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Plate I. The Topography of a Bird.
From RidgAvay's Nomenclature of Colors, 1886.
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE
A List of all the Bird Species knoun to occur in the State together ivith
an outline of their Classification and an account of the
Life History of Each Species, ivith special reference to its
Relation to Agriculture. With Seventy Fxill-page Plates
and One Hundred and Fifty-two Text Figures
50
V<.
BY
WALTER BRADFORD BARROWS, S. B.
Professor of Zoology and Physiology and
Curator of the General Museum
SPECIAL BULLETIN
OF THE ^ '
DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY
OF THE
.MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE
PL^BLISHED BY THE MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE
1912
Jr
LANSING, MICHIGAN
WYNKOOP HALLENBECK CRAWFORD COMPANY
STATE PRINTERS, 1912
PREFACE.
The last general work on Michigan birds was prepared by Professor
A. J. Cook and published in 1893 as Bulletin 94 of the Michigan Agricultural
Experiment Station. It professed to be little more than a list of the
birds of the state, with some indication of distribution and abundance,
but without descriptions of plumage and with only occasional reference
to habits. Limited as was its scope it was a welcome contribution to
our bird literature, and since the supply was exhausted, in 1900, requests
for another bulletin have been received in ever increasing numbers.
The present work has been prepared in response to a demand not only
for an authoritative list of Michigan birds but for such additional infor-
mation about each species as would be useful and interesting. Perhaps
it is too much to hope that this demand will be fully satisfied by the present
volume, but an examination of its pages will show that an attempt has
been made to give the main facts in the Ufe histor}- of each bird found
in the state, although in many cases the material has been so abundant
that much was necessarily omitted, and the remainder closely condensed.
The primary aim has been to put this information in such form as to make
it readily intelligible to the average citizen; not too technical to be readily
understood by the layman, nor so elementary as to suggest the nature-
study primer.
With the hope that the book might appeal to the student and teacher,
as well as to the nature lover and general reader, careful descriptions of
all species have been incorporated and artificial keys are provided so
that any person with a freshly killed bird, or a prepared specimen in hand,
may be able to trace it out and "classify" it just as some of us learned
to name flowers in the days when such work was beUeved to be a necessary
part of any course in botany.
iVIost of these keys have been tested for several years with college classes,
and while far from perfect they wdll be found "workable" in most cases.
They differ from other similar keys in the greater use made of measure-
ments, and the lesser dependence placed on mere color, which varies
greatly in some species with age, season and sex. Those interested in
the use of these keys will find suggestions and explanations on pages 12
to 20 of the introduction.
It seemed eminently proper in a book of this kind, originating in, and
pubUshed by, an Agricultural College, that special attention should be
given to those species which directly affect the farmer's interests, which help
in the struggle against insect enemies, or which at certain times and places
may themselves levy tribute on his orchards and fields. Xo one section
of the book has been given up to this subject but the facts have been
stated in connection with the life history of each species treated, and the
relative prominence given to the matter in any case thus serves as a rough
iv PREFACE.
indication of the amount of good and harm to be charged to the account
of each bird.
The great importance of wild birds to the agriculturist may be readily
conceded. Nevertheless it seems very desirable, at this time, that we
should recognize the fact that all the wild things of our country, birds,
mammals, insects, plants, have a right to protection, preservation, recogni-
tion, entirely independent of their economic status, us'ng that worcl to
indicate merely the amount of good or harm in dollars and cents which
can be attributed to them. The fox, the crow, the kingfisher, the muskrat,
may or may not, in the long run, be "more beneficial than harmful,"
yet each in its own way has a scientific, an ipsthetic, a human value, which
cannot be estimated in dollars and cents and which should forever protect
him from extreme persecution, and above all from final extinction.
Aside from the slips and errors which are inevitable in such a book,
and for which the writer hopes but does not expect forgiveness, two points
might seem to call for apology; first, the absence of colored plates, and
second, the great length of some of the biographies. In explanation of
the first defect it is perhaps sufficient to say that it is not the writer's fault,
but merely a necessary economy. Such colored plates as can be obtained
cheaply are lamentably poor, and the preparation of new and really good
portraits, either from mounted specimens or from good paintings, involves
an expense Avhich at present is prohibitive.
The writer alone is responsible for the length of biographies, such as
those of the Passenger Pigeon, the Crow, certain hawks, blackbirds, wood-
peckers, thrushes, etc The main excuse lies in the economic importance
of these species which seems to warrant somewhat extended discussion,
especially in the case of those which directly affect the farmei' and fruit
grower. And this perhaps may be still further justified by the fact that
for the past twenty-five years the writer has been a constant student of
the complex relations of birds, insects and crops, and was for many years
employed as a speciaHst in charge of such investigations under the U. S.
Department of Agriculture.
Work was begun upon the present volume about ten years ago, but
the constant pressure of college duties, increasing heavily from year to
year, made it impossible to give much time to the matter during the
academic year. Only those who have actually undertaken a similar task
as a side issue of regular professional work can appreciate the labor in-
volved, or understand the delays, disappointments and vexations ex-
perienced. The entire work was typewritten for publication in 1907,
but owing to circumstances beyond the writer's control its printing was
not authorized until the autumn of 1911. In the meantime it was largely
rewritten, and brought up to date.
A comparison with Professor Cook's bulletin (second edition, 1893) will
show that his list contained 336 species or subspecies as against 326 in
the present work. This does not mean, however, that but ten species
have been dropped from the list. The present state list lacks thirty birds
included by Professor Cook, but contains twenty birds which that bulletin
did not mention. The following lists enumerate the subtractions and
additions respectively. The number in parentheses preceding each name
is the serial number borne by that species in the list as published.
The species which were included in Cook's Birds of Michigan (1893), but
are not retained in the present list are:
PREFACE.
(1)
Western Grebe
(73)
(6)
Black-throated Loon
(74)
(8)
Puffin
(84)
(9)
Ancient Murrelet
(87)
(10)
Black Guillemot
(89)
(11)
Murre
(112)
(12)
Razor-billed Auk
(132)
(21)
Laughing Gull
(158)
(25)
Gull-billed Tern
(175)
(31)
Roseate Tern
(182)
(33)
Sooty Tern
(229)
(35)
Anhinga
(244)
(36)
Common Cormorant
(253)
(60)
Harlecjuin Duck
(256)
(68)
Greater Snow Goose
(292)
White-cheeked Goose
Cackling Goose
Louisiana Heron
Yellow Crowned Night Heron
Little Brown Crane
Curlew Sandpiper
Belted Piping Plover
GjTfalcon
Carolina Parocjuet
American Three-toed Woodpecker
Smith's Longspur
Oregon Junco
Varied Bimting; Nonpareil
Simimer Tanager
Yellow-throated Warbler.
The reasons for excluding the above forms are given in detail in the
Hypothetical List (Appendix 2), pages 736-757.
In addition it should be noted that the bird formerly listed as Traill's
Flycatcher is now recognized as a distinct subspecies, the Alder Fly-
catcher; the smaller Michigan Shrike is considered a new subspecies, the
Migrant Shrike; while the Northern Parula Warbler instead of the typical
Parula Warbler, is the form found here.
The species in the present list of the birds of the state which were not
included in Professor Cook's list of 1893 are:
Northern Hairy Woodpecker
Say's Phoebe
Hoyt's Horned Lark
Thick-billed Redwing
Greenland Redpoll
Hoary Redpoll
LeConte's Sparrow
Harris' Sparrow
Grinnell's Waterthrush
Carolina Chickadee
The hypothetical list, forming Appendix 2 of the present volume, con-
tains sixty-two additional species which at one time or another have been
attributed to Michigan but about which there is more or less doubt.
Probably the larger part of them have never occurred in the state, and
never will occur. Some of the others, however, doubtless will be found
sooner or later, either as regular visitors in small numbers and to restricted
areas, or possibly in larger numbers at long intervals. Almost any eastern
American species may occur accidentally, and the same may be said of
western forms wdiich have a wide range in migration. Even European
species may appear at long intervals, not simply such as have been im-
ported purposely, and have escaped from captivity, but birds which nest
in the far north of Europe or Asia, and have strayed to Greenland, Iceland
or Alaska and been swept southward with the great tide of autumnal
migrants. Interesting as such occurrences are to the student of geograph-
ical distribution, the small number of individual birds concerned gives
the matter little or no economic importance.
In the preparation of the following pages published material has been
drawn upon freely whenever it seemed advisable, but special effort has
also been made to get new and unpublished information, and in all cases
it has been the intention to eive full credit for matter so obtained. At
(6)
Brunnich's Murre
(165)
(9)
Parasitic Jaeger
(180)
(26)
Gannet
(189)
(29)
Brown Pelican
(199)
(36)
European Widgeon
(211)
(67)
W^ood Ibis
(212)
(70)
Cory's Bittern
(224)
(74)
Little Blue Heron
(227)
(83)
Purple Gallinule
(288)
(123)
Canada Ruffed Grouse
(314)
vi PREFACE.
one time or another the writer has visited five of Upper Peninsula counties,
and all but seven or eight of those in the Lower Peninsula, making personal
notes of the birds observed in the field and searching out local collections
and local authorities, in order to get every scrap of information obtainable.
All the public museums of the state, most of the college museums, and
scores of private collections have been visited and critically inspected,
and it has been possible in this way to eliminate a number of "records"
based on specimens which had been wrongly identified, and also to secure
much additional evidence as to the distribution of rare or little known
birds. Every possible assistance has been given by owners and custodians
of such collections, and in some cases the records of years have been searched
in order to furnish the information asked.
Only the hearty cooperation of the ornithologists and bird lovers of
the state has made it possible to collect the material for the present volume,
and I desire to acknowledge with sincere gratitude the unselfish help thus
received from scientists, teachers, students and citizens generally through-
out the commonwealth. A list of contributors will be found in Appendix
6, which probably includes most of those who have furnished lists, records,
•dates, specimens, pictures, cuts, notes, observations, addres.ses, etc., but
in gathering notes through so many years it is inevitable, though most
regrettable, that some names should be overlooked.
While it may seem unfair to discriminate among these generous con-
tributors, it nevertheless is simple justice to mention a few to whom special
recognition is due. One of the foremost of these was the late Dr. Morris
Gibbs, of Kalamazoo, a valued friend and correspondent from 1894 until
his death in 1908. Though physically debarred from field work for the
last twenty years of his life, he was to the end a constant student of bird-
life, always enthusiastic in everything which stimulated popular interest
in his favorite science. Dr. Gibbs generously placed at my disposition
all his early field records and manuscript notes, many of them of special
value as relating largely to collections of birds and eggs obtained from
him by the college before my connection with the institution, and forming
part of the Agricultural College collection.
I am also deeply indebted to almost every former member of the Mich-
igan Ornithological Club, among whom may be mentioned in particular
Norman A. Wood, B. H. Swales, P. A. Taverner, L. Whitnev Watkins,
A. B. Covert, J. Claire Wood, Newell A. Eddy. E. E. Brewster,^ Percy
Selous (deceased), Jerome Trombley, O. B. Warren, Dr. Robert H. Wolcott,
Dr. W. H. Dunham, Dr. Leon J. Cole. Thomas L. Hankinson, and many
others. To Mr. P. A. Taverner I am indebted not only for hundreds of
field notes on Michigan birds, but for the original drawings or actual elec-
trotypes from which thirteen of the full page plates and fifty-eight of
the text figures have been made, the latter including almost all the detail
drawings of heads, bills, wings, feet and tails used in the keys and else-
where. The plates and figures of nests are mainly from the beautiful
photographs made b}- Thos. L. Hankinson, while a student at the Agri-
cultural College, years ago. ^ly associate. Professor J. J. Mj'ers of the
Zoological Department, patiently photographed numberless museum
specimens, from which nine plates and twenty-one text figures were selected,
besides rendering efficient aid in many other ways. Other plates and
figures were kindly furnished by the Division of Biological Survey of the
U. S. Department of Agriculture, the National Committee of Audubon
Societies, Bird_Lorc, and the owners, authors and pulilishers of several
PREFACE. vii
standard ornithological works, especially D. Appleton & Co., Dana Estes
& Co., Little Brown & Co., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., and a few others,
credit being given for each illustration as used. Special mention should
be made of Plate I (Frontispiece), the Topography of a Bird, from Ridg-
way's Nomenclature of Colors (1886), by special permission of the author,
and of Plate 70, the Hermit Thrush, presented by the artist, Mr. W. F.
Jackson, of ]\Iayfield, Michigan.
I am under special obligation to Dr. Robert Ridgway and Dr. C. W.
Richmond of the U. S. National Museum, and to Dr. C. Hart Merriam,
Dr. A. K. Fisher, Dr. T. S. Palmer, H. W. Henshaw, and other members
of the Bureau of Biological Survey of the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture, for the examination of specimens, the verification of references,
and many critical notes and suggestions. In addition, the Biological
Survey kindly allowed the use of all its migration schedules from Mich-
igan observers, together with the reports of lighthouse keepers at all Mich-
igan lights.
The artificial ke^'s, already alluded to, are mainh' original, at least
in their present form, but in constructing them use has been made of
similar keys in various publications, particularly Ridgway's Manual,
Coues' Ke}', and Chapman's Handbook. The technical clescriptions also
are original for the most part, having been written with specimens in
hand, but of course after comparison with the best published descriptions
available. In the case of a species not properly represented in our own
collections the description given by Ridgway has usually been copied
verbatim (between quotation marks), or, in a few instances the original
describer has been quoted in the same way. The measurements given
in the technical descriptions are usualh* from Ridgway's Manual of North
American Birds (1887), and the same is true for the measurements of
eggs. Dr. Ridgway's permission to do this is greatfully acknowledged.
CONTENTS.
Pages
Preface iii
Table of Contents ; ix
List of Illustrations xi
Introduction 1-31
Artificial Key to Larger Groups 33-34
Life Histories of Michigan Birds, Part 1, Water Birds 3.5-219
Order I. Pygopodes (Grebes, Loons, etc.) 35-47
Order II. Longipennes (Gulls and Terns) 47-64
Order IV. Steganopodes (Cormorants, Pelicans, etc.) 65-70
Order V. Anseres (Ducks, Geese, Swans) 70-123
Order VH. Herodiones (Herons, Bitterns, etc.) 124-147
Order VIII. Paludicolte (Cranes and Rails) 148-164
Order IX. Limicolse (Snipe, Plover, etc.) 165-219
Life Histories of Michigan Birds, Part 2, Land Birds 220-729
Order X. Gallinaj (Grouse, Quail, etc.) 220-237
Order XI. Columba; (Doves, Pigeons) 238-253
Order XII. Raptores (Hawks, Owls, etc.) 254-334
Order XIV. Coccyges (Cuckoos and Kingfishers) 337-344
Order XV. Pici (Woodpeckers) 345-372
Order XVI. Macrochires (Swifts, Hummingbirds, etc.) 373-388
Order XVII. Passeres (19 families, including Flycatchers, Orioles,
Finches, Sparrows, Swallows, Vireos, Wood-warblers,
Wrens, Creepers, Thrushes, etc.) 389-729
Appendix 1. Additions and Corrections 733-735
Appendix 2. Hypothetical List— Doubtful Species 736-757
Appendix 3. Bibliography. List of Works relating to Michigan Birds 758-776
Appendix 4. Glossary of Technical Terms 777-783
Appendix 5. Outline of Classification of North American Birds 784-786
Appendix 6. List of Contributors 787-791
Index 793
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PLATES.
I. Topography of a bird (Robin) Frontispiece
II. Brunnich's Murre g-
III. Lesser Bluebill ■ ^^
IV. Lesser Snow Goose ^29
V. Bittern 131
VI. Bittern, nest and eggs j3-r
VII. Great Blue Heron, head ^ -y
VIII. Sora Rail 172
IX. Woodcock on nest ■jv::^, s' 197
X. Bartramian Sandpiper (I pland Plover) .^^^
XL Spotted Sandpiper ; • 205
XII. Hudsonian Curlew oji
XIII. Golden Plover, fall plumage %^^
XIV. Prairie Chicken, nest 033
XV. Passenger Pigeon, male :;^3
XVI. Passenger Pigeon, female ••■•■■• ^-IS
XVII. Passenler Pi|eon and Mourning Dove, to show relative size -g
XVIII. Sharp-shinned Hawk, adult --.^
XIX. Red-tailed Hawk, adult %~^
XX. Red-shouldered Hawk, adult -^q
XXI. Broad-winged Hawk, young -g_
XXII. Golden Eagle ,•;••; 993
XXIII. Sparrow Hawk, male and female -^^
XXIV. Short-eared Owl 3Qy
XXV. Barred Owl 3II
XXVI. Great Gray Owl 3 1 -
XXVII. Richardson's Owl 3iy
XXVIII. Acadian Owl o.^l
XXIX. Screech Owl 395
XXX. Great Horned Owl, adult o^y
XXXI. Great Horned Owl, young gg^
XXXII. Yellow-billed Cuckoo '.^--.
XXXIII. Black-backed Tliree-toed ^A oodpecker ^^J
XXXIV. Sapsucker 357
XXXV. Sapsucker • ogj
XXXVI. Pileated AVoodpecker; Log-cock ^^g
XXXVIl. Flicker, male 375
XXXVIII. Whip-poor-will. 379
XXXIX. Xighthawk 3§3
XL. Chimney Swift .••••.••, 1 385
XLI. Ruby-throated Hummingbird on nest ^^^
XLII. Kingbird 43I
XLIII. Bobolink, male and female ^^^
XLIV. Cowbird, male ^4-
XLV. Meadowlark 4-7
XLVI. Bronzed Grackle ^gg
XLVII. Vesper Sparrow 49-
XLVIII. Henslow's Sparrow -q1
XLIX. White-crowned Sparrow -q^
L. Chipping Sparrow --fg
LI. Song and Swamp Sparrow
i ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page
LI I. Song Sparrow, nest anil eggs 519
LIII. Chewink T 527
LIV. Kose-l)i('asted Gro-sbeak. male in spring 533
LV. Barn Swallow 547
LVI. Migrant Shrike 562
LVII. Re.l-eve.l \'ireo 567
LVIII. Cai)e .\lay ^^'arbler, male 593
LIX. Yellow Warbler, male 595
LX. Myrtle Warbler, male 600
LXI. Kirtland's Warbler 619
LXII. Maryland Yellowthroat, male 639
LXIII. Yellow-breasted Chat 643
LXIV. Titlark 654
LXV. Brown Thrasher 663
LXVI. Brown Thrasher, nest 665
LXVII. White-breasted Nuthatch 685
LXVIII. Red-breasted Nuthatch 689
LXIX. Wood Thrush 709
LXX. Hermit Thrush 719
FIGURES.
Page
1. Pied-billed Grebe 38
2. Pied-billed Grebe, nest 40
3. Pied-billed Grebe, foot 35, 39
4. Loon 41
5. Brunnich's Murre, foot 43
6. Herring Gull, foot 53
7. Arctic Tern, head 62
8. Double-crested Cormorant, head 67
9. Double-crested Cormorant, foot 67
10. Red-breasted Merganser, head 75
11. Hooded Merganser, head 76
12. Mallard 77
13. Mallard, wing 78
14. Mallard, bill 71
15. Mallard, foot 71
16. Gadwall 80
17. Baldpate. head 82
18. Pintail, male 87
19. Wood Duck 88
20. Wood Duck, head 89
21. Red-head, foot 72
22. Ring-necked Duck 97
23. Whistler, head 98
24. Barrow's Goldeneye, head 100
25. Bufflehead, head 101
26. Old Squaw 102
27. White-winged Scoter, head 107
28. Surf Scoter, head 108
29. Ruddy Duck 109
30. Canada Goose, head 117
31. Glcssv Ibis 125
32. Least Bittern 133
33. Cory's Bittern 135
34. Le.sser Egret 141
35. Green Heron 144
36. Green Heron, head 124, 144
37. Green Heron, foot 124, 145
38. Green Heron, nest 146
39. Sandhill Crane 149
40. Sandhill Crane, head 151
41. King Rail, foot 153
42. Virginia Rail 154
ILLUSTRATIONS. xiii
Page
43. Yellow Rail 159
44. Florida Gallinule 162
45. Florida Gallinule, nest and eggs 163
46. Coot, nest and eggs 164
47. Wilson's Phalarope, foot 167
48. Woodcock on nest 175
49. Woodcock, primaries 171, 177
50. Woodcock, nest and eggs 176
51. Wilson's Snipe 178
52. Wilson's Snipe, wing from below 179
53. Grass Snipe . . '. ". 183
54. Yellowlegs, leg and foot 192
55. Solitary Sandj^iper 194
56. Golden Plover, foot 210
57. Killdeer 213
58. Ring-necked Plover, head 215
59. Turnstone 218
60. Quail, head of male 221
61. Ruffed Grouse, foot 220
62. Ruffed Grouse, foot in summer and winter 226
63. Prairie Chicken, head 230
64. Mourning Dove, bill 34, 252
65. Mournine; Dove, head 252
66. Mourning Dove, tail 253
67. Turkey Buzzard, head of adult 255
68. Turkey Buzzard, young 256
69. Marsh Hawk, nest and eggs 262
70. Cooper's Hawk 267
71. Cooper's Hawk, leg and foot 257, 268
72. Red-tailed Hawk, bill 258, 273
73. Red-shouldered Hawk, wing-tip 258
74. Golden Eagle, foot 284
75. Sparrow Hawk, bill ^ 259, 292
76. Osprey; Fish Hawk 295
77. Barn Owl, head 298
78. Barn Owl, yoimg 299
79. Long-eared Owl, voung 302
80. Great Gray Owl, head 313
81. Screech Owl, young 323
82. Snowy Owl, foot 332
83. Hawk Owl 333
84. Yellow-billed Cuckoo, outer tail feathers 337
85. Yellow-billed Cuckoo, nest 339
86. Black-billed Cuckoo, tail from below 340
87. Kingfisher, head and breast 342
88. Kingfisher, foot 342
89. Downy Woodpecker 348
90. Red-headed Woodpecker, foot 364
91 . Rod-hellied Woodpecker, head 366
92. Chinniev Swift, tail 373, 381
93. Kingbird, hill 389, 395
94. Great Crested Flycatcher, tail 396
95. Least Flycatcher 406
96. Prairie Ilorned Lark, head 390, 408
97. Prairie Horned Lark, foot 390, 409
98. Bluejay, head 413
99. Raven and Crow, heads 417
100. Red-winged Blackbird, atlult male 440
lOL Red-winged Blackbird, young 441
102. Red-winiTcd Blackbird, foot 390, 439
103. Red-winged Blackbird, tail 442
104. Meailowlark, wing 443
105. Baltimore Oriole 450
106. Baltimore Oriole, liill 391, 451
107. Rusty Blackl)ird, head 453
xiv ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page
108. Riistv Blackbird, wing 390, 454
109. Bronzed Grackle, foot 455
110. Eveninc: Grosbeak 464
111. Red Crossbill, bill 389, 470
112. Redpoll 475
113. Goldfinch 477
114. English Sparrow, male 480
1 15. Lark Sparrow, head 499
116. Junco; Snowbird 513
117. Song Sparrow, head and breast 517
118. Fox Sparrow 524
119. Fox Sparrow 525
120. Chewink, bill 120
121. Rose-breasted Grosbeak, female, head and body 532
122. Scarlet Tanager, bill 390, 540
123. Purple Martin, tail 390, 542
124. Barn Swallow, tail 546
125. Tree Swallow 550
126. Tree Swallow, head 550
127. Bank Swallow, tail 551
128. Cedar-bird 556
129. Cedar-bird, head and bill 389, 558
130. Migrant Shrike, bill 389, 563
131. Migrant Shrike, tail 564
132. Red-eyed Vireo, head 389, 565
133. Red-eyed Vireo on nest 566
134. Solitary Vireo, head 573
135. Black and White Warbler, head 579
136. Magnolia Warbler, head and breast 605
137. Chestnut-sided Warbler, head 608
138. Bay-breasted Warbler, head 138
139. Black-throated Green Warbler, head 617
140. Prairie Warbler, head 626
141. Ovenbird 141
142. Ovenbird and Redstart, bills
143. Redstart 652
144. Catbird 658
145. Brown Thrasher, primaries 391, 661
146. House W>en 672
147. White-breasted Nuthatch, primaries 390
148. Tufted Titmouse, head 693
149. Hudsonian Chickadee 699
150. Golden-crowned Kinglet, head 702
151. Hermit Thrush, primaries 391, 718
152. Hermit Thrush and Bluebird, bills 722
INTRODUCTION.
