia)

4846000

4460000 -5225000

4 White-crowned Sparrows

(Zonotrichia leucophrys)

5213000

4640000 -5600000

1 Tree Sparrow

(Spizella arborea)

5610000

1 Chipping Sparrow

(Spizella passerina)

5530000

1 Lincoln Sparrow

(Melospiza lincolni)

5230000

4 Cardinals

( Richmondena cardinalis)

.5123000

4488000(M) -5605000(F)

1 Towhee —

( Pipilo erythrophthahnus)

4200000

Pl.OCEIDAE

6 House Sparrows

( Passer domesticus)

5182000

4231000 -5760000

Pari DAE

3 4'ulted Titmice

( Baeolophus hicolor)

4368000

3030000 -4685000

ICTERIDAE

3 Cowhirds

(Molothrus ater)

6055000

5420000(F) -6600000(F)

1 Bronzed Crackle

(Quiscalus q. aeneus)

5405000

Mimidae

1 Brown Thrasher

(Toxostonia rufuin)

5004000

'rURDIDAE

1 Hermit Thrush

(Hylocichla gultata)

4810000

Cai.i.iformes

3 Boh-wliites

( Colinus virginianus)

3532000

3080000 (F) -38()5000(F)

Blood Studies on American Birds

123

Juncos and Song Sparrows; in the winter and spring with Cardinals;
and in the fall and spring with White-Throats, showed no consistent
differences.

As to the hemoglobin content, Stresemann says that in birds it
appears to be less than in mammals, “at least the dry substance of the
erythrocytes in the goose consists of only 62.65 per cent of hemoglobin,
in contrast to 94.3 per cent in man and 86 per cent in the dog (Hoppe-
Seyler)”. In comparison to these figures our hemoglobin results with
the Sahli method were consistently higher. In White-Throated Spar-
rows in October and November it varied between 75 and 90 per cent,
while with fifteen of the twenty cases it amounted to 80 per cent. In
nine Juncos in the fall the counts ranged between 80 and 95 per cent,
five cases amounting to 80 per cent. The Chipping Sparrow reached
75 per cent; five House Sparrows, three Song Sparrows, and a Hermit
Thrush had 80 per cent, all taken in October. The three female Bob-
whites varied more: one on October 31, 60 per cent, two, November 13,
80 and 100 per cent respectively. All birds were released a short
time after a few drops of blood were secured from a radial wing vein
for the erythrocyte and hemoglobin determinations.

In the later experiments the more accurate Newcomer method
which gives the number of grams of hemoglobin per 100 c. c. of blood
was used. Our results on seven species are shown in Table II. These
figures are within the same range as found for human blood.

Table II

Hemoglobin in Grams per 100 Cubic Centimeters of Blood.

Bird Erythrocytes Hemoglobin Bird Erythrocytes Hemoglobin

White-throated

Sparrow

April 26

5,130,000

13.1

April 26

5,395,000

13.9

May 4

4,425,000

13.2

.liinco

December 8

M..7,645,000

16.9

Decend)er 9

M..6,290,000

14.5

December 9

M..5,783,000

14.7

Cardinal

Decettd)er 15 F..5,540,000

15.7

February 6 M.. ..4,488,000

17.9

Towhee
May 5 F

4,200,000

15.8

Tufted
Titmouse
Deceml)er 9

......4,685,000

13.3

February 20

4,490,000

13.6

Bronzed
Crackle
December 8

M..5,405,000

16.5

Brown Tin as
April 11

ber

5,904,000

16.0

Kiddle and Braucher (’34) made 931 hemoglohiu measuremeuts
on their pigeons and doves, and fotmd that males of both species had
a higher concentration at all seasons than the females. Mean values
were 15.97 grams in males and 14.72 grams in females (pigeons) ; and

124

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

14.56 grains in males and 13.97 grams in females (doves).” “Hemo-
globin values were highest in winter — when the birds were exposed
neither to air of greatest cooling power (autumn) nor to ultra-violet
light. Lowest values were found in summer — when in air of least
cooling power and well exposed to ultra-violet rays.”

Summary

The number of erythrocytes per cubic millimeter of blood was
determined in fifteen species of Passerine and one species of Galli-
naceous birds.

The lowest number found for a Passerine bird was 3,930,000 in
a Tufted Titmouse and the highest 7,645,000 in a Junco. The median
of the eighty-three counts was 5,230,000.

The one Gallinaceous bird (the Bob-white) averaged 3,532,000
The hemoglobin in seven species of Passerine birds varied between
13.3 and 17.9 grams per 100 cubic centimeters of blood for a Tit-
mouse and Cardinal respectively.

Bibliockaphy

De Eds, F. 1926-27. Normal Blood Counts in Pigeons. J. Lah. Clin. Med.,
12, 437.

Forkner, C. E., 1929. Blood and Bone Marrow Cells of the. Domestic Fowl.
J. Exp. Med. 50, 121-142.

Kennedy, W. P. and D. R. Climenko. 1928-29. Studies on the blood of Birds. 1.

The Corpuscles of the Pigeon. Quart. J. Exp. Physiol. 19, 43.

Landauer, W. and L. T. David. 1933. Elevated Metabolism, Blood Cells, and
Hemoglobin Content of the Blood in the Frizzle Fowl. Folia Haemotologica,
50, 1-14.

Ponder, E. 1924. Frytln-ocytes and the Action of Simple Haemolysis. Oliver
and Boyd. Edinburgh.

Riddle, 0. and P. E. Braucher. 1934. Hemoglobin and Erythrocyte Differences
According to Sex and Season in Doves and Pigeons. Am. j. Physiology,
108, 554-566.

Stresemann, E. 1927-1934. Aves. Kuckenthal-Krumbach, Handb. Zool. Bd. VII, 2.
Hhlfte, p. 224.

Columbus, Ohio.

Food Habits of the Burrowing Owl

125

FOOD HABITS OF BURROWING OWLS IN NORTHWESTERN

lOWA’^

BY PAUL L. ERRINGTON AND LOGAN J. BENNETT

Incidental to the 1933 summer studies carried on at the Iowa State
College wild life research station, at Ruthven, Iowa, pellet collections
were gathered from local burrowing owl [Speotyto cujiicularia hypu-
gaea Bonaparte) colonies encountered. Analyses of these pellets re-
vealed considerable variations in proportions of vertebrate to inverte-
brate prey.

Beetles comprised the greater part of the invertebrate prey, in-
cluding ground beetles (Carabidae and Harpalus in particular), dung
beetles (Canthon, Copris, Geotrupes), water beetles {Hydro philiis) ,
carrion beetles (Necrophorus, Silpha) , click beetles {Melanotus) , tiger
beetles {Canthon, Corpis, Geotrupes), water beetles {Hydrophilus) ,
plus) made up most of the balance.

Vertebrate prey was of relatively few types: meadow mice {Mi-

crotus), deer mice {Feromyscus) , harvest mice {Reithrodontomys) ,
jumping mice {Zapus), house mice {Mus), ground squirrels {Citellus) ,
frogs, small birds.

Area “A”. Twenty miles sowtbwest of Ruthven. Colony of un-
determined number of owls visited but once. Late June and early
July — 9 pellets. Contents: deer mouse, 1; mouse {Reithrodontomys?) ,
1; horned lark {Otocoris alpestris) , 1; insects, as follows: Bolbocero-
soma, 16; Canthon, 13; Hydrophilus, 1; Harpalus, 16; Ligyrus, 3;
Melanoplus, 2.

Area “B”. One and a half miles southeast of Ruthven. A maxi-
mum of 13 owls frequenting boles in a pasture once a golf course was
to be seen.

Late June and early July — bulk material representing about 30
pellets. Meadow mouse, 9; deer mouse, 13; frog, 7; insects: Copris,
3; Melanotus, 1; Harpalus, 11; Anisodactylus, 1; Pasimachus, 3; un-
identified Coleoptera, 2.

Mid-July — 21 pellets. Meadow mouse, 16; deer mouse, 7; few
unidentified feathers in one ])ellet; frog, 5; insects: Geotrupes, 1;
Copris, 4; Canthon, 1; Silpha, 1; Hydrophilus, 1; Harpalus, 28; An-
isodactylus, 5; Cicindela, 1; unidentifed Coleoptera, I; Melanoplus, 1.

Late July — 6 pellets. Meadow mouse, 5; deer mouse, 1; insects:
Hydrophilus, 1; Harpalus, 23; unidentified Coleoptera, 1; Melanoplus,
1.

First week of August — 5 pellets. Meadow mouse 3; deer mouse,
3; frog, 1; insects: Bolbocerosoma, 1; Canthon, 1; Necrophorus, 1;
Harpalus, 17; Pasimachus, 2; unidentified Coleoptera, 1.

Second week of August — 9 ])ellets. Deer mouse, 3; insects: V es-

* Journal Paper No. .11.57 of the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station, Ames,
Iowa, Proj. 330.

126

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

pidae (Wasps), 9; Scarab, 1; Scarites. 23; fJarpalus, 37; unidentified
(iarabidae, 45; Melanoplus. 3.

Third week of August — 7 pellets. Deer mouse, 1; frog, 1; in-
sects: unidentified Tenehrionidae. 2; Bolbocerosoma, 2; Copris, 1 ; Can-
thon, 2; Harpalus, 10; unidentified Carabidae, 80; Melanoplus, 3.

Last week of August — 9 pellets. Meadow mouse, 1 ; deer mouse,
3; insects: Eleodes. 3; unidentified Tenebrionidae, 4; Harpalus, 2;
Pasimachus, 1; unidentified Carabidae, 148; Melanoplus, 7.

Early September — 16 pellets. Meadow mouse, 2; deer mouse,
10; house mouse {Mus), 1; unidentified small bird, 1 ; frog, 5; insects:
unidentified Tenebrionidae, 1; Tigyrodeus, 1; Bolbocerosoma, 2; Can-
thon, 5; Harpalus-, 4; unidentified Carabidae, 38.

Mid-September — 2 pellets. Deer mouse, 1; bouse mouse, 1; in-
sects: Eleodes, 1; unidentified Carabidae, 1.

Area “C”. Two and a half miles southwest of Ruthven. Seven
owls in pasture, of which some were doubtless juvenals.

Late June — about 20 pellets gathered in bulk. Juvenile striped
ground squirrel {Citellus tridecenilineatus) , 2; meadow mouse, 10;
deer mouse, 8; frog, 1; insects: Canthon, 3; Necrophorus, 1; IJgyrus.
1; Cicindela, 1; unidentified Carabidae, 3.

Early July — 19 pellets. Meadow mouse, 11; deer mouse, 10:
jumping mouse iZapus), 1; unidentified mice, 2; Maryland yellow-
throat (Ceothlypus trichas) , 1; frog, 1; insects: Bolbocerosoma, 1:
Canthon, 3; Chrysobothris, 2; Necrophorus, 2; HydrophUus, 2; Calo-
soma, 1; Pterostichus, 1; Harpalus, 1; unidentified Carabidae, 1; un-
identified Coleoptera, 1.

Mid-July — 6 pellets. Meadow mouse, 4; deer mouse, 3; frog. 1;
insects: Bolbocerosoma, 1; Canthon, 1; Necrophorus, 1; HydrophUus,

2.

Late July — 5 pellets. Deer mouse 3; mouse iReithrodontomys?) .
1 ; field sparrow (Spizella pusilla), 1; insects: Bolbocerosoma, 1; Can-
thon, 1; HydrophUus, 2; Pasimachus. 2; Harpalus, 22; unidentified
Carabidae, 6; Melanoplus, 1.

Early August — 2 pellets. Insects: unidentified Tenebrionidae. 1;
Bolbocerosoma, 2; Canthon, 1; unidentified Carabidae, 15; unidenti-
fied Coleoptera. 2; Melanoplus, 1.

Area “D”. One-balf mile west of Ruthven. Eive owls seen in
vieinity of a hole that bad the ap])earance of a breeding den.

Mid-July — 11 pellets. Meadow mouse, 2; deer mouse, 8: harvest
mouse, 1; mouse iPerornyscus?) , 1; frog, 4; insects: Phyllophaga, 1;
Harpalus, 18; Pasimachus, 2; Melanoplus, 5.

Late July — 6 pellets. Meadow mouse, 9; deer mouse, 3; insects:
Harpalus, 3; unidentified Coleoptera, 1; Melanoplus, 1; Cryllus, 1.

August 1.3 — 1 pellet. Insects: Canthon, 1; unidentified Cara-
bidae, 7.

August 20 — 3 pellets. Insects: Eleodes, 3; other Tenebrionidae.
1; Bolbocerosoma, 2; Canthon, 1; unidentified Carabidae, 11; Melano-
plus, 3.

Food Habits of the Burrowing Owl

127

Area “E”. Two miles west of Rulliven. A few owls moved into
a badger digging and stayed for a time.

Mid-Allgust to early September — 5 pellets. Deer mouse, 2;
frog ( ?), 1; insects: Bolbocerosoma, 2; Carithon, 1; Anisodaclylus, 3;
Harpalus, 2; unidentified Carabidae, 34; unidentified Coleoptera, 3;
Melanoplus, 5.

The food habits of these owls may be presumed to reflect a cer-
tain availability of prey, as do predator food habits on the whole.
Mice, young ground squirrels, small birds, frogs, and insects may be
taken in numbers varying with the season and the locality. Just how
much the summer’s growth of cover and the increasing pressure of
livestock on pasture lands affected the availability of Burrowing Owl
prey is not evident.

Data from the areas collectively, with the exception of those from
“A”, showed strongly vertebrate diet from late June to early August,
from which time until September insects chiefly were taken. The lim-
ited September pellet collections revealed a swing upward to vertebrate
prey again. The vertebrate prey was represented mainly by mice,
with a scattering representation of small birds, and an irregular oc-
currence of frogs throughout the summer. Incidence of frogs as well
as of mice rose ahrujitly for early September, the significance of which
is weakened by the departure of the owls and the consequent lack oi
later pellets.

In an attempt to derive more meaning from pellet analyses, let
us review changes in prey types according to dates and areas. The
incidence of individuals of vertebrate prey per average pellet should
provide an index as to importance; the insects, however, are so much
smaller than the vertebrates and vary so much in size that listing their
occurrence numerically may not he of equal value.

For area “A”, vertebrates (two mice and a small bird) were
found in a third of the nine late June and early July ]iellets. This
leaves two-thirds of the jiellets made up entirely of insects. None of
the owls of other areas fed upon such a high proportion of insects so
early in the season.

Data Tabulated for Other Areas
Area “B”

No. of Vertebrates Average No. insects

Date pellets ]ier pellet Vertebrate ratios per pellet

Late June and early July .SO .97 22 mice, 7 frop;s .7

Mid-July 21 1.38 23 mice,5 frops, 1 bird 2.1

Late July 6 1.0 6 mice 4.3

First week .August 5 1.4 6 mice, 1 frog 4.6

Second week August 9 .33 3 mice 12.0

Third week August 7 .28 1 mouse, 1 frog 14.3

Fourth week August 9 .44 4 mice 18.3

f irst week .September 16 1.19 13 mice, .5 frogs, 1 binl .3.4

.Second week .September 2 1.0 2 mice 1.0

128

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

Akea “C”

No. of

Vertebrates

Average No. insects

Date

pellets

per pel let

Vertebrate ratios

per pellet

Late June ami early Jiilv

39

1.2

42 mice, 2 stripped

ground squirrels,
2 frogs, 1 bird

.7

Mid-July

6

1.33

7 mice, 1 frog

.8

Late July

5

1.0

4 mice, 1 bird

7.0

First week August

2

0.0

11.0

Area “D”

No. of

Vertebrates

Average No. insects

Date

pellets

per pel let

Vertebrate ratios

j)er pellet

Mid-July

11

1.45

12 mice, 4 frogs

2.4

Late July

6

2.0

12 mice

1.0

Second week August

1

0.0

8.0

Third week August

3

0.0

8.0

Area “E”

No. of

Vertebrates

Average No. insect.s

Date

l>cllcts

per pellet

Vertebrate ratios

per pel let

Fourth week August

5

.6

2 mice, 1 frog

10.0

The simple explanation for the August ascendancy of insect prey
may he, of course, that the owls merely responded to rising insect
populations which by reason of their greater numbers became more
convenient to feed upon than vertebrates. On the other hand, the
relatively high availability of the insects may be correlated with the
“weaning” of young owls by the parent birds.

The horned owl (see Errington, Paul L. “Studies on the behavior
of the great horned owl”, Wilson Bulletin, XLIV, December, 1932,
pp. 212-220) completes the “weaning” of its young about the first
part of August. Prior to this time the food eaten by the young is
prey furnished to a diminishing extent by adults; thereafter, the young
have to look out for themselves and they do not immediately find
hunting so easy, judging from their hunger calls in the woods. Barred
owd and screech owl young, loo, appear to be self-hunting by August,
and this conceivably may hold true for other owls, including the
burrowing owl.

Only a little better than a third of the pellets for the last three
weeks of August contained vertebrates. It was our general impres-
sion that about a third of the owls seen were adults. Hence, the temp-
tation is to suspect that the adults were the owls taking the vertebrates,
while the clumsy youngsters, not being adept enough at this stage to
catch their own mice and frogs and not being able to live off the old
ones any more, had to eat insects and similar slow, small prey or noth-
ing at all. A darting mouse may be unavailable to a young owl, but
it doestiT require any great skill to ])ick uj) dung beetles.

Iowa State College,

Ames, Iowa.

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

129

BIRD MIGRATION RECORDS FROM SOUTHEASTERN WYOMING

BY OTTO C. MCCREARY AND ARTHUR B. MICKEY

In our study we have found it convenient to divide the birds oc-
curring in southeastern Wyoming into four groups: I. Permanent

residents. In some cases these have vertical migration on the mountain
sides. However, few if any leave the region. II. Birds that are par-
tially migratory, hut which are represented in this region throughout
the year by at least some individuals. HI. Accidental, casual, rare,
extinct, or other birds which have been recorded from this portion of
the state without dates or with dates which have little or no value as
migration records. IV. Migratory birds for which we have dates giv-
ing some information concerning their movements.

The names of the birds found in this region are accordingly
listed in the four groups just explained.

I. Permanent residents: Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos cana-

densis; Dusky Grouse, Dendragapus ohscurus ohscurus; Southern
White-tailed Ptarmigan, Lagopus leucurus altipetens; Columbian
Sharp-tailed Grouse, Fedioecetes phasianellus colunibianus; Prairie
Sharp-tailed Grouse, Fedioecetes phasianellus campestris; Sage Hen,
Centrocercus urophasianus ; Eastern Bob-white, Colinus virginianus
virginianus; Ring-necked Pheasant, Fhasianus colchicus torquatus;
Rocky Mountain Screech Owl, Otus usio niaxwelliae; Montana Horned
Owl, Bubo virginianus occidentalis ; Long-eared Owl, Asio wilsonianus;
Saw-whet Owl, Crjptoglaux acadica acadica; Rocky Mountain Hairy
Woodpecker, Dryobates villosus monticola; Batchelder’s Woodpecker,
Dryobates pubescens leucurus; Alpine Three-toed Woodpecker, Ficoi-
des tridactylus dorsalis; Rocky Mountain Jay, Ferisoreus canadensis
capitalis; Black-headed Jay, CyanociUa sfelleri annectens ; Long-
crested Jay, CyanociUa slelleri diademala ; American Mag])ie, Fica pica
hudsonia; Clark’s Nutcracker, Nucifraga colunibiana ; Long-tailed
Chickadee, Fenthestes atricapillus septentrionalis ; Mountain Chickadee,
Fenlhestes ganibeli ganibeli; Rocky Mountain Nuthatch, Sitta- caro-
linensis nelsoni; Dipper, Cinclus niexicanus unicolor; English Spar-
row, Fasser dornesticus doniesticus ; and Rocky Mountain Pine Gros-
beak, Finicola enucleator niontana.

II. Partially migratory birds: Common Mallard, Anas platyrhyn-
c/ws platyrhynchos; Green-winged Teal, Nettwn carolinense ; Barrow s
Golden-eye, Glaucionetta islandica; American Merganser, Mergus mer-
ganser americanus; Ferruginous Rough-leg, Ruteo regalis; Marsh
Hawk, Circus hudsonius; Prairie Falcon, Falco niexicanus; Wilson’s
Snipe, Capella delicata; Eastern Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alycon

130

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

alycon; Red-shafted Flicker, Colaptes cafer collaris; Desert Horned
Lark, Otocoris ulpestris leucolaema; Saskatchewan Horned Lark, Oto-
coris alpestris enthymia; Pihon Jay, Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus ;
Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis; Rocky Mountain Creeper,
Certhia familiaris niontana; Townsend’s Solitaire, Myadestes town-
sendi; Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta; Thick-hilled Redwing,
Agelaius phoeniceus fortis; Western Evening Grosl)eak, Hesperiphona
vespertina brooksi; Common House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus
frontalis; Northern Pine Siskin, Spinus pinus pinus; Pale Goldfinch,
Spinus tristis pallidus; Bendire’s Crossbill, Loxia curvirostra bendirei;
and Mountain Song Sparrow, Melospiza nielodia jallax.

HI. Accidental, casual, rare, extinct, or other birds for which
we do not have adequate migration records: Eastern Brown Pelican.

Pelecanus occidentalis occidentalis (7) ; Eastern Green Heron, Butori-
des virescens virescens; Eastern Least Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis exHis
(23) ; Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator (23) ; Hutchin’s Goose,
Hranta canadensis hiitchinsi (23); Black Brant, Hranta nigricans;
White-fronted Goose, A user albifrons albifrons (23) ; Lesser Snow
Goose, Chen hyperborea hyperborea ; European Widgeon. Mareca penc-
lope (21); Wood Duck, Aix sponsa (23); American Scoter, Oideniia
americana (23) ; Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus (23) ;
Bald Eagle, flaliaeelus leucocephalus ssp.; Osprey. Pandion haliaetus
carolinensis; Greater Prairie Chicken, Tynipanuclnis cupido anieri-
caniis; California Gull, Lams californicus (21); Short-billed Gull,
Larus canus brachyrhynchus (21) ; Sabine’s Gull, Xenia sabini (21) ;
Common Tern. Sterna hirundo hirundo (23) ; Passenger Pigeon. Ecto-
pistes niigratorius (2l; Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus
aniericanus (21); Snowy Owl, Nyctea nyctea (23); Northern Flicker,
Colaptes auratus luteus; Natalie’s Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus thyroideus
nataliae; Northern Crested Flycatcher, Myiarchus crinilus boreus (23) ;
Ash-throated Flycatcher, Myiarchus cinerascens cinerascens (23) ; Pur-
ple Martin, Progne subis subis; Woodhouse’s Jay. Apheloconia cali-
fornica u'oodhousei (21); American Raven, Corvus corax sinuatus;
Short-billed Marsh Wren, Cistothorus stellaris (23) ; Eastern Bluehird,
Sialia sialis si(dis; Chestnut-backed Bluebird, Sialia niexicana bairdi;
Gnatcatcher. Polioptila caerulea ss]).; Black-throated Blue WYrbler,
Dendroica cacrulescens caerulescens (21); Bicolored Red-wing, Age-
laius phoeniceus californicus (11); Scarlet Tanager, Piranga erythro-
rnelas (6) ; Dickcissel, Spiza americana ; Black Rosy Finch, Leucosticte
atrata (23); Brown-capped Rosy Finch, Leucosticte australis; and
\\ hite-wiuged Crossbill, Loxia leucoptera (19).

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

131

IV. Migratory birds, for which we have the following records:

Lesser Loon. Gavia inimer elasson. Transient. Earliest spring
record: April 21, 1934, Lake Hattie (Mickey). Average of first spring
records, four years: April 30. Latest spring record: one found a few
hours after it had been killed, June 11, 1933, Rex Lake, Albany
County (R. 0. Westley). Earliest fall record: one collected October
22, 1933, Carroll Lakes (H. Thomas). Latest fall record: November
12, 1932, Lake Hattie (H. Thomas).

Holboell’s Grebe. Colymhus grisegena holboelli. Transient. We
have only three records with dates: June 10, 1928, Lake Hattie

(McCreary) ; June 12, 1929, Torrington (McCreary) ; and one speci-
men taken October 18, 1893, Douglas (Jeserun) (23).

Horned Grebe. Colynibus auritus. Transient. Two records of
specimens taken: May 15, 1876, near Et. Sanders (Brackett) (9) ; and
September 6, 1923, near Wheatland (Euller) (20).

Eared Grebe. Colynibus nigricollis calif ornicus. Earliest spring
record: April 18, 1930, Hutton Lake (McCreary). Average of first
spring records, nine years: April 26. Average of last fall records,
eight years: November 16. Latest fall record: December 4, 1932.
Laramie City Reservoir (McCreary).

Western Grebe. Aechmoplwrus Occident alis. Exceptionally
early spring record: one seen April 14, 1934, Hutton Lake (Mickey).
Average of first spring records, three other years (May 6-14) : May 10.
Average of last fall records, four years: October 12. Latest fall rec-
ord: October 25, 1930, Hutton Lake (McCreary).

Pied-billed Grebe. Podilymbus podiceps podiceps. Earliest
spring record: April 11, 1931, Hutton Lake (McCreary). Average of
first spring records, six years: April 27. Latest fall record: October
25, 1930, Hutton Lake (McCreary).

White Pelican. Pelecanus erythrorhynchos. Transient. Earliest
spring record: April 29, 1933, Creighton Lake (Mickey). Latest spring
record: one taken May 9, 1875, Hutton Lake (Brackett) (9). Earliest
fall record: twelve seen August 29, 1925, ten miles northwest of Rock
River (J. W. Scott). Latest fall record: October 7, 1934, Hutton
Lake (Mickey).

Double-crested Cormorant. Phalacrocorax auritus auritus.
Transient. Earliest spring record: May 7, 1930, Twin Buttes Lake,
Albany County (McCreary). I^atest spring record: June 24, 1928.
Bamforth Lake (McCreary). Earliest fall record: August 6, 1933,
Wheatland Reservoir (McCreary). Latest fall record: October 26.
1930, Hutton Lake (McCreary).

132

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

Treganza's Heron. Ardea herodias Ireganzai. Earliest spring
record: March 26, 1932, Laramie (Thomas and Nelson). Average of
first s])ring records, eleven years: April 3. Average of last fall rec-
ords, ten years: October 5. Latest fall record: November 2, 1927.
Wheatland (J. Neilson) (26).

Brewster’s Egret. Egretta thula breivsteri. Earliest spring rec-
ord: one taken about May 1, 1902, Sportsman’s Lake, Albany County
(Lindsey) (23). Average of spring records, five years, May 16. Our
latest record is July 28, 1929, Torrington (McCreary).

Black-crowned Night Heron. Nyclicorax nycticorax hoactU.
Earliest spring record: April 10, 1927, Laramie (McCreary). Average
of first spring records, nine years: April 17. Average of last fall rec-
ords, seven years: Octolier 1. Latest fall record: October 21, 1933,
Laramie (McCreary).

American Bittern. Bolaurus Icntiginosus. Earliest spring rec-
ord: one taken Ajiril 23, 1875, Lort Sanders, Albany County (Brackett)
(8). Average of first spring records, three years: April 25. Latest
fall record: October 19, 1930, Torrington (McCreary).

White-faced Glossy Ibis. Plcgadis guarauna. Two records: one
taken May 20, 1910, Hat Creek, Niobrara County ( G. D. Percival )
(21): and one seen July 11, 1933, Hutton Lake (Mr. and Mrs.
Mickey ) .

Whistling Swan. Cygnus columhianus. Transient. Horace
Thomas rejiorts seeing this bird in the siiring but we do not have the
dates. Earliest fall record: October 25, 1930. Lake Hattie. Average
of first fall records, three years: November 3. Latest fall record:
November 30, 1933, Hutton Lake (McCreary).

Canada Goose. Hranta canadensis ssp. The records given are
sight records and may include both of the two subspecies {canadensis
and hutehinsi ) migrating through this region. Earliest spring record:
about fifty seen March 29, 1928, Laramie (McCreary). Average of
first .spring records, three years: April 5. Average of last fall records,
three years: November 15. Latest fall records: November 24, 1932.
Lake Hattie (McCreary). One winter record: January 2, 1928, Lara-
mie Biver. Albany County (McCireary ). James Neilson (26) rejiorts
seeing them in winter near W beatland.

Black Duck. Anas ruhripes ssp. There are three s])ring records:
one taken April 12. 1875, Lt. Sanders. Albany County (Brackett) (8);
one seen May 12, 1929. Cheyenne (J. Gundlacb); and one seen May
15. 1934, Bamfoiib Lake (Mc(bear)). A. G. Burckeii reports taking
tliis duck in the fall at .Sodergreen Lake, Albany County.

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

133

Gadwall. Chaulelasinus streperus. Earliest spring record: March

14, 1933, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring records, nine
years: March 30. Average of last fall records, five years, November

15. Latest fall record: November 30, 1933, Twelvemile Lake

(McCreary). We have one winter record: December 26, 1928, Tor-
rington (McCreary).

Baldpate. Mareca americana. Earliest spring record: March 25,
1934, Ninemile Lake (Mickey). Average of first sj)ring records, nine
years: April 7. Average of last fall records, six years: November 20.
Latest fall record: one taken December 6, 1927, Laramie (A. McIn-
tosh). Winter records: January 1, 1930, Torrington, and December
31, 1933, Lake Hattie ( McCreary) .

American Pintail. Dafila acuta tzitzilwa. Occasionally seen in
winter. Small flocks arrive in March. Earliest: Eebrnary 28, 1932,
Lake Hattie (E. Lovejoy). Large flocks arrive in late March or early
April. Average of last autumn records, four years: November 15.

Blue-winged Teal. Querquedula discors. Earliest spring rec-
ords: April 15, 1933, Laramie (Mickey) ; and April 15, 1934, Hutton
Lake (Mickey). Average of first spring records, 10 years: April 25.
Latest fall record: October 21, 1928, Laramie Plains (McCreary).

Cinnamon Teal. Querquedula cyunoptera. Earliest sjiring rec-
ord: April 2, 1933, Creighton Lake (Mickey). Average of first spring
records, ten years: April 15. Latest fall record: October 9, 1927,
Bamforth Lake (McCreary).

Shovelek. Spatula clypeata. Exceptionally early spring record:
Eebruary 26, 1928, Wheatland Flats (McCreary). Average of first
spring records, nine other years (March 25-April 16) : April 5. Aver-
age of last fall records, five years: Novemlier 15. Latest fall records:
November 26, 1932 and 1933, Bamfortb Lake (McCreary) .

Redhead. Nyroca americana. Earliest spring record: Eebruary
28, 1932, Lake Hattie (E. Lovejoy). Average of first spring records
nine years: March 23. Average of last fall records, five years: Novem-
ber 11. Latest fall record: November 19, 1933, Lake Hattie

(McCreary). One winter record: Eebruary 4, 1934', Wbeatland flats
on, irrigation reservoir (McCreary).

Ring-necked Duck. Nyroca collans. Earliest sjuing record:
Ajiril 14, 1934, Hutton Lake (Mickey). Average of last fall records
six years, November 12. Latest fall record: December 3, 1932, Twelve-
mile Lake (McCreary). Winter records: Decemlier 30 and 31, 1928
Platte River near Guernsey (McCreary).

134

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

Canvas-back. JSyroca valisineria. Earliest spring records: April
2, 1933, Soda Lakes (McCreary) ; and April 2, 1934, Carroll Lakes
(McCreary). Average of first spring records, seven years: April o.
Average of last fall records, four years: November 15. Latest fall
record: November 30, 1933, Bamforth Lake (H. Thomas).

Greater Scaup Duck. Nyroca mania. Transient. Earliest
spring record: April 2, 1934, Carroll Lakes (McCreary). Average of
first spring records, three years: April 6. Latest spring record: one
collected April 12, 1875, Lt. Sanders, Albany County (Brackett) (8).
One fall record: October 25, 1930, Hutton Lake (McCreary).

Lesser Scaup Duck. Nyroca affinis. Earliest spring records: one
collected March 25, 1928, Sevenmile Lake (A. McIntosh) ; and forty
seen March 25, 1934, Ninemile and Twelvemile Lakes (Mickey). Av-
erage of first spring records, nine years: Aj)ril 1. Average of last fall
records, six years: November 19. Latest fall record: December 10,
1933, Twelvemile Lake (R. lioness).

American Golden-eye. Glaucionetta clangula americana. Winter
visitant. Earliest fall record: November 5, 1933, Laramie City Reser-
voir (Mickey). Average of first fall records, two years: November 9.
Average of last spring records, two years: May 11. Latest spring
record: May 12, 1929, Cheyenne (J. Gundlach).

Buffle-head. Charitonetla albeola. Transient. Earliest spring
record: April 16, 1933, Twelvemile Lake (Mickey). Average of first
spring records, six years: April 20. Average of last spring records,
two years: May 15. Latest spring record: May 17, 1932, Hawk Springs
Reservoir (McCreary). Earliest fall record: October 3, 1926, Nine-
mile Lake (McCreary). Average of first fall records, six years: Octo-
ber 17. Average of last fall records, six years: November 6. One
winter record: three seen January 1, 1934, Lake Hattie (McCreary).

White-winged Scoter. MelanUla deglandi. Transient. One
spring record: May 15, 1934, Bamforth Lake (McCreary). Earliesl
fall record: one taken November 3, 1934, Carroll Lakes (H. Gilbert).
Latest fall record: one taken November 11, 1934, Wheatland Reservoir,

Surf Scoter. Melaniita perspicillala. One collected October 19,
1893, Douglas (Jeserun) (23).

Ruddy Duck. Erismatura jamaicensis ruhida. Earliest spring
record: Aj)ril 6, 1930, Soda Lakes (Mc(ueary). Average of first
spring records, seven years: April 15. Average of last fall reeords,
four years: Novernljer 9. Latest fall record: November 30, 1933.
Twelvemile Lake ( Mc( u'eary ) .

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

135

Red-breasted Merganser. Merfyus serrutor. Transient. Earliest
spring record; three seen, March 25, 1934, Hutton Lake (McCreary).
Average of first spring records, three years: April 5. Latest spring-
record: May 12, 1929, Cheyenne (J. Gnndlach j . Winter records: one
seen December 31, 1933, Twin Buttes Lake, Albany County; and two
seen Lehruary 4, 1934, Wheatland Llats on irrigation reservoir
(McCreary) .

Turkey Vulture. Cathartes aura septentrionalis. Earliest spring
record: April 15, 1931, Cheyenne (L. R. Wolfe). Average of first
spring records, four years: April 29. Average of last fall records,
four years; September 20. Latest fall record: October 2, 1926, Ar-
cher, Laramie County (McCreary).

Eastern Goshawk. Astur atricapillus atricapillus. Earliest
spring record: Lehruary 28, 1932, Woods Creek, Medicine Bow Forest
( AIcCreary ) . Average of first spring records, three years: March 18.
Average of last fall records, tliree years: OctoI)er 26. Latest fall rec-
ord: November 10, 1928, Woods (ireek (McCreary).

Sharp-shinned Hawk. Accipiter velox velox. Earliest spring
record: specimen in the University of Wyoming collection dated March
30, 1903, Laramie (Knight). Average of first spring records, six
years: April 30. Average of la.st fall records, three years: October 12.
Latest fall record: October 15, 1928, Laramie (Mc(h'eary). Two win-
ter records: Uecemlier 27, 1928, Torrington (McCreary) ; and Januar)
12, 1929, Lusk (McCafferty) (24).

Cooper’s Hawk. Accipiter cooperi. Two winter records: Felnu-
ary 5, 1928, Woods Creek, Medicine Bow Forest (Mc(h’eary) ; and
Feliruary 14, 1932, Fox Creek, Albany County (Alickey). Average of
first spring records, six years: April 22. Average of last fall records,
three years: October 21.

Western Red-tailed Hawk. Buleo borealis calurus. Earliest
spring record: March 25, 1934, Ninemile Lake (Mickey). Average ol
first spring records, eight years: April 7. Average ol last fall records,
seven years: October 1. Latest fall record: October 19, 1930, Tor-
rington (McCreary). One winter record: February 6, 1927, Laramie
River, Albany County (McCreary).

Swainson’s Hawk. Huteo swainsoni. Three winter records: Janu-
ary 1, 1927, and January 2, 1928, Laramie (McCreary) ; and January
29, 1928, Pine Bluffs (McCreary). Average of first spring records,
seven other years: April 14. Average ol last iall records, five years:
October 18.

136

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

American Kough-legged Hawk. Buteo lugopus s. johannis. Win-
ter visitant. Earliest fall record: October 13, 1927, Laramie Plains
(McCreary). Average of first fall records, three years: October 23.
Latest spring record: March 29, 1927, Laramie Plains (McCreary).

Duck Hawk. Falco peregrinus anatum. Transient. Earliest
spring record: April 2, 1933, Soda Lakes (McCreary). Latest spring
record: May 8, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Neilson (26) reports
seeing this bird near Wheatland in fall, hut we do not have any
dates for it.

Richardson’s Pigeon Hawk. Falco columbarius richardsoni.
Transient. Earliest spring record: March 13, 1927, Millhrook, Albany
County ( McCreary j. Average of first sjiring records, five years:
March 30. Average of last spring records, four years: May 17. Latest
spring record: May 20, 1932, Laramie (Mickey). Earliest fall record:
August 15, 1870, LaBonte (ireek (Stevenson and Smith) (29). Aver-
age of first fall records, five years: September 5. Average of last fall
records, six years: November 6. Latest fall record: one collected
November 27, 1895, Laramie (Knight) (23). One winter record:
December 25, 1927, Wheatland (McCreary).

Desert Sparrow Hawk. Falco sparverius phalaena. Occasionally
seen in winter. Average of first spring records, eight years: April 2.
Average of last fall records, three years: October 24.

Little Brown Crane. Crus canadensis canadensis. One spring
record: specimen taken April 3, 1912. Sodergreen Lake, Albany
County (Lockwood) (21). One fall record: specimen taken October
7, 1898, Glendo (Jeserun) (23).

Sandhill Crane. Gras canadensis lahida. One spring record:
April 28, 1927, Sevenmile Lake (McCreary). One fall record: speci-
men taken October 10, 1896, Shell Creek, Albany County (Knight)
(23).

Virginia Kail. Rallus liniicola liniicola. Arrives in spring aliout
May 1, Wheatland (Neilson) (26). Latest fall record: October 8,
1933, Laramie (Mickey).

Sora. Porzana. Carolina. Arrives in sjning about May 1, Wheat-
land (Neilson) (26). Latest fall record: September 19, 1934, Lara-
mie (Mickey) .

American Coot. Fulica aniericana americana. Earliest s])ring
record: March 25, 1934, Hutton Lake (McCreary). Average of first
spring records, ten years: April 11. Average of last fall records, six
years: November 9. Latest fall ri'cord: November 30, 1933, Hutton
I.ake (McCreary).

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

137

Piping Plover. Charadrius inelodus. Transient. Earliest spring
record: specimen taken May 30, 1892, Cheyenne (Bond) (23). Latest
spring record: three seen June 12, 1929, Torrington (McCreary).

Snowy Plover. Charadrius nivosus ssp. A specimen was taken
by Bond at Cheyenne (23). One was seen June 20, 1933, at Bamforth
Lake by McCreary, and later by several other observers. It was last
seen July 2, 1933, by J. W. Scott. Latest record: July 29, 1934, Bam-
forth Lake (McCreary).

Semipalmated Plover. Charadrius semipalmatus . Transient.
Earliest spring record: May 12, 1929, Cheyenne (J. Gundlach). Latest
spring record: May 19, 1933, Laramie (McCreary). Earliest fall rec-
ord: August 13, 1933, Creighton Lake (Mickey). Latest fall record:
August 26, 1928, Bamforth Lake (McCreary) .

Mountain Plover. Eupoda montana. Earliest spring record:
March 25, 1928, Laramie Plains (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, ten years: April 13. Average of last fall records, seven years:
August 16. Latest fall record: August 24, 1932, Laramie Plains
(McCreary) .

Killdeer. Oxyechus vocijerus vocijerus. Lrequently stays all
winter. When not present in the winter it appears in the spring in
March. Average of first spring records, eight years: March 25. Aver-
age of last fall records, five years: October 15.

American Golden Plover. Pluvialis dominica dominica. One
record: three were taken near Camp Dawes on Rock Creek, October
25, 1870 (Stevenson and Smith) (29).

Black-bellied Plover. Squatarola squatarola. Transient. Earli-
est spring record: May 11, 1884, Cheyenne (Bond) (12). Average of
first spring records, three years: May 13. Latest spring record: May
18, 1933, Bamforth Lake (McCreary). Earliest fall record: October
21, 1928, Laramie (McCreary). Latest fall record: November 9, 1930,
Alsop Lakes, Albany County (McCreary).

Northern Curlew. Numenius americanus occidentalis. Earliest
spring record: April 15, 1889, Cheyenne (Bond) (12). Average of
first spring records, five years: April 24. Average ol last fall records,
five years (August 5-19) : August 12. Exceptionally late fall record:
October 9, 1927, Bamforth Lake (McCreary).

Upland Plover. Bari.ra.mia longicauda. Earliest spring record:
May 5, 1879, Lake Como (Williston) (31). Average of first spring
records, six years: May 8. Average of last fall records, six years:
August 18. Latest fall record: Sejitemher 1, 1930, Laramie (McCreary).

138

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

Spotted Sandpiper. Actitis macularia. Earliest spring record:
May 1, 1927, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring records,
nine years: May 6. Average of last fall records, eight years: Sep-
tember 10. Latest fall record: October 5, 1933, Laramie (Mickey).

Western Solitary Sandpiper. Tringa solitaria cinnamomea.
Transient. Earliest spring records: April 20, 1929 and 1932, Laramie
(McCreary). Average of first spring records, eight years: April 24.
Average of last spring records, seven years: May 13. Latest spring
record: May 25, 1928, Laramie (McCreary). Earliest fall record:
June 28, 1934, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first fall records,
eight years: July 13. Average of last fall records, eight years: Sep-
tember 5. Latest fall record: October 1, 1927, Laramie (McCreary).

Western Willet. Catopthrophorus semipalmatus inoniaius. Tran-
sient. Earliest spring record: April 25, 1931, Sevenmile Lake
(Mickey). Average of first spring records, nine years: May 4. Aver-
age of last spring records, seven years: May 25. Latest spring record:
June 3, 1922, Wheatland (Neilson) (25). Earliest fall record: June
17, 1934, Hutton Lake (A. Hamm). Average of first fall records, five
years: July 14. Average of last fall records, four years: September 5.
Latest fall record: October 1, 1933, Wheatland Reservoir (J. W. Scott).

Greater Yellow-legs. Totanus melanoleucus. Transient. Earli-
est spring record: April 4, 1928, Medicine Bow (McCreary). Average
of first spring records, eleven years: April 12. Average of last spring
records, four years: May 14. Latest spring record: May 29, 1914,
Laramie (Henninger) (22). Exceptionally early fall record, obtained
during the drouth: June 22, 1934, Laramie (McCreary). Average of
first fall records, seven other years (July 19-August 21) : August 5.
Average of last fall records, eight years: October 2. Latest fall rec-
ord: October 24, Medicine Bow (4).

Lesser Yellow-legs. Totanus flavipes. Transient. Earliest
s])i'ing record: A]>ril 21, 1934, Laramie (McCu'eary). Average of first
spring records, nine years: May 1. Average of last spring records, six
years: May 18. Latest Sjiring record: June 1, 1914, Laramie (Hen-
ninger) (22). Excejitionally early fall record, obtained during the
drouth: June 14, 1934, Laramie (McCaeary). Average of first fall
records, six other years (July 4- August 21) : July 19. Average of last
fall records, six years: October 15. Latest fall record: October 22,
1926, Laramie (McCreary).

Pectoral Sandpiper. Tisohia nielanotus. Transient. One spring
record: May 12, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Exceptionally early

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

139

fall record, obtained during the drouth: July 8, 1934, Soda Lakes
(McCreary). Average of first fall records, two other years (August 5-
13) : August 9. Average of last fall records, three years: September 3.
Latest fall record: a specimen in the University of Wyoming collection
dated September 14, 1897, Sevenmile Lake (C. W. Gilmore).

White-rumped Sandpiper. Pisobia fuscicollis. Transient. Earli-
est spring record: specimen taken May 16, 1875, Ft. Laramie (4)
(Newberry). Average of first spring records, three years: May 23.
Latest spring record: June 17, 1933, Bamforth Lake (Mickey). We
have no fall records.

Baird’s Sandpiper. Pisobia bairdi. Transient. Earliest spring
record: March 31, 1929, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, eight years: April 16. Average of last spring records, six
years: May 24. Latest spring record: May 31, 1931, Laramie

(McCreary). Earliest fall record: June 24, 1933, Bamforth Lake
(Mickey). Average of first fall records, eight years: July 15. Aver-
age of last fall records, four years: October 13. Latest fall record:
October 21, 1928, Sevenmile Lake (McCreary).

Least Sandpiper. Pisobia minutilla. Transient. Earliest spring
records: April 23, Ft. Laramie (4) ; and April 23, 1888, Cheyenne
(Bond) (12). Average of first spring records, ten years: May 2. Av-
erage of last spring records, five years: May 24. Latest spring record:
May 29, 1933, Goshen County (McCreary). Earliest fall record: July
8, 1934, Soda Lakes (McCreary). Average of first fall records, four
years: July 24. Latest fall record: October 21, 1928, Laramie

( McCreary) .

Red-backed Sandpii^er. Pelidna alpina sakhalina. One record:
one seen August 23, 1930, Sevenmile Lake (McCreary).

Long-billed Uowitcher. Limnodromus griseus scolopaceus.
Transient. Earliest spring record: May 3, 1889, Cheyenne (Bond)
(12). Average of first spring records, five years: May 7. Average of
last spring records, three years: May 16. Latest spring record: May
17, 1933, Laramie (Mickey). Earliest lall record: June 26, 1875, Ft.
Sanders, Albany County (Brackett) (9). Average of first fall records,
five years: July 13. Average of last fall records, four years: October
14. Latest fall record: October 25, 1928, Sevenmile Lake (A. McIn-
tosh) .

Stilt Sandpiper. Micropalama Jninantopus. Transient. Earliest
spring record: three taken May 15, 1875, It. Laramie (J. S. Newberry)
(30). Latest sjiring record: May 25, 1889, (.heyenne (Bond) (6).

140

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

Earliest fall record: sixteen seen July 29, 1934, Bamforth Lake
(McCreary). Latest fall record; one seen August 20, 1933, Ninemile
Lake (McCreary).

Semipalmated Sandpiper. Ereunetes pusillus. Transient. One
spring record: May 19, 1933, Laramie (McCreary). Two fall records:
one taken August 22 or 23, 1870, North Platte River, Natrona County
(Stevenson and Smith) (29) ; and one skin in the University of Wyo-
ming collection dated August 31, 1897, Bamforth Lake (C. W. Gil-
more). By some error Knight (23) copied this record as October
31, and the erroneous date has appeared in other publications (4).

Marbled Godwit. Lirnosa jedou. Transient. Earliest spring
record: April 25, 1931, Sevenmile Lake (Mickey). Average of first
spring records, six years: May 4. Average of last spring records, four
years: May 15. Latest spring record: May 19, 1933, Bamforth Lake
(Mickey). Earliest fall record, obtained during the drouth: July 13,
1934, Bamforth Lake (McCreary). Average of first fall records, four
years: July 26. Average of last fall records, four years: August 31.
Latest fall record: September 14, 1933, Laramie (McCreary).

Sanderling. Crocethia alhu. Transient. Earliest spring record;
May 5, 1879, Lake Como (Williston) (32). Average of first spring
records, five years: May 13. Average of last spring records, four
years: May 22. Latest spring record: May 26, 1892, Douglas (Jese-
run ) (23). Earliest fall record: August 26, 1928, Bamforth Lake
(Mc(Teary). Latest fall record: October 1, 1927, Bamforth Lake
( McCreary) .

Avocet. Recurvirostra aniericana. Earliest spring record: April
14, 1928, Ninemile Lake (McCreary). Average of first spring records,
eleven years: April 26. Average of last fall records, five years: Sep-
tember 22. Latest fall record: October 7, 1933, Wheatland Resers'oir
(R. Honess) .

Black-necked Stilt. Ifimantopus mexicanus. Earliest record:
one seen June 11, 1933, Creighton Lake (Mr. and Mrs. Mickey,
Draize, and McCreary). Two were seen June 20 and 30, 1934, Bam-
forlh Lake (McCreary).

Red Phalaroi’E. Rhalaropus fuUcarius. One specimen in (lie
University of Wyoming collection is dated September 14, 1897, Seven-
mile Lake (C. W. Gilmore).

Wilson’s Pfialarope. Stcp,am)piis tricolor. Earliest spring rec-
ord: A|)fil 25, 1933, Laramie (Mc(heary). Average of first spring
records, nine years: May 3. Average of last fall records, eight years:

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

141

August 30. Latest fall record: September 19, 1926, Laramie

(McCreary) .

Northf:rn Phalaroi’E. Lubipes lobatus. Transient. Earliest
spring record: May 13, 1933, Bamforlh Lake (Mickey). Average of
first spring records, four years: May 16. Average of last spring rec-
ords, four years: May 23. Latest spring record: May 28, 1879, Lake
Como (Williston) (32). Fall records: specimens taken by Mr. and
Mrs. Allen McIntosh, September 29, 1928, Twelvemile Lake, and Oc-
tober 6, 1928, Bamfortli Lake.

Glaucous Gull. Lams hyperboreus. One taken by Elmer Isberg.
November 23, 1933, Lake Hattie.

Herring Gull. Lams argentatus smilhsonianus. Transient. Earli-
est spring record: a dead bird brought to the University to be identi-
fied, March 18, 1932. Latest spring record: May 29, 1932, Wheatland
Reservoir (Scott). Earliest fall record: August 6, 1933, Wheatland
Reservoir (McCreary). Latest fall record: November 24, 1932, Lake
Hattie (McCreary). One winter record: January 1, 1934, Lake Hat-
tie (McCreary).

Ring-billed Gull. Lams delawarensis. Earliest spring record:
March 19, 1934, Hutton Lake ( F. Mazel ) . Average of first spring
records, eight years: April 2. Average of last fall records, seven
years: Novemlier 17. Latest fall record: Novemher 30, 1933, Hutton
Lake (McCreary).

Franklin’s Gull. Lams pipixean. Transient. Earliest spring
record: May 5, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Average of first sjiring
records, three years: May 7. Latest spring record: May 12, 1933, Tov-
rington (McCreary). One fall record: July 27, 1928, near Iowa Cen-
ter, Platte County (J. Gundlach ).

Bonaparte's Gull. Laras Philadelphia. Transient. Earliest
spring record: April 21, 1934, Lake Hattie (Mickey). Average of first
spring records, five years: April 30. Latest sjiring record: June 8,

1933. Laramie (McCreary). Earliest fall record: June 21, 1934, I^ara-
mie (McCreary). Latest fall record: a sjiecimen in the University of
Wyoming collection dated November 18, 1896, Laramie (E. Land).

Atlantic Kittiwake. Rissa Iridactyla tridacfyla. One record:
specimen taken November 18, 1898, Douglas (Jeserun) (23).

Forster’s Tern. Sterna jorsteri. Earliest spring record: May 2,

1934, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring records, six years:
May 18. Average of last fail records, four years (July 31-Septembci

142

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

4) : August 17. Exceptionally late fall record; September 30, 1933,
Laramie (McCreary).

Least Tern. Sterna antillarum antillaruni. It occurs in summer
along the North Platte River in Goshen County. First record for
Wyoming: June 11, 1929, Torrington (McCreary). Earliest spring
record: May 27, 1933, Torrington (McCreary).

Black Tern. Chlidonias nigra surinamensis. Earliest spring rec-
ord: May 11, 1934, Hutton Lake (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, seven years: May 21. Usually disappears in August. Average
of last fall records, four years (August 2-26) : August 13. Exception-
ally late fall record: October 1, 1927, Bamforth Lake (McCreary).

Western Mourning Dove. Zenaidura inacroura marginella.
Earliest spring record: April 14, 1933, Laramie (McCreary). Average
of first spring records, nine years: April 25. Average of last fall
records, eight years: October 4. Latest fall record: October 30, 1927,
Laramie (McCreary). One winter record: a specimen taken January
20, 1934, Cheyenne (J. Simon).

Black-billed Cuckoo. Coocyzus erythropthalmus. Earliest spring
record: a specimen taken May 21, 1893, Douglas (Jeserun) (23).
Average of first spring records, five years: May 30. We have no fall
records.

Western Burrowing Owl. Speotyto cunicularia hypugaea. Earli-
est spring record: April 15, 1934, Laramie (Mickey). Average of
first spring records, five years: April 28. Average of last fall records,
five years: August 29. Latest fall record: a specimen taken September
6, 1923, Wheatland (Fuller) (20).

Short-eared Owl. Asia flainmeus flaniineus. Earliest spring rec-
ords: March 30, 1930 and 1934, Laramie (McCreary). Latest fall
record: November 6, 1927, Laramie (McCreary). One winter record r
January 6, 1930, Goshen County (McCreary).

Nuttall’s Poor-will. Phalaenoptilus nuttaUi nuttalli. Earliest
spring record: May 3, 1932, Torrington (McCreary). Average of first
spring records, four years: May 16. Average of last fall records, two
years: September 6. Latest fall record: specimen taken September 7,
1857, Laramie Mountains (Hayden) (3).

Nighthawk. Chordeiles minor ssp. Three subspecies of the
Nighthawk occur in this region (27), hut the dates given here are sight
records and the subspecies could not he determined. Earliest spring
record: May 24, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Average of first
s[)ring records, nine years: June 1. Average of last fall records, seven

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

143

years: September 25. Latest fall record: Octolier 10, 1928, Laramie
( McCreary) .

White-throated Swift. Aeronautes saxatalis saxaialis. Earliest
spring record: April 24, 1927, Sand Creek, Albany County (McCreary).
Average of first spring records, three years: April 30. Average of
last fall records, three years: September 1. Latest fall record: one
captured in Agricultural Hall, University of Wyoming, September
9, 1934.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird. Selasphorus platyccrcus platycercus.
Earliest spring record: May 20, 1934, Laramie (McCreary). Average
of first spring records, six years: May 24. Average of last fall records,
nine years: September 3. Latest fall record: September 16, 1933,
Laramie (McCreary).

Rufoiis Hummingbird. Selasphorus rujus. We have no spring
records. Earliest fall record: July 12, 1934, Laramie (McCreary).
Average of first fall records, four years: July 17. Average of last fall
records, four years: August 5. Latest fall record: August 13, 1934.
Laramie (McCreary).

Red-headed Woodpecker. M claner pes erythrocepholus. Earliest
spring record: May 17, 1932, Torrington (McCreary). Average of
first spring records, six years: May 27. Average of last fall records,
five years: September 2. Latest fall record: one taken Se])tember 6,
1923, Wheatland (Euller) (20).

Lewis’s Woodpecker. Asymlesnius lewis. Earliest spring records:
May 14, 1930 and 1931, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, six years: May 17. Average of last fall records, six years:
September 9. Latest fall record: Se])tember 24, 1933, Laramie
(Mickey) .

Red-naped Sapsucker. Spin rapiciis varius inichalis. Earliest
spring record: April 9, 1932, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first
spring records, five years: May 6. Average of last fall records, four
years: October 10. Latest fall record: October 25, 1932, Laramie
( McCreary) .

Eastern Kingbird. Tyranims tyraunus. Earliest spring record:
May 7, 1927, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring records,
nine years: May 16. Average of last fall records, nine years: August
22. Latest fall record: Se])tember 9, 1934, Laramie (McCreary).

Arkansas Kingbird. Tyraunus verllcalis. Earliest spring record:
May 5, 1932, Lingle (McCreary). Average of first spring records,
eight years: May 12. Average of last fall records, nine years: August

144

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

29. Latest fall records: September 5, 1926 and 1927, Laramie
(McCreary) ; and September 5, 1934, Laramie (Mickey).

Cassin’s Kingbird. Tyrannus vocijerans. Earliest spring record:
specimen taken May 6, 1892, Douglas (Jeserun ) (23). Average of
first spring records, 4 years: May 12. Average of last fall records,
four years: September 12. Latest fall record: sjiecimen taken Septem-
ber 18, 1911, Albany County (\Valker) (21).

Say’s Phoebe. Sayornis saya soya. Earliest spring record: April
7, 1889, Cheyenne (Bond) (13). Average of first spring records, thir-
teen years: April 17. Average of last fall records, nine years: Sep-
tember 14. Latest fall record: October 3, 1926, Laramie (McCreary).

Alder Flycatcher. Empidonax trailli trailli. Earliest spring
record: May 30, 1929, Laramie (McCreary). Latest fall record: Sep-
tember 7, 1930, Laramie (McCreary).

Least Flycatcher. Empidonax minimus. Earliest spring record:
May 5, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Average of first spring records,
two years: May 8.

Hammond’s Flycatcher. Empidonax hammondi. Earliest spring
record: May 13, 1934, Laramie (McCreary). Latest fall record: one
taken October, 1871, Ft. Steele (Allen) (1). Allen did not arrive at
Ft. Steele until October 9.

Wright’s Flycatcher. Empidonax wrighti. Earliest spring rec-
ord: May 9, 1933, Guernsey (McCreary). Average of first spring rec-
ords, seven years: May 19. Average of last fall records, two years:
September 10. Latest fall record: September 13, 1926, Laramie
(McCreary) .

Western Fi.ycatcher. Empidonax difficilis difficilis. Earliest
s|)ring record: May 20, 1928, Laramie (McCreary). Latest fall rec-
ord: one taken Sejitember 13, 1894, Douglas (Jeserun) (23).

Western Wood Pewee. Myiochanes richardsoni richardsoni.
Earliest spring record: May 19, 1932, Torrington (McCreary). Aver-
age of first spring records, seven years: May 27. Average of last fall
records, six years: September 25. Latest fall record: September 30,
1931, Laramie (McCreary).

Olive-sided Flycatcher. Nuttallomis mesoleucus. Earliest spring
record: May 16, 1933, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, three years: May 21. Average of last fall records, three
years: September 9. Latest fall record: September 18, 1926, Laramie
( Mc(ireary) .

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

145

Violet-green Swalixiw. Tachycinelu thalassina lepida. Earliest
spring record: May 7, 1930, Laramie (Mc(ireary). Average of first
spring records, four years: Alay 14. Average of last fall records, three
years: August 31. Latest fall record: September 7, 1926, Laramie
( McCreary ) .

Tree Swallow. Iridoprocne hicolor. Earliest spring record:
April 11, 1930, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring records,
five years: April 18. Latest fall record: October 1, 1927, Laramie
Plains (McCreary).

Bank Swallow. Riparia riparia riparia. Earliest spring record:
April 23, 1929, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring records,
six years: April 30. Average of last fall records, five years: August
26. Latest fall record: September 4, 1933, Laramie (McCreary).

Rough-winged Swallow. Stelgidopteryx ruficoUis serripennis.
Earliest spring records: May 1, 1927, Laramie (McCreary); May 1,
1931 and 1933, Torrington (McCreary j; and May 1, 1928, Laramie
(Gundlach). Average of first spring records, eight years: May 6.
Average of last fall records, five years: August 28. Latest fall record:
September 6, 1931, Laramie (McCreary).

Barn Swallow. Jlirundo erythrogaster. Exceptionally early spring
record: April 21, 1889, Cheyenne (Bondj (28). Average of first
spring records, nine other years (May 1-7) : May 4. Average of last
fall reeords, six years: September 16. Latest fall record: September
24, 1928, Guernsey (McCafferty) (24).

Northern Cliff Swallow. Retrochelidon alhifrons albifrons.
Earliest spring record: May 10, 1928, Laramie (McCreary). Average
of first spring records, nine years: May 13. Average of last fall rec-
ords, seven years: August 22. Latest fall record: September 4, 1933,
Laramie (McCreary).

Northern Blue Jay. Cyanocilta cristala cristafa. Earliest spring
record: May 6, 1929, Guernsey (McCafferty) (24). Average of first
spring records, four years: May 9. Average of last fall records, four
years: October 7. Latest fall record: October 22, 1933, Laramie
(Mickey). One winter record: January 29, 1928, Pine Bluffs

(McCreary) .

Western Crow. Corvus brachyrhynclws hespens. Earliest spring
record: Lebruary 28, 1933, Laramie (McC.reary). Average of first
spring records, eight years: March 12. Average of last fall records,
ten, years: October 18. Latest fall record: flctober 26, 1930, Laramie
(McCreary). Two winter records: December 27, 1929, Casper

(McCreary) ; and January 31, 1932, T.ararnie (Mickey).

146

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

Black-eared Nuthatch. Sitta pygmaea melanotis. Earliest
spring record: April 17, 1932, Fish Creek, Albany County (Scott).
Latest fall record: October 18, 1926, Telephone Canyon, Albany
County (McCreary) .

Western House Wren. Troglodytes aedon parkmani. Earliest
spring records: May 1, 1931, Guernsey, and May 1, 1933, Torrington
(McCreary). Average of first spring records, eight years: May 10.
Average of last fall records, six years: September 20. Latest fall rec-
ord: October 3, 1926, Laramie (McCreary).

Western Winter Wren. Nannus hiemalis pacificus. One record
during migration: October 26, 1930, Laramie (McCreary).

Western Marsh Wren. T elmalodytes palustris plesius. T^^o
specimens taken near Laramie were named plesius by Oberbolser, bu!
our sight records may include laingi and dissaeptus. Earliest spring
record: March 30, 1930, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, eight years: April 14. Our only late date is July 28, 1929,
Torrington. Two winter records: December 24, 1928, Wheatland, and
January 29, 1928, Pine Bluffs (McCreary).

Canon Wren. Catherpes mexicanus conspersus. We have three
records: April 17, 1928, Laramie (McCreary) ; August, 1928, Medicine
Bow River Canyon (Gundlach) ; and August 22, 1931, Laramie, one
found in Agricultural Hall, University of Wyoming (Mickey).

Common Rock Wren. Salpinctes obsolelus obsoletus. Exception-
ally early spring record: April 2, 1930, Laramie (McCreary). Aver-
age of first spring records, nine other years (April 29-May 14) : May
8. Average of last fall records, eight years: September 26. Latest
fall record: October 21, 1928, Laramie (McCreary). One winter rec-
ord: December 30, 1928, Guernsey (McCreary).

Western Mockingbird. Mimus polygloltos leucopterus. Excep-
tionally early spring record: April 30, 1894, Douglas (Jeserun) (11).
Average of first spring records, four other years (May 15-May 23) :
May 18. Latest fall record: September 16, 1933, Laramie (McCreary).

Catbird. Dumetellu carolinensis. Earliest spring record: May

11, 1929, Cheyenne (McCreary). Average of first spring records, nine
years: May 16. Average of last fall records, seven years: September
21. Late.st fall record: September 26, 1929, Laramie (McCreary).

Brown Thrasher. Toxostoma rujuni. Earliest spring records:
May 1, 1931 and 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Latest fall record:
one taken August 30. 1923. (Juigwater (Fuller) (20). One winter
record: January 4, 1930, Torrington (McCreary).

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

147

Sage Thrasher. Orcoscoptes montanu.s. Earliest spring record:
March 25, 1934, Hutton Lake (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, nine years: Ajiril 15. Average of last fall records, seven
years: September 23. Latest fall record: September 30, 1933, Lara-
mie (Mickey).

Western Robin. Turdus migmtorius propinquus. Occasionally-
found in winter: January 29, 1928, Pine Bluffs; January 6, 1930,
Cheyenne (McCreary); and January 28, 1932, Laramie (Mickey). In
some years migrants are seen in late Lebruary: Lebruary 21, 1931,
To rrington ( L. R. Wolfe). In 1927 none were seen until March 26.
The large flocks arrive in April and leave for the south early in
October.

Alaska Hermit Thrush. Hylocichla guttala guttata. One col-
lected September 9, 1898, Laramie (Knight) (23).

Audubon Hermit Thrush. Hylocichla guttata auduhoni. Our
migration records are all sight records and may include other sub-
species. Earliest spring record: April 19, 1934, Torrington (McCreary).
Average of first spring records, seven years: April 30. Average of last
fall records, six years: October 19. Latest fall records: October 30,
1927 and 1932, Laramie (McCreary).

Olive-backed Thrush. Hylocichla ustulata swainsoni. Earliest
spring record: May 4, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Average of first
spring records, eight years: May 8. Average of last fall records,
seven years: October 6. Latest fall record: October 20, 1934, Laramie
(Mickey) .

Gray-cheeked Thrush. Hylocichla minima aliciae. Transient.
Earliest spring record: May 10, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Aver-
age of first spring records, three years: May 13. Latest spring record;
May 25, 1932, Torrington (McCreary). We have no fall records.

Willow Thrush. Hylocichla juscescens salicicola. Earlies!
spring record: May 6, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Average of first
spring records, seven years: May 13. Average of last fall records, two
years: September 1. Latest fall record; September 7, 1931, Laramie
(McCreary) ,

Mountain Bluebird. Sialia currucoides. Earliest spring record:
February 22, 1932, Sand Creek, Albany County (R. Honess). Average
of first spring records, eight years: March 5. Average of last fall
records, eight years: October 18. Latest fall record: October 23, 1932,
Tie Siding, Albany County (J. W. Scott).

148

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

Western Golden-crowned Kinglet. Regulus satrapa olivaceus.
One spring record: May 19, 1931, Laramie (McCreary). Average of
last fall records, seven years: September 30. Latest fall record: Oc-
tober 26, 1932, Laramie (McCreary). Winter records: December 25.
1929, and January 6, 1930, Cheyenne (McCreary).

Eastern Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Corthylio calendula calendula.
Earliest spring record: April 16. 1929, Laramie (McCreary). Aver-
age of first spring records, six years: April 30. Average of last fall
records, seven years: October 16. Latest fall record: October 26,

1933, Laramie (McCreary).

American Pipit. Anlhus spinoletta rubescens. Exceptionally
early spring record: March 22, 1934, Laramie (McCreary). Average
of first spring records, eight other years ( April 9-30) : April 22. Aver-
age of last fall records, six years: October 16. Latest fall record:
October 21, 1926, Laramie (Mc(ireary).

Sprague’s Pipit. Anlhus spraguei. Transient. Earliest spring
record: April 17. 1927, Laramie (McCreary). Latest spring record:
May 17, 1934, Laramie (McCreary). We have no fall records.

Bohemian Waxwing. Honihycilla garrula pallidiceps. Winter
visitant. Earliest fall record: November 8, 1931. Laramie (McCreary).
Average of first fall records, two years: November 10. Average of
last spring records, three years: April 6. Latest spring record: April
16, 1932, Laramie (McCreary).

Cedar Waxwing. Bonihycilla cedroruni. Earliest sjiring record:
one collected May 6, 1929, Guernsey (McCafferty) (24). Average of
first spring records, six years: May 21. Average of last fall records,
five years: September 27. Latest fall record: October 16. 1933. Lara-
mie (McCreary).

Northwestern Shrike. Lanius borealis invicius. Winter visi-
tant. Earliest fall record: October 16. 1928, Laramie (McCreary).
Average of first fall records, seven years: October 22. Average of last
spring records, six years: April 2. Latest spring record: April 15,

1934, Laramie (Mickey).

White-rumped Shrike. Lanius ludovicianus cxcubitorides. Ex-
ceptionally early spring record: Eebruary 20, 1932, Laramie Plains
(Mickey). Average of first spring records, eight other years (April
15-29): April 22. Average of last fall records, six years: September
22. Latest fall record: October 15, 1932, Laramie (Miekey).

Pit iMHEOus ViREO. Fireo solilarius plunibeus. Earliest spring
record: May 7, 1927, Laramie (Mc(aeary). Average of first spring

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

149

records, three years; May 16. Average of last fall records, six years:
September 13. Latest fall record: October 4, 1934, Laramie
( McCreary) .

Red-eyed Vireo. I ireo ulivuceus. Transient. Earliest spring
record: May 24, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, seven years: May 27. Average of last spring records, three
years: June 6. Latest sjndng record: June 10, 1929, Cheyenne
(McCreary). Earliest fall record: August 22, 1934, Laramie
(McCreary). Average of first fall records, three years: August 27.
Average of last fall records, four years; September 5. Latest fall
record: September 12, 1926, Laramie (McCreary).

Western Warbling Vireo. Vireo gilvus swainsoni. Exception-
ally early spring record: May 12, 1932, Torrington (McCreary). Av-
erage of first spring records, seven other years (May 21-June 1) : Ma)
27. Average of last fall records, eight years: September 1. Latest fall
record; September 14, 1933, Laramie (McCreary).

Black and White Warbler. MnioLilla varia. Transient. Earliest
spring record: May 3, 1930, Laramie (McCreary). Latest spring rec-
ords: specimen taken May 17, 1899, Douglas (Jeserun) (23) ; and one
seen May 17, 1932, Laramie (Mickey). One fall record; September
23, 1928, Laramie (McCreary).

Tennessee Warbler. Vennivora peregrina. Transient. Earliest
spring record: May 12, 1932, Torrington (McCreary). Average of
first spring records, three years: May 17. Average of last spring
records, three years; May 27. Latest spring record: May 28, 1927,
Laramie (McCreary). Earliest fall record: August 28, 1928, Laramie
(McCreary). Average of first fall records, four years: September 7.
Average of last fall records, four years: Sejitember 30. Latest fall
record: October 5, 1933, Laramie (McCreary).

Orange-crowned Warbler. Vennivora celaia ssp. Earliest spring
record: Ajiril 30, 1931, Torrington (McCreary). Average of first
spring records, six years: May 4. Average of last fall records, five
years: Sejitember 29. Latest fall record; October 25, 1933, Laramie
(McCreary) .

Nashville Warbler. Vennivora riificapilla ruficapilht. Two
records: one taken May 29, 1898, (.hngwater (Knight) (23); and one
seen May 9, 1933, Ft. Laramie (McCreary).

Northern Parula Warbler. Conipsothlypis americuna pusilla.
Three records: one taken May 30, 1888, Cheyenne (Bond) (23); one
seen May 5, 1931, and May 12, 1933, Torrington (McCreary).

150

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

Eastern Yellow Warbler. Dendroica uestiva aestiva. Earliest
spring record: May 2, 1938, Lingle (McCreary). Average of first
spring records, eleven years: May 11. Average of last fall records,
nine years: September 4. Latest fall record: September 14, 1933,
Laramie (McCreary).

Magnolia Warbler. Dendroica magnolia. Four records: May
21, 1889, Cheyenne (Bond) ; one collected May 19, 1932, Torrington
(McCreary) ; and one seen May 23 and 24, 1933, Torrington
(McCreary) .

Myrtle Warbler. Dendroica coronata. Transient. Earliest
spring record: April 17, 1932, Woods, Albany County (Mickey). Av-
erage of first spring records, ten years: April 26. Average of last
spring records, five years: May 23. Latest spring record: May 25,
1933, Laramie (Mickey). Earliest fall record: September 24, 1933,
Laramie (McCreary). Average of first fall records, three years:
October 2. Average of last fall records, five years: October 16. Latest
fall record: October 23, 1930, Laramie (McCreary).

Audubon’s Warbler. Dendroica auduboni auduboni. Earliest
spring record: April 20, 1931, Cheyenne (L. R. Wolfe). Average of
first spring records, nine years: May 3. Average of last fall records,
seven years: October 18. Latest fall record: October 29, 1932, Lara-
mie (McCreary).

Townsend’s Warbler. Dendroica townsendi. Transient. Two
spring records: May 11, 1929, Cheyenne, and May 15, 1927, Jelm, Al-
bany County (McCreary). Earliest fall record: August 11, 193."
Laramie (McCreary). Average of first fall records, seven years: Au-
gust 24. Average of last fall records, ten years: September 25. Latest
fall record: October 15, 1928, Laramie (McCreary).

Chestnut-sided Warbler. Dendroica pensylvanica. One record:
one collected May 23, 1889, Cheyenne (Bond) (6).

Black-poll Warbler. Dendroica striata. Earliest spring record:
May 8, 1888, Cheyenne (Bond) (10). Average of first sjiring records,
eight years: May 12. Average of last spring records, five years: May
20. Latest sjiring record: May 27, 1878, Lake Como (Williston) (31).
We have no fall records.

Western Palm Warbler. Dendroica palmarum palniaruni. One
record: one seen May 10, 1933, Torrington (McCreary).

Oven-bird. Seiurus aurocapillus. Two records: May 19, 1932,
Ft. Laramie, and May 25, 1933, Lingle (McCreary).

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

151

Grinnell’s Water-Thrush. Seiurus noveborucensis notabihs
Transient. Earliest spring records: one taken May 10, 1878, Lake
Como ( Williston) (31) ; and one seen May 10, 1933, Torrington
(McCreary). Average of first spring records, five years: May 13
Average of last spring records, three years: May 16. Latest spring
record: May 18, 1933, Laramie River, Albany County (Mickey). Earli-
est fall record: August 9, 1934, Lt. Steele (McCreary). Average of
first fall records, four years: August 13. Average of last fall records,
three years: August 29. Latest fall record: September 13, 1929, Lara
mie (McCreary).

Macgillivray’s Warbler. Oporornis tolmiei. Earliest spring
record: May 7, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, five years: May 12. Average of last fall records, seven years:
September 17. Latest fall record: October 5, 1934, Laramie

( McCreary) .

Western Yellow-throat. Geothlypis trichas occidentalis. Earli-
est spring records: May 2, 1930, Laramie, May 2, 1931, Torrington.
and May 2, 1933, Lingle (Mc(Teary). Average of first spring records,
ten years: May 10. Average of last fall records, seven years: Sep-
tember 18. Latest fall record: October 12, 1930, Laramie (McCreary).

Long-tailed Chat. Icteria virens longicaudu. Earliest spring
records: May 10, 1930, Guernsey (McCafferty) (24) ; and May 10,
1932, Torrington (McCreary). Average of first spring records, fou!
years: May 18. One fall record: September 5, 1932, Torrington
t McCreary) .

Northern Pileolated Warbler. IJ'ilsonia pusilla pileolata.
Earliest spring record: one collected May 4, 1932, Lingle (McCreary).
Average of first spring records, eight years: May 12. Average of last
fall records, six years: October 11. Latest fall record: October 16,
1928, Laramie (McCreary).

American Redstart. Setophaga ruticilla. Earliest spring rec-
ord: May 4, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, eight years: May 17. Average of last (all records, five years:
September 4. Latest fall record: Sejitember 12, 1933, Laramie
(McCreary) .

Bobolink. Dolichon.yx oryzivorus. Earliest spring record: Ma)
16, 1927, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring records, nine
years: May 20. We have no fall records.

Yellow-headed Blackbird. Xanthocephalus xanlhocephalus.
Earliest spring record: April 14, 1929, Laramie (McCreary). Average

152

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

of first spring records, eight years: April 25. Average of last fall
records, five years: October 7. Latest fall record: October 20, 1928,
Laramie (McCreary). Winter records: December 25, 1927, and Feb-
ruary 26, 1928, Wheatland (McCreary).

Baltimore Oriole. Icterus galhula. Three records: July 20,

1927, Wheatland ( Fuller and Bole ) (20) ; May 6, 1929, Guernsey
(McCafferty) (24); and May 6, 1931, Torrington (McCreary).

Bullock’s Oriole. Icterus bullocki. Earliest spring record: May
11, 1929, Cheyenne (McCreary). Average of first spring records, twelve
years: May 14. Average of last fall records, six years: August 26.
Latest fall record: September 6, 1934, Laramie (Mr. and Mrs. Mickey).

Busty Blackbird. Euphagus carolinus. One record: twelve seen
December 25, 1927, Wheatland (McCreary).

Brewer’s Blackbird. Euphagus cyanocephalus. A few individuals
occasionally stay all winter. Average date of arrival of Hocks from the
south, nine years: April 27. Average of last fall records, eight years:
November 1.

Bronzed Crackle. (Juisculus quiscala aeneus. Earliest spring
record: April 13, 1930, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, eight years: April 23. Average of last fall records, seven
years: September 25. Latest fall record: October 14, 1934, Laramie
( McCreary) .

Nevada Cowbird. Molothrus uter artemisiae. Earliest spring rec-
ord: April 26, 1928, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, eight years: May 1. Average of last fall records, eight years:
August 13. Latest fall record: September 5, 1926, Laramie (McCreary).

Western Tanager. Piranga ludoviciana. Earliest spring record:
May 13, 1932, Laramie (Mickey). Average of first spring records,
eleven years: May 23. Average of last fall records, eight years: Sep-
tember 23. Latest fall record: October 12, 1934, Laramie (McCreary).

Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Uedynieles ludovicianus. A pair were
seen near Wheatland, July 1, 1932 (Mr. and Mrs. Mickey). One was
.seen May 11, 1933, Torrington (McCreary).

Rocky Mountain Grosbeak. Uedymeles nielanocephalus papago.
Earliest sjiring record: May 12, 1932, Torrington (McCreary). Aver-
age of first spring records, eleven years: May 21. Average of last fall
records, four years: September 14. Latest fall record: Sejitemlier 21,

1928, Guernsey (McCafferty) (24).

Lazuli Bunting. Passerina arnoena. Earliest spring record: May
6, 1929, Guernsey (McCallerly) (24). Average of first spring records,

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

153

eight years: May 16. Average of last fall records, five years: Sejitem-
ber 2. Latest fall record: September 14, 1932, Laramie (McCreary).

Cassin’s Purple Finch. Carpodacus cussini. Exceptionally early
spring record: February 25, 1929, Laramie (McCreary). Average of
first spring records, five other years (April 6-May 1) : April 21. Av-
erage of last fall records, five years: October 12. Latest fall record:
November 1, 1927, Laramie (McCreary).

Hepburn’s Rosy Finch. Leucosticte tephrocotis littoralis. Winter
visitant. Earliest fall record: November 8, 1926, Laramie (McCreary).
Average of first fall records, two years: November 18. Average of
last spring records, seven years: March 25. Latest spring record:
April 9, 1929, Laramie (McCreary).

Gray-crowned Rosy Einch. Leucosticte tephrocotis tephrocotis.
Winter visitant. Earliest fall record: October 25, 1928, Laramie
(Knight) (23). Average of first fall records, seven years: November
17. Average of last spring records, seven years: March 23. Latest
spring record: April 13, 1929, Laramie (McCreary).

Common Redpoll. Acanthis liuuria linaria. Winter visitant.
Earliest fall record: one collected October 25, 1870, Rock Creek
(Stevenson and Smith) (29). Average of first fall records, seven
years: November 9. Latest spring record: a specimen in the University
of Wyoming collection dated April LI, 1897, Laramie (Knight).

Arkansas Goldfinch. Spinus psaltria psaltria. Three records:
one collected May 26, 1889, Cheyenne (Rond ) (23) ; and one seen
May 23, 1931, and August 4, 1931, Laramie (Mc(ireary).

Green-tailed Towhee. Oberholseria chlorura. Earliest spring
record: May 2, 1929, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, seven years: May 11. Average ol last fall records, five years:
September 26. Latest fall record: October 12, 1930, Laramie

(McCreary) .

Arctic Towhee. Pipilo maculatus arcticus. Earliest sjning rec-
ord: April 9, 1927, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring
records, five years, April 28. Average of last fall records, five years:
October 3. Latest fall records: one collected October 27 or 28, 1870,
Ft. Sanders, Albany County (Stevenson and Smith) (29).

Lark Hunting. Calumospiza melanocorys. Earliest s]ning record:
May 3, 1932, Laramie and Goshen Counties (McCreary). Average of
first spring records, thirteen years: May 10. Average ol last fall
records, ten years: August 26. Latest fall record: Seiitember 9, 1923,
Laramie County (Fuller and Role) (20).

154

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

Savannah Sparrow. Fasserculus sandwich en sis ssp. Earliest
spring record: April 17, 1929, Laramie (McCreary). Average of
first spring records, eight years: April 20. Average of last fall records:
six years: September 23. Latest fall record: October 16, 1927, Lara-
mie (McCreary) .

Baird’s Sparrow. Amniodramus bairdi. Six were seen May 2,
1931, Torrington (McCreary). Mentioned by Bond as one of the
species of birds found in Wyoming (5).

Western Vesper Sparrow. Pooecetes gramineus confinis. Earli-
est spring records: April 12, 1888, Cheyenne (Bond) (16) ; April 12,
Laramie (Knight) (23); April 12, 1930, Laramie; and April 12,
1931, Hutton Lake (McCreary). Average of first spring records,
thirteen years: April 18. Average of last fall records, nine years:
September 26. Latest fall record: October 9, 1927, Laramie

(McCreary) .

Western Lark Sparrow. Chondestes graniniacus strigalus. Earli
est spring record: May 2, 1930, Laramie (McCreary). Average of
first spring records, eight years: May 5. Average of last fall records,
eight years: September 10. Latest fall record: September 22, 1934,
Laramie (McCreary).

Northern Sage Sparrow. Amphispiza nevadensis nevadensis.
Earliest spring record: May 17, 1931, near Wheatland Reservoir
(McCreary). Latest fall record: one collected October 25, 1870, Rock
(ireek (Stevenson and Smith) (29).

White-winged Junco. Junco aikeni. Winter visitant. Earliest
fall record: one collected October 23, 1897, Laramie Mountains (C. W.
Gilmore) (23). Latest spring record: April 11, 1929, Laramie
t McCreary) .

Slate-colored Junco. Junco hyeniuUs hyenialis. Winter visitant.
Earliest fall record: September 23, 1926, Laramie (McCreary). Av-
erage of first fall records, five years: October 7. Average of last
siiring records, nine years: April 17. Latest spring record: May 8,
1929, Laramie (McCreary).

Shufeldt’s Junco. Junco oreganus sliufeldti. Winter visitant,
l^arliest fall record: Sejitember 11, 1934, Laramie (McCreary). Aver
age of first fall records, eight years: October 4. Average of las'
S|)ring records, eight years: April 17. Latest sjiring record: May 3,
1929, Laramie (McCreary).

Montana Junco. Junco oreganus inonlunus. Winter visitant.
Earliest fall record: September 11, 1934, l^aramie (McCreary). Aver

155

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

age of first fall records, eight years: October 2. Average of last spring
records, eight years: April 24. Latest spring record: May 8, 1929,
La ramie (McCreary).

PlNK-SlDED JUNCO. Juncu niearnsi. Winter visitant. Earliest fall
record: August 31, 1934, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first fall
records, eight years: September 22. Average of last spring records,
six years: April 29. Latest spring records: May 8, 1928 and 1929,
Laramie (McCreary).

Gray-headed Junco. Junco caniceps. Earliest spring record:
March 23, 1928, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring rec-
ords, eight years: April 12. Average of last fall records, six years:
October 13. Latest fall record: November 7, 1933, Laramie (McCreary).

Western Tree Sparrow. Spizella arborea ochracea. Winter visi-
tant. Earliest fall record: September 28, 1888, Cheyenne (Bond) (14).
Average of first fall records, eleven years: October 17. Average of
last spring records, nine years: April 6. Latest spring record: April
14, 1933, Laramie (McCreary) .

Western Chipping Sparrow. Spizella passerina arizonae. Earli-
est spring record: April 19, 1934, Torrington (McCreary). Average of
first spring records, nine years: April 28. Average of last fall records,
six years: October 10. Latest fall record: October 18, 1928, Laramie
( AlcCreary) .

Clay-colored Sparrow. Spizella pallida. Earliest spring rec-
ord: April 29, 1929, Laramie (McCreary^. Average of first spring
records, six years: May 3. Average of last fall records, four years:
September 24. Latest fall record: October 3, 1926, Laramie (McCreary).

Brewer’s Sparrow. Spizella breweri breweri. Earliest spring
records: April 28, 1934, Laramie (Mickey) ; and April 28, 1929 and
1930, Laramie (McCreary). Average of first spring records, six years:
May 3. Average of last fall records, five years: September 25. Latest
fall record: October 3, 1926, Laramie (McCreary).

Harris’s Sparrow. Zonotrichia querula. Transient. Earliest
spring record: April 19, 1934, Torrington (McCreary). Latest spring
record: May 14, 1933, Torrington (McCreary). Earliest fall record:
one taken October 7, 1894, Douglas (Jeserun) (23). Average of first
fall records, three years: October 13. Average of last fall records,
three years: October 30. Latest fall record: November 14, 1929, Lara-
mie (McCreary).

White-crowned Sparrow. Zonolrichia leucophrys leucoplirys.
Earliest spring record: April 18, 1889, Cheyenne (Bond) (17). Aver-

156

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

age of first spring records, nine years; April 27. Average of last fail
records, six years: October 4. Latest fall record: October 14, 1928,
Laramie (McCreary).

Gambel’s Sparrow. Zonutrichia leucophrys gambeli. Exception-
ally early spring record: March 29, 1927, Laramie (H. Flick). Aver-
age of first spring records, seven other years (April 11-28) : April 20.
Average of last fall records, eight years: October 22. Latest fall rec-
ord: October 30, 1927, Laramie (McCreary).

White-throated Sparrow. Zonotrichia albicollis. We have two
records: May 13, 1933, Torrington (Mcfirearyj ; and one taken Octo-
ber 8, 1894, Douglas (Jeserun) (23).

Slate-colored Fox Sparrow. Passerella iliuca schistacea. Two
records: May 6, 1928, Fox Creek, Albany County (McCreary) ; and
September 30, 1933, Laramie (Mickey).

Lincoln’s Sparrow. Melospiza lincolni lincolni. Earliest spring
record: April 8, 1928, Laramie ( McCreary j. Average of first spring
records, nine years: May 1. Average of last fall records, nine years:
October 3. Latest fall record; a specimen in the University of Wyo-
ming collection dated October 20, 1899, Laramie (C. W. Gilmore).

McCown’s Longspur. Rhynchophanes mccowni. Exceptionally
early spring record: March 12, 1889, Cheyenne (Bond) (15). Aver-
age of first spring records, nine other years (April 6-24) : April 14.
Average of last fall records, six years: October 12. Latest fall record;
October 27, 1927, Laramie Plains (McCreary).

Alaska Longspur. Calcarius lapponicus alascensls. Winter visi-
tant. Earliest fall record: October 15, 1928, Laramie (McCreary).
Average of first fall records, eight years: November 2. Average of last
spring records, five years; March 17. Latest spring record: a specimen
in the University of Wyoming collection dated April 3, 1899, Laramie
(A. Jennings).

Chestnut-collared Longspur. Calcarius oniatus. Exceptionally
early spring record: March 16, 1890, (Jieyenne (Bond) (23). Aver-
age of first sjiring records, two other years ( Ajiril 16-17) : A])ril 17.
We have no fall records.

Eastern Snow Bunting. Rlecirophenax nivalis nivalis. Winter
visitant. Earliest fall record: a specimen collected December 14,
1859, Deer Creek, Converse County ( G. 11. Trook ) (19). Average of
first fall records, three years: December 18. Average of last spring-
records, four years: March 8. Latest spring record; siiecimen taken
March 19, 1889, Clieyenne (Bond) (18).

Birds of Southeastern Wyoming

157

References Cited

1. Allen, ,1. A. Notes ot an Ornithological Reconnaissance ol Pori ions of Kan-
sas, Colorado, Wvoniing, and Utah. Bull. Mns. Comp. ZooL, Vol. 3, pp.
113-183. 1872.

2. Baird, S. F. “A List of Birds’’, in Explorations acioss the Great Basin ol
Utah in 1859, Appendix K, ]ip. 377-381. 1876.

3. Baird, S. F., ,). Cassin, and G. N. Lawrence. “Birds”, in Reports of Explora-
tions and Surveys to A.scertain the most practicable and economical route foi'
a railroad from the Mississi]ipi River to the Pacific Ocean, Vol. 9, ]it. 2,
1005 pp. 1858.

4. Bent, A. C. Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, Order Limicolae
(Part 1). U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 142, 420 pp. 1927.

5. Bond, F. “Birds”, in Report ot the Governor of Wyoming to the Secretary
of the Interior, 1885, pp. 1138-1140. 1885.

6. . Notes from Wyoming. Auk, Vol. 6, p. 341. 1889.

7. . Capture of a Brown Pelican in Wyoming. Auk, Vol. 16, p. 351. 1899.

8. Brackett, A. G. The Birds of Wyoming. Forest and Stream, Vol. 7, p. 389.
1876.

9. . Forest anrl Stream, Vol. 7, p. 404. 1876.

10. Chapman, F. M. The Warblers of North America. 306 pp. 1907.

11. Cooke, W. W. The Birds of Colorado. Colo. Agr. Expt. Sta., Colo. Agr.
Coll., Bull. 37, 144 pp. 1897.

12. . Distribution and Migration of North American Shorehiids. Biol.

.Surv., U. S. Dept. Agr., Bull. 35, 100 pp. 1910.

13. . The Migration of Flycatchers. Biid-Lorc, Vol. 10, pp. 210-212. 1908.

14. . The Migration of North American Sjiarrows. Bird-Lore, Vol. 11,

pp. 254-260. 1909.

15. . Bii'fl-Lore, Vol. 13, pp. 15-17. 1911.

16. . Bird-Lore, Vol. 13, pp. 83-88. 1911.

17. . Bird-Lore, Vol. 14, pp. 98-105. 1912.

18. . Bird-Lore, Vol. 15, pp. 16-17. 1913.

19. Cones, Elliot. Birds of the Northwest. U. S. Geol. .Surv. of the Territories,
Misc. Pul). No. 3, 791 pp. 1874.

20. Fuller, A. B. and B. P. Bole, ,|r. Observations on some Wyoming Birds.
Sci. Pub. Cleveland Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. 1, jip. 37-80. 1930.

21. Grave, B. H. and E. P. Walker. The Birds of Wyoming. 137 ji]). 1913.

22. Henninger, W. E. .Line Birds of Laramie, Wyoming. Wilson Bulletin,

No. 90, pp. 221-242. 1915.

23. Knight, W. C. The Birds of Wyondng. Wyo. Agr. Ex[)t. .Sta., Univ. of Wyo.,
Bull. .55, 174 pp. 1902.

24. McCafferty, G. E. Annotated and Distributional List of the Biials of Wyo-
ming. Master’s Thesis, Lhdv. of Wyoming. 1930. ( Unpidilished).

25. Neilson, .James A. Wheatland, Wyoming Birds. Oologist, Vol. 40, pj). 70-72.
1923.

26. . Personal Letter.s, 1928. (Unpublished).

27. Oberholser, H. C. A Monograph of (he Genus Cliordciles Swainson, Type of
a New Family of Goatsuckers. U. S. Nat. Mus., Bull. 86, 123 pj). 1914.

28. . The Migration of North American Birds. Bird-Lore, Vol. 20, pp.

145-L52. 1918.

29. Stevenson, .James. “A T^ist of mammals and birds collected in Wyoming
Territory, by Mr. H. 1). Smith and Mr. .James Stevenson, during the expedi-
tion of 1870”, in Preliminary Report of the United Slates Geological Survey
of Wyoming and Portions of contiguous territories . . . , ])t. 5, pp. 461-466.
1872.

30. Swales, B. 14. Stilt Sandpiper { Mkropa'amu him(k>!opus) in Wyoming. Auk,

VoJ. 36, p. 102. 1919.

31. WilJiston, S. W. A List of Birds of Southern Wyondmi, with notes by George

Bird Grinnell. Forest and Stream, Vol. 12. p. 307. 1879.

32. . Forest and Stream, Vol. 12, p. 385. 1879.

University of Wyoming,

Laramie, Wyoming.

158

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

GENERAL NOTES

Conducted by M. H. Swenk

The Starling in Southeastern South Dakota. — The Starling {Stwrnus vul-
garis) has been reported from all but three counties in Iowa and is now starting
to invade Nebraska and South Dakota. Mr. Arthur Lundquist of Webster, South
Dakota, reported the Starling in Day County, South Dakota (Wilson Bulletin,
XLVI, p. 62, March, 1934) which is in the extreme northeastern part of the state.
On Christmas day of 1934 the writer saw a Starling near Elk Point, Union County,
in the extreme southeastern corner of the state. It is interesting to note that the
Starling was recorded from a point nearly 300 miles north in the state a year
before it was found in the southern corner of the state, near the Iowa boundary,
where Starlings have been reported at different times since 1932. — William
Youngworth, Sioux City, loiva.

A Red-shafted Flicker Secured at Des Moines, Iowa. — An adult male
Red-shafted Flicker (Colaptes cafer coUaris) was collected by the writer at Des
Moines, Polk County, Iowa, on December 26, 1934. This bird, noted along Wal-
nut Creek in west Des Moines, had bright red shafts to the primaries, secondaries,
and rectrices, and these were conspicuous in flight. This specimen, now in the
writer’s collection, is believed to be the third Iowa specimen now preserved.

When the Revised List of the Birds of loiva was published in 1933, the writer
knew of no existing Iowa specimens. Recently Mr. Frank C. Pellett of Hamilton,
Illinois, wrote that the specimen of Red-shafted Flicker secured by him at Atlantic,
Cass County, September 25, 1896, was still in bis private collection at Atlantic.
Mr. James R. Harlan of Des Moines, secured an adult male iii Van Buren County,
October 22, 1933. It is of interest to note that exactly six years before. Miss
Olivia McCabe observed two Red-sbafted Flickers at Des Moines at the time of
the 1928 Christmas Census. — Philip A. DuMont, Des Moines, Iowa.

A Cowbird Removes a Robin’s Egg. — While seated at the dinner table,
at about 5:30 p. m. on May 3, 1934, I saw a female Eastern Cowbird ( Molothrus
ater ater) skulking throiigb the foliage of the low evergreens around the founda-
tion of the house. She quickly passed beyond tbe limits of my vision, but a
friend, also seated at the table, observed that the Cowbird alighted in a pyra-
miflal arborvitae and preceded to a Robin’s nest that contained four eggs whicb
bar! been under incubation for several flays. The bird was seen to seize one of
ibe eggs and to fly to tbe gi’ound, holding it in her mandibles. Tbe sudden ap-
pearance of a dog caused the Cowbird to fly away, leaving tbe egg laying on tbe
ground only a few yards from the window. On examining the egg we found that
it had been punctured in three places. Apiiarently the egg had been carried with
the mandibles separated consiflerably and diiven deeply into the shell. The
Robin’s nest was not further molested by tbe Cowbird and the remaining eggs
hatched in due course of time. — Benedict J. Blincoe, Route 13, Dayton, Ohio.

Apparent Scarcity of Certain North Dakota Birds. — During the first
week of June, 1934, 1 made a hurried trip to North Dakota, going directly to

Bowman County on the Montana boundary and then working east through the

butte country to Bi.smarck, later making a quick trij) to Cando and up the Red

River Valley on the way home. The scarcity of the big hawks was of interest

anfl corroboratefl the conclusions of Mr. Norman A. Woorl following his work in
the state, in 1920 and 1921, when he found such a dearth of these birds. One

General Notes

159

Prairie Falcon was seen near Flasher, and a lone Swainson’s Hawk was noticed
near Buffalo Springs, to snin np the birds actually seen. The Marsh Hawk is
holding its own and many birds of this species were seen in all parts of the state.
The Upland Plover was gone from the regions visited, and one lone pair was
found at Buffalo Springs Lake in Bowman County. In many suitable places the
writer found scattered pairs ol Western Willets and Marbled Godwits, but the
Upland Plovers were not to be found. Possibly tbe birds are being killed off in
tbeir winter home, as 1 doubt if many are killed in the summer or during
migrations. — Wm. Youngworth, Sioux City, loiva.

“The House Wren. — The mischievousness of the House Wren {Troglodytes
(ledon Verill) is well known. The following incident came under my observation
a short time since. A pair of Martins had taken possession of a box that I had
erected in the garden for their benefit; had built their nest, laid their eggs, and
had commenced setting, when a pair of house wrens, who coveted their neighbor’s
house, entered it in the absence of the Martins, and coolly picked up their eggs
one by one, carried them out, and dropped them to the gi'ound below. While
engaged in this impudent business, the Martins returned, and while going in at
one of the entrances of the box, tbe daring marauders darted out at the other,
anri alighting on a tree near by chattered noisily, apparently in great glee. The
Martins, finding that tlieir nest had been despoiled, abandoned the box, which was
then duly taken possession of by the wrens, who reared two broods of young hope-
fnls during the summer, the first about the beginning of .lune, tbe second tbe lat-
ter part of July. — M. S. Hill, East Liverpool, 0.” (In the American Naturalist,
Volume HI, March, 1870, page 49).

Winter-killing of Mourning Doves in Central Iowa. — Creek bottomlands
grown up to wild hemp (Cannabis) are especially favored by late migrating or
wintering Mourning Doves (Zenaidara macroura) in tbe vicinity of Ames, Iowa.
By late Novendier of 1934, there seemed to be something less than a dozen Mourn-
ing Doves (I should judge hetween eight and ten) wintering about the heniji
growths along approximately four miles of Squaw Creek, from the College north-
westwarrl. Most of the.se were concentrated in a tract of about fifteen acres of
l)ottomlands, characterized by dense hemp patches and scattered large trees. Jo
appearances, the food supply was immediately aderpiate, and the doves were not
suffering any conspicuous mortality. Tlien a heavy snow fell from November 29
to December 3 ami persisted for the next few weeks. As a consequence most of
the hemp seeds were made unavailable to the doves with the exception of the
small quantities still retained on the plants.

The favorite habitat of tbe Mourning Doves was the regular feeding ground
of a covey of sixteen Bob-white Quail iColiniis tdrgimanus virginianiis) and was
visited irregularly by a covey the wintering territory of which was adjacent to the
south. With the advent of the Decend>er snow, the Bob-whites to the south
turned for food to a cornfield in their territory, and thus averted a crisis. The
resident covey lost half of its number, largely from starvation, by January 7, and
starved out entirely fluring tbe winter.

From December 8 to 11, five Mourning Doves were found dead, including
three so thoroughly cleaned up by scavengers that only feathers remained. Two
carcasses were intact, however, and were carefully examined. Of these latter, one
weighed seventy-nine grams and the other eighty-seven grams, or probably between
sixty and seventy-five per cent of their full weights. Neither showed extreme

160

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

emaciation, but their lireast contours indicated an exhaustion of reserve. The
stomachs of both were empty, save for a small amount of gravel and hemp seed
debris. There were no recognizable injuries.

The snow revealed plainly how the birds picked up intact had met death.
The heavier had died quietly in the night at the base of a tree on the exact spot
upon which it had alighted. The other was found in early afternoon, no more
than a few hours after death. It had terminated its last llight with a twenty-inch
slide on the snow. On December 11, one weakly Hying dove was flushed in late
afternoon from its probable nigbt roost under the roots ot a tree overhanging
the creek. Feathers were found January 7 at about the place where this bird
was last seen.

So far as 1 have been able to determine, the only Mourning Dove to survive
in this general area of about five square miles was one seen on January 21 near
a farm yard, where it doubtless had access to grain. — Paul L. Errington, loira
State College, Ames, Iowa.

Some Bird Notes from Utah. — During the past several years, while col-
lecting birds in the vicinity of Provo, Utah, the following three rather interesting
bird records have been made by the writer. Assistance in identifications w'as
kindly given by Dr. Clarence Cottam, Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington,
D. C., and Mr. C. Lynn Hayward, Bringham Young University, Provo, Utah.

On September 30, 1932, in a Hooded meadow just south of Provo, two speci-
mens of the Eastern Dowitcher ( Linmodromus griseus griseiis) were taken. Both
were females in the winter plumage. They are Nos. 831 and 832, Brigham Young
University collection.

On February 22, 1934, at the mouth of Provo River ou Utah Lake, a large
white gull was seen feeding with a mixed flock of Ring-billed and California
Gulls. An attempt was made to collect the stranger, but he proved to be too
wary. On February 28 he was joined by a second bird of the same species. The
two seemed to have little, if any, affinity for each other, but were seen a number
of times in the same Hocks of other gulls. After a number of attempts, one of
the birds was finally collected with a small-calibre rifle, on March 14, 1934. It
was fletermined as a Glaucous Gull {Laras hyperhoreus) , a male in typical second-
year ])lumage. On subsequent visits to the lake the remaining bird was seen
until April 15.

On the evening of February 22, 1934, three strange finches were seen going
to roost on the top of some piles a few rods out in the water on the east shore
of Utah Lake, near the mouth of Provo River. Since boots were not available,
no attempt was made to collect them that evening. However, three nights later
the birds returned to the same roost, the male and one of the females coming to
rest on the same pile. A shot .sent the female tumbling into the water, but the
male, though apparently wounded, e.scajied with the other female into the dusk.
Examination revealed the bird to be an Eastern Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax
nivalis nivalis). This skin, together with that of the Glaucous Gull, remains in the
writer's collection. — 1). Ei,mp:r Johnson, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.

A Blue-winged Warbler Record for Decatur County, Indiana. — On June
12, 1934, while searching for a bird's nest that a neighbor had told me about, I
had the pleasure of placing bands upon three immature Blue-winged Warblers
{Vcrnnvora piniis). From the description of the nest for which I was searching
that had been given me, I believed it to be that of the Grasshopper Sparrow.

General Notes

161

These birds are not uncommon here, I)ut tlieir nests are not easily found, and as
I had been unable to hand many of these birds 1 was especially desirous of locat-
ing the nest which, dating from the time when T had first heard of it, should have
contained young. Previously f had given up after a very short .search on account
of rain. This time, however, with a companion I searched carefully among the
briers, grasses ami send) sassafras that covered the slopes of an old field above
a tangled, thicket-clatl ravine. We foumi nothing except a deserted Field Spar-
row’s nest containing four damaged eggs, but while at work my attention was
attracted by the alarmed Grasshopper Sparrow-like notes of a pair of birds down
in the thicket. This continued, and finally f decided to investigate. Carefully,
on hands and knees, I made my way beneath the tangled maze of green briers,
wild rose bushes and shrul)s, until I reached the center of the hollow where the
wild growth was less dense. Here T was almost immediately rewarded by seeing
the object of my quest. T knew the bird, a Blue-winged Warbler, at once, having
seen them during migration, hut I had never seen them in breeding season, so
did not believe that they nested here. This bird, however, was attending young,
for she carried food. I called my companion and we began looking over the
ravine for the nest. The two birds (the first one’s mate having appeared, also
with food) scolded incessantly. At times, especially when we neared a certain
spot, they showed unusual agitation, and we redoubled our efforts, believing our-
selves to l)e very near the nest. Rut the ])uzzle, we learned after a hit, was that
they also acted in this manner when we approached an entirely diffei'ent part of
the ravine. Why? The search, unrewarded, had continued very nearly two hours
when I solved the enigma. T was resting, sitting 07i a half decayed stump within
a few yards of one of the “certain spots”, and 1 chanced to be looking in tha'
direction when the negligible movement of the little fellow caught my eye. There
he sat, a half-grown Blue-winged Warbler, on a dea<l green brier. Perhaps he
was several rods away from the nest he had once used, which would account for
the fact that we had not even been able to find the deserted nest. With help
I experienced little difficulty in capturing him, also another that I di.scovered
shortly after, near the second place that the adults had guarded closely. We
found no more in the thicket, hut the actions of one of the parent birds led us
to examine an isolated clump of scrub sassafras east of the ravine, and here my
companion found the third, and last, young warbler. We handed the three and
released them, greatly to the joy of the adults.

I have known these birds since 1923, and while they are said to he native in
this region, this is the first time that I have seen them, except during migrating
periods. To learn that they nest here is a distinct pleasure, and raises the hojie
that they may continue to increase until they become as common as one authority
claims them to he. — Grant Henderson, Route 6, Greenshurg, Ind.

Observations on Some Breeding Birds of Mount Timpanogos, Utah.

During a part of the month of .Tune, 1934, while making a survey of the animal
life of Mount Timpanogos, north of Provo, Utah, we liafl an opportunity to ob-
serve some of the breeding birds, particularly of the aspen covered areas at an
elevation of 7,000 to 8,000 feet. Mount Tinqianogos is one of the highest peaks
in the Wasatch Range, and its lower slopes, covered with dense groves of aspen
iPopulus trernuloides) , seem to he a favorite breeding grounrl for a rather dense
population of birds.

162

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

A particular aspen tree noted l)y ns seemed to be a highly valued nesting
site. The tree was about twelve inches in diameter, partially dead, and perforated
with many holes. On June 12 we noted in this single tree three nests of the
Western House Wren {Troglodytes aedon parkmani) , a pair of Violet-green Swal-
lows {Tachycineta thalassina lepida) building the nest, two nests of the Red-
naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius niichalis) cojitaining young birds, and a nest
of the Batchelder Woodpecker (Dryobales puhescens leuciinis) . There were, then,
at least six nests in this one tree at the same time. The hu.sy atmosphere in the
vicinity of this particular tree, produced by the cries of the young birds, the feed-
ing activities of the parents, and the nest building process, were typical of this
whole area.

An interesting breeder of these aspen groves is the Western Tanager {Piranga
fudoviciana) . Four of their nests were found with only a little search and I
regard this species as one of the most common breeding forms in the aspen
habitat. On June 12, when the nests were noted, one of them contained five
fresh eggs and the remainder from one to four. The nests were usually built
on a projecting branch of a small tree about ten or twelve feet from the ground.
They were open affairs composed almost entirely of fine dry twigs woven together
in such a way as to make a firm structure and yet one so open that the eggs
could faintly be discerned by looking up through the nest from beneath. While
we were investigating the iiests the tanagers remained in the close vicinity, utter-
ing throaty chirps. When I first heard the full tanager song I mistook it for a
Robin’s, so nearly did it resemble that bird’s song in general form. Rut the tone
in the case of the tanager is much more mellow and has a finer quality, which to
my mind is surpassed by few of the mountain singers.

Another species which 1 am confident breeds on Mount Timpanogos is the
Purple Martin (Progne subis subis) . This bird is of interest in that region be-
cain=e to my knowledge it is the only place in the state where the species has been
found. Each summer considerable mind)ers of these birds may he seen at any
time feeding over a small pond known as Salamander Lake. The exact nesting
locality on the mountain has to my knowledge not yet been discovered. — C. Lynn
HAYWArm, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.

Prairie Falcon Records from Northwestern Iowa. — The seeming lack of
definite records of the Prairie Falcon (Falco niexicanus) within recent years in
Iowa seems ample justification for the publishing of these occurrences in 1934
and 1935.

An extremely large individual, undoubtedly a female, was seen by Mr. Logan
,J. Bennett and the writer near Union Slough, northeast of Burt, Kossuth County,
January 11, 1934. The color and moustache marks were noted as the bird perched
on a fence post. Mr. Bennett noted another Prairie Falcon the next week (Janu-
ary. 1934) north of Akron, Plymouth County. A bird of this spcies was noted
in Kossuth County by Dr. Paul L. Errington on January 26, 1934. A Prairie
Falcon was seen to wonderful advantage by the writer on February 22, 1934. It
was watched as it darted over Whitford Slough, three miles west of Ruthven,
Clay County. On January 6, 1935, Mr. James Stevenson and the writer noted two
Prairie Falcons. The first, undoubtedly a male, was seen six miles southeast of
Webb in Clay Ciounty. As it dashed low over a cornfield a large flock of Lapland
Longspurs was alarmed ami (lew up in great confusion. The second bird was
seen sitting in a cottonwood tree in a farmer’s backyard four miles northeast of

General Notes

163

Dickens, Clay County. This specimen, collected by the writer, proved to be a
female. The stomach contained the legs, feet, and feathers of a Lapland Long-
spur. There are at least three other preserved Iowa specimens of the Prairie
Falcon. — Philip A. DuMont, Des Moines, loiva.

The Golden Plover in Indiana. — On May 6, 1934, while driving about
twelve miles southeast of this city, we came acros sa flock of over forty American
Golden Plovers (Pluvialis dorninica dominica) which brought a thrill to me as it
did on May 4, 1929, when we encountered a flock of about fifty of these birds
twenty-six miles north of here. These are the only ones I ever saw. The birds
seen May 6, 1934, were in a clay plowed field, where their gold and black mottled
backs blended in with the newly plowed soil, when they were at rest. I had
stopped to look for birds along a small stream which llowed through the field,
when the plovers were startled and rose in a body, flying in close formation,
swinging high and then low, jiiping their pleasing notes as they went. They
circled and came back, then were away again, doing this for three times, when
they alighted again in a hollow. We stayed on to get a better view of them, for
at first we could not tell whether they were the Golden or the Black-bellier?
species. After they settled in the hollow and did not move about, depending upon
their color to protect them, I crept through the fence and went as close as they
would allow, to get a better view. They sat still for some time, then as I ap-
proached stood at attention, seeming to depend upon one leader to tell them
when it was time to go. I had a fine look at them in their beautiful spring
plumage of jet black below and mottled gold and black above, with a white
“question mark” on either side of the head running down the sides. The face
was black, as was the throat joining the black underparts. But a few of the
birds were not so marked. The backs were as the others, but they had no black
about the face, neck or breast, although the belly was blackish, which made me
think they were not yet in full breeding plumage. Tbe markings about the face
were gray and white instead of black and white as in the most of them. I noticed
as the birds waited in the field a few would venture about slyly and seemingly not
intending to attract attention. As they sat on the ground they faced me and I
could hardly get a good view of their backs. Some of the birds bobbed their
heads occasionally as 1 watched them. I approached to within 100 or 150 feet
before they suddenly arose and disappeared over the brow of the hill. The plovers
were near a little traveled side road. — Mrs. Horace P. Cook, Anderson, Ind.

Notes on Some Winter Birds of Southwestern Ohio. — Following are the
records of the winter occurrences of fifteen species of birds in southwestern Ohio
that seem worthy of publication. These have been obtained by field work done
in the Cincinnati region during the last five years. Several of the records have
appeared before {Proceedings of the Junior Society of Natural Sciences, Cincin-
nati, Ohio, 1930-32), in part, but for completeness it is deemed desirable to list
all of them below:

Old Squaw (Clangula hyemalis) . Mr. Cleveland P. Grant showed me a single
female bird feeding just above tbe mouth of the Big Miami River in Hamilton
County, Ohio, on Decendrer 31, 1933. 1 collected the duck, with his aid, and have
deposited it in the Ohio State Museum. This is the only Old Sqnaw record that
1 know of for Hamilton County.

Killdeer (Oxyechus vociferus) . Most Killdeers depart from southwestern
Ohio by December 15 and do not return until late February. However, tbe species

164

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

was present in Hamilton or Clermont Counties every month of 1932 and in every
month of later years except January.

Saw-whet Owl {Cryptoglaitx acadica) . At least fifteen of these birds were
observed during the winter of 1932-33 in Union Township of Clermont County.
The first was a dead bird found accidentally on December 14, 1932, by kicking
it from a snow-drift where it had fallen. One or more of the owls were seen
each week-end until February 7, 1933, by W. Goodpaster, C. P. Grant, R. Ph
Drury, W. Gessing, and tbe writer. Allowing for duplications and the birds col-
lected by Mr. Goodpaster and myself for the Ohio State Museum and the Cin-
cinnati Society of Natural History, at least fifteen different individuals were seen.
Tlie birds, with a single exception, were perched in small red cedars. The owls
were all quite tame, permitting one to approach to within five or six feet. One
individual found asleep in a dense tangle of wild grape vines, was captured and
held captive for four months, being fed on dead specimens of small birds, small
mammals, amphibia, and insects. The vertebrate food ranged in size from swamp
tree frogs ( Pseudacris triseriata) to adult chip-munks {Taniias striatus fisheri).
The pellets cast up averaged about two for each item of food consumed. The
wings and feet, and occasionally the heads of birds, were not eaten. Though it
devoured insects, amphibia, and seven species of mammals, such birds as Cow-
birds, Redwings, and Starlings were untouched. It did, however, relish all other
birds offered, especially the sparrows.

Prairie Marsh Wren (Telwalodytes pahistris dissaeptiis) .

Brown Thrasher (Toxosloma rufiim). Both of these species were noted
November 15, 1930, at a gravel pit near Newton, Hamilton County, Ohio. Two
of the Prairie Marsh Wrens were in a small cattail marsh while a single Brown
Thrasher haunted a heavy growth of willows. In both cases the birds were dis-
covered by “squeaking”. This date is a full month later than other county
records for either species.

Eastern Hermit Thrush ( Hylocichia giitluta faxoni) . I have but a single
winter record for tbe region, a female collected December 26, 1932, in Union
Townshij), Clermont County, for the Cincinnati Society of Natural History col-
lection. This bird winters regularly farther east in the hill counties of the state.

Myrtle Warbler (Dendrolca coronala) . About a dozen of these birds passed
the winter of 1931-32 in a small grove of red cedars one-half mile west of Gleneste,
Clermont County. The followitig winter only five individuals were located, and,
despite intensive search, not a single bird was seen during tbe past two winters.

Western Palm Warbler (Dendroica p. p(dmariim). On December 26, 1933,
Mr. W oodrow Goodpaster picked up an exhausted warbler from tbe Japanese
barberry bushes growing before tbe Gleneste Garage at Cleneste, Clermont County.
Tbe bird died the following day, and, having been brought to me, was made into
a skin for the Ohio .State Museum. Mr. Charles F. Walker and Mr. Edward S.
Th omas of that institution idenlifiefl the bird (skin No. 6628) as a Western
Palm Warbler. This, T believe, constitutes the first winter ?-ecord of the species
for Ohio confirmed by a specimen, though there are two published sight records
(Ohio State Museum Science Bulletin, 1, No. 1, ]i. 27, 1928). The 1931 edition
of the A. 0. U. Check-List includes Ohio in the winter range of the Yellow Palm
Warbler (Dendroica p. hypochrysea) but does not record the western form as
wintering in the state.

Common Rerlpoll (Acanlhis I. Unaria). A single individual was found feed-
ing on weefl tops with a company of Eastern Goldfinches (Spinas t. trislis) at a

Genera! Notes

165

gravel pit near Newton, Hamilton County, on February 14, 1931.

Eastern Field Sparrow {Spizella p. pusilla). Winters rarely. A female bird
was collected December 5, 1931, in Union Township of Clermont County and
another of the species was observed December 18, 1933, in Avondale of Cincinnati.

Eastern Vesper Sparrow iPooecetes g. graniineiis) .

White-crowned Sparrow (Zonolrichia 1. leucuphrys) .
hite-throated Sparrow {Zojiotrichiu albicollis) .

Eastern Fox Sparrow (Passerella i. iliucu) . All four of these sparrows were
to Ije found in numljers during tlie exceptionally mild winter of 1931-32 in Ham-
iiton, Warren, and Clermont Counties. The following winter the sparrows were
far fewer in numbers and the Vesj)er Sparrows were absent, though the observa-
tions included only Clermont and Hamilton Counties. During both winters notes
for Union Township ol Clermont County indicated an approximate ratio of one
White-crowned Sparrow and two White-throated Sparrows for each Fox Sparrow
seen. None of the four sparrows were detected during the winters of 1933-34
and 1934-35.

Eastern Snow Bunting {Plectrophenax nivalis). On March 26, 1930, twelve
of these birds were oljserved feeding about a small bare spot of a weedy hillside
in Avondale of Cincinnati. The birds were very tame and permitted me to ap-
proach to within thirty feet before taking flight. — Karl H. Maslowski, Cincinnati,
Ohio.

The Present Status of the Olive-sided Flycatcher as a Breeding Bird
in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. — Any studies dealing
with the distribution of bird life in more or less limited areas reveal changes
that are as puzzling as, a))parently, they are inevilaljle. Even relatively common
species disappear without any oltvious reason, while on the other hand new species
will appear and gradually hecome a characteristic feature of the indigenous
fauna. In the case of the Olive-sided Flycatcher {Nullallornis niesoleucns) a
species is represented that at one time occurred during the summer months in
the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee wherever condi-
tions were favorable, but now is extremely scarce and rarely observed in this
region. It is possible that it was never common at this extreme southern limit

of its breeding range, but until recent years it was frequently noted l)y Held

ornithologists, and recorded at such widely separated spots in western North
Carolina as Highlands and Roan Mountain. During a period ol almost Hve years
of intensive Held work in these mountains, fiom January, 1930, through September,
1934, this species was looked for on every j)ossible occasion, but seemingly it had
disappeared from its former haunts, and at oidy one spot was one pair of these
birds found. On July 10, 1932, while in the Great Smoky Mountains, the loud
vigorous notes of one of these birds were heard, and a short search soon revealed
it perched in the very toj) of a tall dead spruce at the edge of a clearing near
the top of a ridge. This was within a quarter of a mile ol Newlound Cra]), on
the Tennessee side of the line, and at an altitude of approximately 5,000 feet.
Lack of time prevented any serious effort to find the nest, but jurlging from the

action of the Itird there could be little cpiestion but that it was breeding here,

a fact veriHed the following year when a pair ol these birds was found at this
same spot in late June. .So conspicuous a sjiecies as this one cannot easily be
overlooked, so it is doubtful if many of these birds now occur in this region
during the summer months, and their ultimate late should be watched with
interest. — Thomas D. Buki.eigh, Bureau oj Biological Surrey, irashinglon, I). C.

166

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE

The Role of Environment in the Life of Birds. By S. Charles Kendeigh.

Reprinted from Ecological Monographs, Vol. 4, pp. 299-417, July, 1934.

The revolt against purely observational ornithology is taking two forms.

In one the investigator makes deductions from field observations and then
seeks to check and analyze his deductions by controlled experiments. Stoddard
and Errington are examples.

In the other the investigator conducts controlled experiments and then seeks
to interpret the results in terms of facts observed in the field. Rowan’s “Bird
Migration” and Kendeigh’s present paper both exemplify this approach.

The title is broader than the actual matter. “Temperature Relations of the
Eastern House Wren” would he accurate, hut too limited, for Kendeigh treats not
only of direct temperature responses, hut also the interactions between tempera-
ture and other factors, and in discussing his data he covers not only wrens, but
draws many analogies from the whole ornithological field.

Our author begins with the standard ecological ritual of assigning the
Eastern Wren to the Acer-F agus association. However, it “is not confined to nor
characteristic of the climax community itself, but occurs throughout the serai
stages wherever there are suitable nesting sites'’ (italics mine). In other words,
the wren is associated neither with Acer nor with Fagus, hut rather with the pre-
ceding stages of the plant succession common to all forest soils. Even then the
association depends on nesting holes. Such walking around the block to get next
door is, I realize, common practice among ecologists, hut hardly necessary for
one who has plenty of substantial matter to report. To my mind it adds only
length to an otherwise excellent paper.

Kendeigh presents wren census data collected since 1926 on the grounds of
the Baldwin Bird Research Laboratory in Ohio. In these data he detects a
fluctuation in breeding density and an inverse relation between density and re-
production. Errington’s finding of an inverse relation between Bob-white density
and winter survival of breeding stock would seem pertinent here, hut is not cited.
King, I am told, is about to publish on an inverse relation between density and
egg clutch in Ruffed Grouse. This confluence of three separate investigations is
noteworthy. It may herald an impending discovery of major importance.

To make this experimental study of temperature, Kendeigh had to sacrifice
the lives of many birds, hence he used trapped English Sparrows instead of wrens.
The survival time of confined unfed sparrows was measured, at various tempera-
tures, for various conditions of body weight, water ingestion, age, sex, humidity,
wind, light, season, and plumage. Similar measurements on a smaller number of
wrens showed survival phenomena resembling those of sparrows, hut controlled
by a different and higher range of temperature toleration. This leads the author
to the conjecture that migratory s]iecies have a faster metabolism than non-
migratory, hut lack certain endocrine adjustments which enable the non-migratory
species to withstand more cold on less food. The long cold nights of winter and
the hot humid noons of summer are conceived to he critical times for all birds.
The long foodless night is liable to depress the body temperature below its lethal
lower limit. Undue activity at noon is liable to raise the body temperature above
its lethal u|)per limit. These are sample parts of a “tem])erature hypothesis”
which can not, for lack of s|)ace, he here set forth in full.

Ornithological Literature

167

The field of bird behavior is next reviewed and interpreted in the light of
this hypothesis. Roosting, nesting, feeding, and migration phenomena check well
enough. Distribution ot wrens is interpreted in terms of “climographs” which
seem somewhat less convincing. Incidentally, a new formula is offered for con-
verting standard weather bureau records into temperatures affecting roosts.

New data on certain sparrows are presented in support of the theory that
heavy individuals migrate north earliest. The winter survival and reproduction
of wrens is analyzed in relation to the night temperatures on their winter and
breeding ranges respectively.

There follows a review and discussion of solar radiation as a factor in mi-
gration, distribution, and abundance. Some suggestive but not conclusive cor-
relations with sunshine are derived. A correlation with the six-year sunspot cycle
seems visible in the survival and reproduction curves, but is not mentioned by
tbe author.

A less thorough review and discussion of food, precipitation, wind, “biotic
interactions”, and physiography closes the paper.

Viewed in broad perspective, Kendeigh’s monograph may be regarded as one
of the rungs of a new ladder by which ornithology is climbing out of a blind
alley. In the 1920’s life history clindted to a higher level when interpreted by
ecological studies. In the 1930’s ecology seems destined to take on new meaning
when interpreted in the light of physiological research. Kendeigh has ably
pioneered the beginnings of this second ascent. — Aldo Leopold.

The Influence of Climatic and Weathek Factoks Upon the Numbers of

Birds on a Depositing Creek Bank. By Jesse M. Shaver. Ecological Mono-
graphs, Vol. 3, No. 4, Oct., 1933, pp. 535-597, 25 figs., 19 tables.

The object of this study, as stated by the author, was “to investigate the
local motility or change of habitat of birds as the weather changed” (p. 537).
The habitat selected for study was a depositing creek bank having a strip of
vegetation approximately thirty-six feet in width. Unfortunately, neither the
length nor the area of the strip was given so that it is impossible to estimate the
adequacy of the sample plot or to compute the number of individuals per unit
area. The composition and character of the vegetation was, however, descrilied
in the desirable detail. There is a discussion and review of literature dealing
with methods of taking bird censuses and with effects ou birds of various climatic
factors. The author rejects the method of counting singing males only, since
censuses were taken at all seasons of the year (weekly Irom September 5, 1922,
to October 1, 1923, and monthly from November, 1925, to January 1 ,1926), and
counts all species and individuals observed. The author might have mentioneil
two important ])apers concerned with methods of taking censuses (Schiermaun,
Jour. f. Ornith., LXXVIll, 1930, 137-lBO; Palmgreu, Acta Zoo. Fennica, 7, 1930,
1-218). These two papers came too late to have iidluenced the actual census
taking but would have aided in the interpretation of the data already obtained.

A total of eighty-eigbt species were recorded, making an average of 10.51
species and 25.87 individuals per trij). For analysis, both gra[>hical and statistical
methods were employed, and the species were separated into permanent residents,
summer residents, winter visitors, migrants, and total individuals. The year was
divided into two jieriods lor sejuirate study, an autumn and winter jieriod (Sep-
tember 21-March 21 ) and a s[)ring and summei pei iod (Maich 21-Sejitembei 21).

168

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

For determining effect of climate on general trends in alnindance, statistically
smoothed curves of each climatic factor for the hours (or days) of ohservation
were compared with smoothed curves oi number of individuals. In this way it
was found that, in general, the climatic factors ranked in the following order of
importance: temperature, sunshine duration, relative humidity, wind velocity,
atmospheric pressure, and precipitation, although the order of importance of
these factors varied between the two periods of the year and from one group of
birds to another. For determining the effect of weather (as contrasted with
climate) on the actual abundance of birds, the deviation of each weather factor
on each day from its smoothed curve was compared with the deviation in number
of birds from its smoothed curve. For the most part these correlations were very
low and of lesser signiHcance, the highest correlations being found between the
number of summer resident birds and sunshine duration, relative humidity, at-
mospheric pressure, wind velocity, and temperature.

The reviewer is of the opinion that the reliability of the correlations between
climatic and weather factors and “local motility or change of habitat of birds”
would have been greatly increased, if other behavior responses such as migration
and establishment ol territories had first been eliminated. This could have been
approximated more closely by tlividing the year for analysis into four three-
months periods: the summer months with breeding and territory behavior in
full force, the autumn and spring months with migration in full sway and local
movements difficult to discern, and the winter months when these forms of be-
havior are mostly eliminated. Allowance should have been made also for varia-
tion in food supply in the area and for increases and decreases in number of
birds due to reproduction and mortality. As it is, the results obtained can be
considered suggestive only, but at that, the reviewer believes that Dr. Shaver
has made a courageous pioneer attemj)t at analyzing fluctuations in populations
of non-game species, that his use of the statistical method of analysis is com-
mendable, and that his paper should he a stimulus to all students in avian ecology
for the development of more perfect census methods and the careful and more
com[)lete analysis of the role played by various environmental factors in the life
of birds. — .S. Chakles Kendeigh.

A Guide to Bird Songs. By Aretas A. Saunders. D. Appleton-Century Company,

New York. 1935. Pp. i-xvii+1-285. 163 song diagrams. Pocket size. Price, $2.50.

From his many articles and his handbook on bird song ( ]mhlished in 1929
by the New York State Museum, Albany), Mr. Saunders may now he regarded
as the leading authority in this country on this subject.

Mr. Saunders’ earlier handbook (1929) dealt more with the science and
philosophy of bird song. The present hook is a descriptive guide to the recog-
nition of specific songs. And for this jmrpose the author has developed a rather
extensive scheme of graphic representation. Many different methods of bird song
notation have been suggested. In all of them a “good ear” and some knowledge
of human music seem to lie an asset to the student. But the method so fully
worked out by Mr. Saunders does seem to have the advantage of simplicity. And
anyone who has a special interest in bird song should study this hook. For
general [irinciples and meaning of bird song the student will find nothing more
comiilete than Mr. .Saunders’ earlier booklet.

A very ingenious key to songs, covming twenty pages of text, idenlilies some-
what over a hundred songs of common birds. Mow workable this key may he

Ornithological Literature

169

for l)eginners one can only tell after testing it in the field. But, at least, up to
the present time the novice has had nothing like so compact and promising an
aid in the identification of bird songs. After the probable identity has been
worked out in the key, a citation refers the reader to the more detailed descrip-
tion in the text. The text also includes a description of the field marks and
habitat. Thus the book becomes a real field guide. Comments on distribution
refer chiefly to the eastern part of the country. With this hook in hand we an-
ticipate renewed interest in our field work. — T. C. S.

The H.wks of North America, Their Field Identification and Feeding
Habits. By John Bichard May. Published by the National Association of
Audubon Societies, New York. 1935. Pp. i-xxxii+1-140. Pis. 36. Price, $1.25.

In 1876 Henry G. Vennor published “Our Birds of Prey, or the Eagles,
Hawks, and Owls of Canada”. This work gave little emphasis to the economic
status of the birds, but the existing knowledge of their haliits and distribution
was well summarized. In 1893 Dr. A. K. Fisher published “The Hawks and Owls
of the United States in Their Relation to Agriculture”, as Bulletin No. 3 of the
U. S. Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy. Since that classic no similar
special treatment of the hawks of America has appeared until the one here
reviewed.

Dr. May’s book is timely because for many years the pidilic opinion has been
against the raptorial birds in general, and they have been iierseciited to the point
of decimation — quite so with some species and in some localities. The body of
the book includes tbe treatment of tbirty-nine species of hawks, with various
subspecies. Tbe subject of food and feeding babits is treated fully for most
species. For most sjtecies a paragraph is given to “description”, but less em-
phasis is put on field identification than would have been exjiected. The range is
quoted from the A. 0. U. Check-List, but tbe small maps of distribution con-
stitute the outstanding scientific feature of the book.