TOPOGRAPHY.
The State of Michigan, properly speaking, Hes between 82^ and 90^ degrees
west longitude and 41° 45' and 47° 25' north latitude. Isle Royal in Lake
Superior, however, belonging to Keweenaw County, extends northward
consideraljly beyond the 48th parallel. The state thus measures about
430 miles from north to south and 390 miles from east to west, and its area
is about 57,480 square miles, of which the Lower Peninsula contains about
41,000 and the Upper Peninsula 16,000 miles. Geographically, Michigan is
one of the most interesting states in the union for bird study, stretching from
the southern prairies to the great evergreen forests of the north, and touching
as it does all the Great Lakes except Ontario, with a coast line on these lakes
exceeding sixteen hundred miles. It includes almost every variety of surface
found in the eastern United States, with the exception of salt marshes and
lofty mountains. The average elevation of the entire state is 840 feet above
sea level, that of the Lower Peninsula 854 feet, slightly exceeding the average,
its highest point being just south of Cadillac in Osceola County, where the
land reaches 1,710 feet. Eighty-four per cent of the Lower Peninsula,
however, is below one thousand feet and all but a small fraction of one per
cent of the remainder is between one thousand and fifteen hundred feet,
all of which lies north of 44 degrees. The highest point in the Upper Penin-
sula, Mt. Whitney in the so-called Porcupine Mountains of Ontonagon County,
is 2,023 feet. When it is remembered that the surface of Lake Erie is 572
feet above sea level, Lake JNlichigan 581 feet, and Lake Superior 602 feet,
it will be seen that most of the state is of very moderate relief.
As already stated, however, this surface is greatly diversified. There
are hundreds of miles of sandy beaches and pebbly shores, often associated
with some of the highest sand dunes in the world. Along the shore of Lake
Superior picturesque sandstone cliffs rise hundreds of feet sheer from the
ice-cold water. Great marshes are found here and there; thousands of lakes
are scattered among the ]:)roa(l savannas of the south and the wooded wilder-
nesses of the north, and a dozen goodly rivers and innumerable smaller
streams gather the abundant rainfall and carry it sooner or later to the Great
Lakes.
CLIMATE.
Many years ago Alexander Winchell wrote as follows of the climate of
Michigan:
"The sinuosities of the several isothermal lines will demonstrate at a
glance the peculiar character of the climate of Michigan and the fact that
both in summer and winter, it is better adapted to the interests of agriculture
and horticulture, and probably also to the comfort and licalth of its citizens,
than the climate of any other northwestern state. The marked peculiarity
of the chmate of Michigan in these respects is attributable to the influence
2 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
of the great lakes by which the state is nearly surrounded. It has long been
known that considerable bodies of water exert a local influence in modifying
climate and especially in averting frosts, but it has never been suspected that
Lake IMichigan, for instance, impresses upon the climatic character of a broad
region an influence truly comparable with that exerted by the great ocean."
Some years later in an important article on the plant life of the state,*
we find the following statement probably written by Erwin F. Smith:
"The climate of the Lower Peninsula is not as severe as that of the Upper,
nor so even, but is subject to frequent, sudden, and extreme changes of
temperature — as great a variation during the winter season as 53° Fahr.
in less than 24 hours having been recorded. Such rapid changes more or
less affect vegetation, especially the tender branches of cultivated trees,
which are sometimes seriously injured. In one or two instances a like effect
on our forest trees has been noticed. The annual range of temperature is
about 116°, and the annual mean 46°. Of rainfall, including what falls
in form of snow, we have, yearly, about thirty inches. Our snowfall is much
less, for the same latitude, than that of New York and England. In the
center of the peninsula, we seldom have more than a few inches at a time."
DISTRIBUTION OF PLANT LIFE.
The general distribution of plant life in the state thirty or forty years ago
can hardly be better described than in the words of the authors already
quoted, C. F. Wheeler and Erwin F. Smith.* It should be remembered
that at that date the lumbering interests of Michigan had recently passed
their maximum of development, but there were still immense areas of noble
pine forests left.
"The proximity of the Great Lakes exerts a marked influence in equalizing
the temperature, and the effects are marked upon our flora.
"Trees like Liriodendron Tulipifera (tulip tree), Asimina triloba (paw-
paw), Cercis Canadensis (red-bud), Gleditschia triacanthos (honey locust),
Cornus florida (flowering clogwood), Nyssa multiflora (sour gum), and Morus
rubra (mulberry), which belong to Ohio and Central Illinois, have crept
northward, favored by the mild influence of the lake winds, through the
central and western part of the Lower Peninsula, often beyond the middle,
and the same is true of smaller and less noticeable plants.
"As might be expected from the uniform surface of the peninsula, the
flora is much alike throughout. Probably three-fourths of our species are
common to all sections, though by no means equally distributed ; some being
very abundant in one district and rare in another at no great distance. In
most cases such change is due to soil rather than to difference in elevation,
temperature, or atmospheric moisture.
"The Lower Peninsula is covered with a deep drift of alternating sands,
clays, and gravels, and the flora of any section depends chiefly on which
of these happens to lie uppermost. With reference to its flora, the peninsula
may roughly be divided into two great divisions— the hardwood and the
softwood lands; one representing the Appalachian flora, and the other the
Canadian.
"The hardwood country lies south of latitude 43°, and consists of very
fertile sand, clay, or loam, mostly cleared of the original forest, and largely
cultivated.
Wheeler and Smith, Michiean Flora, An. Rep. (Mich.) State Hort. Soc., 1880, pp. 428 et. seq.
INTRODUCTION. 3
"The sandy or stony drift of many river valleys in this section supports a
heavy growth of oak, frequently interspersed with walnut and hickory, while
the margins of the streams, and the neighboring swamps, aliound in soft
maples, swamp and chestnut oak, white and black ash, elm, hackberry,
sycamore, butternut, and similar trees. Willows, dogwoods, viburnums,
and buttonbush, are common shrubs in the swamps; and hazel, hawthorn,
wild cherry and plum, June berry, witch-hazel, etc., are abundant on the
dryer ground.
"On the uplands, and away from streams, clay, loam, and a pecuhar black
muck soil supersede the sands and gravels of the valleys. The prevailing
timber here is beech and maple and oak forest in about equal proportions.
Beech and maple generally grow together, forming magnificent forests of
great extent. The best wheat farms are usually found on uplands, near
streams, where the oak timber gradually shades into beech and maple.
Plains of fertile sand covered with a low or scattering growth of oak (oak
openings) are frequent, and always very desirable for farming purposes.
"Marshes densely covered with tamarack are common in this part of the
state, and nourish in their thick shade such plants as Drosera rotundifolia,
Sarracenia purpurea, Rhus venenata, Ribes rubrum, Chiogenes hispidula,
Salix Candida, Smilacina trifolia, Pogonia ophioglossoides and Calopogon
pulchellus. Arbor- vitae, red cedar and black spruce are comparatively rare.
"A similar tract of soil and timber occurs in the upper end of the peninsula,
north of a line drawn from Thunder Bay west to the head of Grand Traverse
Bay. This is commonly known as the 'Traverse Region,' and' has a" flora
much hke that we have just described, with the exception that some of the
southern species disappear, and northern ones begin to take their place, or
if found growing further south, here first become frequent. Deep forests
of hemlock and yellow birch (B. lutea) mixed with a fine, tall growth of
striped maple (A. Pennsylvanicum) are frequent, having underneath a
tangled growth of Taxus baccata, var. Canadensis, and under all a carpet
of Lycopodium annotinum. Alternating with these are sandy plains covered
with a dense growth of Vacciniums, yielding a great abundance of fruit.
Sugar maples and basswood are also abundant in this region, and reach an
immense size. In fact, it would be difficult to find finer groves of maple
in any part of the state.
"The pine country proper lies between the two tracts we have described,
and embraces about 15,000 square miles. It is composed largely of sand hills
and plains, either scantily furnished with vegetation, or densely covered with
pine forest. Argillaceous tracts wooded with beech and maple also occur,
like oases in a desert; and swamps abound, with the usual lowland timber.
Forests of hemlock spruce are frequent, and there are occasional ridges of
oak. Birch (B. lutea) also begins to be a common forest tree, and attains
a large size. The usual timber of the barrens is Jack Pine (P. Banksiana).
Climatic and other influences have combined to produce groves composed
entirely of this species of large size and of great beauty, for, instead of being
'a straggling shrub, or low tree' (Gray), it rises, often 50-60 feet, straight
and symmetrical. All through this region Pinus strobus (white pine) is the
prevailing species and furnishes most of the lumber, but P. resinosa (red
pine) is frequent as far south as Clare county, and occurs sparingly in the
northern part of Isabella county, which appears to be its southern hmit.
"Such is the general character of the sylva down'to'about latitude 43°,
but in the western part of the state, owing perhaps to moister climate, or
to favorable soil, hemlock spruce is more abundant, and reaches much farther
4 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
south, nearly or quite to the Indiana line, and the same is true of white pine.
"One seldom beholds a drearier sight than a dead and deserted lumber
region. The valuable trees were all felled years ago, and the lumberman
moved on to fresh spoils, leaving behind an inextricably confused mass of
tree tops, broken logs, and uprooted trunks. Blackberry canes spring up
everywhere, forming a tangled thicket, and a few scattering poplars, birches,
and cherries serve for arboreal life, above which tower the dead pines, bleached
in the weather and blackened by fire, destitute of limbs, and looking at a
distance not unlike the masts of some great harbor. Thousands of such
acres, repellant alike to botanist and settler, can be seen in any of our northern
counties.
"In certain districts considerable beech is found associated with the pine.
The soil of such tracts is usually of better quality, and can be rendered pro-
ductive without much labor. It may be noted that in such cases the pine
also grows thriftier and makes better lumber."
DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMAL LIFE.
According to Dr. C. Hart Merriam, our highest authority on geographical
distribution of life in America, Michigan contains large areas of three of the
main hfe zones of the eastern United States; namely, the Upper Austral
or Carolinian Zone, the Transition or Alleghanian Zone, and the lower Boreal
or Canadian Zone.
"The Carolinian faunal area occupies the larger part of the Middle States,
except the mountains, covering southeastern South Dakota, * * *
nearly the whole of Iowa, * * * Illinois, Indiana, Ohio * * * ^j^^j
large areas in New York, Michigan and Southern Ontario. On the Atlantic
coast it reaches from near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay to southern Con-
necticut, and sends narrow arms up the valleys of the Connecticut and
Hudson rivers. A little farther west another slender arm is sent northward,
following the east shore of Lake Michigan nearly or quite to Grand Traverse
Bay. These arms, like nearly all narrow northward prolongations of southern
zones, do not carry the complete faunas and floras of the areas to which
they belong, but lack certain species from the start and become more and
more dilute to the northward till it is hard to say where they really end.
Their northern boundaries, therefore, must be drawn arbitrarily or must be
based on the presence or absence of particular species rather than the usual
association of species.
"Counting from the north, the Carolinian area is that in which the sassafras,
tulip tree, hackberry, sycamore, sweet gum, rose magnolia, red bud, per-
simmon, and short-leaf pine first make their appearance, together with the
opossum, gray fox, fox squirrel, cardinal bird, Carolina wren, tufted tit,
gnatcatcher, summer tanager, and yellow-breasted chat. Chestnuts, hickory
nuts, hazelnuts, and walnuts grow wild in abundance. The area is of very
great agricultural importance." (Merriam. Life Zones and Crop Zones
of the U. S., Biol. Survey, Bull. 10, 1898, pp. 30-31.)
According to the same author "The Canadian zone comprises the southern
part of the great ti-anscontinental coniferous forest of Canada, the northern
parts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Michigan * * * and the greater
part of the high mountains of the United States and Mexico * * *
Among the many characteristic mammals and birds of the Canadian zone
are the lynx, marten, porcupine, northern red and pine squirrels, varying
and snowshoe rabbits, star-nose, Brewer's and Gibbs' moles, water shrew,
INTRODUCTION. 5
voles and long-tailed shrews of various species, northern jumping mice
* * * white-throated sparrow, Blackburnian and yellow-rumped warblers,
olive-backed thrush, three-toed woodpeckers, spruce grouse, crossbills, and
Canada jays. Counting from the north this zone is the first of any agri-
cultural importance. Wild berries — as currants, huckleberries, blackberries
and cranberries — grow in profusion, and the beechnut (in the east) is an
important food of the native birds and mammals. (Ibid. pp. 19-20.)
"The Transition zone is the transcontinental belt in which Boreal and
Austral elements overlap * * The zone as a whole is characterized by
comparatively few distinctive animals and plants, but rather by the occur-
rence together of southern species which here find their northern limit and
northern species which here find their southern limit. It may be sub-divided
into three faunal areas * * * The eastern humid or Alleghanian area
comprises the greater part of New England, southeastern Ontario, New
York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, eastern North Dakota,
northeastern South Dakota, and the Alleghanies from Pennsylvania to
Georgia. * * * In the Alleghanian faunal area the chestnut, walnut,
oaks and hickories of the South meet and overlap the beech, birch, hemlock
and sugar maple of the North; the Southern mole and cotton-tail rabbit
meet the Northern star-nosed and Brewer's moles and varying hare, and
the Southern bobwhite, Baltimore oriole, bluebird, catbird, chewink, thrasher
and wood thrush live in or near the haunts of the bobolink, solitary vireo,
and the hermit and Wilson's thrushes. Several native nuts, of which the
beechnut, butternut, chestnut, hazelnut, hickory nut and walnut are most
important, grow wdld in this belt. Of these the chestnut, hickory nut and
walnut come in from the South (Carolinian area) and do not extend much
beyond the southern or warmer parts of the Alleghanian area." (Ibid. pp.
20-21).
Dr. Merriam's map accompanying the paper just cited assigns the entire
Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the Canadian zone, together with all that
part of the Lower Peninsula lying north and east of a line drawn from Traverse
City on Great Traverse Bay to Point Au Gres at the mouth of Saginaw Bay
on Lake Huron. The Carohnian zone includes the two southernmost tiers
of counties in the Lower Peninsula and all those counties bordering Lake
Michigan on the east as far north as Great Traverse Bay (20 counties in all).
The remainder of the Lower Peninsula, covering about 30 counties, is assigned
to the Transition zone. This arrangement gives about tw^o-fifths of the
state to the Canadian, two-fifths to the Transition or Alleghanian, and one-
fifth to the Carolinian, an apportionment to which we cannot entirely
agree. In our opinion little or no error would be made if the entire state,
Upper Peninsula as well as Lower, were assigned to the Transition. With
the possible exception of Isle Royal and Keweenaw Point no part of the state
sustains a purely Boreal (or Canadian) fauna or flora, and it seems equally
certain from the data at hand that even the southernmost counties are not
purely Carolinian.
Of course since the Transition is characterized by the mingling of the
forms belonging to the two zones lying on either side, it becomes necessary
to draw two dividing lines instead of one. Near the southern boundary of
the Transition Carolinian forms should predominate, while near the northern
boundary Canadian forms should prevail. At first sight it would seem
perfectly simple to formulate a rule by which the boundaries of the Transition
might be surely defined. INIoving southward in the Canadian zone that
spot in which the first Carolinian species is encountered would give one point
6 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
in the boundary between Canadian and Transition. Other points similarly
determined would give, when connected, the actual boundary line. In the
same way theoretically the boundary between Carolinian and Transition
could be determined. Practically, however, the matter is far from simple.
It is not easy to decide exactly what species really belong to the Canadian
or the Carohnian and hence can be used as test species. Birds are less useful
than mammals or plants for this purpose, since they move so freely and
rapidly and are so hkely to wander or to be carried accidentally far outside
their proper habitat. And it often happens that a species which in one
part of the country, say the East, may be perfectly characteristic of a certain
faunal area will be a very unsafe index a few hundred miles farther west.
^ Take for example the species which Dr. Merriam names as characteristic
of the Carolinian. Among these the sassafras, the fox squirrel and the gnat-
catcher are found throughout the greater part of the Lower Peninsula, while
the summer tanager does not occur at all — not even in the southernmost
counties. On the other hand the porcupine and varying hare, both Canadian
forms, were found, until very recently at least, in practically every county in
the state, not infrequently side by side with the opossum and the Cardinal.
The Carolina Wren, Mockingbird, Yellow-breasted Chat and Tufted Tit
occur sparingly, perhaps accidentally, over a wide area in the Lower Penin-
sula, but seem to be nowhere common.
In the present state of our knowledge, or rather of our ignorance, we hesitate
to accept Merriam's faunal map, yet are not prepared to offer a substitute.
The indications, however*, all point toward a decided lessening of the Michigan
areas assigned by him to the Canadian and Carolinian, with a corresponding
increase in the size of the AUeghanian or Transition.
BIRD LIFE IN MICHIGAN.
In view of the facts just set forth it seems hardly wise to attempt an
enumeration of the bird species found in each of the faunal areas represented
in the state. Instead it may be worth while to take a rapid survey of some
of the different regions of the state with brief lists of the commoner or more
characteristic species found in each. It must be distinctly understood that
the mere naming of a species as an inhabitant of any one region does not by
any means imply that it may not occur elsewhere frequently or regularly.
It should be noted also that when species are named as common residents
of any region it is meant as a rule that they are found there during the nesting
season, that it is in a sense their home. In this connection reference should
be made to a later page in which the subject of migration is briefly discussed.
In talcing up the matter of bird distribution in Michigan, it will be con-
venient to consider the bird life of five different regions, namely :
1. The Prairie Region of the South.
2. The Great Marsh Regions of the southeastern border.
3. The Pine Forest Region.
4. The Plains Region, or "Jack Pine Plains."
5. The Hardwood Forest Region.
The Prairie Region of southern Michigan is really little more than an
extension northward of the prairies of the adjoining states of Indiana and
lUinois. Probably it was always devoid of pine forests, at least that has
been its condition for the last few centuries, and it is now but lightly forested
at best, and with many large stretches of nearly level land. Characteristic
INTRODUCTION. 7
birds of the open country are the Prairie Chicken, Meadowlark, Killdeer,
Mourning Dove, Marsh Hawk, Turkey Buzzard, Prairie Horned Lark, Lark
Sparrow, Bobohnk, and formerly the Bartramian Sandpiper or Upland
Plover. Along the tree-fringed streams are found the Bronzed Grackle
and Red- winged Blackbird, Red-headed Woodpecker and Flicker, and less
often the Red-bellied Woodpecker, Orchard Oriole, and Prothonotary and
Sycamore Warblers. The knolls and ridges here and there harbor the Quail
or Bobwhite, the Tufted Tit, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and an occasional
Chat, Cardinal, Mocldngbird and Carolina Wren.
The Great Marsh Region consists really of at least three separate regions,
viz. : The extensive marshes bordering the lower Detroit River and western
end of Lake Erie, the delta of the St. Clair River in Lake St. Clair, and the
great marshes along the southeast shore of Saginaw Bay. Of course there
are other marshes, and some large ones, for example at the mouths of the
Kalamazoo and Muskegon rivers, but most of them are small compared with
those first named. Characteristic birds of the great marshes during the
nesting season are the Pied-billed Grebe, Mallard Duck, Blue-winged Teal,
Coot, Gallinule, Bittern, Least Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron,
Black Tern, King Rail, Marsh Hawk, Long-billed Marsh Wren and Red-
winged Blackbird. During migration waterfowl in great variety visit these
marshes to feed and rest, and here are located some of the most famous
ducking grounds in the middle west.
The Pine Forest Region proper is characterized by the presence in variable
quantity of the white pine and the red or Norway pine, and is mainly sandy
land lying north of the 43d parallel, though the original southern limit of the
merchantable white pine was an irregular curved line, beginning in the
southwest corner of the state in Van Buren county, extending northeastward
to the northern part of Gratiot county, and thence east through Saginaw,
Genesee, Lapeer and St. Clair counties to Port Huron. Throughout the
region north of this hne the white pines and the red pines were always dis-
tributed irregularly, the largest white pines scattered among the hardwoods,
and the unmixed tracts of this magnificent tree found on the sandy uplands
drained by the great streams, the Saginaw, Muskegon, Manistee, Au Sable
and Thunder Bay rivers.