Four of the plates are in black and white, by Mr. R. T. Peterson, and show
the field marks of most of the hawks. Thirty-two plates in color are by Major
Allan Brooks, and illustrate most of tbe species. The large plates have made
necessary a large format for which the editor has not found a satisfactory typo-
graphical arrangement. It is not a field guide, but a useful source of information
on these rayitorial birds, and we are sorry that tbe owls were not included. We
have been told that the Audubon Association is offering this book to the public
at a price below cost, and it would seem that tins must be so. — 1. C. S.

American Bird Biografhies, Containing the Complete Life-histories of
Lamiliar Birds, written in Autoriographical Form. By Artbur A. Allen,
Pb. D. Published by the Comstock Pub. Co., Ithaca, N. Y., 1934. Pp. 1-238,
183 figs., 20 pis. Price, $3.50.

This is a beautifully made book. Its mechanical perfection is the first point
to be noted. The abundance of photograpbic reproductions, mostly from the
author’s own negatives, is a feature which adds to the books attractiveness. 1 he
twenty new full-page jdates, half of which are in color, have been made es]iecially
for this work by George Miksch Sutton.

Tbe text presents the life-history stories of twenty common birds. We bad
never read one ol these ineta]iliorical, ornithological, lile-historical, aulol)iogra])hi-

170

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

cal stories so cleverly written by Dr. Allen. So, in order to review this book we
had to read one. We selected the one entitled “Jenny Wren’s Diary”.

Now, having read the story, we have learned a number of things, if we can
believe what a bird says. Jenny Wren says that there are still a lot of boys in
Florida with guns, and they shoot the birds. She also says that her mate threw
the young ones out of the nest after they had hatched, and some other things
that we had already heard as well as some that we hadn’t heard about. For
instance, that she broke the eggs in the Bluebird’s nest in order to destroy com-
petition for food. Now, should we call that an instinctive process or a reasoning
process?

So these twenty stories relate many typical events in the lives of the birds.
It is probably easy reading for many people, but not for us; for it is a constant
mental effort to translate the narrative into reality. But the author’s intensive
knowledge ol bird habits is evident on every page. At the end of the book we
find twenty-hve questions on each of the species treated. Anyone who can an-
swer all of these questions will have a pretty good working knowledge of the
birds. — T. C. S.

N.aturai. History Pictures. Unit Three — Bird Studies. By Gayle Pickwell.

Piddishers Distribution Service, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif. 1935. Price, $6.00.

This work consists of forty-eight very excellent 8x10 halftone plates of birds
and their nests with eggs. These plates are printed on heavy paper, and are in-
tended as teaching aids. The pictures prove that Dr. Pickwell is a field photog-
rapher of unusual skill. A printed text, in book form, accompanies the set of
plates. This text gives much informs^tion of especial value in nature study
teaching. A previous set of pictures dealt with animals in general, and another
one with the life of the desert. We feel slighted because Dr. Pickwell did not
include the Wilson Bulletin among the bird magazines, but it is possible he
may not have known of it at the time of writing. The publication of so large
a series of plates of such size is an expensive undertaking, and we hope that it
will meet with success in order that others may follow. — T. C. S.

Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of New York. Nos. 45-46, for 1933-

1934. Pulilished by tbe Society at the American Museum of Natural History,

New York. Issued in April, 1935. Pp. 1-119. Price, 75 cents.

This journal is probalily not very well known in the Middle West, unfortu-

nately. The reviewer has been surprised to find that its content is chielly orni-
thological. The volume at hand contains several important papers worthy ol
extended notice, but we can scarcely do more than mention the titles. Dr. William
K. Gregory has a paper entitled “Remarks on the Origins of the Ratites and
Penguins”. The question is whether the ratite birds have degenerated from flying
ancestors, as rather generally held, or whether they have descended from birds
which never possessed the jiower of liight, as proposed by Dr. Percy R. Lowe, ol

England. Dr. Gregory reaches the so-called “orthodox” view, on the basis of

skeletal cbaracters, that the ratite birds had flying ancestors. Dr. Ernst Mayr
discus.ses “Bernard Altum and the Territory Theory”. Altum’s work, publi.shed
in 1868, is now given credit for the first reference to the territory idea. The
[iresent [)a[>er is a translation of the portions of Altum’s work which refer to
territory, with a considerable amount of discussion, besides. There are five other
ondthological paj)ers and .several short notes, mostly of a local nature. The pre-

Ornithological Literature

171

ceding volume (Nos. 43-44, for 1931-1933) is likewise wholly ornithological. Of
special interest is a paper on “Morse’s American Bird Lists of 1789 and 1793”,
by L. Nelson Nichols, with interpolations hy Dr. Ernst Mayr. It is a little diffi-
cult to he certain ot the authorship of all bracketed interpolations — as to whether
hy Dr. Mayr or Mr. Nichols. Apparently the 1789 list contained 130 bird names,
while the 1793 list contained 258 with possibly a few duplications. In another
paper Mr. Charles A. Urner discusses the effect of the decrease in eel grass upon
the population of wintering geese and brant. James L. Edwards reports that a
praying mantis caught and held a hummingbird. — T. C. S.

Second Revised List of the Birds of Ohio. By Milton B. Trautman. Issued
by the Bureau of Scientific Research, Division of Conservation. Columbus,
1935. Pp. 3-16. Price, 5 cents.

This is the second condensed list of Ohio birds issued by the same authority
for sportsmen and others. It contains 345 forms, with notes on several others
not admitted to the list. — T. C. S.

The Hungarian Partridge in the Great Lakes Region. By Ralph E. Yeatter.
Bull. No. 5, School of Forestry and Conservation, Univ. Michigan. 1934.
Pp. 1-92.

While this report deals with a game bird, and is presented in the parlance
of game management, it does contain a great amount of interesting ornithological
information. The facts are assembled under these chief headings, life history,
food and feeding habits, experimental liberations, mortality factors, population
fluctuations, management. The student of life history problems can not over-
look this paper. — T. C. S.

Notes on the Birds of the Western Panhandi.e of Oklahoma. By George
Miksch Sutton. Annals Carnegie Museum, XXIV, 1934, tij). 1-50.

The list here mentioned is based upon observations and specimens collected
in 1932 and 1933, and includes 136 forms. The forms are listed under trinomials
where the author feels sufficiently certain. But in a large number of instances
binomials are used, followed by a more or less futile sfieculation as to the sub-
specific probability, either with the skins (e. g.. Bob-white, Great Horned Owl,
Hairy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Grasshopper Sparrow, to mention only a few) ; or,
on the basis of range (e. g.. Solitary Sandpiper, Mockingbird, Nashville Warbler,
etc.). In one or two cases doubt was ex[)ressed by the author as to specific
identity (e. g.. Brewer’s Blackbird). Furthermore, in a considerable number of
cases the author is safely non-committal in subsiiecific determination by using
such words as “apparently”, “presumably”, and “should be”. Other writers, who
are more cock-sure, are probably less correct. — T. C. S.

Bulletin of the Essex County Ornithological Clur of Massachusetts. Salem,
1934. Pp. 1-60. Price, 50 cents (S. G. Emilio, Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass.).
This annual is published this year by the lithoprint process. Quite remark-
able results were obtained in the spacing of the typewritten line. The work seems
to be quite satisfactory and, because of its economy, this method of printing
might be of interest to many other publishing societies. One of the leading
articles is by Mr. Fred H. Kennard, and gives a rather full history of the vicis-
situdes of the Junco group at the hands of the systemists. All science is, ol
course, tentative; and it progresses by the iniblication ol the researches and

172

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

opinions of scientific workers. However, in reading a summary of jiarticular
systematic work, such as Mr. Kennard’s, one wonders whether there is not a
great and unnecessary waste of effort and publication space. — T. C. S.

At Home with the Birds. By Alfred M. Bailey. Illustrations by Earl G. Wright.

Six pages of text. Eight colored plates. Prcie, ten cents.

The two authors, both of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, have produced
an authentic booklet on a few of the most common birds which is to be sold in
the major chain stores. The text deals chiefly with the nests. The eight colored
plates, illustrating as many species, bring to our attention the work of a new bird
artist, and are very pleasing. The booklet is designed, of course, to interest the
children in birds. — T. C. S.

The Audubon ANNO.-tL Bulletin for 1934-1935. Published by the Illinois Audu-
bon Society (Chicago Academy of Sciences, Lincoln Park at Center St.). Pp.

1-80.

Many short articles dealing chiefly with local ornithology are contained, as
usual, in this Annual. Of particular general interest is a paper by Mr. Gault
on “Martins and Martin Houses”. He calls attention to a number of defects in
tbe structure of the average marlin house, and gives diagrams for one that he
considers acceptable. — T. C. S.

Bird Stamps of All Countries. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, 1140 Broadway,

New York. Price, $1.00.

This novelty in ornithological recreation may be of interest to some of our
readers. It is a stamp album with spaces for stamps of all countries which carry
illustrations of birds — all different types of stamps being illustrated. There are
several hundreds of them. The book includes about fifty pages, half of which
are for the stamps, the other half giving descriptions. It is a well bound little
book, suitable for the purpose. — T. C. S.

Mr. E. A. Preble has a splendid biographical sketch of Audubon in the April
number of Nature Magazine. Portraits of Audubon and his devoted and efficient
wife are presented. On a following page in the same magazine an editorial
writer gently takes Mr. J. N. Darling to task for being too outspoken in demanding
protection for wild life, and appeals for patience, tolerance, and cooperation. We
can very well understand Mr. Darling’s disgust (if he has it, and we suspect it)
with protectionists. Eor twenty years or more protectionists have been mildly or
vigorously criticizing the Biological Survey lor too much delay, patience, and
cooperation with the duck shooter.s, the cattle grazing interests, and other de-
stroyers. Now, when a Survey Chief, whose sincerity is beyond question, gets a
little worked up about the waste of time, eternal discussions, jiassing of the
buck, etc., you can depend upon some good lirolher conservationist stepping in to
calm him down and suggest patience. It is a great world.

4'he last December number of the Migrant (V, No. 4) gives a list of nesting
birds for northeastern Tennessee liy Messrs. Lyle and Tyler, and numerous other
short articles and notes. The issue, for Marcli of this year (VI, No. 1) appears in
a very attractive new cover, designed l>y Mr. Ijams, of the T. O. S. Witli tliis
vcdume Mr. A. E. Canier becomes the Editor, 'file leading article is on whisper
songs and is by Mrs. E. C. Laskey. Any contriluition to this subject is worth
w hile. It is a subject wliicli lias liy no means been exhausted. Anyone wlio has

Ornithological Literature

173

made oljservations on night singing and on whisper songs should not hesitate to
offer them for pnhlication.

The Nebraska Bird Review for January (III, No. 1) contains a list of birds,
with migration dates, at Red Cloud, Nebraska, including 172 species. Among the
general notes are reports of an unusually extensive invasion of Magpies into
eastern Nebraska and the continued spread of the Starling. The April number
(III, No. 2) has a paper on the songs of the Western Meadowlark in Nebraska.
And Mrs. Geo. W. Trine presents an article condemning the Bronzed Crackle
as a marauder and destroyer of other birds. A note from Red Cloud reports that
birds were cboked to death by the dust in the air.

Iowa Bird Life for June (IV, No. 2, 1934) gives an account of the Annual
Meeting at Ames. The September issue has a very full review by P. A. DuMont
of the status of the Starling in Iowa. Air. Pierce gives in the Decemebr number
a list of birds found in tbe Backbone State Park (Iowa). The March number
(V, No. 1, 1935) contains an article by Mr. E. D. Nauman relating an early
experience of Iowa farmers with wild geese. Each issue contains many notes
on Iowa bird life.

The th ree state periodicals just mentioned now seem to be firmly established
and the repositories of much valuable information on tbe bird life in their re-
spective states. They are well edited and deserve the support which they are
I'eceiving. Their organizations should encourage the preservation of complete
files in many public institutions.

The Florida Naturalist for January (Vlll, No. 2, 1935) presents a portrait
of Dr. T. G. Pearson, with an account of his work for the Audubon Association.
Mr. S. A. Grimes gives an instructive account of tbe babits of the Hooded War-
bler, with two very good photographs. The April number contains tbe report
of the annual meeting and other business matters.

The Redstart is published by the Brooks Bird Club, of Wheeling, W. Va. The
issue for October (II, No. 1, 1934) has notes on the Bewick’s Wren, the Broad-
winged Hawks, etc. This society is becoming interested in establishing a library.
A good account of tbe W. 0. C. meeting at Pittsburgb is found in the January
number. In the February issue (11, No. 5, 1935) Prof. Maurice Brooks offers
comments on the status of fifteen species as given in the A. 0. U. Check-List.

The Flicker for October, 1934 (VI, No. 3) is devoted mainly to an annotated
list of breeding birds of Minnesota for tbe season of 1934. The list includes 146
species. In the Decend)er issue the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is reported nesting
near .St. Cloud; and an interesting experience is related of watching the drumming
of the grouse by flashlight.

News from the Bird Banders for Novendier, 1934 (IX, No. 4, issued at the
M useum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley, California) gives a discussion of in-
feriorism, based on Dr. Allen’s work on tbe Ruffed Grouse. It is a useful sum-
mary. Numerous local notes complete the nund)er. The April number (X, No. 1)
contains a numerical summary of tbe birds banded in the Western Province dur-
ing 1934. The total is 37,146.

Inland Bird Banding News. In the issue for September, 1934, Mr. W. I.
Lyon again gives tbe narrative of his banding expedition to the islands of the
Great Lakes, this one being his eleventh annual trip. The December number
reports the Annual Meeting, and gives many notes from various states. The

174

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

March issue reports about a dozen instances of banded ducks which were shipped
from Louisiana to both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and later re-trapped at
Avery Island, La. This remarkable case of homing instinct recalls the experi-
ments on Noddy and Sooty Terns by Dr. J. B. Watson nearly thirty years ago. In
the same number Mr. Lyon mentions several cases of Cowhirds released at short
distances from the trapping station, with subsequent return.

The St. Louis Bird Club Bulletin in a recent issue gives a recipe for Starling
pie, with facetious remarks, and includes the statement that the result “compares
fairly well with one made of blackbirds or English Sparrows (‘so would shoe
leather’)”. This may be all right for a Starling pie, but it insinuates about the
sparrow pie. We come to the defense of the latter. The one we ate was more
tender and more delicate in flavor than the best chicken. It was fit for an epicure.
But we can not tell you how it was prepared. Later issues, through May, have
been received.

The Raven is published by the Virginia Society of Ornithology at Lynchburg,
Va., and is issued monthly. Dr. J. J. Murray is the editor. To all outward ap-
pearances this periodical got along nicely during the editor’s absence of a few
months, but no doubt his energy and enthusiasm were missed in the inner circles.

The Chickadee is the publication of tbe Forbush Bird Club, at Worcester,
Mass. The issue at hand is for October and December, 1934 (IV, Nos. 3-4). It
contains a number of local lists and records of the varied activities of the Club.

The Night Heron in a recent number lists seven kinds of bird baths, but not
all birds are known to indulge in all forms of the bath.

The TFNA Annual Bulletin for 1934 consists of thirty-one pages of mimeo-
graphed sheets, published by the Toledo (Ohio) Field Naturalists’ Association.
The plan of this record is to review and summarize the activities of the Society
for the year. Mr. L. D. Hiett has an interesting discussion of photography for
bird study.

Editorial

175

EDITORIAL

There Seems to be a wides[)read agreement that the waterfowl of North
America are in a very precarious condition as to numbers. The reduction in
numbers is prolralily more acute in some species than in others. It seems to be
impossible at the present time to determine to what extent the recent decrease is
due to drouth and how much to over-shooting. The determination of tliese fac-
tors has a very important Irearing on remedial policies. But the fact remains
that one factor is not controllable, while the other one is. Since these two factors
operate in relatively unknown degrees to reduce the duck supply, in order to
accomplish anything towards the prevention of further reduction an attack on the
controllable factor is indicated, namely the closed season.

In advocating a closed season we need not discuss the positive method of in-
creasing the duck supply by restoration of breeding areas, because that is a
wholly different and independent matter. It is more important in the long run,
but it is a slower process, while the closed season is prompt in results. Res-
toration work should be undertaken immediately, and results will come in due
time — if the birds survive in the meantime.

It is possible that the general rains of the 1935 spring may help much to
correct the unfavorable drouth conditions of the last two or three breeding sea-
sons. If this is true to any great extent a closed season may not be so impera-
tive at the present time. Yet the article by Mr. Furniss in this issue of the
Wilson Bulletin indicates that even where there was suitable environment in
1934 it was not inhabited by the normal number of ducks. Of course, in so far
as this is the case it must indicate that over-shooting is a more iiu[)ortant factor
in duck decrease than is lack of proper environment. And if this is true we
will face in each succeeding season a stronger demand for a closed season on
waterfowl.

What are the objections to a closed season? We may dismiss the reluctance
of hunters to give up the sport as lacking in argument, and therefore unsound.
But we aie of the of)inion that the great rank and file of sportsmen are today
convertcfl to the closed season idea. We believe that the greatest obstruction to
the closed season on waterfowl today comes from the professional game protector,
the one who is paiil to save the. ducks. And it is explained in tins way. A
closed season on waterfowl would mean that hunters would not buy licenses for
bunting. This would mean the loss of thousands of dollars of income to the fish
ami game departments of the states. The warden forces would be cut down.
Thus, it is argued, a closed .sea.son would leave the game unprotected, and
poaching would go on unrestrained.

This is a formidable argument, but it leads to the extermination of the birds
by law, the open season. If the season is closed the extermination may possibly
result illegally — the same result in either case. It is possible that the opposition
to the closed season may arise also in the thoughts of the officials because of
possible loss of employment, but we need not dwell upon this aspect of the case
for it is merely an assumption. The fact seems to be that under our present
method of financing the fish and game departments the future of the wild fowl
is a very gloomy one. They seem to be doomed by the open season, and the
closed season does not seem to hold great promise either.

176

The Wilson Bulletin — June, 1935

As a remedy we suggest that fish and game departments should he financed
by legislative appropriation, in the same way that other departments of the state
are financed. The purpose would he to make the wild life protection forces
independent of the variable income from licenses to hunt. It would then he
possible to declare a closed season whenever the emergency demands. And as
time goes on it is likely that the need of a closed season will occur more often
than in the past. Even with the contemplated restoration projects in full swing
there will never he the abundance of wild life that has existed in the past. It
is more than probable that from now on there will he a constant struggle to
maintain even the present status of most species of waterfowl. The closed season
expedient may have to he resorted to at intervals. Would it not he wise to
organize for this possible contingency? And is it not proper for the state to
protect its own property? The case of Geer vs. Connecticut established the
principle of state ownership of wild life. However, the long-established custom
of running the fish and game departments with the income from hunting license
fees will not be changed easily. Like other reforms it will come slowly, and only
with hard and determined effort.

While the states slowly adjust themselves, in various ways, to the emergency
ol waterfowl shortage, about our only hope for their recovery lies in the quick
response of the federal government. If the Biological Survey can secure the
necessary funds for operation, it can declare a closed season on such species as
need it; put federal wardens in the field, and exercise a wholesome restiaint
until the states have had time to adjust themselves to the situation. The immedi-
ate problem is to finance the Biological Survey. We have a good deal of confi-
dence in Mr. Darling’s desire to do this thing.

During Recent Months those in control of the remaining sets of Dawson’s
“The Birds of California” have placed them on the market at greatly reduced
prices. The Student’s Edition (published at $45.00 and finally offered at .$9,50)
was promptly dispn.sed of. The Booklover’s Edition, published at $110, was then
offered at $19.00, and will no flouht he taken up also. We mention these facts
in order to offer a word of commendation to the publishers lor handling their un-
sold remainders in this way. The practice of destroying the remainders is so
selfish and mercenary that it deserves only condemnation from the scientific world.

4'he AnTicr.E in this issue on the birds of Wyoming is published with the aid
of a subsidy.

TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Our members are urged to submit articles for publication in the Bulletin.
Short items are desired for the department of General Notes, as well as longer
articles pertaining to life-history, migration, ecology, behavior, song, economic
ornithology, field equipment, methods, etc. Local faunal lists are desired, but
limited space makes slower publication inevitable. In preparing such lists for
publication in the Bulletin follow our existing style, and use the nomenclature
of the fourth edition of the A. 0. U. Check-List.

The Manuscript. The manuscript, or copy, should be prepared with due
regard for literary style, correct spelling and punctuation. We recommend the
Manual of Style, of the University of Chicago Press, as a guide in the prepara-
tion of manuscripts. Use paper of good quality and of letter size (8^x11).
Avoid the use of thin paper. Write on one side only, and leave wide margins,
using double spacing and a reasonably fresh, black ribbon. The title should be
carefully constructed so as to indicate most clearly the nature of the subject
matter, keeping in mind the requirements of the index. Where the paper deals
with a single species of bird it is advisable to include the scientific name of the
species in the introductory paragraph. If the author will mark at the top of the
first page the number of words in the paper, a little of the Editor’s time will
be saved.

Illustrations. To reproduce well as half-tones photographic prints should
have good contrast with detail. It is best to send prints unmounted and un-
trimmed. The author should always attach to each print an adequate description
or legend.

Bibliography. The scientific value of some contributions is enhanced by an
accompanying list of works cited. Such citations should be complete, giving
author’s name, full title of the paper, both the year and volume of the periodical,
and pages, first and last. In quoting other works care should be taken to carry
over every detail, verbatim et literatim.

Proof. Galley proof will be regularly submitted to authors. Page proofs
will be submitted only on request. Proofs of notes and short articles are not
ordinarily submitted, unless for special reason. All proofs must be returned
promptly. Expensive alterations in the copy after the type has been set must
be charged to the author.

Separates. The club is unable, under present financial conditions, to furnish
reprints to authors gratis. Arrangements will be made, however, for such re-
prints to be obtained at cost. A scale of costs, based on the number of pages, is
given below. If a blank page is left in the folding it may be used as a title page,
which will be set and printed at the rate indicated. If a complete cover with
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Repaying — 26c per page extra. Title Page — $1.26.

OCr 2 1935

Vol.XLVII

SEPTEMBER, 1935

r

No. 3

THE

WILSON BUlilllN

A Magazine of Field Ornithology

Published by the

WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

at

SIOUX CITY, IOWA

1

1

Entered as Second-class Mail Matter, July 18, 1916, at the Postofifice at
Sioux City, Iowa, under Act of March 3, 1879.

CONTENTS

Seasonal Sex Characters in Birds and Their Hormonal
Control By Emil Witschi

Nesting of the Raven in Virginia

By F. M. Jones

Observations on the Violet-Green Swallow

By A. E. Shirling

A Bird Census Method

By W. J. Breckenridge

Value of Field Observation in Economic Ornithology

By W. L. McAtee

Additional Iowa Species of Birds Substantiated by
Specimens By Philip A. DuMont

The Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota, a Sixty Year
Comparison By Wm. Youngw'orth

General Notes
Editorial

177-188

188-191

192-194

195-197

198-204

205-208

209-235

236-241

242

Membership Roll

243-256

THE WILSON BULLETIN

is published quarterly in March, June, September, and December, as the official
organ of the Wilson Ornithological Club, at Sioux City, Iowa, and is sent to all
members not in arrears for dues. The subscription price is $1.50 a year, invari-
ably in advance, in the United States. Single numbers, 50 cents. Outside of the
United States the rate is $1.75. Single numbers, 60 cents. Subscriptions should
be sent to the Editor.

All articles and communications for publication, books and publications for
review, exchanges, and claims for lost or undelivered copies of the magazine,
should be addressed to the Editor.

The current issue of the Wilson Bulletin is printed by the Verstegen Print-
ing Company, Sioux City, Iowa.

THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

Founded December 3, 1888. Named after Alexander Wilson, the first Ameri-
can ornithologist, and called the “Father of American Ornithology”.

The officers for the current year are:

President — Dr. Josselyn Van Tyne, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
First Vice-President — Mr. Alfred M. Bailey, Chicago Academy of Sciences,
Chicago, 111.

Second Vice-President — Mrs. Margaret M. Nice, Columbus, Ohio.

Treasurer — Mr. W. M. Rosene, Ogden, Iowa.

Secretary — Dr. Lawrence E. Hicks, Botany Dept., 0. S. U., Columbus, Ohio.
Editor — T. C. Stephens, Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa.

The membership dues are — sustaining membership, $5.00; active membership,
$2.50; associate membership, $1.50 per year.

THE WILSON BULLETIN

A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF ORNITHOLOGY
Published by the Wilson Ornithological Club

Vol.XLVII SEPTEMBER, 1935 No. 3

Vol. XLIl (New Series) Wliole Niiml)er 172

SEASONAL SEX CHARACTERS IN BIRDS AND THEIR
HORMONAL CONTROL"'

BY EMIL WITSCHI

Considering the widespread interest in ornithological research,
it is surprising, how little information we have concerning the causa-
tive factors controlling the conspicuous seasonal phenomena in bird
life.

In the light of recent work on hormones, the seasonal changes
obtain a renewed interest and I wish to present here, some of the re-
sults of experiments that I have carried out with the assistance of my
students during the last three years.^

The first problem which we face is that of the seasonal develop-
ment of the gonads and the gonoducts. During the sexually inactive
period, the sex glands of most wild birds regress to tiny rudiments,
resembling in every way, the corresponding organs in juvenile speci-
mens. In the testis, at this time, one finds only inactive spermatagonia.

*This is a report on mostly unpulilished results of investigations carried out
with the aid of jirants by the National Research Council, Committee for Research
in Problems of Sex. Symposium Lecture delivered at the meeting of Section b,
American Association for tlie Advancement of Science, Minneapolis, .June 26, 1935.

^Hormones are substances produced in the glands of internal secretion. They
are released into the Idood stream and thus circulate in the whole body. How-
ever, they produce effects only in specially responsive, tuned in oigans. These
hormones can be preparerl by extraction of tlie producing gland nr they may be
recovered from the blond serum. Some are eventually eliminated ftom the body
tbrough the kidneys and are thereloie found in the urine. Thiee giou])s ol
rnones are considered in this |)a[)er. A. H onnones of ihe hypophysis gland which
stimulate development of the gonads (so-called gonadotio]iic hoimones, ma-
turity hormones, or hebin). They are at least of two kinds, as liecomes evident
from the reaction that they produce in the rat ovary. A first type stimulates lolli-
cular growth while the second type produces corpora lutea (luteinizing hormone).
B. Hormones of the gonads (or sex glands). Ihe active, ovaiy leleases the fe-
male sex hormone” or oestrin: tlie active testis releases the male sex hoimone .
d’lu'se sex hormones control the fidl devi'lopmeni of many ol the secondaiy sex
characters. C. The hormone of the thyroid is very important lor maintenance ol
body temperature and gmieral file lunclions. In some \yay it has an induencc
also on feather growth and coloration. The function ol the thyroid is control ed
by the hypophysis (through the thyreotropic hormone). Hormones are highly
potent substances. In most instances fractions ol milligrams bring about the
full reactions.

178

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

in the ovary only small ovocytes. At the approach of the breeding
season, these glands enlarge very rapidly. The testis increases in
weight 500 fold or more, while spermatogenesis proceeds quickly to
the production of millions of ripe spermatozoa. Epididymis, vas
deferens, and seminal glomus, the latter taking the role of true seminal
vesicles, enlarge correspondingly and become filled with seminal fluid.
In a similar way, though starting slightly later, develop the female
genital organs. The ovary in the English Sparrow increases from less
than 10 to 500 and more milligrams. The thin and straight oviduct
becomes convoluted and very copious, due to the enormous develop-
ment of its glandular endothelia.

The same developments can be evoked at any time of the year
by injection of gonadotropic hormones (Figs. 15-18). The following
Table I shows that any of the gonadotropic substances known to us
can activate the quiescent bird gonad, though the reactions do not
show a complete quantitative parallel to those in the rat. Equal

Table I

Effect of Gonadotropic Hormones on the Left Testis and the Ovary

of the English Sparrow.

SoLiRCE OF Hormone

DRU

1. Testis

Ovary

Beef Hyp. F.

1

X 8 C

X 1.5

Beef Hyp. F.

3

X 72 S

X 80

Beef Hyp. F.-fiL.

3-f (3)

X 80 S

X 40 d

Beef Hyp. L.

(3)

X 30 S

X 30 D

Sheep Hyp. L.

(2)

X 20 S

Human P.U.

10

X 2 c

X 1

Human P.U.

20

X 15 C(s)

X 1

Human P.U.

50

X 1.5 D

F. + P.U.

.5+5

X 12 c

F.+P.U.

.5+10

X 18 C

....

Preg. Horse Serum

1

X 15 C(s)

X 2

Preg. Horse Serunr

4

xl20 S

X 4

Preg. Horse Serum

20

xl50 S

X 40 Ov.

Preg. Horse Serunr

40

x 80 S

X 60 D

C, spermatocytes (c, only in small numbers); d, slight degeneration; D, high
degeneration; F, follicle stimulating fraction of hypo]ihyseal extract; L, luteiniz-
ing fraction of hypophyseal extract; C)v., ovulation; P.U., pregnancy urine;
(s), spermatozoa in small numbers; S, spertnalozoa in large numbers; DRU,
daily rat units.

amounts in ral utiits of follicle stinudatitig hormone from beef hypo-
physis and of pregnant horse serum act similarly on the sparrow
testis, but very differently oti the ovary which responds more strongly
to the former. Hebin from human jtregnancy urine brings about eom-
plete s|)ermatogenesis. if excessive amounts are injected. The ovaries

Seasonal Sex Characters in Birds

179

Fig. 15. 1, Urogenital organs of a male sparrow in the quiescent phase,

X.3. Weight of left testis, 0.5 mg., of left glomus, 0.4 mg. 2, Urogenital
organs of a male sparrow in the period of sexual inactivity, after seventeen
daily injections of 0.1 cc. (20 DRU) of pregnant mare serum; right testis
removed to show the enlarged epididymis; x.S. Weight ol left testis, 345
mg., of left seminal glomus, 24 g. Note also the enlarged and convoluted
vasa deferentia.

180

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

react l)ul slightly and mainly hy degenerative processes to the highest
doses of urinary hehin. Purified Inteinizer from lieef and sheep hyjio-
physis stimulates testicular as well as ovarial growth, though the latter
soon ends in degeneration of the large ovocytes. Surnmurizing, we
can say that in the bird, the quiescent gonads react most easily to
hormones which in the rat produce follicle stimulation. Luteinizing
hormones are less potent. However, they induce complete sperma-
togenesis if administered in sufficiently high doses. In the ovaries,
they induce some developments which soon end in degeneration. In
our finches, the most perfect results w'ere obtained, by the injection
of 0.1 cc. of pregnant mare serum. In the males, the testes and semi-
nal ducts become filled with spermatozoa before the end of the second
week (Figs. 16-17), while the females begin to ovulate and to lay nor-
mal eggs with colored shells (Figs. 18, 7). This result was obtained not
only with the English Sparrow but also with African weaver finches
(Quelea quelea) which otherwise never layed in captivity, not even
during the breeding season.

These experiments indicate that the reproductive cycles of the
birds are under bypopbyseal control. It is known that this is true also
for such mammals as the rat and man. The relationship is, however,
a quite different one. In the rat, if the level of sex hormones (pro-
duced by testes and ovaries) falls, tbe hypophysis answers with the
release of increased amounts of gonadotropic hormones; if the level
rises, the hypophyseal output is lowered. In the finches, however,
the hypophysis makes no attempt to keep the gonads and the sex hor-
mones at a constant level. On the contrary, ebb and flood of sex and
gonadotropic hormones are coincident and tbe hypophysis leads the
gonadal development without reacting back on variations in sex hor-
mones. We shall soon give further evidence in support of this state-
ment. However, first let us consider the factors that determine the
seasonal cycles of hypophyseal activity.

Popular opinion credits the rising temperatures in spring with
the role of the first cause in bringing about bird migration, nesting,
and breeding. Of course, tbe common citizen is highly impressed by
tbe fact that in s])ring tbe coal bills become smaller and eventually
fall off entirely. However, we must not forget that tbe migratory birds
have spent the winter in tropical or subtropical countries and in fact
mov(' into cooler ('nvironmcnls, at least durinj? tbe time of actual
migration. Rowan in bis charming lillle book on “Tbe Riddle of
Migration” has conclusively ruled out the temperature factor. On the
other hand, his ex|)criments on the junco show that an artificial in-

Seasonal Sex Characters in Birds

181

Fig. 16. Part of a cross section through testis and epididymis of a spar-
row in the quiescent phase; x40.

Fig. 17. Part of a cross seel ion through testis and epididymis of the ac-
tivated sparrow of Fig. 16; x40. Note the increased diameter of the seminal
tubules, active spermatoeenesis, and discharge of siiermalozoa into the antrum
of the epididymis.

182

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

crease in daylight beginning in November causes a development of
testes and ovaries reaching the breeding size by January 9 instead of
March, as under normal conditions. Miyazaki (1934j reports that
in Japan, it is an old practice of owners of pet birds to induce singing
early in winter by exposing the birds to candle light for three or four
hours daily after sunset. This “Yogai” method is found especially
effective in the White Eye {Zosterops palpebrosa) . Bissonnette,
working with the Starling, and Kirschbaum in experiments on the
English Sparrow, find also that artificial lengthening of the day brings
about a precocious development of the sex glands, especially in the
male, during the winter months. We have ourselves repeated these
experiments with similar effects. However, our observations seem to
indicate, that the gonads respond only toward the approach of the
normal breeding season and not in late summer nor in fall. It ap-
pears that the hypophyseal year cycle of the bird is as deeply rooted
as the oestrus cycle of the human and other mammalian females.
Changes in illumination may help to maintain the synchronism of the
inborn cycle with the seasonal periods. We have observed that pro-
longed “Indian summers” with sunny days extending until late Novem-
ber bring about precocious developments of the testes in free living
English Sparrows of Iowa. Yet the changing day in itself is not suffi-
cient to explain entirely the breeding cycles, as becomes evident in the
case of trans-equatorial migrants, like the Bobolink or the Golden
Plover. Spending the winter south of the equator, they are exposed
also to lengthening days; though their gonads remain quiescent. One
should consider also that spring migration before the 21st of March
takes the bird from longer to shorter days, as in the case of the Mourn-
ing Dove (Cole, 1933). Most interesting in this res])ect are possibly
the tropical birds of which many have also very definite periodical
breeding seasons. Different explanations have been proposed, most
authors (Moreau, Bissonnette) agreeing, that changes in type or quan-
tity of food most probably determine these cycles. This assum])tion,
however, is definitely wrong. I have kept tro])ical African weaver
finches for three years in the animal room at Iowa (iity, under con-
stant food conditions and they have maintained their African cycles
to this day. Oddly enough their breeding season is in the fall. If
light has any infli:ence, then this group of birds reacts to shortening
and not to lengthening of the day. Even juvenile paradise whydahs
which came into their first breeding period only after they had lived
one full year in Iowa (and after having traveled through the shops of
bird dealers in different ])arts of the northern hemisphere) unhesitat-

Seasonal Sex Characters in Birds

183

ingly fell in line with their adult companions, coining in breeding
condition in August-Septeinher of their second year. According to
Delacour and Edmond-Blanc, the l)reeding season of these birds in
Africa is coincident with the rainy season. If light has any regulat-
ing effect, these birds obviously react to decrease rather than to in-
crease of illumination. Experiments to test this question are in
preparation.

It is an interesting fact that the hypophysis of the bird reacts at
least in a limited extent to light, that is, to sensory stimulation. This
case, however, stands not alone. Cole has shown in very convincing
experimental series that the mere sight of the incubating female in-
duces in the male pigeon the changes necessary for crop milk secretion
We must conclude, therefore, that a specific optic perception stimulates,
in this case, the release by the hypophysis of the lactation hormone,
prolactin. Eurthermore, it is a known fact, again borne out by our
own observations, that the sparrow female in the breeding season lays
four or five eggs, and then becomes broody. Her ovaries during the
incubating period regress rapidly through degeneration of the larger
eggs. According to Kiddle, this regression seems to he due also to the
release of prolactin. If, however, one removes daily the egg that the
sparrow deposits, she goes on laying up to fifty eggs in succession,
often twelve to nineteen on directly consecutive days. Whether the
female “counts” by eye or by tactile perceptions of the ventral body
surface, is not clear in this case; though in a similar observation by-
Phillips on continuous egg laying in the flicker, the latter alternative
has the greater probability. Somewhere, obviously there is a bridge
between the nervous system and the hypophysis transmitting stimuli
that direct the release, by the latter, of gonadotropic hormones.

Erom the consideration of gonadal cycles, let us turn to the
secondary sex characters. We mentioned already that concomitant
with the development of the sex glands goes the enlargement of the
gonoducts. The castrate female has an oviduct as thin as that char-
acteristic for the quiescent ])hase. Injections of daily doses of one to
twenty rat units of oestrin liring about a rapid growth. With the maxi-
mum dose, the full breeding size is attained within one week. Simi-
larly in the male, the epididymis and the vas deferens of castrates
react on injections of male sex hormone. In the normal couicc of
events, quite obviously, the hypophysis stimulates the gonads; and
the growing gonads, by release of sex hormones, stimulate secondarily
the gonoducts.

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The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

In many birds, the color of the bill changes during the breeding
season. In the English Sparrow and some other finches, both sexes
have a horn-brown bill during the quiescent phase. During the re-
productive phase, this changes in males to a jet black. Castrates have
permanently lightly colored bills, hut injections of male sex hormone
(extracted from male human urine j in minute quantities bring about
the blackening of the hill in castrates as well as in males and females
of the quiescent phase. On the contrary in the Red-hill Weaver, males
and females have brilliantly red hills during the inactive phase, which
turn to yellow during the breeding season in the female only. These
hills change to yellow in either sex, or in castrates, at any season,
upon the prolonged injection of female sex hormone (from female
human urine). In the love birds, or parokeets, the sexes differ mainly
in the waxy skin over the root of the hills. It is blue in the male and
brown in the female, at least during the breeding season. Castrated
males maintain the blue color which, however, changes to brown after
injection of female sex hormone. Obviously, one of the alternate hill
colors always is neutral, not hormone controlled, and persists in cas-
trates and in both sexes during the quiescent phase. The other color,
appearing during the breeding season only, is conditioned by sex hor-
mones. Surprising is the fact that in some species it is the male
sex hormone, in others, the female sex hormone that brings about the
dimorphic effect.

The greatest puzzle was offered by the plumage. Instead of de-
scribing the zigzag course of our experiments, I shall try to describe
in the most direct way the results that we have in hand now, at the
end of three years of observation and investigation. Matters are rela-
tively sini|)le in the case of the English Sparrow. The ])lnmage in this
species is the sim])le ex])ression of hereditary constitution. Castrated
males and females maintain and repeatedly regenerate their inherited
male or female plumage. Even if injected with hormones of the oppo-
site sex or if implanted with contrary sex glands, they always regen-
erate according to the hereditary ty])e (Keck ’84). Sex hormones
play no ]>art in the determinatio?i of either sex type in plumage.

Things become more interesting in the case of the birds which
put on a s])ecial breeding plumage in one sex. I mention the well
known case of the Indigo Bunting. The female carries a modest brown
habit throughout the year. The male, however, is iridescent blue nearly
all over during the breeding season and brown with just a few traces
of blue, if out of season. The hill of the female is always light
brown, that of the male is brown out of season and daintily black and

Seasonal Sex Characters in Birds

185

Fic. 18. 5. Ovary and oviduct of a female sparrow in the quiescent jihasc: x2. Weight
of ovary. 10 mg. 6. Ovary and oviduct of a female sj)arrow in the period of sexual inactivity,
after sixteen daily injections of two rat units (2DRU) of hyjiOjihyseal extract; x2. Weight of
ovary about 500 mg. 7, Ovary and oviduct of a female s])arrow after seventeen daily injec-
tions of 0.1 cc. (20I)RU) of jMCgnant mare scrum; xl. Weight of ovary, 940 nig. A window
is cut into the uterine part of the oviduct to show the enclosed egg with its normal shell.

Fig. 19. Color phasc-s of the .African weaver niich. Pyromelaiui (Fuplecles) orix francis-
cana. 8. Henny plumage, carried by female.s all year round and by males outside of the
breedinft .season (.lannary-May) : the bill is ivory colored. 9. 10. Molt of the male and as-
snm[)lion of the cock's ])inma}ie ( Ju ne- Anijnst ) at the approach of the breedint; season, the
bill purple, changing to black. 11. Fnlly developed cock’s |ilnmage carried during the breed-
ing sea.son (Angiist-October) ; the bill is black. 12. Castrated male mttside of_ breeding sea-
son which, excej) tiona 1 1 y . carries an intermediate tyjie of jdnmage; the bill is ivory.

186

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

white during the breeding season. Castrated females so far have not
exhibited any changes. Castrated males show a light brown bill
throughout the year, indicating that no sex hormones are produced
any longer. But to our great surprise, castrated males go on changing
from brown to blue plumage and vice versa in the same rhythm as
their normal male cage companions.

African weaver finches show similar phenomena. For experi-
mental purposes they prove more valuable, because they are more
hardy in captivity. At least in the case of the orange weaver, we
know that the male passes through two molts, the female through one
only. Probably the same condition prevails in the whole group of
weaver finches. Both sexes molt at the end of the breeding season
and acquire the modest henny plumage. At the beginning of the breed-
ing season the male sheds this sober garment and dons a flashy nup-
tial plumage of black, and orange-red. The new pattern does not
show any regard for the design of the cast off henny plumage but
runs across feather tracks and natural boundary lines. At the same
time, the bill of the male changes from ivory to black (Fig. 19).
Castrated males permanently assume or maintain the light colored
bill indicating absence of male sex hormone; though they go on
changing, rhythmically, their plumages. It is interesting, however,,
that a few castrated males do not acquire a completely henny plumage
during the inter-season, but a plumage with a mixture of nuptial
and henny characters ( Fig. 19, 12). The cock’s plumage of the breed-
ing season is always perfect. Females as mentioned above, do not
change their modest garb at the beginning of the breeding season.
Female castrates observe the same economy and even plucked feathers
regenerate only rarely. However, the few that do so are of the cock’s
type. They are always shed at the end of the season, when a new
henny ])lumage is ac(|uired.

These observations suggested on the one side that the plumage
type is controlled by hormones; on the other hand it was obvious that
sex hormones are not the ones concerned. Consequently we suspected
that the ])lumage type might be directly controlled by the hypophysis.
We were, however, only recently able to prove our point, when we
injected some of our birds with ])regnant mare serum, containing that
[)Owerful gonadotropic principle. Injected at the daily dosage of
1/10 cc. of serum into normal and castrated male and female weaver
finches out of the breeding sea.son, it induced regeneration of cock’s
(in place of henny) plumage in all hut the normal females. In the
latter the change of the bill color from red to yellow (in red bill

Seasonal Sex Characters in Birds

187

weavers) and the rapid development of the genital organs with sub-
sequent egg laying, clearly indicated the presence of female sex hor-
mone (produced by the enlarging ovariesj. Injection of female sex
ho rmone into males in breeding season has always a feminizing effect
on the plumage. We can conclude, therefore, from our experiments
that: (1) the henny plumage of weaver finches is the neutral (not hor-
mone conditioned) type; it is found, consequently, in both sexes and
in castrates, out of season. (2) The cock’s plumage is due to a high
level in gonadotropic hormones. (3) Female sex hormone counteracts
the “masculinizing” effect of gonadotropic hormone on the plumage.
These investigations show further, (4) that castration in birds stimu-
lates only slightly, if at all, the hypophyseal activity, and (5) that
the hypophyseal seasonal cycles are wholly independent of progres-
sive or regressive changes in the sex glands.

There is just one more point which I wish to bring out. I re-
marked above, that success in our work on the plumage came with
the application of pregnant mare serum. Before that, we had used
other gonadotropic substances, especially extracts from beef hypo-
physis. These gave nearly as good gonadal development in normal
males and females, hut the plumage reaction was of the henny type in
both sexes and also in castrates. The solution of this riddle came
through the examination of the whole endocrine system, which showed
that the extracts brought about an enormous enlargement and an ap-
parent rapid discharge of the thyroids. The thyroid hormones, how-
ever, have a very decided “feminizing” effect on the bird plumage.
This has been suggested already by earlier work of Cole and others
on the chick, and is brought out again by extensive studies by one of
my students on the plumage of the sparrow (Miller ’35). It is es-
pecially interesting that in the sparrow, where male and female sex
hormones show not the least effect on the plumage, injections of thy-
roxin change the develo])ing feather from the male to the female type.

The most remarkable fact brought out by these investigations on
seasonal sex dimor|ihic plumages is their dependence on other than
.sex hormones. Whether the sex difference in molting period.s, which is
also maintained after castration, is under hy])ophyseal or ])ossihly,
under genetical control, we do not know at the ])resent time. Miyazaki s
experiments seem to indicate that shortening of day length causes
molting in the White Eye.

If time would permit, a discussion of the different mechanisms of
determination of plumage ])atteriis should follow this presentation of
mere experimental data. In concluding, may I again emphasize the

188

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

here established fact that even within the taxonomic family of the
finches, the sex type of the plumage is determined in one species (spar-
row) directly by the genetical constitution of the feather forming
cells, and in another species (orange weaver ) through free circulating
hormones in the blood stream. It might well he that, through the
closer study of such cases of substitution of hormonic by direct gene-
tical control, we shall be able to learn more about the physiological
nature and the mode of action of the hereditary element, the myste-
rious gene.

Bibliography

Bissonnette, T. H. 1932. Light and diet as factors in relation to sexual periodicity.
Nature, 129, 613.

Cole, L. J. 1933. The relation of light periodicity to the reproductive cycle, mi-
gration, and distribution of the mourning dove. The Auk, 50, 284.

Keck. W. N. 1934. The control of the secondary sex characters in the English
Sparrow, Passer domesticus. Jour. Exp. Zook, 67, 315.

Kirschbaum, A. 1933. Experimental modification of the seasonal sexual cycle of
the English Sparrow, Passer domesticus. Anat. Rec. 57, Suppl. 62.

Miller, Dorothea S. 1935. Effects of thyroxin on plumage of the English Sparrow,
Passer domesticus. Jour. Exp. Zook, 71, 293.

Miyazaki, H. 1934. On the relation of the daily period to the sexual maturity
and to the moulting of Zosterops palperhrosa japonica. Sci. Rep. Tohoku
Imp. Univ. IV, 9, 183.

Rowan, W. 1931. The riddle of migration. Baltimore.

Witschi, E., and W. N. Keck. 1935. Differential effect of some gonadotropic sub-
stances on development of cyclical sex characters in the English Sparrow.
Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol, and Med., 32, 598.

Department of Zoology, State University of Iowa,

Iowa City, Iowa.

NESTING OF THE HAVEN IN VIRGINIA

BY F. M. JONES

Dark sliadows were forming in tlie deep hollows leading down
from the Shenandoah Mountains. The sun had already passed out of
sight on the other side, and now twilight prevailed. Silence reigned
everywhere over a snow-clad landscape which ajipeared to he devoid
of life.

High up on the side of the mountain jierched on an old dead snag
leaning over a steep rock cliff sat a Raven in owl-like posture, seem-
ingly in deep thought. Perhaps he was dreaming of bygone days
when his kind inhabited all of the eastern mountain ranges in a land
of plenty where game of all kinds was abundant and food easily pro-
cured. What now? Gone forever were the millions of Passenger
Pigeons whose flight at times darkened the skies. The bugling of the
elk was no longer heard. The land of alnindance and plenty had van-

Nesting of the Raven in Virginia

189

ished, and of the niuitiludes oidy a few rcninauls could now l)e found
to mark their passing.

Fi rst came the large hand-saw mills which were suj)})lied with
timber hy the logging trains that penetrated even to the remotest sec-
tions of the mountains. Soon afterwards all of the best of the big
trees had been cut down, and now followed devastating forest fires
which destroyed everything in their path and the once enchanted fairy-
land formed hy nature was converted into a desolate waste.

Of a wild nature which craves freedom and seclusion the Ravens
could not cross the barriers erected by civilization, and with all of
their range and food supply destroyed there was nothing left for them
but starvation, and starve they did. Still the older generation of the
mountain folks often ask me, “What has become of the Ravens?” They
do not take in consideration what had gone before, nor the part they
played in the passing of the Ravens when they periodically set fires to
the mountains to make huckleberry picking easier and more profitable.
Such futile questions were better left unanswered.

No wonder this pitiful remnant of the multitudes seemed to be
in deep thought, for he was no doubt going supperless to roost, as he
had done many times before. Tins was one of a pair wbicb had a nest
in the cliffs below the dead snag, and to which they returned each day
before nightfall — for the Ravens’ nest is their home. Nearly always,
too, they are seen in pairs, and it has been said by many naturalists
that they remain mated for life. My limited knowledge of them tends
to confirm this belief also, for one of my favorite pairs of Ravens,
wbicb I have known for fourteen years, have remained together during
that time. They are not to be mistaken for any others which overlap
their range, for both have voices which are quite distinctive. One has
a mellow call-note somewhat similar in tone to that of the Canada
Goose, and it is never without a thrill that I mark the passing of this
bird high overhead on slowly beating wings. Hying to the high cliffs
overlooking the wide spaces below.

It is now early March and nesting time somewhat delayed by
many snows and unusually cold weather, was close at hand. During
the previous month the nesting shelf had been swept clean of all of
the old nest material, and was ready for the new one that was to
occupy the same place. Contrary to general belief and the stories
which have Ix'en written about their nesting, no ])art of the old nest
is ever used.

Soon afterwards both birds could be seen around ibcir nesting
cliffs, most any time during the day, working on their new nest or

190

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

sitting on the rocks or old snag above. From a vantage point about a
mile away I conld daily watch their activities through my lunoculars;
and they would no doubt have been much disturbed had they known
how often I was spying on them. When one bird w'ould lly to tbe nest
on the rocks the other would perch above, and at intervals wmuld sail
from the cliffs to see that no intruder apj)roached unobserved. Once
when I saw them both leave together I went up to their cliff and in-
s])ccted the nest from below, but, not wishing them to find me there
on their return, I did not tarry long.

A few^ hundred feet down from the Ravens’ nest a ]>air of Duck
Hawks had ap|)ropriated an old nest formerly used by Ravens and
were on constant guard duty there. While it is at times possible to
visit Ravens’ nests unobserved by them, there is not a chance of reach-
ing the nest of these falcons unseen by one or both of them. Starting
dowm the mountain I was soon greeted by tbe cries of tbe male Duck
Hawk wdiich immediately attracted the attention of the other. Now I
had both dying over me, ])rotesting the invasion in no uncertain terms,
and the fuss they made soon brought both Ravens to see what w'as
causing the disturbance. Looking into the hawks’ nest from an adjoin-
ing chimney rock and seeing that as yet there were no eggs, I went on
hack and over the top of the mountain. All the way up I was es-
corted by one of tbe Ifavens soaring in circles overhead. After reach-
ing the top the male Duck Hawk seemed to get tired of the fuss the
Raven was making and drove him back down under the mountain.
After the first swoop of the hawk, the Raven lost further interest in
me and left in undignified haste, knowing well that this was no time
to hesitate if he wished to escape with a whole skin.

During the latter part of March only one Raven w'as seen over
the cliffs, .so now' the full set of eggs had lieen laid and the female
was on the nest engaged in the labor of hatcbing out the young ones.
Going np to investigate T was met by tbe alert male bird on w'atch,
who continued to circle around me until 1 got clo.se to the nest when
he llcw directly past the m'st to warn his mate of approaching danger.
This si u' disrt'gardc'd, for it was not un til 1 was within fifteen feet ol
the nest above that she left and (lew overhead so close that she ap-
pc'ared to be twice as large* as she really was. Not often is an oppor-
tunity aflorded of seeing a Haven so close, for they are the wildest of
all birds ; and even in going from one mountain range to another
their flight is always high out of danger from below.

Nesting of the Raven in Virginia

191

Their selection lor a nesting site was a high dill from which the
whole of the surrounding country could he viewed. The nest was on a
small shelf hack in a j)ocket of the rocks and under tlie steep over-
hanging rocks above, which made it inaccessible from that point —
this being the usual situation. Reaching the nest by going uj) from
the bottom of the cliffs, I found it to contain five eggs, which was
the average number found in those Ravens’ nests I had examined. The
nest was nicely and compactly made of small sticks with fine black
bircb twigs and roots on the inner side next to the lining; the latter
was composed of very finely shredded inner chestnut-tree bark with
a small amount of sheep’s wool intermingled. Ordinarily wool is one
of the principal materials used by them for their nest linings, but as
this particular mountain section was not used for sheep-grazing, wool
was hard for them to obtain, exce])t in the cultivated areas where the
Ravens would not venture. Beneath the thick lining I found twm inches
of soil, which was also used in all of the four other nests examined in
this range during the nesting season of 1934. Nests found in previous
years 250 miles farther south were lined wdth ecpial parts of usnea
moss and wool, with no earth used beneath the lining. Just why the
difference in construction of the nests in various localities I am unable
to say, mdess the combination of moss and wool forms a sufficient
insulation for the thin-shelled eggs which is lacking in the lining made
of the inner bark. It is to be remembered that when the eggs are laid
the cliffs are still covered with ice and the weather is far from being
spring-like.

This nest, like all the other Ravens’ nests which I have found, was
smoothly finished on the inside and deeply cupped, almost like an in-
verted cone. It measured twenty-three by tbirty-six inches outside
diameter, while the cavity was twelve inches in diameter and five
inches deej). Where it was situated no rain nor sunshine could ever
})enetrate, and this location, used by many generations of Ravens, had
a large accumulation of materials below which had com|)osed the old
nests. It was one of the few places left which was not likely to be
disturbed by unwelcome visitors and the ])resence of mankind.
Abingdon, Va.

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The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

OBSERVATIONS ON THE VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW

BY A. E. SHI BEING

Talk aliout housing problems! Boom towns in gold rush times
had no greater shelter problems than is the shortage of nesting cavities
among Violet-green Swallows in the western mountain regions.

The Violet-green Swallow {Tachycineta thalassina lepida) is to
the Colorado mountains what the English Sjiarrow is to eastern and
central states. It is the most common bird about cottages and towns.
In respect to relative abundance, it exceeds the English Sparrow, for
the sparrow’s range is confined to human surroundings of houses,
barns, and picnic grounds. The Violet-green Swallow, while most
abundant in the neighborhood of human dwellings, ranges widely up
the mountain slopes and unfrequented forest lands.

The Violet-green Swallow has a great advantage over the English
Sparrow from the point of beauty and popularity. It is a most beau-
tiful bird in color, in trimness of shape, and in gracefulness of flight.
It is pure white beneath and iridescently violet and green above, with
violet rump, dark green back, and black wings. With its long taper-
ing wings it is tireless in flight, and its aerial acrobatic movements are
performed with astonishing ease and grace as it collects insect food
from the air.

This swallow is not a pugnacious bird, but somehow it manages
by quiet, persistent insistence to attain its end and to succeed in tbe
struggle for existence, somewhat to the detriment of other species. So
well has it succeeded, that the most trying phase of its struggle for
existence among the cottages is with members of its own species rather
than with other kinds of birds and enemies. More specifically, it is
a struggle for nesting sites.

Violet-green Swallows nest in cavities. In olden times deserted
woodpecker burrows in trees furnished most of the nesting places, but
with man’s advent bringing buildings, artificial bird bouses, and
various ly])es of knot-hole cavities, the birds are capitalizing on these.
So keen is the struggle for nesting ])laces that there is not only a wait-
ing line, hut apparently more than one jiair of birds are concerned
with one nest.

We were watching a nest one day, kee])ing tab on the number of
feeding visits of the |)arent birds to their young in the nest. It soon
lu'C'ame clear that more adult birds were coming to the nest than bird-
housing ordinances allow. Oiu' lemalc swallow canu' with food, en-
tered the nest and belorc' she had gone another came, ])crched on the
stub of a branch sticking out from the hollow nesting log and tried

The Vioiet-Green Swallow

193

to enter by way ot a knot liole that was too small. Then as the first
female left, the second one entered the nest, remained for a few sec-
onds and left. (At close range and in good light sexes could he quite
readily distinguished hy the duller colors and grayish cheek of the
female) . This performance was repeated several times within an hour,
one female persistently trying first to enter hy way of the small knot-
hole. then, failing, would enter hy way of the larger opening. The
othei female went directly to the real entrance. One male bird stood
guaid and rarely entered the nest. He was kej)t busy chasing other
male swallows away, hut did not seem to object to either of the fe-
males coming.

En'Tra.rxct

This performance of more than one female swallow visiting the
same nest was not a coincidence, nor the only instance of unusual
nesting behavior of the Violet-greeti Swallows. After our suspicions
and curiosity were arf>used, we gave special attention to the birds in
order to verify our first observations.

Ajiother nesi, built in a bird house made from a twisted hollow
limb fastened to a |)ine tree near my window, could he most con-
veniently observed. Ihue, too. there was more than one female swal-
low interested in the nest. At one time three female birds and one
male were at the nest. The male, keeping guard, paid little attention

194

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

to the other birds unless it was a bird of some other species that ar-
rived, or a male Violet-green Swallow. A female swallow, wdiich may
he termed No. 1, entered the nest to feed the young. Another came
and lit on a branch near by, then lluttered at the entrance to the nest
Init did not enter. Bird No. 1 left and at the same time bird No. 3
arrived and entered the nest, remained a few seconds, flew out, and
perched on the branch near bird No. 2 and the male. Bird No. 1 came
hack after a few minutes, chased Nos. 2 and 3 away and entered the
nest. At other times one of the extra females would peck at the male
guard and try to drive him away without any retaliation on his part.

Female No. 1 seemed to have priority of claim to the nest. She
often remained with her head at the doorway and pecked at intruders.
She was also on very good terms with the male. The other female
birds seemed to be merely meddlesome busybodies who had no home
of their own nor young to care for, and, like a cat that has lost her
kittens, just had to have some one to mother.

Mountain Bluebirds have some slight advantage over the Violet-
green Swallows in securing nesting places. They arrive earlier in the
season and have begun housekeeping before the swallows arrive. Fven
so. they have to keep close guard or their nest will be taken.

A bluebird built in a nesting box under the eaves of the lodge at
Camp Olympus, Estes Park. When the swallows arrived they tried to
take the place hut were warded off by the vigilant male bluebird. A
pair of swallows then began a patient endurance waiting game. They
remained at hand constantly. If opjiortunity were given they would
perch at the doorway and peek in. This was especially noticeable
when the young bluebirds grew older and were about ready to leave
the nest. Finally, when they did leave, that very day the Violet-green
Swallows entered and took ])Ossession.

Violet-green Swallows are near kin to Tree Swallows that inhabit
northern portions of the United States and Canada and, during migra-
tion. travel across the central portions of the country. Other relatives
are Cliff or Eave Swallows that build “clay jug” nests under projecting
cliffs or under eaves of buildings, and Barn Swallows that have “swal-
low taihs”. and build o])en cup-shaped nests of clay plastered on rafters
and beams inside of barns. Still other kin are Rough-winged Sw^al low's
and Bank Swallows that tunnel into clifls of earth. These latter, as
well as the (Jiff Swallows, pn'bu' to live in colonies. Sometimes hun-
dreds of nests are found in the .same cliff.

Kansas City Teach ft?s College,

Kansas City, Mo.

A Bird Census Method

195

A BIHI) CENSUS METHOD

BY W. J. BRECKENRIDGE

During the course of an ecological study of the Marsh Wrens in
a limited area in eastern Minnesota, the writer found it desirable to
ascertain something regarding the j)opulations of other birds breeding
on the same area. Numerous census methods have been described by
other workers. Most of these have l)een devised to indicate relative
densities of populations for different areas or periods and were not
applicable to the present study. Others have attempted to determine
actual populations of limited areas, hut their methods, while workable
perhaps for very small tracts, could not be applied successfully to
areas of a square mile in extent, the size of the tract in the present
study.

The square mile on which this census was taken lay in very
slightly rolling country. The ridges were covered by a sparse timber
growth, the depressions were grown up to sedges and bluegrass, while
the narrow belt between these two su])ported short willow and dogwood
brush. These vegetative types apj)eared in irregular, narrow strips or
isolated patches so intermingled as to be impossible of separate study
in regard to avian poj^ulalions. The following paragraphs describe
the method used in this mixed type of vegetative cover and include
some results from this particular census.

The observer (the writer worked alone in this study) traversing
the section along compass lines, identified each individual bird, as far
as was possible, as it was encountered and recorded the species and
the approximate distance in steps (2,000 of the writer’s equaled one
mile) from the comjiass line from which it was seen. The section
was thus crossed four times along parallel lines separated from each
other by at least three hundred and fifty steps. This avoided the
possibility of counting the same individuals twice. By following com-
pass lines the observer avoided favoring or neglecting any one tyjie
of cover. These traverses were made during the morning and evening
hours when the birds were most active. In tbe present study one cen-
sus was made along north-south lines while a checking census was
made along east-west lines a week later.

The securing of the total population was the primary object in
tbe present study. In ord(‘r to obtain this, the total number of birds
Hushed at each of the indicated distances from the compass line was
determined and [liotted as one of the open hars in the accompanying
figure. It was assumed that some error occurred in estimating these
distances. For those recorded as Hushed at ten steps, for instance, the

196

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

actual distance j)rol)al)ly varied between seven and thirtee?i steps, and
for those recorded at forty steps the distance varied perliaps from
thirty-two to forty-eight stej)s. Accordingly these errors were cor-
rected hy distributing the records over those ranges and the result,
appearing in the figure as the shaded portion, presented a fairly accu-
rate picture of the actual distribution of the birds flushed. From this
picture it appears that few birds were flushed directly on the line
and that the number increased as the distance from the line increased

80-

Ulcorded and Corrected
Di6tribut!on of Birds in Census

up to twenty-five steps wdiere they dropped again to a level and then
began to show a definite decrease between thirty-five and forty steps.
The e.xplanation for this was that a portion of the birds occurring on
the line of traverse moved outward in the vegetation and appeared a
short distance on either side of the line. Then, allowing for this
movement, it is seen that the maximum flushing per step from the line
occurred equally out to about thirty-seven steps where a decrease be-
gan. Therefore one may safely assume that al l(‘asf the number of
birds flushed within the thirty-five step line (two hundred and seventy
in this case) would he encountered on every stri|) seventy steps wide
(thirty-five on either side of the line) and four miles long throughout
the section. On this basis the minimum pojuilation for this particular

A Bird Census Method

197

mile proved to have been 1,929 birds or 3.01 birds per acre. This
would necessarily l)e somewhat under the actual number present as one
man crossing the area would not record every individual bird on a
strip seventy steps wide. A number of individuals walking close to-
gether might materially reduce the error from this source. Strangely
enough, due to the above mentioned outward movement of the birds
before flushing, calculations based on those seen on a very narrow
strip, e. g., twenty steps in this case, produced a smaller total than
those using the wider strip. No way of determining just what per-
centage of the actual population these figures represent is known,
therefore the results arrived at in the above manner must be taken as
minimum populations.

Information regarding the actual and relative abundance of the
more common species was also secured from the above mentioned
data. Figures similar to the one constructed for the total population
were drawn up for the more abundant species separately. Here the
same scarcity of records on the line with an increase outward was
evident. A limit was set in each case beyond which the records began
to definitely decrease. The number of birds was determined within
this limit and from this the species totals for the square mile were
calculated. In the case of those species other than the very abundant
ones where comparatively few individuals were encountered on four
miles of traverse, numbers thus calculated would usually I)e rather
inaccurate. Accordingly the results thus arrived at in this case were
considered comparatively dependable only for the five most abundant
out of the sixty-seven species found nesting on the tract. The totals
for these five species follow:

1. Clay-colored Sparrow 540

2. Song Sparrow - 227

3. Yellow Warbler - - 212

4. Catbird — - 143

5. Northern Yellowtliroat - 140

This method of determining actual bird po|)idations, like all
other methods, is open to criticism at various points. However, it is
here jtresented as being considerably more accurate than mere esti-
mates would be, and as producing numerical results which may he
depended upon not to be in excess ol the actual ])opulations but
which are in all probability a small jtercentage under the actual num-
bers of birds pre.sent on any areas so studied.