The region just outlined as the Pine Region scarcely merits that name at
present, since merchantable pine has been almost completely removed. The
precise area of standing pine timber left in the state today is difficult to
estimate, since cutting is going on constantly and the small amounts left
are being reduced every day. It is doubtless safe to say that very few
tracts exceeding eighty acres are still left in this entire area, and even
eighty-acre tracts are decidedly infrequent. Owing to the fact that much
other timber was intermixed with the pine in most places and that some of
the hardwood timber has not yet been touched, part of the region included
under the above title might now be properly transferred to some other, while
the greater part of the former pine region, at least in the Lower Peninsula,
would at present come under the head of "Cut-over Lands," and much of
this in turn unfortunately is also "Burnt-over Land." Throughout the
entire Pine Region there were great stretches of hardwood forest here and
there and more frequently swamps largely made up of the white cedar or
arbor vitae, tamarack, hemlock, balsam fir, and spruce. Hemlocks also occur-
red regularly among the pines and hardwoods scattei-cd more or less thickly
and often reaching gigantic size. Where these hemlocks stood among the
hardwoods and there was little underbrush they have commonly been killed
8 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
by the ground fires which have hcked up the leaves and other rubbish, leaving
the large hardwoods uninjured but burning the resinous butts of the hemlock?
deeply enough to destroy them. Owing to the admixture of these species,
and especially to the fact that much of the white pine region as interrupted
and interlaced with tracts of Jack pine, to be mentioned later, it seems best
to limit the term Pine Region to those parts which originally were forested
mainly with the white pine or with this and the Norway pine. What may
have been the original bird life of these great pine forests is somewhat uncer-
tain. Study of the few large tracts left gives us some hints, but the varia-
tions in elevation, geographical position, and local conditions make the
generalizations based on these instances somewhat unsafe. It is matter of
common knowledge that the deep forest never holds the abundant bird life
that is found along its edges or in the more hghtly timbered openings. All
life seems to be more or less repressed and smothered so that reptiles, mam-
mals, and even insects, as well as birds, seem to have suffered somewhat the
same effect as the shrubby and herbaceous vegetation which dwindles or
dies out almost entirely in the deep shade of the pine.
Characteristic birds of the real pine forest are comparatively few. Among
them may be mentioned the woodpeckers, particularly the Pileated, Hairy
and Three-toed, the two species of Nuthatch, the Black-capped Chickadee,
Brown Creeper and Winter Wren, the Crow, Blue Jay and Canada Jay, the
Wood Pewee and Olive-sided Flycatcher, the Red-shouldered and Sharp-
shinned Hawks, the Great Horned, Long-eared, Barred, and Screech Owls,
the Red Cross! )ill and Pine Finch, the Hermit Thrush and in some places the
Olive-back, and several species of Warbler, the most constant being the
Pine, the Black-throated Green, the Blackburnian and the Black and White.
The Jack Pine Plains, or the Plains Region, forms a vast, irregular area
lying mainly within the pine region just described but consisting of those
sandy and rather sterile plains which lie farther from the water courses and
are characterized by the abundance of the almost worthless Jack Pine (Pinus
banksiana), several oaks collectively known as scrub oaks, certain poplars or
aspens, the low willow (Sahx humilis), the pin cherry, chokecherry and service
berry or shadbush (Amelanchier). The sweet-fern (Comptonia), winter-
green (Gaultheria), various blueberries (Vaccinium), and the eagle fern
(Pteridium aquilinum) are equally characteristic among the undergrowth,
and in favorable places the ground may be matted with the Bear Berry
(Arctostaphylos) or overgrown with trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens).
Twenty-one counties in this region aggregate more than two million acres
of the plains lands, Oscoda county in the northeast alone holding 204,000
acres, and Newaygo county at the southwest 194,000 acres.
The summer bird population of these plains is as characteristic as their
plant life, and includes not less than fifty species, those most frequently met
with, roughly in order of abundance, being: Vesper Sparrow, Chipping
Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Robin, Bluebird, Chewink, Nighthawk, House
Wren, Kingbird, Cedarbird, Wood Pewee, Flicker, Brown Thrasher, Catbird,
Chickadee, Bluejay, Red-eyed Vireo, Junco, Indigo Bird, Sparrow Hawk,
White-breasted Nuthatch, Hairy Woodpecker, Black-billed Cuckoo, Gold-
finch, Cowbird and Hermit Thrush.
Particular interest is given to the region by the fact that Kirtland's Warbler,
the rarest of North American warblers, has been found nesting on the Jack
Pine plains of two counties, Oscoda and Crawford, and nowhere else in the
world, though it is a foregone conclusion that it will be found eventually in
INTRODUCTION. 9
neighboring counties, if not in similar regions in the Upper Peninsula and in
Wisconsin.
The borders of the rivers and smaller sti'eams which dissect the plains
furnish other common species, such as the Kingfisher, Bank Swallow, Great
Blue Heron, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Crested Flycatcher, Song Sparrow
and Phoebe, while the included or adjacent swamps of arbor vitae (white
cedar), balsam-fir, spruce, hemlock and white pine harbor scores of other
birds, the most abundant and universal being half a dozen kinds of hawks
and owls, three or four species of woodpeckers, including the Black-backed
Three-toed, a dozen species of warblers (Canadian, ]\Iagnolia, Black and
White, Parula, Yellow-rumped, Blackburnian, Yellow, Marjdand Yellow-
throat, Nashville, Mourning, Small-billed Waterthrush, Black-throated
Green), several flycatchers and thrushes, the Winter Wren, and commonest
of all, the White-throated Sparrow. It is a singular fact that the Jack Pine
Plains proper have no single species of warbler which is at all characteristic,
with the exception of the rare Kirtland, of whose distribution as yet we
know so little. True, in certain spots, where conditions are especially
favorable, where the Jack Pines themselves form goodly groves of medium
height, or where oaks and maples indicate better soil or more moisture, we
find the Oven-bird, the Black-throated Green Warbler and the Black and
White, while an occasional Chestnut-sided, Yellow, or Redstart may be
found almost anywhere; as a rule, however, the typical Jack Pine Plains are
marked by the complete absence of warblers.
The Hardwood Forest Region in the upper half of the Lower Peninsula
still includes hundreds of thousands of acres of hardwood lands, on which
there is a heavy growth of noble beech and maple, intermixed with birch,
basswood and other broad-leaved trees, and formerly with scattered white
pines and hemlocks of large size, now mostly cut Ijy the lumberman. These
woods, for the most part, are on high or at least fairly well-drained land,
not to be mistaken for the swamp lands with their much inferior covering
of elm, ash, birch, cottonwood, tamarack, red maple and other softwood
trees. These grand hardwood forests are the summer homes of many birds
not seen elsewhere, though of course they shelter also species of general
distribution.
Among the more characteristic forms may be mentioned, again in ap-
proximate order of abundance: Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, White-
breasted Nuthatch, Chickadee, Wood Pewee, Hermit and Wood Thrushes,
Red-eyed and Solitary Vireos, Sapsucker, Crow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak,
Scarlet Tanager, Ovenbird, Blackburnian, Black-throated Blue and Black
and White Warblers, Redstart, Red-shouldered, Broad-winged and Cooper's
Hawks, Winter Wren, and Pileated Woodpecker.
Burnt-over lands, of which there are millions of acres in the state, vary
much in their bird-life according to the nature of the original forest, whether
largely pine or hardwood, and especially the length of time which has elapsed
since the burning. The most desolate are the pine regions originally lumbered
and then burned, where the sandy soil has had most of the humus eaten out
by the fire and there is not enough body left to sustain a good second growth.
Such an area comes to be lightly covered with bluel)erry and blackberry
bushes, aspen or poplar, and one or more species of small willow, while the
visible remnants of the primeval forest, soon disappear. One ma.v ride for
hours through these desolate solitudes and see hardly more than a dozen species
of birds, the commonest being the Vesper Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Chewink,
10 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Nighthawk, Kingbird and Cowbird. If the fire-swept district had not been
previously lumbered, or the fire had spread slowly, killing but not consuming,
the myriads of bleached or blackened trunks attract numerous woodpeckers
and their holes later furnish congenial homes for Bluebirds, Tree Swallows,
House Wrens and Sparrow Hawks. Where the original timber was largely
hardwood, indicating good soil, a thrifty second growth follows axe or fire
and unless repeatedly fire-swept a new tangle of broad-leaved shrubs and
trees is rapidly built up, where we find an abundant bird-life in which the
Junco, Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Indigo Bird, Goldfinch, Catbird,
Brown Thrasher, Yellow and Chestnut-sided, Maryland Yellowthroat and
Mourning Warblers are added to the forms already mentioned.
The deep woods, whether swamp or upland, never shelter the wealth of
bird life found in partly cleared or well cultivated districts. Stream-borders,
lake margins, or other openings in the forest always teem with bird and insect
life, for here a greater variety of conditions is found and larger numbers of
birds seek the sunlight and shade, food supply and shelter which insure, so
far as wild nature can, the welfare of their young.
RECENT CHANGES IN THE BIRD LIFE OF THE STATE.
' There is a general and probably a correct impression that birds as a whole
are much less abundant in the eastern United States today than they were
a half century ago, and this doubtless is as true in Michigan as elsewhere. It
is further believed that such changes in Michigan have been specially marked
because of the removal of so much timber in recent years. Unquestionably
the deforesting of the northern parts of the Lower Peninsula has made
noteworthy changes in the birds of the region and such changes are still in
progress and doubtless will continue, since the axe is commonly followed by
fire, and that again by more or less complete reforestation or by the cultivated
fields of the farmer and fruit grower. Moreover the draining of many of
our extensive swamps and marshes has altered in a marked degree the
character of large portions of the state and has changed correspondingly
the conditions under which the birds of these regions live. For example,
when a dense pine forest is completely removed certain species formerly
abundant in the woods disappear completely, some remain for a time, although
in diminished numbers, and others seem to be but slightly affected or may
even increase noticeably. At the same time a considerable number of new
forms appear, species partial to open fields or bushy plains and never found
in the dense forest.
In attempting to recognize and explain the changes in bird population
which have taken place during the last century, we are met at the outset by
the lack of accurate knowledge as to the conditions at the beginning of that
period. We know with more or less certainty what species could be found
here and there in the wilderness, or about the cultivated areas of the pioneers;
but even at the present day careful estimates of the number of individuals
of any one species inhabiting a given area are not common and formerly
such a census was rarely if ever attempted. Even at the present time the
casual observer, or even the local observer whose experience has been limited
to a small field, is certain to be deceived by appearances and is apt to believe
that the yearly fluctuations in the number of birds observed indicate great
increase or decrease in the total numbers in the entire country. No mistake
is more common among people who are bird lovers but 'not bird students
than the behef that some particular spot with which they are famihar is
INTRODUCTION. 11
particularly rich in bird life, while some adjoining and similar region is
almost devoid of it. Usually a little inquiry shows that the first region has
been visited during the period of migration either in spring or fall, while the
other has been seen only during midsummer or in winter. Any careful
observer who has lived for years in a region outside the great bird highways
must have noted the almost complete absence of certain species one year
and their reappearance subsequently in normal or even in extraordinary
numbers. We have not time here to discuss the causes of such variations,
but we are doubtless safe in saying that each has a simple and satisfactory
explanation, although this may not be the same in every case. The im-
portant thing for us to note is that the facts on which estimates of bird
population can be based are few and unsatisfactory and we are very likely
to be misled and to reach conclusions which prove eventually far from the
truth. In seeking to obtain an approximation to the truth in regard to
increase or decrease dependence has been placed largely upon the writer's
personal experiences, in Michigan and elsewhere, but all sources of information
which seem trustworthy and pertinent have been freely utilized.
In certain cases there can be no question as to a great decrease in numbers
in recent years. For example, the Passenger Pigeon and the Wild Turkey
have become absolutely extinct, while the Sandhill Crane and the Northern
Raven have dwindled from abundant species almost to the verge of extinction.
On the other hand, it would seem, from recent records, that the Barn Owl,
the Cardinal, Henslow's Sparrow, Baird's Sandpiper, and a few other species
had increased decidedly in the last few decades. In the case of rare species,
however, a very large element of error is likely to creep in. We must not
forget that in such cases the number of birds taken or recorded will be directly
proportional to the number of good observers in the field; and there can be
no question that the number of such observers has increased very largely
in recent years. Hence we may fairly suppose that if a somewhat rare species
— rare enough to be worthy of record whenever seen — were to remain prac-
tically stationary as to abundance, it would nevertheless be reported much
more frequently now than formerly, and unless on our guard we should be
misled as to its actual numbers. On the other hand it seems highly probable
that the Robin, for example, has largely increased in Michigan as the forests
have been removed, the marshes drained, and cultivated fields, meadow
land, pasture, and orchard have taken their place. This bird, however,
being fairly common everywhere receives little attention in the bird journals,
and the matter of its abundance is seldom discussed, unless as happens occa-
sionally, it becomes a decided nuisance to the fruit grower.
An instance of a different character is seen in the Red-winged Blackbird.
The draining of immense areas has materially reduced the breeding grounds
of this species, while at the same time the great increase in the cultivated
areas surrounding the nesting places which are left has tended to distribute
the harm done so that complaints of damage are now of comparatively
infrequent occurrence. It seems reasonably safe to say that there has been
a noticeable decrease in the numbers of this species, yet undoubtedly there
are regions in which the harm done is as great now as at any previous time.
In addition to the Passenger Pigeon and Wild Turkey, already exter-
minated, there are at least eight other species which have decreased so
noticeably during the last few decades as to be now on the verge of extinction
at least in Michigan. These are the Greater Egret, the Sandhill Crane, the
Knot, the Bartramian Sandpiper or Upland- Plover, the' Hudsonian Curlew,
the Prairie Chicken, the Pileated Woodpecker and the Northern Raven.
12 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
A few years ago we might have inckided in this Hst the Wood Duck and the
Woodcock, both of which had become very scarce and were beheved to be
in imminent danger of extinction; fortunately, however, these two birds
seem to be no longer decreasing, and there is reason to hope that they may
again become fairly common.
Of course there are scores of other species which have decreased greatly,
and some of them may be exterminated eventually before those just named.
Almost every so-called game bird and water fowl is far less abundant than
formerly, and nothing but a general recognition of the danger and wise
legislation coupled with hearty and universal support can prevent their
final extinction in the not distant future. The eight birds just named,
however, at present seem to be those in greatest danger. The supposed
causes of their decrease are discussed at length in connection with the life
history of each species, so that we need not go into details here. It may
be well to note, however, that five separate, yet more or less connected factors,
have been operative in affecting the numbers of our birds; namely, the gun,
the axe, fire, the drain, the plow. Of these by far the most important agent
for decrease has been the gun, and its influence is steadily increasing. Axe,
fire and plow form a trio of destructive and reconstructive agents which
perhaps are now near the maximum of their combined power, though the
sound of the axe has been growing steadily fainter for twenty years past.
The drain and the plow are still powerfully affecting our bird fauna, un-
questionably lessening the number of species, but just as surely increasing
the total bird population through the increased food supply and better
protection during the nesting season.
With the exception of the Pileated Woodpecker, whose decrease depends
directly on the removal of the forest, probably no one of the eight species
now in danger has reached its present condition through the action of any
single factor among those named. The Greater Egret, never common, has
decreased steadily with other members of its family as the swamps have been
drained and the use of the gun become more common. The Sandhill Crane
has been a favorite mark for the rifle, its flesh forms palatable food, and its
nesting grounds have been lessened through drainage. The disappearance
of the Knot and Curlew is not fully explained, but is partly, though not en-
tirely, due to the gun; neither species, however, nests within our limits and
doubtless some factor operative on. the nesting ground is largely responsible
for the decrease. The Upland Plover has been rigorously followed as a game
bird, but the cultivation of the prairies and pastures in Avhich it loves to
nest is partly responsible for its steadily failing numbers. Much the same
causes have aided the disappearance of the Prairie Chicken, although the
drain, the plow and fire have all been operative. The case of the Raven is
unique. It certainly retires before advancing civilization, but precisely
for what reason we are unable to say. The territory which seems to become
untenable for the Raven is at once fully and safely occupied by the Crow,
a near relative and of similar habits. Of late years, especially in the Upper
Peninsula, the remaining Ravens have been largely killed by poison intended
primarily for wolves.
HOW TO STUDY BIRDS.
The study of birds, hke any other study, has two main objects, first, to
acquire additional knowledge of facts; second, to increase the power of gaining
knowledge. The lover of birds wishes to increase his knowledge of them,
INTRODUCTION. 13
desires to know more birds at sight and to learn more facts with regard to
those already known. This simple aim may be partly realized through the
simplest sort of study, commonly known as nature study, in which the
student, most often but not necessarily a child, learns to look for and find
and study certain natural objects which have been previously pointed out
to him, or better still described to him in such a way that with due dil-
igence he may find and recognize them. No branch of science offers greater
possibilities for nature study than ornithology, yet as ordinarily taught
and studied this kind of nature study is not a science and never can become
one. The great danger lies in the frequent mistakes which beginners in
bird study are sure to make and the fact that these mistakes often go un-
corrected through lack of knowledge on the part of guide or teacher.
The scientific ornithologist on the other hand must deal with facts about
which there is a minimum of doubt. Conclusions based upon the observa-
tions of inexperienced people are always open to serious question. The
scientific bird student must first of all handle actual birds; since, unfortunate
as it may seem to many nature lovers, accurate, absolute and full knowledge
of birds can be obtained only by studying them alive, by killing and pre-
paring them for preservation, and by studying and comparing specimens
so preserved. As Dr. Elliot Coues, one of America's foremost scientists,
truly said forty years ago, "Life, even bird life, is too sacred a thing to be
needlessly or thoughtlessly sacrificed." Yet countless facts of the utmost
importance in the scientific study of birds can be obtained only through
the sacrifice of bird life, and an ornithologist who aspires to be an authority
upon his science must ruthlessly suppress his natural feelings in this respect
and must procure and make use of such material as is absolutely necessary
without regard to what are often described as the humane sentiments. This
does not mean that any untrained boy has the right to take his gun into the
field and kill birds indiscriminately or even freely under the impression that
his intention to preserve some as specimens and to study such specimens
later justify the action. On the contrary the right to collect birds freely
for scientific purposes should be carefully restricted to such persons as can
give evidence of a serious purpose to use to advantage the specimens so
taken. The Michigan law covering this point is clear and strong.
A moment's thought will convince any one that the student who searches
the woods carefully for a bird which he has never seen, who follows up each
unknown call or song, watches with care each doubtful and illusive form
which suggests the bird desired, and finally, perhaps after hundreds of dis-
appointments, kills a specimen of the much coveted species and measures,
preserves and labels it for his own collection, has gained a knowledge of the
appearance, habits, notes, size and structure of this species which could be
obtained in no other possible way. Not only has he gained all this knowledge
with regard to this particular specimen, but in doing so he has exercised,
consciously or unconsciously, his powers of observation, comparison and
discrimination with regard to scores of other birds, so that his experience
has been broadened and his power and judgment very materially strengthened.
It may seem to some that essentially the same result could be obtained
if our student were accompanied to the woods by an instructor who should
call his attention to the note of the bird sought, point it out and comment
on its peculiarities and after watching the specimen carefully, perhaps
through a field glass, record his observations and allow the bircl to depart
unharmed. Such a method of study unquestionably has its advantages,
especially for the bird, but except in the case of a limited number of species,
14 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
a certain degree of doubt must inevitably attach to such a method of identi-
fication, and perliaps the most unfortunate result of this method of teaching
lies in the belief which gradually grows up in the pupil's mind that he can
identify birds just as well by eye and ear as the professional with his gun.
At the present time current literature abounds in more or less accurate
and beautiful description of birds and bird life, and much of this material
has not only high literary merit but considerable scientific value. Never-
theless the trained ornithologist rarely reads such an article without detecting
here and there evidences of ignorance or at least inaccuracy, which though
not always glaring are nevertheless much to be regretted. It is perfectly
true that an average keen-eyed boy or girl can readily learn to know most of
the commoner kinds of birds in his vicinity without the use of the gun, pro-
vided he have the instruction of a competent teacher and in addition have
access to a suitable collection of specimens.
But it is equally certain that no boy so taught, or for that matter any older
person, can ever learn to know all the birds of his vicinity or even all the
plumages of the common species, male and female, old and young, spring and
autumn, through any such method of teaching.
Hence careful ornithologists throughout the country have been led more
and more to lay down the rule that the "record" of any species for a given
locahty should rest upon an actual specimen taken in that locality and either
preserved for the examination of any one interested or at least examined
and identified by a competent authority before being destroyed. Our state
hsts, as well as out local hsts, contain too many records of rare birds which
do not come up to these requirements. True, there are cases in which the
most fleeting glimpse of a bird is sufficient for its identification by a good
observer, yet the best of us make mistakes, just as the best marksman has
his "off days," and it is a good rule not to accept as a true record the mere
observation of even the best ornithologist, unsupported by a specimen,
unless at least there is no improbability in the occurrence of the bircl at such
a time and place.
In the following pages will be found many descriptions of size, plumage,
notes and habits, which it is hoped will help observers to recognize and
identify to their own satisfaction many species of birds with which at present
they are unfamiliar. It is to be hoped that identification secured in this way
will lead to further study and closer attention, so that gradually a love of
such knowledge may grow up in the observer and contribute throughout
his existence to the joy of life in the open and a fuller knowledge of the
glories of nature which surround him. Yet it should be distinctly under-
stood that the technical descriptions in this work, and especially the artificial
keys for the determination of birds, are intended mainly, if not entirely,
for use with specimens in hand. A "guess" as to the length of a bird or any
of its parts, an "impression" as to the size, location, and intensity of color
markings may sometimes serve the same purpose as a careful examintion
of a specimen in hand, but this is by no means the rule and esiDecially with
beginners is almost unsupposable. It is possible doubtless to make a field
key by means of which a good observer (meaning a person with good eyes,
good sense, and some field experience) may identify a considerable number
of birds at gun-shot range, or even at a greater distance, but no attempt
has been made in this book to prepare such field keys, the writer's experience
with a large number of students, old and young, during the past twenty-five
years having convinced him that such keys, without considerable preliminary
training, have very little value.
INTRODUCTION. 15
Scattered through the following pages will be found numerous so-called
keys for the separation of suborders, famiUes, and species, and a Httle exami-
nation of these will show that the plan upon which they are constructed is
based upon the presence or absence of certain characters or sets of characters,
so that the student with specimen in hand simply needs to determine first
which one of two statements fits the specimen in hand, his decision in this
case leading to the comparison of two other statements, and so, step by step,
he is led to recognize in his specimen the existence of certain definite peculiari-
ties and eventually reaches a conclusion applicable only to a single order,
family or species, as the case may be, and that the one represented by the
bird in hand. Having thus located the order, suborder or family to which
his specimen belongs he turns to the section describing the members of that
group and there finds another key which in the same way will lead to a
smaller group and this in turn to the species. Probably the beginner will
be struck at once by the fact that some characters which he has supposed
quite important are rarely selected, while others which may seem trivial
are very largely used. Thus, for example, color or color pattern is used much
less frequently than size or the proportions of various parts. This naturally
leads to a discussion of the facts which make it possible to arrange these
artificial keys.
At the outset it should be made clear that all the individual birds belong-
ing to the same species are essentially alike in size, proportions and color,
after suitable allowance has been made for sex, age and season. A bird is
said to be adult when it is old enough to breed, and in most cases this point
is reached after a single year's growth. But such a breeding bird is not
necessarily mature in the scientific sense, as shown by the fact that its plumage
may change repeatedly and for several years before its color pattern and the
colors themselves become permanent. This is seen clearly in the Bald Eagle,
which does not get the pure white head and tail until at least three years of
age, sometimes doubtless not before the fourth year, though yearling birds
are believed to nest as a rule. Essentially the same thing is true of many
other birds of prey, as well as of many water birds. These cases nevertheless
are exceptional and most of our smaller birds become practically mature
in a single year, though it seems certain that they may improve somewhat
in appearance for several successive years. This is noticeable in such birds
as tanagers, grosbeaks, bluebirds, and others in which the males are brightly
colored. There is much variation in the perfection and brilliancy of plumage
among these males, some retaining considerable areas of the dress charac-
teristic of immaturity, while others, apparently the most robust and vigorous,
exhibit the characteristic plumage in the highest degree of perfection. Possi-
bly, or even probably, these variations are not entirely due to difference in
age, yet it seems fairly certain that this is the most universal factor. As
regards size, however, there is little or no change after the first year (except
in a very few cases), and as a rule young birds old enough to fly and care for
themselves are as large as their parents. For example, young robins or
bluejays two weeks after leaving the nest have practically the same measure-
ments (however, not the same weight) as their parents. Every observant
person, however, knows perfectly well that the young robin of this age is still
heavily spotted on breast and back, in this respect entirely unlike its parents,
while the young bluejay of the same age resembles its parents much more
closely, the differences lying not so much in color or pattern, as in the lax
and fluffy texture of the plumage, the decidedly shorter crest, and a certain
dullness and lack of brilliance about the colors themselves.
16 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The matter of size cannot be too strongly insisted upon. In the common
mind the small hawk or duck or swallow is merely a young individual of the
same kind as the larger ones about it, yet in nine cases out of ten this assump-
tion is entirely wrong. Sportsmen talk constantly and confidently of very
large woodcock or partridges or ducks, their idea of size being based upon
weight. It is perfectly true that a woodcock or duck when fat and in what
is called good condition will weigh from one-third to one-half more than the
same bird when thin. Yet the measurements of total length, expanse of
wings, single wing, and tail will remain absolutely the same whether the
bird be thin or fat. Of course there is often a wide difference in size, as well
as in weight, between the male and female of the same species, and certain
birds, for example grouse and ducks attain their full size much more slowly
than the average small bird, such as the sparrow or thrush. In the case of
the latter birds the ability to fly is acquired only when almost full grown, and
as stated before they become as large as their parents within two weeks
after leaving the nest.
A certain amount of variation nevertheless does exist among birds even
when those of the same age and sex are considered. This is known as "in-
dividual variation " and is usually confined within narrow and pretty definite
limits. As a rule such variation does not exceed ten per cent of the average.
Thus if the average length of a bird is six inches the extremes would be from
about 5.7 to 6.3, and the same rule would apply to measurements of wings,
tail, beak and feet. The total length of a bird can be obtained accurately
only from the bird itself before it has been skinned, or as we say "in the
flesh." It is taken by laying the bird upon its back upon a table, taking
the beak in one hand and the feet in the other and stretching the specimen
hard enough to take all the curves out of the neck and back. While in this
position the distance between tip of bill and tip of tail gives the measurement
known as total length. Another measurement often taken from the fresh
specimen is known as "extent of wings" or spread of wings. This is found
by first thoroughly relaxing both wings by opening and closing the joints,
and especially the shoulder joint, after which the bird is placed upon its
back and with one hand holding each wing by the carpal or wrist joint the
wings are spread as far as possible and at right angles to the body. While
in this position the distance from wing tip to wing tip is called extent of wings
or spread of wings. Obviously the two measurements just described can
be taken only from the fresh specimen and only an approximation
can be made from the dried skin or the mounted bird. Careful collectors
are supposed to take both these measurements and record them on
the label tied to each skin, but for various reasons, largely lack of time, this
is not always done. Hence the measurements on which the student must
depend are those which are practically the same in the skin as in the fresh
bird. It is found that little change takes place in the length of bill, feet,,
wings, or tail in drying, and hence measurements of these parts are more
commonly used and give better satisfaction. Four measurements are con-
stantly used in the keys and descriptions in this work and it is important
therefore that the student should understand exactly how these are
taken. First, length of wing or simply "wing." This is obtained from
the closed wing by slipping a scale beneath the wing, placing one end of the
scale exactly at the tip of the wing and marking the point reached by the
shoulder or main bend of the wing in front. A better way, especially for
small birds, is to use a pair of compasses, but the measurement should always
be taken from below, being in fact the chord of the curved wing. The figure
INTRODUCTION. 17
of the snipe's wing (Figure 52) illustrates this; the greatest distance which
can be measured on this cut is the length of the wing. Second, length of tail
or "tail." This is practically the length of the longest tail feather, but since
the tail feathers are embedded in the muscle and other tissues of the "pope's-
nose " it is necessary to add a little to the actual visible length of the longest
tail feather. Hence it is customary to feel for the root of the tail, place one
leg of the compasses in the center of the pope's-nose, and extend the other
leg of the compasses to the end of the longest feather, the distance thus
obtained being the length of the tail. Third, length of bill. Usually this
means the same as length of culmen, the culmen being the profile or upper
outline of the bill, and its length is obtained with the comjiasses by taking
the distance in a straight line from the tip of the bill to the point where the
ridge of the upper mandible meets the feathers of the forehead. This is really
the chord of the culmen. In long-billed birds like snipe and sandpipers,
which have little gape, this measurement is very nearly the same as the length
of the bill, but in sparrows, hawks, swallows and a host of other birds, the
measurement from the tip of the bill to the corner of the mouth would be very
different from the length of culmen obtained as above Fourth, length of
tarsus or simply "tarsus." The tarsus of course is the shank, or what is
loosely spoken of as the leg, and the measurement sought is the distance
from the heel joint (wrongly called the knee) to the junction between the
shank and the foot proper. This measurement should always be taken
with the compasses and on the front of the shank, one point being placed at
the junction between the upper leg, or tibia, and the shank, or tarsus, while
the other point should reach the suture or crease which separates the shank
from the root of the toes. When the legs are long and naked this measure-
ment can be taken quickly and accurately ; if the legs are more or less feathered
the measurement becomes somewhat less definite, but on the whole the length
of tarsus is one of the most important data used in bird identification. Ref-
erence to the various figures of bill, foot and wings, scattered through the
text, will make still more clear the preceding directions.
Of course other measurements are frequently called for, some of those
in most general use being the length of the toes, either with or without the
claws or nails, and it is probably safe to caution the beginner not to confound
the toes with the claws. The claw^ or nail forms the terminal segment of each
toe, and its length is of course a totally different thing from that of the entire
toe. A bird's foot as a rule has four toes and these are most often arranged
with three pointing forward and one backward, the latter consequently
being called the "hind toe." It is also spoken of as the "first toe," while the
front toes are numbered respectively 2, 3 and 4, number 2 being the inner
toe, number 3 the middle toe and number 4 the outer toe. In most birds
which run freely on the ground and seldom use the feet for grasping a perch
or other object, the hind toe is apt to be somewhat elevated above the level
of the front toes and it may be quite short or even entirely wanting. In some
other birds two toes point forward and two backward, this arrangement
being known as yoke-toed, and as a rule it is the outer or fourth toe which
is turned backward, although there are cases in which the inner or second
toe takes this position.
The nomenclature of the wings, including the primaries, secondaries,
tertiaries, greater, middle and lesser coverts, etc., etc., will be best learned
by referring to Plate I and the various text figures. It should be noted,
however, that the primaries are always nine or ten and are numbered from
the tip or free border of the wing toward the bod}^ number one being the
3
18 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
outermost primary and mimber nine or ten, as the case may be, that primary
which is followed directly by the first secondary. When the statement is
encountered "second or third primary longest" it must be understood that
the actual length of the entire primary is not meant, but merely that in the
folded or partly opened wing the tip of the second or third primary extends
beyond the tips of any of the others.
It is not practicable in this place to anticipate and explain all the difficulties
which the beginner will experience in attempting to use the artificial keys,
but enough has been said to enable him to make a beginning, and with
constant reference to the figures and glossary, and especially with the exercise
of good sense and fair judgment one should learn very quickly to use these
keys successfully. At the risk of being tedious, it should be repeated once
more that no measurement should ever be guessed at; the compasses and a
measuring rule should invariably be at hand and only in the most obvious
cases should their use be omitted.
AN EXAMPLE OF THE USE OF THE KEYS.
Suppose we have in hand a freshly killed specimen of one of our small fresh-
water ducks. Starting with the Artificial Key to the Larger Groups (page 33)
we find the first line, prefaced by a single capital A, to read, ''Distinctly
web-footed. — B, BB, BBB." Examination of the bird's foot shows that it
is a typical swimming foot, the three front toes being connected with mem-
brane or web. If in any doubt we should look for the alternative under the
heading AA, which appears farther down the page and is found at a glance
because it begins at exactly the same distance from the margin as the line A.
But AA reads, "Imperfectly or not at all web-footed," which evidently
does not answer for our bird. So we come back to line A and consider the
references following it, B, BB, BBB. The three lines beginning with B all
relate to the hind toe, and as our bird has a hind toe which is not connected
with the front toes by a web it evidently agrees with BB. This in turn is
followed by the references E and EE, and on reading the lines so headed
and examining our specimen we find the condition described under E, namely
the "cutting edges of the bill with comb-like ridges." The reference follow-
ing this line takes us to the Order Anseres, Ducks, Geese and Swans, where
another key awaits us.
The short neck, dark color and small size debar our specimen from the
group of swans, and its comparatively short legs and long toes exclude it
from the geese and confirm our belief that it belongs with the ducks.
The key to the species of ducks looks somewhat formidable, but it should
be remembered that we need only consider one or two points at a time. The
short, broad bill, with its strainer-like plates sends us at once to AA, and then
to decide between C and CC. Here a little investigation may be necessary,
but a glance at the cut of the Ruddy Duck will show that it is quite unlike
our specimen and we select CC as the right path. In order to determine
now whether D or DD is applicable to the case in point the student should
compare figures 15 and 21 and then carefully examine the hind toe of the
specimen. The result points clearly to D and places this bird among the
"River and Pond Ducks," with the references E and EE to be considered.
Although evidently not a very large duck, it is not safe to assume that it
belongs under E without actual measurement. With a pair of compasses
the exact distance from the front edge of the shoulder (in the closed wing)
to the tip of the longest primary must be determined, and since this proves
INTRODUCTION. 19
to be less than 8^ inches we are justified in calhng the duck a teal (F or'FF).
The light blue shoulders are quite distinctive and our specimen may be
labeled Blue- winged Teal, provisionally. It remains to turn to the full
description of this species on a following page, confirm our diagnosis, and
try to decide whether this individual is male or female, adult or immature.
As a second example of the use of the artificial key let us take the common
Blue Jay. Starting with the Key to the Larger Groups, we find that our
specimen agrees successively with the following fines:
AA. Not at all web-footed.
GG. Tibia feathered down to heel joint ("knee").
QQ. Upper mandible without cere or soft membrane at base.
TT. Three toes in front.
VV. Nail of middle toe not pectinate.
WW. Tail feathers not spine-tipped.
XX. Birds more than four inches long.
YY. Hind toe and claw more than half as
long as middle toe and claw. —
Passeres.
This shows that our specimen belongs in the order Passeres or Perching
Birds, and we turn to the key to the members of that group. Here we find
a Key to Families, and following the same plan as with the previous key
we decide that our bird agrees successively with the lines:
2. Upper mandible imperfectly or not at all hooked, toothed, or notched
at tip.
CC. Tips of folded wings not reaching to tips of middle tail feathers.
EE. Tail not tipped with bright yellow.
FF. First primary about one-half the length of the longest.
N. Tail feathers with soft, rounded tips.
00. Wing 5 inches or more. Family Corvidae.
Under this heading, we find a Key to Species which gives us in regular
order:
AA. Smaller birds, wing less than 10 inches, plumage not all black.
CC. Tail moderate (about 6 inches), somewhat rounded at tip. (This
refers not to the tips of the individual tail feathers, but to the
outline of the whole end of tail.)
D. Head with a conspicuous crest; plumage largely blue — Blue Jay.
Turning now to the full description of this species, and noting the
measurements of total length, wing, tail and bill, it is easy to confirm
the identification. Incidentally it may be noted that in spite of the
fact that the Blue Jay is conspicuously blue, the question of color is en-
countered but twice in the passage through the keys, once in the key to the
families ("tail not tipped with yellow"), and again at the end of the key
to species, where "plumage largely blue" is the final characteristic which
marks the Blue Jay, although even here it is a secondary consideration since
the " conspicuous crest " is of first importance. Of course it would be possible
to make an artificial key using color as the most important feature, which
would lead us more directly to the'^Blue Jay, but it would be a very diflficult
matter to make such a key equally good for the many other species which
20 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
would have to be considered, for there are at least eighteen other ]\lichigan
birds, belonging to twelve different families, which have more or less blue
in their plumage, and several of them (Kingfisher, Blue Heron, Tufted Tit)
are also conspicuously crested. Moreover, questions of color are often
very difficult ones, the average individual being unable to discriminate shades
nicely, or at least to name them accurately. Color, therefore, has been kept
out of the artificial keys so far as practicable, and the aim has been to select
characters for consideration which are clear, definite and readily recognized,
so that the student can tell at a glance whether the specimen before him
possesses that character or not.
Technical terms will be found defined in the glossary near the end of the
volume, and most of the important structures used in classification are
illustrated by text figures, a list of which follows the table of contents at the
beginning of the book.
MIGRATION.
The Century Dictionary defines migration as follows: "The act of mi-
grating; change of residence or habitat; removal or transit from one locality
or latitude to another, especially at a distance." In further explanation
the same authority adds, "Migration seems to be determined, primarily
and chiefly, by conditions of food supply, but this does not fully account
for the apparently needless extent and the wonderful periodicity of the
movement, nor for the fact that individuals sometimes return to exactly the
same spot to breed again after passing the winter perhaps thousands of miles
away."
The term migration as applied to birds is familiar to every one, and the fact
that many of our birds desert us each autumn and return in the spring is so
familiar that even the most unobservant can scarcely have failed to note it.
The more careful student will have seen, however, that not all our birds
leave us in fall, and possibly he may have guessed also that those which
return in the spring are but a fraction of those which withdrew the previous
year. In all the life-histories in the present w^ork reference will be found
to the character of residence, and in those species which migrate regularly
an attempt is made to give approximately the dates of arrival and departure.
It must be remembered, however, that Michigan covers a long distance from
north to south (more than 400 miles) and that dates will vary much with
latitude and other conditions. It seems wise therefore to devote a few pages
here to a consideration of the facts of bird migration in general as well as in
our own state.
Considering merely the condition of residence we may divide our birds
into four groups: First, residents or permanent residents, those which
are with us all the year. Second, summer residents, or summer visitors,
those which nest with us. Third, transients, or birds of passage. Fourth,
winter visitors or winter residents.*
Not a few of our common birds are residents in one part of the state and
only summer visitors or even transients in anothci', Avhile other species come
regularly or occasionally into the northern parts of the state in the winter
but never reach the southern counties. The Snow Bird or Junco and the
White-throated Sparrow are transients in the southern half of the state,
but summer residents in the northern half; while the Meadowlark and Mourn-
* Much of what follows on tliis subject is taken verbatim from the autlior's paper entitled "Fact
and Fancy in 15ird Migration." Eighth Rep. Mich. Acad. Science, 1906 (1907), pp. 13-25.
INTRODUCTION. 21
ing Dove are only summer visitors in most of the state, but permanent resi-
dents in the southernmost counties. For present purposes we may almost
disregard the so-called permanent residents, merely remarking that although
several species, including Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Creepers, Grouse, and
Owls, may be w^ell represented throughout the year in any given locality,
we have little proof that the individuals representing these species are the
same, and there is every reason to believe that, wdth a few exceptions, every
species of jMichigan bird is more or less migratory in some part of its range.
Apparently the Ruffed Grouse and the Prairie Chicken are stationary in
Michigan wherever found, yet we know positively that in IMinnesota, Iowa,
and other trans-Mississippi states this last named species makes a well marked
though not very extensive southward migration in autumn, returning north-
ward, however, so gradually and quietly that it attracts Httle attention.
In attempting to study migration as it occurs in this country the solitary
observer works at a great disadvantage. Even in the most favorable location
and with the best equipment in the way of education and time, such an
observer can do little more than record the observed facts and trust that the
opportunity may come sooner or later when he or some one else may combine
his observations with thousands of others and in this way accomplish some-
thing definite toward the solution of what must be considered one of the
greatest mysteries of nature. In 1896 the great British naturalist, Alfred
Newton, said of bird migration, " We are here brought face to face with the
greatest mystery which the whole animal kingdom presents, a mystery
which attracted the attention of the earliest writers and can in its chief point
be no more explained by the modern man of science than by the simple minded
savage, or the poet or prophet of antiquity. The flow and ebb of the mighty
feathered wave has been sung by poets and reasoned of by philosophers,
has given rise to proverbs and entered into popular superstitions, and yet
we may say of it still that our ignorance is immense."
Fifteen years have added much to the total of our knowledge of birds,
yet the gain in that time has come also through subtraction, for we have
been compelled to unlearn much that was once considered fixed and sure.
The attempt today to sift the known from the unknown in this matter is a
task of such gigantic proportions that any scientist may well hesitate before
the undertaking. It is scarcely possible to exaggerate the mystery, super-
stition and absurd speculation which has been thrown about this subject.
Educated writers within the last hundred j^ears have seriously advanced
the theory that birds leave the earth entirely during winter and migrate to
the moon, also that swallows and some other species plunge into lakes and
streams and pass the winter buried like frogs beneath the mud. Hardly
less absurd are the claims that migrating birds are guided by an instinct or
by some unknown sense which enables them to travel safely and securely
both day and night over thousands of miles of land and sea and to arrive
at last with unerring certainty at the end of a journey, every step of which
was foreseen from the first.
No doubt many species make long journeys safely and rapidl3^ but we
now know that a heavy percentage of loss of life goes with every movement.
Undoubtedly certain individual birds find their way back to their birth place
after a trip of hundreds of miles and an absence of many months; but it is
more than likely that where one individual succeeds in doing this many
more fail. Thanks to patient investigation and careful exploration we now
know pretty accurately where most of our migrants spend their winters,
and we have nuich relial^lc infoi'mation as to the general routes by which
22 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
some of them go and return, and even the approximate time occupied by
the species in making the trip, but no sane man pretends to say how long
it takes any individual bird to travel from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Winni-
peg,— or even from the Ohio River to the Saginaw Valley.
Formerly well-known scientific men spoke rather confidently of certain
birds as migrating only by day and of others which journeyed only at night;
possibly there may be a few species which can still be placed in one or the other
category, but the number is dwindling every year. The old argument — that
because a peculiarly marked robin had nested for three consecutive summers
in the same tree, therefore all robins regularly return to the places of their
birth; or that because certain sparrows and warblers were killed by flying
against light-houses, therefore these kinds migrated only at night; such
reasoning— if it can be so called — has given place largely to better logic
and the student of today is beginning to demand absolute proof of many of
the statements which were accepted as established facts fifty years ago.
A good example of the summer resident is found in the Purple Martin
which usually arrives in southern Michigan from the 1st to the 20th of April,
nests during May and June, and again moves out of the state before the
middle of September, thus spending only five of the twelve months with us.
In 1884 the northward movement of these birds was noted from the time they
entered the Mississippi Valley, the last of February, until a few arrived at
Oak Point, Manitoba, on May 23. The distance from New Orleans to Oak
Point is about 1,440 miles and apparently about ninety days were consumed
in making the trip, an average of but sixteen miles a day. However, Prof.
W. W. Cooke, who collected the data, was convinced that the forward move-
ment was confined to twelve days (he says nights), which would make the
average about 120 miles per day for the twelve days of travel.*
This is a bird of such swift and powerful flight that it is perfectly possible
for it to speed northward 150 to 200 miles with a warm southerly wind and yet
retrace its course the next day in case the weather becomes inhospitable.
It seems reluctant to retreat, however, and too frequently the early Martins
which are caught by severe cold weather die from starvation. Their food
consists almost entirely of insects caught on the wing, and when the temper-
ature drops anywhere near the freezing point very few insects continue to
fly. A few benumbed stone-flies may be picked from twigs and grass-tips,
but not enough to supply heat and strength for these muscular and active
birds. The Martin spends the winter entirely south of the United States,
some lingering in Mexico and the West Indies, but more pushing far south
into Central or even South America.
Again we have birds like the Longspurs, the Pipits, Rusty Grackles, and
White-crowned Sparrows, Yellowlegs and Ring-neck Plover, Canada Geese,
and many ducks, which are strictly birds of passage, or what we prefer to call
transients, seen only for a few days or weeks in spring as they pass from their
winter quarters in the south to their nesting grounds beyond our northern
confines, and again for a few days in fall on their return journey accompanied
by the young just reared. Yet another group of transients, better called
winter visitors, should be mentioned which come to us in autumn or winter
from the north and after spending a longer or shorter time with us again
withdraw polewards; such are the Snowy Owl, Great Northern Shrike, the
Pine Grosbeak and two kinds of Crossbills, together with Redpolls, Snow
*Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley, Bui. 2, Div. Econ. Ornith., U. S. Dept. Agr. 1888, pp.
224-225.
INTRODUCTION. 23
Buntings, and the much less common Evening Grosbeak and Bohemian
Waxwing.
We may study the main features of migration to best advantage among
those species in which the whole body of individuals swings northward and
southward periodically and for long distances, at least 20° to 25° of latitude
or 1,200 to 1,500 miles. Among these are representatives of the most diverse
orders and families with many peculiar and exceptional cases, j^et much
general agreement as to the main facts. Some go openly, in immense flocks,
by day and in fair weather, as the swallows, sandpipers and crows; others,
like the cuckoos, flycatchers and rails, are commonly believed to go singly
and at night, and they drop away so stealthily, even mysteriously, that this
supposition seems justified. Many waterbirds, geese, ducks, and others,
seem to wait for storms of wind or rain and to delight in making their long
flights in or just before tempestuous weather.
One of the older and seemingly well-grounded beliefs was that many of
the smaller and presumably weaker migrants travelled entirely at night,
partly to avoid the attacks of hawks and partly that they might rest and
feed by day. The fact that multitudes of such birds do travel at night is
undeniable, and perhaps the most marvelous demonstration of this is the
discovery (first announced in October, 1880, by W. E. D. Scott) that this
migration could be watched easily with a telescope trained on the face of the
full moon within a few hours of the horizon. Yet the fact seems to have
been very generally overlooked that night flying does not preclude day
flying, and that millions of small birds might pass over our heads at midday
and in fair weather, and yet be just as invisible as at midnight, provided they
flew at the heights claimed for the nocturnal migrants. Similarly, the fact
that birds appear by thousands about lighthouses and electric lights during
cloudy and foggy nights carries not the slightest proof that the same species
do not travel just as freely by day. As a matter of fact we know that almost
all the species killed at lighthouses do make long flights by day under favor-
able conditions, and an examination of all the accessible evidence leads me
to assert that most birds do not fly at night to avoid enemies or escape
observation, but merely to take advantage of favorable conditions as yet but
partially understood. Telescopic observations at night have shown many
small birds flying at heights of from one to three miles, and even at a height
of a mile most of the same birds would be entirely invisible to the unaided
eye in a clear sky at noon. Moreover, telescopic observations by day — the
telescope trained on the sun — have shown in at least two cases birds flying
at great heights, far above the reach of our unaided eyesight, and in one of
these cases the birds were migrating southward in enormous numbers.