University of Minnesota,

Natural History Museum and Department of Zoology,

Minneapolis, Minnesota.

198

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

VALUE OF FIELD OBSERVATION IN ECONOMIC ORNITHOLOGY

BY W. L. MCATEE

In the Wilson Bulletin for June, 1934 (Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 73-
90) is an article by E. R. Kalmbach entitled “Field Observation in
Economic Ornitbology.”

Mr. Kalmbacb is careful to say that he does not wish “to discredit
in the least stomach examination as a fundamental procedure in the
solution of problems in economic ornitbology” (p. 74), but consid-
ering tbe superficiality of most reading and the proneness of humans
to see in a thing what they wish to see, it is, after all, not surprising
that some have jumped to the conclusion that the method of stomach
analysis has been authoritatively pronounced obsolete.

It may be well, therefore, to cite from Kalmbach’s paper phrases
additional to that just quoted, that show he had no such intention. He
says, “there must be no slackening in laboratory research” (p. 80).
“Let it not be inferred, however, that stomach examination . . . does
not play a most important, yes, indispensable role in our science . . .
certain of the practical problems of economic ornitbology lend them-
selves to direct solution solely or largely through this method of
approach” (p. 80). “In this capacity, the laboratory channel of ap-
proach never will be excelled. Stomach analyses of extensive and rep-
resentative material is the only means, furthermore, of creating a back-
ground for proper appraisal of the general economic status of birds,
something that is needed as a check upon every local or specific
[i. e. field] study” (p. 81). “It is a truism . . . that stomach exami-
nation, carefully conducted, gives the best possible index to tbe food
items of a bird” (p. 88).

The writer hopes that this grouping of Kalmbach’s references to
the method of stomach analysis may be tbe projier corrective for those
who thought they saw, in his essay, something to quite the contrary
effect. Kalmbach certainly did not mean to condemn the method of
stomach analysis for it is the principal reliance in researches he is
now conducting and directing in one of which, for example, on the
food habits of the armadillo, little jirogress could be made in any
other way.

To bring out both sides of the argument and to combat the im-
pression the paper has made that stomach analysis is obsolete, tbe
following comment is offered: Tbe method of stomach examination
“has acijuired, in both the scientific and lay mind, a status of finality
shared by no other method of apjiroach” (p. 74). Apparently it
needs saying that there is no such thing as finality in any field of

Field Observation in Economic Ornithology

199

knowledge. Least ol all should the scientist admit that term to his
vocahulary. In science all (juestions are forever oj)en.

Limitations in this well-estahlished procedure” [stomach analy-
sis] (p. 74). Every method ol studying the food-hahits of wild life
has its limitations — they are not ])eculiar to laboratory work on the
contents of the alimentary tract. We should avail ourselves of all
methods, thus taking advantage of any special excellence each may
have and profiting by any mutually corrective ])rinciples that may
appear.

“Knowledge of field conditions and the circumstances surrounding
the collecting ol stomach material is the key to proper interpretation
of food items” (j). 75). II that knowledge could he full and accurate
this statement might be acceptable, hut as a matter of actual expe-
rience we do not often get either full or accurate knowledge of the
doings of any wild thing in the field. It is a commonplace of labora-
tory procedure to find that the collector’s remarks on what a bird was
apparently eating are not verified by analysis of the stomach contents.
Not only is it difficult to make observations in the field that will he
very helpful in connection with the study of individual stomach con-
tents, but if we attempted to adopt a |)olicy of having “the examiner
of bird stomachs personally . . . collect every specimen which he later
examines” (p. 75 j , meanwhile getting accurate “knowledge of field
conditions and the circumstances surrounding the collecting” (p. 75),
comprehensive investigations would he impossible. The proposal
would be merely one more of those ideal conceptions that can not he
accomplished in reality. What we have needed and still need in the
case of certain groups of birds never rejiorted upon is comjirehensive
information regardless of shortcomings as to detail that will give us a
general idea as to food-hahits over a wide range, ])erhaps the whole
United States, at all seasons. We can get some sort of approximation
to that knowledge by the analysis of a large number of stomach con-
tents, well distributed both seasonally and geogra|)hical ly, hut we
can not get it by intensive field study simply because of the imj)racti-
cahility of allotting for the purpose, the time, the men, and the funds
that would be necessary.

The field method of studying economic ornithology can not he
our main reliatice, not only by reason of im])racticahility, hut r.lso
because it cannot he as com|)rehensive as the laboratory method, nor
does it have as high a degree of accuracy. In this as in all sciences
what we learn in the laboratory is the most exact and reliable part

200

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

of our knowledge. What we learn in the field is more tentative and
usually in need of some process of checking or verification.

Even in studies where every effort is made to obtain in the field
an accurate idea of what a bird is feeding upon, the results are far from
satisfactory when checked with those derived from the analysis of
stomach contents. For example, to facilitate laboratory study of a
large series of stomachs of Gamhers Quail from Arizona, D. M. Gor-
such supplied notes on what he had come to regard as important foods
of the species as a result of field observations. When work on the
stomachs (178 in number) was completed, it was found that of foods
considered important by the field observer and so recorded in his
notes or in his recent report on the bird (Univ. Ariz. Bull., Vol. V,
No. 4, May, 1934) six had that rank in the laboratory findings and five
did not. The use of five unimportant items also was verified. Of
foods not noted at all by the field observer seven were found of con-
siderable, and eighteen of lesser, importance in the laboratory. In
other words the field observer’s results were verified in eleven cases
(five of them unimportant) and not in five, while those results did
not include at all seven items of primary, and eighteen of secondary,
importance in the diet of the quail. This gives an efficiency rating of
27 per cent for the field observations, and that without taking into
account some scores of minor items revealed by stomach analysis hut
which could not be learned at all by field study.

“Correct interpretation easily may he a matter of greater signifi-
cance than the identification of the item itself” (p. 76). It should not be
overlooked, however, that interpretation can not begin until the identi-
fication is made. Interpretation may he aided by field observation
hut it can safely he said that accurate identification of food items can
he obtained in the vast majority of cases only by laboratory procedure.
Without identification there is not even a beginning of knowledge.

“Correct interpretation” again, so far as a|)plied to the intricate
subject of wild life economics, denotes an ideal often unrealized. This
science is peculiarly one of a])])roximations and it can not he expected
that interpretations will he of l)etter cpiality than the data on which
they are based. Thirdly, let it he remembered always that “interpreta-
tion” is a necessary adjunct to wild life food habit studies of what-
ever type. In other words, if we are wise we will bring to hear on each
prol)lem all of the information we can obtain from every source — with
due credit to all and without undue disparagement of any.

English Sparrows consuming insects attracted to city arc lights
“may suddenly assume the prosaic role of a scavenger of doubtful

Field Observation in Economic Ornithology

201

utility” (p. 79). There is no doubt as to the utility, only as to its
degree.

“Modern decisions” ( p. 79 ). If the term “decision” is used in
the ordinary sense of settling or terminating discussion of a given mat-
ter, it is another ol the too positive expressions used in this discourse.
See remarks under “finality”, (p. 74). There are no such things as
final decisions in wild life economics. Problems are often not only local
hut they may be very temporary. A “decision” may be no more than
uttered before the situation changes. As applied to food habit studies,
these things emphasize the necessity of generalizations from a satis-
factory number of stomach analyses since the local and shifting field
conditions in themselves can not be so summarized. Field problems
are local and temporary and corresponding valuation is about all we
can give to observations, interpretations, or decisions about them.

“General tendencies for good or harm can be shown” (p. 88).
This is about all that can be exjiected from economic studies whenever
they cease to be strictly local. It is not the function of general food
habit studies to attempt to show in concrete terms how much good or
harm is being done. The science, as remarked before, can only he one
of approximations, hence its outjmt should not he represented as more
than statements of economic tendencies.

“The effect of feeding habits ... in the final analysis, is the actual
goal in many modern problems of economic ornithology” (p. 88).
This has a matter-of-course sound hut in reality the goal mentioned
is attained only locally and then in case damage to a crop or other
measurable thing is involved. The effect of feeding habits on un-
measurable things as natural jiopulations of weeds, insects, etc., can
hardly be referred to as a goal because in most cases it is unattainable.

“Determination of the economic status of a bird” (]). 88). There
is no such thing as “determination” if that meant establishing an eco-
nomic status that will have final and universal validity. It is jiossible
to arrive at good summaries of average food habits which are the best
guide we can have as to the general treatment of s|>ecies. This is the
basis ordinarily needed for legislation and regulation. It has been
furnished by stomach analyses and is something we could never attain
as a result of field studies on account of the very size and complexity
of the problem.

“Economic status and food habits are, by reason of their funda-
mental aspects and definitions, antithetic” (]). 88). If the jiroposition
were true, as stated, we would hardly base our studies of economic
status chiefly on food habits. In the same jiaragraph Kalmbach admits

202

The Wilson Bulletin- — September, 1935

that the study of food habits reveals sustenance. Since choice of sus-
tenance and its effects are what mold our opinions as to economic
status, it would seem difficult to defend the antithesis.

“Primarily the objective in our problems is one of economics;
yet the product of much research into the economy of birds is purely
biological” (p. 88). Sufficient rebuttal to this pronouncement is that
the science of economic biology fuses the two, in actuality, as well as
in name.

Continuing directly from the preceding quotation, “This product,
the result of painstaking stomach examination, often is looked upon
as the end sought or, if not actually the goal itself, so close an ap-
proach to it that the intervening gap is but a step in a simple process
of deduction. Therein lies a fallacy that has served as the theme of
much of this paper” (pp. 88-89).

Has that fallacy in fact existed?

In 1880 S. A. Forbes the founder of scientific economic orni-
thology tells, in a paper on The Food of Birds^ why he adopted the
volumetric method of tabulating the contents of bird stomachs and
says, “The comparison, however, is merely a quantitative one. ... It is
evident, therefore, that we cannot get at any close estimate of the
economic values of this species in this indiscriminate way. . . . (and
referring to insects in particular) the opinions of entomologists would
probably be found to differ somewhat widely on the question of the
relative values of these various elements, and each must form his own
opinion from the data given” (pp. 102, 103). These remarks clearly
show that Forbes recognized the necessity of interpretation of the re-
sults of stomach analysis — a recognition he put in deeds also by studies
of the food of ground and lady-bird l)eetles so that their significance
in the food of birds could be more accurately appraised. Forbes pur-
sued his researches in the field as well as in the laboratory.

In 1897 F. E. L. Beal in commenting^ on Gilmour’s statement that
even tbe consumption of waste grain by rooks must be counted against
tbe birds, as it shows their taste for grain, says, “This is not fair.
Grain so obtained has no value to the farmer and should not be
reckoned as a loss.”

In 1904 Professor Beal noted in a discussioiF of tbe California
linnet or house finch that “fruit forms only 9 per cent of the annual
food; consequently if the birds . . . were not so superabundant, the

’Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist. (T) ^ (3) Nov., 1H80, pp. 80-148.
2The Auk, 14 (1), Jau., 1897, p. 11.

•■’Yearbook U. S. Dei)t. Afrr., 1904, p]i. 246-247.

Field Observation in Economic Ornithology

203

ha rm done by them would scarcely attract attention. Their immense
numbers cause the comparatively small percentage of fruit destroyed
to swell into an enormous aggregate.” The inlluence of local over-
abundance of birds on crop damage was a frecjuent topic of discussion
by Professor Beal and together with the statements here quoted clearly
shows recognition on his ])art of the necessity of interpreting the re-
sults of stomach analysis. It may be added that Professor Beal em-
ployed field work to a large extent in his studies.

In 1901 Sylvester D. Judd stated P “It is not easy to determine
the exact relation of birds to agriculture, even though all of the con-
stituents of the food are known; for the actual ratio of benefit to injury
in the food habits can only be roughly approximated.” Judd describes
various methods of investigation in economic ornithology and recom-
mends a combination of field work with stomach examination (pp. 11-
18).

In 1912 the reviewer explained"’ that “no one claims that percent-
ages do express economic values. They are simply convenient

handles to facts and they must he interpreted” ( p. 452), and “it is
very evident that interpretation of economic values is the most im-
portant point in ])resenting the results of stomach examination”

(p. 453).

The reviewer has carried on field work in economic ornithology
during a considerable part of his time for more than twenty-five years,
and in connection with one project that he inaugurated — food resources
of wild fowl — more field work has been done by him and his colleagues
than on any other food habits undertaking of the Biological Survey.

Kalmhach charges that a fallacy has existed in that results of
stomach analysis have been regarded as the end ])roduct. The quota-
tions made here indicate that at least four of those cited by Kalml)ach
as leading students of economic ornithology have not entertained the
“fallacy”.

“To set forth the general course 0])en to a fuller, a fairer, and
withal, a scientific appraisal of the economics of bird life. Intensive
field observations, which, in the attainment of their own peculiar ob-
jectives, may he conducted just as accurately and yield a product just
as scientific as the painstaking work of the laboratory, come fore-
most” fp. 89 j .

The objectives certainly would have to he very closely limited
to give validity to this dictum. As noted prevdously they can only

“'Bull. 15, U. S. Biol. .Survey, p. 17. , „ , „ , . ,

•'■'Methods of Estimating the Contents of Bird Stomachs, Auk, 29

(4), Oct.,

204

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

concern readily nieasural)le things, that is, almost exclusively crops.
Field observations may yield valual)le information supplementing
stomach analysis in various directions, but from the very nature of
things (except in the directions indicated j they can not he as accurate
as laboratory work. To put the matter tersely, it is apparent that we
can learn more about the harmful traits of birds by field observation
and more about their beneficial tendencies by laboratory investigation.
The two activities complement each other and to attempt to substitute
either for the other in its proper sphere is a mistake.

Actual demand at the present time for work in economic orni-
thology certainly is just as strong for further laboratory investigation
as it is for that in the field. In fact every field study brings its own
problems that require laboratory analysis for their solution. Every
one of the recent game bird investigations, and every one of the mod-
ern game management projects has produced its demands for analyses
of stomach contents, feces, and pellets. Great need has arisen for
information on the food of the birds concerned, their competitors, and
predators, and appeals have been made in embarrassing volume to
the food habits research laboratory of the Biological Survey, the only
public agency from which the desired assistance can l)e obtained.
More than 5,600 food analyses have been made of the game birds alone
and hundreds of stomachs and crops are on hand waiting examination.

To sum up, it must be stated, contrary to the conclusions of some
readers of Kalmbach’s paper, that the method of laboratory analysis
is still (juite alive and in great demand as a food habits research
procedure.

It can not be replaced by field work l)ut can be valuably supple-
mented by that method. It should not be assumed that field work has
been neglected in studies of economic ornithology in the United States.
In fact, |)olicies of the Biological Survey have always called for a
combination of field and laboratory investigations and these ])olicies
have been carried out whenever ])racticable.

It must not be forgotten that field work has its limitations the
same as laboratory work, and that it has the added disadvantage that
it can never be carried on extensively enough to rej)resent local condi-
tions in all parts of the country. In other words, a general picture of
the economic ornithology of the United States can never he obtained
by field work alone, Init only by intensive use of all available methods
of food habits research.

U. S. Biological Survey,

Washington, I). C,

Iowa Specimens

205

ADDITIONAL IOWA SPECIES OE BIRDS SUBSTANTIATED

BY SPECIMENS

BY PHILIP A. DU MONT

In a recent review^ of “A Revised List of the Birds of lowa”^ it
was stated that twenty-seven species of birds included in this list were
unsubstantiated by specimens. Attention is directed to a mimeo-
graphed report^ issued by tbe writer to bird students in Iowa enumer-
ating thirty-five species as those actually deficient of specimens at the
time of publication. These were as follows; Red-throated Loon,
Western Grebe, Water Turkey, Man-o’-war-bird, Little Blue Heron,
Snowy Egret, Wood Ibis, Cinnamon Teal, American Scoter, Harris’s
Hawk, Black Rail, Hudsonian Curlew, Black-necked Stilt, Louisiana
Paroquet, Burrowing Owl, Great Gray Owl, Nuttall’s Poor-will, Red-
shafted Flicker, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker,
Say’s Phoebe, American Raven, Common Rock Wren, Eastern Mocking-
bird, Sprague’s Pipit, Sycamore Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Northern
Prairie Warbler, Western Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Gray-
crowned Rosy Fincb, Greater Redpoll, Lark Bunting, McCown’s Long-
spur, and Chestnut-collared Longspur.

Of this list of thirty-five species twenty-nine were formerly rep-
resented by collected specimens believed to be unsaved or since have
been destroyed. One species (Western Blue Grosbeak) of tbe six
heretofore unrepresented by specimens has been collected since the pub-
lication of the list. Therefore, only the Western Grebe, Wood Ibis,
Lewis’s Woodpecker, Say’s Phoebe, and Lazuli Bunting have been
credited to Iowa without the actual taking of a specimen or the secur-
ing of an authentic set of eggs.

Since the jmblication of “A Revised List of the Birds of Iowa”
in 193d specimens or the eggs of twelve species of birds which were
taken in Iowa and which were included in that list have been found
or collected.

Red-throated Loon. Gavia slellaia. Tbe mounted specimen re-
ported as being in Keokuk and taken on tbe Des Moines River near
Ottumwa, Iowa, bas been found in the collection of mounted birds in
the Keokuk High School. This specimen was examined by tbe writer
on May 10, 1934. Mr. E. H. Purcell of Keokuk, in checking the data,
wrote that this bird, a male in winter jdumage, was taken by Heiser
on April 28, 1873.

iWii.soN Hri.i.KTiN, XkV, No. 4, iip. 206-20H.

^Univ. Iov.'o .Sliulies, Nat. XV, No. 5, pp. 1-171.

^Mimeofiraphed l)ulletin, 60 copies issued from Spencer, Iowa, on Fehrnary
22, 1934.

206

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Little Blue Heron. Florida caerulea caerulea. Two juvenile
males were secured By Logan J. Bennett and Gerald B. Spawn, both of
Ames, on July 24, 19H4, along the south side of Elk Lake in Clay
County. Both of these s])ecimens are in the collection of the Depart-
ment of Zoology, Iowa State College, Ames, and have been examined
by the writer.

Cinnamon Teal. Querquedula cyanoptera. An adult male is con-
tained in the Stempel collection at Macedonia, Iowa. M. A. Stempel
advised me he had killed the bird from a Hock of about fifteen Blue-
winged Teal, three-quarters of a mile west of Macedonia, Pottawatta-
mie County, during late April in the late ’90s. The specimen was
examined by the writer on November 9, 1934.

American Scoter. Oidemia americana. On April 6, 1934, Prof.
W. E. Praeger of Kalamazoo, Michigan, wrote that the specimen of
American Scoter which was “probably shot on the Des Moines Rapids”
on October 31, 1894, was still in his possession.

Hudsonian Curlew. Phaeopus hudsonicus. On April 3, 1935,
P. A. Taverner, Curator of Birds at the National Museum of Canada
at Ottawa, wrote that tbe specimen of Hudsonian Curlew which Ku-
dol})h M. Anderson had collected on the prairie west of Crystal Lake.
Hancock County, May 25, 1895, had been deposited in their museum
where it now is, in good condition. It is No. 17464 in the museum
catalogue. Taverner stated that there was no question as to the
identity.

Louisiana Paroquet. Conuropsis carolinensis ludoviciunus. On
January 24, 1934, Prof. Myron H. Swenk wrote as follows: “In the
United States National Museum collection are specimens of the Louisi-
ana Parocpiet (Conuropsis carolinensis ludovicianus) that were taken
on ‘Bald Island’ by Dr. E. V. Hayden in the spring of 1856, I believe
it was. I have identihed ‘Bald Island’ through Lieutenant G. K. War-
ren’s map with McKissock Island at the Otoe-Nemaha County line,
which now has been cut off from Nebraska and lies entirely east of the
Missouri River though technically still a jiart of Nebraska.”

In answer to my letter of June 18 to the U. S. National Museum
endeavoring to determine the present existence of a substantiating
^ pccimen from tins point of intersection for Nebraska-lowa-Missouri,
Ml'. J. II. Rib'y. Assistant (iurator of Birds, sent tbe following re])ly
on June 21 : “There were originally eleven specimens of ])aroquets

received tbrougb Ll. Warren, all [iresumably from Bald Island. The
locality f)f three of tbe.'^e is in doubt, however, as it was not so speci-

Iowa Specimens 207

fled in the catalogue, liaiicl, Pacilic KailroacI Keporls, Vol. 9, lo5u,
p. 68, gives twelve specimens, hut one of this numher is duplicated
and the sj)ecimen marked ’fresh’, and it may not have l>een saved.
Th ree of his numhers are also not definite as to locality, one simply
marked ‘Nebraska’ and other two blank. Of the eleven specimens only
one skin remains in the study series of the National Museum, though
a few may have been used in an old mounted group of which the indi-
vidual data have been lost. Seven were exchanged or given away.
Four were sent to Verreaux, Paris, two to the University of Michigan,
and one to Dr. Henry Bryant, later becoming the property of the
Museum of Comparative Zoology, and the type of Conuropsis caro-
linensis interior Bangs, Proc. New' England Zool. Club, Vol. 4, 1913,
p. 94. The skin remaining in the study series is a typical Conuropsis
carolinensis ludovicianusC (See also the full account of the occur-
rence of this bird along the Missouri Biver Valley, as contained in the
Nebraska Bird Review II, pp. 55-59).

Western Blrrowing Owl. Speolyto cunicularia hypugaea. A
male and a female in the study collection of the Department of
Zoology, Iowa State College, Ames, were secured by Logan J. Bennett
one-half mile north of Elk Lake, (day County, July 13, 1933. These
specimens were recently examined by the w'riter.

Hed-shaetei) Flicker. Colaples eafer collaris. Mr. Frank C.
Pellett of Hamilton, Illinois, w'rote on December 6, 1933. that the
specimen which he secured near Atlantic, Cass County, September 25,
1896, still remained in bis private collection at Atlantic. A male of
this species was collected by J. K. Harlan, in Van Buren County, on
October 22, 1933. On December 26, 1934, the writer collected an
adult male Bed-shafted Flicker along Walnut (.reek in Des Moines,
Polk County. The moustache marks of both this specimen and the one
secured by Harlan show only a trace of black basally and the quills of
wings and tail are bright orange.

Prairie Warbler. Dendroica discolor. Mr. Ed. S. Currier of
Portland, Oregon, wrote on January 16, 1935, that he had found only
one nest of this species in Lee (.ounty, Iowa. That was on June 5,
1886. The eggs, which were fresh, are number 122 and are still in
(dirrier’s Collection.

Hooded Warbi.er. H ilsonia citrina. In Mr. Ed. S. (.urriers let-
ter of January 16, 1935, from Portland, Oregon, be stated that in bis

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The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

collecting along the Mississippi River that he had found a total of
twenty-five nests of this species, two being in Lee County, Iowa, and
the others were in Missouri. The nests taken in Iowa were on June 24,
1894. in the bottom-land not far from the mouth of the Des Moines
River. These two sets are numbered 2274 and 2275 in the Currier
Collection.

Western Blue Grosbeak. Guiraca caerulea interjusa. Mr. Wm.
Youngworth of Sioux City, Iowa, collected one of two birds, a male,
found two and one-half miles north of Sioux City along the Big Sioux
River in Plymouth County, June 23, 1934. Youngworth had observed
birds of this species in the vicinity on previous occasions. This is
believed to be the first Iowa-taken specimen. It remains in the Young-
worth collection (see Wilson Bulletin, XLVI, p. 257) where the
writer was allowed to examine it on July 1, 1934.

McCown’s Longspur. Rhynchophanes mccowni. There are three
mounted specimens, two males and a female, contained in the private
collection of the late Dr. George E. Stempel of Macedonia, Iowa.
These birds, in spring plumage, were taken by Dr. Stempel near Mace-
donia, Pottawattamie County, about 1886. This collection, displayed
in the town hall, is now under the custodianship of M. A. Stempel, a
son, who supplied these data at the time the writer examined the collec-
tion, November 9, 1934.

The “Revised List of the Birds of Iowa” contained 364 species of
birds known to have occurred in the state as well as eighteen others
whose occurrence was considered hypothetical. The taking of a Black
Vulture (No. 365) was appended in a footnote on page 44 (see also
the Wilson Bulletin. XLV, p. 203 ) . The securing by the writer of
what is probably the only Iowa specimen of Shufeldt’s Junco is related
in the Wilson Bulletin, XLVI, pp. 200-201.

The writer has prepared notes on the recent discovery of an Iowa
specimen of the European Widgeon, the taking of specimens of the
Brown-headed Nuthatch during 1893 in Lee County, and the recent
capture of a Chuck-wiH’s-widow in the same county. Unfortunately,
s])ecimens of neither of the last two species were saved.

Therefore the Iowa list of birds now totals 369 species and sub-
species of which all but twenty-five are represented by preserved
specimens.

Des Moines. Iowa.

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

209

THE lUKUS OF FORT SISSETON, SOUTH DAKOTA,

A SIXTY YEAR COMPARISON

BY WM. YOUNGWORTH

The location of old Fort Sisseton is in Marshall County, in the
extreme northeastern corner of South Dakota. The old fort huildings
are being restored at the present time hy workers from a Federal
Transient Camp and the fort area will then become a state park. It
was here that Dr. Charles E. McChesney spent the years from 1875
to 1878 as acting assistant surgeon, and it was in this region that he
studied ornithology.

In his publication, “Notes on the Birds of Fort Sisseton, Dakota
Territory” (1879), he mentions that he often traveled fifteen to twenty
miles or more, in different directions from the post. In his letter of
transmittal, of the above mentioned paper, to the United States Geo-
logical Survey, Dr. McChesney says the following of the above men-
tioned areas which he traveled over: “In many respects, the region
differs from any other part of the Northwest. The ‘Coteau des Prairies’
consists of an extensive plateau, rising, somewhat abruptly, nearly
four hundred feet above the level of the surrounding country, having
a length of over one hundred miles, and a variable width of from
twenty to forty miles. Upon this elevated plateau are many lakes,
which are the annual resort of thousands of waders and wild fowl,
and the region differs greatly in its fauna from that of the lower
country.”

Th ere have been many interesting changes in the bird life of this
region. Settlement of the country has caused extermination of some
species and a definite increase in certain other species. The writer
will discuss briefly the status of some of these species in the anno-
tations. The statements are based on observations made from five
trips to the region. The first trip was during June, 1929; following
trips were made in July, 1929, June, 1930, June, 1931, and June, 1935.

Again referring to Dr. McChesney’s letter of transmittal, it must
also he stated that when he included three western forms of grouse,
he did not indicate that the birds had ever been observed at Fort
Sisseton. Dr. McChesney merely included the Dusky Grouse, Sage
Grouse, and Rocky Mountain Ruffed Grouse for the benefit of army
officers in western Dakota and Montana, who were interested in bird
life and desired a descriptiori ol the birds.

The writer is greatly indebted to Mr. W. F. Kuhichek of the
United States Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington. D. C., for
permission to use some of his records in this paper. Furthermore,

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The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

this work could not have l)cen completed without the generous aid of
Mr. Arthur Lundquist, pathologist at Peabody Hospital, Webster,
South Dakota, Dr. T. (k Ste])hens of Morniugside (College, Sioux City,
Iowa, and Mr. Chas. J. Spiker, formerly of the National Park Service,
Washington, D. C.

Mr. Lundquist is a veteran field man and has entered the bird
handing field in a wholesale manner. He has probably banded more
immature Double-crested Cormorants than any other individual hander
in the United States. There is an account of his work in the Wilson
Bulletin for December, 1932.

This list of birds is not presented as a complete catalogue, for
a list of a given region can never be fully complete, hut it is merely
an effort to bridge the gap of some sixty years of time and to show
some of the changes that have occurred. Binomial nomenclature is
used wherever possible. The asterisk (*) is used to denote species
found by Dr. McChesney, numbering 154 forms. Seventy-seven addi-
tional species have been added to Dr. McChesney’s list, bringing the
total to 231 species. Species which we consider as summer residents
in this region are denoted by the symbol °, after the asterisk.

Common Loon. Gavia immer." Dr. McChesney reported great
numbers of loons, hut at present the loon is an uncommon migrant.

Holboell’s Grebe. Colyinbus grisegena holboelliG This large
grebe is a common summer resident on the various lakes on the
Coteau and was evidently overlooked by McChesney. The hoarse cries
of this bird are characteristic of the rush-filled sloughs of the region.

Horned Grebe. Colymbus auritusG This bird is not found as a
common species and has not been seen in numbers. Indications are
that it breeds sparingly iu the Bush Lake region. It was not listed
by Dr. McChesney.

Eared Grebe. Colymbus nigncollis calijormcusG The Eared
Grebe is a very common summer bird and often many colonies of sev-
eral hundred birds each were found breeding on Bush Lake. Mr.
Kuhichek has worked in such colonies and reports nests scattered
everywhere. This is another species not mentioned by McChesney.

Western Grebe. Aechmophoms occidi>nlulis."° A beautiful bird
when .seen in its natural surroundings and while mentioned in 1878 as
occasional in migration, it is today found by hundreds on Bush Lake
and other lakes of the region. Mr. Kid)ichek has jierhaps made a
more thorough study of this species than any other ornithologist of
the day. and he thinks that the species is holding its own in the area
under consideration.

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

211

Fig. 22. Tlie lakes of llie Fort Si.sseloii country, in Marshall, Day,

and Roberts Counties.

212

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

PiED-BiLLEU Grebe. Podilymbas potliceps.*° A very common
bird over the entire Coteau today, as in the early days.

White Pelican. Pelecanus erythrorhynchosP A regular migrant
on the larger lakes, but it is not a breeding bird, although in some
years pelicans stay throughout the summer on the Waubay Lakes.

Double-crested Cormorant. Phalacrocorax auritusP'^ This big
bird is still a common breeder despite constant shooting, and fine colo-
nies nest on islands in South Waubay and Cattail Lakes. A large
colony was recently destroyed on Roy Lake, not far from the old fort.

Great Blue Heron. Ardea herodiasp" A regular migrant, and it
probably breeds in small numbers in this area.

American Egret. Casmerodius albus egret ta. A single bird was
taken by Mr. Kubichek in 1929, and was the first authentic record for
the state of South Dakota. Details of this record have been pub-
lished in Iowa Bird Life for September, 1929.

Green Heron. Butorides virescensP° Not any more common
than in the days of McChesney’s travels.

Black-crowned Night Heron. Nycticorax nycticorax hoactliP°
Dr. McChesney did not locate a breeding colony of this species. To-
day, a large colony of birds nest on a wooded island in Rush Lake and
are usually bothered by a family or two of Crows.

American Bittern. Botaurus lentiginosusP° Still found as a
regular summer resident in suitable habitat.

Least Bittern. Ixobrychus exilis exilisP This tiny bittern was
not found by McChesney and although it has been found breeding on
the Coteau, it is not a very common bird. On June 6, 1931, a pair of
Least Bitterns were observed at their nest on Rush Lake.

Whistling Swan. Cygnus columbianus. Mr. Lundquist reported
to me, that he sees small flocks of these fine liirds nearly every year on
the larger lakes.

Trumpeter Swan. Cygnus buccinator P’ The Trumpeter Swan is
almost a bird of the past and is not now found in the Sisseton country,
as it was in the days of Dr. McChesney.

Canada Goose. Branta canadensisp This goose passes through
in large numbers, but llu' (locks are ])robably concentrated to a large
{‘xlenl, and it ap|»ears to the observer that the birds are not decreasing
in numbers, yet we know that the iiumber of geese is sadly depleted.
Mr. Kul )ichek has taken specimens of the intermediate or Lesser Can-
ada Goose.

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

213

White-fronted Goose. Anser albijrons ulbifrojis. Not iDen-
tioned by McChesney. This goose is a regular migrant, but not as
common as the other forms.

Snow Goose. Chen, hyperborea hyperboreaC A common migrant
in the spring and is often found resting near the larger lakes for some
days at a time.

Blue Goose. Chen caerulescens.'"' Probably more common than
the Lesser Snow Goose and usually associated with that species while
passing through this territory.

Mallard. Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos.^*° The Mallard is
a breeding bird and fairly large flights still occur in the fall of the
year.

Black Duck. Anas rubripes. This duck was not seen hy Dr.
McChesney. Mr. Lundquist says that a few Black Ducks are shot by
hunters nearly every fall.

Gadwall. Chaulelasnius streperus/'° The Gadwall is still a
breeding bird and a regular migrant through the Coteau des Prairies.

Baldpate. Mareca americanaA'° This species is a fall and spring-
migrant and some of the late birds still nest in this area.

Pintail. Dajila acuta tzitzihuaC'^ The Pintail is still considered
a summer resident and quite a few are taken each fall by hunters.

Green-winged Teal. Nettion carolinense."° A beautiful little
fowl, which is still a regular migrant, but a rather uncommon summer
breeder. A pair of these birds was found at Bitter Lake on June 7,
1929.

Blue-winged Teal. Querquedula discors/"° The little blue-wing
is one of the common nesting ducks found on the Coteau and many
])leasant hours have been spent in watching this species during nidi-
fl cation.

Cinnamon Teal. Querquedula cyanoptera. Mr. Lundquist writes
that one or two have been shot by hunters since he has been hunting
at Opitz Slough.

Shoveller. Spatula clypeataC'° The Spoon-bill is still found as
a regular summer resident near Fort Sisseton.

Wood Duck. Aix sponsaA Dr. McChesney reports a single speci-
men of this species. Hunters still take an occasional Wood Duck, but
doubtless the birds arc shot by mistake.

Bedhead. Nyroca aniericana. " ° Not an uncommon breeding bird
and a regular migrant.

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The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Ring-necked Duck. Nyroca collaris° This species was not dis-
tinguished by Dr. McChesney. A regular migrant and possibly a few
remain to breed, as birds have been seen in June.

Canvas-back. Nyroca valisineria."^ Not as common as the Red-
head and only a few birds remain to breed. A nice nest was found in
1931 by Mr. Kubichek.

Scaup Duck. Nyroca marila." Dr. McChesney found this duck
in some numbers during the fall migration.

Lesser Scaup Duck. Nyroca affinisN° This species is a regular
migrant and a few remain to breed.

Golden-eye. Glaucionetta clangula arnericanaN° Were found
in the past in some numbers, this is hardly true today on the Coteau.
Mr. Lundquist found the species breeding at Rush Lake during June,
1930. Two pairs were seen at Spring Lake on June 6, 1935, by the
author.

Barrow’s Golden-eye. Glaucionetta islandicaN Dr. McChesney
reports a few specimens during the spring migration. There are no
recent records of the species from this region.

Buffle-head. Charitonetta albeola." The little Spirit Duck is
not as common during migration, as it was back in 1878. Protection
might restore it to some extent and preserve the species for a few
years more.

Old-SQUAW. Clangula hyenialis. A rare migrant in the Fort
Sisseton country. Mr. Lundquist has taken this species during the
hunting season.

White-winged Scoter. Melanitta deglandi. The scoters were not
reported by Dr. McChesney. This species is not rare and some are
shot nearly every fall.

Surf Scoter. Melanitta perspicullata. This species is not seen
as often as the jireceding species and is usually found on the more
open lakes.

Ruddy Duck. Erismatura janiaicensis rubidaN° Dr. McChesney
found this duck as rare, while recently we have found it as common
and a regular breeding bird over the whole region..

Hooded Merganser. Lophodytes cucullatus." Still found as a
migrant, considered almost common in some years.

American Merganser. Mergus merganser americanusN This
large duck is also a regular migrant throughout the Sisseton country.

Turkey Vulture. Cathartes aura, septentrionalisN Reported by
McChesney as a common breeding bird. The vulture is not common
any more, and only one bird was reported in 1931 by Mr. Lundquist.

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

215

Fig. 23. Old Fori Sisseton, looking across the ])urade ground to the

officers’ quarters.

Fig. 24. Ruins of the powder house at Fort Sis.seton.

216

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Swallow-tailed Kite. ElcmoUIes jorficatus forficatus* This
beautiful hawk was not rare in the early days about Fort Sisseton. To-
day, it has disappeared from the entire northwest and is another of
the vanishing species.

Goshawk. Astur atricapillus. The Goshawk was not mentioned
by McChesney in his report. Mr. Lundquist reports that during cer-
tain fall seasons this hawk is a very common species.

Sharp-shinned Hawk. Accipiter velox veloxA^° This small hawk
was found as a summer resident in 1878 and is still not uncommon
around the old fort.

Cooper’s Hawk. Accipiter cooperi.^^° The Cooper’s Hawk is one
of the medium sized hawks which is apparently still holding its own
in this part of the country.

Red-tailed Hawk. Buteo borealis*° The four forms of the
Red-tailed Hawk still pass through this region, but hardly in the num-
bers that they must have mustered back in the cavalry days of the West.

Broad-winged Hawk. Buteo platypterus platypterus. This small
buteo was not reported by Dr. McChesney. It is now found as a rare
summer visitor.

Swainson’s Hawk. Buteo sivain.soni/'° In the old days of vast
undisturbed prairies, the Swainson’s Buzzard was a very common
breeding bird. Now it is confined largely to the Missouri River re-
gion and is uncommon around Fort Sisseton.

American Rough-legged Hawk. Buteo lagopus s. johannis. The
rough-legs were not found by McChesney during his stay. At the
present time the rough-leg is a regular migrant and there are a num-
ber of mounted birds in the city of Webster.

Ferruginous Rough-leg. Buteo regolis. This species is not com-
mon like the former species.

Golden Eagle. Aquila chrysaetos canadensis." The Golden Eagle
is a regular migrant at Fort Sisseton. Mr. Lundquist says that this
eagle is not uncommon in some falls.

Bald Eagle. Haliaeetus leucocephalus." This species also is
found as a migrant, hut not as often as the Golden Eagle.

Marsh Hawk. Circus hudsonius.'" The Marsh Harrier is of
course the most common of the summer hawks, as it was in the days of
Dr. McChesney.

Osprey. Bandion halia'etus carolinensis. A very uncommon mi-
grant.

Duck Hawk. Falco peregrinus.^' Dr. McChesney says that a few
of these hawks stayed during the summer. The writer saw one on

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

217

June 5, 1931, which was having a thrilling aerial battle with a male
Marsh Hawk.

Pigeon Hawk. Falco colurnbarius* This small falcon is still a
regular migrant. To date it has not been found breeding on the
Coteau.

Sparrow Hawk. Falco sparverius*° The Sparrow Hawk is one of
the small hawks, which has not decreased in numbers and is common
during the summer season.

Prairie Chicken. Tympanuchus cupido americanus.'^° The
Prairie Hen nests on the Coteau in diminished numbers and will prob-
ably be crowded out by over-pasturing of land, rather than by more
direct human contacts.

Sharp-tailed Grouse. Pedioecetes phasianellus.‘^° This light
colored grouse is still found in very small numbers in the Fort Sisse-
ton country.

European Partridge. Perdix PerdixP This fine game bird has
been introduced to the (ioteau in recent years and is spreading rapidly
everywhere. The writer believes that this bird and the Ring-necked
Pheasant will in time crowd out the native Prairie Hen and Prairie
Sharp-tailed Grouse.

Bob-white. Colinus virginianus virginianusP Quail apparently
had not reached the Fort Sisseton region when Dr. McChesney was
there, hut at present are found in small numbers in various wooded
areas.

Ring-necked Pheasant. Phasianus colchicus torquatusP A for-
eign bird which is becoming very common.

Whooping Crane. Crus americanaP A fine bird, which is nearly
extinct. There have been no recent rejiorts from the region of this
species, which was not considered common even hack fifty years ago.

Sandhill Crane. Grus canadensis." The Sandhill Crane formerly
bred on the Coteau, hut at the jiresent time it is an uncommon bird
even as a migrant.

Virginia Rail. Rallus liniicola lirnicola.° This species, which
was not seen by Dr. McChesney, is not an uncommon summer resident
and the nest has been found on the Coteau by Mr. Kuhichek.

SoRA. Porzana caroUna.^'° An interesting little bird, which
breeds in this region and is best studied from a blind.

Florida Gallinule. GalUnula chloropus cachinnansP The galli-
nule is a bird of the rush-filled lakes and was not listed by McChesney.
It is a bird which is definitely in the class of skulkers and keeps close
to cover in most cases.

218

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

American Coot. Fulica americaiui americana.*° The coot is one
of the most common of the summer birds and is found in all the
sloughs and pot-holes.

Piping Plover. Charadrius melodus.° The sweet voiced little
piper was not found in 1878, but now the bird is a regular summer
resident along some of the more open prairie lakes.

Semipalmated Plover. Charadrius semipalmatus.^ This plover
is a regular migrant now as it was in the early days. It occurs both
in the spring and fall.

Killdeer. Oxyechus vociferus vociferus.''"° The Killdeer is one
of the plovers which has not been decreased in numbers by the settling
up of the land, and is apparently as common as it was sixty years ago.

Golden Plover. Pluvialis dominica dominica.^' Dr. McChesney
gives a fine account of the wonderful flights of plovers, both spring
and fall, in which Hocks of thousands were constantly Hying over.
Such Hights of Golden Plovers are, of course, only a memory and
now one is indeed a fortunate ornithologist who sees a Hock of a few
hundred birds.

Black-bellied Plover. Squatarola squutarola.^ Dr. McChesney
states that he did not find this plover during the spring migration;
however, it does come through in the spring and existing records
would point to its abundance then, rather than in the fall. At this
writing, however, the Black-bellied Plover is not a common migrant
in any sense of the word.

Ruddy Turnstone. Arenaria interpres morinellaA The attrac-
tively marked Turnstone is a regular migrant as it was in former
times and one is often privileged to see hundreds of the birds feeding
in fields of sprouting corn. Smaller flocks are also found along the
gravel beaches.

American Woodcock. Philuhela minorA During 1877 and 1878
a lew woodcocks were shot near the fort, but in recent years, according
to Mr. lAimhpiist, this Inrd has not been found by hunters.

Wilson's Snipe. Cap(dla d(dicata." The snipe is a regular mi-
grant and a few possibly remain to breed as they did years ago.

Long-bh.led C.lirlew. Numcnius aniericariusr This splendid
bird, once common over the Great Plains, has left the Fort Sisseton
country and has not been reported even as a migrant for many years.

Hudsonian Curlew. Phaeopus hudsonicusA Dr. McChesney did
not find this bird at Fort Sisseton, although he gives it in his list. No
definite reports of the bird are forthcoming in recent years.

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

219

Fic. 25. Rush Lake, lioine of the Western Gr^

el)e.

Fig. 26. Ritter Lake. Along this shore line nested the Marhled Godwit,
U[iland Plover, Willet, and Piinng I’lover.

220

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Eskimo Curlew. Phaeopus horealisP Another of the vanishing
species which was once so common on the Coteau during migration.
Not reported for many years.

Upland Plover. Bartramia longicaudaP^ A fine game bird,
which was formerly most abundant around Fort Sisseton during the
summer time. At present the bird is found in limited numbers and
present day observers believe that while this valuable bird is slowly
increasing in numbers, it can never return to its former status.

Spotted Sandpiper. Actitis maculariaA° The Spotted Sandpiper
has not decreased in numbers and is found as a common summer resi-
dent. Nests can usually be found on the islands in Waubay Lake.

Solitary Sandpiper. Tringa solitaria. This common migrating
species was overlooked by McChesney and is today found in both
spring and fall.

WiLLET. Catoptrophorus semipalmatus."° A very interesting
wader, which seems to be gradually losing out as a summer resident
of the Coteau. Three or four years ago the Willet was found breeding
in quite a few places, but last year it seemed to be nearly absent.

Greater Yellow-legs. Totanus melanoleucusr The Greater
Tattler is not a common migrant and is slowly losing out like all of
the larger shore birds.

Lesser Yellow-legs. Totanus flavipes." Dr. McChesney states
that this bird bred in the vicinity, which is hardly the case at this
writing. The yellow-legs is, however, one of the most common of all
the migrating shore-birds.

Pectoral Sandpiper. Pisobia melanotosr A medium sized
wader, which has not suffered greatly from hunters and which still
continues to pass to and fro through the prairie region.

White-rumped Sandpiper. Pisobia fuscicolUs." One of the small
peeps, which are so common during migration time.

Baird’s Sandpiper. Pisobia bairdiP This sandpi])er is a regu-
lar migrant over the Coteau. An interesting observation w'as made by
Professor Kuliichek in that the Baird’s Sandpiper seems to migrate
earlier than the other species and is often found wdiile the geese are
still migrating north.

Least Sandpiper. Pisobia niinutilla A A regular migrant.

Red-backed Sandpiper. Pelidna alpina sakhalina. This well
marked bird was missed by Dr. McChesney and is today found as a
regular migrant. During the first week of .Tune, 1930, several small
flocks of this sandpiper were seen near Rush Lake and some were
taken.

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

221

Dowitchek. Lwinodrumus griscus/" Formerly a common mi-
grant and considered a fine talde bird by Dr. McChesney. Now the
bird is an uncommon migrant and is not tbe most familiar of ibe
waders as it was in the days of yore.

Stilt Sandpiper. Micropalama himantopus. A well known
species, winch was not found by McChesney. At times found as one of
the commoner waders. On June 5, 1930, a Hock of about 500 Stilt
Sandpipers were seen on the west shore of Rush Lake.

Semipalmated Sandpiper. Ereunet.es pusillusd^ Probably with-
out question the most abundant of all migrating sandpipers.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Tryngites subruficollis.* A strange
little sandpiper, which was taken by Dr. McChesney in small numbers.

Marbled Godwit. Liniosa fedoa.'^° Strangely Dr. McChesney
reports this godwit as common and yet not breeding on the Coteau.
Professor Kubichek has found many nests of the bird at various places
and at this writing it is found much more frequently than the Willet.
These two species suffer heavily from over-pasturing.

Hudsonian Godwit. Limosa haeniastica.^ Much more common in
1878 than at present, as is the case with all the larger waders. Dr.
McChesney said it did not stay to breed.

Sanderling. Crocethia alba. Anotber of the shore birds which
was not listed by Dr. McCbesney. The species is not considered rare
by Mr. Kubichek, who has taken birds in various phases of plumage.

Avocet. Recurvirostra aniericana/^ A truly beautiful bird, which
formerly bred near Fort Sisseton. At present exceedingly rare in
migration.

Wilson’s Phalarope. Steganopus tricolor.'^° Wilson’s Phalarope
nests sparingly on the Coteau, with the bulk of the birds going farther
north to jiass the nidification period.

Northern Phalarope. Lobipes lobatus. This phalarope is a
regular migrant at Fort Sisseton, hut was not reported by Dr. Mcf.hes-
ney. Sometimes flocks of several thousand birds are found in this
area in the spring. Such a Hock of approximately 4,00(t birds was
found at Bitter Lake on June 2, 1931.

Herring Gull. Lams argent, atusd' Dr. Mcf.hesney gives this gull
as a breeding species and as common. This is not true today and it is
now considered only as a straggling migrant.

Bing-billed Gull. Laras delawarensisP This gull was not listed
by Dr. McChesney. Today, a fine nesting colony of several hundred
birds is to be found on the cast island in South Waubay Lake and has
apparently been there many years. Tt is jiossible that it might nest
elsewhere in the region in small numbers.

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The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Franklin's Gull. Larus pipixcan.^’^ A trim aj^pearing gull,
with a lovely rose blush on the underparts, which often nests on cer-
tain rush-filled lakes in countless thousands. Conditions must be right,
however, or the birds do not nest. Some years thousands of unmated
birds may stay around all summer and feed on insects in the nearby
fields. Franklin’s Gull is one of the many reasons why the Fort
Sisseton country is a bird student’s paradise.

Laughing Gull. Lams atricilla.^^ Dr. McChesney lists this gull
as abundant and lireeding, as he also does the Franklin’s Gull. There
have been no recent records of this species that are substantiated by
specimens.

Forster’s Tern. Sterna forsteri."° Forster’s Tern is still a regu-
lar summer resident, but it is doubtful whether it is as plentiful as it
was fifty years ago.

Common Tern. Sterna hirundo hirundod"° This tern appeared
to the writer as the more common of the two species. Nice colonies
are found on Waubay Lake, Hildebrandt’s Lake, and Cottonwood Lake.
The birds acted as tbougb they M^ere going to nest on a small island
in Roy Lake in June, 1931, and there are probably other small colonies
scattered around on the Coteau.

Black Tern. Chlidonias nigra surinaniensisd'° A common sum-
mer resident in suitable locations over the entire region.

Mourning Dove. Zenaidura macroura/^° The Mourning Dove
can still be considered a common summer bird on the Coteau, despite'
open seasons in many western and southern states.

Passenger Pigeon. Ectopistes migratoriusd' According to Dr.
McChesney this extinct species was not an especially abundant sum-
mer resident about the fort.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Coccyzns aniericanus aniericanus.^ An
uncommon summer resident, not mentioned by McChesney.

Black-billed Cuckoo. Coccyzus erythropthahnus.^'° The com-
mon breeding form, which is found probably in about the same num-
bers as jireviously.

Screech Owl. Otus asioP The Screech Owl was not reported by
Dr. Mefihesney during bis slay. Now the bird is found as a common
resident.

Great Horned Owl. Bubo vlrginianusd^° The Great Horned
Owl is a sorely |)erseculed bird in any locality, but des])ile all this
the bird is still found on tbe Coteau.

Snowy Owl. Nyctea- nyctea." Reported in small numbers in
187(3. In recent years great waves of Snowy Owls have visited the

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

223

Fig. 27. Nest of the Western Grehe. The usual clutch of eggs is four,

six is rather uncoimnon.

Fig. 28. Western Grelie nest covered. Usually they do not cover.

224

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

(^oteaii and a great many birds have l)een killed. Professor Knbichek
has found them in the spring while the wild fowl w'ere migrating.

13urrowing Owl. Speotyto cunicularia hypugaea° It is interest-
ing to know that this curious owl apparently did not breed near the
post when McChesney lived there; however, at present this owl lives
in the hills north of the fort and is not rare.

Long-eared Owl. Asio wilsonianus. Not listed by McChesney,
while today it is found as a not uncommon owl.

Short-eared Owl. Asio flamineus flaniineusA It is rather sur-
prising that this owl was not seen by McChesney. We now find it as a
rather frequent breeding bird in the lowlands.

Nighthawk. Chordeiles minor.*° A common summer resident
over the entire Coteau. The lighter colored race called Sennett’s
Nighthawk appears to be the most common form.

Chimney Swift. Chaetura pelagicaA This bird is found about
the various towns, which now dot the Coteau. Dr. McChesney does not
report this species.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Archilochus coluhrisA° This
species has probably increased somewhat, especially around the towns,
where an abundance of flowers attract it.

Belted Kingfisher. Megaceryle alcyonA° Not a very common
bird anywhere on the Coteau. In a later note (Bull. Nutt. Ornith.
Club, IV, 1879, p. 188 ) Dr. McChesney reported a pair of these birds
observed near the post on April 14 and 16, 1879.

Flicker. Colaptes auratus."° The Flicker is still found in small
numbers about Fort Sisseton and also about the towns in the region.
Hybrids between this form and the Red-shafted Flicker have also
been seen.

Red-headed Woodpecker. Melauerpes erythrocephalus.^^^ This
bird is a common summer resident.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Sphyrapicus varius varius. The
sapsucker is a very uncommon migrant.

Hairy Woodpecker. Dryobates villosus.'"'° Dr. McChesney did
not think that this species bred in the vicinity at that time. Today, the
bird is found as a breeding bird as well as a winter resident.

Downy Woodpecker. Dryobates pubescens.'^'° Dr. McCihesney
did not include this bird in his long list, but in a later note (Bull. Nutt.
Ornith. Club. IV, 1879, p. 188) he s])oke of seeing this species sev-
eral times in the winter of 1878-79 and collecting a lew specimens.
The writer has usually found this species nesting in the willow trees
in this region.

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

225

Kingbird. Tyrannus tryannus.'^^° The Kingbird is a very common
summer bird. Many nests arc found in low situations. Dr. Stephens
has some fine pictures of these birds nesting in a snowberry thicket.

Arkansas Kingbird. Tyrannus verticalis.'^'° The Western King-
bird is also a common species and seems to get along peaceably with
the preceding form. The jiresence of many planted groves around
farm homes and in the towns has led to an increase in the numbers
of these two species.

Phoebe. Sayornis phoeheP The Phoebe is not a common bird
anywhere in the region.

T ELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. Enipidonux flaviveiitris. This
small, dark-colored flycatcher is not an uncommon spring migrant
and birds have been seen at various places on the Coteau. It was not
previously reported.

Alder Flycatcher. Empidonax trailli° Traill’s Flycatcher is
probably the most common of the small flycatchers on the Coteau. The
writer has found it breeding in brush-land near water and in wild
plum thickets on an island in Rush Lake.

Least Flycatcher. Empidonax minimus ° The Least Flycatcher
is a regular migrant through the Fort Sisseton country. It remains
to breed. The three preceding species were not listed in 1878.

Wood Pewee. Myiachanes virensT^° The writer is inclined to
think that this species breeds in small numbers, while Dr. McChesney
considered it as a migrant. It was found to be not uncommon in the
woods near Opitz Slough in June, 1931.

Horned Lark. Octocoris alpestris."° Dr. McChesney seemed to
think that the Horned Lark was merely a migrant or winter visitant.
The writer has found the bird as a regular breeding bird in recent
years. Late broods are not uncommon in June. There are probably
several different forms of the Horned Lark visiting this region during
the course of the year.

Tree Swallow. Iridoprocne bicolor."° Dr. McCJiesney found
this swallow only during one season; however, the bird is now con-
sidered a regular migrant and a not uncommon summei lesident.
Mr. Kuhichek found, on one occasion, an unusual nest in a piece of
farm machinery.

Bank Swallow. Riparia npana n paria." ° Still found as a com-
mon summer resident in suitable locations.

Rough-winged Swallow. St(dgidop!cryx ruficoUis serripennis.°
A migrant in this region and a regular summer resident.

226

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Hahn Swallow. Uinmdo crythrogaster/^° Dr. McChesiiey speaks
of it as found in small nnmhers. This bird is now found about nearly
every farm in the region. This is another species which has increased
in nnmhers due to settling of the country.

(iLiFF Swallow. Pctrochelidon albijrons albi irons.'"° A regular
migrant and summer resident.

Purple Martin. Profile subis subis/"° Another species which
has become quite common due to the jiresence of numerous bird houses
and other accessible nesting sites. An interesting sight at old Fort
Sisseton is the dock of martins, which nest in the now decaying build-
ings and lly back and forth over the old parade ground.

Ib.LiE Jay. Cyanocilta cristatu crislata.*° A regular summer resi-
dent, and found as not uncommon in winter.

American Magpie. Pica pica hudsoniu. A remarkable invasion
of mag])ies occurred during 1921 and 1922 throughout this entire
region. Large nnmhers of the birds w'ere found around Fort Sisseton
and some of the birds stayed during the ensuing summer. There
were also some rejiorts of the birds nesting, hut Ave have no actual
nests or eggs to hack uj) the reports.

Haven. Corvus corax/" The Haven was a rare bird about Fort
Sisseton even during Dr. Mcfihesney’s stay and is not found in the
region today.

Crow. Corvus brachyrhyfichosd'° In 1878 the (how was consid-
ered a rare bird at the |)ost. Today, the bird is a common migrant,
but is still an uncommon breeding bird. A jiair or tw'O usually nest
on the island in Hush Lake and here live and feed their young from
the nests of Black-crowned Night Herons. In June, 1931, the writer
put an end to their de]iredations for one year by dispatching the par-
ents and two grown young birds.

Black-capped Chickadee. Peuihcstes atricapillus/’° Tbe chicka-
dee is a regular summer resident, and some stay throughout the cold-
est winter.

\\ HiTE-RREASTED Nfthatch. SiUu curoHnensis carolineiisis. Dr.
Mcd.hesiu'y did not list this species or the following. The common
nuthatch is today a regular resident of the region and often a familiar
bird around tlu' fc'cding shelf.

Hed-rre \s rFD Ni riiATCii. Silla canadensis. This small nuthatch
is (ouiid al linu's in the lull and early winter about the fi'eding box
ill Webster and other towns on the Coteaii.

Brown (.reeper. (.erllna Janulians. The Brown (hee|)er was
not listc'd in 1878. Ibis odd little bird is lound as a very common

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

227

t ic. 29. Ne.sl oi Holhoell’s Grebe on .sliore of Riisli Lake.

Fk;. .30. Goninion Kiiifibinl on nesl. In lakinn ibis piclure ibe pbolo^rapber
ajiproaebed on iool till the lens ol camera was lour ieel Irom birrl.

228

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

fall and winter resident and its peculiar feeding habits are always a
source of interest to one interested in bird life.

House Wren. Troglodytes aedon.^° The House Wren has also
increased greatly in numbers, due to numerous l)ird houses in both
townyards and farmyards. The House Wren has not deserted its
original nesting sites however, and is found in the woods as well.

Long-billed Marsh Wren. T elmatodytes pulustrisP This wren
and the following species are the most interesting of the entire family
and were apparently overlooked by Dr. McCbesney. The Long-billed
Marsh Wren is one of the common birds of the sloughs. The little
oval grass nests are found everywhere among the beds of scirpus and
the tiny birds with bubbling songs are continually flitting ahead of
the observer.

Short-billed Marsh Wren. Cistothorus stellaris.° This bird is
not nearly as common as the above species, mainly because suitable
nesting areas are not available in many places. A damp meadow is
the home of this wren, with its characteristic chittering song.

Catbird. Dumatella carolinens{s.*° The writer is confident that
the Catbird and the Brown Thrasher have increased greatly in numbers
since 1878 due to the planting of shrubbery and trees tbroughout the
entire region.

Brown Thrasher. Toxostoma rufum.^° This bird is often seen
about farm homes and along country roads, where trees have been
planted.

Robin. Turdus migratorius.*° Dr. McCbesney found the Robin
in small numbers and attributed its scarcity to lack of nesting sites.
As a species, the Robin bas increased enormously and is today one
of the most common summer birds around every farm and in every
city and village over tbe entire “Coteau des Prairies”.

Hermit Thrush, llylocichla guttata. An uncommon migrant.

Olive-backed Thrush, llylocichla ustulata swaiiisoni.^' This
thrush was found by Dr. McCbesney in small numbers and was also
seen by the writer the first week in June, 1931.

Gray-cfteeked Thrush, llylocichla minima aliciae. The Gray-
cheeked Thrush is a less common migrant than the Olive-hacked
Thrush.

Bluebird. Siaha sialis sialis.^'° The Bluebird is a regular resi-
dent on the (.oteau and has also joined the ranks of the bird box
nesters around farms and towns.

(.EDAR Waxwing. Bomhycilla cedrorum . The gentle mannered
waxwing was not listed by McCbesney during his stay. Tn 1931 the
w riter saw several flocks of the birds near tbe Waubay Lakes.

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

229

Shrike. Lcmms ludovicianus.'^° Dr. McChesney collected a
single Shrike in 1877. Now the Shrike is a common bird along any
roadside which boasts a few trees or shrubs large enough to nest in.

Starling. Stumus vulgaris. Strangely enough the first record of
this introduced species in South Dakota came from the Fort Sisseton
country. Mr. Lundquist records the first Starling on May 14, 1933,
near Lake Minnewashta, Day County. (See Wilson Bulletin for
March, 1934) .

Yellow-throated Vireo. Lanivireo flavifroris. This rather
hrightly colored vireo has been found to be a not uncommon summer
resident in areas where cottonwood trees are growing.

Red-eyed Vireo. Vireo olivaceus.'^'° The Red-eyed Vireo is
found regularly on the Coteau. Dr. McChesney collected one bird.

Warbling Vireo. Vireo gilvus.'‘^° Not rare. Dr. McChesney also
collected one bird of this species.

Black and White Warbler. Mniotilta varia.^" Still found as a
regular migrant and the writer feels that careful search will also re-
veal it as a rare summer resident, as it has been found nesting at
Sioux City, Iowa.

Tennessee Warbler. Vermivora peregrina. A very common mi-
grant, not listed by Dr. Mc(4iesney. At times it is the most common
of migrating warblers.

Orange-crowned Warbler. Vermivora celata. A regular mi-
grant, not given by Dr. McChesney.

Parula Warbler. Compsothlypis arnericana. A rare migrant,
which was reported by Mr. Lundquist for the first time in the spring
of 1927.

Yellow Warbler. Deudroica aestiva.'"'° Then as now, one of
the common small birds, which remains to breed.

Magnolia Warbler. Deudroica magnolia." A migrant, which
was found by Dr. Mc(-liesney in small numbers and still ]iasses
through the region.

Cape May Warbler. Dendroica lignmi. One of the rarer war-
blers, which was first rejiorted by Mr. Linuhpiist. A specimen has
been taken in the region. A warbler of this species was seen on June
3, 1935, near Spring Lake.

Myrtle Warbler. Dendroica coronaia.^ Dr. McChesney lound
this species as a common migrant, as later ohservcis also leport u.

Blackburnian Warbler. Dendroica Jusca.'^^ This brilliantly col-
ored bird was reported by Dr. McChesney as a spring migrant.

230

The Wilson Bulletin — September^ 1935

Chestnut-sided Warbler. Dendroica peiisylvanicad^ Also listed
in the early days. An uncommon migrant today.

Bay-breasted Warbler. Dendroica castanea. Mr. Lundcfiiist first
observed this bird for the region in 1927.

Black-poll Warbler. Dendroica striata/^ Still one of the more
common migrants of the warbler hosts.

Pine Warbler. Dendroica piniis/" The Pine Warbler was found
in small numbers by McChesney.

Palm Warbler. Dendroica palniarum. Tins sjiecies has been
seen by Mr. Lundquist.

Ovenbird. Seiurus aurocapillus.° Dr. McChesney does not list
this species. Recently Mr. Lundquist has found the bird as common
in migration. The writer has found that it breeds sjiaringly in tins
region.

Water-Thrush. Seiurus noveboracensis/^ Dr. McChesney found
this species as rare in 1878, it is however a regular migrant.

Yellow-throat. Geothlypis trichas/'° Dr. McChesney found
the Yellow-throat as a migrant; today, however, it is a common sum-
mer resident in suitable locations.

Yellow-breasted Chat. Icleria virensP During June, 1935, tbe
writer found tbe Yellow-breasted Chat not uncommon in suitable habi-
tats and now considers this species as a regular summer resident on
the Coteau.

Wilson’s Warbler. Wilsonia pusilla. An uncommon migrant
on the Coteau.

(,'anada Warbler. Wilsonia canadensis/' Dr. McChesney found
this bird in some numbers, but it did not stay to breed.

American Kedsrart. Setophaga rulicilla."° Still a regular mi-
grant through the region with a few remaining to breed in the more
timbered parts of the (ioteau.

English Sparrow. Passer domeslicusP An introduced s])ecies,
which, happily. Dr. McXihesney did not have to bother with on his
field tri])s. This bird is at ])resent very common around the remains
of the old post.

Bobolink. Dolichonyx orYziin>rus."° In 1878 this bird was very
common about Fort Sisseton. At tins writing it can hardly be said
that the Bobolink is common. The bird is still found in certain
meadows, but not in great numbers and seems to be one of the birds
wdiich is slowly decreasing in numbers.

Western Meadowlark. Sturnella negleeta/'° A very common
bird in the past and even more common in the jiresent. It ol ten stays
in the region until along in November.

Birds of Fort Sisseton

South Dakota

231

Img. 31. View in Doiihle-crested Cormoranl rolony on Ka.-^l Island in

Soulh Wauhay l ake.