Different observers of nocturnal migration, using different instruments
under similar conditions (that is ahvays against the face of the full moon)
have recorded birds migrating at heights estimated all the way from 600 feet
to 15,100 feet, and moving at all speeds from nearly stationary up to 134
miles per hour, with an average of sixty-seven miles per hour for small birds
of ordinary powers of flight.
I have not the least desire to belittle the discoveries of these pioneer
observers, or to cast any reflection on their honesty of purpose or the accuracy
of their records, yet I am free to say that until we have very many more
observations in corroboration of these I cannot but doubt that any of our
birds, large or small, at any height or under any circumstances, attains a
speed even approximating 100 miles an hour. At a height of little more
than three miles the density of the atmosphere is only half that at the sea-
24 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
level, hence its resistance to the passage of a bird at that height would be
lessened one-half. It does not follow, however, that therefore a bird at a
height of three and one-half miles can fly at double its speed at the surface
without increased effort. A moment's thought will' show how preposterous
is such a claim. The very tenuity of the air, which lessens by one-half the
resistance to the forward motion of the bird, must lessen in exactly the same
proportion the supporting power of the air and its resistance to the wing-
strokes, which alone give the bird headway. We may dismiss as absurd
the claim that birds may double their speed by flying in rarified air.
After careful search I have been unable to find a single instance in which
the speed of any bird has been shown by actual measurement to i-each over
100 miles per hour. There are plenty of guesses, a few bold but unsupported
assertions, and a number of more or less probable estimates.
The figures furnished by pigeon fanciers give us some idea of the possi-
bilities of the homing pigeon, so often miscalled the ''carrier pigeon." These
records of course give only the average speeds, but these are certainly sug-
gestive. The greatest velocity of which I find mention is eighty miles an
hour, at which rate a homing pigeon is said to have covered 114 miles in
1892. I am vmable, however, to verify this statement. Another, and more
likely record, is seventy-one miles an hour for a distance of eighty-two miles,
while the average velocities of the winners in a large number of contests
do not exceed forty miles an hour. In 1883 the best time made in eighteen
races was 208 miles at the rate of fifty-five miles per hour. Over longer dis-
tances the velocity is very much less, and in the longest flight of which I can
find a record, that of a pigeon which flew from Pensacola, Florida, to Fall
River, Mass., fifteen and one-half days were consumed in covering the 1,183
miles, the average speed being seventy-six miles per day.
In experiments tried with swallows in France it is claimed that one swallow
flew 160 English miles in ninety minutes, giving a velocity of 107 miles an
hour, but this record is open to serious question.
Wild geese, and especially wild ducks, have been credited with a speed of
nearly 100 miles an hour, yet in two cases where it was possible to measure
the speed of flocks passing a given point, it was found that the geese flew at
the rate of but 44.3 miles per hour, and the ducks at approximately forty-
eight miles per hour, and in neither case did the height exceed 1,000 feet.
These measurements were made at the Blue Hill JMeteorological Observatory
at Milton, Mass., by trained observers with the instruments used daily in
determining the velocity of clouds.* In 1893 Dr. Hubert L. Clark noted
two Buffle-head ducks flying along the Potomac River parallel with a train
on which he was a passenger. The train was found to have a speed of about
thirty-seven miles an hour, and the ducks were unable to keep up with it.
Heinrich Gatke's statement that the Golden Plover flies at the rate of over
200 miles an hour is based on data which he misunderstood or misrepresented.
He states positively that the Golden Plover migrates in autumn from Labrador
to Brazil, over the Atlantic in one iininterrwpted flight of 3,000 miles! He
further assumes (without explanation) that fifteen hours is the longest time
any bird could remain on the wing without food, and hence that the above
flight of 3,000 miles is made in fifteen hours, at an average speed of "212
geographical miles an hour, "f He does not explain exactly why this speed
is 212 miles instead of precisely 200 miles per hour, as we should figure it,
but we need not quibble about a paltry dozen miles in the case of birds moving
♦Science, New Series, V, pp. 26, 585-5S6.
tHelieoland as an Ornitliological Observatory, Edinburgh, 1895.
INTRODUCTION. . 25
with such meteoric swiftness. There is absolutley no proof that any of these
plover- pass from Labrador to Brazil at one flight, nor do we know even ap-
proximately the time taken for the trip as performed. Presumably they
do make flights of 300 to 400 miles without rest, since they are often seen
passing Bermuda without resting, and have prohabhj flown continuously
since leaving the North American coast; yet should they tire there is no reason
whatever why they should not rest upon the sea at any time except during
storm, and it is well known that in case of heavy storms thousands of them
do alight on the Massachusetts coast, as well as on Bermuda, w^hile the species
lingers regularly for weeks on some of the West Indian Islands.
Doubtless one reason why migrating birds fly at great heights in fair
weather is because it is easier. So long as the breeze is in the right direction
they utilize it to the full, but if compelled by circumstances to face a wind
they find it far easier to fly near the surface where they can take advantage
of such eddies and counter currents as may appear, and where at all events
the velocity of the wind will be less than at higher levels. Another and
possibly the strongest reason for flying at great elevations lies in the fact
that the view thus obtained is of paramount importance to the migrant.
At a height of two miles a bird in clear weather commands a view of an area
nearly 200 miles in diameter, so that under favorable conditions, it might
cross any of our great lakes, or even reach South America by way of the
West Indies without ever being out of sight of land. Should the weather
become unfavorable, however, after a start has been made, the little travellers
must make the best of a bad matter and meet the emergency as best they
may. Were they gifted with the extraordinary powers popularly assigned
them they would rarely or never be caught and overwhelmed as they so often
are. Were they able to fly even seventy-five miles an hour, they could flit
to safety on the first appearance of bad weather, well knowing that a few
hours of clear weather would enable them to recover all the ground lost.
In spite of the general belief that birds are able to foretell meteorological
changes and forestall dangerous storms, the weather is very largely responsible
for the terrijjle destruction which thins their ranks and brings death to so
large a proportion of our bird population every year.
In the winter of 1894-95 most unfavorable conditions in the south nearly
annihilated the Bluebird and so far reduced the number of Robins reared in
this section of the north that their normal numbers were not regained for
at least six years.
It is clear that, on the average, as many birds die each year as are born,
else the individuals of any species would increase in numbers year by year
until they became intolerably abundant. As it is, some species increase for
a time and then their numbers fall away again. There is a constant oscilla-
tion in numbers with occasional decrease to such a point that recovery becomes
impossible, and the species becomes extinct. Ordinary minor oscillations
may occupy but a few years, but more often apparently one or more decades
may be required for the completion of such a cycle.
We have no time to go into the causes of mortality among birds, but it is
evident that a very large percentage of the young and inexperienced birds
which start south in autumn never return to their birthplace — probably having
perished from the dangers of the trip. As a rule the southward journey is
made — or at least might be made — with compai'ative safety. There is no
need of great haste, food is abundant and the travellers are moving always
toward regions of increasing warmth and superabundant food. On the
northward trip on the contrary, the birds often are leaving safety and abund-
26 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
ance behind them, are pushing continually into colder and hungrier regions,
and are Hkely at any moment to be met with climatic conditions that test
their strength and endurance to the utmost and often exact the extreme
penalty of death. Take an instance in illustration of this statement. April
2, 1881, Mr. A. M. Frazar was a passenger on a sailing vessel about thirty
miles off the mouths of the Mississippi, with a moderate east wind blowing
and no land birds in sight. Suddenly, about noon, the wind changed to the
north and increased to a gale, and within an hour birds of many species
appeared, singly and in small flocks, having come down from far overhead
to escape the force of the wind. All were flying toward the land, directly
to windward, and in the teeth of the growing storm. "Within a few hours,"
says Mr. Frazar, "it had become a serious matter with them, as they could
make scarcely any progress. As long as they were in the trough of the sea
the wind had little effect on them, but as soon as they reached the crest of a
wave it would catch them up and in an instant they were blown hundreds
of yards back or else into the water and drowned. * * * j^ -^vas sad
indeed to see them struggling along by the side of the vessel in trying to pass
ahead of her, for as soon as they were clear of the bows they were invariably
blown back into the water and drowned. Most of those which came aboard
(considerably over a hundred) were washed into the sea again."* Twenty-
three different species were identified, including warblers, finches, flycatchers,
and a single swallow, hawk, dove and turnstone. Probably these were all
migrants which had nearly crossed the Gulf of Mexico from the Peninsula
of Yucatan, only to be swallowed up by the angry sea when almost within
sight of their goal.
Another observer describes the disaster caused to birds on Lake Michigan
by a violent storm in September, 1879, as follows: "The eastern shore of
Lake Michigan was strewn with dead birds. I took pains to count those on
a certain number of yards, and estimated that if the eastern shore was alike
through all its length, over a half a million birds were lying dead on that
side of the lake alone. It is more than likely that nearly as many more were
on the west. It was a strange and pitiful sight." There were wrens, creepers,
kinglets, robins, kingbirds, warblers, sparrows, finches, woodpeckers, and even
a few blue jays and kingfishers. Here apparently temperature played no
part, but wind and heavy rain bafliled the little migrants whichever way they
turned, and finally beat them down into the relentless waves.
Still another example of the dangers run by birds in migration is found
in the record of a disaster on the eastern shore of Lake Huron in the autumn
of 1906.t On the 19th of October, 1908, Mv. W. E. Saunders of London,
Ontario, received word from a correspondent at Forest that he had spent the
previous day on the Lake Huron shore near Port Franks and had observed
hundreds of bii'ds on the shore dead, cast up by the waves. He estimated
five thousand dead birds to the mile and on the 21st Mr. Saunders visited the
region and examined the beach southward from Grand Bend. His account
of the disaster is given in his own words: "After covering several miles
and seeing only a few dead birds, I came at length to the region of death.
At first the birds were not very close together, but eventually became so
plentiful that in one place I put my foot on four, and saw as many as a dozen
in four or five feet. I began a census at once, which I continued until the
lengthening shadows warned me to hurry on to the river so as to cross
in dayhght, but in the two or three hours spent in the count I recorded 1,845
*Bul. Nutt. Orn. Club. VI, 1881. 250-251.
t A Migration Disaster in Western Ontario. Tlie Auk, XXIV, 1907. 108-110.
INTRODUCTION. 27
dead birds, representing twenty-six different species. After consuming
all the time I could spare in this work, I walked over two miles or so of beach,
where the birds were more common than on the shore where the count was
taken; this brought me within half a mile of the mouth of the Sable river and I
then crossed it and turned my steps inland to a railway station. * * *
After my return I wrote to various persons near the lake shore. * * *
It appears that from below Grand Bend the birds were very numerous until
beyond Stony Point, but toward Kettle Point they diminished and were not
plentiful again until Blue Point, beyond which they were 'laying six deep
in one place.' * * * -phe northeastern section, of which I covered
perhaps two miles, would have approximately one thousand birds to the mile,
and the whole section might be perhaps ten miles; the western section was
probably thickly covered, but the length is unknown, possibly three miles,
or perhaps even ten."
The weather conditions which resulted in this tragedy are thus described
by Mr. Saunders: "The early days of October. 1906, were warm and damp,
but on the sixth came a north wind which carried the night temperature
down to nearly freezing. Near there it stayed with little variation until
the tenth, and on the tenth the north wind brought snow through the western
part of Ontario. At London there was only two or three inches, which
vanished early next day; and the thermometer fell to only 32 degrees on the
night of the 10th, and to 28 on the 11th, but ten miles west there was five
inches of snow at 5 p. m. October 10, and towards Lake Huron, at the south-
east corner, between Goderich and Sarnia, the snow attained a depth of nearly
a foot and a half, and the temperature dropped considerably lower than at
London. On that night, apparently, there must have been a heavy migration
of birds across Lake Huron, and the cold and snow combined overcame many
of them, so that they fell in the lake and were drowned."
It should be noted that in all probabihty the destruction of these birds
took place on the night of October 10-11, and that this is an exceptionally
early date for severe cold and heavy snow. Among the birds overtaken
by this disaster, the species most strongly represented appear to have been
the Winter Wren, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Tree Sparrow,
Junco, and Golden-crested Kinglet. Mr. Saunders counted 417 Juncos in
the total of 1,845 birds alluded to.
We have no time to discuss the alleged power of birds to divine coming
storms, nor can we enter into a consideration of such instincts as should
save them from disasters like those just described. I have tried to show
already that they possess no such extraordinary powers of flight as are
ascribed to them by popular writers, and had we the time, it might be shown,
I believe, that at least for a very large part of their migratory flight they
do not follow fixed paths, nor do they retrace their footsteps — or better,
wing-beats — through memory. That certain great natural highways exist,
I have no doubt, but certainly part of the throngs of birds which use them
do so not because they have ever used them before, or even because their
ancestors used them, but because the same forces which led to their use
then are still operative and because these routes are the easiest and best
paths to the regions desired.
Natural highways, recognized as such by all well informed bird-students,
are the valleys of rivers having a general north and south trend, especially
the larger rivers. Famous examples of such highways are seen in the
Mississippi and the Red River of the north which combine to form a path
along which millions of birds pass annually between Louisiana and Manitoba,
28 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
while other miUions diverge into the larger tributary valleys, such as the
Arkansas, IMissouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. Shorter but equally popular
valleys are those of the Connecticut, the Hudson, the Potomac, the Susque-
hanna and the Genessee, every one of which is noted for its throngs of mi-
grants both spring and fall.
The larger Michigan rivers all trend rather east and west than north and
south anci perhaps for that reason no one of them seems to have acquired
fame as a migration route. True the Detroit and St. Clair rivers form a
famous route for waterfowl, and it is no uncommon thing for ducks, geese,
swans and gulls to pass Detroit in large numbers, flock often following flock
in seemingly endless procession. Yet apparently Detroit is avoided by the
greater throngs of land birds, the main stream of migrants passing some
twenty miles east of the city, and one branch of this stream entering the
state at Port Huron and flowing northward along the Huron shore, across
the mouth of Saginaw Bay and eventually across the head of Lake Huron
and the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula, into the relatively unknown
regions of northern Ontario.
Doubtless most Michigan migrants arriving from the south enter the state
directly from Ohio or Indiana, and according to the generally accepted theories
many of them, if from the far south, have come up the Mississippi valley
to the mouth of the Ohio River, followed this valley to the northeast and as-
cended some one of the tributary valleys from the north, — the Wabash, Miami,
Scioto, etc., to the sources of these streams, and then ])y the Maumee, San-
dusky and Huron rivers to Lake Erie or to the Ohio-Michigan line. Birds
arriving on the Lake Erie shore at or east of Sandusky are known to cross
the western end of Lake Erie by a route which takes them over Kelly and
Pelee islands, as stepping stones, to Point Pelee in Ontario, a long, sandy,
partly wooded point which stretches out nearly ten miles into Lake Erie.
Continuing this journey northward from the point part of the migrants pass
up the eastern shore of Lake Huron (Georgian Bay), while the remainder,
as already noted, proceed directly north to the southern end of Lake Huron,
crossing then into IMichigan territory and proceeding northward along the
western shore of Lake Huron.
Possibly the Wabash Valley column may supply most of the migrants
which enter southwestern ]Michigan, while those which use the Miami and
Scioto valleys reach southeastern Michigan, or cross Lake Erie by the Pelee
route, but it must be remembered that by no means all migrants follow river
valleys, and especially in regions like the Indiana-Ohio-]\Iichigan area, where
the country is comparatively flat and everywhere well watered, there is every
reason to beheve that little use is made of the streams in directing the birds
northward.
It should also be clearly understood that there is certainly a well marked
migration, both northward and southward, through Ohio and Indiana which
is entirely independent of the ]\Iississippi and Ohio valleys, the birds coming
directly over the mountains from the South Atlantic and Gulf states to the
Ohio valley, and very possibly completing their northward movement without
any reference to the direction of water courses.
It has been commonly assumed that land birds would prefer not to cross
large bodies of water if they can be conveniently avoided, but while this may
be true of birds migrating by day, it is certainly not true of all nocturnal
migrants, and the records of birds killed at hghthouses, both along the sea-
coast and on the Great Lakes, makes it pretty clear that very many species
are quite indifferent as to whether their course lies over land or watei". We
INTRODUCTION. 29
know that hawks, swallows, and some other day-migrants seem reluctant
to venture out onto sea or lake, and prefer to "coast alongshore" in the direc-
tion which takes them most nearly where they wish to go ; but this may very
likely result from the fact that these birds must feed more or less as they
travel, and it demands no extraordinary intelligence to foresee the scarcity
of food if they pass out over the sea or any large body of water. Just how
far birds follow "blind instinct" (whatever that may be) in these trips and
how far they act as intelligent beings is a moot question at present. One
might suppose, after studying the map of the Great Lake region, that birds
passing northward from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan would endeavor
to cross into the Upper Peninsula at or near the Straits of Mackinac, but so
far as we can learn birds are no more numerous during migration at that point
than any other, and the fact that thousands of birds are killed annually at
Spectacle Reef Light at the head of Lake Huron, quite a ch stance east of the
Straits, would seem to show that the migrants — at least at night — take a
direct north and south course without regard to the amount of land or water
to be crossed.
SOME USEFUL BOOKS OF REFERENCE.
(A) Large works to be found in most libraries.
L Baird, Brewer & Ridgwav. History of North American Birds.
Land Birds, Vols. 1, 2^^ 3. Water Birds, Vols. 1, 2. Little,
Brown & Co.
2. Robert Riclgway. Birds of North and Middle America. Bull.
50, U. S. National Museum, Vols. 1, 2, 3, 4 (5 in press). No
life histories.
3. Elliott Coues. Key to North American Birds, 2 vols. Dana
Estes & Co., Boston, 1905, 5th ed. ($10.00).
4. Capt. Chas. Bendire. Life Histories of North American Birds,
2 vols. : Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, Vol. 28,
1892, and Vol. 32, 1895. Land Birds from Raptores to Icter-
idfB, with many fine colored plates of eggs.
5. Henry Nehrling. Our Native Birds of Song and Beauty. 2
large vols., 36 colored plates. Geo. Brumder, Milwaukee,
1893.
6. Howard Elon Eaton. Birds of New York. Memoir 12, N. Y.
State Museum, Vol. 1, 1909 (Vol. 2 in press). About 50
colored plates in Vol. 1.
(B) Smaller works, some of which every bird student should own.
7. Robert Ridgway. Key to North American Birds. J. B. Lippin-
cott, 1 vol.
8. Frank M. Chapman. Handbook of Birds of Eastern North
America. Sixth (or later) edition, 1904. D. Appleton &
Co., New York, $3.00.
9. Frank M. Chapman. Warblers of North America. D. Appleton
& Co., With 24 colored plates. $3.00 net.
10. Frank M. Chapman. Bird Life. D. Appleton & Co., 1903,
75 colored plates. (Popular edition $2.00.)
11. Frank M. Chapman. Bird studies with a Camera. D. Apple-
ton & Co., 1903. No colors. $1.75.
12. Ralph Hoffman. Guide to the birds of New England and Eastern
New York. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1904. $2.00.
30 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
13. Lynds Jones. The Birds of Ohio. Ohio State Academy of
Science. Special Papers No. 6, 1903. No illustrations.
14. W. L. Dawson. Birds of Ohio. Wheaton Publishing Co.,
Columbus, Ohio, 1903. $6.00 and upward. Many tri-
color photographic plates.
15. Amos W. Butler. Birds of Indiana. From 22nd Rep. Dept.
Geol. & Nat. Resources of Indiana, 1897.
16. Kumlien & Hollister. Birds of Wisconsin. Bull. Wis. Nat.
Hist. Soc, vol. 3, Nos. 1, 2, 3 (1903). (Milwaukee Public
Museum.)
17. Frank M. Woodruff. Birds of the Chicago Area. Bull. 6,
Nat. Hist. Survey. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1907.
18. Herbert K. Job. Among the Water-fowl. Doubleday, Page
& Co., N. Y., 1903.
19. Florence Merriam Bailey. Birds of Village and Field. Houghton
Mifflin & Co., 1898, 300 illustrations, $2.00.
20. Florence Merriam Bailey. Birds Through an Opera Glass.
Houghton Mifflin and Co. $.75.
21. Chester A. Reed. Bird Guide, Part I. Water Birds, Game
Birds and Birds of Prey. Worcester, Mass. 50 and 75 cents.
22. Chester A. Reed. Bird" Guide, Part II. Land Birds, 1909.
$.75 and $1.00.
23. J. H. Langille. Our Birds in their Haunts. S. E. Cassino &
Co., Boston, 1884. Out of print.
24. W. W. Cooke. Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley. Bull.
2, Division of Economic Ornithology, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1888,
25. Florence Merriam Bailey. Handbook of Birds of the Western
United States. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1902. 33 plates
and 600 cuts, $3.50.
26. Montague Chamberlain. Popular Handbook of the Ornithology
of Eastern North America. By Thomas Nuttall. Little,
FBrown & Co., 2nd edition, 1896. 2 vols,
27. Weed and Dearborn. Birds in their Relations to Man. J. B.
Lippincott Co., 1903.
28. Edward H. Forbush. Useful Birds and their Protection. Mass.
State Board of Agriculture, Boston, 1907.
29. D. Lange. Our Native Birds, How to Protect them and Attract
them to our Homes. Macmillan Co., New York, 1899. $1.00.
30. Gilbert H. Trafton. Methods of Attracting Birds. Houghton,
Mifflin & Co., 1911.
31. Biological Survey, U, S. Department of Agriculture. Various
bulletins and reports on birds. Washington, D. C, 1885 to
date,
32. The Auk, A quarterly journal of ornithology, and the official
organ of the American Ornithologists' Union. Annual sub-
scriptions $3.00. Jonathan D wight, Jr., Treasurer, 134 West
71st St., N. Y. City.
33. Bird Lore. A bi-monthly journal devoted to birds, and the
official organ of the American Audubon Societies. Published
by the Macmillan Co., Crescent and Mulberry Sts,, Harris-
burg, Pa, Annual subscription $1.00,
INTRODUCTION. 31
34. The Wilson Bulletin. Official organ of the Wilson Ornitholog-
ical Club. W. F. Henninger, Treasurer, New Bremen, Ohio.
Annual subscription $1.00.
35. Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. Vols. 1 (1897)
to VI (1905), with some omissions. Publication discontinued
in 1905.