Fig. 32. Adult ConnoraiUs in the .same colony. Pholof:ra[)h hy W. F.
Kuliichek, and borrowed Irom Wilson Ruu.etin, Decemlier, 1*132.

232

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Yellow-headed Blackbird. Xanthocephalus xanthocephalusX°
The most abundant bird around the numerous sloughs of the region.
They are found feeding everywhere in pastures and fields and are
almost confiding in nature. Many were caught by Professor Kubichek
while he sat in his blind waiting for Western Grebes to perform. The
birds would sit on the corner posts of the blind, and by cutting a slit
in the burlap and quickly thrusting up a hand, the birds could be
grasped by the legs.

Bed-winged Blackbird. Agelaius pJweniceus.'"° The Bed-winged
Blackbird is also a common summer resident about Fort Sisseton.,

Orchard Oriole. Icterus spuriusA° This fine songster is a regu-
lar summer resident in this area and is another of the birds which has
increased in numbers due to planting of trees about farms and towns.

Baltimore Oriole. Icterus galbulaX° The Baltimore Oriole is
not uncommon over the entire region and has increased greatly in
numhers due to the settlement of the country.

Busty Blackbird. Euphagus carolinus. A common migrant, not
mentioned by Dr. McChesney in his report.

Brewer’s Blackbird. Euphagus cyanocephalusP This most in-
teresting blackbird has come into the Fort Sisseton country in recent
years, as it was not found by Dr. McChesney. It has recently been
found nesting in small numbers in favored localities and specimens
have been taken.

Bronzed Crackle. Quiscalus quiscula.*° Dr. McChesney puts
this species down as the Purple Crackle. The grackle has also in-
creased in numbers in recent years.

CowBiRD. Molothrus aterX° This foister of the bird family is
still a very common species about Fort Sisseton.

Cardinal. Richmomlena cardinalisA'° Many birds have expanded
or contracted their breeding ranges in recent years, viz.. Brewer’s
Blackbird, Arkansas Kingbird, and others. Most people in the upper
Missouri Valley, however, think that the Cardinal is a recent addition
to the fauna of the region. This is hardly the case, for Dr. McChesney
found this bird on several occasions in the woods about Fort Sisseton,
back in 1877, and although he called it casual, it meant that the species
was present more than fifty years ago.

Bose-breasted Grosbeak. Hedymeles ludovicianus.'"° The strik-
ingly attired male grosbeak is a welcome addition to the bird life of
the (.oteaii. from my observations, however, it is found only in small
numbers and is not increasing in abundance.

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

233

Indigo Bunting. Fasserma cyarieu.*° Another bird with a tropi-
cal touch is the Indigo Bunting, wliich is found in small numbers.

Lazuli Bunting. Fasserma amoeria. Every day during the first
week of June, 1935, the writer found Lazuli Buntings near the camp on
Hildehrandt’s Lake. The birds were apparently beginning nidification.
The presence of this species in the Fort Sisseton region indicates the
eastward movement of another western species.

Dickcissel. Spiza amencana.*° Dr. McChesney found the Black-
throated Bunting in considerable numbers during the summer time.
In recent years it has not been very noticeable around that region, hut
this is probably due to the fact that it is another species like the Lark
Bunting, which seems to fluctuate at intervals as to abundance.

Pine Grosbeak. Finicola enuclealor* In Dr. McChesney’s long
list this species was merely mentioned. But later he reported {Bull.
Nutt. Ornith. Club, IV, 1879, p. 187) encountering a flock of “perhaps
twenty-five birds” on January 6, 1879, in some timber growth. A
single specimen was secured.

Redpoll. Acanthis linaria.* This species was also merely men-
tioned by Dr. McChesney in his first report. But he gave the details in
a later note {Bull. Nutt. Ornith. Club, IV, 1879, p. 187). During the
winter of 1878-79 many flocks were seen, and a specimen was secured
on January 28. Mr. Lundquist found this species to he common during
the winter of 1931-32.

Pine Siskin. Spinus pirms. The very erratic little Pine Finch is
found at odd times in the Fort Sisseton country; it was not mentioned
})y Dr. McChesney.

Goldfinch. Spinus tristis."^° The Goldfinch is a common bird
and often comes into the town gardens to drink and bathe in a con-
veniently placed bird hath.

Towhee. Fipilo erythrophthalnius. A migrant and I believe that
a few stay to nest in the secluded glens on the (.oteau.

Arctic Towhee. Fipilo niaculatus arcticus. Fliis form is also a
regular migrant and is found migrating much later in the lall than
the preceding form. These two species were not enteied by Dr.
McChesney.

Lark Bunting. Calarnospiza nielajiocorys.* ° The Lark Bunting
is here one year and gone the next. In 1929 the birds weie not un-
common, hut in 1931 only one bird was seen.

Savannah Sparrow. Fasserculus sandwichensis. ° This prairie
sparrow is common all over the Coteau and its thin song is heaid on
every side. Dr. McChesney did not think it bred in the vicinity, hut

234

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

the nest of the Savannah Sparrow has been found liere and also one
hundred miles south of this region.

Grasshopper Sparrow. Arnmodramus savarinarum° The Grass-
hopper Sparrow, which has less of a song than the preceding bird was
overlooked by Dr. McChesney. It is common and can be found most
everywhere.

Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Ammospizu caudacutci.° A very elusive
bird which was not reported by Dr. McChesney. A male bird was col-
lected by the writer at Rush Lake on June 7, 1931, and was without
a doul)t a l)reeding bird. The Sharp-tailed Sparrow of this region is
also called the Nelson’s Sparrow.

Vesper Sparrow. Pooecet.es gramineusA"° A common summer
bird at present and reported by McChesney during the winter of
1877-78.

Lark Sparrow. Chondestes gramniacusP The Lark Sparrow is
not a common l)ird in this region. It was not given in Dr. McChesney’s
list.

Slate-colored Jingo. Junco hyemulis." The junco was found
as a regular winter visitor by Dr. McChesney.

Tree Sparrow. Spizella arborea.'" Dr. McChesney tells of the
abundance of this sparrow and considers it a breeding bird. I think he
must have confused it with the Chipping Sparrow, as the Tree Spar-
row has never been known to nest either in North Dakota or Minne-
sota, where it would be more apt to nest than in South Dakota.

(inippiNG Sparrow. Spizella passerinaP An uncommon summer
resident.

Ci.AY-coLOREi) Sparrow. Spizella pallida." ° Dr. McChesney
said that this sparrow was extremely rare in 1878. The writer has
tound this most interesting sparrow not uncommon in many places on
the Coteau. Scattered patches of snowberry seem to be its favorite
nesting place. The male usually seeks some small tree nearl)y for his
singing periods. Most of the dainty nests were found within a few
inches of the ground. Occasionally a nest would be up a foot or two
in some small bush.

Harris’s Sparrow. Zonolriehia (fuerula." One of our most hand-
some sparrows and a common migrant over the Coteau. Dr. McChes-
ney called it an accidental bird, but in recent years it has been found
as common, especially during Se])tember and October.

White-crowned Sparrow. Zonolriehia leucoplirys. This species
was not mentioned by Dr. Mc(,hesney. This bird along with Gambel’s
Sparrow is a regular migrant at this writing.

Birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota

235

\V HlTK-TH itOATEi) Si’AKKOW. Zonotricliiu alhicollis. This crown
sparrow was not given l)y Dr. McChesney in his list. It is now fouml
as a common spring and fall migrant.

I' ox Sparrow, f^asserella diuca. The large Fox Sparrow is a
migrant in small numbers in the Fort Sisseton region. Dr. McFhesney
(lid not report this sj)ecies.

Lincoln’s Sparrow. Molospiza lincolni. A rather silent migrant
during its stay with us and although usually common, it is often not
seen because of its shyness. Not given by I3r. McChesney.

Swamp Sparrow. Melospiza georgiuna."° Dr. Mcfihesney col-
lected a single bird in the spring of 1878. This sparrow' is a regular
migrant and the writer is inclined to believe that a few remain to nest,
as he has found birds nesting in western Minnesota in similar habitat
as offered by the Fort Sisseton region.

Song Sparrow. Melospiza rnelo(ha."° As in the case of the
Savannah Sparrow, this sparrow' w'as also considered as a migrant b\
Dr. McChesney, but now' the two species are both found as breeding
birds. The long wooded island in Hush Lake was lound to be the
home of more than one pair of Song Sparrows during tlie writer's
trips to that spot.

Lapi.ani) Longsplir. Calcarius lap})0iiicus.'"' This migrating long-
spur was found by Dr. MefTesney as abundant. The bird still comes
in large numbers and is observed occasionally in the fall in flocks of
thousands.

Smith’s Longspur. Calcarius pictusC Dr. A^Icfdiesney saw great
flocks of these birds in the fall. He adds that for a period of about
two hours, he estimated that one thousand birds jiassed him |)er min-
ute and that wlien he left the birds were still flying southward. This
s|)ccies has sufliwed a tremendous loss in numbers if ]uesent day ob-
s('rvations are accurate. Tlu're are no recent reports of the species
from the Fort Sisseton country and very meager reports from Minne-
sota in the last twenty years. Mr. (.has. .1. Spiker s report of Smith s
Longs|)urs in “W inter Hird Hecords, 1922 to 192(i. in Noi thw ('stei n
Iowa” { Crocccdin gs oj llic Iowa Academy oj Sci(‘nc(\ XXXIll. 1926.
p|). 307-818), .s(>ems to be the only recent iTcord of the birds in this

region.

Chestnut-coli.arei) Longsplr. (.alcarius ornaliis. ° Ibis well
marked s])ecies was considered as merely a migrant by Di. Mct.lu'sne).
who found it in large numbers. At the jnesent time this longspur
is a regular breeding bird on tiu' prairies of noi lheast(u n South Dakota.

Sioux (jty, Iowa.

236

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

GENERAL NOTES

Conducted by M. H. Swenk

A Three-egg Set of the Mourning Dove. — On June 5, 1934, in Woodbury
Township, Stutsman County, North Dakota, I found the nest of a Mourning Dove
(Zenaidiira macroura) which contained three eggs. Perhaps this is unusual
enough to be worth recording. — Archibald Johnson, Stewart, Nev.

Effect of Drouth on Birds. — In Woodbury Township, Stutsman County,
North Dakota, on June 5, 1934, I found the nest of a Robin (Turdus migratorius)
which lacked the usual mud walls. The materials used were grasses and fine
plant fiber only. On the side that was habitually approached by the birds the
nest wall was very much depressed, giving the structure an unsymmetrical appear-
ance. The protracted drouth in the region was no doubt responsible for this
deviation from the normal in the construction of this nest. — Archibald Johnson,
Stewart, Nev.

The Black Tern Recorded in the West Virginia Panhandle. — On May 5,

1935, the writer saw a Black Tern {Chlidonias nigra subsp.) at Beech Bottom
Swamp, Beech Bottom, West Virginia. The bird was darting after insects just
above the water’s edge, and came so close to the observer that its black head,
throat, breast, and belly were easily discerned. The slate-colored back, wings, and
tail were also noted. Tins is the first record of this species for the West Virginia
Panhandle, and there are probably not more than a dozen records of the Black
Tern for the state of West Virginia. — Thos. E. Shields, If heeling. If . Va.

Specimen of European Widgeon Taken in Northwestern Iowa. — A
fully plumaged male European Widgeon {Mareca penelope) was killed during
October, 1933, by George Van Wyngarden while he was hunting ducks at North
Twin Lakes, Calhoun County, Iowa. Mr. Van Wyngarden stated that this bird
was one of a flock of four which flew over, and all appeared to be the same
species. Only one specimen was secured.

The specimen was mounted by Mr. Van Wyngarden and is displayed in his
private collection of water birds and upland game birds at Manson. While the
European Widgeon has been taken in all states surrounding Iowa, this is believed
to be the first and only specimen of this bird secured in Iowa. This collection
was examined by the writer on May 2, 1935, when permission was kindly granted
for the publication of this note. — Philip A. DuMont, Dea Moines, Iowa.

The Brewer’s Blackbird at Athens, Clarke County, Georgia. — In a

recent issue of the Wilson Bulletin (Vol. XLV, No. 3, September, 1933), I
discussed in more or less detail the present status of Brewer’s Blackbird (Eiipha-
gus cyanocephalus) as a migrant and winter resident in the southeastern states,
and advanced the opinion, based on the relative abundance of this species both
in the spring and in the fall at Asheville, North Carolina, that this western bird
would prove, despite lack of records to date, to be of regular occurrence in
Georgia in migration and possibly throughont the winter. It would appear now
that this supposition was at least partially justified for on two brief field trips
to Athens, the Brewer’s Blackbird was noted on each occasion, and it is
probable that others were present before and after these actual dates. On
December 3, 1933, three birds, all males, were seen at the edge of the open
.Sandy Creek bottoms, while on April 9, 1935, four birds, three males and a
female, were watched as they fed about horses grazing in a pasture on the

General Notes

237

campus of tlie Agricultural College. On this latter date their similarity to
Cowbirds was f]uite maiked, and suggested a very probaltle reason for their
l)eiug ovei looked iu past years. Iheir habits are certainly very dissimilar to
those of the closely related Rusty Blackbird {Euphugus carolimis) , and this
fact should be borne iu mind iu watching lor these birds iu migration. Lack
of suspicion is another trait characteristic of the small Hocks seen in western
North Carolina and Georgia, so positive identification is never a difficult mat-
ter. Thos. D. Bukleich, Bureau of Biological Survey, New Orleans, La.

A Record of the Trumpeter Swan from the Late Pleistocene of Illinois.

—In material secured at Aurora, Illinois, by Professor Clarence R. Smith of
Aurora College, forwarded to me for examination by Dr. L. A. Adams of the Uni-
versity of Illinois, I have identified humeri, a broken sternum, and part of the
scapula of the Trumpeter Swan (Lygnus buccinator). According to Professor
Smithi these specimens were found in a marl deposit underlying a peat bog
above which was a layer of muck forming the bottom of a swamp in Phillip’s
Park in the southwest part of Aurora at a point a mile and a half east of the
Fox River. They were obtained by C. W. A. workers during excavation of the
swamp to make an artificial lake.

The swan remains were associated with bones of mastodon (Mastodon ameri-
canus) and giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis) and are believed to have been
deposited in the bed of a post-glacial lake. According to the findings of Dr. 0. P.
Hay2 this would seem to place them in what Dr. Hay has termed the Wabash
beds in late Pleistocene. Dr. Adams writes me that mollusks of Pleistocene
species were taken from the pneumatic foramina of the swan humeri.

The bones are distinguished at a glance as those of tlie Trumpeter Swan.
The sternum, while in fragments, shows the characteristic bulbous swelling pro-
jecting into the body cavity at the anterior end in addition to the swollen chan-
nel in which the trachea is lolded. The humeri exhiliit two sizes, possibly indi-
cative of sexual difference in wing measurement, and are greater in size than the
largest Whistling Swans. All of the specimens, which bear numbers 111, 734,
B, C, D, F, H, J, and K, are fresh and clean in appearance, and are in good
state of preservation.

Previously this swan has Ijeen I'epoited from Pleistocene deposits in Oregon
and Florida, the present being the first occurrence of it in the central portion of
our country. The find is one of definite importance in view of the few reports
of birds that have come from Pleistocene beds of the area in question.

The specimens have been returned to Professor Smith, to whose kindness
and that of Dr. Adams 1 am indebted lor permission to place this occurrence on
record, and are preserved by the city ol Aurora in a museum at Phillip s Park.
Ai.exander Wetmohe, U. S. National Museum, U ashington, D. C.

Notes on the Nesting of Captive Mute Swans. In the lattei pait of
June, 1930, four Mute Swans ((.yfnus olor) about a year old, and still in
the gray juvenile plumage, were [)laced upon eighty-seven acie Fowlei Lake,
in the city of Oconomowoc, Waukesha County, Wisconsiti. These birds were
a single brood from a captive ]>air. Two additional birds that had been hatched
the previous year, but from another pair, were jrlaced on the lake latei in

’Science, Vol. 81, April 19, 1935, p. 380.
^Carnegie Inst. Washington, Publ. 322, 192.3, p. 13.

23£

I he Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

tlic simuiH'r. 'I’hc lOiir uri^iiial birds slaycd l)y |Irmiis(‘]\('s on (he lake, and
would not allow the otlu'r two to come neai' them, hut pursued them whenever
they could fid near thetu. All birds were winfi-cli[iped at the time, hut W'ere
pinioned before heiuf: taken to winter quarters.

The followdup; s]iriufi tw'o of the orifiinal lour birds mated and started huild-
iiifi a nest dui iiif: the lattei' juu't of April, d he site chosen was in a cattail marsh
in the Oconomowoc River, vvheie the stream flow's into Fowler Lake. It could
easily he seen from a hridfie, and as a number of peo])le came to observe the
huildiiifi operations, the pair abandoned this site and mo\ed to a more secluded
spot larther up stream. On ,Iune 3, 1931, the juiir wuis seen on the lake with
live newly hatched youiifr, wdiich must have been less than twenty-four houi's old.

1'he Mute .Swan is ordinarily supposed not to mate before thiee years ol
afie, but this ])uir w'as ap|>ioximately two yeais of aue at the lime ol produciufi
youufr. — Wii.i.iAiu Johnston Howahu. Peioskcy. Mich.

The 1934 Fall Migration at Cleveland’s Public Square. — Migraliiifi biids
were much less common at the Square this season than most years, according to
my observations. The only reason that 1 can propose is that, with the unusual
amount of clear weather which occurred during the fall months, migrants were
Hying higher over Lake Erie on their southw'ard journey, and [lassed over the city
belore descending to rest in more attractive surroundings beyond the congested
area.

My I'ccords lor the ten species which 1 observed this season are as follows:

No. Days Larire.st No.

Siiecies

P'irst Record

Last Record

Seen

in One Day

Canada Goose

Nov. 1

1

8

■Sparrow Hawk

Sept. 13

Dec. 20

4

1

Herring Gull

.Sept. 17

Dec. 17

11

9

Mourning Dove

Aug. 23

—

1

1

Northern 't ellow-throat

Sefit. 19

Oct. 22

9

1

hite-crovvned .Sparrow

.Sept. 19

Oct. 27

2

1

White-throated Sparrow

Oct, 2

Nov. 7

19

O

O

Song Sparrow

Oct. 10

Oct. 15

2

1

Swanq) .S[)an'ow

Oct. 8

1

1

Lincoln Sparrow

.Se|it. 18

.Sept. 19

2

1

In addition, ('veidng newspa|)ers canned a

story on October

2 that

an Ameri-

can Bittern (identified by a (pialitied ornithologist) had been captured alive in
the .Stpiare that morning. The geese and the Moiiridng Dove, the only new' addi-
lions to my list, were observed Hying o\'ei' at a low' altitude.

.Starlings were* as numerous as e\m'. This year they look over the terminal

tower as one ol iheii' roosting s|)ols, many (d them Hndiug crannies li\e or six

hundred leet above llu' street, where a strong wind is blowing much of the lime,
lids must ha\e been a miserable roost in severe weather, but it seemed to mak('
little dilTermice. — Wii.i.iAM II. W AT'iKUSON, Cleveland, Ohio.

Some Corrections. -I should like to make the lollowing corrections to
my artiide on W'aller John lloxie in the Wii.soN Bi i.i.K'iiN, XIA l, .Seiilember,

19.11: Oil page 17.1, in the map oi the Sea Islamls, ■dliinters Isl.iiid” should

read Hunting Island. On page 171, last lire, lie I’ale dmiild read July 2,
|9(IP. ()n pai.'.e I A), hue 17, it was a mistake to say dial “Later observations

have coidiinied lloxie s records ol the Bii H -breas! ed ,Sandpi|)er. Iloxie's notes
indicate one was taken on Si. Helena Island, South Candina, on May ,b, 11186,
but thus lai the wheia'aboiils ol the s|i('cimen is unknown. Among Hoxie's

General Notes

239

papeis is a leller to him from Arthur T. Wayno, dated ,|tme 25, IWH, in which
Mr. Wayne writes: . . Mr. W. W. Woithiiifiton . . . mentioned lliat yon

liad taken a Bnff-!)reasted Sandpiper on St. Helena Island and that he had
seen and identified it as a bird of that species. . . . Please let me know' to
whom you sold it. In 1934 neither Mr. Hoxie nor Mr. Wortliinfiton could

give any definite inlormation leading to what dis[)osition was made ol the

specimen. Ihere apj)ear to lie no authentic records of this hii'd in tlie s])rine:
on the South Atlantic coast. My attention was called to this error relative to
the Ruffd)reasted Sandpiper hy Messrs. Alexander S|trimt, ,Jr., and kldward
von S. Din«rle. — W.m. G. Fargo, Jackson, Mich.

The Savannah Sparrow in Maryland. — 1 was much interested in the
article hy Thomas E. Shields on the Savannah Sparrow in West Virginia in

the March, 1935, number of the Wilson Bulletin {[ip. 35-42). Since there
is no reference to Maryland in the article in question, 1 wonder whether the
writer overlooked my records of the species from the adjoining county 'of

Garrett in western Maryland. On page 438 of the 1909 volume of the Auk,
P. sandwichensis is reported from Mount Lake Park, near Oakland, territory
essentially of the same nature as at Terra Alta. Again, on page 599 of the
1920 volume of the same journal it is reporter! fiom Accident, Garret Gounty,
twenty miles north of Oakland, where it was rather common that summer.
They, no doubt, had been nesting. Under date of ,]uly 17, 1920, 1 have this
remark in my notes: “A Savannah is still singing in Boyer's pasture." 1 did
not look for nests — with such a w'ealth ol interesting material and so many
line spots to go to, 1 did not take much time off to look lor nests, excepting
such as were easy to hnd. However, a hoy brought me a nest from the same
pasture earlier in the season, which 1 took to he one of the sirecies in question.
It certainly was not a nest ol the Song .S[)arrow or ol the Vesper Sparrow, the
only other ones that could have come into consideration. We replaced the
nest, hut f failed to note in my hook what became ol it. — C. W. G. Eifrig,
River Forest, 111.

Chuck-wills-widow Collected In Southeastern Iowa. On Novemhei 12.
1934, Wm. L. Talbot of Keokuk, Iowa, wrote that on June 17, 1933, while vis-
iting on a farm on Sugar Creek, seven miles from the mouth of the Des Moines
River in Lee County, the owner called attention to a peculiar type ol ^ hi[)-
poor-will call” which he had heard lor the preceding lew evenings. Altei lalhot
had heard the song, and upon his suggestion, the bird was collected.

The specimen was satisfactorily identified hy the late Dr. G. E. Ehingei, (d
Keokuk, and Talbot as the (>huck-wills-widow ( Antroslomus ca/olinensis) . Notes
made hy Dr. Ehinger at the time were as follows: “J'he measurements corre.s-

jionded to those in Forhush s ‘Birds ol Massachusetts and Othei New' England
States.’ The identification was made more certain hy the piesence ol lateial fila-
ments on the bristly feathers on the side of the mouth. A Whip-poor-will was
heard singing along the hlulf at the same time as the Chuck-wilhs-widow and
there was very little similarity in the void's." Uidortunat.'ly, th.' specimen was
too badly shot to In' preserved as a skin.

This is believed to he the lirst Iowa oceurreiiee of this .southern s|n'eies,
although it hree.ls in .southern Mi.s.souri and southern Illinois.— Bmi.li> A.
DuMont, Des Moines, Iona.

240

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

An Old Record of the Brown-headed Nuthatch in Iowa and Illinois. -

In a letter from Ed. S. Currier of Portland, Oregon, on November 27, 1934, he
related having found the Brown-headed Nuthatch iSitta pusilla pusilla) at Keo-
kuk, Iowa. Currier wrote as follows:

“I cannot find where the Brown-headed Nuthatch has ever been recorded
from Iowa and therefore I will report an unusual flight or visit of these birds to
Keokuk during May, 1893. On May 9 early in the morning I saw one in town
and in the afternoon, while out of town a few miles, 1 saw five others. I shot
two of them l)ut the shot were too large and mutilated them so they could not
be made into skins. On May 10 1 saw three more in town during the early
morning. On May 12 two were .seen in Hancock County, Illinois, across from
Keokuk. Two were seen in Keokuk on May 13. These are my only low’a
observations.”

Due to the repeated opportunity which Currier apparently had to observe
these birds and the added verification of specimens having been collected, I see
no reason why this species should not lie recognized on the Iowa bird list. These
records of Currier’s are believed to constitute the only known Iowa occurrence
of this species. It is a rare permanent resident in southern Missouri and has
occurred casually in Ohio and New York. — Philip A. DuMont, Des Moines, Iowa.

The Effect of Certain Relief Projects on Bird Life. — During the last
few years newspaper readers have been surfeited with items concerning relief
and the expenditure of relief funds. Great stress has been laid upon projects
which would give employment to the greatest number of men. One of the favor-
ites, since it required no planning or trained supervision, was the cleaning of
streams and ditches. On the other hand practically nothing has been written on
the effect of these “clean-up” projects upon wild life. True, many general state-
ments have been made, but no dehnite reports based upon actual research work
have apjieared. With a view of supplying this need even though in a small way,
the following data are presented.

The area considered is about one-half mile of the Swan Creek Valley bor-
dering the Toledo .State Hospital grounds at the southwest boundary of Toledo.
Ohio. The valley is fifty feet deep and averages five hundred feet in width. Al-
though small in size, this area in the year 1931 contained several distinct habi-
tats; one group of large trees and a few scattered throughout the section, two
apple orchards, a few oiien prairie-like stretches, and several places covered wdth
small trees and shrubbery with the usual briar and grapevine tangles. The creek
itself was in a natural state, shaded by willows and sycamores, and typical sand-
bars, fallen-tree dams, and patches of water willow, d’he following year the first
of the “clean-up” work was begun. The city of Toledo employed quite a number
of men on relief landscaping the creek valleys about the city. This meant the
cutting down of shrubs and dead trees, the thinning out of saplings, and the re-
moval of practically all grapevines ami briars. Nesting birds began to suffer.

In 1933 came the great C. W. A. army which finished the work of the city
relief corps, removing any chance shrub which may have escaped, leveling the
willows and sycamores at the stream’s edge, and cutting down the banks at a
steep shqie. .Swan f.reiT was translormed into a drainage canal.

It is not the purpose ol this article to criticize this relief work oi- enter into
the motives which prompted the “clean-up" campaign. Our wish is to bring
home the great disaster which was brought upon our nesting birds. The follow-

General Notes

241

inti tahiilation brings ibis out forcil)ly. As these records are l)asc.l upon severa
hours’ work each day throughout the uesliug season, tliey are probably as accu

rate as possible. When nests were not actually found, a singing male during the

breeding season was recorded as
Pairs of nesting birds in a

a pair,
half-mile

; stretch of the ’

ralley of Swan

Creek

along the State Hospital grounds
Species

Bob-white

for the

years 1931, 1933,
1931

and 1934:

1933

0

1934

0

Spotted Sandpiper

1

1

0

Mourning Dove

Common

2

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

3

0

0

Screech Owl

0

1

0

Belted Kingfisher

1

1

1

Red-headed Woodpecker

8

2

0

Flicker

6

1

Alder Flycatcher

4

4

0

Crested Flycatcher

1

0

0

Eastern Kingbird

1

0

0

Wood Pewee

2

0

0

Phoebe

1

2

1

Rough-winged Swallow

1

1

1

Blue .lay

3

3

0

Carolina Wren

1

0

0

House Wren

6

2

1

Catbird

3

0

0

Brown Thrasher

6

3

0

Bluebird

2

0

0

Robin

Common

Common

2

Wood Thrush

3

0

0

Starling

6

10

4

Yellow Warbler

Common

6

1

Northern Yellow-throat

2

2

0

Bronzed Crackle

5

4

0

Baltimore Oriole

4

3

1

Indigo Bunting

2

1

0

Cardinal

4

3

0

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

1

0

0

■Song Sparrow

Common

2

2

Goldfinch

4

2

0

If a minimum of ten nests is

substitu

ted for species marked “Common”, we

find a total of 127 for 1931, 78 for 1933, and 17 for 1934. In terms of per-
centage, this means a drop of 87 per cent in the nund)er of nesting l)irds which
can be accounted for only l)y tbe “clean-up” work. Multijily this decrease in
nund)ers l)y ten since at least five miles of creek valley were, denuded, and we
arrive at some idea of the terrific loss of hird jiopulation along this stream.

Where did these missing birds go? A .similar check during these years of
the upland groves and fields of the 1 oledo State Hospital grounds shows that
the number of birds there remained fairly constant. Only two sitecies appear to
have come up from the lowlands in 1934 — namely, a Bob-white which nested in
a currant patch, and a Spotted Sand|iiper which, finding its usual sandbai je-
moved, raised its young in the garden. An increase also was shown hy Gold-
finches, some of which may have come from the creek \ alley. But most of the
tiiissing birds seem to have vanished completely. Aramini.^ A. Branoenburc
and L0UI.S W. Campbell, Toledo, Ohio.

242

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

EDITORIAL

The Twenty-first Annual Meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Cluh will
he held in St. Louis on Decemher 30 and 31 of this year. Details can not he
announced at this time, but they will lie given in the Secretary’s letter to all mem-
bers in Octolier. This meeting will he held in conjunction with the general ses-
sions of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Our only
previous meeting in St. Louis was held in 1919. Mr. A. F. Satterthwait will act
as Chairman of our Local Committee, others meml)ers being named later.

Dr. Emil Witschi’s paper in this issue is another example oi one ol the new
expeiimental methods of investigation in ornithology. His results indicate that
the hypophysis, through its internal secretions, exercises a controlling effect on
the reproductive cycle. To what extent other activities, migration for instance,
are dependent upon the reproductive cycle is not yet determined. Likewise, just
what regulates and controls the activity of the hypophyseal gland is unknown.
Dr. Witschi also shows that the seasonal changes in plumage pattern of the male
are controlled liy gonadotropic hormones, but not in the female, at least in
weaver hnches. This experimental field affords the opportunity to re-examine
many of the old ornithological ideas in the light of the new science of endocrin-
ology; for example the phenomena of migration, molting period and sequence,
feather pattern and plumage pattern, nest Iniilding, egg laying, and all the urges
connected therewith. It is a search for causes, and is physiological.

Dr. Alexander Wetmore, of the United States National Museum, informs us
that the next (Ninth) International Ornithological Congress will be held at
Rouen, France, between the 1st and 15th of May, 1938. This is ample enough
notice to enable those interested to plan for the occasion. It would seem to us,
however, that the date is almut a month too early for much of a delegation from
this country.

In reading a biography of Dr. Edward Jenner, discoverer of vaccination for
smallpox, we learned that he was a naturalist and lover of birds. The poem re-
produced on the cover page of this issue was written by him at the age of
twenty-one.

1 he article on tin’ birds of the Fort .Sisseton Region in this issue is published
with the aid of a sidisidy.

Membership Roll

243

MEMBERSHIP ROLL

MEMBERSHIP ROLL OE THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB*

Officers, 1935

President— Josselyn Van Tyne, Mnsenm ol Zoology, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

^ Alfred M. Bailey, Chicago Academy of Sciences, Chicago,

Illinois.

Second Vice-President— Margaret M. Nice, Coluinhiis, Ohio.

Secretary— Lawrence E. Hicks, Ohio State University, Columhiis, Ohio.

Treasurer — Walter M. Rosene, Ogden, Iowa.

Editor of the Wilson Bi li.etin- T. C. Stephens, Morningside College, Sioux
City, Iowa.

Honohahy Members

Ballard, Harlan Hodge, 247 South, Pittsfield, Massachusetts 1893

Burns, Frank L., Berwyn, Pennsylvania Founder

.lones. Dr. Lynds, 352 W. College St., Oherlin, Ohio..... Founder

Pindar, Dr. L. Otley, Nicholasville, Kentucky Founder

Sherman, Miss Althea R., National via McGregor, Iowa.... 1902

Strong, Dr. R. M., 5840 Stony Island Ave., Chicago, Illinois. Founder

Life Members

Bretsch, Clarence, 2690 Broadway, Gary, Indiana 1925

Ellis, Ralph, Jr., Jericho, Long Island, New York.. 1926

Hicks, Dr. Lawrence E., Ohio State University, Columhiis, Ohio 1925

Jones, Dr. Lynds, 352 West College St., Oherlin, Ohio Founder

Lyon, W. L, 124 Washington .St., Waukegan, Illinois 1921

Mclllhenny, Edward Avery, Avery Island, Louisiana 1910

Rogers, Charles H., Museum of Zoology, Princeton, New Jersey 1925

Sherman, Miss Althea R., National via McGregor, Iowa 1902

Taylor, Dr. A. C., Washhiirn, Wisconsin 1929

Taylor, Mrs. H. J., 900 Santa Barbara Road, Berkeley, California 1916

Tucker, Mrs. Carll Penwood, Mount Kisco, New York 1928

fWhitney, Thomas Hayes 1916

Sustaining Members

Bailey, Harold H., 206 Exchange Bldg., Miami, Florida 1908

Baldwin, Dr. S. Prentiss, 11025 E. Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 1916

Barnes, Hon. R. M., Lacon, Illinois 1909

Bishop, Dr. Louis B., 450 Bradford St., Pasadena, California 1903

Brand, Arthur R., 47 Park Ave., White Plains, New York 1931

Brandt, Herbert W., 11945 Carlton Road, Cleveland, Ohio.. 1914

Bruen, Frank, Apt. A-4, 22 High St., Bristol, Connecticut 1902

Burke, Dr. Edgar, Medical Center, Jersey City, New Jersey ....1933

Calm, Dr. Alvin R., 902 W. Nevada Ave., Urhana, Illinois ...1914

Carroll, J. J., Box 356, Houston, Texas 1926

Coffin, Percival Brooks, Williamsburg, Wayne County, Indiana 1911

Coursen, C. Blair, 761 East 69 Place, Chicago, Illinois 1927

Fargo, William G., 506 Union .St., Jackson, Michigan. 1923

Ganier, Albert F., 2507 Ashwood Ave., Nashville, Tennessee 1915

Getz, Christian J., 3503 Middleton Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 1930

Green, Morris M., 39 S. Wyoming Ave., Ardmore, Pennsylvania 1931

Hann, Dr. Harry W., Zoology De[)t., Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich 1930

'■This is a coni[)lete mend)ership roll ol the Wilson Ornithological Club ac-
cording to jtresent records. II any names are omitted it has been Irom (uersight.
All mendiers are urged to notily the Secretary ol any errors in spelling, titles,
dates, or address. Please notily us prom]itly when address changes are made.
Errors in address cost in money and inconvenience.
fDeceased.

244

I'he Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Harriot, S. C., 200 W. 5Bth St., New Nork City 1934

Havemeyer, Harry 0., Mahwah, New Jer.sey 1930

Howell, Arthur H., 2919 S. Dakota Ave., Washington, D. C 1921

Kennard, Frederick Hedge, 246 Dudley Road, Newton Center, Massachusetts....l919

Marmon, Mrs. Elizabeth C., 970 Delaware St., Indianapolis, Indiana 1933

Magee, Michael J., 603 South St., Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. 1919

Mitchell, Dr. Walton L, 1644 Visalia Ave., Berkeley, California 1893

Monk, Harry C., Avoca Apts., Nashville, Tennessee— 1920

Nelson, Miss Theodora, 2695 Heath Ave., New York City 1928

Phillipp, Frederick B., West Road and Herbert Gap Road, Short Hills, N.J 1933

Phillipp, Philip B., 220 Broadway, St. Paul Bldg., New York City 1914

Roads, Katie M., 463 Vine St., Hillsboro, Ohio 1914

Roberts, Dr. Thomas S., Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota,

Minneapolis, Minnesota 1914

Shaver, Dr. Jesse M., Peabody Teacher’s College, Nashville, Tennessee 1922

Shearer, Dr. Amon Robert, Mont Belvieu, Chambers County, Texas 1893

Simons, Joseph, Suite 1025, 141 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois 1928

Stephens, Prof. T. C., Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa. 1911

Stoddard, H. L., Route 5, Sherwood Plantation, Thomasville, Georgia 1916

Sutton, George Miksch, Bethany, West Virginia 1920

Swenk, Prof. Myron H., 1410 N. 37th St., Lincoln, Nebraska 1914

Taber, William Brewster, Jr., Greenwood Farm, Kansas, Illinois.. 1926

Thorne, Mrs. W. V. S., 810 Fifth Ave., New Vork City 1930

Todd, W. E. Clyde, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1911

Uhrig, Mrs. A. B., 425 E. Water St., Oconomowoc, Wisconsin 1926

Young, Colonel John P., Renwick Drive, Ithaca, New Vork.. 1913

Active Memhers

Agostini, Charles T., Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1931

Albert, W. E., Lansing, Iowa 1934

Aldrich, John W., Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio 1930

Allen, Dr. Arthur A., McGraw Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New Vork 1914

Allen, Durward Leon, 2609 Florida Drive, Fort Wayne, Indiana 1933

Bailey, Alfred M., Chicago Academy of Science, Chicago, Illinois 1928

Bartel, Kart E., 2528 W. Collins St., Blue Island, Illinois.. 1934

Bartsch, Dr. Paul, U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C 1894

Bennett, Mary A., 623 East Carroll St., Macomb, Illinois 1933

Bennett, Walter W., Arnolds Park, Iowa 1925

Bent, Arthur Cleveland, 140 High St., Taunton, Massachusetts 1893

Bergtold, Dr. William Harry, 1159 Race, Denver, Colorado 1916

Blain, Dr. Alexander W., 2201 Jefferson Ave., East Detroit, Michigan ...1902

Blincoe, Benedict Joseph, Route 13, Dayton, Ohio 1920

Book, Miss Lois Adelaide, 733 Franklin St., Columbus, Indiana 1930

Bowdish, B. S., Demarest, New Jersey.... 1924

Breckenridge, Walter J., Museum of Natural History, University of Minne-
sota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1929

Brockner, Winston W., 175 Dutton Ave., Buffalo, New York 1933

Brooks, Allan, Okanagan Landing, British Columbia 1930

Brooks, Earle A., 166 Plymouth Road, Newton Highlands, Massachusetts 1933

Bruun. Charles A., 1510 Central Ave., Hot Springs, Arkansas.. 1921

Brypus, Oscar McKinley, McMillan, Luce Co., Michigan 1924

Buchanan, Charles J., Marott Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana 1933

Burdick, Harold C., Zoological Bldg., .S. U. L, Iowa City, Iowa 1929

Burleigh, Thomas D., U. S. Biol. Surv.. 223 Federal Bldg., Ashville, N. C 1922

Burtch, Verdi, Branchport, New York 1924

Butler, Dr. Amos W., ,52 Downey Ave., Indianapolis, Indiana 1911

Cahalane. Victor H., Wild Life Division, National Park Service, Washington,

C 1933

Carpenter, F. S., 2402 Longest Ave., Louisville, Kentucky.. 1934

Chase, Henry B. .|r.. So. Biological .Supjtly Co., New Orleans, Louisiana 1932

Chase, H. D., University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma 19.35

Membership Roll

245

Chapman Dr. Frank American Museum of Natural History, 77tli St.,

and C. P. W., New \ork City jyjQ

Chiisty, Bayaid H., 403 Frederick Ave., Sewickley, Fennsylvania 1922

Clay, Miss Marcia B., Bristolville, Ohio 1924

Clow, Miss Marion, P. 0. Box 163, Lake PMrest, illinois!!'!’.’"

Coffey Ben, Tennessee Inspection Bureau, 1434 Bank of Commerce Bldg.,

Memphis, Tennessee 1927

Colburn, Albert E., 716 South Flower St., Los Angeles, California 1928

Cole, Dr. Leon J., Genetics Bldg., Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin....l921

Cook, G. M., 2301 Elm St., Youngstown, Ohio 1923

Coryell, Sherman, 1500 Hood Ave., Chicago, Illinois ''.''.'..'.'''.'.....!.!.1920

Cottam, Clarence, U. S. Dept. Agr., Biological Survey, Washington, D. C 1929

Dakan, Prof. E. L., Poultry Dept., Ohio State University, Columhus, Ohio 1932

Danforth, Prol. Stuart T., Mayaguez, Porto Rico... 1924

Dawson, Sallie, 807 N. 4th St., Terre Haute, Indiana 1933

DeLury, Dr. Ralph E., Dominion Observatory, Ottawa, Ontario 1920

Dickinson, E. R., 1518 Astor St., Chicago, Illinois..... 1931

Dodge, Thomas H., P. 0. Box 169, Gallup, New Mexico 1933

Douglass, Donald W., Dept. Biol., Texas Teachers College, Lubbock, Texas....l929

DuMont, Philip A., 306 51st St., Des Moines, Iowa 1928

Eaton, Warren F., 128 Wildroot Ave., Upper Montclair, New Jersey 1932

Eifrig, C. W. G., 1029 Monroe Ave., River F'orest, Illinois 1907

Ekblaw, Dr. George E., 506 W. Main St., Urbana, Illinois.. 1914

Ekblaw, Prof. W. Elmer, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts 1910

Emilio, S. Gilbert, 7 Winter St., Salem, Massachusetts 1929

English, Dr. P. P"., Game Division, Dept, of Conservation, Lansing, Michigan.... 1934

Errington, Dr. Paul L., Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa 1932

Esten, Sidney R., 4112 Graceland Ave., Indianapolis, Indiana... 1931

P'leming, James Henry, 267 Rusholme Road, Toronto 4, Ontario 1906

Eloyd, Judge Joseph L., 1009-11 Geo. 1). Harter Bank Bldg., Canton, Ohio.... 1903

P^reer, Prof. Ruskin S., Lynchl)urg College, Lynchburg, Virginia 1930

Ph-iedmann, Dr. Herbert, U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C 1932

Gabrielson, Ira N., U. S. Biological Survey, Washington, D. C 1913

Gault, Benjamin True, 570 Anthony St., Clen Ellyn, Du Page Co., Illinois.... 1895

Gorski, Arthur J., Route 2, Box 143, .Merrill, Wisconsin 1933

Grinnell, Dr. Joseph, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California,

Berkeley, California 1914

Guest, Marjorie Lee, Athens State Hos])ital, Athens, Ohio 1924

Hand, Ralph L., 428 11th St., St. Marie.s, Idaho 1933

Handlan, John W., Oglehay Park, Wheeling, West Virginia 1932

Handlan, J. T. Jr., 480 Spruce St., Morgantown, West Virginia... 1934

Hankinson, Prof. T. L., 96 Oakwood Ave., Vj)silanti, Michigan — 1911

Helmuth, Dr. William T., 667 Madison Ave., New York City 1934

Henderson, Prof. Junius, 1305 Pluclid Ave., Boulder, Colorado 1903

Hendrickson, Prof. Geo. ()., Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa... 1933

Herrick, Dr. Francis H., 2863 Noble Road, Cleveland Heights, Oliio 1917

Himmel, Dr. Walter J., Dept, of Botany, Univ. of Nehra.ska, Iducoln, Nehr 1915

Hinnen, Dr. G. A., 1343 Delta Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio — 1934

Hinshaw, Thomas I)., 1908 Scottwood Ave., Ann Arbor, Michigan 1926

Holt, Ernest G., U. S. Soil Conservation Service, La Cro.sse, Wisconsin 1926

lenner, William, 806 W. Davis St., Fayette, Missouri..... 19.33

Johnson, Dr. Charles E., Roosevelt Wild Life Station, New York State (.ollege

of Forestry, Syracuse, New \ork - - - 1033

Jung, Clarence S., 4612 N. Oakland Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1921

Kelso, Leon, Food Habits Research, U. S. Biol. Survey, Washington. 1). C 1930

Kendeigh, Dr. S. Charles, Biological Laboratory, Western Re.serve University.

Cleveland, Ohio - -

Kirn, Albert J., Box 157, Somerset, Texas - 1918

Kretzmann, Dr. Paul E., 801 DeMun Ave., St. Louis, Missouri 1924

Larrahee Prof. Austin P., Yankton College, \ankton. South Dakota 1921

La.skey, Mrs. V. C., Graybar Lane, Nashville, Tennessee 1928

Leopold Prof. Aldo, New Soils Bldg., Univ. of Wisconsin, Madi.son, Wise 1928

246 The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Lewis, John B., Amelia, Virginia 1924

Lewy, Dr. Alfred, 2051 E. 72nd Place, Windsor Park, Chicago, Illinois 1915

Lowe, Dr. John N., Northern State Teachers College, Marquette, Michigan.... 1927
MacCracken, Dr. W. H., Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery, 1516 St.

Antoine St., Detroit, Michigan 1933

Magann, J. Wilhur, Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., Oklahoma City, Okla 1927

Maillaird, Joseph, 1815 Vallijo St., San Francisco, California .1930

McAtee, W. L., U. S. Biological Survey, Washington, D. C 1911

McCahe, T. T., Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley, California 1928

-McConnell, H. B., Cadiz, Ohio ..1935

McCreary, Otto, Agricultural Hall, Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 1930

McMath, Robert R., Route 4, Pontiac, Michigan 1934

Mershon, William Butts, Saginaw, Michigan 1910

Metcalf, Prof. F. P., Lingnan University, Canton, China 1919

Minich, Edward C., 1047 Fairview Ave., Youngstown, Ohio 1923

Mitchell, Mrs. Osborne S., 24 Wychwood Park, Toronto, Canada.. 1933

Morse, Harry G., Huron, Ohio 1914

Morse, Margarette E., Box 96, Viroqua, Wisconsin 1921

Moseley, Prof. Edwin L., State College, Bowling Green, Ohio 1925

Moses, Charles W., 216 Park St., West, Bismarck, North Dakota 1935

Mote, G. A., Marshalltown, Iowa .1930

Monger, Mrs. Edith, Hart, Michigan 1925

Neff, Johnson A., Bur. of Biol. Survey, 270 Federal Bldg., Sacramento, Calif. ..1920

Nice, Dr. Leonard B., 156 W. Patterson Ave., Columbus, Ohio ...1932

Nice, Mrs. Margaret M., 156 W. Patterson Ave., Columbus, Ohio 1921

Nichols, Charles K., 31 Ethelhert Place, Ridgewood, New Jersey ...1933

Northcutt, Charles E., 7 West Blvd., Columbia, Missouri 1930

Oberholser, Dr. Harry C., 2805 18th St., N. W., Washington, D. C 1894

Olsen, Humphrey A., Nashville Agr. Normal Inst., Madison, Tennessee ....1932

Osgood, Dr. Wilfred H., Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, lllinois....l910

Over, Prof. William H., University Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota 1930

Palmgren, Dr. Pontius, Museum Zoologicum Universitatis, Helsenki, Suomi,

Helsingfors, Jdnland 1935

Palmer, Dr. Theodore S., 1939 Biltmore St. N. W., Washington, D. C 1914

Parker, Herbert, South Lancaster, Massachusetts.. 1928

Pemberton, John Ray, 3031 N. Lake Ave., Altadena, California 1922

Pennock, Charles John, Kennett Square, Chester Co.. Pennsylvania 1900

Perkins, Samuel E. HI, 709 Inland Bldg., Indianapolis, Indiana. 1923

Pettingill, Dr. Olin S., Maple St., Middleton, Massachusetts 1930

Phelps, Frank M., 312 5th St., Elyria, Ohio 1912

Phillips, Allan R., P. 0. Box 357, Scarsdale, New York 1934

Pickwell, Prof. Gayle B., Dept. Natural Science, San Jose State Teacher's

College, San Jose, California 1923

Porter, James V., 226 E. Minne.cota Ave., Glenwood, Minnesota 1928

Praeger, Prof. William E., 417 Douglas Ave., Kalamazoo, Michigan 1916

Preble, Fidward A., U. S. Biological Survey, Washington, D. C 1929

Quill ian. Prof. Marvin C., Wesleyan College, Macon, Georgia 1927

Randall, Mrs. W. S., No. 2, Fhilield Road, Austin, Texas 1925

Reid, Russell, 811 Twelfth St., Bismarck, North Dakota 1920

Riley, Joseph 11., U. .S. National Museum, Washington, D. C 1914

Rogers, Mrs. Walter 1C. 911 East North St., A})pletoti, Wisconsin 1931

Rosene, Walter M., Ogden, Iowa 1923

Rust, Harry J., Box 683, Couer d’Alene, Idaho ....1921

.Satterthwait, Elizabeth A., 118 Waverly Place, Webster Groves, Missouri 1925

Saunders, W. E., 352 Clarence .St., London, Ontario 1902

Saiir, B. C., Rockwell Nursery, Foster, Ohio ..1934

Schaefer, Oscar F., 724 Woodbine Ave., Rochester, New York .1921

Schantz, 0. M., 3219 Maple Ave., Berwyn, Illinois 1903

.Schmidt, F. J. W., 2 New .Soils Bldg., Univ. ol Wisconsin, Madison, Wise 1934

.Schorger, Dr. A. W., 168 N. Prospect Ave., Madison, Wisconsin 1927

Shaffer, Chester M., Dorcas, West Virginia 1934

Membership Roll

247

Shelfoal, Prof. Victor, Vivarium Bldg., Wright and Healy Sts., Champaign,

Illinois

Skinner, M. P., 1.316 Harding St., Long Beach, California

Smith, Prof. Frank M., 79 Fayette St., Hillsdale, Michigan

Smi th, Frank R., Fredericktown, Pennsylvania.

.Smith, Malcolm M., 327 Ashbourne Road, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.

Spiker, Charles ,]., Branchport, New York

Stebhins, Miss Fannie A., 31 Ely Ave., W. Springlield, Massachusetts

Stillwell, Jerry E., 7523 San Eernando Way, Dallas, Te.vas...

Stoner, Dr. Dayton, New \ork State Museum, All)any, New York

Stuart, Anne, 1905 D. Street, Lincoln, Nebraska

Sutton, Mrs. J. G., 122 South West 7th St., Richmond, Indiana

Swarth, Harry S., 2800 Prince St., Berkeley, California

Thomas, Edward S., 1116 Madison Ave., Columbus, Ohio...

Tinker, Almerin D., 519 Oswego, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Tyler, Dr. Winsor M., 112 Pinckney St., Boston, Massachusetts

Urner, Charles A., 596 Westminister Ave., Elizabeth, N. J

Van Tyne, Dr. Josselyn, Mu.seum of Zoology, Ann Arbor, Michigan.....

Visscher, Dr. Paul, Biological Laboratory, Western Reserve University, Cleve-
land, Ohio

Von Jarchow, Dr. B. L., 1519 Washington Ave., Racine, Wisconsin

Wallace, George E. ,)r., McKean, Pennsylvania

Warren, Edward R., 1511 Wood Ave., Colorado Si)rings, Colorado

Weber, Alois J., 904 Grand Ave., Keokuk, Iowa..

Webster, Walter A., Sycamore Lawn Earm, R. D. 1, Quaker City, Ohio

Welds, H. B., 229 42nd St., Sandusky, Ohio

Wetherill, Milton, Kayenta, Arizona

Wetmore, Dr. Alexander, U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C

Weydemeyer, Winton, Eortine, Montana

Wheeler, Leslie, Lake Forest, Illinois

White, Francis Beach, St. Paul’s .School, Concord, New Hami)shire...

Wilson, Frank N., 804 Lawrence St., Ann Arl)or, Michigan

Wilson, Prof. Gordon, 1434 Chestnut St., Bowling Green, Kentucky

Wineman, A., 150 Michigan Ave., Detroit, Michigan

Wright, George M., 328 Hilgard Hall, Berkeley, California

Yoder, William H. Jr., 859 Granite St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania..

Zimmerman, Harold A., 915 W. Gilbert St., Muncie, Indiana

1931

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1935
1935
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1930

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1922

1924

1934

1934

1911
1928

1935
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1935
1903
1930
1934
1926

1924

1925
1934
1934

1926

1932

Associate Memheks

Adams, I. C. Jr., 1600 Hinkson St., Columbia, Missouri

Alijaugh, Ross B., 1632 Fruitland Ave., Mayfield Heights, Oliio

Allan, Phili[) F., Soil Conservation Service, Coon Valley, Wisconsin

Allen, A. F., 108 Terrace Apartments, Sioux City. Iowa..

Allen, Walter L, 2057 Pejiper Diive, Altadena, California

Allert, Oscar P., R. R. 1, McGregor, Iowa

Amandon, Dean, R. D. 1, Franklinville, New Vork —

Ammann, George Andrew, Museum ol Zoology, Ann .Vrlmr, Michigan

Angus, H. L., 617 Payson Ave., Quincy, Illinois

Applegate, Wilson, Rhinebeck, New 'l ork — -

Austin, Dr. Oliver L., Tuckahoe, Westchester Co., New Vork

Back, Mary Cooper, 1015 South 12lh Ave., Maywood, Illinois

Backofen, Margaret, 76 West Ciolumliia Ave., Battle Creek, Michigan

Badger, T. Hallett, Birds Nest, Virginia V W7 'i iT Y

Bailey, Mrs. Florence Merriam, 18.34 Kalorama Road, Washington, f). v.

Bailey! Mrs. Mary L., 2109 Nebraska St., Sioux City, Iowa

Baker, John H., 1165 5th Ave., New York City

Baker, William C., 223 W. Pershing St., -Salem, Ohm

Baldwin, Dorothy A., Hardwick, VI assachu.setts ‘7.

Ball, William H.', 1861 Ingleside Terrace, N. W., Washington, 1). (

Banks, Robert D., 310 East 5th St., Superior Wisconsin

Barber, Bertram A., 350 Wesl St., Hillsdale, Michigan

1933

1934
1934
1925

1934
1923

1935
1935

1933
1935
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1911
1918

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248

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Barnett, Dorothy I., Lucas, Ohio —.1933

Bassett, Mrs. V. H., 1010 E. Park Ave., Savannah, Georgia 1931

Batchelder, C. F., 7 Kirkland St., Cambridge, Massachusetts 1927

Beals, Mrs. Marie V., 5833 85th St., Elmhurst, Long Island, New York ..1930

Beebe, Ralph, 353 Salliotte St., Ecorse, Michigan 1924

Beeghly, J. L., Boardman Road, Youngstown, Ohio 1933

Bellrose, Frank, Jr., 1220 W. Madison St., Ottawa, Illinois 1935

Benedict, Mrs. Howard Smith, 18320 Kinsman Road, Shaker Heights, Cleve-
land, Ohio 1926

Bennett, Logan J., 1818 Arlington Ave., Des Moines, Iowa 1934

Bennitt, Prof. Rudolph, Dept, of Zoology, University of Missouri, Columbia,

M issouri ....; 1932

Benson, Seth B., Museum of \ertehrate Zoology, Berkeley, California 1930

Bergner, Harold J., 420 Warwood Ave., Wheeling, West Virginia 1934

Berner, Glen, 121 East Front St., Jamestown, North Dakota ..1930

Bicking, Charles A., 1006 W. 8th St., Wilmington, Delaware 1933

Bird, Otto A., 1510 Harding Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1932

Birkeland, Henry, Route 2, Nevada, Iowa 1934

Black, Charles T., 3836 Lowell Ave., Chicago, Illinois 1935.

Black, J. D., Winslow, Arkansas 1925

Blanchard, Dr. Frank N., Dept, of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann

Arbor, Michigan 1928

Blincoe, Mrs. Benedict J., Route 13, Dayton, Ohio 1926

Bodine, Miss Margaret L., Ritterhouse Plaza, 19th and Walnut St., Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania 1930

Boggs, I. B., Oglebay Hall, Morgantown, West Virginia 1933

Book, Dr. R. D., Corning, Ohio 1933

Bordner, Mrs. Robert L, Hudson, Iowa 1930

Borror, Donald J., Dept, of Zoology and Entomology, Ohio State University,

Columbus, Ohio 1927

Boulton, Rudyard, Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois 1922

Bowman, Lawrence L., Orchard Hills, R. D. 7, North Canton, Ohio 1935

Brady, Dr. John A., St. Augustine College, Lakewood, Ohio 1925

Braly, John, De Poe Bay, Oregon 1927

Brasher, Rex, Chickadee Valley, Kent, Connecticut 1926

Brant, Irving W., %St. Louis Star, St. Louis, Missouri. 1932

Breece, Russell, Delaware, Ohio .1933

Breslau, Leo A., % Laurel Printing Co., 480 Canal St., New York City 1933

Brooks, A. B., Ogelbay Park, Wheeling, West Virginia 1931

Brooks, Maurice, French Creek, West Virginia 1926

Broomhall, W. IL, Stockport, Ohio 1926

Brosiu.s, Ralph R., Valentine, Nebraska 1933

Brown, J. Wilcox, White Plains, Montchanin, Delaware 1932

Brown, Ralph M., V. P. L, Blacksburg, Virginia... 1935

Brown, Robert B. Jr., 806 Rosewood Ave., Winnetka, Illinois 1935

Bruce, James A., 557 Spring St., Wooster, Ohio 1929

Bujak, B. J., 932 N. Fairfield Ave., Hundioldt Park Station, Chicago, Illinois. .1935

Bullock, D. J., Commodore Hotel, Des Moines, Iowa 1932

Burt, W. H., Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1928

Cain, B. C., Box 796, Oakland, California 1934

Campbell, S. H., Oak Grove, Louisiana 1934

Campbell, John S., Bienville, Louisiana 1932

Campbell, Louis W., 304 Fearing Blvd., Toledo, Ohio. 1926

Carlson, Carl Olof, Dejjt. of Biology, Doane College, Crete, Nebraska ....1923

Carpenter, J. Richard, Lincoln College, Oxford University, England 1934

Carter, John I)., Lansdowne, Pennsylvania 1930

Cartwright, Bertram William, 238 Guilford St., Deer Lodge, Winnipeg 1930

Case, Rodman C., R. 1). 1, Troy, Pennsylvania 1935

Cihaffee, H. L., Amenia, North Dakota 1930

Chamberlain, Clen I)., 22 Academy St., Presque Isle, Maine ...1930

Chai)man, Floyd B., 1944 Demme Ave., Columbus, Ohio 1932

Membership Roll

249

Chaj)iiian, L. B., 67 Chester St., Newton Highlaiids, Massachusetts 1934

Chamhers, W. Lee, 2068 Escarpa Drive, Ea^le Rock, Los Aufieles, Caiilornia.A909

Clapp, Alston, Sr., 1115 Cotton Exchaiifie Bldg., Houston, Texas.. ......1934

Clark, Mrs. C. C., 922 N. Third St., Burlington, Iowa.. 1925

Clarke, C. H. D., Dept, of Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario....l932

Clayton, Miss Lnella B., Feasterville, Pennsylvania 1930

Clippinger, Miss Florence, 4300 Midway Ave., Dayton, Ohio... ''’''I!~.'Il933

Clout, G. A., 89 North St., St. Catherines, Ontario.. 1935

Coles, Victor, 2910 Grasselli Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 1929

Collett, Grace, 37 W. Tulane Road, Colundnis, Ohio 1934

Collins, Henry H. Jr., 1620 P. St. N. W., Washington, D. C 1931

Compton, Lawrence V., Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley, California..l923

Compton, Leila A., 846 E. Bowman St., Wooster, Ohio 1930

Conant, Roger, Toledo Zoological Society, Toledo, Ohio..... ..1930

Conklin, Charles, Canal Winchester, Ohio I933

Cook, Mrs. Horace P., 412 W. 11th St., Anderson, Indiana 1931

Cox, Rodman D., 785 South Ave., Rochester, New York... 1933

Craig, Gerald S., Teacher’s College, Columbia University, New York City 1932

Crandell, Herbert A., Ohio State University, Cohnnhus, Ohio 1934

Crane, Francis V., South St., Needham, Massachusetts 1932

Crook, Compton N. Jr., Tennessee Polytechnical Inst., Cookeville, Tennessee..l929

Curl, A. Lawrence, Quincy, Ohio 1932

Currier, Elmonde S., 8541 N. Chicago Ave., St. Johns Sta., Portland, Oregon.. 1930

Curtis, John T., 325 Grand Ave., Waukesha, Wisconsin 1935

Curtler, Martin, % Mrs. George P. Cook, Kauluwai, Kaunakai P. 0., Malo-

kai, Hawaii 1934

Dambach, Charles A., Burton, Ohio 1934

Damon, David, 717 West St., Rapid City, South Dakota 1933

Danner, Mrs. Mary S., 1646 Cleveland Ave., N. W., Canton, Ohio.... 1921

Davidson, W. M., R. D. 1, Silver Spring, Maryland. 1933

Davis, Mrs. L. Irby, Box 669, Harlington, Texas 1933

Davis, Russel S., Clayton, Illinois 1932

Dawley, Jean Wilson, 13962 Clifton Blvd., Lakewood, Ohio 1931

Dawley, Jessie Sprague, 1002 Garfield St., Madison, Wisconsin ....1935

Dawson, Sallie, 807 N. 4th St., Terre Haute, Indiana 1933

Denton, Fred J., Dept. Zoology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 1935

Dille, Fred M., Rapid City, South Dakota 1912

Dingle. Edward von Seihold, Huger, South Carolina 1921

Dole, J. Wilbur, 51 East Stone St., Fairfield, Iowa 1930

Dyer, Mrs. Minnie M., Byington, Tennessee 1930

Eastman, Mrs. E. P., 719 Columbia St., Burlington, Iowa 1926

Eastwood, Sidney K., 301 S. Winelnddle Ave., Pittsl)urgh, Pennsylvania 1928

Eckler, Harlan E., 1757 Hertel Ave., Buffalo, New York ...1933

Edge, Mrs. Charles Noel, 136 E. 67th St., New York City. 1931

Edson, J. M., 90 Marietta Road, Bellingham, Washington 1928

Edwards, Mrs. W. H., Fairhope, Alal)ama 1925

Eheim, J. M., 236 S. Adams St., Hutchinson, Minnesota ...1926

Eike, James, P. 0. Box 4, Woodhridge, Virginia... 1933

Eliot, S. A. Jr., 32 Paradise Road, Northamiiton, Massachusetts 1932

Ellerman, Alexander H. Sr., 1021 I..incoln St., Piqua, Oldo 1933

Elrod, Mrs. Walter DeWitt, Box 103, Okmulgee, Oklahoma 1923

Emery, F. H., 620 Euclid Ave., Toronto, Ontario.......... 19.33

Engleby, T. L., 1002 Patterson Ave., Roanoke, Virginia 1934

Erickson, Mary M., Museum ol Vertel)iate Zoology, Berkeley, California 1930

Evans, Dr. Evan M., 5,50 Park Ave., New York City 1929

Everett, Constance, 206 9th St. N. E., Waseca, Minnesota 1934

Evins, Samuel N., 38 E. 14th St., Atlanta, Georgia

Fabert, Harry John, 413 Linwood Ave., Cohnnhus, Oltio ..193_

Farley, Frank L., Camrose, Alberta — - - -

Favell, Mrs. Angela Haste, 714 6th Ave. East, Superior, Wi.sconsin..... 1934

Feighner, Lena Veta, 298-1 South Iremont, Kansas City, Kansas

Felker, J. 0., R. 1, Box 403, Clayton, Missouri - - 1934

250 The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Felton, W. R., 1709 Summit St., Sioux City, Iowa ....1934

Ferratt, Miss Elizabeth F., 2310 Connecticut Ave. N. W., Washington, D. C...1933

Foster, George, 2352 E. Magnolia Ave., Knoxville, Tennessee 1935

F'inster, Ethel B., Ashville Normal School, Ashville, North Carolina 1930

Fisher, Dr. G. Clyde, American Museum of Natural History, New ^ ork (aty....l925
Fitzpatrick, Prof. Fred L., Teacher’s (College, Columbia Univ., New ^ ork,

N. Y 1924

Fleetwood, Raymond .1., Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinhurg,

Ten nessee ..1934

Fleming, Mrs. Allen W., 44 Woodland Ave., Columbus, Ohio 1934

Foote, M. E., Norwalk, Ohio ....1934

Eord, Louise Pettigrew, Barnwell Ave., .4iken, Soutli Carolina 1930

Eorsthoefel, Paul, 303 East Eulton St., Celina, Ohio 1932

Eranks, Roscoe W., State Civil Service Commission, Columbus, Ohio 1932

Eranzen, Albert J., Eield Museum, Chicago, Illinois 1929

Erazer, Dr. T. Atchinson, Marion, Kentucky ..1934

Erazier, John M., Station A, Box 156, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 1930

Erotbingham, Mrs. Randolph, 56 Sargent Crossway, Brookline, Massachusetts.. 1932

Erydrych, Paul B., 1508 Valley St., Dayton, Ohio 1934

Erykluiul, P. 0., Roseau, Roseau Co., Minnesota 1926

Fundss, Owen C., 2203 1st Ave., W. Prince Albert, Sask., Canada 1934

Gander, Erank E., Natural History Museum, Balboa Park, San Diego, Calif.. .1928

Ghigi, Alessandro, R. Universita, Bologna, Italy 1931

Giles, Norman H. Jr., 959 Drewery St., N. E., Atlanta, Georgia 1930

Gill, Geoffrey, 24 Overlook Drive, Fluntington, Long Island, New York ..1934

Gillett, Erancis C., 920 Princeton St., Lansing, Michigan 1935

Gillette, Eredericka B., 1319 Forest Ave.. Aim Arbor, Michigan 1928

Gleason, Mrs. C. H., Berrywood Wilds, .A^da, Michigan 1935

Glenn, Robert W., 509 Orchard Ave., Avalon, Pittshurgh, Pennsylvania 1934

Gloyd, Prof. H. K., Dept, of Zoology, Univ. of Michigan, .Ann Arbor, Mich 1925

Goerlitz, George, 520 E. Main St., Boonville, Indiana 1934

Goldsmith, G. W., Box 1611 University Station, Austin, Texas 1931

Gordon, Dr. Roliert B., Dept, of Botany, Ohio State Univ.. Columbus, Ohio 1931

Gordon, Seth, American Game Assoc., Investment Bldg., Washington, D. Ci 1933

Gowen, Carl, 606 S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale, Illinois 1932

Grant. Cleveland P., 620 Greenup St., Covington, Kentucky ...1928

Grant, William W., 816 S. Main St., Geneva, New Aork 1933

Gray, Allan L., Orleans, Nebraska 1932

Greene, Earle R., New IJolland, North Carolina 1930

Green, Horace ()., 220 North Ave., Wakefield, Massachusetts 1935

Gresham, Burt, Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba 1934

Grimes, S. A., 4661 Attleboro St., Jacksonville, Florida 1924

Gromme, Owen J., Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1924

Gross, Dr. Alfred 0., Bowdoin (iollege, Brunswick, Maine 1927

Guy, Mrs. Katberine (ihristie. Box 416, Beckley, West Virginia 1934

Haberger, Ruth. 401 W. Main, Marshalltown, Iowa 1931

Hagar, Mrs. Jack, Rockport, Texas ..1930

Hague, Florence, .Sweet Briar (iollege, .Sweet Briar, Virginia 1931

Hainswortli, William P., 214 Railroad Ave., North Andover, Massachusetts.. ..1930

Hale, Arthur 4'. Jr., Box 753, Mission, J’exas ..1935

Hall, Watson, .Soil Conservation Service, (icon Valley, Wisconsin 1934

Haller, (,arl IXk, R. 1). I, Short Creek, Virginia 1934

Hallman. R. C., P. O. Box 847, .St. Augustine, Florida 1928

Hambleton, Prof. J. (,., 380 W. 8th Ave., (iolumbus. Ohio ..1932

Hamilton, Dr. William J. Jr., Dept, of Zoology, Cornell L'niv.. Ithaca, N. A 1933

Hamerstrom, F. J. Jr., Ruthven, Iowa 1934

Hanawalt, Prof. Fred A., Otterbein College, Westerville, Ohio 1932

Handlan, Airs. John W., Oglebay Park, Wheeling, West Viiginia ..1934

Handley, (iharles ()., Richmond, Virginia 1925

Hargrave, Lyndon L., Box 203, Flagstaff, Arizona 1932

Harkin, J. B., Commissioner Dept, of Interior, Ottawa, Ontario 1924

Membership Roll

251

Haipei, Di. tiancis, /32 ^ ale Ave., Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 1930

Harris, C. L., 921 W. Cenlral, Eldorado, Kansas 1928

Harris, Mrs. . Gray, Boylston Center, Massachusetts— 1932

Hartsook, Mrs. Fred P., Winterset, Iowa... I934

Hayward, C. Lynn, Dept, of Zoolopy, B. Y. University, Provo, Utah 1933

Hayward, W. .)., Box 1282, Sioux City. Iowa 1913

Head, Glenn B., 337 Haskin St., Klamath Falls, Oregon 1935

Heising, Clara M., 311 Way Ave., Kirkwood, Missouri 1932

Hemphill, Frederick A., 125 Broad St., Elizaheth, New Jersey 1928

Henderson, Grant, Route 6, Greenshurp, Indiana 1930

Henderson, W. C., 8 Mapnolia Parkway, Chevy Chase, MarylanI.''I''III-

Henry. C. J., P. 0. Box 34, Upham, North Dakota I933

Herrick, Eleanor E., Box 729, Woodmere, Long Island, New York'.-'-!'-!.1.1935

Hicks, Airs. E. H., Fredericktown, Ohio 1932

Hicks, John N., West Point, lllinois..._ I935

Heitt, Lawrence D., 3758 Brookside Road, Toledo, Ohio 1929

Hill, Howard, Desloge, Missouri I933

Hillmer, Davis B., 454 Collturn Place, Detroit, Michigan 1926

Hilton, Dr. David C., 305 Richards Block, Lincoln, Nebraska 1918

Hinchman, Richard May, 501 Randolph Ave., Milton, Massachusetts 1931

Hoag, Ena, P. 0. Box 407, Pacihc Grove, California 1934

Holland, Harold May, Box 515, Galeshurg, Illinois..... 1915

Holt, Prof. William P., Bowling Green, Ohio 1932

Howard, William J., Wilderness State Park, Carp Lake, Michigan 1935

Hudson, George E., Dept. Zoology and Anatomy, University of Nel)raska,

Lincoln, Nebraska 1933

Huey, Laurence M., Natural History Museum, Ballma Park, San Diego,

California 1932

Huff, Prof. N. L., 1219 7th St., Minneapolis, Minnesota 1928

Huggitt, Floyd C., Bellevue, Michigan 1933

Hughes, George T., Box 153, Plainfield, New Jersey. 1929

Hunter, Lawrence E., Dallas City, Illinois 1934

Hutchins, Harold L., 21 Lake St., Hamden, Connecticut 1934

Hyndway, Airs. Eleanor, R. D. 2, Marcus, Iowa 1933

I jams, H. P., Box 1150, Knoxville, Tennessee 1924

Ingersoll, Albert AL, 908 E. St., San Diego, California 1921

James, Mrs. O. A., 4100 Grove Ave., Richmond, Virgiida 1931

Janzen, Daniel H., Alichigan State College, East Lansing, Alichigan 1934

Jarrard, Aliss Berma L., 54 Briarcliff Circle N. E., Atlanta, Georgia 1933

Jelier, F. P., Groote Yissclierystraat 19a, Rotterdam, Holland 1931

Jenks, Randolfih, All. Kemble, Morristown, New Jersey.. 1934

Jensen, J. P., Box 364, Dassel, Minnesota - 1926

Johnson, D. E., 2269 Grandview Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 1934

Johnson, D. Elmer, 279 .S. 6 West, Provo, Utah... 1931

.lohnson. Airs. Irene W., 38 Poi'tland Place, St. Louis, Ali.ssouri 1931

Johnson, Robert A., State Normal School, Oneonta, New A ork 1930

Jones, F. M., Box 105, Ahington, Virginia - 193.1

Jones, Gordon Willis, Wilderness, Virgitda — 1933

Jone.s, Harold C., 3.52 W. College St., Oherlin, Ohio..... — 1929

Jones, John C., 3224 19th St., N. W., Washington, 1). C.... 1931

Jones, .S. Paul, 509 West Ave. N., Waukesha, Wisconsin 1921

Kalmhach, E. R., 527 Custom House, Denver, Colorado 1926

Kamm, Mrs. Oliver, 365 Lake Shore Drive, Grosse Pomte farms, Michigan....l934

Kearns, Lucy Pendleton, Lynnehaven P. O., Lynnehaven, A^irginia 19.3.5

Keller, L. Floyd, Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah.. 934

Kellog, Dace C., Box 343, Norwalk, Ohio - >

Kingsbury, Elizaheth W., Hockaday School, Dallas, Texa.s 1 33

Klepfer, Ward, Box 1031, Granville, Ohio ^4

Knapp, Elmer, R. R. No. 2, Troy, Penn.sylvmnia A30

Knappen, Phoebe, 2925 Tilden St., N. W., Washington, D. C 1426

252 The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Knifiht, Prof. Harry H., Dejit. Zoology and Entomology, Iowa Slate College,

Ames, Iowa 1926

Krug, Carl B., % George Krug, Minonk, Illinois 1930

Kuhichek, W. F., 164 19th St., Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1926

Kummerlowe, Dr. Hans, Cichorius Strasse 6 HI, Leipzig, Germany 1931

Langelier, Gus, R. R. 1, Frubourg St. Jean Baptiste, Quebec, Ontario 1933

Lawrence, A. G., City Health Dept., Winnipeg, Manitoba 1928

Lee, Addie, 2111 Dixie Place, Nashville, Tennessee 1933

Leedy, Charles A., % The Telegram, Youngstown, Ohio 1927

Lewis, Merriam G., Langhorne Place, Salem, Virginia 1930

Lincoln, Frederick C., Bureau Biological Survey, Washington, D. C 1914

Linsdale, Dr. Jean M., Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of Cali-
fornia, Berkeley, California 1928

Lloyd, C. K., 11 Elm St., Oxford, Ohio 1925

Lloyd, Hoyes, 582 Mariposa Ave., Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa, Ontario 1922

Lodge, William R., Silver Lake Blvd., R. D. 1, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 1935

Lomax, Dr. Claude C., Dale, Indiana 1921

Long, Charles F., 203 E. Broatl St., Columbus, Ohio 1934

Long, Mary A., 526 E. First St., Royal Oak, Michigan 1932

Long, William H. Jr., 1612 Morton Ave., Ann Arbor, Michigan 1933

Lovell, Mrs. Ray, 101 N. Monroe Ave., Columbus, Ohio 1932

Low, Seth H., 50 Glendale Road, Quincy, Massachusetts 1931

Lubin, S. F., 106 Cha[)in St., Binghamton, New York 1934

Lundey, Ellsworth, High School, Great Falls, Montana 1935

Lundquist, Arthur, Peabody Hospital, Webster, South Dakota 1930

MacLoughlin, Mrs. F. E., 43 Inglewood Drive, Hamilton, Ontario 1928

MacLulick, D. A., Rayol Ontario Museum of Zoology, Toronto, Ontario 1933

Marburger, Clifford, Denver, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania 1924

Marden, Aaron, Eagle Island, S. Harpswell, Maine 1933

Marsh, V. L., Box 597, Great Falls, Montana 1934

Marshall, Raymond 0., Box 72, R. D. 1, Leetonia, Ohio 1930

Maslowski, Karl H., 950 Glenwood Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 1934

Mayr, Dr. Ernst, American Museum of Natural History, New York City 1933

McCall, Mrs. Irene S., 2716 19th St., Racine, Wisconsin 1934

McCarthy, J'. J., 1524 Hughitt Ave., Superior, Wisconsin 1935

McGill, Dr. J. T., Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 1930

McIntosh, Duncan, Fairhope, Alabama 1931

McLaughlin, Vincent, 1813 Kensington Ave., Youngstown, Ohio 1935

McNeil, Dr. Charles A., Ill W. Fourth Ave., Sedalia, Missouri 1914

McNutt, Dorothea R., Greensl)oro, North Carolina.. 1935

Meltreat, Burton W., Paullina, Iowa 1930

Melzer, James P., Milford, New Hampshire 1931

Mendeidiall, Eugene W., 97 Brighton Road, Columbus, Ohio 1932

Meyer, Miss Adelphia, 2016 Belmont Blvd., Nashville, Tennessee 1931

Michener, Harold, 418 N. Hudson Ave., Pasadena, California.. 1926

Miller, Alden H., Mu.«eum Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley, California 1930

Miller, Empey, Freeland, Michigan 1931

Miller, Henry C., 9 Sheridan Drive, Monroe, Michigan 1933

Miller, J. Paul, Box 51, Mill Village, New Hampshire 1931

Miller, Miss Louise L, 2708 Elizabeth Ave., Zion, Illinois.. 1929

Million, A., 2060 Rustic Hoad, Dayton, Ohio 1931

Mills, Daisy, Woodside, New Brunswick 1934

Moffit, James, 1879 Broadway, .San Francisco, California 1931

Molloy, Mrs. R. B., 418 W. Third Ave., Corsicana, J'exas 1930

Monroe, Burt, 110 .S. 5th .St., I^onisville, Kentucky 1935

Monson, Gale, Box 432, .Safford, Arizona 1933

Moore, Miss Dora, 60 E. Mulberry St., Athens, Ohio 1934

Moreland, G. E., 219 Eastern Ave., Greenville, Illinois 1934

Morse, frank E., Boston Bird Book Co., 162 Boylston St., Boston, Mass 1926

Mounts, Mrs. Ihuyl I aylor, Ballard Normal .School, Macon, Georgia 1923

Mousley, Williatn H., 4073 Tupper St., Weslmount, Montreal, Quebec 1922

Midaik, Dorthea Up[), Box 15.5, Ediid)urgh, 'I'exas 1933

Membership Roll

253

Munter, Capl. W. II., U. S. Coast Guard, 2iY) Fe.leral HI,|o„ jacksonvillo,
rlonda..

Millie, Adolph, 328 Hiljjard Hall, Berkeley, Caliloriiia 1932

Millie, 0. J., Jackson, Wyoming

Murray, Rev. J. J., Lexington Presbyterian Church, Lexington,’ Vh-gin

Myrus, A. A., 81 Ford Ave., Oneonta, New York.. 1934

Naeser, Charles P., 515 Bash Court, Champaign, Illinois 1932

Nagel, Weaner Otto, Butler Apts., Cohuuhia, Missouri ....1933

Nelson, Arnold L., Food Habits, U. S. Biological Survey, Washington, D. C...1932

Nelson, Miss Viola, 35 W. Washington, Athens, Ohio 1935

Nicholson, Donald J., 534 S. Lola Drive, Orlando, Florida .....1927

Norton, Arthur H., 22 Elm St., Portland, Maine... 1934

Oakes, Mervin E., State Normal School, Fredonia, New York 1933

Odum, Eugene, Box 792, Chapel Hill. North Carolina. 1930

O’Keefe, Mrs. Ethel, Glena rm, Illinois.... 1932

Oliver, Mary C., 909 Santa Rita St., Silver City, New Mexico 1934

Ortman, Mrs. Enid D., 4660 South Franklin, Englewood, Colorado 1930

Overing, Robert, Landover, Maryland 1930

Owre, Oscar, Jr., 2625 Newton Ave., South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1935

Palmer, Miss Mary C., 760 Midlothian Blvd., R. D. 2, Youngstown, Ohio 1927

Palmer, Ralph S., Route 1, Brunswick, Maine 1934

Palsson, William F., Halldorsstadir, Laxardal, via Hnsavik, Iceland 1931

Patrick, Dr. Leon Patrick, Smith-Grote Bldg., Orange, California 1931

Patterson, J. E., 341 Giannini Hall, Berkeley, California 1930

Peabody, Rev. P. B., Box 55a, R. D. 6, Star Prairie, Wisconsin 1930

Peasley, Mrs. Harold, 1807 6th Ave., Des Moines, Iowa 1934

Pellew, Miss Marion, Box 455, Aiken, South Carolina.. 1920

Pennell, Miss Edna, 503 N. Main St., Mount Vernon, Ohio 1931

Pepper, William, Jr., 110 Glenview Ave., Wyncote, Pennsylvania 1932

Peril!, Miss Kate P., Withrow High School, Cincinnati, Ohio 1931

Perry, Harold E., 1329 Ethel St., Glendale, California 1932

Peters, A. S., 529 Hickory .St., Mankato, Minnesota 1933

Peterson, Alfred, Lock Box 211, Pipestone, Minnesota 1931

Peterson, N. Theodore, 80 Oaklawn Ave., Battle Creek, Michigan. ....1931

Pickens, A. L., 4029 Life Science Bldg., University of California, Berkeley,

California 1927

Pierce, Fred J., Winthrop, Iowa ..1920

Pierce, John T., Anita, Iowa 1930

Pierce, Wright M., Box 343, Claremont, California 1926

Pirnie, Dr. Miles D., W. K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, Augusta, Michigan 1928

Poenitz, Hans, Frankfurter Strasse 2, HI, Leipzig, Germany 1930

Poland, Lloyd, 526 W. Burke St., Martinshurg, West Virginia 1934

Potter, Julian K., 437 Park Ave., Collingswood, New Jersey 1915

Pratt, D. R., McKinley High .School, Canton, Ohio 1932

Presnail, Mrs. Clifford C., Springdale, Utah 1930

Price, John B., 532 Alvarado, Stanford University, California 1931

Quattlehaum, W. D., 1925 Paloma St., Pasadena, California — 1930

Rahe, Carl W., 4666 Turney Road, Cleveland, Ohio — 1931

Ramsden, Charles Theodore, Apartado 146, Guantanamo, Cuba ...1914

Rapp, F. W., Vicksburg, Michigan 1926

Ray, Edward M., Fordsville, Kentucky 1935

Raz, George F., Box 83, Union Pier, Michigan ....1933

Reeder, J. T., 318 College Ave., Houghton, Michigan.. 1926

Reeder, John P., 502 Seldon Road, Iron River, Michigan 1934

Reis, C. 0., 646 Juanita Drive, Los Angeles, California 1931

Rice, Mrs. Bird Wells, 1035 S. Miller St., Cyanthiana, Kentucky 1935

Rich, Dr. Guy C., 1820 El Cerrito Place, Hollywood. California 1914

Richardson, Hnhert, 182 Rusholme Road, Toronto, Ontario 1931

Ricks, Jes.se J., 30 East 42nd St., New York City 1931

Ritter, John H., 1015 Old Orchard Ave., Dayton, Ohio... 1932

Roasch, Gilbert 0., Science Hall, University of Wi.«consin, Madison, Wise 1931

Roberts, Dr. Francis L. R., 419yo S. Governor St., Iowa City, Iowa 1924

254

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Roby, Mrs. .lolin W., Lima, Ohio 1935

Roller!, .Iiidson, 1234 (ihicajro Ave., Evanston, Illinois 1933

Rf)sewall, Prof. 0. W., Dept, of Zoolofry, Louisiana State University, Baton

Roiifie, Lonisiana... 1931

Ross, Hollis T., 109 S. 3rd St., Le\visl)iir>:, Pennsylvania 1933

Ross, Miss Julia E., Box 82, Kimball, Minnesota 1920

Rottenstein, Vilma, 2907 Scottwood Ave., Toledo, Ohio 1931

Russell, Henry N. Sr., 19 Alexander St., Princeton, New Jersey 1932

Sanders, R. D., U. S. Eorest Service, Rhinelander, Wisconsin 1935

.Sarpent, William D., Entomolofiy Dept., Cornell University, Ithaca, New ork..l931

Sattire, A. M., Concordia College, Moorhead, Alinnesota. 1934

.Saunders, Aietas A., 48 Loiifzview Ave., EairHeld, Connecticut - 1934

Saunders, George B., Staff Ornithologist, Game Division, Dept, of Conser-
vation. Lansing, Michigan 1926

Schafer, John J., Port Byron, Illinois 1926

Schaller, R. A., 124 S. College Drive, Bowling Green, Ohio 1930

Schneider, Miss Evelyn, 227 Alta Ave., Louisville, Kentucky 1935

Schultz, G. J., Sutherland, Iowa 1934

Schultz. Miss Helen, Box 105 State Normal College, Erederickshurg, Va 1929

•Sedgwick, Leibert D., I. S. and S. C. Home, Knightstown, Indiana 1935

Selter, Vivian, P. 0. Box 21, St. Petersburg, Florida 1934

Shadle, Prof. Albert R., Biology Dept. University of Buffalo, Buffalo, N. Y 1930

Schaftesbury, Prof. Archie D., N. C. C. W., Greensboro, North Carolina 1930

•Shaw, Mrs. Elizabeth M., 2417 Rosewood Ave., Richmond, Virginia 1931

Sheppard, R. W., 1805 Mouland Ave., Niagara Falls, Ontario 1933

Shields, T. H., 150 18th St., Warwood, Wheeling, West Virginia 1934

Shipman, Charles W., 114 Ridge Road, Willoughby, Ohio 1930

.Shirling, Prof. A. E., 3849 E. 62nd St., Kansas City, Missouri 1924

.Shoop, Cora E., Steelville, Missouri 1935

.Sibley, John E., R. D. 2, Whittemore, Michigan 1933

Sibley, Norman 0., R. D. 2, Whittemore, Michigan.. 1933

.Skaggs, Merit B., 15973 Euclid Ave., E. Cleveland, Ohio 1934

.Slack, Mabel, 1004 Everett Ave., Louisville, Kentucky 1934

.Smith, Dr. A. F., Manning, Iowa 1934

Smith, Mrs. Florence L., Cincinnatus, New A ork 1935

.Smith, Herbert Allyn, 3219 Bellefontaine, Kansas City, Missouri 1932

.Smith, Lewis MacCuen, 8018 Winston Rd., Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pa. ..1931
.Smith, Napier, % Credito Balear, Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands.

Spain 1928

Smith, Wendell Phillips, Wells River, Vermont.... 1921

■Smyth, J. Adger, Salem, Virginia 1933

■Smyth, Dr. L. C. R., 10819 Clifton Blvd., (Jeveland, Ohio... 1935

.Snow, K. C., Route 1, Dexter, New Mexico 1932

•Snyder, L. L., Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology, Bloor .St. and Avenue Road,

Toronto 5, Ontario ....^. 1929

.Spawn, Gerald B., Dept, of Zoology, Iowa .State College, Ames, Iowa... 1934

Speirs, ,|. Murray, 17 Wollrey Ave., Toronto 6, Ontario 1931

.Sperry, Charles C., Biological .Survey, Denver, Colorado 1931

Starrett, William C., 303 Maryland .Ave., Peoria, Illinois 1933

■Sterry, Elizabeth, Teacher's Ciollege, Son Marcos, Texas 1930

.Stevens, O. A., Stale College Station, Fargo, North Dakota 1926

.Stevens, Boss 0., .Soil (.onservation .Service, Coon Valley, Wisconsin 1934

Stein, Hilda A.,^ Soulluuti Illinois State Teacher’s College, Carbomlale, 111 1933

.Stein, Staidey E., Shakopee. Minnesota 1932

Slephetis, Mrs. A. B.. 1695 Filbert St., San Francisco, California 1935

Stevenson, James, National Park .Service, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1931

.Stewart, Paul A., Leelonia, Ohio 1925

Stiles, Bruce E., 3726 7th Ave., Sioux City, Iowa 1935

.Stillwell. W. IT, Mt. Vernon, Ohio 1934

Stine, Perna M., Slate Teacher's College, Minot, North Dakota 1931

Stoner, Emerson A., Box 144, Benicia, California 1934

Membership Roil

255

Slooksherry, C. 1.., 1H14 Soutli Miller Ave., Alliance, Ohio 1*^31

Sloiihlet, John J., 2612 Maplewood Ave., Toledo, Ohio 1934

Storer, Dr. Tracy 1., Div. of Zoology, University Farm, Davis, California 192H

Strickland, Miss Laura Raymond, 578 E. Central St., Franklin, Mass 1935

Stroley, Miss Elsie A., Morristown, New Jersey ....1935

Stuart, Mrs. Marparet J., Box 546, Wheaton, Illinois 1933

Stumii, Jack, 1014 Price Rd., Clayton, Missouri.. 1934

Sturpeon, Myron, 259 W. 2nd St., Salem, Ohio 1934

Sullivan, Walter E., 351 Turk St., San Francisco, California ....1925

Sumner, E. L., Box 188, Menlo Park, California 1931

Sumner, E. L. Jr., Box 188, Menlo Park, California 1929

Swanson, Custav, 3305 47th Ave. South, Minneapolis, Minnesota .,1927

Swedenhorp, Ernie D., 4905 Vincent Ave., South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 1929

Swenk, Mrs. Myron H., 1410 N. 37th St., Lincoln, Nebraska 1925

Tanner, Orey, 5019 Constance St., New Orleans. Louisiana 1933

Taverner, P. E., National Mmseum of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 1925

Teachenor, Dix, 1020 West 61st St., Kansas City, Missouri ....1923

Test, Dr. Frederick H., 511 Russell St., West Lafayette, Indiana 1931

Thomas, Otho S., 205 S. Greene St., Rock Rapids, Iowa 1932

Thompson, Paul A., Northville, South Dakota ...1934

Thorp, George B., Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pa 1935

Tompkins, Ivan R., U. S. Dredge Morgan, Savannah, Georgia 1931

Townsend, James E. Jr., R. D., Brookings, South Dakota..... 1935

Trautman, Milton B., Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1932

Travis, Bernard V., Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa 1935

Trempe, A. E., 612 Kimliall St., Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan 1932

Trimble, Ruth, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1935

Tubbs, Farley F., 924 Cleo St., T.ansing, Michigan ..1935

Turtle, Lancelot J., Rosemount Khock, Belfast, Ireland 1930

Tuttle, Heni'y C., 50 .State St., Boston, Massachusetts .1930

Tyler, B. T., 215 W. Uraka Ave., .lohnson City, Tennessee 1934

IJhler, Francis M., U. S. Biological Survey, Washington, D. C 1931

Upton, Clyde, 41 Acosta Ave., Elm Grove, West Virginia 1934

Ussher, R. D., Nancy Lake Farm, King, Ontario.. ...1934

Van Deusen, H. M., 406 Parker St., Newark, New Jersey 1934

Varner, L. S., McMillan, Michigan 1934

Vasicek, J. M., 10605 Lamontier Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 1934

Vetter, Dr. Charles, Grand View, Nyack, New Vork... 1931

Vincent, Roch Arthur, 517 St. Lawrence Blvd., Montreal, Quebec... 1931

Wachter, William, Hotel Maitin, Sioux City, Iowa -

Wagner, Miss Elizabeth E., 11 8th Ave., Danlniry, Connecticut 1932

Walker, W. M. Jr., 1638 White Ave., Knoxville, Tennes.see 1925

Walkinshaw, Dr. Lawrence M., 1421 W. Michigan Ave., Battle Creek, Mich... 1928

Wanamaker, Paul, 443 Seminole St., Oradell, New Jersey ...P.)34

Watkins, Allen G., U. .S. Forest Service, Saucier, .Mississipiu 1934

Ward, Lawrence, St. Johns, R. D. 1, Michigan

Watson, Lucius Howaia I, 4103 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, Nebraska PU2

Watterson, William IL, 14315 Milverton Road, Cleveland, Ohio

Webster, E. H., Fairhope, Alaltama..

Wells, William, Colony, Kansas.—. ] /"r

Welshimer, A. G., Urbana, Ohio - '

Welter, Wilfred A., Teacher's College, Moorhead, Kentucky I

West, Joe Young, Virginia Slate Teacher’s College, East Radlord, \ irginia.... I aI I

Welherbee, Mrs. Kenneth B„ 11 Dallas St., Worcester, Massachnselts 30

Weyl, Edward Stern, 6.506 Lincoln Drive, Ml. Airy, Phdadelphia, 1 a-

Whitaker, Inness, Hotel Robert Fulton, 228 W. 7lsl St., New 't ork (,ily 13

Whitten, Eastoti W., Coffeen, Illinois '

Whittle, Charles L., River Crossroa.ls, Pelerboro, New Hampshire.. 1131

Wilkin.^on, Alexander Stanley, Kapiti Island, W'elbngton, New Zealand ..130

Williams, Laidlaw 0., Box 4,53, Carmel, California -

Williams, Noel ,L, Milford, Iowa -

256

The Wilson Bulletin — September, 1935

Williams, Rohert W., U. S. Biological Survey, Wasliiiiglon, 1). C 1926

Willis, Warren .)., 24824 89th Ave., Belle Rose, Long Island, New York 1928

Wilkins, W. N., Chapman, Kansas 1934

Wilson, Miss Belle, 5920 Goodwin Ave., Dallas, Texas 1928

Wilson, Sue, 1010 First National Bank Bldg., Omaha, Nebraska 1931

\^’itschi. Dr. Emil, Dept. Zoology, S. U. 1., Iowa City, Iowa. 1935

Wolfe, John N., 205 N. Warren Ave., Colurnhus, Ohio 1933

Wolfe, Capt. L. R., 1819 W. Pershing Road, Chicago, Illinois.- 1934

Wolfram, George S., Canal Winchester, Ohio 1932

Wood, Dr. Casey A., E. W. S. Library, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.. 1924

Wood, Dr. Harold B., 3016 N. Second St., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1932

Wood, Mary Adele, Gates Hall, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 1930

Wood, Norman A., Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,

Michigan , 1925

Woods, W. C. Stephen, Minnesota 1934

Woodhidl, Dr. Maurice W., Cottonwood Falls, Kansas 1931

Woolman, Edward, Box 128, Haverford, Pennsylvania 1928

Work, Mrs. Mary Robert, Bosky Acres, Barrington, Illinois.. 1934

Worthley, W. E., Chicago Academy of Sciences, Lincoln Park, Chicago, 111 1930

Yeatter, R. E., 111. Nat. History Survey, Nat. His. Bldg., Urhana, Illinois 1932

Youngworth, William, 3119 E. 2nd St., Sioux City, Iowa 1934

Yunker, Emilie, 1140 Everett Ave., Louisville, Kentucky 1935

Zimmerman, Fred R., 1105 W. Johnson St., Madison, Wisconsin 1935

Zeigler, C. W., Murray City, Ohio 1934

Zurcher, Miss Olga, 133 S. Richardson Ave., Columbus, Ohio 1933

TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Our members are urged to submit articles for publication in the Bulletiw.
Short items are desired for the department of General Notes, as well as longer
articles pertaining to life-history, migration, ecology, behavior, song, economic
ornithology, field equipment, methods, etc. Local faunal lists are desired, but
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3

Address to a Robin

“Come, sweetest of the feather’d throng,
And soothe me with thy plaintive song:
Come to my cot, devoid of fear,

No danger shall await thee here:

No prowling cat, with whisker’d face.
Approaches this sequester’d place:

No schoolboy with his willow bow
Shall aim at thee a murd’rous blow.

No wily lim’d twig ere molest.

Thy olive wing or crimson breast:

Thy cup, sweet bird. I’ll daily fill
At yonder cressy babbling rill.

Thy board shall plenteously be spread
With crumblets of the nicest bread:

And when rude winter comes and shows
His icicles and shivering snows.

Hop o’er my cheering hearth and be
One of my peaceful family.

Then soothe me with thy plaintive song,
Thou sweetest of the feather’d throng.”
— Edward Jenner, 1770.

JAN 2 1938

Vol. XLVII

DECEMBER, 1935

k

No. 4

r

■ ■■ ■ ■ ■ .i» i

THE

WON fiinUilN

A Magazine of Field Ornithology

Published by the

WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

at

SIOUX CITY, IOWA

Entered as Second-class Mail Matter, July 18, 1916, at the PostofFice at
Sioux City, Iowa, under Act of March 3, 1879.

CONTENTS

Rim Rock and Solitaire By P. B. Peabody 257-265

Beach-Combers By Bayard H. Christy 265-269

Storks in Trees By Margaret Morse Nice 270-271

Wintering Warblers in Cameron County, Texas, during

THE Season of 1934-1935 By L. Irby Davis 272-274

An Example of Partial Albinism in the Eastern Crow

By Dayton Stoner 274-276

1'he Sex Ratio in Ducks By 0. C. Furniss 277-278

A Study of the Winter Bird Life in Bear Lake and Utah

Lake Valleys By C. Lynn Hayward 278-284

The Cardinal Now Twelve Years Old By A. F. Ganier 285-286

Arizona Fields Are Virgin for Bird Banders

By Fred M. Dille

General Notes
Ornithological Literature
Editorial

286-293

294-299

300-307

308

THE WILSON BULLETIN

is published quarterly in March, June, September, and December, as the oflFicial
organ of the Wilson Ornithological Club, at Sioux City, Iowa, and is sent to all
members not in arrears for dues. The subscription price is $1.50 a year, invari-
ably in advance, in the United States. Single numbers, 50 cents. Outside of the
United States the rate is $1.75. Single numbers, 60 cents. Subscriptions should
be sent to the Editor.

All articles and communications for publication, books and publications for
review, exchanges, and claims for lost or undelivered copies of the magazine,
should be addressed to the Editor.

The current issue of the Wilson Bulletin is printed by the Verstegen Print-
ing Company, Sioux Gty, Iowa.

THE WILSON ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB

Founded December 3, 1888. Named after Alexander Wilson, the first Ameri-
can ornithologist, and called the “Father of American Ornithology”.

The officers for the current year are:

President — Dr. Josselyn Van Tyne, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
First Vice-President — Mr. Alfred M. Bailey, Chicago Academy of Sciences,
Chicago, 111.

Second Vice-President— Mrs. Margaret M. Nice, Columbus, Ohio.

Treasurer— Mr. W. M. Rosene, Ogden, Iowa.

Secretary— Dr. Lawrence E. Hicks, Botany Dept., 0. S. U., Columbus, Ohio.
Editor — T. C. Stephens, Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa.

The membership dues are — sustaining membership, $5.00; active membership,
$2.50; associate membership, $1.50 per year.

THE WILSON BULLETIN

A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF ORNITHOLOGY
Published by ihe Wilson Ornithological Club

Vol. XLVII DECEMBER, 1935 No. 4

Vol. XLII (New Series) Whole Number 173

RIM ROCK AND SOLITAIRE

BY P. B. PEABODY

That picturesque yet highly exaggerated figure wherein Mr. Trippe
once described the song of the Townsend’s Solitaire (Myadestes town-
sendi) became for me, once, a fascinating lure to Wyoming wilds. The
prospect of long rides beneath clear skies amid rock masses, over
deep-lying gorges resplendent with flowers and resonant with song, so
gripped me that, fairly before I realized it, I found myself domiciled
in a little cabin at the rear of a church in Newcastle, Wyoming.

One radiant October morning a few weeks later, after staging
across fifty miles of alternating sage plain and hull pine studded
canyon-gorge, passing by picturesque, lone Inyan Kara, skirting,
finally, the deep, sloping talus of venerable Sundance Mountain, I
landed at the village of Sundance. It was a paradisaic place, nestling
against the northeastern bosses of the Rear Lodge. A mile wide area
to the west gave outlet, behind fringes of willows, to the spiing fed
waters of the Rear Lodge and of Sundance Mountain.

Next morning I sauntered down to the odd, deserted church, fai
down the mesa. On its weathered porch I soon stood transfixed, with
every nerve a-tingle. Eyes went sweeping up the steeps of the north-
ward bench of the Rear Lodge. Quaintly weazened cedars, writhed
into the grotesque forms that Dore once so loved, were foiling the
sombre masses of young hull pines. Here and there, amid the scattered
talus, there peered gaunt, jutting crags. Far up the slopes there tow-
ered the primeval pines. Their dark green tops cameoed the clear sky;
while many a blanched top bespoke the deadly work of the tiny
beetles that were already so rapidly conveiting whole masses o pon
derosa pines into festering, shattered, falling, and fallen personifica-
tions of the Abomination of Desolation. And then, as I ardently
looked and listened, as if in token that life and Hauty everywhere
shall ultimately triumph over death and decay,_ sue denly there stole
forth from somewhere up the heights, mysteriously, delicately, vi
brantly. a rippling song that seemed to know little of limit or of tiring.

It was the song of the Solitaire.

258

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

Thereafter, I heard it often. Wherever there were rim-rock,
cedar, and bull-pine, right there often echoed the Solitaire song. One
heard it from January to May; and again from August until January.
For, the Solitaire is resident. Like all true residents he is ever hardy,
and unchangeably cheerful. No storm can silence him, no eold be-
numb, no heat over-power. When fog masses hurtle tumultuously
across the muffled crags, right there masterfully sings the Solitaire in
fullest nuptial ecstasy. The song trickles vibrantly downward through
the hiss and roar of the storm, among the pines, the devoted pair fall-
ing and rising, over and below each other, high in air. It is amid
such environs, as if in mastery over storm fury, that the mating time
melodies of this rarest of “thrushes” bear the most bewitching charm.

But, one must learn to see the Solitaire. That short flute note
wherewith he calls his mate in love time, or his male companions in
winter, is both ventriloquial and bewildering. No bird call is more
tantalizing, more stubbornly baffling. Yet, by and by, as one listens
intently, with many cranings of neck and stumblings of foot, at last
one really sees bim. “Frozen”, he is crouching against the bark of a
pine sapling of his own color. In a moment, with that characteristic
“thrush” rigidity, he mounts the sapling. Here, with outstretched
neck, he listens, and listens, apparently for another of his own kind.
Meanwhile he watches, for the ever-persistent foe.

In winter one finds the Solitaire, ever, among the cedars. Not
often is he to be found elsewhere. For here is his granary; here his
hammock and his bed; and here his City of Refuge from sharp-shins
and screech owls. And always, in the main, it is among the cedar
clad rocks which crown the gorges that the Solitaire loves to dwell
during the halcyon hours of his winter days. E. S. Cameron has con
sidered the Solitaire to be only a wintral sojourner in the fastness of
Montana. And I, also, once believed this eerie creature to be just a
wintral habitant. Rut both of us were wrong. For when May comes
with its scattered bevies of hurrying storm attendants, then does the
Solitaire sink into silence — utter silence. And then do the sundry
pairs begin to home-fly back to their castles in the air, along the mar-
gin, perhaps, of some canyon wall; or amid the numberless crannies
of a rock seam in some little gorge; or even, amid the stumps of some
small clearing among the pines. Or perhaps the nesting place may lie
in a secluded bank which margins the storm stream that rages, betimes,
down some narrow water-shed, on its way to the river and the sea.
Here, at his nest location, the Solitaire has little to say. Like certain
other of our western mountain dwellers, he has learned the value of

On Townsend’s Solitaire

259

Fig. 33. Inyan Kara, a “mountain” with an elevation of 6,500 feet in
Wyoming, on the western margin of the Black Hills, and a famous landmark
in early history.

Fig. 34. Sundance Mountain lies across the valley that Hanks the Bear
Lodge Mountains. The erosion is at the southeast, where the mountain skirts
the valley; note the talus at the base, right-hand. The southwest crest slopes
gently and is heavily wooded with ponderosa pines, and a few deciduous
trees. This is especially the haunt of the Solitaire. In the early days the
Indians gathered at the southeast crest at sunrise to perform their mystical
rites.

260

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

prudent silence. However, one whose ear has been trained to keen-
ness may hear, once in a great while, just a stifled, distant call; or
again more rarely still, a smothered reminiscence of the nuptial song
may scatter its fragments amid the deepening dark of a summer
evening.

Yet there is a call, apparently unknown to science, a strange,
wierd, smothered, yet intensely vibrant warning cry, a barely audible
“Pur-r-v-v-e” . This caution call, which may be uttered by either sex,
I first heard under a thrilling circumstance. I stood, once, among
scattered pine stumps and a few isolated clumps of ground juniper on
the Bear Lodge. I had just seen a single Sharp-tailed Grouse alight,
with a subdued, fearsome, huck-whuck-whuck’\ Statuesque, there
the slender creature stood, for all of a minute, intently eyeing me.
When the grouse flushed I followed it down a narrow gorge which
broadened into a level area covered with small bur oak trees. Forty
rods to the northward there lay the rim-rock verge of a narrow
“pocket” canyon. Steeply walled it was, at the apex, with steep slopes
leading down to the canyon-mouth. The heights were clad in tenderest
willow and aspen greenery. Out from the canyon opening there swept
a vista of rolling plains, with their outlines softened in the undulating
air. Westerly frowned the Black Buttes. To the north, fifteen miles
away, enwrapped in purple haze, lay beautiful, isolated Inyan Kara.
One stood transfixed. Then, suddenly, out from the hidden mazes of
the narrow canyon there came floating the motif of a Solitaire song.
It was but a faint suggestion, yet that was quite enough.

But in just a moment, in quite the usual inconsequential way, a
Solitaire came lilting up over the rim-rock and straight toward the
observer. But. midway of the bur oak area, it seemed to sense the
intruding human, and swerved, a moment, in midair. Then the canny
creature alighted in a little oak; and, instantly, there came rasping its
way through the still morning air that previously unheard warning
cry, that creepy, pervasive, nasal “Pur-r-v-v-e’ . For a few moments,
then, bird and man stood still, eyeing each other, though a full hun-
dred yards apart. Then, for just one unguarded moment, the human
eye swerved from its focus; and, the bird had disappeared!

Down through the oak-hrush-covered space there wound a whilom
water-way. Its course wound, tortuously, between banks of earth.
Toughened by root-fibre, the hank edges over-hung. Intently traversing
the deepest of these sections, I came, at a sudden turn, upon a sitting
Solitaire, my missing bird. Her four eggs lay in a rough nest of
weeds, grasses, yarrow-blades, and rootlets. This rested upon, rather

On Townsend’s Solitaire

261

Fig. 35. The nest of the Solitaire “under the turfy over-hang”, with liird
sitting. 1906.

Fig. 36. The nest of the Solitaire on a tiny rock-shelf, “deep sheltered hy
the ferns and poison ivy”, in the Rear Todge NIountains. C^iook County,
Wyoming, May, 1901.

262

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

than in, a hollow, right in the runway continually used by many a vole,
white-footed mouse, and chickaree, winding in and out, under the
turfy over-hang. Here, storm-fended, the Solitaire was brooding her
treasures. Silently, steadily, she eyed me. And then, amid the falling
rain, there was wrought out that mystery of gentling whereby the wild-
est of the wild grow tame, at last, in home-defense; when danger no
longer threatens.

My very first occupied Solitaire nest was found in this very can-
yon. It was the work of a previous year, in June. The fretful cackling
of a Western Sharp-shinned Hawk had led the camerist through end-
less mazes of undergrowth, straight across to a steep slope whereon a
few tall birches grew amid pines and aspens. In one of these birches,
upon a revamped nest of the always terrible red squirrel there lay five
eggs of the no-less-terrible wiry hawk. Hardly had the sight of these
very rare eggs rewarded one’s wearisome climb before there was heard,
from the far-opposite rock wall, which I had just left, the furtive song
of a Solitaire — never before heard in June. Straight across, then, to
the nesting-niche I went. The site was in a sheltered nook upon a
shelf, snug and inaccessible. It held four oddly-spotted young, already
full-feathered on that late June day. Their cradle was just a mat of
the long pine needles that were lying everywhere about. As usual the
parents of these awkward younglings were curiously apathetic during
my study of their brood.

Just such another nest I later found, at sunset of another late
June day. It was on a tiny shelf, half way up the steep slope of a
very narrow water course, not very far from the little old dilapidated
church. This nest was betrayed, as occupied nests of this species
almost invariably are, by the flushing of the sitting bird. In this nest,
sheltered by poison ivy, there crouched four spotted young.

Rough as are all Solitaire nests, hut unique in its deep foundation
of stout pine twigs, was a nest, many years old, that I once found in
the very bottom of a pine stump in a clearing. It had been built
upward to a ten-inch height, and it had a matted lining of plant fibre.

Uncanny is the Solitaire, es])ecially in bahy-time. Sitters cling
closely to their nests, whether with eggs or with young. And Solitaire
parents worry precious little about human presences near their nests.
There is no outcry. Even the warning call made by most parent birds
when nearing their nests with food is, with this unconventional crea-
ture, only a faint utterance, and even this is sometimes not to be heard
at all. Yet, curiously enough, with all that apparent indilTerence, I

On Townsend’s Solitaire

263

Fig. 37. An old nest of the Solitaire is located in the bottom of the pine
stuni[) in the clearin>r.

Fig. 38. A Solitaire's nest “amotifi broken layers of ])orphyry” in a dee|)
cleft of the Bear Lodge rim-rock. Crook County, Wyoming, Kfay, 1901.

264

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

have never known Solitaires to come near their nests, with food, when
a man was just nosing about.

Beautiful as are normal eggs of the Townsend’s Solitaire, I once
found an entire “set” of them that were of rarest beauty. The pearly,
somewhat rosy ground tint was heightened by the boldness and the
brightness of the warm, red-brown markings. And there were five of
them, which is rare, indeed.

A single pair of Solitaires that I once knew evinced a rare sus-
ceptibility. These birds were undoubtedly the very pair that reared
their young in 1905 in the little niche among rocks near the crest of
the Bear Lodge. The nesting place they had chosen for 1906 was but
a hundred feet further up, on the same flood groove. On the abnor-
mally late breeding date of July 10 I was intent upon the perplexing
ways of a pair of Canada Jays. Behind and beneath a solitary pine
sapling, at the head of the narrow gorge, I was hiding from the jays.
Then, of a sudden, straight down the slope from which my jays had
disappeared, a subdued Solitaire song was heard. It must have been
a female’s love-song, while she was resting and feeding near her nest.
Quickly I sighted her, as she sat on the lowest dead branches of a
little pine. I watched her mate come, wing-poised, across from the
opposite side of the narrow and shallow gorge to a spot beside the
female. The wings of the eager creature relaxed, and began to quiver.
Her beak opened wide to receive the morsel her mate had brought her.
Instantly, the almoner passed out of sight; but his mate still sat where
she was, placidly preening.

By experience, the watcher knew exactly what was going to hap-
pen. He dared not move his very eyes. In an instant he shrank to
half his size. With wings in poise the female Solitaire glides down-
ward, aslant, to the bottom of the slope, a hundred feet away; and she
has instantly disappeared. But, I found her, a bit later, on a juniper
shrouded shelf, back among the broken layers of porphyry. A tender-
foot might have “rushed” her, instanter, but I just “froze”, and
watched! No miracle of words could possibly tell just how craft
finally began to triumjih over fear.

Two days went by. My camera was set up and left. Gradually,
with infinite slowness, it was moved, nearer and nearer to the nesting
ypfi always, in vain. At the critical moment, a drab shadow
would be wafted from the nesting nook to some favored perching spot
on the gaunt branch of a pine log; or to the lower twigs of a feeding
tree. Then, while I crouched beneath my covert, burying my body
among dead leaves and stems of bear-berry, the drab Lady would

Beach-Combers

265

come cautiously back, rod by rod, yard by yard, from one perch to
another; until, at last one might almost foretell just what road she
would take next, in going home. Then, more swiftly than the untrained
eye might follow, she would have vanished out of space; and her bright
eye would peer out at one from her half hidden eyrie. Finally, in
near despair, I hid the camera just hack of a blackened stump, behind
a pine sapling. There I left it, for a while, “all set”.

In due time the observer had crushed himself into shapelessness,
among the rough herbage, hut within reach of the holder-slide. And,
there, scorched by a mounting sun, pinched by wandering ants, de-
voured by hungry deer-flies, he lay, a long, long time, waiting as only
an enthusiast can wait! Cautiously, when the climactic moment came,
the slide was slowly drawn, inch by inch, with a hand upreached. The
noisy shutter clicked its closing. And, the ghost of a shadow went
flitting, quick as thought, out from the covert, into the sunlight, and
far away, down the steeps.

Topeka, Kansas.

BEACH-COMBERS

BY BAYARD H. CHRISTY

A gently curving hay opens northeastwardly to the breadth of
Lake Superior. To the left against the horizon extends the blue band
of Keweenaw Point; its mountains, often undercut by mirage, seem to
float in air; to the right lake and sky meet in a far line that is serried
and notched when the waters are tossed by storm. The hay swings
inland between forest-crowned headlands of red sandstone. A long,
low sand dune, extending from one promontory to the other, wind-
built from behind, storm-beaten in front, falls abruptly to a narrow
beach.

The crest of the dune is grown with harsh grass and beach peas;
its landward slope is covered with red-berried kinnikinick; beyond
extends a ridged, sandy plain, sjiarsely grown with jack pines and
norways, carpeted with huckleberry hushes that now, in eaily Octohei.
are aflame amidst faded brakes and dim gray mosses. Wavelets laji
the beach and raise a gentle murmur. When the wind is offshoie
even the murmur fails; hut when lake winds blow a heavy surf
mounts and roars landward. The breadth of the beach, fiom the pic-
cipitous face of the dune to the inconstant margin of water, is not
great — two, three, six paces, at most. The waves beat upon a firm,
steep slope, and in places reach the very base of the dune; but, for
the greater part, there is a level interval between of loose, dry sand.

266

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

Peeled logs lie cast about, half buried; and each spent wave leaves
an arc of small litter, to be caught and cast up again, endlessly. The
water is cold and clean, the air fresh, and within the forest spreads
the fragrance of the pines.

At the season of which I speak, during the early days of October,
the lake side is alive with migrating birds. To what extent the hun
dred-and-fifty-mile-wide lake is an obstacle in the northward and
southward movements, I do not certainly know. To the waterbirds.
certainly, it is none. From the sand I pick up the frail body of a
warbler, the life spent perhaps at the very completion of a long over-
water flight; but repeatedly I have observed transients moving high
in air, not in a north-and-south course across the lake, but east and
west along its shore.

By whatever route they come, here along the dunes Tree Spar-
rows rise from the grasses; at the edge of the woods White-crowned
and Harris’s Sparrows are skulking. Gray-cheeked Thrushes appear in
the shadows of the deeper forests; and the bands of Myrtle Warblers
and Juncos are, I doubt not, augmented by newcomers from the north.

It is not, however, of the generality that I mean to speak, but
only of a small part; only of those few birds that frequent the beach
itself. This is the narrowest, the slenderest, the most diminutive of
beaches — a strip of wave-dashed sand, three or four miles long, thirty
or forty feet wide; slight in comparison with the beaches of the lower
lakes, but adequate for my purpose. It serves to sift out from the
moving hosts a few birds of riparian habit; not many kinds, not many
individuals, but sufficient to constitute a group apart. There are
among them birds of different and remote families, with nothing more
in common than that they are birds and that they feed from the same
table. I gain my specimens selectively, as the chemist gains his on a
sheet of filter paper, and devote to them my further attention.

Setting out one morning under a gray sky, I find the lake tossed
by a .stiff, cold, northeast wind, and the waters tumbling and roar-'
ing on the strand. Far out to the north the sky is clear, and against
it a skein of smoke is thrown from some steamer that passes below
the horizon line. Herring Gulls come stringing along, two hundred
feet in air, following exactly the line of the beach. Manifestly an
aerial billow, as over a sunken reef, mounts above the rim of the
forest, and along the crest of this billow the gulls find a highway.
They course along it on scarcely moving wings. Occasionally one
swings aside and glides to the surface of the bay. Very rarely one
flies from the water to rest upon the shingle and sun himself. Thev

Beach-Combers

267

feed in the open water, rather, and not upon the heach itself. It is
different with the Ring-billed Gulls, a species of which a few are
present. Frequently I find one of them standing plover-like at the
water’s edge. They are deliberate in movement, and, as I suppose,
happen occasionally upon some small fish cast ashore.

Advancing along the dune this wild, gray morning, I cross the
trail of a deer that has lately come to water and gone again; a gane
of ducks, flying high, comes down-wind from the open lake; an eagle
rises from the woods and flaps out to sea. His flight is heavy and
powerful. Occasionally he furls a wing, slips sidewise, and rises
again, as though this breasting of the strong, cold wind were pleasur-
able. The eagles have an eye upon the beach, and upon the wide
waters beyond, and anticipate even the gulls in finding fish when they
rise gasping to the surface. Ravens, too, fly over the treetops; and it
may be that they come sometimes to the strand; I do not, however,
recall seeing one there.

Reaching at length the very bottom of the hay, I come upon the
first of the true beach-combers, a Pipit. The lake tumbles and roars,
the wind throws the spray afar; and amid the tumult the Pipit walks
daintily, prettily; wagging its tail after its manner; not a feather
ruffled; picking on this side and that as it goes. As I come near, the
bird eyes me alertly, and presently darts up with its clear, sweet pipit
cry, flying out over the water, leaping upward in its flight; but pres-
ently it swings back and pitches again only a short distance remote,
and there recommences its busy progress, and I do not again disturb it.

Next day, the wind having spent itself, I find in the same place a
company of three birds — two Pipits and with them a Lapland Long-
spur. The Pipits stand erect and walk daintily; the Longspur crouches
and creeps. The Pipits manifest some timidity; the Longspur is quite
confiding. Moving gently I find I can approach him so nearly that I
have no need of field-glasses. Indeed, I am so near that the field-
glasses may not be brought to focus upon him. The Pipits seem to
feed preferably on the hard wet slope, along the lines of freshly casl-
up drift; the Longspur creeps over the dry and softer sand near the
base of the dune.

The birds now are in winter plumage. Nevertheless, upon the
creamy olive-gray plumage of the Pipits and upon one of them, par-
ticularly— spreads a faint glow, a certain impalpable suffusion, of
cinnamon red. As for the Longspur, the black of the head is in eclipse,
and shows somewhat uncertainly in a hand across the upper breast and
in emphatic spots at the margins of the ochi e-colored cheek areas. The

268

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

large patch of sorrel brown over the nape of the neck is well defined.
I note the long hind claw, almost as though I held the bird in my hand.

A rather unexpected element in this riparian gathering of birds
is the Rusty Blackbird. He is a bird that more commonly is found
gathered in small bands and moving about in alder-grown swampy
plapes; but he frequents the shore too, and that regularly. In such
plgce, however, I have invariably found him singly. He walks briskly,
quite in the manner of the more familiar Bronzed Crackle. He follows
the edge of the retreating wave, his bright, pale-amber eye alert, glean-
ing from the slight swath of drift. He is wary, and yet fearless; when
disturbed he flies swiftly to a fresh stand a hundred yards down the
beach; and when disturbed again he will raise his head, flick his tail,
utter a low, harsh note, and fly to refuge in the woods.

It is in autumn that the significance of the name Rusty Blackbird
is manifest. The jet black plumage is then, over the fore part of the
body, veiled in golden brown; it is when the bird flies away that the
black outspread wings and tail, together with the manner of flight,
afford the familiar appearance of a blackbird.

The Black-bellied Plover is the only true shorebird on my list of
beach-combers. Individual plovers linger here well into October.
They are not timid birds, but they are very wary. Only from afar
and through field-glasses can I detect them actually feeding. They
cover the beach widely, from the water’s edge to the face of the dune,
feeding most commonly in the higher, drier portion.

As I approach, the bird comes to attention, and as I draw nearer
still he runs fitfully before me. It is only by swifter approach that I
can put him to flight, and then on broadly white and outspread wings
and tail he swings away over the water and curves again to the strand,
perhaps a quarter of a mile away. A silvery gray bird, with conspicu-
ous black points of bill, eye, and folded primaries, and feet. The
only question that rises is whether he may by chance be a Golden
Plover, and the only sure field mark is the hind toe — its presence or
its absence. And I challenge any one easily to detect that character.
He stands, sunk a quarter of an inch deep in soft sand; you disturb
him and, though he takes to firm moist footing, his legs go twinkling
away, so fast that you get nothing. Only after slow and patient fol-
lowing and repeated fumblings of chance does your bird at last pause,
broadside on, and afford that glimpse of the small elevated, almost
wart-like enlargement on the slender shank that settles the matter
at last.

On the morning of the seventh of October the Horned Larks ap-
peared a party of seven. They are sociable creatures, roaming and

Beach-Combers

269

feeding in companies. These are newcomers from the north, easily
distinguishable by their lemon-yellow faces from the paler, southerly
ranging birds of the interior. They run about over the drift; and,
when disturbed, run hurriedly. They easily take wing, climb high,
and sweep about with sweet, twittering calls, as though irresolute. But
at length hesitation is gone, and they swing down to another feeding
place.

There is but one bird more on my list — the Snow Bunting. I ex-
pected him. Each morning as I came out and searched the strand, he
was in my mind; but it was not until the last morning of my stay —
that of the thirteenth day of October — that the SnoM' Buntings ap-
peared, two of them, crouching and feeding, very much after the
manner of longspurs. But the birds are of very different coloring.
The longspur is a black and brown bird, trimmed with white; the
bunting is a white bird, trimmed with black and brown. He has come
from Arctic islands, from granite hills pocketed with snow; and here
along the lake shores he will continue through all the ice and storm
of winter. But once have I seen him as far to southward as at my
home in the Ohio Valley. His is the hardihood of the ptarmigan, and
here he finds an adequate economy.

What provender, then, does nature afford these few hirdlings on
a wave-beaten strand? Thinking of this, I gathered between my finger-
tips and spread upon my palm a pinch of this small wrack. And of
what did it consist? Of pine needles, hits of bark, the keys from maple
trees, the small winged seeds of birch, alder, pine; and here the dia-
phanous shell of some minute shrimp-like creature. It is such matters
as these that are the prizes of the beach-combers.

Presently the gathering will have dispersed. Indeed, when the
huntings came, the plovers had already gone. And the plover will
fly far — perhaps to another continent, and even to anothei hemispheie
— before the urge within him will be spent. It was but by chance
that, pausing here, he was found in association with half a dozen other
particular kinds.

Are these trivial matters? Certainly they are. What matters
then are significant? Let us adapt to our purpose the parable of the
Saxon chronicle. We loo are creatures busied on our arena along
our reach of sand. On one side spread infinite waters across which
we have come. Presently winter will he upon us, and we shall be
going to some far and unseen place. Please God we go as confidently
and as unerringly as the birds.

Sewickley, Pa.

270

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

STORKS IN TREES

BY MARGARET MORSE NICE

It was my privilege to spend a day in early June in the Unters-
preewald with the ornithologist who has made a notable study of the
bird life of these woods and meadowsd We had taken an early train
from Berlin to the village of Lubolz, fifty miles southeast; here many
of the houses and barns were old and quaint; the women wore black
peasant costumes handsomely embroidered, and every one greeted us
kindly.

Swallows [Hirimdo rustica) were abundant in the village nesting
in the barns, the jolly little Serin (Serinus canarius serinus) sang, and
the Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) gave his absurd note. Soon we began
to hear the lovely Sky-Larks {Alauda arvensis) . Two years ago^ I
had been sorely disappointed in their song, but this time I rejoiced in
it with my whole heart; it is altogether charming, brimming over with
the delight of living. And then I heard my first Cuckoo {Cuculus c.
canorus). The song is a medodious, peaceful, satisfying sound, and
I do not wonder that it is loved.

The meadows were sweet with the scent of new-mown hay and
fields were bright with pink ragged robin, while along the paths grew
yellow irises and the bluest of forget-me-nots. I was delighted to hear
the Chiffchaff ( Phylloscopus c. collyhita) again; he also improved on
acquaintance. All day we kept hearing his simple, earnest lay and it
always pleased me. I am very fond of the handsome and confiding
Yellowhammers ( Emberiza citrineUa) whose song cannot be mistaken.
The gorgeous Golden Orioles (Oriolus o. oriolus) were heard time
and again; the spirited song has much in common with that of our
Baltimore Oriole ( Icterus galhula) . White-throats (Sylvia communis)
were busily singing; one of their songs reminded me very much of that
of our Bell’s Vireo iVireo belli), but others are more musical and
less easy to remember.

A notable feature of wooded areas in Germany consists in the
numbers of Raptores that nest in them. We saw five or six Buzzards
(Buteo buteo) during the day, a Red Kite (Milvus m. milvus) , and
three Black Kites (Milvus m. migrans ) , two of which were chasing
the third and at the same time giving a curious trilling sound. We
also observed a Hobby iFalco subbuteo) in flight and a Kestrel (Falco
finnunculus) in the woods.

’Gottfried Schiermanii. 1930. Stiidien iiber Siedelunpsdichte im Rrutgehiet.
journal fiir Ornithologie, 78, pp. 137-180.

^1933. Some Ornithological Experiences in Europe. Bird-Banding, 4, pp.

147-154. ' is, ,

Storks in Trees

271

A new and exciting bird to me was the Hoopoe iUpupa erops)
with its extraordinary crest. We found a mossy Spielnest of a Wren
{Troglodytes t. troglodytes) and saw several fat babies that had been
raised nearby. Herr Schiermann was always examining bushes with his
walking stick and the count of nests thus discovered was as follows:
a Turtle Dove’s ( Streptopelia turtur) , a Garden Warhler’s (Sylvia
borin), a Hooded Crow’s (Corvus cor nix) , and eight nests of the
pretty, tame Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) containing from one
to six eggs, while one had also a Cuckoo’s egg. There were also two
empty nests of especial interest — that of a Screaming Eagle (Aquila
pomarina } and the hollow tree where a Goosander (Mergus m. mer-
ganser) had raised her brood of young.

A flash of emerald — and a shining little Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis
ispida) darted up the Spree. A pair of Curlews {Nunienius arquata)
pursued a Buzzard, a Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) walked im-
portantly along, and from a clump of weeds we heard the surprising
medley of a Marsh Warbler { Acrocephalus palustris) .

But the most exciting sight of the whole trip was the colony of
White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) in a group of oaks. Although storks
nest in trees quite commonly in many places in their range, almost
always they do so in single pairs. Just why this typically solitary
bird should become colonial in this place is a mystery. Several times
during the day we had seen the handsome great birds walking uncon-
cernedly about the meadows and we had passed two nests in trees in
different places. But here there were fifteen nests in the tops of ancient
oaks, two, three, and four in the same tree. A parent was on each nest
and two to three white babies could be seen sitting stiffly erect. The
nesting trees are surrounded by a wire fence and the colony is strictly
protected. We sat down to watch and soon some storks came flying
home. It was a wonderful sight to see the immense black and white
birds sailing in the air. And most thrilling of all was the response of
the mate on the nest — it threw its head way over on its back and gave
the loudest kind of Klappen with its great beak. Herr Schiermann
said, “You can imagine what it must be like when father, mother, and
four babies ‘clap’ on your roof!”

Through the long twilight as we made our way back to the station
we still heard the soft call of the Cuckoo and the happy singing of
the Sky-Larks. It had been a wonderful day and we had a record of
fifty-five birds.

Columbus, Ohio.

272

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

WINTERING WARBLERS IN CAMERON COUNTY, TEXAS,
DURING THE SEASON OF 1934-1935

BY L. IRBY DAVIS

In my report on the wintering of the Black-throated Green War-
bler {Dendroica virens) and the Wilson Warbler [Wilsonia pusilla)
in Cameron County, Texas, during the season of 1933-1934 (Wilson
Bulletin, December, 1934), I indicated that I considered it likely a
temporary condition with which we were dealing. This winter I have
had cause to wonder if there is taking place a general and permanent
northward extension of the winter range of warblers. It must be ad-
mitted, however, that we again had a mild winter and what is more
important a large insect crop. The summer rains were not heavy this
time hut there was such an enormous crop of insects the previous year
that we naturally got a lag effect. Caterpillars were even more num-
erous, in fact, than during the wet fall.

In order not to miss the incoming winter residents as I did in
the fall of 1933, I went at least once a week to the southwestern corner
of the county from the latter part of August until ihe last of December,
1934. This season the Black-throated Green Warblers and the Wilson
Warblers which remained as permanent winter residents seemed to
arrive the latter part of November. There were early waves of mi-
grants but after a short stop they would go on. At any rate they
would be plentiful one day and a week later I could find none at all.
From the last week in November until April, 1935, there was no ap-
parent change in the concentration of these two species.

This year the total number of Black-throated Green Warblers
wintering in the county seemed to be about the same as last season
but there was a further extension of their range to the north. They
were observed during December, 1934, and January, 1935, along the
Aroyo Colorado east of Harlingen and north along the banks of that
stream as far as Willacy County. They were also found north of the
Aroyo Colorado in suitable habitats near Harlingen and about the
City Lake within the corporate limits of that city.