36. A. O. U. Check List of North American Birds. (Check Bist
prepared for the American Ornithologists' Union) Third
Edition, 1910. Price, $2.50. Address Jonathan Dwight, Jr.,
134 W. 71st St., N. Y. City.
ARTIFICIAL KEY TO THE LARGER GROUPS.
A. Distinctly web-footed.— B, BB, 15BB.
B. No hind toe, 3 front toes fully webbed. — G, CC.
C. Wings long; tail well developed. — Kittiwake Gull, Family Laiida;,
page 50.
GC. Wings short, tail soft, short and hardly visible. — Family 3, Alcida),
Auks and Murres, page 43.
BB. Hind toe present and connected by web to inner toe; nostrils small
or wanting. Order IV, Steganopodes, Totipalmate Swimmers,
page 65.
BBB. Hind toe present; not connected with front toes. — E, EE.
E. Gutting edges of bill with teeth or comb-like ridges. — Order V,
Anseres, Ducks, Geese and Swans, page 70.
EE. Gutting edges of bill without teeth or comb-like ridges. — F. FF,
FFF.
F. Legs short, shank (tarsus) compressed hke knife-blade; feet placed
far back; no visible tail. — Families 2 and 3, Colymbidae and
Gaviidffi, Grebes and Loons, pages 36 and 40.
FF. Legs short, shank not noticeably compressed; legs midway in
body: tail well developed. — Order II, Longipennes, Gulls and
Terns, page 47.
FFF. Legs very long and slender, bill slender, recurved at tip.—
Avocet, Family 25, Recurvirostridse, page 169.
AA. Imperfectly or not at all web-footed. — G, GG.
G. Tibia more or less bare above heel ("knee"). — H, HH.
H. Lores naked (sometimes part of head also). — I, II, III.
I. Bill straight and sharp, middle claw pectinate (with a comb). —
Family 20, Ardeida^, Herons, page 127.
II. Bill straight, not very sharp, middle claw not pectinate. — Family
21, Gruidse, Granes, page 148.
III. Bill decurved, not sharp; middle claw not pectinate.— Family
18, Ibididse, Ibises, page 124.
HH. Lores, and rest of head, feathered or bristly. — J, JJ.
J. Large, length 3 feet or more.— Family 21, Gruida?, Granes (young),
page 148.
JJ. Small, length less than 2 feet.— K, KK.
K. Legs very short; tarsus about one half as long as middle toe. —
Family 45, Alcedinida?, Kingfishers, page 341.
KK. Legs long, tarsus little if any shorter than middle toe. — L, LL.
L. Feet large and clumsy-looking, the middle toe equal to or
longer than the tarsus.— Family 23, Rallidir, Rails, page 152.
LL. Feet and legs slender, the middle toe barely equal to tarsus,
often much shorter.— M, MM.
M. Tarsus scutellate in front (with a single row of transverse
plates). (Fig 54).— N, NN.
5
34 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
N. Bill slender, weak, mostly longer than head. — O, 00.
O. Toes with webbed margins or lobed flaps. — Family
24, Phalaropodidae, Phalaropes, page 165.
00. Toes without marginal webs or lobes. — Family
26, Scolopacidse, Snipe, etc., page 171.
NN. Bill stout, spike-like, about as long as head. — Turnstone
and Red Phalarope, pages 217 and 165.
MM. Tarsus reticulate (Fig. 56).— P, PP.
P. Bill long, very slender, more or less upcurved. — Family
25, Recurvirostridse, Stilt, page 170.
PP. Bill short, stout, straight. — Family 27, Charadriida,
Plover, page 208.
GG. Tibia feathered down to heel joint ("knee"). — Q. QQ.
Q. Upper mandible with a cere, or with a soft swollen
membrane (Fig. 64) at base. — R, RR. _
R. Bill strongly hooked.— S, SS. ;^
S. Plumage bright green or green and yellow. — Fig. 64. Riii of
Family 42, Psittacidffi, Paroquet. (Appendix.) Mourning Dove.
SS. Plumage not green nor green and yellow. — Order XII, Raptores,
Birds of Prey, page 254.
RR. Bill not hooked. — Order XI, Columbse, Doves and Pigeons, page 238.
QQ. Upper mandible without a cere, or soft swollen membrane at base.
— T, TT.
T. Only two toes in front.— U, UU.
U. Tail long, of soft feathers. — Family 43, Cuculidse, Cuckoos, page 337.
UU. Tail medium, of stiff, pointed feathers. — Order XV, Pici, Wood-
peckers, page 345.
TT. Three toes in front.— V, VV.
V. Nail of middle toe pectinate (with a comb on inner edge).— Family
47, Caprimulgidse, Goatsuckers, page 373.
VV. Nail of middle toe not pectinate. — W, WW.
W. Each tail feather tipped with a spine. — Family 48, Micropodida3,
Swifts, page 381.
WW. Tail feathers not spine-tipped. — X, XX.
X. Very small birds, less than 4 inches long. — Family 49, Trochil-
idse, Hummingbirds, page 387.
XX. More than 4 inches long.— Y, YY.
Y. Hind toe and claw not more than half as long as middle toe
and claw. — Z, ZZ.
Z. Bill much longer than head.— Woodcock (Family Scolo-
pacidse), page 172.
ZZ. Bill shorter than head. — Order X, Gallinse, Grouse, Part-
ridges, etc., page 220.
YY. Hind toe and claw much more than half as long as middle
toe and claw. — Order XVII, Passeres, Perching Birds,
page 389.
LIFE HISTORIES OF MICHIGAN BIRDS.— PART I. WATER BIRDS.
Order I. PYGOPODES.*— Diving Birds.
KEY TO FAMILIES.
A. Tail-feathers wanting; toes conspicuously lobed (Fig.
3) the nails of the anterior toes very broad and
flat.— Family 1, Colymbidse, Grebes, page 36.
AA. Tail-feathers present but short. — B, BB.
B.Toes four, hind toe present. — Family 2, Gaviida —
Loons, page 40.
BB. Toes three, hind toe wanting. — Family 3, Alcida
— Auks and Murres, page 43.
Fig. 3. Foot of Grebe.
*The classiflcation and nomenclature adopted are those of the third edition, 1910, of the Check-list
of North American Birds prepared for tlie American Ornithologists' Union, and the number in paren-
theses following the scientific name is the species number used in the second edition of that checli-list
(1895). The number preceding each species name is the serial number of the present list. For an
outline of the classification used those interested may consult Appendix No. 5 near the end of the
volume.
36 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Family 1. COL YMBID.E.— Grebes.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Wing more than 5 inches (and less than 9). — B, BB.
B. Wing more than 7 inches. — C, CC.
C. Culmen 2^ inches or more. — -Western Grebe. (Appendix.)
CC. Culmen less than 2^ inches. — Holboell's Grebe. No. 1.
BB. Wing less than 6 inches.— D, DD.
D. Bill compressed, deeper than wide at base. — Horned Grebe. No. 2.
DD. Bill depressed, wider than deep atbase. — Eared Grebe. (Appendix.)
AA. Wing 5 inches or less. — Pied-billed Grebe. No. 3.
1. HolboeU's Grebe. Colymbus holboelli (Rcinh.). (2)
Synonyms: Red-necked Grebe. — Podicops holbellii, Reinli., 1853. — Podiceps grei.segena
of many authors. — Podiceps greisegena var. holboelli, Coues, 1872.
Largest of the so-called "Hell-divers," intermediate in size between the
common Grebes and the Loon. To be identified positively only by exact
measurements in comparison with detailed description.
Distribution. — North America at large, including Greenland, also eastern
Siberia and southwest to Japan. Breeds in 'high latitudes, migrating
south in winter.
This grebe has been taken in Michigan at widely separated places,
but less than a dozen times in all so far as known. The following are the
records known to us: One taken at Hillsdale, in the spring of 1890, by
Prof. Frank Smith, now in museum of Hillsdale College; one in the collec-
tion of B. J. Savage, Monroe, an autumn specimen taken about 1901; one
picked up frozen March 12, 1900, at Greenville, Montcalm county, mounted
by the late Percy Selous and now in the museum of Agricultural College;
one in collection of C. J. Davis, Lansing, taken at Pine Lake, Ingham
county, in autumn, exact date not known (This is the specimen recorded
in Cook's "Birds of Michigan" as the Western Grebe, J^chmophorus
occidentalis) ; another taken at same place (Pine Lake) by T. L. Hankinson,
October 30, 1897; one shot at Capac, St. Clair county, February 15, 1904
(Swales) ; one in high school collection at Sault Ste. Marie, collected there
(1901?) by Stewart Ten Eyck; one mounted specimen in the Barron col-
lection at Niles, without data; one said to have been taken at Mitchell's
Bay, St. Clair Flats (Saunders). This Grebe is said to be a spring and
fall visitor on the Detroit River, by Mcllwraith; observed by Boies about
IMud Lake on the east side of Neebish Island, St. Mary's River, in summer
of 1893; said to be a rare migrant in Delta county (Van Winkle); and a
common migrant in the fall at Ann Arbor (Covert).
The above records indicate practically all that we know of this species.
It comes to us from the north in the autumn, some individuals doubtless
remain on the unfrozen waters of the state through the winter, and it re-
tires northward be3^ond our limits on the approach of warm weather; the
records are too few to give us any idea of its actual migration movements.
There is no reason to suppose that it nests anywhere in the state. At
Leech Lake, Minn., where a small colony was found nesting in June, 1903,
WATER BIRDS. 37
by Mr. E. S. Currier (Auk, Vol. XXI, pp. 31-32), the nests were on muskrat
liouses in deep water. Sets of 4, 5 and 7 eggs were found on June 10.
Its food doubtless consists, like that of all other members of the family,
entirely of aquatic animals, mainly fish. The name "Red-necked Grebe"
is not particularly appropriate to the bird as we see it, since the red neck
belongs to the breeding season and specimens taken within our limits
rarely show more than traces of the red throat.
There is no unciuestionable record of the Western Grelie, A^]chmophorus
occidentalis, in Michigan. See Appendix.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult in breeding phuiiage has top of head, back of neck and most of back black, deepest
on head, duller on back. Sides of head, upper throat and belly, pure white. Front and
sides of neck reddish brown (rufous). In winter the adult is brownish black above, white
or grayish white below, and the red neck is paler and duller. Young birds are similar but
have no reddish brown on the neck. Iris red. Sexes alike. Length 18 to 20 inches;
wing, 7.25 to 8; culmen, 1.G5 to 2.40.
2. Horned Grebe. Colymbus auritus Linn. (3)
Synonyms: Hell-diver, Water-witch. — Colymbus auritus, Linn., 1758, and of most
authors.
One of the two small Hell-Divers which are common on our lakes and
streams, and recognizable ordinarily by its slender, pointed, uniformly
dark bill.
Distribution. — ^Northern Hemisphere. Breeds from the northern United
States northward.
In Michigan the bird is universally distributed during spring and fall,
and not infrequently spends the winter if suitable open water can be found.
The question of its nesting within our limits apparently remains to be
settled. It is by no means improbable that it nests in small numbers in
the northern part of the state, but there is no unquestionable record. The
older lists state positively that the species nested in abundance at St. Clair
Flats and along the Detroit River, but no exact records are given and in
recent years careful search has failed to show any nesting birds in those
regions. Mcllwraith states that it breeds "in all suitable places throughout
Ontario, notably at St. Clair Flats." (Birds of Ontario p. 27), This,
however, does not accord with recent experience and Mr. Wm. Saunders
of Toronto states in a recent letter to Mr. B. H. Swales that he finds no
evidence that the species has ever bred at St. Clair Flats. Undoubtedly
single specimens of this bird occur in different parts of the state during
summer, but these in all probability are barren birds or "pensioners,"
that is, birds wounded or partially disabled during the shooting season
and not able to go north with the rest of their kind. It is not impossible
that such individuals sometimes mate and nest, but such instances must
i)c few. We saw a single adult on a small stream, the Sucker, at Grand
Mai-ais, Alger county, Michigan, on the south shore of Lake Superior, July
8, 1903, and the bird might well nest in that region if anywhere in the
state. It reappears in numbers very early in autumn, by mid-August at
least, and remains on the Detroit River at least through the first week in
.May. It is known to nest al)undantly in the Hudson Bay region, as well
as in northern iMinnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba. It builds a
somewhat bulky nest of more or less decomposed vegetable matter, grasses,
38
MICHIGAN BIRD jLIFE.
rushes, etc., and although the nest is usually anchored to surrounding
vegetation it not infrequently floats about more or less and is said to be
sometimes attached in such a way that it can rise and sink as the level
of the water changes.
It lays from three to five eggs, which are white, more or less stained
by the fermenting herbage of the nest, and average 1.78 by 1.20 inches.
This grebe frequently avoids the sportsman's shot by diving at the flash
of the gun, but is much less successful since nitro-powder came into general
use. It also has the power, in common with other members of the family,
of sinking slowly beneath the surface until only the head, or even the bill
remains above, and it is able to remain entirely submerged for at least
several minutes; exact determination of the length of time should be made
by some one who has good opportunity for observation.
The food is mainly fish, but aquatic insects are frequently found in its
stomach.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
The adult in breeding plumage has the top of the head, back of neck and the chin brownish
black to sooty black, deepest on the crown; there is a prominent ruff or hood about the
back of the head consisting of elongated feathers, about half buff or cinnamon, the re-
mainder brownish black; the front and sides of the neck and the sides of the chest are
chestnut, remainder of the lower parts silky white, back and rump slaty black. The
secondaries are mostly white and very conspicuous in flight; there is no evident tail. Bill
slender, black, tipped with yellow; iris red. Sexes alike. Winter plumage mainly grayish
black above and pure white below with no trace of buff or chestnut and little indication
of the hood or ruff. The slender bill and larger amount of white in the wings are the
characters most readily separating it from the Pied-bill Grebe in the same plumage. Length,
12.50 to 15.25 inches; wing, 5.75.
3. Pied-billed Grebe. Podilymbus podiceps (Linn.). (6)
Synonyms: Dabchick, Dipper, Water-witch, Hell-diver, Die-dapper or Dive-dapper,
Carolina Grebe. — Colymbus podiceps, Linn., 1758. — Podiceps carolinensis, Lath., 1790,
and most of the earlier American writers.
Figures 1,2,3.
Fig. 1. Pied-billed Grebe.
From Niittairs Ornithology (Chamberlain). LitUe, Browi
WATER BIRDS.
39
The most common of the divers and readily separated from the pre-
ceding species by its much thicker bill, which in summer is light colored,
encircled by a black band, which however is lost in winter.
Distribution. — British Provinces southward to Brazil, Argentine Repubhc
and Chili, including the West Indies and Bermuda; breeding nearly through-
out its range.
In Michigan very generally distributed and absent only during the
winter months. We have no record of the occurrence of this species in
December, January or February, but it has been taken every other month
in the year.
It nests abundantly in every suitable place in the state, from the Ohio-
Indiana line to Lake Superior, building a floating nest similar to that of
the Horned Grebe, and laying from five to eight white eggs which average
1.72 by 1.99 inches. We have sets of 5, 6 and 7 eggs taken on different
lakes in Barry county. May 29, 1885, May 31, 1888, and
June 4, 1888.
During the nesting season the birds keep more closely
to the marshes and the rank vegetation along the
borders of streams and ponds, where they are less
likely to be seen. Sometimes many jiairs will be found
nesting in small and isolated marshes where their
presence would hardly be suspected. No doubt the
heat of the decaying vegetation of the nest aids ma-
terially in hatching the eggs, and the mother usually
covers the eggs with some such material when leaving
the nest voluntarily. The young take to the water
immediately upon hatching, and when a nest with
one or two stained eggs is found, search in the vicinity,
or a little patient watching, will usually reveal three
or four newly hatched young close by. This bird is
seldom seen on the wing, since it seems always to prefer
to escape by diving. It undoubtedly migrates by
night, and one is recorded as killed on Spectacle Reef pig.s. Footof Pied-biii-
Light, Lake Huron, the night of September 9, 1904. ed Grebe. (Original.)
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
The adult in breeding plumage has the chin and upper throat velvet black sharply de-
fined from the clear gray of the front and sides of the neck; crown, nape and back of neck
brownish black to clear black. Rest of upper parts brownish gray; under parts mixed
silver white and gray more or less spotted with black on the chest. The bill is light colored
with a conspicuous black band encircling it near the middle. The inner webs of the secon-
daries are largely white. Iris brown; sexes alike. In winter the bill is yellowish without
any trace of the black band and the throat is wliitish without trace of black. Rest of mider
parts are silky white or grayish white and the upper parts slaty black or brownish black.
In this plumage the bird closely resembles the Horned Grebe of the same season; compare
description under that species. Lengtli, 12 to 15 inches; wing, 4.50 to 5.
40
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Fig. 2. iNt'st. and Eggs of Pied-billed Grebe.
From photograph by Thos. L. Hankinson.
Family 2. GAVIID^.— Loons.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Tarsus shorter than middle toe without claw. — B, BB.
B. Depth of bill at base .90 inch or more. — Common Loon. No. 4.
BB. Depth of bill at base .80 inch or less. — Black-throated Loon. (Ap-
pendix.)
AA. Tarsus longer than middle toe with claw. — Red-throated Loon. No. 5.
4. Loon. Gavia immer (Brunn). (7)
Synonyms: Great Nortlicrn Diver, Walloon, Ring-necked Loon, Black -billed Loon,
Guinea Duck, Greenhead. — Colynibus imnier, Briinnich, 1764. — Colymbiis imber, Gunn.,
1761. — Urinator imber, Stejn., 1885. — Colymbus torquatus and Colynibus glacialis of
most of the older writers.
Figure 4-
Readily recognized by its large size, and, in summer, by its green head,
checkered black and white back, and white under parts. Largest of our
divers.
Distribution. — Northern part of Northern Hemisphere. In North
America breeds from the northern tier of states northward; ranges in
winter south to the Gulf of Mexico and lower California.
^^In Michigan most abundant during migration, but generally distributed,
so^that there is hardly a stream or pond on which Loons are not seen each
season. Formerly it nested abundantly on most of the ponds and lakes
of the state, even to the southernmost border, but of late years it is much
WATER BIRDS.
41
less common in summer in the more thickly settled parts of the state, al-
though it probably nests occasionally in every county. Toward the north
it nests in undiminished numbers and during the migrations is so abundant
in some places as to be a serious annoyance to the fishermen in
whose nets it is often entangled and drowned. Mr. W. A. Oldfield of
Port Sanilac, has sent us specimens of this species and the Horned Grebe
taken in herring nets at that place; and the late Dr. J. W. Velie of St. Joseph
told us that it was often caught in the nets there, particularly in the spring.
The nest is commonly a hollow in the top of a heap of matted water
plants of various kinds, sometimes on the mainland, more often on small
islands in inland lakes, most often of all on the top of a muskrat house
at the edge of a pond or in some large flooded marsh.
^=^ ^ ^ -
Fig. 4. Loon.
From Nuttall's Ornithology (Chamberlain).
Little, Brown & Co.
The eggs are invariably two, olive-brown more or less spotted with
darker brown and black. They average 3.52 by 2.27 inches. In the south-
ern part of the state the eggs are often laid the first week in May, but eggs
are also found as late as the last week in June. Dr. Dunham writes that
in Kalkaska county he has taken the eggs as early as May 12.
The bird feeds entirely on fish, dives at the flash of the gun, and after
it has been shot at a few times becomes extremely wary and makes long
trips under water often putting only the bill above the surface in order
to breath.
It is said to carry its young on its back during flight from one pond to
another, or from the nesting pond to the open lake, but this statement
needs confirmation. Dr. Gibbs states that he has seen the old one carry-
ing the young on its back when swimming in the lake.
The call of the Loon is loud but not unmusical; as commonly heard,
however, at night and often in stormy weather, it has something peculiarly
weird and uncanny about it.
42 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Largest of our divers, from 2^ to 3 feet long, but with rather small wings measuring about
4^ feet from tip to tip. Bill from 3 to 4 inches long, straight, sharp pointed and black.
Feet webbed, the shanks (tarsi) compressed to a knife edge, and the toes and nails flattened
to make the most effective paddle among birds. To increase their efficiency the legs are
placed far back, almost at the root of the tail. The plumage is thick, silky, compact and
ducklike. Adults in summer have the head and neck greenish or purplish black with a cres-
cent-like white patch on the upper throat in front and a similar white patch forming a col-
lar lower down which nearly or quite encircles the neck behind but does not quite meet in
front. Both these white patches are streaked with black. Sides of breast streaked with
black and white; back and upper surface of wings glossy black, thickly and sharply checked
and spotted with white, the spots largest and squarest in the middle of the back, smaller
and rounder in front and behind. Eyes red. The male is considerably larger than the
female, but the sexes are alike in color. In winter both are plain brownish black or dark
brown above, darkest on back of neck and top of head, and grayer on the back; below
they are pure white from bill to tail, the lines between the upper and under parts not being
very sharp but more or less gray or brown intervening. The downy young are plain brown
or gray above and white below. Length, 28 to 36 inches; wing, 13 to 15.25; culmen, 2.75
to 3.50.
5. Red-throated Loon. Gavia stellata {Pontop.). (11)
Synonyms: Red-throated Diver. — Colymbus stellatus, Pontoppidan, 1763. — Colymbus
lumme, Gunn., 1761. — Urinator lummc, Stejn., 1882, A. O. U. Checklist, 1895. — Colymbus
septentrionalis of most authors.
Likely to be taken for the young of the common Loon, or even for the
adult Loon in winter plumage, although it is decidedly smaller. Can
hardly be identified except with the bird in the hand.
Distribution. — Northern part of Northern Hemisphere, migrating south-
ward in winter nearly across the United States.
In Michigan found only in winter, or at least from late fall until spring;
and it seems to be much more frequently seen in spring than in fall. It
frequents the Great Lakes and the larger ponds and streams, but is very
much less often seen than the common Loon. Ordinarily it is in the winter
plumage and there is no indication of the red throat, but occasionally
some of the birds obtain their adult plumage, or something approaching it,
before going north in the spring. The late Dr. J. W. Velie, of St. Joseph,
wrote: "Eight or ten specimens were brought in by fishermen in May,
1904, taken from nets set in shallow water off shore at this place. Five
or six of these were brought in on the same day and among them were two
specimens in almost perfect breeding plumage with the red throat fully
colored. Although this species is common here every spring, this is the
first time I have ever found it with the red throat."
There is no reason to suppose that this diver ever nests in Michigan.
Its normal nesting grounds are in the far north, and its eggs closely resemble
those of the common Loon, but are much smaller, averaging 2.82 by 1.76
inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Similar to the preceding species; but decidedly smaller. Adult in summer (never seen
in Michigan) with the entire upper parts dark brownish black or slaty black, thickly marked
with small, oval white spots; the back of the neck black streaked with white. Front of
neck with a large triangular patch of rich chestnut; rest of imder parts white. The winter
plumage is similar, but the dark upper parts are duller, the red throat-patch mostly or
entirely wanting, and the tliroat, breast and belly white. The wings and back often show
traces of the oval white spots, and this, with the smaller size, serves to separate it readily
from the common Loon in winter plumage.