I was asked some questions by bird s'udents who read my report
on the birds here last year in regard to the chances of these birds
being golden-cheeked Warblers {Dendroica chrysopan’a) . I might
say that the birds wintering here have the typical auricular patch of
'Virens and that the belly shows a distinct yellow wash.

This season the Wilson Warbler was found much farther to the
east (as far as the eastward limit of the Black-throated Green Warbler
the })rcvious year) and slightly north of the Resaca del Rancho Viejo

Wintering Warblers in Texas

273

in the western part of the county. As in the previous season they
were at all times relatively scarce and seldom could more than two or
three be encountered on an all-day field trip. Sometimes one could
stay out all day without seeing a single one.

The rarest winter resident this year was the Yellow Warbler
{Dendroica aestiva) . As far as I know it has never before been known
to winter in the United States. Two birds tentatively identified as of
this species were seen near the City Lake in Harlingen during the last
week of December, 1934. However, they could not be approached
near enough for positive identification and it was not until January
20, 1935, that I was absolutely certain this species was also wintering
here. On that date I was driving slowly past the courthouse in
Brownsville when I heard a “pitting” in a tepaguaje tree on the lawn.
I stopped quickly and got out of the car to investigate. As soon as I
observed its bright yellow color I called to my wife and Mrs. Anita
Miller, a visiting bird student from Cincinnati, to come and see it.
Although the tree was rather small we were able to approach it with-
out frightening the bird in the least. Hence we were able to study
the bird from as close quarters as our binoculars would permit. It
was a male in full plumage and the reddish-chestnut lines on the
breast and sides showed up as plainly as though the specimen were
in hand. Later in the month others were reported from the vicinity
of Brownsville. My first record for the Yellow Warbler for the fall
of 1934 was on August 12. By the 19th they had become quite plenti-
ful, and on that date I observed large flocks of them devouring leaf
worms on the cotton plants near Santa Maria. They were present in
large numbers all during September, but rapidly thinned out the first
week in October and one recorded on the 7th was the last seen until
the very few winter specimens were located. I did not visit the
Brownsville section during November or December; hence, can not
report on their concentration there during the first part of the winter.

The Pine Warbler {Dendroica pinus) was present in still larger
numbers this winter and was observed over all that part of the coun-
try which has a suitable growth of trees. This species was also found
in Willacy County which is just north of Cameron.

Other warblers wintering here in about their usual concentration
and of general distribution were (in order of their importance in
number ) : Myrtle Warbler {Dendroica coronata) , Western and North-
ern Yellow-throats {Geothlypis Irichas) , Orange-crowned Warbler
{Vermivora celata). Black and White Warbler {Mniotilta varia).
Sycamore Warbler {Dendroica doniinica) , Audubon Warbler {Den-

274

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

droica auduboni), Nashville Warbler (Vermivora ruficapiUa) , and
the Tennessee Warbler {Vermivora peregrina) .

It might be of interest to note that our summer resident warblers
returned long before there was any indication that the winter residents
were considering leaving. (The Myrtle Warbler is an exception to
this statement as they were becoming noticeably scarce by the first of
March and not one could he found on the 24th of that month. The
Pine Warblers also left early and a few at a time). The Sennett War-
bler iCompsothlypis nigrilora) was heard singing on all sides in the
southwestern part of the county on March 6, but there was no attempt
at song by any of the winter residents. The Orange-crowned Warbler
was the first of the winter group to sing. They were first heard on
March 29.

Instead of gradually thinning out as the Myrtle Warblers did
the Black -throated Green Warblers left all at once as they did in the
spring of 1934. The time of leaving was again the second week of
April — not a one could be found on the 14th.

Harlingen, Texas.

AN EXAMPLE OF PARTIAL ALBINISM IN THE EASTERN CROW

BY DAYTON STONER

The unusual arrangement and extent of the white areas in the
plumage of an Eastern Crow iCorvus b. brachyrhynchos Brehm ) re-
cently received by the Zoology Section of the New York State Museum
prompts the present contribution.

On December 9, 1933, the writer received a telephone message
from Mr. J. Hofman who lives in the west section of the city of Al-
bany, New York, inquiring whether “partly white” crows were rare.
He stated that he had such a bird in captivi*;y and asked whether the
Museum would he interested in obtaining it. On being assured that
the specimen would make a welcome addition to our collection Mr.
Hofman sent his son to get the bird hut the hoy found that the crow
had died some time within the preceding twenty-four hours.

This crow was ca])tured alive on November 26, 1933. From that
date until the time of its death it had been kept in captivity during
which period it fed and appeared to thrive. Upon examination of
the specimen in the laboratory, it was found to he in a considerably
emaciated state although its stomach was well filled. However, the
condition of the plumage was very good and it exhibited few signs of
wear or results of abrasion.

A Partial Albino Crow

275

The measurements of llie specimen, which upon sexing ])roved lo
be a male, were made in the Hesh and are as follows: Length, 438
mm.; wing, 292 mm.; tail, 174 mm.; tarsus, 51 mm.; middle toe with
claw, 46 mm.; exposed culmen, 42 mm.; depth of bill at nostrils,
19 mm.

It will he noted from the above that in two respects, length of
tarsus and of exposed culmen, this individual is somewhat below the
lowest range for C. b. brachyrhynchos. Both these measurements con-

Fig. 39. Partial albino Crow taken in New 4ork.

form closely with those for C. ossifragus; all other measurements are
about average for C. b. brachyrhynchos. However, it often happens
that animals which depart strongly from normal in the matter of
coloration are somewhat under the average in size; the crow here dis-
cussed appears to partake of this characteristic and may he considered

as a depauperate form.

The vagaries of arrangemeiil of the lilach and wlnte areas m the
feather covering of this “pied” or “calico” crow may he summarized

briefly as follows:

General: Back. nape, occiput, ocular region, tail and all prin-

cipal contour feathers of the wings except the outer primaries and

276

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

secondaries more or less glossy black; lower throat, breast and upper
belly together with left tibia also uniform black.

Head: Front to crown, white with a few scattered black feathers;
antrorse feathers white except a small black “pencil” on the left side;
right ear coverts white, the extreme tips and margins of a few of the
feathers black; left ear coverts black; chin, throat, and upper neck
white, a few of the feathers sparsely black; occiput and nape black.
Irises brown.

Right wing: Primaries 2, 3, and 4 (from outside) and five outer
primary coverts white. Remainder of wing feathers black.

Left wing: Seven outer primaries white except dusky tips. Eighth
primary (from outside), with outer vane entirely black; inner vane
partly black. Ninth primary mostly white, dusky near tip and near
middle of outer vane. Tenth primary with outer vane mostly black;
inner vane mostly white with black along rhachis. Outer secondary
with outer vane grayish, inner vane white. Primary coverts mostly
white; a few faint dusky streaks. Two of lesser wing coverts tipped
with white; other lesser coverts black. Alula mostly white suffused
with dusky. Remainder of wing feathers black.

Body: Left side of lower belly white, a few scattering white

feathers forming a diagonal hand extending to right leg. Remainder
of body plumage black.

Right leg: Feathers of thigh mostly white as also the short

feathers covering anterior and outer sides of tibia; feathers on interior
and hinder margin of tibia black.

Left leg: Elongate feathers of thigh only tipped with white; re-
mainder of leg feathers black.

Claws mostly white or whitish, the bases only black.

It will he observed that while this unique bird partakes of some
of the size characteristics of both the Eastern Crow and the Fish Crow
it also hears, in some degree, the plumage coloration of another near
relative, the American Magpie (Pica p. hudsonia Sabine).

The partly albino crow here discussed has been mounted and is
now on exhibit in the New York State Museum (Cat. No. 5255).

New York State Museum,

Albany, N. Y.

Sex Ratio in Ducks

277

THE SEX RATIO IN DUCKS

BY O. C. FURNISS

There seems to be quite a diversity of opinion regarding the sex
ratio in waterfowl. Mr. E. A. Mcllhenny in the Auk for July, 1934,
gives ratios that he found among winter birds on the Gulf Coast. He
based his conclusions on large numbers of banded birds. Other cor-
respondents have also pointed out that an excess of males over females
exists. Never having read of any survey being made on the actual
breeding waterfowl, it was thought that some information might be
gained by a survey in this district. The area chosen consisted of
twenty quarter-sections containing eighty-three sloughs and pot-holes
from one-quarter to twelve acres in size. All the bodies of water
were small enough to enable an observer to count the actual number
of ducks on each, thus making conditions much more accurate and
also easier.

Nineteen species of waterfowl were noted this spring (1935) of
which fourteen remained to breed, either the nests being found or the
broods seen later in the summer. The other five species were tran-
sients or too rare to be included.

Observations were carried on daily from April 29 until May 18.
The hours spent in the field were from 4:30 A. M. until 7:00 A. M.
and from 5:30 p. M. until dark; also most of the hours of daylight
on Saturdays and Sundays. Ducks were not noted as going north in
numbers; the so-called northern flight, at this point, seems to be
largely a myth. The work was discontinued after May 18, as Mal-
lards, Pintails, and Canvas-backs were definitely nesting in numbers,
and the report would have shown an overwhelming excess of males
over females.

The area was divided into twenty divisions each consisting of one-
quarter section. A map of each was drawn and the sloughs numbered
and listed. A time-table was followed so that each was visited once
a week in turn. The ducks on every slough were listed specifically,
sexually, and according to numbers. Some of the surface feeders
flew up and there was the possibility that they settled in the slough
next to be visited. When in the opinion of the observer such was the
case, due allowance was made. However, this did not happen often
as they usually flew to another area; also, out of a total of eighty-
three sloughs it was very unlikely that they would fly to the next par-
ticular slough to be visited. Ducks on adjacent areas were not counted
until the time came to study that area. The following information
was derived in this manner from April 29 until May 18.

278

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

Total in Ratio Males

Species

Three Counts

Males

Females

to Females

Mallard

137

86

51

1.7—1

Gadwall

5

3

2

1.5—1

Widgeon

36

21

15

1.4—1

Green-winged Teal

29

16

13

1.2—1

Blue-winged Teal*

64

38

26

1.5—1

Shoveller*

10

5

5

1.0—1

Pintail

35

26

9

2.9—1

Redhead

20

11

9

1.2—1

Canvasback

91

55

36

1.5—1

Lesser Scaup

424

259

165

1.6—1

Ring-necked Duck

24

12

12

1.0—1

American Golden-eye

21

11

10

1.1—1

Bufflehead

15

10

5

2.0—1

Ruddy Duck*

31

24

7

3.4—1

Totals

Average totals

952

317.33

577

192.33

365

121.66

1.6—1

The ratios were derived from lesser numbers of birds than those
used by other observers but they were taken from the actual breeding
birds in their breeding territories.

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

A STUDY OF THE WINTER BIRD LIEE IN BEAR LAKE AND

UTAH LAKE VALLEYSf

BY C. LYNN HAYWARD

Introduction

During a number of years past I have had the privilege of making
collections and observations of the bird life in certain parts of Utah
and Idaho. These studies have been carried on in Bear Lake Valley
which lies partly in the extreme southeastern corner of Idaho and
partly in Utah, and in Utah Valley in central Utah. It is a striking
coincident that these two valleys lying some 200 miles apart contain
within their borders two of the largest and most interesting fresh water
lakes in the Intermountain West, and possess many general topo-
graphical features in common; yet a difference in elevation of about
1.500 feet with its acconpianying climatic variations has a significant
effect upon the winter bird population in the two areas.

While no attempt is to be made in tins jiaper to present a com-
plete list of the wititer birds of these two valleys, an effort will be

*B!iie-winf'p(l teals. Shovellers, and Kiiddy Ducks increased towards the end
of the s irvey so that there were actually more present in the district than the
above tah'e shows. However, in the case of the Shovellers by far the larger num-
bers were always in pairs so that the, one-one relation is fairly close.

i'( .ontribnt ion No. 5.3 from the Dcf)artment of Zoology and Entomology,
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, .lime, 19,33.

Winter Bird Life in Utah

279

made to point out the predominating bird life as well as to indicate
the contiasting climatic and environmental conditions which seem to
govern the bird populations.

The collections and observations on which this study is based
were made chiefly during the months of November, December, Janu-
ary, February, and the early part of March. It includes, roughly, the
period between the end of the autumn and the beginning of the spring
migrations. The Bear Lake Valley observations were made from 1928
to 1930 and the Utah Valley observations from 1931 to 1933.

I wish to acknowledge with thanks the assistance of Dr. H. C.
Oberholser and Mr. Clarence Cottam of the U. S. Biological Survey
in the identification of a number of doubtful specimens. I also ap-
preciate the many helpful suggestions of Dr. Vasco M. Tanner, Brig-
ham Young University, in the preparation of the manuscript. Num-
erous students and friends have supjilied me with helpful information,
but I wish especially to mention the assistance of Mr. 1). Elmer John-
son who accompanied me on many field trips and aided in the prepa-
ration of skins and data.

Topographic and Climatic Features

Bear Lake Valley is located chielly in Bear Lake County in the
extreme southeastern corner of the state of Idaho. About fifteen miles
of its southernmost end extends into Bich County, Utah. It is long
and narrow in outline, having a maximum width of about eight miles
and a total length of approximately fifty miles. In the extreme
southern end of the valley. Bear Lake, a beautiful, deep, freshwater
body is located; and northward there extend many acres of swamps
and plains traversed by numerous wandering streams. Along the
western border of the valley, low, sage covered foothills rise rather
gently toward the crest of the Bear River Range of mountains which
presents a somewhat even skyline and has an elevation of 8,000 to
9,000 feet. The eastern border of the valley is formed by the steep
scarp of the Bear Lake Fault, and the elevated Bear Lake Plateau
extends eastward for many miles into Wyoming. The valley floor is
oceupied largely liy farming land where it is not covered by lake or
swamp. It has an elevation of about 6,000 feet.

Due to the high elevation, the winters of Bear Lake Valley are
rather long and severe. A summary of the climatic conditions as to
mean temperature, snowfall, and periods of freezing tempeiatures,
as shown by the records of the United States Weathei Bureau aie
given below in Table I. As a result of these conditions, snow often
lies in the valley for four or five months often to a depth of two or

280

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

three feet, covering almost every vestige of ground food, and long
periods of severe sub-zero temperatures make living conditions most
difficult.

On account of its great depth. Bear Lake does not usually com-
pletely freeze over until February, but it remains frozen often until
the middle of April. During at least three or four of the winter
months practically all of the ponds, swamps, and streams are com-
pletely frozen over or break up only for very short periods.

Utah valley is situated slightly north of the central part of Utah
state in Utah County. In general topographic features it is very simi-
lar to Bear Lake Valley just described except that it is somewhat
larger. Utah Lake has a greater area than Bear Lake but is a much
more shallow body and is, therefore, frozen over during the greater
part of the winter. The valley is bounded on the east by the high
Wasatch Mountains and on the west by lower hills and mountains.
The valley floor has an elevation of about 4,500 feet. Due chiefly to
the lower elevation this valley has somewhat milder winters as will be
seen in the accompanying charts. Snow is ordinarily not more than
a foot deep at any time, and then usually for a month or two only.

While temperature often drops below the zero mark, these cold
periods are ordinarily broken regularly by warmer days which melt
the snow from sunny exposures and make considerable quantities of
ground food available to birds. A considerable number of streams
remain open throughout the winter affording feeding grounds for sev-
eral varieties of ducks.

Table I. Summary of Some General Climatic Conditions in
Bear Lake and Utah Valleys.

Record of Annual Snowfall from U. S. Weather Reports.

Place

No. Yrs.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.|April

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov,

Dec.

Provo, Utah Valley

18

14.7110.2

10.9

2.7

0.1

0

0

0

0

0.4

3.6

11.4

Paris, Bear L. Val.

1.5

16.31 12.6

11.7

2.9

1.6

0

0

0

1.1

4.5

7.3

9.4

Record of Mean Temperature.

De

grees Fahrenheit.

Place

No. Yrs.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

April

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Provo, Utah Valley

20

27.0

31.4

40.6

49.3

56.5

64.5

72

70

60.5

49

39.3

28.5

Paris, Bear L. Val.

15

19

19

27.4

39.6

49.2

55.8

63.5

63

55

44

33

21

Record of Early and Late Frosts.

Place

No. Yrs.l

Av. Date Last Killing Frost

Av. Date First Killing Frost

Provo. Utah Valley

20 1

May 24

September 24

Paris, Bear Lake Valley

15 1

.Tune 14

September 3

The above charts demonstrate a number of interesting things as
to the climatic conditions of the two valleys, some of which have al-

Winter Bird Life in Utah

281

ready been pointed out. It will be noted in addition that the period
in which frosts are expected in Bear Lake Valley is approximately
forty-two days longer than in Utah Valley and that the snowfall is
correspondingly greater and the temperature lower.

Contrasting Bird Populations

The greatest contrast in bird populations in the two areas is
shown, as would be expected, in the ground or near-ground feeding
forms, particularly the Fringillidae and Icteridae. The contrast, how-
ever, is in number of individuals rather than in number of species
since the same species in most cases may be found in Bear Lake Val-
ley that inhabit Utah Valley but in far less numbers. The heavy snow-
fall of Bear Lake Valley is undoubtedly the indirect cause of this
situation since a large part of the available ground food is covered
for a considerable length of time.

In Utah the more common ground or near-ground feeding birds
include as perhaps the most abundant the various varieties of Juncos.
Shufeldt’s Junco (Junco oreganus shujeldti) is by far the most com-
mon form. The Gray-headed Junco {Junco caniceps), the common
breeding species of the Wasatch Mountains, is probably next in abun-
dance; while the Pink-sided Junco [ Junco mearnsi) , which nests in
the Bear River Mountains to the north, is fairly common. The Slate-
colored Junco {Junco hyemalis hyemalis) was taken in Bear Lake
Valley in March, and I have a specimen taken in Provo on November
12, 1932. Although not common, the Montana Junco {Junco oreganus
montanus) is to be found consistently in winter in both Bear Lake
and Utah Valleys.

These various species of juncos occur on the foothills and lower
in Utah Valley throughout the entire winter. In Bear Lake Valley,
however, I have never seen them in December or January although
all of them occur in late fall and early spring.

Undoubtedly the most common finch in Utah Valley in winter is
the Northern Pine Siskin {Spinus pinus pinus). These birds are to
be found in flocks of many hundreds on the foothills where they feed
upon sunflower seeds that may jiroject above the snow. In company
with them are smaller numbers of the Pale Goldfinch {Spinus tristis
pallidus). Both of these species are rarely seen in Bear Lake Valley
in mid-winter but they are replaced in numbers in that region by
great flocks of Western Tree Sparrows {SpizeUa arborea ochracea) .
This latter species, however, seems to wander considerably and is not
likely to be found in the same locality for very many days in succes-

sion.

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The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

Other common ground feeders that are found abundantly in Utah
Valley but rarely in Bear Lake Valley in mid-winter are the White-
crowned Sparrow {Zonotrichia leucophrys leucophrys) , Gambel’s
Sparrow {Zonotrichia leucophrys gamheli) , the Mountain Song Spar-
row {Melospiza melodia jallax), the Spurred Towhee {Fipilo macula-
tus montanus), the Common House f inch {Carpodacus mexicajms
frontalis), the American Pipit {Anthus spinoletta rubescens) , the
Long-crested Jay {Cyanocitta stelleri diademata) , Woodhouse’s Jay
{Apheloconia calif oniicus woodhousei), and the Thick-billed Red-
wing ( Agelaius phoeniceus fortis) . Most of these species while occur-
ring in Bear Lake Valley in November and again in February are not
likely to be found there in large numbers during January and
December.

Birds that obtain their food from the fruits, seeds, buds, or blos-
soms of trees are about equally abundant in both valleys throughout
all of the winter months. Very large flocks of Western Evening Gros-
beaks {Hesperiphona vespertina hrooksi) are found in both valleys
throughout the entire winter period. They seem to be particularly
fond of the fruit of the boxelder and the white ash. These birds
often remain until tbe latter part of May, feeding upon the buds and
blossoms of elms and other trees during the spring months.

An interesting winter bird of Bear Lake Valley is the Common
Redpoll (Acanthis linaria Unarm), but I have never as yet seen this
bird in Utah Valley. I have often noted these birds in large flocks in
February and early March feeding on the blossoms of the Fountain
Birch which grows so profusely along the streams in Bear Lake Val-
ley. Under similar circumstances considerable numbers of Rocky
Mountain Pine Grosbeaks (Pinicola enucleator montana) are often
encountered feeding upon the blossoms of the alder. This latter
species seldom visits Utah Valley in winter but prefers to remain
much higher in the mountains.

Both the Eastern Ruby-crowned Kinglet (CorthyUo calendula
calendula) and the Western Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa
olivaceous) are fairly common in Utah Valley in winter, but I have
never seen either of them in Bear Lake Valley during the winter
months. The Golden-crown may scarcely be called a valley bird since
it confines itself largely to the mountains and higher portions of the
canyons even in winter. On March 11, 1933, a party of students and

Winter Bird Life in Utah

283

I encountered a large flock of these in the Canadian zone in Rock
Canyon near Provo. On the eighteenth of the same month we saw a
similar flock on the mountain east of Provo. Specimens were obtained
on both days. On April 22, 1933, I was surprised to collect another
specimen of this kinglet in the Juniper Belt on some low hills west of
Utah Lake.

Considerable numbers of Western Robins are to be found in both
valleys throughout the winter months. These birds more frequently
occur in the mouths of canyons where dried berries of various kinds
are available. A few Townsend’s Solitaires {Myadestes townsendi) are
to be found consistently on the outskirts of towns every year. During
the winter of 1933 we were surprised to see a number of Mountain
Bluebirds {Sialia currocoides) about the campus of the Brigham
Young University at Provo in the early part of January. They re-
mained in the vicinity until spring in spite of the fact that it was one
of the coldest and longest winters of a number of years.

Other smaller winter birds of both Utah and Bear Lake Valleys
are the Rocky Mountain Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus mon-
ticola) , Batchelder’s Woodpecker {Dryobates pubescens leucurus), the
Rocky Mountain Creeper {Certhia familiaris monlana) , and many
others less common which space will not permit me to mention at this
time.

In suitable localities where the water is open throughout the win-
ter, considerable numbers of ducks remain. The most common of
these are the Common Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhyjichos) ,
Baldpate (Mareca aremicana) , American Pintail (Dafila acuta tzitzi-
hoa) , Green-winged Teal (Nettion. carolinense) , Cinnamon Teal
(Querquedula cyanoptera), American Golden-eye (Glaucionetta clan-
gula americana), and Buffle-head (Charitonetta albeola ) . In Utah
Valley most of these ducks concentrate on two or three warm streams
that remain open throughout the winter. In Bear Lake Valley only
one small stream known as Spring Creek remains unfrozen, and con-
sequently very few ducks are to he found in that region in mid-winter.

Of the shore birds only Wilson s Snipe (Capella delicata) and
the Killdeer (Oxyechus vociferus vociferus) remain with us during
the entire winter. These birds are to he found frequently along small,
open streams in both Bear Lake and Utah Lake Valleys.

Members of the hawk family are fairly common in both areas
in winter, although in recent years shooting campaigns against them

284

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

have greatly reduced their numbers. With the exception of the mi-
gratory forms, the winter species are about the same as those of sum-
mer except that the Eastern Goshawk {Astur atricapillus atricapillus)
often wanders into this territory. The Western Goshawk {Astur atri-
capillus striatulus) is fairly common in winter, and Mr. R. G. Bee
informs me that this species remains here during the summer, nesting
in the vicinity of Provo.

The more interesting winter representatives of the family Strigidae
include the Montana Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus occideatalis) , the
Snowy Owl {Nyctea nyctea) and the Saw-whet Owl {Cryptoglaux
acadica acadica) . A specimen of the Montana Horned Owl was taken
by Mr. Clarence Cottam at Aspen Grove near Provo, April 4, 1928,
and I obtained two specimens at Paris, Idaho, in February, 1930,
which I believe to be this species. A single specimen of the Snowy
Owl was taken on Provo Bench in December, 1908, and is now in the
collection of the Brigham Young University. On February 20, 1929,
one of my students brought me a Saw-whet Owl that was taken at
Paris, Idaho, and a few days later I saw another bird near my home
at that place. A number of other more common species of owls are
to be found in this area in winter as well as in the summer.

Conclusions

Many problems of an ecological nature present themselves in
connection with the winter bird life of these inter-mountain valleys of
the West. More details as to the exact food of our winter birds would
be of interest and value. While much data of interest and value has
been accumulated during the past number of years, much is yet to be
done before we can have a really accurate knowledge of the winter
bird inhabitants of these interesting areas.

Department of Zoology, Brigham Young University,

Provo, Utah.

A Twelve-year-old Cardinal

285

THE CARDINAL NOW TWELVE YEARS OLD

BY ALBERT F. GANIER

In the Wilson Bulletin for December, 1933, and again in De-
cember, 1934, the writer gave the history of a male Cardinal, banded
Eebruary 12, 1934. At the present writing (November 15, 1935) this
individual is still living and is at least twelve years old. The bird
was originally trapped at the writer’s home and has been a permanent
resident about the place. Each morning he comes for his breakfast
of sunflower seed and grain which is placed on a feeding shelf near
my dining room window. When not found waiting in a nearby tree,
he will usually come in response to a whistled call. The mate of this
bird, which had been his constant companion for at least three years,
was killed on her nest, by a cat, on April 6. They had built this first
nest, as usual, in the same crotch of the same shrub that has been
used for years as a nest site for the first nest. It was begun on
March 17, and proceeded leisurely. The female was killed at dusk
on the first day she had begun to incubate her three eggs. On the
following night I trapped and killed the cat.

An unmated young female, which had been about the place all
spring, immediately became the consort of the old male and on April
15 they began a nest in a low shrub. The female began to sit on
April 30, on three eggs. On the following morning, the nest was
found tilted and one egg was missing but she had resumed incubation.
On the next morning the nest was found turned over and the other
eggs were missing. The third nesting attempt for the season was in
the top of a high privet bush near my bedroom window and here, in-
cubation of the three eggs began on May 30. These young success-
fully left the nest on the morning of June 19. At dusk they were
located high up in a big hackberry three but the following morning
one of them was missing. On the second morning, another had been
taken during the night. The surviving youngster was carefully tended
by its parents but disappeared after a few weeks. I attribute these
losses to a pair of Screech Owls which paid nightly visits to my
premises. A fourth and last nest was built by the pair, ten feet up in
the upper branches of a privet near my neighbor s house. The two
eggs hatched and on August 9, the young looked nearly leady to leave
the nest. The following morning the nest was found tipped over and
both young were missing. Since the parent birds weie not feeding them
it was evident that they had been captured, presumably by the owls.
The female had escaped with her life hut the skin of her breast had
been torn by a claw which resulted in her being marked permanently

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The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

by a tuft of feathers protruding from her breast. The season’s efforts
resulted in a net loss and demonstrated how difficult it is for this
species to perpetuate its kind when confronted with the enemies
mentioned.

As was the case with his former mate, the new one is constantly
with him and he brooks no rivals for his favor. During the early
winter the birds roost in a tall green privet hedge along the side of
the yard. Last January, after the privet leaves had fallen, the pair
resorted to the inside of my neighbor’s double garage to roost, he
kindly leaving a door open for them. Aside from looking rather be-
draggled at molting time, there is but little in his appearance or man-
ner to betray his unusual age.

Nashville, Tenn.

ARIZONA FIELDS ARE VIRGIN EOR BIRD BANDERS

BY FRED M. DILLE

Erom an ornithological viewpoint, there is probably no portion
of the United States more intriguing than the “Southwest”, and par-
ticularly Arizona. Especially to those that have punctuated their
studies of birds with collections. I have been afflicted with an Ari-
zona urge for years, and though I have been footloose for some time
and could have gone, it was but last winter (1933-1934) that I got
out of the old rut and made the break. A good sized blizzard in the
Dakotas just prior to the date chosen for our departure, caused us
to leave our car at home and start the journey by train. Therefore
in due course of time, the early morning of the last day of the year
1933, found Mrs. Dille and myself rubbing the grime from the win-
dows of the Pullman with our noses, in our efforts to obtain a first-
view impression of Arizona.

As our train gradually dropped to lower levels and the sonoran
regions, I saw my first sahuaro (Cactus) and mistook it for an aban-
doned fence post. But finally with too many fence posts to account
for, I realized what they were. Recalling many oological yarns of
collectors and climhing such hazards for eggs of the elf owl, I pointed
out a good healthy specimen of sahuaro to the car porter and told
him I would like to have a photograph of him climbing one of those
cactuses. He took a good look at them and replied, “Boss, I do not
believe I could do it.” Later in the winter I had occasion to look up
Mr. D. D. Stone, whom I found on a homestead near the historic town
of Casa Grande. He is an old-time oological acquaintance of forty

On Birds of Arizona

287

years vintage from New York State. I discussed with him the practi-
cability of climbing a sahuaro and he said it had been done by first
burning off the spines with kerosene torches.

Now! I would not impose this article upon Bulletin space,
unless I thought there might be bird notes of value to some reader
taking the status of a prospective visitor. And let me suggest to any
northern reader, who has never been to Arizona of a winter season,
to, by all means, arrange for such a visit. Winter in Arizona is by
name only — by courtesy of the calendar, so to speak. I must empha-
size the delights in the climate, the evenness of the days, the reliability
of good weather, and the new and rare bird life that you will come in
contact with.

If you choose Phoenix, as we did, you will make no mistake.
Although it is a large city with an extensive suburban population you
will have easy access to the desert. And by going from ten to forty
miles out in some directions, you will find bird life of three zones.
As a location for stopping, choose to the northwest or northeast of
the city center, and your routings through the street traffic will be
easier. But do not make the error we did in leaving your car back
home.

For a bird student from Iowa, Minnesota, or eastward there will
be made pleasing discoveries than for one from locations north of
Arizona, on account of direct autumn migrations. I did not realize
until out in the field, that, like oiiuselves, there would be birds from
the north spending the winter here also. And therefore I did not
tally up on so many that were new in my experience. But the few that
were new were sufficient to make the winter long remembered. The
Cactus Wrens, the Verdins, the Gila Woodpeckers, and the wealth of
Thrashers! And of former summer bird friends, on this, their winter
playground, such surprises in the brightness of their winter plumage
and the young in all stages of seasonal changes! To see flocks of
Mountain Bluebirds in one field, flirting with a flock of Western oi
Chestnut-backed cousins in the adjacent area is one thiill. You will
find birds in winter migration from western Utah, eastern Oregon,
mixed with birds from southern California and fiom the higher ele-
vations of the Rockies of Colorado. All these are pleasures necessary
for you to experience to round out your field knowledge of your
northern summer birds.

It is regrettable to Arizona, that the foundational bird records
have been published by outsiders on visits to the State, notably by
ornithologists from California. As a basis with which to work, one

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The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

has to have a copy of Swarth’s Distributional List of the Birds of
Arizona.* To continue on such a substantial basis, there is an im-
mense field for research work open to anyone who will make resi-
dence in Arizona and keep systematic records.

The migration detail alone, is tremendous and mystifying in
trend. This study is complicated by first the northern birds that come
to the lower sonoran zones of Arizona for their winter sojourn and
the large group that do not leave Arizona the year around, but can
move from the lower levels to high elevations within the State’s bor-
ders. Also confusing are the winter visitors from the north, that act
like the human tourist, here today in numbers and forty miles away
tomorrow. Bird banding bolds high possibilities and any systematic
study of the routes in migration within the State will require much
pioneer bird banding.

Now, as I have intimated, my traditional information about the
birds peculiar to Arizona has been founded upon printed narrative
and records, and I have had fixed ideas about their habits and habitats.
But there has been a tremendous change in the character of the region
about Phoenix, and much of my bird knowledge had to be readjusted.
I refer to the development following the completion of the Hugh Gov-
ernment Irrigation System. The region about Phoenix for twenty
miles in all directions is now under intensive cultivation with re-
sultant citrus groves over twenty years in age.

The city of Phoenix itself harbors many birds. The residential
section is extensive. Homes are on ample lot plan and shrubbery
is semi-tropical and varied. Cactus Wrens, Abert’s Towhees, Inca
Doves, Palmer’s Thrashers, and Gila Woodpeckers are as common
throughout the city as out in the country. And hummers are legion.
I had not encountered the House Finch since leaving Denver, and that
was a pleasing contact. It brought to memory our old club meeting
in Denver, and the much discussed topic of why and how the House
Finch, without being a quarrelsome bird, could stay and thrive in close
contact with English Sparrows. There is also an ample English Spar-
row population in Phoenix.

One of the tragic angles to Arizona ornithology is the large
amount of specimen material that has been taken out of the State,
with no records or data resulting to the benefit of the State. The
details of some of this collecting are deplorable and there will be a
reaction to the detriment of coming students. Public sentiment has

*A Distril)utional Li.'st of the Birds of Arizona. By Harry S. Swarth. Pacific
f.oast Avifauna No. 10, Published hy the Cooper Ornithological Club.

On Birds of Arizona

289

already reacted against depredations of the desert plant life, and a
movement is under way to prohibit export of archaeological treasures.
Bird life will be next in order.

The following notes I offer to emphasize my experience, and to
take occasion to mention lines for Arizona research as I could see
them; and also to add to the data available in the Swarth distribu-
tional list referred to.

Inca Dove. Scardajella inca inca. I was in the field by January
18, 1934, and these doves were east of Phoenix in large flocks. About
the border areas between the orange groves and the unclaimed desert.
They had either just arrived from somewhere, or were flocking to
be on their way elsewhere. This flocking broke up in a few days and
they took on an even distribution throughout the city and the suburban
citrus acreage for a continued stay and the nesting season. There
are no citrus groves west of town and there were practically no Inca
Doves in that direction. Of the allied species of doves about Phoenix,
in season, the Mexican Ground Dove did not put in an appearance
until the first of April and then in scarce numbers. The first record
obtained for a White-winged Dove was of March 21, but I was in-
formed that that date was early.

Gila Woodpecker. Centurus iiropygialis uropygialis. A truly
typical woodpecker for the Phoenix region and a species that claims
your admiration. They do considerable daily routine ranging, are
very busy, mind tbeir own business, and are as common as any flicker
or woodpecker that you are familiar with. Home owners complain
of a bird that with its long bill, punctures the grape fruit and orange.
Some claim it is the work of this bird. Others blame the Cactus
Wren or the Thrasher. My idea on the matter was that the Cactus
Wren was the guilty party. But I would wish more research on this
before being sure. I do not know suflicient chemistiy to diagnose
fruit juice in a bird’s stomach. The damage is slight, however. A
few grape fruit in an orchard is no loss. But you know how a farmer

will react.

Black Phoebe. Sayornis nigricans nigricans. With the coming
of the canals and the water, this bird is common but slays close to the
water. It is found nesting and uses every suitable site such as flumes,

bridges, head-gates.

Northern Cactus Wren. Hcleodyl.es hrunneicapillus couesi.
With my first specimen of Cactus Wren m hand, I was puzzled. I
thought it was a Thrush. Dr. Cones, in his Key to North American

290

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

Birds, emphasizes this thrush similarity. The field notes which came
from Dr. Coues always convey that original field touch which helps.

But this bird has deserted the desert and cholla cactus nesting-
sites for the proximity of the house and the citrus groves. One nest

I saw was built in a mass of climbing vine on the trellis of a front

])orch (house occupied). And another in an empty tool box on a
work bench in an open garage. The habit of building several extra
dummy nests has not been given up. This bird is not quarrelsome,
but sly and persistent in any plan. Tbe bird is more welcome by the
natives than the mockingbird.

Bendire’s Thrasher. Toxostoma bendirei.

Palmer’s Thrasher. Toxostoma curvirostre palmeri. Tbe lat-

ter, palmeri, is an abundant nesting resident about the homes and or-
chard acreage. Every suburban home has a pair or more. The bird
is commonly referred to as the “Bendire Thrasher”, the name having
been spread as po])ular information by some bird student. It resulted
from my investigation that it was palmeri, so frequent about tbe or-
chards but one has to go out to more typical desert to find bendirei.
I think the general distribution in this region is approximately three
bendirei to four palmeri. There is a close similarity in the two birds.
Dr. Coues in the “Key” comments on this very neatly. He states that
if one has but a specimen or two it is bard to differentiate. But if
one has a half dozen of each, they can readily be sorted into the two
groups. I did not want to accumulate anything like a series of these
two thrashers because I did not feel justified. But one day, I had the
good fortune to obtain two thrashers that looked very much alike in
plumage, and yet there was a striking contrast in weight and size,
chiefly weight. Both were old birds and the location was desert. I
used these two birds as my ty])es for later sortings. Tbe thrasbers
are nicknamed “pretty ((uick”, which is the way the usual call note
sounds to the native. Oology is good evidence sometimes to substan-
tiate classification in ornithology. These two birds closely resemble
each other in casual comjiarisons, but the eggs respectively are very
different.

Cedar W axwing. Bombycilla cedrorurn. As for my observation
it remains as Swartb states, “Of rare and irregular occurrence.” There
w'erc four birds that stayed with Mr. Yetter in his orange grove eight
miles northeast of Phoenix, from January to A])ril. The attraction
appeared to be a large mulberry tree in full fruit. And I saw my first
intoxicated bird from too much mulberry juice. 1 only took one of
them for a specimen and for a record. I showed the bird to two per-

On Birds of Arizona

291

sons in the Valley who know birds and they stated they had never
seen the waxwing before.

White-rumped Shrike. Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides. My
designation as above, will do for the present and until the revision of
the group, now in progress, has been accepted. I dislike to bring any
misfortune down on this shrike by divulging inside information to
the plumage splitters, but there were hundreds along all the farming
lanes west of Phoenix. They had not moved out by the middle of
April. What was holding them was the great flocks of White-crowned
Sparrow'S along the roadside thickets which they could not resist haras-
sing. I suspect that this shrike wave came from the west and southern
California.

Orange-crowned Warbler. V ermivora celata celata. I have a
few specimens that I obtained fourteen miles west of Phoenix in a wet
back water growth of willows adjacent to Salt River. There were
considerable numbers of them in the brush and they were there from
March 1 until April 15, of my recording.

Audubon’s Warbler. Dendroica auduboni auduboni. When Mr.
Swarth states this warbler as abundant in winter in the lower sonoran
valleys of southwestern Arizona, he gives their status exactly. The
orange groves and suburban tracts about Phoenix are their favorite
refuge, but also west of town fourteen miles and east for forty miles.
Recall in connection with these notes, that as you go east from Phoenix,
you gain elevation; hut you get more in line with what I have figured
out to be the chief migration route from the south of that region.
They are not a flock bird and did not begin to bunch until approxi-
mately April 10. I take it that the bunching of the winter birds in
Arizona closely precedes the beginning of the movement for the north.
But in the no rth, the bunching in August or September is but a pre-
lude to an erratic regional movement, instead of the beginning of the
journey south. I am referring to most all smaller birds, not Audubon s
Warhlems alone. This would be an interesting question to solve in
Arizona.

The only difference between this warbler and coronota is the yel-
low throat patch of auduboni. These warblers are more difficult to
approach than sparrows, and I was bothered by making eirois in
shooting. What few specimens I did take were in various stages of
plumage and my material indicates that the throat patch is the last
one to come. I do not believe that the inclusion of Dendroica coronata
in the Arizona list is justified excepting by actual specimens wilh a
May or June label at the earliest.

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The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

Arizona Cardinal. Richmondena cardinalis superba. You will
be shocked to learn that this handsome bird should work out in an
offensive manner. My first specimen had so foul an odor I had to
investigate the food contents, and it was horse manure. This will ex-
plain the presence of pairs about whatever cow yard or stable (or
worse) the various farm sites offer. They go in pairs, often more
than one pair in company. They are shy and a little difficult to ap-
proach, at least in the winter season. This shyness of some birds
seems to vary with the season. Up in the foothills, sixty miles east of
Phoenix I found two pairs sticking close about the garbage heap of a
C. C. C. camp.

Abert’s Towhee. Pipilo aberti. The comment by Mrs. Bailey in
her handbook, “Birds of Western United States”, is typical of the cases
of needed readjustment from that traditional knowledge I have been
telling you about. This bird, like the Cactus Wren and Palmer’s
Thrasher, has abandoned the desert spaces for adjacent farming re-
gions, citrus grove homes, and the city of Phoenix. It is not “ex-
tremely shy” but one might say it is “coy”. In the city if there was
an empty house, they were coming and going under the sheds of
porches. And about the farms their runways were close to the stables
or out-huildings that had space under the floors. “Runways” is a
term used in speaking of small mammals but if the quail have run-
ways, so does the towhee and aberti more so than any towhee I have
ever made contact with.

Lark Bunting. Calamospiza melanocorys. No bird has yet fooled
me so completely as did the winter flocks of this old friend of my
Colorado and Nebraska experienee. If there is one bird on its north-
ern nesting ground that I have known longer than any other it is the
Lark Bunting. But what were these birds in this nervous, closely
packed, quickly startled moving flock, acting just like a flock of wild
scaled quail? There were no males of full colors in the bunch, which
did not help my recognition. But my experience was exactly in cor-
roboration of the comments by Mrs. Bailey in her Handbook. How
they must tame down during their tedious journey northward, for
when they arrive with us in Colorado and take location, they are very
sociable, and full of song. There was a slight increase of black in
the plumage with the first of April. They had not left the Phoenix
region by the tenth of April, hut the black colors were coming fast,
on the males. We get first arrivals in northern Colorado usually
by May 10.

On Birds of Arizona

293

Cla\ -COLORED Sparrow. Spizella pallida. In the general vicinity
of a locality in the dry bed of the Agua Fria River fourteen miles
west of Phoenix, I took three of these sparrows at three different
dates in February. The birds were in company, singly with dominating
numbers of the White-crowned Sparrow. If one would work over
these bunches of “white-crowns” with a glass and a gun, the sparrow
tally for Arizona could be increased materially.

Brewer's Sparrow. Spizella breweri breweri. During February-
March there were but a few single birds mixed with flocks of “white-
crowns”. But by April 11 large numbers appeared in migration wave
from the south, and this movement kept up for a week. This route
was definitely from the south, down the valley of the San Pedro
River, around the large Superstition Mountain, west side, and into a
valley at the junction of the Verde and Salt Rivers. What brief study
I could give Arizona migration routes was applied as above outlined,
as I had it selected for close observation. My first specimens of this
sparrow in Meade County, South Dakota, have been May 12. The
large canal full of water with the heavy desert thicket on the bank
was too good a refuge for a few days stay to be overlooked, and the
sparrows hung up here in large numbers before gradually working
up the Verde River Valley.

White-crowned Sparrow. Zoiiotrichia leucophrys. There were
without attempting to exaggerate over 100,000 of these sparrows scat-
tered in the Phoenix region. From points twenty miles west, all
through the valley of the Salt River, in every gulch and thicket, on
every farm and suburban tract where there were thickets, in all the
lanes, every gulch and thicket of the higher areas for sixty miles east
up to 4,000 feet elevation, these birds were bunched. There were not
so many with very conspicuous head markings developed so that I
could determine them until April and I was shooting these birds in
error. My field discernment on small birds is not as sharp as with
some bird friends I know and I finally had to send back home for the
bird glasses so that I would not be making kills I did not want. It
was not until about April 11 that the flocks about Phoenix cleared
out and I was sure glad of higher elevations east of town until April
22. I can thank them, however, for being host to other interesting
sparrows that I plucked from their midst. If I had not wished to con-
serve my limitations more for daily specimens of other material I
would have taken more of these sparrows, for I believe that April
material would indicate that leucophrys and gainbeli are about equal
in numbers upon the Arizona winter lange.

Phoenix, Arizona.

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The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

GENERAL NOTES

Conducted by M. H. Swenk

Another Snow Bunting Record for Utah. — In the Wilson Bulletin for
June, 1935 (XLVII, p. 160), the writer reported collecting a female Eastern Snow
Bunting {Plectrophenax nivalis nivalis) in February, 1934, near Provo. On Feb-
ruary 9, 1935, he observed three individuals of this species at the same place,
one of which, a female, was collected. Both skins remain in the writer’s collec-
tion.— D. Elmer Johnson, Brigham Young lJn,iversily, Provo, Utah.

A Savannah Sparrow as a Cowbird Victim. — On June 10, 1935, I came
upon a nest of a Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwich ensis savanna) con-
taining three eggs — two of its own and one of the Cowbird. I succeeded in se-
curing a photographic record of this. For some reason, however, either because
it was infertile or because the victimized sparrow refused to incubate it, the Cow-
bird egg did not hatch, and after the sparrow’s pair of young left the nest the
parasite egg was found intact, buried in the grass forming the bottom of the nest.
— John M. Vasicek, CleveUtnd, Ohio.

A Recent Record of the Hudsonian Curlew in the Chicago, Illinois,
Region. — Since the last published sight record, as given by Messrs. Ford, San-
born, and Coursen (Birds of the Chicago Region, 1934), of the Hudsonian Cur-
lew (Phaeopus hudsonicus) is over eleven years old, a new record of the bird in
the Chicago region should be of interest. On June 16, 1935, Merrill McGawn
and the writer observed one specimen along Lake Michigan, Lake County, Illinois.
It was an interesting subject, especially in its flight above tbe water. The dis-
tinct median stripe through the crown was seen while the bird fed along the
shore. It seemed attached to a particular feeding ground, and when approached
too closely, instead of flying directly away it would circle over the beach, fly over
the water before us and land on an opposite point, never flying beyond these
points but keeping within the limits. It repeated this performance a number of
times. — B. J. Bu.iak, Humboldt Park Station, Chicago, III.

The Starling at Kingfisher, Oklahoma. — Since the normal migration of
the European Starling i.Sturnus vulgaris vulgaris) is being watched with interest
and concern by all bird students, I wish to report the following collections by
Mr. Cecil Bilger, an F.E.R.A. employee at the Oklahoma Agricultural and Me-
chanical College. On December 26, 1934, one specimen was taken seven miles
northeast of Kingfisher; December 18, 1934, another in a chicken house after
nightfall six miles northeast of Kingfisher; and December 31, 1934, one from a
large flock of blackbirds seven miles northeast of Kingfisher. These birds are
preserved as skins in the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College col-
lection.

When these specimens were obtained, 1 had a feeling that this was the far-
thest west that any of these birds had been taken, but recently I receiv'd an un-
official report that a specimen had been taken at Alva, Oklahoma, and is in the
Museum of the Northwestern State Teachers College.

Mrs. H. P. Holley of Bristow, Oklahoma, reported a flock of twelve that came
to feed with other birds in her yard during the winter of 1930. She reports that
they have not been seen since that time. — George A. Moore, Stillwaler, Okla.

Migration of Waterfowl in Tidewater Virginia. — My home is on the
Lynnehaven River, in Princess Anne County, Virginia, where we hear the “honk”

General Notes

295

of the wild goose at eventide very close to us during migrating time. The geese
and ducks both spend the night in the tall rushes where sago pond weed and wild
celery are found plentilully near by. Ihis year in Back Bay the growth of feed
has been ideal, owing to the remedial measures taken by both the Federal and
State goveinments to reduce the salinity of the water, which condition was caused
by tbe overflow of Cbesapeake Bay in the storm of two years ago. As far back
as the 1880 s the hunting and fishing facilities of this county and adjacent waters
have made this area a real sportsman s paradise, as is well known. Two years
ago, after the Big Storm, quite a tragedy occurred here. Residents far up the
river heard terrific shooting at midnight. Investigation found marauders in small
boats shooting into the roosting places, killing both geese and ducks by the hun-
dreds, getting a few but leaving most of them to die in the marshes. We had
much trouble getting tbe game warden of the county, who lives at Back Bay,
quite a distance. It was too late to make any arrests, but I am happy to say
nothing of the kind has happened since and I believe our wild life is now being
given good protection. — Lucy Pendleton Kearns, Lynnehaven, Va.

The Lazuli Bunting in Northeastern South Dakota. — During the first
week of June, 1935, the writer was working on a waterfowl survey in the Waubay
Lakes region in Day County, South Dakota, and it was here near Spring Lake
that a male Lazuli Bunting was seen on several successive days. The strange
thing, however, was the fact that the bird was consorting with two females. One
female was an Indigo Bunting and the other a Lazuli Bunting. On every occa-
sion when the male Lazuli Bunting was flushed the two females would also flush.
The writer was sorry that he could not stay longer to determine whether both
females started nest-building. The location of these birds was approximately
thirty miles from the border lines of both Minnesota and North Dakota. 1 he
record is interesting in that it shows that previous reports of the Lazuli Bunting
in Iowa and Minnesota were not accidental and that this bunting is actually ex-
tending its breeding range eastward. The question of hybrids between the Lazuli
Bunting and the Indigo Bunting is again brought to mind and suggests that
probably such hybrid specimens as taken by W. J. Breckenridge, in Warren
County, Minnesota, on June 26, 1929, and by the writer in Cherry County, Ne-
braska, on June 1, 1932, will be found more frequently by ornithologists of the
future. — Wm. YouNCWORTti, Sioux City, Iowa.

Nests of Crows and Other Birds in the Same Evergreen Grove.— Dur-
ing the past three springs we have answered a number of calls fiom faimcTS in
the vicinity of Ames, requesting help in driving away Crows that were molesting
small chickens. All of the.se calls have been from farmsteads in which a few
to several hundred evergreen trees have served as quite regular roosting ]ilaces foi
Crows during the winter. Observations on our part and by the farm folks have
shown that Crows will dispose of a few young chicks when these are accessible
close to their roosting places. So far, in the limited number of cases contacted
by us, from two to eight evenings of firing with shotguns into the small number
of Crows at each roost have sufficed to drive them away until autumn, the larger
number going elsewhere to roost, probably in tbe deciduous woodlamls along the
streams, since only a few Crows were killed at each grove.

While answering these calls we conjectured as to what would happen if the
Crows were permitted to nest undisturbed in a grove of evergreens, and as to

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The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

how they would behave toward other birds. This past spring (1935) a closely
planted evergreen grove at the north end of the Iowa State College campus, cov-
ering a nearly rectangular area of about one acre, and containing red, Austrian,
and jack pines on the north half and Douglas fir, spruce, and white pine on the
south half, was placed under observation. On April 27, two Crow’s nests were
observed in the grove, one about twenty-five feet up in a jack pine at the west
end of the grove, and the other about thirty feet up in a jack pine a little north
of the center of the grove. The adult birds were at the nests at nearly all of the
ten visits made by us. The young left the west nest about May 15 and the other
nest was vacated May 25. We saw no evidence of the Crows molesting other
birds or their nests during about twelve hours of observation made while the
adult Crows were at the grove. A Mourning Dove was nesting about fifteen feet
up in a red pine about five rods east and three and a half rods south of the
central Crow's nest. Another Mourning Dove’s nest was built about twenty feet
up in a white pine about six rods south and three rods east of the central Crow’s
nest. A Robin’s nest was set fifteen feet up in a Douglas fir about six rods east
and three and a half rods south of the central Crow’s nest. No other nests were
seen in the grove. The Mourning Doves’ and Robins’ nests were well protected
from view in the more densely branched Douglas fir and pines, and, although
the data are few, support is lent to a generalization that such good concealment
is of value for nesting Mourning Doves and Robins. During the twenty hours of
observations, chiefly during the afternoons in late April and May, 319 indi-
viduals of sixty-six species of birds were seen in this evergreen grove and in sev-
eral rods of deciduous trees at its west end. — George 0. Hendrickson and Robert
Treneman, Dept. Zoology and Entomology, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa.

Observations on Nest Site Trials by the Eastern Robin. — The maneuvers
of a male and female Eastern Robin (Turdus migratorius migratorius) in several
large American elms, approximately eighty feet in height, were noticed on the
morning of April 15, 1935, in St. Paul, Minnesota. The day was cloudy and
cool and sufficiently early in the season that no foliage hampered observation of
the birds in the trees.

They were seen to flit from one crotch to another, in a very random manner,
until the entire tree was inspected. Occasionally one bird would fly to an ad-
joining tree and shortly return to be near its mate. The greatest interest lay in
the procedure followed at each visited crotch. The bird would spread its legs in
order to support itself with one foot on each of the conjuncting limbs and in
this position it would crouch and shift its weight from side to side, and at the
same time ruffle its feathers and slightly extend its wings. After several seconds
it would reverse its position and repeat the process. In no case did this jiro-
cedure consume more than a minute’s time. The routine appeared to be so simi-
lar to the characteristic shifting and turning observed during actual nest building
and after nest completion, that it was immediately believed that these birds were
giving trials to various sites for their nest.

The Robins evidently j)referred to start at the lower branches of the trees,
which were twenty-five feet above the ground, and gradually work their way
upward until they were approximately fifty feet from the surface of the ground.
At this point, the limbs had a tendency to thin and branch out. This was ap-
parently a characteristic without appeal to the birds, for at that height they left
with a downward flight to begin over again in an adjoining elm.

General Notes

297

The birds disappeared after completing their trials, hut on April 29th, when
the trees were visited again for observation, a partially completed nest was seen
in the last elm. As closely as eould be determined, the crotch the conjuncting
limbs of which were about hve inches in diameter was approximately fifty feet above
the ground and formed an angle of about fifty degrees. 1 his is the vicinity in which
the birds were last seen during their hunt for a nest site. While the evidence
is not positive that the present winged occupants, which at the moment were
busily chasing sparrows from the tree, were the birds seen previously, the likeli-
hood is great, for no other nest of any other species could be seen in the neigh-
borhood.— L. J. Meuli, Lake States Forest Experiment Station, St. Paul, Minn.

The Song of the Yellow-breasted Chat. — The Yellow-breasted Chat
(Icteria virens) will sit still in one position for half an hour, if not disturbed,
and sing, mocking the Crested Flycatcher, Brown Thrasher, Red-headed Wood-
pecker, Blue Jay, Bob-white, and many other nearby birds. He has the habit of
saying “Ur ur ur ur ur ur ur ur’" either eight or sixteen times, as a rule, simi-
larly to the Red-headed Woodpecker, then may say it once or twice alone. One
said “Ke<-ouck” six times, almost like a little turkey, seeming to dare one to ap-
proach. If mocked, he repeats the call, often saying “ur” for a number of times,
then “tut tut tut” about the same number of times, changing back then to “ur”
again, first one way and then the reverse. I have never heard two chats sing
exactly alike, so it takes some study to be able to tell them at once by their
calls, although all of them generally say the above two notes occasionally, no
matter what their song may be. The bird often sits in the top of a dead tree,
with head up and tail bent down, for long periods of time, then will disappear
and appear again, often at close range if not frightened.

If mimicked, he will approach cautiously, giving the note “kuk” in a soft
tone. This note is used only at such times, when it is answered in the same tone.
I have stayed in our car, calling and answering him, until he came right up to
me and crept under the car and out on the other side, trying to find out what it
was all about. I believe I was waving a red Hag in his face when I spoke in his
own tongue, which to me was not translated into English exactly, although I
figured it out pretty well from his actions.

The Quail often says, “Boh, hob white”, but the chat never does. He either
says “Bob white” or just “white”, in a hesitating and uncertain manner, as if not
quite sure of himself. One chat said plainly, “cack” either three or six times,
then “ur ur ur” from one to six times, then “ah ah ah”. Although the chat.
Brown Thrasher, and Catbird are seldom seen together, they of course may be in
the same woods and within calling distance of each other. All of these birds are
mockers. The Red headed Woodpecker has a common call of ur ur ur given a
number of times very similarly to the chat, but it never substitutes the “tut” or
“cack” or “ah ah ah” intermittently, as does the chat. But the red-head often
changes from the “ur”, which he says on certain occasions, to “error, error, error”
which is also just as commonly heard at times. This particular note is his species
“trade mark”, as I like to call any special markings, notes, habits, or other traits
of birds. When the chat mimics other birds, even though he does a good job
of it and fools one at times, if we wait a bit and continue to listen, sooner or
later we can hear the “ur ur ur” interchanged with the “tut tut tut” or other
variations of the chat’s calls, which will give him away, and we may then stamp
his “trade mark” upon him with certainty. If we look closely enough and study

298

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

birds for their own characteristics, we may learn the individual qualities belong-
ing to them alone, and by which we may know them — their own “trade marks”.
— Mrs. Horace P. Cook, Anderson, Ind.

An Unusual Banding Experience. — The evening of December 24, 1934,
was one of sleet, rain, and snow alternating. It was not very cold but was un-
usually disagreeable; consequently, wild life, as well as man, sought shelter
early in the afternoon to avoid the battling elements. One section of my artificial
shade, built for the purpose of protecting various native and medicinal plants,
the shade proper being composed of brush and cornstalks, passes very close to
my east study window. Ears of corn are often left attached to some of the stalks
when placed on the frame-work and brush in the fall, and this furnishes con-
siderable food each winter for five or six pairs of Eastern Cardinals (Rich-
mondena cardinalis cardinalis) that are resident on the premises at all times.
They appreciate this huge post-supported pile of “debris”, and, together with
great numbers of Slate-colored J uncos (Junco hyemalis) , utilize it as a roosting
place tbroughout the winter months. This evening, however, the birds must have
found their shelter insufficiently water-proof, for shortly after supper, as I sat
reading at my desk, I was attracted by a bird fluttering against the window beside
me. I opened it and a Slate-colored Junco fluttered in. 1 experienced little diffi-
culty in capturing it, but, when preparing to band it, another sought admittance.
This was granted and the two were banded. Shortly thereafter two more were
taken in this manner, and both at about the same time, though one entered by the
same route as the first two while the other was admitted through a window in
an adjoining lighted room. Later in the evening another junco, the last, was
taken in this room. Four of the five juncos were males.

After the last junco was taken I decided to try a little experiment. I placed
lamps close to the opened windows and sent my brother-in-law, armed with an
old broom, to disturb the birds’ slumbers, hoping thereby to entice more of them
inside. However, we had not the success that chance could boast, for the rudely
awakened juncos shot bewilderingly out of the brush, fluttered upward and away.
But one bird, a female Cardinal, the only Cardinal seen, though others were
heard, was captured. The birds were banded, caged for the night and released
the next morning. Hereafter I shall be tempted to light all rooms and open all
windows on stormy nights. — Grant Henderson, Route 6, Greensburg, Ind.

Behavior of a Pet Robin. — One cold, wet morning in June we found an
unhappy young Robin. He was taken into the house, warmed, and then fed upon
earthworms, hard-boiled yolk of eggs, flies, and chopped raisins. He thrived
very well on that diet, and soon grew to full size. In a short time he became
very tame, and wonld allow us to pick him up, an.swer our calls, and alight on
our hands — and also on our heads, which we did not enjoy so well. He became
especially fond of the master of the house, and would fly to meet him when he
came in. When the master sat down to read, the bird would often sit on the
back of bis chair and talk to him in a low tone, or play with his hair and glasses,
or, sometimes, go to sleep. He learned other ways of playing. When the young

lady would flirt a handkerchief at him he would snap at it. If she threw the

handkerchief over his head, he would back out, then run toward her and snap

his bill. When he became tired he wonld fly np and alight on her head.

In the mornings he often would fly upstairs and sing until someone opened a
beiiroom door. I hen he would enter and amuse himself in various ways. Some-

General Notes

299

times he would look at himself in the mirror. Again he would pull the pins
out of the pin-cushion or throw the cuff buttons and collar buttons to the floor.
At times he would play with a ball of string, much like a kitten.

After the Robin had been with us for about six weeks we found another
orphan bird, apparently a kind of vireo. We were not having much success in
feeding this young bird, when the Robin flew up with a fly in his beak. We lifted,
the vireo close to him, and he deftly inserted the fly into the vireo's throat. From'
that time on the job of feeding the young bird belonged to the Robin. When
the vireo cried, as he did most of the time, the Robin would fly into the plant
room and dig up a worm, pick it to pieces, and feed it to the nestling. This
continued for three days, when the younger bird died.

But on that same day the Robin heard the call of the wild, flew out of the
basement window, over the garden wall, and out of sight. Twice he returned to
the garden, but seemed very shy. Once in a while he came to the porch to re-
ceive raisins, which I even put in his mouth, but he soon disappeared and did
not return. If he returns in the spring we will recognize him, for we had an
aluminum band placed on his leg before he departed. — Mrs. Angela Harte
Favell, Superior, Wis.

A Clever Bird or Two. — One day I looked out of my window and saw a
Red-breasted Nuthatch at my suet cafeteria, busily engaged in eating his lunch.
But his meal was arrested by the swift flight of a Hairy Woodpecker, which sud-
denly appeared at the table, giving a sharp note as he descended upon the feast.
The startled nuthatch disappeared quickly from the scene, but almost at once
reappeared on the ground under the suet and looked up and waited expectantly
for the crumbs which were starting to fall from the aforesaid woodpecker’s table.
As they fell, the clever little bird ate his fill of the crumbs which were already
prepared for him in small bites. The woodpecker did not seem to notice that he
was also feeding the nuthatch below, but ate till satisfied, as did the nuthatch
on the ground below. Then each bird went his way.

At another time I saw a Downy Woodpecker feasting at the feeding table,
paying no heed to a half-dozen English Sparrows on the ground under the suet,
also getting their fill of suet crumbs as he let them fall. Another day I watched
a Downy Woodpecker working at the suet on the tree, eating what he wanted
and then filling every crack and crevice in the bark with food for future use.
When he had finished, away he went, probably intending to return and feast
again when hungry. But no sooner had he gone than an intruder appeared in the
form of a nuthatch with similar intentions. The intruder crept over the tree,
seeking out and collecting the hidden suet from the cracks and crevices of the
bark as fast as he could work. Birds are very clever at such tricks, which Nature
has taught them. — Mrs. Horace P. Cook, Anderson, Ind.

300

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE

Wild Birds at Home. By Francis Hobart Herrick. D. Appleton-Century Co.,

New York. 1935. Pp. i-xxii-{- 1-345. Figs. 1-137, and frontispiece. Price,

34.00.

Those who were interested in bird study thirty years ago will remember Dr.
Herrick’s book, “The Home Life of Wild Birds”. In some ways this book marked
the beginning of a new period in ornithology. It taught the growing hosts of
bird students how to use the bird-blind. The reviewer has never been quite cer-
tain who is entitled to the credit for the introduction of the tent-blind or umbrella-
blind. But there is glory enough for all, and Dr. Herrick’s practical demonstra-
tion of the method must have stimulated many other workers in the same direc-
tion. The three decades since have witnessed more careful and more critical study
of the bird as a living animal than in all previous time.

Dr. Herrick’s present work is perhaps not so much an exposition of a method,
as a summary of the results of the method developed thirty-odd years ago. It is
a book which discusses the most profound problems in bird behavior, and yet one
which may be taken to an easy chair and read for hours without mental fatigue
or monotony. Practically all phases of the bird’s home life are discussed, and
with more than ordinary understanding of the psychological principles involved.
The numerous illustrations are new and original. Literature citations are given
in foot-notes, rather than in a terminal bibliographic list. Dr. Herrick has made
another contribution to ornithological literature. — T. C. S.

ZuR Biologie des Rephuhns (Biology of the Hungarian Partridge). By Dr. W.

Nolte. Published under the auspices of the Reichbundes Deutsche Jager-

schaft (National German Hunters’ Association). Publisher, J. Neumann,

Neudamm, Berlin, 1934. Pp. 105.

This new booklet on tbe biology of the Hungarian Partridge (Perdix perdix)
in Germany should be of particular interest to American ornitbologists and sports-
men for two reasons.

First, it parallels the University of Michigan’s recently published study of
this bird by Yeatter,i and the Oxford University study now under way by Mid-
dleton,2 without any awareness of similar work under way in the English-speaking
countries, or vice versa.

Secondly, it illustrates certain basic differences in game management research,
organization, and methods, from which mutually profitable deductions may pos-
sibly be drawn.

Dr. Nolte’s study was undertaken because tbe 1932 partridge crop was bad,
and the 1933 crop spotty. (This illustrates an important point; game research in
Germany is a matter of finding the cause of specific difficulties encountered in
actual practice; with us it is an attempt to build comprebensive biological foun-
dations for a practice which is hoped for, but does not yet exist).

^Yeatter, Ralph L. 1 he Hungarian Partridge in the Great Lakes Region. Bui.

No. 5, School of forestry and Gonservation, Lbiiv. of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

December, 1934.

^Middleton, A. D. The Population of Partridges (Perdix perdix) in 1933 and

1934 in Great Britain. Jour. Animal Ecology, Vol. 4, No. 1, May, 1935, pp.

Ornithological Literature

301

The project was sponsored and financed, not by universities or by bureaus,
as with us, but by the national sportsmen’s association (Deutsche Jiigerschaft) .
Membership in this is now universal, being paid for as part of the hunting license
fee (which, by the way, is the substantial sum of $12). There is now only one
national association, and it is strongly affiliated not only with the Reichsjagdamt
(Biological Survey), hut with its official mouthpiece, “Die Deutsche Jagd”, pub-
lished by the publisher of this booklet.

The technique of the study follows from these premises: funds were limited
and an answer needed quickly, so the technique consisted not (as with us) of a
field study in a limited locality to decipher the basic ecology of the partridge, but
rather of a compilation and analysis of hunters’ reports and weather data for all
Germany. The technique, in short, is an attempted correlation starting with an
inferred premise (that weather governed the crop). This is the method of my
“Game Survey”, not the method of Stoddard, Errington, Schmidt, Wight, Yeatter,
et al.

Dr. Nolte’s findings are in many respects startlingly similar to Yeatter’s. I
here give his own summary, supported by interpolated explanations from the text,
and from the American and English studies in so far as published:

1. The partridge is a prairie bird (Steppentier) , which finds its optimum
range on loessial soils, which are “warm” soils.

2. On “cold” soils heavy populations are attainable only by drainage.

3. Heaths and moors are “cold”. They delay the nesting.

(Maxwell, Page, and other English authors point out the unsuitability of
heavy soils. Yeatter found fair populations on heavy lake-bottom in Michigan
and Ohio, but these are all tiled and drained, as is much of the northeast Illinois
and lowa-Minnesota range. The outstanding confirmation of Nolte’s assertion,
however, lies in the superior density of partridge in the Canadian wheat prairies,
and in the semi-arid regions of eastern Washington and northern Montana).

4. Small management units are not favorable.

5. Breaking new land damages the partridge stand. (I think he means the
breaking up of the remnants of grass cover).

6. Feral dogs and cats are bad. The worst predator is the free-ranging
sheep dog and his progeny.

7. Weasel, iltis, and fox have no effect on the partridge crop.

8. Raptorial predators have virtually no effect. The goshawk and perhaps
the female sharpshin, are definitely damaging, and in winter the migrant loughleg.

9. The horned owl kills partridge, but because of its rarity such depredation
is to be endured (see American Game Policy on rare predators!). Whether
swamp owls, when abundant, infiuence the crop remains undetermined.

10. All these predatory birds were too .scarce in 1932 and 1933 to produce
appreciable damage.

11. The raven is too scarce to influence the crop.

(It is interesting to note that all these conclusions on predation are drawn
from geographic correlations, not from food habits research. Thus, ff a good
partridge crop occurred where these predators were present, and also where ab-
sent the conclusion is that they have no effect. I see here also the induence of
the strong German movement for “Naturschutz” (nature protection), one of whose
tenets is, of course, moderation in predator control).

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The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

12. Mouse years are partridge years (an interesting side-light on the wild
life cycle).

13. Food shortage during the vegetative period can occur only during drouths.

14. It is improbable that the partridge needs drinking water when there is
enough dew.

15. Poisoned wheat, properly put out, may not he dangerous, but arsenicals
are probably (always) dangerous.

16. The influence of pheasants on the partridge is still controversial.

( Dense mixed populations are alleged to occur in Bohemia, hut in many other
localities increase in pheasants shows decrease in partridge. Nolte thinks the
competition may occur only during nesting, and only when both species are dense.
He pleads for special research on this question).

17. The existence of contagious diseases is not proved.

18. Dangerous fighting between cocks during mating is doubted.

19. “Peepers” (immature young) should be shot off. The question of
whether they in turn breed “peepers” (because of immaturity and consequent
late nesting) is unsolved.

20. Small coveys of well-grown birds are perfectly good breeding stock.

21. Albinos should be preserved for their research value (i. e. as marked
birds whose behavior and longevity can be observed).

22. Old and young hens are equally valuable as breeders. The latter may
lay more eggs, but the former are safer mothers.

23. Longevity is unknown. One white hen is known to have raised a large
normal brood for four successive years.

24. Migration in partridge is not proved.

(But in October, 1911, partridges appeared in the mountains at a point
thirty-nine air-line miles from an inhabited range. Partridges are known regularly
to evacuate southwestern Memel. Drowned partridges have been found far from
land. In 1932 drifting flocks appeared on the shores of the Main in Bavaria, and
later disappeared. Some localities have partridges in winter only. I am reminded
forcibly of Audubon’s descriptions of the fall shuffle in quail, and the endless
sub.sequent discussions on “migration”).

25. The alleged migration is a “shuffle”.

26. The spread of “technical’' agriculture is injurious to partridge only
where it affects environment (a truism!).

27. Grazing is always injurious to partridge.

(This 1 think is an unscientific assertion. It might, in too-heavy cover, be
beneficial) .

28. Vineyards and nurseries of large size can serve as refuges.

29. 'I'he partridge crop depends on which field crops start growing first. If
grain springs up before clover and alfalfa, they nest in grain and are safe. If.
however, the clover or hay springs up before the grain, there is heavy loss (of
nests) in mowing. (This is precisely Yeatter’s conclusion).

30. Partridges are not adaptable to climatic fluctuations.

31. Planting stock is best obtained from less favorable climates.

32. Every range has an optimum breeding density determinable by experi-
ence. It is useless to hold over more stock than this optimum. (This fails to
assert that the optimum can often be rai.sed by environmental control, and coin-
cides with the rarity of actual range-improvement measures in Germany).

Ornithological Literature

303

33. Plantings on empty range are best made in dry years, and have no great
effect until the second of a succession of good years. In wet seasons the birds
evacuate “cold” soils.

34. On bare agricultural areas the partridge must be winter-fed.

35. Satisfactory dog-hunting is possible only in good cover. Without cover
the birds “pack” and are wild.

36. The welfare of partridge is directly proportional to sunshine, warmth,
and dew, and inversely proportional to rainfall.

(Nolte elaborates this in the form of a mathematical formula:

A=m . C

n

where A is population or yield, w is solar energy as expressed in sun and warmth,
t is dew, n is rainfall during the breeding season, and C is a constant represent-
ing the optimum breeding density for the particular range).

Taken all together, this piece of work exhibits a keen insight into ecological
fundamentals. One can not help but wish that such a man might have the benefit
of the inductive method initiated in America by Stoddard, as well as financial
support for a trial of this method in Germany. This otherwise over-long review
is to give American game managers at least a bird’s-eye view of his conclusions.
— Aldo Leopolp, Berlin, October 12, 1935.

Familiar Birds of the Pacific Southwest. By Florence Van Vechten Dickey.
Pub. by the Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, California, 1935. Pp. i-lviii
-j- 1-241. Col’d plates, 102. Price, $3.75.

One of the most pleasing bird books we have seen is presented under the
above title. It may he regarded either as a pocket field guide or as a delightful
desk book. The large number of beautiful, colored plates is the most important
feature of the hook. These are described as “full color reproductions from photo-
graphs chiefly by Donald R. Dickey”, to whose memory the hook is dedicated. We
judge that most of these photographs were made from life, though we do not find
such a statement. Their coloring brings out the field marks very clearly, and they
serve well for the purpose of Identification.

The text is presented in two parts, first a key, then descriptions of the various
species included. In the key the first division is based on size, the second on
color, and the third on various physical characters. The descriptions are designed
wholly for the student in the field, with technical anatomical phraseology omitted.
It is just the kind of a popular field guide which we wish might be prepared for
the middle west, now that both coasts have one. We observe that about sixty-
three species (not necessarily the same subspecies) of the 163 species considered
are also found in the middle west. So, the hook will not he without practical
value in this region. As a pleasant avenue of extending our acquaintance with
western birds the little hook is at present without a peer.— T. C. S.

The American Eagle. A Study in Natural and Civil History. By Francis
Hobart Herrick. D. Appleton-Century Company, New York. 1934. Pp. i-xx
+ 1-266. Figs. 1-94 and frontispiece. Price, $3.50.

Professor Herrick’s studies on the American Bald Eagle are pretty well
known from his occasional reports in the current literature. This book is a sum-
mary of these studies, which, apparently, began as long ago as 1900. Probably

304

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

no other intensive bird study ever attempted covers the life history of a species
as completely as does this one on the eagle. Not only have the studies been car-
ried on throughout a very long period of time, but the enormous towers erected
for the purpose of the study are unique in the history of bird study methods.

The story of the method of studying the eagles from high steel towers is fully
told. This, in itself, is interesting enough. The catastophic endings of certain
great nests bring tragedy into the picture. We do not like to use the word
romance in this connection, but results came, nevertheless, and Professor Herrick
goes into the psychological analysis about as far as any author has gone. The
daily routine, the life-history story, is told in detail.

Several extra-ornithological chapters are offered at the end of the book, viz.,
“The Eagle as Emblem”, “The Eagle in Apotheosis”, “The Eagle with Two
Heads”, “America’s National Emblem”, “The Numismatic Eagle”, all of which
make an interesting climax to the eagle story.

Since the question of what subspecies of Bald Eagle is the breeding form
along Lake Erie has been frequently raised, we expected that this matter would
be disposed of by Dr. Herrick. But, so far as we can discover, he has not com-
mitted himself in this book. Of course, the matter of subspecies is of very little
consequence in life-history studies — it is more a matter of curiosity rather than of
scientific importance. If Dr. Herrick does not know what subspecies he has been
working on for thirty-five years, so much the worse for the subspecies. If be
thinks the matter is of too little importance to treat in his book on these eagles
the rest of us can breathe easier when thinking about it. This is another book
for the easy chair, and will dispel the worries of any ornithologist on a long
winter evening. — T. C. S.

The Passenger Pigeon in Ontario. By Margaret H. Mitchell. Published under
the Reuben Wells Leonard Bequest as Contribution No. 7 of tbe Royal On-
tario Museum of Zoology. 1935. Univ. Toronto Press. Pp. 1-181. Price,
$1.00 in paper, $1.50 in cloth.

While this paper deals primarily with the nesting and migration of the Pas-
senger Pigeon in Ontario, yet the entire life-history is discussed in more or less
detail, thus making the paper one of general interest. The author makes free use
of the literature on many points, but the original material .was derived from re-
plies to a widely distributed questionnaire, which was circulated ip 1926 from the
Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology. While perhaps the best contributions relate
to local nesting colonies, distribution, and migration, yet the features of most
interest to the reviewer are those of the general life-history.

Thus, the author presents a very full discussion of the food habits of the
Passenger Pigeon — about the most complete account we have seen. The question
of the number of eggs in the clutch is raised again, but the answer is no more
conclusive than in previous accounts. Under the heading, “Economic Status”,
the birds are considered as destructive agents and as a source of food supply or
income for the pioneers; methods of trapj)ing and marketing are fully treated.

The author thinks that the extermination of the Passenger Pigeon was a
gradual process — not as sudden an event as many have affirmed — and that no one
cause is to be credited alone for the outcome. Among the most important factors
which combined to reduce tbe birds below an “optimum population density” are
considered the “clearing of the land”, “disease”, “market hunting”, etc. A

Ornithological Literature

305

psychological effect of diminished niimhers as a contributing cause of extinction
is suggested, but without suflicient discussion of its probable nature and mode of
operation on a population. The suggestion merits further investigation.

The report is splendidly embellished by a reproduction in color of a painting
of the Passenger Pigeon made in 1835 by William Pope. This portrait is one
which was not included in Shufeldt’s catalogue of Passenger Pigeon portraits in
the Scientific Monthly (XII, May, 1921).

A bibliography of 196 titles, many of which are obscure, adds much to the
general value of this work, which we may regard as an excellent contribution
on the subject. — T. C. S.

Birds of Jehol. By Prince N. Taka-Tsukasa, Marquis M. Hachisuka, N. Kuroda,
D. Sc., Marquis Y. Yamashina, S. Uchida, D. Agr. Sect. V, Div. 11, Pt. Ill,
of the Report of the First Scientific Expedition to Manchoukuo. Pp. 1-91,
pis. 1-28. April, 1935. Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

The Report is printed in both Japanese and English, and is based upon ma-
terial collected in 1933 by Messrs. Mori and Kishida. The authors, as enumerated
above, were commissioned by the Ornithological Society of Japan to make the
identifications and prepare the report. The seventy species listed belong to twenty-
seven families and thirteen orders. The report contains twenty-eight colored
plates, which illustrate forty of the forms listed. Many of the species have a
much wider range throughout Asia, only two of which are found in the A. 0. U.
Check-List. The plates are excellent, and make the bird the outstanding feature;
the background is a color wash which strengthens the bird portrait. — T. C. S.

Michigan Waterfowl Management. By Miles David Pirnie, Ph. D. Michigan
Department of Conservation. Lansing, 1935. Pp. i-xxii-1-1-328. Figs. 1-212.
Price, 11.50.

The literature on the subject of game management is growing very rapidly,
and is of all sorts — propaganda, technical papers, and digested summaries. The
title just listed comes under the last classification. It deals, of course, only with

the ducks and geese. And while the emphasis is placed on conditions in Michi-

gan, yet the amount of general material is great, and we know of no other avail-
able work that comes no near being a textbook on the subject covered.

Chapter I (57 pp.) gives a non-technical description of all the ducks and geese

which occur in Michigan, and this includes all the common species of the interior.
This is followed by chapters on the numerical status of waterfowl, on natural
enemies (including predators and disease), and on methods of hunting waterfowl.
The greater part of the hook deals with “management”, and this includes chapters
which discuss the legal regulation of hunting, refuges and sanctuaries, the prob-
lem of food and food planting programs, propagation, predator control, restora-
tion of breeding grounds, etc. An ajipendix includes a veiy useful key to the
more common pond and marsh vegetation, which, togethei with the nearly fifty
photographic illustrations of such plants, presents the student with a most helpful
means of becoming acquainted with that phase of the birds’ environment. This
outline will give the reader some conception of the ground covered in the book,
but it can not show how readable the hook is. We must add, therefore, that the
book is well written, and makes interesting reading whether the reader be a
hunter, an ornithologist, or a nature lover.

306

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

An incidental thought brought up by this book is its relation to a developing
profession. As our country is becoming conscious of tbe importance of its wild
life, steps are being taken slowly, but perhaps surely, to preserve what is left.
To thus save the wild life of the continent will require the services of many
trained experts. This means a new profession, and a new problem for educa-
tional institutions. Some few colleges and universities will have to prepare young
men for this field. It is interesting to observe that trained minds are at work
collecting, sorting, systematizing the facts which are to form the foundation of
this new science. It means that young men who are so inclined may take up the
subject of ornithology seriously, with the thought of making it a life work in its
applied aspects. The trend of the times is in this direction. — T. C. S.

Systematic Status of Some Northwestern Biros. By H. S. Swarth. Condor,
XXXVn, 1935, pp. 199-204.

Swarth presents an argument to show that there is not good ground for dis-
tinguishing the two subspecies of Tringa solitaria, viz., solitaria and cinnamomea.
Likewise, the validity of Falco columharius hendirei is questioned. We suspect
that the future will witness a questioning of many present-day subspecies, and the
elimination of many of them from official check-lists. The chief difficulty has been
a lack of a sound criterion of subspecies. Another difficulty has been tbe ease
with which a proposed subspecies can be foisted upon the ornithological litera-
ture. The burden of proof bas been placed upon the scientific public rather than
upon the describer of the proposed subspecies. The pernicious custom among
systematists of naming new forms after each other has bred a class of polite gas-
tons instead of a class of rigorous scientific critics. — T. C. S.

A Popular Account of the Bird Life of the Finger Lakes Section of New

York, with Main References to the Summer Season. By Chas. J. Spiker.

Roosevelt Wild Life Bull., Vol. 6, No. 3, 1935. Pp. 391-551. Figs. 228-284.

Another splendid bulletin from the pen of Mr. Spiker. The many excellent
photographs are by the author and the late C. F. Stone. These photographs
illustrate the various bird habitats, and should be a welcome aid to the student of
birds in this region. An enlarged map of the entire Finger Lakes region is also
included.

The introduction presents a description of the topography and habitat areas
of the region, as well as of the topography of the various State Parks of the
Finger Lakes area. The bulk of the text consists of descriptions of the distribu-
tion, habits, and migration of the common birds; tbe style is non-tecbnical, and
suitable alike to the younger and the more advanced student. These notes are
based on the author’s personal observations during his several years of connec-
tion with the Roosevelt Wild Life Forest Experiment Station. — Wm. Youngworth.

A CoNTRIRUTION TO A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE DESCRIBED IMMATURE StAGES OF

North American Coleoptera. By J. S. Wade, U. S. Bureau of Entomology.
1935.

This paper consists of 114 mimeograjihed pages. It does not deal with birds
in any way, but is an unusual and valuable piece of work for entomologists. We
do not know where it is published, nor how it may be obtained, except through
the author. — T. C. S.

Ornithological Literature

307

White Herons in Indiana. By Amos Butler. Reprinted from Proc. Ind. Acad.
Sci., Vol. 44, 1935, pp. 228-230.

Dr. Butlei pieseiits here a lirief account of what is known concerning the
three species of white herons as breeding birds in Indiana.— T. C. S.

A Study of the Sharp-tailed Grouse. By L. L. Snyder. Univ. Toronto Studies,
Biol. Series, No. 40. 1935. Pp. 1-66.

The study deals with population cycles, seasonal distribution, food, migration,
and taxonomy of the various forms of the species named. Much new material is
introduced. — T. C. S.

The Migrant for September, 1935, is an exceptionally interesting number. It
contains too much good material for the reviewer to handle properly. Several
authors jointly present a “History of the Tennessee Ornithological Society”.
“Early Reminiscences”, by Dixon Merritt, “Biographical Sketches of Founder
Members”, by George R. Mayfield, “Among Our Contributors”, are articles which
continue the account of the activities and the leaders of one of the older state orni-
thological societies. Four [lages of portraits and snap-shots complete a record
which will he received with satisfaction by all who are engaged in similar work.
Our attention is taken especially by an article entitled, “A T. 0. S. Annual Field
Day”, by John Craig. The author is a stranger to us, hut we salute him as a
master of descriptive writing. Besides furnishing the bird lover with a very en-
tertaining account of his favorite pastime, we consider this article to present the
best single bit of propaganda for the study of birds (without a gun), extant. It
would he fine if this article could he reprinted in quantity for public use. A
reprint sent to a hunter friend might make many a convert to the use of a field
glass.

The Redstart continues to appear regularly at monthly intervals. Ihe Sep-
tember number contains a very well thought out statement by Mr. J. W. Handlan
on the two opposing views of wildlife conservation. We find ourselves in agree-
ment with it. With this number Mr. 1. F.. Shields relinquishes the editorship.
Mr. Shields is entitled to a hearty “Well Done” for his services in conducting the
Redstart through two complete volumes. Much ornithological material of local
importance has been preserved, and no doubt much good has been accomplishefl
in uniting the efforts of bird lovers in West Virginia. The Octohei numhei be-
gins a new volume (HI, No. 1, 1935) under the editor.ship of Mr. .1. W. Handlan,
whom we welcome into the fold.

The Prothonotary is a new mimeographed imlilication issued by the Buffalo
Ornithological Society, and is being issued monthly. Anyone may subscribe at
fifty cents per year. Each number contains a record of the month’s weather con-
ditions, noteworthy records of birds, and news of the activities of llie members.
It is edited by Mr. Harold D. Mitchell, 378 Crc.scent Ave., Buffalo, N. Y.

The Snowy Egret for Autumn, 1935, (Vol. X, No. 1), appears in a smaller
and more attractive format. Articles are by Mr. H. A. Olsen, Mr. R E-Olsen,
■uid Mr 0 M. Bryens; and notes are reprinted from Audubon and Ihoieau.
Publication is now dated at Pippapass, Ky., and the paper continues to he directed
by the Messrs. Olsen.

308

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

EDITORIAL

We can not be sure that this issue will reach our readers much in advance
of the Annual Meeting on December 29-31. While Science included the W. 0. C.
among organizations having headquarters at the New Jefferson Hotel, we presume
that Secretary Hicks’ letter is correct in assigning us to the Melbourne Hotel.
A special tour of the Missouri Botanical Garden (Shaw’s Garden) has been ar-
ranged for Saturday (the 28th, 1.30 p. m) for our members. A field trip is also
planned for Sunday morning. For details of these excursions consult the Local
Chairman, Mr. A. F. Satterthwaite, 118 Waverly Place, Webster Groves, Mo.
Monday and Tuesday will be filled with the program of papers, with the annual
dinner on Tuesday evening.

Two GENEKAL INVITATIONS for Cooperation have reached this office. One is
from the National Association of Audubon Societies, to the effect that data are
being gathered for a popular booklet on the owls. It has not been decided at the
present time whether this material will he incorporated in a second edition of
Dr. May’s book on the hawks, or issued as a separate and similar book on the
owls alone. In either case the Association will he glad to receive any notes on
the distribution, food habits, and behavior of all North American owls. Such
contributions may be addressed to Mr. Warren F. Eaton, in charge of the N. A.
A. S. Hawk and Owl Campaign.

The second invitation relates to the series of life history bulletins by Mr.
Arthur Cleveland Bent, issued by the United States National Museum. Mr. Bent
informs us that since Bulletin 162 on the gallinaceous birds was published in
1932, the manuscripts have been completed for two volumes on the birds of prey,
including the vultures and owls. As yet these volumes have remained unpublished
because funds were not available for the purpose. There seems to he some hope
that at least one of these volumes may appear during the coming year.

However, Mr. Bent is continuing his labor on a third volume, which will he
the twelfth in the series, and which will cover the groups of parrots, cuckoos,
kingfishers, woodpeckers, goatsuckers, swifts, and hummingbirds, and in the se-
quence of the third A. 0. U. Check-List. Mr. Bent is now ready to receive notes
on habits and photographs relating to any of the birds in these groups. There
is no doubt about the wisdom of carrying forward the completion of these manu-
scripts, and hoping for their publication at an early date. Those who are in a
l)osition to do so will undoubtedly assist by sending their contributions to Mr.
A. C. Bent, Taunton, Mass.

and

The Index has been delayed but will be printed and furnished to all members
subscribers.

MAR 2 8 1936

SUPI’LEMENT TO

THE WILSON BULLETIN

March, 1936. Part 2.

INDEX FOR VOLUME XLVII, 1935

Aldrich, John W., Bird noles from the Bift Horn Mountain reeion of Wyoming;,
57-59

Blincoe, Benedict J., A Co'wljird' removes a Rolnn’s egg, 158
Breckenridge, W. J., A l)ird census method,' 195-197

Bujak, B. J., A recent record of the Hudsonian Curlew in the Chicago, Illinois,
region, 294

Burleigh, Thomas D., The present status of the Olive-sided Flycatcher as a breed-
ing bird in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, 165

The Brewer’s Blackbird at Athens, Clark County, Georgia, 236

Campbell, Louis W., The effect of relief projects on bird life, 240

Carpenter, j. Richard, Forest edge birds and exposures of their habitats, 106-108

Christy, Bayard H., Beach-combers, 265-269

Cook, Mrs. Horace P., The Golden Plover in Indiana, 163

The song of the Yellow-breasted Chat, 297

A clever bird or two, 298

Crook, Compton, Eastern Tree Sparrows wintering in Christian County, Ken-
tucky, 73 ■ • -

Davis, L. Irby, Wintering warblers in Cameron County, Texas, during the season
of 1934-1935, 272-274

Dille, Fred M., Arizona fields ..^are virgin lor bird banders, 286-293
DuMont, Philip -A., Caspian Terns in north-central Iowa, 72

Northern Phalaropes in northwestern Iowa, 72

Specimen of Greater Scaup Duck found in northern Iowa, 72

A Red-shafted Flicker secured at Des Moines, Iowa, 158

Prairie Falcon records from northwestern Iowa, 162

Additional Iowa species of birds substantiated Ijy specimens, 205-208

Specimens of European Widgeon taken in northwestern Iowa, 236

Chuck-wills-widow collected in southeastern Iowa, 239

An old record oi the Brown-headed Nuthatch in Iowa and Illinois, 240

Eaton, Warren F., Communications, 96

Eliot, Samuel A., Jr., Birds at a rain-pool in Massachusetts in October, 1933, 49-46
Eifrig, C. W. G., The Savannah Sparrow in Maryland, 239

Errington, Paul L. and Logan J. Bennett, Food habits of Burrowing Owls in
northwestern Iowa, 125-128

Errington, Paul L., Winter-killing of Mourning Doves in central Iowa, 159
Fargo, Wm. G., Some corrections, 238
Favell, Mrs. Angela Harte, Behavior of a pet Robin, 298
Fitzpatrick, F. L., Notes on the renal blood vessels of raiitorial bords, 43-44
Furniss, O. C., Tbe duck situation in the PriTtce Albert district, central Saskat-
chewan, 111-119

The sex ratio in ducks, 277-278

Ganier, Albert F., The Cardinal now twelve years old, 285-286

Gill, Geoffrey, The constancy of Catbirds to mates and to territory, 104-106

Hamilton, W. J., Jr., Notes on nestling Robins, 109 111

Hayward, C. Lynn, Observations on some breeding Inrds of Mount Timpanogos,

’study of the winter bird life in Bear Lake and Utah Lake Valleys,

278-284

310

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

Henderson, Grant, A Blue-winged Warbler record for Decatur County, Indiana,
160

An unusual banding experience, 298

Hendrickson, George 0. and Robert Treneman, Nests of Crows and other birds
in the same evergreen grove, 295

Hicks, Lawrence E., The Louisiana Paroquet in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, 76

Hinnen, Dr. G. A., Notes on a hand-reared Flicker, 77-79

Howard, William Johnston, Notes on the nesting of captive Mtxte Swans, 237

Hunter, Lawrence E., Some bird tragedies, 74

Jones, F. M., Nesting of the Raven in Virginia, 188-191

Johnson, Archibald, A three-egg set of the Mourning Dove, 236

Effect of drouth on birds, 236

Johnson, D. Elmer, Some bird notes from Utah, 160

Another Snow Bunting for Utah, 294

Johnson, R. A. and Hazel S., A study of the nesting and family life of the Red-
throated Loon, 97-103

Jung, Clarence S., Migration of hawks in Wisconsin, 75
Long, W. S., Second record of the Starling in Douglas County, Kansas, 73
Kearns, Lucy Pendleton, Migration of waterfowl in tidewater Virginia, 294
Kemsies, Emerson G., Changes in the list of birds of Yellowstone National Park,
68-70

McAtee, W. L., Value of field observation in economic ornithology, 195-197
McCreary, Otto C. and Arthur B. Mickey, Bird migration records from south-
eastern Wyoming, 129-157

Maslowski, Karl H., Notes on some winter birds of southwestern Ohio, 163
Meuli, L. J., Observations on nest site trials by the Eastern Robin, 296
Moore, George A., The Starling at Kingfisher, Oklahoma, 294
Murray, J. J., Water birds of a Virginia mountain county, 59-67
Nice, L. B., Margaret M. Nice, and Ruth M. Kraft, Erythrocytes and hemoglobin
in the blood of some American birds, 120-124
Nice, Margaret M., Storks in trees, 270-271
Peabody, P. B., Rim-rock and Solitaire, 257-265

Shields, Thos. E., A study of the Savannah Sparrow in West Virginia, 35-42

Some bird notes from Belmont County, Ohio, 74

The Black Tern recorded in the West Virginia Panhandle, 236

Shilling, A. E., Observations on the Violet-green Swallow, 192-194

.Smith, Lloyd, An October record of the American Egret in Lee County, Iowa, 72

Spawn, Gerald B., Some shore birds collected in South Dakota, 72

Stoner, Dayton, An example of partial albinism in the Eastern Crow, 274-276

Swenk, Myron H., Robert Henry Wolcott, 45-49

Thompson, Paul R., The Golden-winged Warbler in South Dakota, 80
Vasicek, John M., A Savannah Sparrow as a Cowbird victim, 294
Walkinshaw, Lawrence H., The incubation period of the Sora Rail, 79
Watterson, William H., The 1934 migration at Cleveland’s Public Square, 238
Welter, Wilfred A., The natural history of the Long-billed Marsh Wren, 3-34
Wetmore, Alexander, A record of the Trumpeter Swan from the late Pleistocene
of Illinois, 237

Witschi, Flinil, Seasonal sex characters in birds and their hormonal control,
177-188

Youngworth, Wm., McCown’s Longspur in southwestern North Dakota, 72

Notes on the American Egret and Little Blue Heron in Iowa, 73

The Starling in southeastern South Dakota, 158

Apparent .scarcity of certain North Dakota Ixirds, 158

4 he birds of Fort Sisseton, South Dakota, a sixty year comparison,

209-235

The Lazuli Bntiting in northeastern South Dakota, 295

Index

311

Acantliis linaria, 153, 164, 233, 282
Accipiter cooperi, 74, 135
Accipiter velox, 135, 216
Actitis maciilaria, 66, 138, 220
Aechmophorus occidenlalis, 131, 210
Aeronautes s. saxatalis, 143
Agelaius phoeniceus, 232
Agelaiiis p. californicus, 130
Agelaius p. fortis, 130, 282
Aix sponsa, 64, 130, 213
Ammodranius bairdi, 154
Ammodramus savannarum, 234
Ammospiza caudacuta, 234
Amphispiza n. nevadensis, 70, 154
Anas platyrhynchos, 63, 129, 213, 283
Anas rubripes, 63, 132, 213
Anas r. iristis, 63
Anser albifrons, 130, 213
Anthus spinoletta rubescens, 58, 148,
282

Anthus spraguei, 148

Antrostonius carolinensis, 239

Aphelocoma c. woodhousei, 130, 282

Aquila chiysaetos canadensis, 129, 216

Archilochus colubris, 224

Ardea herodias, 62, 212

Ardea h. treganzai, 32

Arenaria interpres inorinella, 72, 218

Arizona, 286-293

Asio flammeus, 142, 224

Asio wilsonianus, 224

Astur atricapillus, 135, 216, 284

Astur a. striatulus, 284

Asyndesrnus lewis, 143

Avocet, 140, 221

Baldpate, 55, 63, 133, 213, 283
Bartraniia longicauda, 66, 137, 220
Bittern, American, 62, 132, 212
Least, 130, 212
Blackliird, Brewer’s, 152
Red-winged, 232
Rusty, 55, 152, 232
Yellow-headed, 151, 232
Bluel)ird, 107, 130, 228, 241
Chestnut-backed, 130
Mountain, 147, 283
Bluejay, 107, 145, 226, 241
Bobolink, 58, 151, 230
Bob-white, 129, 159, 217, 241
Bombycilla cedrorum, 148, 228, 290
Bombycilla g. pallidiceps, 148
Botaurus lentiginosus, 62, 132, 212
Brant, American, 49
Black, 130

Branta canadensis, 62, 68, 138, 212
Branta c. hutchinsi, 130
Branta nigricans, 130
Bronzed Crackle, 107, 152, 232, 241
Brown Creeper, 107, 226

Brown Thrasher, 107, 146, 164, 228,
241

Buho virginianus, 222
Buho V. occidentalis, 129, 284
Buffle-head, 64, 134, 214, 278, 283
Bunting, Indigo, 233, 241
Lark, 153, 233, 292
Lazuli, 152, 205, 233, 295
Snow, 160, 165, 294
Buteo borealis, 43, 216
Buteo b. calui'us, 135
Buteo lineatus, 43
Buteo 1. sancti-johannis, 136, 216
Buteo platypterus, 74, 216
Buteo regalis, 129, 216
Buteo swainsoni, 135, 216
Butorides virescens, 62, 130, 212

Calamospiza melanocorys, 153, 233, 292
Calcarius lapponicus, 235
Calcarius 1. alascensis, 156
Calcarius ornatus, 156, 235
Calcarius pictus, 235
Canada, 111, 277

Canvas-back, 49, 64, 134, 214, 278
Capella delicata, 66, 129, 218, 283
Cardinal, 107, 232, 241, 285, 298
Arizona, 292
Carpodacus cassini, 153
Carpodacus ni. frontalis, 130, 282
Casmerodius albus egretta, 62, 72 73
212

Catbird, 58, 104-106, 107, 146, 197, 228,
241

Cathartes aura seplentrionalis, 135, 214
Catherpes mexicanus conspersus, 146
Catoptrophorus s. inornatus, 138, 220
Centrocercus urophasianus, 129
iCenturus uropygialis, 289
Certhia familiaris, 226
(ierlhia familiaris monlana, 130
(ihaetura pelagica, 75, 224
Charadriiis melodus, 137, 218
Charadrius nivosus, 137
(iharadrius semipalmatus, 66, 137, 218
Chari tonelta all)eola, 64, 134, 214, 283
Chat, Yellow-breasted, 297
Chaulclasmus streperus, 63, 133, 213
Chen caerulescens. 213
Chen hyperhorea, 130, 213
Chickadee, 107, 226
Long-tailed, 129
Montana, 129
Chimney Swift, 224

Chondesles grammacus sirigalus, 154,
234

Chordeiles minor, 142
Chordeiles minor howelli, 70
Chlidonias nigra, 236
Chuck-wills-widow, 208, 239
Cinclus mexicanus unicolor, 129

312

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

Circus hudsonius, 129, 216
Cistothorus stellaris, 130, 228
Clangula hyemalis, 64, 69, 163, 214
Clarke’s Nutcracker, 129
Coccyzus americanus, 130, 222
Coccyzus erythropthalmus, 57, 142, 222
Colaptes a. luteus, 130, 224
(iolaptes cafer collaris, 130, 158, 206
(ioliiius virginianus, 129, 159, 217
Colynibus auritus, 61, 131, 210
(iolynihus grisigena holl)oelli, 131, 210
Colynibus n. californicus, 131, 210
Communications, 96
Compsotblypis a. pusilla, 149, 229
('.ompsotblypis nigrilora, 274
(ionuropsis c. ludovicianus, 206
Coot, 66, 136, 218

Cormorant, Double-crested, 49, 62, 131,

212

Cortbylio c. calendula, 148, 282
Corvus lirachyrhynchos, 226
(iorvus 1). hesperis, 145
C.orvus c. sinuatus, 130, 226
Cowbird, Eastern, 158, 232, 294
Nevada, 152

Crane, Little Brown, 136
Sandhill, 69, 136, 217
Whooping, 217
Creeper, Brown, 107, 226
Rocky Mountain, 130
Crocethia alba, 140, 221
Crossbill, Bendire’s, 130
White-winged, 130
Crow, Eastern, 226, 274
Western, 145

Cryptoglaux acadica, 129, 164, 284
Cuckoo, Black-billed, 57, 142, 222
Yellow-billed, 130, 222, 241
C.urlew, Eskimo, 220

Hudsonian. 49, 205, 206, 218, 294
Long-billed, 218
Canadian Long-billed, 57
Northern, 137

( iyanocephalus cyanocephalus, 130
(iyanocitta cristata, 145, 226
Cyanocitta s. annectens, 129
(!yanocitta s. diademata, 129, 282
Cygnus buccinator, 68, 130, 212, 237
Cygnus columl)ianus, 132, 212
Cygnus olor, 237

Dahia acuta tzitzihoa, 63, 133, 213, 283
Dendragapus obscurus, 129
Dendroica aestiva, 150, 229, 273
Dendroica ae. morcomi, 58
Dendroica auduboni, 150, 273, 291
Dendroica caerulescens, 130
Dendroica castanea, 230
Demiroica coronata, 150, 164, 229, 273
Dendroica discolor, 206

Dendroica

Dendroica

Dendroica

Dendroica

Dendroica

Dendroica

Dendroica

Dendroica

Dendroica

Dendroica

Dendroica

dominica, 273
fusca, 229
magnolia, 150, 229
palm arum, 150, 164, 230
pensylvanica, 150, 230
peregrina, 274
pinus, 230, 273
striata, 150, 230
tigrina, 229
townsendi, 150
virens, 272

Dickcissel, 130, 233
Dipper, 129

Dolichonyx orizivorus, 58, 151, 230
Dove, Inca, 289

Dove, Mourning, 159, 142, 222, 236,
238, 241
Dovekie, 49

Dowitcber, 49, 50, 139, 160, 221
Dryobates pubescens, 224
Dryobates p. leucurus, 129, 162, 283
Dryobates villosus, 224
Dryobates v. monticola, 129, 283
Duck, Black, 50, 63, 132, 213
Greater Scaup, 72, 134, 216
Lesser Scaup, 134, 214
Red-legged Black, 63
Ring-necked, 64, 69, 133, 214, 278
Ruddy, 49, 65, 214
Wood, 50, 64, 130, 213
Dumetella carolinensis, 58, 146, 228

Eagle, Bald, 130, 216
Golden, 129, 216
Ectopistes migratorius, 130, 222
Egret, American, 62, 72, 73, 212
Brewster’s, 132
Snowy, 205

Egretta thula brewsteri, 132
Elanoides forhcatus, 216
Empidonax difficilis, 144
Empidonax (laviventris, 74. 224
Empidonax hammondi, 144
Empidonax minimus, 144, 225
Empidonax trailli, 144, 225
Empidonax wrighti, 144
Ereunetes pusillus, 67, 140, 221
Erismatura jamaicensis, 65, 134, 214
Eupluigus carolinus, 152, 232, 237
Euphagus cyanocephalus, 152, 232, 236
Eupoda montana, 137

Ealco columbarius, 74, 217
Ealco c. richardsoni, 136
Ealco mexicanus, 129, 162
Ealco ]i. anatiim, 136, 216
Ealco sparverius, 217
Ealco s. phalaena, 136
Ealcon, Prairie, 129, 162

Index

313

Finch, Black Rosy, 130

Brown-capped Rosy, 130
Cassin’s Purple, 153
Common House, 130, 282
Gray-crowned Rosy, 153, 205
Hepburn’s Rosy, 153
Flicker, Northern, 77, 107, 130, 224, 241
Red-shafted, 130, 158, 205, 206
Florida c. caerulea, 62, 73, 206
Flycatcher, Alder, 144, 225, 241
Ash-throated, 130
Crested, 130, 241
Hammond’s, 144
Least, 144, 225
Olive-sided, 144, 165
Western, 144
Wright’s, 144
\ellow-bellied, 74, 225
Fulica a. americana, 46, 136, 218

Gadwall, 49, 63, 133, 213, 278
Gallinula c. cachiunans, 65, 217
Gallinule, Florida, 65, 217
Gannet, 49

Gavia immer, 61, 210
Gavia i. elasson, 131
Gavia stellata, 205
Geothlypis trichas, 230, 273
Geothlypis t. occidentalis, 151
Glaucionetta c. americana, 64, 134, 214,
283

Glaucionetta islandica, 129, 214
Gnatcatcher, 130
Godwit, Hudsonian, 221
Marbled, 140, 159, 221
Golden Eagle, 129, 216
Golden-eye, American, 64, 134, 214,

278, 283

Barrow’s, 49, 129, 214
Golden Plover, 49
Goldfinch, Arkansas, 153
Common, 233, 241
Pale, 130, 281
Goose, Blue, 213

Canada, 62, 68, 132, 212, 238
Hutchin’s, 130
Snow, 49, 130, 213
White-fronted, 130, 213
Goshawk, 135, 216, 284
Grebe, Eared, 131, 210
Holhoell’s, 131, 210
Horned, 131, 210
Pied-billed, 50, 61, 131, 212
Western, 131, 205, 210
Grosbeak, Pine, 233

Rocky Mountain, 152
Rocky Mountain Pine, 129, 282
Rose-breasted, 152, 232, 241
Western Blue, 205, 208
Western Evening, 130, 282

Grouse, Columbian Sharp-tailed, 129
Dusky, 129

Prairie Sharji-lailed, 129
Sharp-tailed, 217
Grus canadensis, 69, 136, 217
Grus c. tabida, 136
Guiraca c. interfusa, 208
Gull, Bonaparte’s, 67, 141
California, 130
Franklin’s, 141, 222
Great Black-backed, 49
Glaucous, 140, 160
Herring, 141, 221, 238
Laughing, 49, 221
Ring-billed, 67, 141, 221
Sabine’s, 130
Short-hilled, 130

Haliaeetus leucocephalus, 130, 216
Hawk, American Rough-legged, 136,
216

Broad-winged, 74, 75, 216
Cooper’s, 74, 75, 135
Duck, 136, 216
Eastern Red-tailed, 43-44, 216
Ferruginous Rough-legged, 216
Harris’s, 205
Marsh, 129, 159, 216
Pigeon, 74, 136, 217
Sharp-shinned, 75, 135
Swainson’s, 135, 159, 216
Western Red-tailed, 135
Hedymeles ludovicianus, 152, 232
Hedymeles m. papago, 152
Heleodytes hrunneicapillus couesi, 289
Heron, Black-crowned Night, 67, 132,
212

Eastern Green, 62, 130, 212
Great Blue, 62, 212
Little Blue, 62, 73, 205, 206
Treganza’s, 132

Hesperiphona v. hrooksi, 130. 282
Himantopus mexicanus, 140
Hirundo erythrogaster, 145, 226
Hummingbird, Broad-tailed, 143
Ruby-throated, 224
Rufous, 143

Hydrochelidon ii. surinamensis, 67, 142.

222

Hydroprogne caspia imperator, 72
Hylocichia f. salicicola, 147
Hylocichia guttata, 147, 228
Hylocichia g. auduhoni, 148
Hylocichia g. faxoni, 164
Hylocichia m. aliciae, 147, 228
Hylocichia u. swainsoni, 147, 228

ll)is, Wliite-laced Glossy, 132
Wood, 205

Icteria v. longicauda, 151
Icteria vireiis, 230

314

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

Icterus bullocki, 152
Icterus {lalbula, 152, 232
Icterus spurius, 232
Indiana, 76, 163, 297, 298
Indigo Bunting, 233, 241
Illinois, 106, 237, 240, 294
Iowa, 72, 73, 125, 158, 159, 162, 205,
236, 239, 240

Iridoprocne bicolor, 145, 225
Ixobryclius exilis, 130, 212

Jay, Black-headed, 129
Long-crested, 129, 282
Pihon, 130
Rocky Mountain, 129
Woodhouse’s, 130, 282
Junco, Gray-headed, 155, 281
Montana, 154, 281
Pink-sided, 155, 281
Shufeldt’s, 154, 208, 281
Slate-colored, 107, 154, 234, 281,
298

White-winged, 59, 154
Junco aikeni, 59, 154
Junco caniceps, 155, 281
Ju7ico hyenialis, 154, 234, 281, 298
Junco inearnsi, 155, 281
Junco o. inontanus, 154, 281
Junco o. shufeldti, 154, 281

Kansas, 73
Kentucky, 73, 76

Killdeer, 50, 52, 66, 75, 137, 163, 218,
283

Kingbird, Arkansas, 143, 225
Cassin’s, 144
Eastern, 143, 225, 241

tX/ 1/

Kingfisher, Belted, 129, 224, 241
Kinglet, Golden-crowned, 148, 282
Ruby-crowned, 107, 148, 282
Kite, Swallow-tailed, 216
Kittiwake, Atlantic, 141
Knot, 49

Lagoi)us 1. altipetus, 129
Lanins b. invictus, 148
Lanius ludovicianus, 229
Lanins 1. excubitorides, 148, 291
Lanivireo flavifrons, 229
Lark Bunting, 72
Lark. Desert Horned, 70, 130
Horned, 72. 225
Saskatchewan Horned, 130
Larus atricilla, 222
Larus a. sinithsonianus, 141, 221
Larus californicus, 130
Larus caniis brachyrhynchus, 130
Larus delawaiensis, 67, 141, 221
Larus liyperboreus, 140, 160

Larus Philadelphia, 67, 141
Larus pipixcan, 141, 222
Lininodromus griseus, 160, 221
Limnodronius g. scolopaceus, 139
Limosa fedoa, 140, 221
Limosa haeinastica, 221
Leucosticte atrata, 130
Leucosticte australis, 130
Leucosticte t. littoralis, 153
Leucosticte t. tephrocotis, 153
Lobipes lobatus, 72, 141, 221
Longspur, Alaska, 156

Chestnut-collared, 72, 156, 205, 235
Lapland, 235

McCown’s, 72, 156, 205, 206
Smith’s, 235

Lophodytes cucullatus, 65, 130, 214
Loon, Common, 61, 210

I PCCPT* 1 S 1

Red-throated, 49, 97-103, 205
Louisiana Paroquet, 76
Loxia c. bendirei, 130
Loxia leucoptera, 130

Magpie, 129, 226

Mallard, 55, 63, 74, 129, 213, 278, 283
Man-o’-war-bird, 205
Mareca americana, 63, 133, 213, 283
Mareca penelope, 130, 236
Martin, Purple, 162
Maryland, 239
Massachusetts, 49
Meadowlark, Western, 130, 230
Megaceryle alcyon, 129, 224
Melanerpes erythrocephalus, 57, 74,
143, 224

Melanitta deglandi, 134, 214
Melanitta perspicillata, 214
Melospiza georgiana, 235
Melospiza lincolni, 156, 235
Melospiza melodia, 235
Melospiza m. fallax, 130, 282
Merganser, American, 65, 129, 214
Hooded, 65, 130, 214
Red-breasted, 49, 67, 135
Mergus m. americanus, 65, 129, 214
Mergus serrator, 67, 135
Michigan, 79, 265
Micropalama himantopus, 139, 221
Mimus p. leucopterus, 146
Minne.sota, 4, 195, 296
Mniotilta varia, 229
Mockingbird, Eastern, 205
Western, 146
Molothrus ater, 158, 232
Molothrus a. artemisiae, 152
Mourning Dove, 159, 222
Murre, Brunnich’s, 49
Myadestes townsendi, 130, 257-265, 283
Mycteria americana, 68
Myiarchus c. boreiis, 130

Index

315

ATyiarchiis c. cinerascens, 130
Myiochanes r. richardsoni, 144
Myiochanes virens, 225

Nannus hieimilis paciHcus, 146
Nettion caiolinense, 63, 129, 213, 283
New York, 3, 104, 109, 274
Nighthawk, 142
Howell’s, 70
North Carolina, 165
North Dakota, 72, 158, 236
Nucifraga Columbiana, 129
Numenius americanus, 218
Numenius a. occidentalis, 57, 137
Nuthatch, Black-headed, 146
Brown-headed, 208, 240
Red-breasted, 107, 130, 226
Rocky Mountain, 129
White-breasted, 146, 226
Nuttallornis mesoleucus, 144, 165
Nyctea nyctea, 70, 130, 222, 284
Nycticorax n. hoactli, 67, 132, 212
Nyroca affinis, 64, 134
Nyroca americana, 64, 133, 213
Nyroca collaris, 64, 69, 133, 213
Nyroca marila, 72, 134, 214
Nyroca valisineria, 64, 134, 213

Oberholseria chlorura, 153
Ohio, 74, 76, 163, 238, 240, 294
Oidemia americana, 130, 206
Oklahoma, 294

Old Squaw, 49, 64, 69, 163, 214
Oporornis tolmiei, 151
Oreoscoptes montanus, 147
Oriole, Baltimore, 152, 232, 241
Bullock’s, 152
Orchard, 232

Ornithological Literature, 166-174, 300-
307

Osprey, 74, 130, 216
Otocoris alpestris, 225
Otocoris a. enthymia, 130
Otocoris a. leucolaema, 70, 130
Otus asio, 222
Otus a. maxwelliae, 129
Oven-bird, 230

Owl, Burrowing, 125-128, 142, 205, 206,
224

Great Gray, 70, 205
Great Horned, 222
Long-eared, 224
Montana Screech, 129, 284
Rocky Mountain Screech, 129
Saw-whet, 129, 164, 284
Screech, 222, 241
Short-eared, 142, 224
Snowy, 70, 130, 222, 284
Oxyechus vociferus, 66, 75, 137, 163,
218, 283

Pandion haliaetus, 130, 174, 216
Paroquet, Louisiana, 76, 205, 206
Partridge, European, 217
Passer domesticus, 129, 130
Passerculus sandwichensis, 35-42, 154,
233, 239, 294
Passerella iliaca, 165, 235
Passerella i. schistacea, 156
Passerina amoena, 152, 233
Passerina cyanea, 233
Pediocetes phasianellus, 217
Pediocetes p. campestris, 129
Pediocetes p. colunddanus, 129
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, 131
Pelecanus occidentalis, 130
Pelican, Brown, 130
White, 131

Pelidna alpina sakhalina, 139, 220
Penthestes atricapillus, 226
Penthestes a. septentrionalis, 129
Penthestes g. gambeli, 129
Perdix perdix, 217
Perisoreus c. capitalis, 129
Petrel, Leach’s, 49

Petrochelidon alhifrons, 74, 146, 226
Pewee, Western Wood, 144
Wood, 225, 241
Phaeopus borealis, 220
Phaeopus hudsonicus, 206, 218, 294
Phalacrocorax auritus, 62, 131, 212
Phalaenoptilus n. nuttalli, 142
Phalarope, Northern, 49, 72, 141, 221
Red, 49, 140
Wilson’s, 140, 220
Phalaropus fulicarius, 140
Phasianus c. torquatus, 129, 217
Pheasant, Ring-necked, 129, 217
Philohela minor, 66, 218
Phoebe, 75, 225, 241
Black, 289
Say’s, 144, 205
Pica budsonia, 129, 226
Picoides tridactylus dorsalis, 129
Pigeon, Passenger, 130, 222
Pine Siskin, 233, 281
Pinicola enucleator, 233
Pinicola e. montana, 129, 282
Pintail, 50, 63, 133, 213, 278, 283
Pipilo aberti, 292
Pi])ilo erythrophtbalmus, 233
Pipilo m. articus, 153, 233
Pipilo m. montanus, 233
Pipit, American, 55, 58, 148, 282
Sprague’s, 148, 205
Piranga erythromelas, 130
Piranga ludoviciana, 152, 162
I’isobia Ijairdi, 139, 220
Pisobia fusicollis, 139, 220
Pisobia melanotos, 67, 138, 220
Pisobia minutilla, 67, 139, 220

316

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

Plectrophenax nivalis, 156, 160, 165,
294

Plefiadis fruarauna, 132
Plover, Black-bellied, 49, 52, 137, 218
Golden, 49, 52, 137, 163, 218
Mountain, 137
Piping, 50, 137, 218
Ring-necked, 52
Semipalinated, 66, 137, 218
Snowy, 137

Upland, 66, 137, 159, 220
Pluvialis doniinica, 137, 163, 218
Podilyinbus podiceps, 61, 131, 212
Polioptila caerulea, 130
Pooecetes gramineiis, 165, 234
Pooecetes g. confinis, 154
Poor-will, Niittall’s, 142, 205
Porzana Carolina, 65, 79, 136, 217
Prairie Cbicken, 130, 217
Prairie Falcon, 129, 159, 162
Proceedings, 81-95
Progne subis, 130, 162, 226
Ptarmigan, Southern White-tailed, 129
Purple Martin, 130, 162, 226

Quebec, 97

Querquedula cyanoptera, 133, 206, 213,
283

Querquedula discors, 64, 133, 213
Quiscalus q. aeneus, 59, 152, 232

Rail, Black, 205
Clapper, 65
Sora, 65, 79, 136, 217
Virginia, 65, 136, 217
Rallus liniicola, 65, 136, 217
Rallus 1. crepitans, 65
Raven, American, 130, 188-191, 205,
226

Recurvirostra americana, 140, 221
Redhead, 49, 64, 133, 213, 278
Redpoll, Common, 153, 164, 233, 282
Greater, 205
Redstart, 58, 230
Red-wing, Bicolored, 130
Thick-billed, 130, 282
Regulus s. olivaceus, 148, 282
Rhynchophanes mccowni, 72, 156, 206
Richmondena cardinalis, 232
Richmondetta c. superba, 292
Riparia ri[)aria, 145, 225
Rissa tridactyla, 141
Robin, 75, 107, 109-111, 228, 236, 241,
296, 298
Western, 147

Rougb-leg, American, 136, 216
Ferruginous, 129, 216
Buddy Duck, 49, 65, 134, 278

Sage Hen, 129
Salpinctes obsoletus, 146
Sanderling, 49, 72, 140, 221
Sandpij)er, Baird’s, 51, 52, 139, 220
Buff-breasted, 72, 220
Least, 51, 52, 67, 139, 220
Pectoral, 50, 52, 67, 138, 220
Purple, 49

Red-backed, 49, 51, 52, 139, 220
Semipalinated, 51, 52, 67, 140, 221
Solitary, 50, 52, 66, 220
Spotted, 52, 66, 138, 220, 241
Stilt, 50, 139, 221
Western, 50
Western Solitary, 138
White-rumped, 51, 52, 139, 220
Wilson’s, 52, 66
Sapsucker, Natalie’s, 130
Red-naped, 143, 163
Vellow-bellied, 107, 224
Saskatchewan, 111
Sayornis nigricans, 289
Sayornis phoebe, 75, 225
Sayornis saya, 144
Scardalella inca, 289
Scaup, Lesser, 64, 134, 278
Scoter, American, 130, 205, 206
Surf, 49, 214

White-winged, 49, 134, 214
Scotiaptex nebulosa, 70
Seiurus aurocapillus, 150, 230
Seiurus notabilis, 151, 230
Selasphorus platycercus, 143
Selasphorus rufus, 143
Setophaga ruticilla, 58, 151, 230
Shoveller, 49, 64, 133, 213, 278
Shrike, Northwestern, 148
White-rumped, 148, 291
Sialia currucoides, 147, 283
Sialia mexicana bairdi, 130
Sialia sialis, 228
Siskin, Pine, 130, 233, 281
Sitta canadensis, 130, 226
Sitta carolinensis, 226
Sitta c. nelsoni, 129
Sitta pusilla, 240
Sitta pygmaea melanotis, 146
Snipe, 50, 66, 129, 218, 283
Solitaire, 257-265, 283
Sora, 65

South Dakota, 72, 80, 158, 209-235, 295
Sparrow, Baird’s, 154
Brewer’s, 155, 293
Chipping, 234

Clay-colored, 155, 197, 234, 293

Knglish, 129, 230

Field, 107, 165

Fox, 165, 235

(iambel’s, 1.56, 282

Crassho[)per, 234

Harris’s, 1.5.5, 2,31

Index

317

Lark, 234

Lincoln’s, 156, 235, 238

Mountain Sonp:, 130, 282

Nelson’s, 234

Northern Sage, 70, 154

Savannah, 35-42, 154, 233, 239, 294

Sharp-tailed, 234

Slate-colored Fox, 156

Song, 197, 235, 238, 241

Swamp, 235, 238

Tree, 73, 107, 234

Vesper, 165, 234

Western Chipping, 155

Western Lark, 154

Western Tree, 155, 281

W''estern Vesper, 154

W'hite-crowned, 155, 165, 234, 238,

282, 293

White-throated, 107, 156, 165, 235,
238

Spatula clypeata, 64, 133, 213
Speotyto c. hypugaea, 142, 206, 224
Sphyrapicus t. nataliae, 130
Sphyrapicus varius, 224
Sphyrapicus v. nuchalis, 143, 162
Spinus p. pinus, 130, 233, 281
Spinus p. psaltria, 153
Spinus tristis, 233
Spinus t. pallidus, 130, 281
Spiza americana, 130, 233
Spizella arhorea, 73
Spizella a. ochracea, 155, 234
Spizella hreweri, 155, 293
Spizella pallida, 155, 234
Spizella passerina arizonae, 155, 234
Squatarola sqnatarola, 137, 218
Starling, 73, 158, 229, 241, 222
Steganopns tricolor, 140, 221
Stelgidopteryx r. serripennis, 145, 225
Sterna a. antillarum, 142
Sterna forsteri, 70, 141, 222
Sterna hirundo, 130, 222
Stilt, Black-necked, 140, 205
Sturnella neglecta, 130, 230
Sturnus vulgaris, 73, 158, 229, 294
Swallow, Rank, 145, 225
Barn, 145, 226
Cliff, 74, 145, 226
Bough-winged, 145, 225, 241
Tree, 145, 225

Violet-green, 145, 162, 192-194
.Swan, Mute, 237

Trumpeter, 68, 130, 212, 237
Whistling, 132, 212
Swift, White-throated, 143

Tachycineta thalassina lepida, 145, 162
Tanager, Scarlet, 130
Western, 152, 162

Teal, Blue-winged, 50, .55, 64, 133, 213,
278

Cinnamon, 133, 205, 206, 213, 283
Green-winged, 50, 55, 63, 129, 213,
278, 283

Telmatodytes i)alustris, 3-34, 228
Telmatodytes p. dis.«aeptn.s, 3, 146, 164
Telmatodytes p. iliacus, 3
Felmatodytes p. j)lesius, 146
Ten nessee, 165, 285
Texas, 272

Tern, Black, 49, 67, 142, 222, 236
Caspian, 72
Common, 49, 130, 222
Forster’s, 70, 141, 222
Least, 142

Thrasher, Bendire’s, 290

Brown, 107, 146, 164, 228, 241
Palmer’s, 290
Sage, 147

Thrush, Alaska Hermit, 147
Audubon’s Hermit, 147
Gray-cheeked, 147, 228
Hermit, 164, 228
Willow, 147
Wood, 241
Towhee, 107, 233
Ahert’s, 292
Arctic, 153, 233
Green-tailed, 153
Spurred, 282

Townsend’s Solitaire, 130
Toxostoma hendirei, 290
Toxostoma curvirostre palmeri, 290
Toxostoma rufum, 146, 164
Tringa solitaria, 66, 220
Tringa s. cinnamomea, 138
Troglodytes aedon, 74, 228
Troglodytes a. ]iarkmani, 146, 162
Tryngites suhrullcollis, 72, 221
4'ufted Titmouse, 107
Turdus migratorins, 75, 228, 236
Turdus m. propinqnus, 147
Turkey, Water, 205
Turnstone, Ruddy, 49, 72, 218
Tympanuchus c. americanns, 130, 217
Tyrannus lyrannus, 143, 224
Tyrannus t. hespericohi, 57
Tyrannus verticalis, 143, 224
Tyrannus vocilerans, 144
Utah, 160, 161, 278-284, 294
Vermivora celata, 149, 229, 273, 291
Vertnivora chrysoptera, 80
Vermivora peregrina, 149, 229
Vermivora pinus, 160
Vermivora ruhcapilla, 149, 274

318

The Wilson Bulletin — December, 1935

Vireo, Plumbeous, 148
Red-eyed, 149, 229
Warbling, 229
Western Warbling, 149
White-eyed, 107
Yellow-throated, 229
Vireo gilvus, 229
Vireo g. swainsoni, 149
Vireo olivaceus, 149, 229
Vireo s. plumbeus, 148
Virginia, 59, 188, 294
Vulture, Turkey, 135, 214
Warbler, Audubon’s, 150, 273, 291
Ray-breasted, 230
Rlackburnian, 229
Black and White, 149, 229, 273
Blackpoll, 150, 230
Black-throated Blue, 130
Black-throated Green, 272
Blue-winged, 160
Canada, 230
Cape May, 229
Chestnut-sided, 150, 230
Colden-winged, 80
Hooded, 205, 206
Macgillivray’s, 151
Magnolia, 150, 229
Myrtle, 150, 164, 229, 273
Nashville, 149, 274
Northern Parula, 149
Northern Pileolated, 151
Northern Prairie, 205
Orange-crowned, 149, 229, 273, 291
Parula, 229
Pine, 230, 273
Prairie, 206
Sennett’s, 274
Sycamore, 205, 273
Tennessee, 149, 229, 274
'Pownsend’s, 150
Western Palm, 150. 164, 230
Western Yellow, 58
Yellow. 150, 197, 229, 241, 273
Waxwing, Bohemian, 148
Cedar, 148, 228, 290
West Virginia, 35, 236
Widgeon, Puropean, 130, 208, 236

Willet, 49, 138, 220
Western, 159
Wilsonia canadensis, 230
Wilsonia pusilla, 230, 272
Wilsonia p. pileolata, 151
Wilson’s Snipe, 50, 129, 218, 283
Wisconsin, 75, 237, 298
Wolcott, R. H. (sketch and portrait),
45-49

Woodcock, 66, 218
Wood Ibis, 68

Woodpecker, Alpine Three-toed, 129
Arctic Three-toed, 205
Batchelder’s, 129, 162, 283
Downy, 107, 224
Gila, 289
Hairy, 107, 224
Lewis’s, 143, 205
Red-bellied, 107
Red-headed, 74, 143, 224, 241
Western Red-headed, 57
Wood Pewee, 225
Wood thrush, 107
Wren, Cactus, 289
Canon, 146
Carolina, 241
House, 74, 159, 228, 241
Long-hilled Marsh, 3, 228
Prairie Marsh, 164
Rock, 146, 205
Short-hilled, 130, 228
Western House, 146, 162
Western Marsh, 146
Western Winter, 146
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, 151,
232

Xema sabini, 130

Yellow-legs, Greater, 50, 52, 66, 138
Lesser, 50, 52, 67, 138
Yellow-throat, Northern, 197, 238, 241
Zenaidura macroura, 159, 222, 236
Zenaidura m. marginella, 142
Zonotrichia albicollis, 156, 165, 235
Zonotrichia leucophrys, 155, 165, 234,
282, 293

Zonotrichia 1. gamheli, 156, 282
Zonotrichia querula, 155, 234

Our Library

The Wilson Ornithological Research Library at Ann Arbor is
about to complete its fifth year of existence in the Museum of Zoology
of the University of Michigan. It has grown steadily and should
continue to do so. Publications on ornithology, and the allied sub-
jects of ecology, anatomy, exploration, travel, etc., are desired. The
following types of publications are suggested as especially desirable:

Single volumes, bound or unbound

Magazines, sets, volumes and numbers, foreign or domestic

Authors’ reprints

Maps

Reports and journals of explorations
Biographies

Bibliographies, printed and manuscript
State natural history and geological surveys
Proceedings or transactions of state scientific societies
Manuscript notebooks
Original paintings or drawings of birds
Photographs of birds, nests, eggs, habitats, etc.

Portraits of ornithologists

All portraits and photographs should be accompanied with full
identifying data. Authors are requested to deposit a set of reprints
of their publications. Members who wish to bequeath their libraries
are invited to correspond with the officers of the Club. All gifts
should be addressed to:

THE W. 0. C. ORNITHOLOGICAL LIBRARY
Museum of Zoology,

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Dues for 1936

ANNUAL DUES FOR 1936 ARE NOW PAYABLE

This is ihe Treasurer’s first notice to all members that dues for 1936
are now due and payable to the Treasurer

Mr. W. M. Rosene,

Ogden, Iowa

You are earnestly requested to remit at your earliest convenience,
thus saving postage to the Club and much time to the Treasurer. A
receipt will be returned only if requested.

Life Members $100.00

Sustaining Members $5.00 Annually

Active Members $2.50 Annually

Associate Members $1.50 Annually

The Club suffers a considerable loss each year by members dropping
out without notifying the officers. In order to avoid this loss it seems
necessary to restrict the mailing list of the Bulletin to paid up mem-
bers. However, members who find it inconvenient to remit before
March may receive the March number by sending a card to the Editor
indicating intention to continue membership. The Club values the
support of every member, and every resignation is received with
regret.

In behalf of the officers of the Club the Wilson Bulletin extends
the greetings of the Season to all of its readers.

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