Measurements: Length, 24 to 27 inches; wing, 10 to 11.50; culmen, 2.00 to 2.25; tarsus,
2.75.
WATER BIRDS. 43
Family 3. ALCID^E. — Auks and Murres.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Wing more than 7 inches. — B, BB.
B. Gonys less than 1 inch (av. .83). — Briinnich's Murre. No. 6.
BB. Gonys more than 1 inch (av. 1.14). — Common Murre (Appendix).
AA. Wins less than 6 inches. — Little Auk. No. 7.
6. Brunnich's Murre. Uria lomvia lomvia (Linn.). (31)
Synonyms: Thick-billed Murre, Thick-billed Guillemot, Briirmich's Guillemot. —
Alca lomvia, Linn., 1758.— Uria lomvia, Bryant, 1861, A. O. U. Checklist, 1895.
Plate II.
A sea-bird of odd appearance with short legs, webbed feet with only three
toes, and thick, soft, duck-like plumage, slate above and white below.
Distribution.— Coasts and islands of north Atlantic and eastern Arctic
Oceans; south (in winter) to the lakes of northern New York and the coast
of New Jersey. Breeding from the Gulf of St. Lawrence northward.
This straggler from the north was first recorded from Michigan by the
writer (Auk, XII, 387, Oct., 1895), the occasion being the capture of a
specimen in a dying condition at Green-
ville, Montcalm county, December 13,
1894. The specimen was brought alive
to the late Percy Selous, who made a water-
color sketch of the bird and sent it to us
for identification. Subsequently Mr.
Selous presented the nicely mounted speci- Fig. 5. Foot of Bnmnidrs Murre.
men to the Agricultural College, and it is (Original.)
now in our museum. Specimens are frequently taken in the fall and winter
along the Atlantic coast as far south as New York, and they have been
recorded occasionally from inland lakes many miles from salt water. They
occurred in large numbers at Quebec, Canada, from November 15, 1893, to
January 8, 1894, (Auk, Vol. XI, 175), but the above specimen, so far as
known, is the first to be recorded from any part of the Great Lake region.
No other specimen was taken during the winter of 1894-95 so far as we can
learn, but in December, 1896, a remarkable flight of these birds occurred
on lakes Ontario and Erie, and many specimens were taken in Michigan,
Ohio, Indiana and Ontario. Probably a score or more were taken in
Michigan waters, but the following are the only ones of which we have record :
One taken on Detroit River December 19, 1896, now in the high school
collection at Sault Ste. Marie; one adult male shot from a flock near
Gibraltcr, Wayne county, Michigan, December 26, 1896, originally recorded
as Uria troile (Bull. M. O. C. I., p. 10); this specimen now in the museum
of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; two specimens killed at St.
Clair Flats, and first recorded by W. A. Davidson as "Black Guillemots"
(Bull. M. 0. C. I., p. 8 and Ibid. I, 24); in addition to these Mr. Swales
states that there are mounted birds at Ecorse and Trenton, Michigan,
taken in December, 1896. lie also states that during this flight "Some
44 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
ton or twelve birds were taken on the Detroit River." Mr. Purdy, of
Plymouth, Michigan, says that one was taken alive at Walled Lake, Oakland
County, by some fishermen and given to William Stark of Northville, who
kept it alive in his store where he (Mr. Purdy) saw and identified it. The
bird afterward died and was thrown away. A similar invasion occurred in
Dec, 1907, and numerous specimens were taken about Lake St. Clair and
in the vicinity of Detroit between Dec. 1st and 10th.
The causes for the southward migration of these sea-birds, and especially
for their appearance so far inland are entirely unknown. Mr. James H.
Fleming of Toronto has been collecting data in regard to the " Great Flight "
of 1895-96, and I am informed through Mr. P. A. Taverner that so far as
known the stomach of every bird captured was entirely empty and the
birds were all much emaciated and enfeebled, so much so that many of the
specimens were readily captured by hand. In the vicinity of Toronto
scores, perhaps hundreds, were found and there is reason to believe that the
birds came south from the Arctic regions by thousands and that they could
not, or at least did not, find suitable food to keep them alive.
This bird breeds on the Magdalene Islands, Gulf of St. Lawrence and
northward, laying a single heavily spotted egg on the bare rock of the
cliff. The eggs average 3.21 by 2.01 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
In winter upper parts dusky or slate-colored, the secondaries alone tipped with white.
Below, pure white from chin to tail, including most of the sides of the head and neck, but
in young birds the white throat is more or less washed with dusky. A distinct groove or
furrow in the plumage behind the eye. Length, 14.50 to 18.50; wing, 7.45 to 8.80 inches;
culmen, 1.40 to L50; tarsus, 1.40 to 1.55.
7. Little Auk. Alle alle (Lirin.). (34)
Synonyms: Dovekie, Sea-dove. — Alca alle, Linn., 1758. — Alle alle, Stejn., 1885, and
most subsequent authors.
Smallest of the family and resembling a miniature of Briinnich's Murre,
but of decidedly smaller size and proportionately smaller bill.
Distribution. — Coasts and islands of the northern Atlantic and eastern
Arctic oceans; in North America south in winter to New Jersey; breeds in
high northern latitudes.
This is an Arctic species confined as a rule to the sea and found inland
as a rule only when driven there by severe storms. There seems to be but
one record for Michigan, that by the late W. H. Collins of Detroit, whose
record (0. & O. Vol. VII, p. Ill, 1882) is as follows. "I received a fine
specimen of the sea dove killed here on Detroit River by one of our market
hunters. It was swimming among his decoy ducks. It proved to be a
young female." In corroboration of this record Mr. Covert Avrites me
that he saw the specimen and received the full history of its capture from
Mr. Collins, and has no reason to doubt the record. The specimen itself
may possibly be in existence still, but we have not been able to locate it.
The species migrates southward along the Atlantic coast with some
regularity every winter and specimens are often taken along the coast of
Maine and Massachusetts, not infrequently in fresh water ponds ten to
fifty miles from the seashore. There is a record also of a specimen taken
on Lake Ontario two miles from Toronto on November 18, 1901 (Auk,
Vol. XIX, p. 94).
Plate II. Brunnich's Murre.
From photograph of mounted specimen.
WATER BIRDS. 47
This species nests only in high latitudes, mainly or entirely within the
Arctic Circle, and its eggs are laid singly on islands and often on the bare
rocks of cliffs overhanging the sea. The eggs average 1.90 by 1.29 inches,
and are greenish white in color.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
The adult in summer has the head and neck all around, together with upper parts, blue-
black, more glossy above, duller and more brownish on the throat, chest and sides of head.
Scapulars white-edged and secondaries tipped with white. Under parts, except throat
and chest, pure white. In winter the brownish black disappears from the throat and
neck leaving the entire under parts pure white, and this color often extends over the sides
of the head and along the sides of the neck until it nearly meets on the back of neck. Length,
7.25 to 9.15 inches; wing, 4.50 to 4.75; culmen, .50.
Order II. LONGIPENNES.— Long-winged Swimmers.
KEY TO FAMILIES.
A. Covering of upper mandible of three distinct pieces, hook, side-piece,
and cere-like piece; two middle tail feathers projecting beyond the
rest. — Family 4, Stercorariidae.- — Skuas and Jaegers (Gull-chasers),
page 47.
A A. Covering of upper mandible of a single piece; middle tail-feathers not
projecting beyond the rest. — Family 5, Laridse — Gulls and Terns,
page 49.
Family 4. STERCORARIID.E.— Gull-chasers.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Projecting middle tail-feathers broad at tip. — Pomarine Jaeger. No. 8.
AA. Projecting middle tail-feathers narrow at tip. — Parasitic Jaeger. No. 9.
8. Pomarine Jaeger. Stercorarius pomarinus (Temm.). (36)
Synonyms: Jaeger Gull, Gull-chaser, Gull-hunter. — Larus pomarinus and Lestris
pomarinus, Temm., 1815. — Stercorarius pomarinus of most recent authors.
Most likely to be recognized, if at all, through its habit of chasing other
sea-birds, somewhat in the manner of a hawk, although it seldom kills the
bird it pursues, being content usually to compel it to drop or disgorge the
prey which it has just captured.
Distribution. — Seas and inland waters of northern portions of the North-
ern Hemisphere; south in winter to Africa, Australia and probably South
America.
This is another sea-bird of wide distribution, but unlike the Auks it is
by no means restricted to salt water. Nevertheless it is seldom seen and
still more seldom captured on the Great Lakes. The only record for Mich-
igan which we have been able to verify is that of a specimen taken on the
Detroit River May 30, 1879, by R. Sanlier, and recorded by the late W. H.
Colhns in the Oologist for 1879, p. 24. This specimen is now in the Museum
of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., and bears the following label:
48 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
"Female. Detroit River, May 30, 1879. Killed by R. Sanlier. It was
chasing Black Terns near Fighting Island."
The name appears in several lists of birds of the state, and there can be
little doubt that the species occurs with some regularity on Lakes Superior,
Michigan and Huron. Mr. E. W. Nelson states that he is "certain that
this species is a rare visitant to Lake Michigan during severe winters"
(Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, Vol. I, p. 41). Dr. Brayton (Trans. Ind. Hort.
Hoc. 1879 p. 150) says "A rare winter visitant to Lake Michigan. October
9, 1876, in company with my friend Mr. E. W. Nelson * * * we saw
a fine specimen of this bird flying along the lake shore near the state
(Indiana) hne." As already stated the bird preys upon other birds, robbing
their nests of eggs and young or chasing the old birds and compelling them
to give up the food they have taken.
The above record for Detroit River, May 30, shows that the bird lingers
late in these latitudes, but it nests invariably far north, and its nesting
habits are but imperfectly known. It lays two or three olive green to olive
brown eggs more or less spotted with darker brown and black. The eggs
average 2.35 by 1.63 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
A web-footed, gull-like seabird, with bill more strongly hooked than in the ordinary-
gulls) and with the two middle tail-feathers projecting beyond the rest. These
two feathers are nearly as broad as the rest, rounded at tip, and from 7 to 10 inches
long. The adult often has the upper parts, except the nape, dark slate, and this color
extends over the sides of the head. All the lower parts from bill to tail are white or yellow-
ish white, and this is also the color of the nape. Some adults, however, are almost entirely
slate-colored above and below, often appearing dull black; the greater number are inter-
mediate between these two extremes. Immature birds are similar to adults, but are
always thickly barred with dark brown below and rusty or yellowish white above. Length,
20 to 23 inches; wing, 13.50 to 14; culmen, 1.45 to 1.75.
9. Parasitic Jaeger. Stercorarius parasiticus (Linn.). (37)
Synonyms: Richardson's Jaeger; Teaser; Boatswain; Marlinspike. — Larus parasiticus,
Linn., 1758. — Lestris parasitica. 111., 1811. — Lestris richardsoni, Nutt., 1834, Aud., 1835,
— Stercorarius parasiticus of most recent authors.
This bird is very similar to the Pomarine Jicger in general appearance
but is smaller and has the two middle tail-feathers narrow and pointed,
as well as elongated, which is readily seen when the bird is in full chase
after a gull or tern which is dodging and twisting in the attempt to escape.
Distribution. — Northern part of the Northern Hemisphere, southward
to North Africa and South America. Breeds in high northern districts,
and winters from New York and California southward to Brazil.
Like the preceding species this a decidedly uncommon bird in Michigan.
While it probably occurs regularly in spring and fall we know of but two
unquestionable records. A specimen was killed at Otter Lake, Lapeer
county, Sept. 28, 1897, and mounted by Robert P. Stark of that place,
from whom it was obtained for the museum of the Agricultural College,
where it now is. This is an immature bird, probably a bird of the year,
and the sex was not determined. Another specimen was taken at Point
Mouville, Detroit River, Nov. 27, 1903. It was found by Mr. Covert at a tax-
idermist's shop in Detroit, and identified by himself and Mr. B. H. Swales.
It is now in the collection of the Detroit Museum of Art (Bull. Mich. Orn.
WATER BIRDS. 49
Club, Vol. IV, 1903, p. 94). Dr. Gibbs informs us that W. H. Collins
of Detroit in a letter which he has, says "Two specimens taken on Detroit
River, fall of 1876, and now in collection of Dr. Jasper, Columbus, Ohio.
One taken in October, 1883, in dark plumage."
We have recently (Nov. 2, 1905) examined a nice specimen of this species
in the Barron collection at Niles. It is an immature bird in a plumage
intermediate between the light and dark phase and the middle tail-feathers
but an inch longer than the rest. Although without any label it was
probably taken in that vicinity.
In habits this bird does not differ much from the preceding, but is
decidedly more common on the Atlantic coast, and is probably more a bird
of the coast than of the open sea. It nests far north of our Hmits, laying
eggs similar to those of the Pomarine Jaeger and averaging 2.30 by 1.64
inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Most of the head, neck and under parts wliite or yellowish white, the top of
head and the lores brown; the rest of the upper parts dark slate. Occasionally an adult
is found which is brownish black or very dark slate all over. Yoimg birds (full grown)
are mostly brownish, variously streaked and barred with whitish or buff, the streaking
most noticeable on head and neck, the barring on back, breast and belly.
Length, 15.50 to 21 inches; wing, 11. 80 to 13.50; longest tail-feathers 4.90 to 6.25; culmen,
1.15 to 1.40.
Family 5. LARID^.— Gulls and Terns.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Outer tail-feathers longest (tail more or less forked). — C, CC, CCC.
C. Large; wing more than 13 inches. — D, DD.
D. Largest; bill thick; tail forked less than two inches, hind head not
crested. — Caspian Tern. No. 19.
DD. Smaller; bill more slender; tail forked 3 inches or more; hind
head crested. ^ — Royal Tern. No. 20.
CC. Medium; wing 9 to 12 inches.— E, EE.
E. Outer tail-feathers much narrowed at tip. — F, FF, FFF.
F. Outer web of outer tail-feather darker than inner web. — G, GO.
G. Bill red with black tip (in summer). — Common Tern. No.
22.
GG. Bill all red (in summer). — Arctic Tern. No. 23.
FF. Inner web of outer tail-feather darker than outer wel); bill
red, black-tipped. — Forster's Tern. No. 21.
FFF. Both webs of outer tail-feather white; breast wliite or
rose-tinted. — Roseate Tern. (Appendix.)
EE. Outer tail-feathers not narrowed at tip. — Sabine's Gull. No.
18.
CCC. Small; wing less than 9 inches.— H, HH.
H. Back and upper sui'face of wings and tail slate-color or dark grav;
bill black.— Black Tern. No. 25.
HH. Back and upper surface of wings pale peai'l-gray; bill yellow,
black-tipped. — Least Tern. No. 24.
7
50 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
A A. Tail feathers all of equal length (tail square or slightly rounded). — I, II.
I. Large; wing more than 13 inches. — J, J J.
J. Primaries wholly white, or pale gray with white tips. — K, KK.
K. Wing over 16^ inches; tail over 7 inches. — Glaucous Gull.
No. 11.
KK. Wing not over 16^ inches; tail less than 7 inches. ^ — Iceland
Gull. No. 12.
JJ. Primaries wholly dark, or boldly marked with black and white.
— L, LL.
L. Back ("mantle") dark slate; wing over llh inches. — Black-
backed Gull. No. 13.
LL. Back ("mantle") pale pearl-gray.— M, MM.
M. Wing more than 16 inches. — Herring Gull. No. 14.
MM. Wing less than 16 inches.— Ring-billed Gull. No. 15.
II. Small; wing not more than 13 inches. ^ — N, NN.
N. Hind toe rudimentary or wanting. — Kittiwake. No. 10.
NN. Hind toe perfect but small. — O, 00.
O. Mantle dark (deep plumbeous or slate color). — P, PP.
P. Wing 12 to 13 inches. — Laughing Gull. (Appendix.)
PP. Wing 11 to 12 inches.— Frankhn's Gull. No. 16.
00. Mantle light (pale pearl gray) wing 10 to 11 inches. —
Bonaparte's Gull. No. 17.
10. Kittiwake. Rissa tridactyla tridactyla (Linn.). (40)
Synonyms: Common Kittiwake. — Larus tridactylus, Linn., 1758. — Rissa tridactyla,
A. O. U. Check-list, 1895, and most authors.
A rather small gull readily recognizable by the absence or extremely
rudimentary condition of the hind toe, which never bears a nail and is
usually altogether lacking. In addition the bird has brown or black feet
and a pale yellow or greenish yellow bill and the outer four primaries have
the tips entirely black.
Distribution. — Arctic regions, south in eastern North America, in winter
to the Great Lakes and the middle states.
Although the Kittiwake has been included in several of the earlier lists
of Michigan birds, there has always been some doubt as to its right to the
place. Doubtless the similarity of this bird, particularly when immature,
to the young of Bonaparte's Gull is responsible for many of the so-called
"records." The Kittiwake is essentially a coast species, and although it
occurs regularly along the St. Lawrence, on Lake Ontario, and even on the
Niagara River, it certainly is of infrequent occurrence to the west of this
point. We have but two records which are at all satisfactory, the first by
Mr. Stewart E. White, who states that it is rare on Mackinac Island, but
that a few accompany the large gulls in their migrations (Auk, Vol. X,
1893, p. 222); the other by Major A. H. Boies, who says "Occasionally seen
about Mud Lake (St. Mary's River) in the fall of 1893-94" (Birds of Neebish
Island, Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, Vol. I, p. 18). We have in the college museum
a specimen of the Kittiwake (No. 8293) which came to us with Major Boies'
collection, and which he says was surely killed on or near Neebish Island,
but he is unable to give any additional data.
Stockwell says: "Frequent in winter on Lake Huron and common
around the Straits of Mackinac " (Forest & Stream, Vol. VIII, p. 38). This
WATER BIRDS. 51
is at variance with the experience of recent collectors. The record by
Covert of a specimen taken at Ann Arbor April 9, 1875 (Forest & Stream,
Vol. VII, p. 164) seems doubtful, the specimen not having been located.
According to Mcllwraith, this species is very common at the approach of
winter, around the west end of Lake Ontario (Birds of Ontario, 1894, p.
43), and J. H. Fleming records the capture of several about Toronto, Ont.,
in November, 1899 (Auk, Vol. 17, 1900, p. 177). It is not included in
Kumlien & Hollister's List of the Birds of Wisconsin, since not one un-
questionable record for that state can be found.
In its habits it does not differ much from Bonaparte's Gull, except that
as already noted, it seems partial to salt water, and it appears invariably
to select rocky islands or cliffs for nesting purposes. It breeds abundantly
on some of the rocky islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and northward,
building a somewhat bulky nest of sea weeds, grasses and similar material
and laying 3 to 5 eggs which are greenish, grayish or brownish white,
spotted with brown and gray and average 2.26 by 1.61 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
A medium-sized, nearly white gull, with three toes on each foot (all other gulls have four),
and with the tail slightly emarginate or cut out. The adult in summer is pure wlaite except
that the mantle is bluish-gray and the ends of the four outer wing feathers are jet black,
the outer feather having most black and the inner least. The fifth feather is white at tip,
then black for a space, then white again; the remaining primaries white. Legs and feet
brownish black, bill pale yellow or greenish yellow. In winter the old birds are similar
but have the back of the head and neck gray instead of white. Young birds are like winter
adults but with an additional black patch across the back of the neck, and the tip of tail
usually with a black band. Length 16 to 16.70 inches; wing about 12.25; culmen 1.40 to
1.50.
11. Glaucous Gull. Larus hyperboreus Gunn. (42)
Synonyms: Burgomaster, Ice Gull. — Larus hyperboreus, Gunnerus, 1767. — Larus
glaucus, Brunn., 1764, and most authors.
Not to be discriminated with certainty from the Herring Gull under
ordinary circumstances; but larger and without any black on the primaries.
Distribution. — Arctic regions; south in winter in North America to the
Great Lakes and Long Island.
This, one of the two largest gulls occurring on the Great Lakes, is by no
means common and is rarely taken. In fact, although it undoubtedly
occurs regularly during the colder half of the year, we have been unable to
find a Michigan specimen in any collection, or even an unimpeachable
record. Covert in his manuscript list states that there have been several
authentic captures, but does not give any data. Kumlien & Hollister
(Birds of Wisconsin, p. 9) state that there are in the Milwaukee Public
Museum three specimens procured there January 8, 12, and 14, 1895.
In Butler's "Birds of Indiana," 1897, p. 570 it is stated that "Mr. J. W.
Byrkit informs me of its occurrence near Michigan City [close to the Mich-
igan line.] Mr. F. M. Woodruff has a beautiful specimen in whitepl umage
that he killed at Millers, Ind., Oct. 8, 1897." If the last statement is
correct it proves that the species does not wait for cold weather before
coming south, and presumably may be looked for on the Great Lakes at
any time except during the actual nesting season. It nests in Iceland,
Greenland, and Arctic America, generally laying two heavily spotted eggs
which average 3.13 by 2.14 inches.
In its habits it resembles the Herring Gull closely, but is said to be more
domineering and rapacious, often eating the young of other sea-birds and
sometimes even attacking sitting birds and killing and devouring them.
52 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
One of the largest gulls found within our limits. The tail always even, that is, neither
rounded nor forked, the head always white in the summer adult. Primaries pale pearl-
gray, becoming pure white at tip. Mantle pale pearl-gray. Some specimens are pure
white all over. In winter the adult is very similar, but the head and back of neck are
marked with more or less light brownish. Immature birds as large as the adults
never have the pure white plumage, but are more or less mottled with reddish-brown,
sometimes almost uniformly dark brown below, and the mantle also dark brown. The
bird can usually be told in any plumage by its size and the absence of any clear black in
any part of the plumage.
Length, 20 to 32 inches; wing, 16.75 to 18.75; tail, 7.40 to 8.50; culmen, 2.30 to 2.70.
12. Iceland GuU. Larus leucopterus Faber. (43)
Synonyms: White-winged Gull. — Larus leucopterus of most authors.
Not distinguishable from the preceding species except by careful measure-
ment.
Distribution. — Arctic regions, south in winter to Massachusetts and the
Great Lakes, occasionally much farther south.
This bird is precisely like the Glaucous Gull in plumage, habits, and dis-
tribution, differing only in size, the present species averaging decidedly
smaller than the Glaucous Gull. Its nesting habits and eggs are also
similar, except that the eggs are smaller, averaging 2.79 by 1.89 inches.
The impression seems to prevail that this bird is less rare than the Glaucous
Gull on the Great Lakes, and several authorities state this as a fact. Kum-
lien and Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, 1903) call it a regular winter visitant
on Lake Michigan, but by no means common, although occurring more
frequently than the Glaucous. Nelson (Bull. N. O. C. Vol. I, p. 41) says
"A regular winter visitant on Lake Michigan." Dr. Brayton also says
it is a "not uncommon winter resident on Lake Michigan." The only
absolute record which we have is that of a specimen collected at Sault Ste.
Marie, Mich, in 1901, by Mr. John Graham, and now in the High School
collection at that place. A photograph and measurements furnished by
Mr. W. P. Melville confirm this identification.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Almost exactly like the Glaucous Gull in everything but size; the bill, however, is not
as heavy, and particularly not as deep. Its average depth at the deepest part being only
about .02 of an inch, while tliat of the Glaucous Gull at the same point is from .80 to 1.00
inch. Length, 24 to 26 inches; wing, 14.75 to 16.50; tail, 6.00 to 0.70; culmen, 1.60 to 1.70.
13. Black-backed Gull. Larus marinus Lirm. (47)
Synonyms: Great Black-backed Gull, Saddle-back, Coffin-carrier. — Larus marinus of
most authors. — Larus maximus, Leach.
Largest of our gulls, or at least one of the two largest, the adult always
recognizable by the black back which gives it the name; the immature
bird, however, may be confounded easily with the young of the other species
and can be identified only by the expert.
Distribution. — The coasts of the North Atlantic; south in winter to
Long Island and Italy.
A rare bird in Michigan waters, but undoubtedly occurs once in a while,
although captures must be very rare. "One was shot on the Detroit River
in March, 1904, and mounted by C. Campion of Detroit" (B. H. Swales,
MS. List of Birds of S. E. Michigan, 1904). Specimens have been recorded
from Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana; and it has been reported in Michigan
WATER BIRDS.
53
waters by several good observers. S. E. White reports seeing it at Grand
Rapids, March 28, 1890, and calls it a very rare migrant at Mackinac
Island. Covert reports it at St. Clair Flats April 9, 1875; and the late Dr.
J. W. Velie informed us that he had taken it personally at Chicago, 111.,
and had seen it at St. Joseph, Berrien county, Mich., "several times in winter
and spring within the past ten years. There is no possibility of mistaking
the species when seen near at hand.'' While within our limits its habits
are like those of the other large gulls, although it is said to be more wary
than any other species.
It nests in the far north and its eggs are similar to those of the Glaucous
Gull, and average 3.05 by 2.12 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Mantle dark slate; primaries mostly black with white tips or white spots near the tips;
rest of the bird pure white. This is the adult in summer plumage. In winter the adult
is quite similar, but the head and neck are more or less streaked with dusky brown. The
immature bird, as large as the adult, is usually not dark colored all over, sometimes dark
brown mottled with rusty or whitish, sometimes much lighter beneath and with the throat
nearly unspotted. The primaries and tail are blackish-brown, the primaries tipped with
white and the tail with a whitish bar near the end.
Length, 28 to 31 inches; wing, 17.60 to 19.50; culmen, 2.40 to 2.60.
14. Herring Gull. Larus argentatus Pont. (51)
Synonyms: Common Gull, Harbor Gull, Sea Gull, Lake Gull. — Larus argentatus of
most authors until 1862. — -Larus smithsonianus, Coues, 1862. — Larus argentatus var.
smithsonianus, Coues, 1874, and most subsequent authors.
Known commonly by its large size, white plumage with pearl gray
mantle, and wing tips largely black.
Distribution. — Northern Hemisphere, south in winter to
the Azores, Cuba, and lower California; breeding from
Maine, northern New York, the Great Lakes and Minne-
sota northward.
Commonest of the large gulls 'and the one usually
seen about lake ports and harbors everywhere during
the colder half of the year. Formerly it nested abund-
antly at many places on Lake Michigan and Lake
Huron, but has been driven from most of its [south-
ern nesting grounds and is now restricted to a few
favorable localities in the northern parts of these lakes
and along the shores and islands of Lake Superior. It
builds a bulky nest of grasses, weeds, twigs, and other
rubbish, often lined with moss, and lays three or four
heavily spotted eggs which average 2.85 by 2.01 inches.
Its favorite nesting place is some small island remote from
the mainland or more or less inaccessible for one reason
or another. In regions where it has been much persecuted
it has been known to place its nests on the branches or tops
of ever-green trees, but we have never known them to be
so placed in the Great Lake region. The young leave the
nest within a few days after they are hatched, but very
likely return to the nest at night. They take to the water
long before they can fly, and although they swim beauti- ^^f;^- cuu^redu^ed'
fully make no attempt to dive. (Original.)
54 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The first eggs are laid early in June, but often the nests are robbed
continuously so that fresh eggs are often found until late in July.
Probably not all the individuals nest during the first year and this
may account for the numbers of dark colored birds which linger about the
shores and harbors far south of any known nesting places. The
regular southward migration begins by the middle of August, and
although the greater number spend the winter farther south, many remain all
winter in the open water of the southern parts of the lakes. Indeed probably
a few linger all winter wherever there is open water, at least as far north
as the Straits of Mackinac and the rapids of the Sault Ste. Marie. During
migration the birds frequently visit inland lakes and streams and probably
there is not a county in the state where they do not appear occasionally
wheeling slowly over ponds and streams in search of fish or other food.
Formerly the eggs were collected in large numbers by the Indians and
fishermen, and were commonly sold for food in the markets of Escanaba
and some other large lake ports. Mr. Ed. Van Winkle, Van's Harbor, Mich.,
states that it still (1905) "Breeds abundantly on middle and south Gull
Islands as well as on Gravel Gull Island at the entrance to Green Bay in
Delta county, Mich. It is no uncommon thing for the egg poachers on
some of their trips to carry away 2,000 to 3,000 of their eggs." It is hoped
that this is altogether a thing of the past. The present law protects all
gulls, as non-game birds, and a heavy penalty may be imposed for kilhng
them or disturbing their nests or
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult in summer with the head wholly white and the tail even. Mantle delicate pearl-
gray; primaries black and white, usually white-tipped with a black sub-terminal space.
Lower mandible often with a red or yellow spot but never with a black one. Winter
plumage similar, but the head and neck streaked with brownish or gray. Immature very
variously marked, sometimes almost uniform chocolate brown all over, sometimes mottled
with brown, white and pearl-gray in variable amounts. A black tail-bar frequently
occurs, but other specimens lack it altogether. Length, 22.50 to 26.00 inches; wing, 16.25
to 17.50, culmen 1.95 to 2.50.
15. Ring-billed Gull. Larus delawarensis Ord. (54)
Synonyms: Common Gull, Lake Gull (confused with the Herring Gull). — Larus delawar-
ensis, Ord, 1815, and many others. — Larus zonorhynchus, Rich., 1831, Nutt., 1834, Aud.,
1835, and a few others.
In full plumage this bird may be distinguished from any other gull of
our waters by its yellowish bill with a distinct band of black encircling it.
In any other plumage, however, it is so similar to several others species,
particularly to the Herring Gull, that it is not likely to be recognized except
by the expert. It is decidedly smaller than the Herring Gull, but unless
the two are seen in company this fact is not apparent.
Distribution. — North America at large; south in winter to Cuba and
Mexico.
Next to the Herring Gull this species undoubtedly is the most common
of the larger gulls, but it is abundant only during the migrations, or in the
southern part of the state during winter. Probably it formerly nested
on some of the islands in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, but we have no
reason to suppose that it does so at present. Major Boies states that it
breeds abundantly on islands to the east of Neebish Island in the St. Mary's
River (Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 18), and Mr. Butler informs us that he was
WATER BIRDS. 55
told that it nested on the Beaver Islands near Petoskey, Michigan, and
abundantly on Gull Island, near Escanaba (Birds of Incl., p. 573). This
may have been true at that time (1896, 1897), but in 1904 none were to be
found nesting on the Beaver Islands, and careful inquiry failed to reveal
any evidence that they had nested there in recent years. It is possible
that some still nest on the Gull Islands near Escanaba, but even this is
doubtful. Kumlien & Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 10) state that it
formerly bred on Spider and Strawberry Islands, Green Bay, from which
locahties eggs were taken in 1879, 1881, and 1882. Mr. J. H. Langille
says that it breeds by thousands on one of the Western Islands on the eastern
shore of Georgian Bay, Ontario, near Parry Sound. He states that the nests
are placed on the ground, often so close together as almost to touch each
other, and the nests as well as the eggs closely resemble those of the Herring
Gull except that they are much smaller (Our Birds in their Haunts, 1884,
p. 428).
This species is similar in general habits to the Herring Gull, but appears
to be less given to the society of man, since it is not so often seen about
our harbors; it also seems to visit the smaller streams and ponds much less
frequently than its larger relative.
The eggs are similar to those of the Herring Gull, but smaller, averaging
2.39 by 1.71 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Head white and tail square in summer adult. Mantle pale pearl-gray; six outer primaries
mostly black, with white tips or white spots near the tip; bill greenish-yellow crossed by a
band of black near the tip, the black usually deepest on lower mandible. The winter adult
is similar except that the head and neck are commonly streaked with dusky. The immature
bird of the first year has the upper parts mottled with dusky brown and pearl-blue; the
wing coverts quite dark with lighter margins, the primaries entirely black and the secon-
daries mostly so; tail with a broad band of black near the tip, the tip itself white. Length,
18 to 20 inches; wing, 13.60 to 15.75; culmen, 1.55 to 1.75.
16. Franklin's Gull. Laras franklini Bich. (59)
Synonyms: Franklin's Rosy Gull. — Larus franklini, Rich., 1831, and most authors.
— Chroicocephalus franklini, Lawr., Coues, and some others.
A small nearly white gull with a black head; very similar to Bonaparte's
Gull, but in adult plumage with the bill bright red instead of black. It
is, however, very frequently confused with the latter species.
Distribution. — Interior of North America, chiefly west of the Mississippi
River and east of the Rocky jMountains; breeds from Iowa northward;
south in winter through Mexico and Central America to Peru.
Franklin's Gull, as shown by the above paragraph, is a western bird
which should not occur in numbers on Lake Michigan, yet there are numer-
ous records for the western side of the lake and it has been taken more than
once near Chicago. We do not know of a Michigan specimen in any museum,
nor is there an unquestionable record, yet it seems proper to include the
species here, since it is practically certain that it does occur during migra-
tions, at least in the western half of the Upper Peninsula. G. A. Stockwell
("Archer", Forest & Stream VIII, No. 23, p. 380) says: "Common in
northern Wisconsin and adjoining parts of Michigan; is migratory." Kum-
lien & Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 10) say "Not common, but of regular
occurrence in the eastern })art of the state as a fall migrant from September
until the small lakes and rivers are closed by ice." Butler states (Birds
56 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
of Indiana, 1897, p. 574) that it has been occasionally seen by Mr. J. W.
Byrkit at Michigan City, Ind. (less than ten miles from the Michigan line).
The bird is so similar in size, pattern of coloration, and general habits
to the much more abundant Bonaparte's Gull that it might be easily over-
looked, and doubtless this has happened many times. It nests abundantly
in parts of Iowa and Minnesota, building substantial nests on rafts of
floating vegetation, and lays three or four heavily spotted eggs similar
to those of Bonaparte's Gull and averaging 1.95 by 1.34 inches. (See
article by Dr. T. S. Roberts, Auk VII, 1890, 272).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tarsus not longer than the middle toe and claw. Adult in summer with the head leaden-
black with a white spot on each eyeUd. Mantle deep plumbeous; primaries bluish-gray
all broadly tipped with white, and five outer ones with black sub-terminal spaces. Rest
of plumage white, or rose-tinted in the breeding season. Bill bright red with a dark sub-
terminal band. Winter plumage of the adult similar to the summer plumage, but the
head nearly white with only a few dark touches about the eyes and on the nape; bill and
feet with little trace of red. The immature young has the under parts white, the mantle
mixed gray, brown and blue, and the head similar to that of the winter adult; the outer
five primaries commonly wholly black. Length, 13.50 to 15 inches; wing, 11.25; culmen,
1.30.
17. Bonaparte's Gull. Lams Philadelphia (Ord). (60)
Synonyms: Bonaparte's Rosy Gull, Black-headed Gull. — Sterna Philadelphia, Ord,
1815. — Larus bonapartei. Rich., 1831, Nutt., 1834, Aud., 1839. — Chroecocephalus Phila-
delphia, Lawr., 1858, and many others.
A small white gull with pearl blue mantle and head entirely black all
over except small white spots one above and one below each eye; the bill
black. This is the adult bird in spring and can hardly be confounded with
anything else.
Distribution. — Whole of North America, breeding mostly north of the
United States. Not yet recorded from south of the United States, though
reported from the Bermudas.
This is the smallest gull, in fact the only small gull which is at all common
in Michigan waters. So far as we know at present it is a migrant only,
retiring south of our boundaries during winter and passing entirely north
of our limits in summer.
There seems to be much uncertainty about the nesting of this bird.
Several writers state that formerly it nested abundantly in all suitable
localities along the lakes (Covert 1894-95); but it seems certain that the
species does not breed now at St. Clair Flats, although it is said to have
done so formerly, "laying its eggs on old logs with no signs of a nest."
(Collins, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, V, 1880, p. 62). Dr. R. H. Wolcott writes
that in the summer of 1893 it was very common all summer on Lake
St. Clair, and many were shot by members of the Michigan Fish Commis-
sion in order to obtain parasites. Major Boies states that it is common
on the St. Mary's River in summer and breeds on or near Neebish Island.
He found perfectly fresh eggs in June on a small island on the west side
of Neebish (Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 18). It has been said also to nest
in numbers on some of the islands in Green Bay, Wisconsin, but the record
is not entirely satisfactory. In Kumlien & Hollister's "Birds of Wisconsin"
p. 10, we read "In 1880 a few were said to breed on Chambers Island, Green
Bay, and we saw on some small islands in Big Bay de Noquet, Michigan, a
number of nests like pigeons' nests on the flat branches of low coniferous
WATER BIRDS. 57
trees that without question had been used by these birds. Many full plum-
aged birds were seen and numbers of young, but only one so young as to
be still unable to fly."
The birds are commonly seen in flocks and usually breed in colonies,
many pairs using the same region, commonly an. island. The usual nesting
place of this bird is in the far north, where it builds its nest early in June,
usually on the horizontal branches of spruce trees and from five to twenty
feet from the ground. The nests are made of twigs, grasses and evergreen
leaves, and the eggs are almost invariably three. These are olive green
to olive gray, marked with small brown spots, and average 1.95 by 1.34
inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult in summer with the bill deep black, head dark slate, and mantle pale pearl -gray;
feet orange red. Three outer primaries mostly white, but with large black tips; rest of
primaries pearl-gray tipped with white, the fifth and sixth with subterminal black spaces.
Rest of plumage pure white, or rose-tinted in the breeding season. In winter plumage the
adult has the black of the head mostly replaced by white, only the crown and hind part
of head being mottled with grayish-black and white, and a slaty patch on the side of the
head; the feet flesh colored. Immature bird of the first year similar to the winter adult,
but with more dark coloring on the head; first primary with about half the inner web black,
second or third with outer webs wholly black, and tail with a broad sub-terminal dark
bar. Length, 12 to 14 inches; wing, 10.25; culmen, 1.20.
18. Sabine's Gull. Xema sabini (Sab.). (62)
Synonyms: _ Fork-tailed Gull.— Larus sabini, Sabine, 1819, Nutt., 1834, Aud., 1835.
— Xema sabini of most recent authors.
Likely to be mistaken for Bonaparte's or Franklin's Gull, but the adult
always separable by the somewhat forked tail and the slate black head
and neck bounded below by a narrow black ring.
Distribution. — Arctic regions; in North America south in winter to
New York, the Great Lakes, and Great Salt Lake; casual in Kansas,
Bahama, and on coast of Peru.
The claim of Sabine's Gull to a place in the fauna of Michigan rests mainly
on the statement of Covert that one specimen, a female, was secured on
the Huron River, Ann Arbor, November 17, 1880 (Birds of Washtenaw
County, 1881). This specimen is said to have been killed by Mr. James
Bowyer, but cannot be located now. A male was taken on Delavan Lake,
Wisconsin, October 7, 1900 (Auk, XVIII, 392); two were taken on the
Mississippi River near Burlington, Iowa, October 16, 1891, and October
12, 1894 (Auk, XVI, 86). Mr. E. W. Nelson states that on April 1, 1873
while collecting along the shore of Lake ■Michigan in Illinois "I shot a
specimen in breeding plumage, but it fell just beyond my reach and a gale
off shore soon drifted it out of sight." (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, I, 41).
These are the only records for Michigan and its vicinity which are known
to us.
This gull nests in the far north, in Alaska, Siberia, and Greenland, and
probably along most of the shores and islands of the Arctic Ocean. Its
nest is placed on the ground, commonly in the moss of the tundra, and the
eggs are three or four, olive or olive green spotted with dark brown, and
averaging L78 bv 1.26 inches.
58 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
"Tail forked; legs and feet black. Summer adult: Head and upper neck uniform
plumbeous, bordered below by a black collar; mantle deep bluish-gray; quills (primaries)
black, the five innermost ones varied with white and plumbeous; rest of plumage white;
bill black tipped witli yellowish. Winter adult: Similar, but head and neck white except
ear coverts and back of head and neck, which are dull, dusky plumbeous. Young : Mantle
brownisli gray, each feather darker subterminally, and margined at tip with pale fulvous
or buffy; tail white, with a broad black band near end, this again narrowly tipped with
white; upper tail coverts and entire lower parts white." (Ridgway).
Length, 13 to 14 inches; wing, 10.10 to 11.15; tail, 4.50 to 5 (forked for about .60 to
1.00); culmen, 1; tarsus 1.25.
19. Caspian Tern. Sterna caspia (Pall.). (64)
Synonyms: Imperial Tern. — Sterna caspia, Pall., 1770, Lawr., Baird, Coues, Ridgw.
Readily separated from any but the Royal Tern by its large size, and
from the Royal Tern by its slightly forked tail.
Distribution. — Nearly cosmopolitan; in North America breeding south-
ward to Virginia, Lake Michigan, Texas, Nevada, and California.
This beautiful tern is far from common in Michigan waters. A few are
seen spring and fall on lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan, and colonies of
the birds have long been known to nest on certain islands belonging to
Delta county, Michigan, lying in the entrance from Lake Michigan to
Green Bay, and also on certain of the Beaver Islands, belonging to
Charlevoix county, Michigan. At both these places the birds have been
persecuted from time immemorial by fishermen and Indians who use their
eggs as well as those of other terns and gulls for food, and unless better
protection is afforded, the extinction of the colonies cannot be long post-
poned. The nests are placed on gravelly or shingly islands, are usually
pebble-lined, and the two or three eggs (rarely four) are very variable in
ground color, ranging from grayish white to pale olive, and more or less
thickly spotted with brown and black, the spots commonly small and
distinct. The eggs average 2.66 by L77 inches.
Doubtless nesting begins in May, but owing to the relentless persecution
of the eggers few young are hatched until late in June, and the writer found
fresh eggs and newly hatched young on the Beaver Islands July 11, 1904,
In Michigan at least the Caspian Tern seems always to nest in com-
munities, several hundred pairs nesting on the same island. Its flight
is remarkably strong, and it has the appearance of being very short-tailed.
Its note is a very harsh "squawk" entirely different from that of any sea-
bird of our acquaintance; once heard it can scarcely be mistaken after-
ward. Like all other terns this bird feeds mainly, if not entirely, on fish
which it secures by plunging headlong into the water in the manner of the
Kingfisher and Fish Hawk, oftentimes going completely out of sight
beneath the water.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Whole top of head from bill to occiput, extending below the eyes, jet-black; remainder
of head and neck, together with breast and entire under parts, snowy-white; mantle pearl-
gray. Primaries mostly gray with darker tips, the area extending farther toward the
base on the inner web than on the outer, the shafts pure white. Bill coral-red with a more
or less dusky tip. Feet and legs black. After the nesting season is over the black of the
crown becomes flecked with white and in winter the amount of white increases until the
top of the head is streaked black and white. The young in the first winter are pale grayish
above with some dusky spots on the back and inner secondaries; the top of head mixed
WATER BIRDS. 59
black and white or gray; each tail feather with a dusky spot near the end; under parts
entirely wliite. Length, 19 to 23 inches; wing, 15 to 17.50; tail, 5.30 to 6.75 (forked for
.75 to 1.60 inches); culmen, 2.48 to 3.10.
20. Royal Tern. Sterna maxima Bodd. (65)
Synonyms: Cayenne Tern. — Sterna maxima, Boddaert, 1783. — Sterna cayana, Lath.»
1790, Nutt., 1834, Aud., 1835.— Sterna regia, Gamb., 1848, Cones, 1872, Baird, 1859.
Similar in size and general appearance to the Caspian Tern, but separable
at gunshot range by the length of the deeply forked tail. The present
species is slightly smaller than the Caspian; it also has an occipital crest,
and the inner webs of the primaries are black only next the shaft, the re-
mainder being pure white, while in the Caspian Tern these webs are entirely
gray or slate colored.
Distribution. — Tropical America, and warmer parts of North Anerica,
casually northward to Massachusetts, the Great Lakes and California.
West coast of Africa north to Tangiers.
As shown by the distribution quoted above, this species is much more
southern than the Caspian, and we should not expect to find it in Michigan
waters except as a straggler. Its right to a place in our fauna rests mainly
upon the statement of Mr. Stewart E. White, who says that during his stay
on Mackinac Island in the summers of 1889, 1890 and 1891, he examined
several specimens, but that it appeared to be more rare than the Caspian
Tern (Auk X, 1893, 222). There is a doubtful record of this bird for
Milwaukee, Wis., and it has been recorded by one or two observers as seen
during migration; but identification under such circumstances is question-
able. There is a mounted specimen of an adult in the Barron collection
at Niles, without any label, which may have been taken in that vicinity
as the present owners claim that all the specimens are local.
This species nests only at the south, the best known resorts being the
Tortugas, off the coast of Florida, certain islands along the Texas coast,
and a few islands along the Atlantic shore even as far north as Virginia.
The eggs are very similar to those of the Caspian Tern, and average 2.61
by 1.78 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult in nesting season: Entire top of head, including the occiput, deep black, the
occipital feathers lengthened and pointed forming a distinct crest; back and upper surface
of wings pale pearl-gray, the upper tail-coverts and tail almost white; under parts pure
white. Outer primaries with the inner web slate-colored or black next the shaft, the
remainder of the inner web pure white, the line of division very sharp. Bill orange; feet
black. Immediately after nesting the forehead and crown become white, only the occipital
crest remaining clear black. In winter the plumage is similar, but even the occipital
crest becomes mixed with white, and the orange bill becomes paler. Young birds are
somewhat like winter adults, but are more or less mottled with brown above, the crest
hardly visible, the tail-feathers with grayish brown or dusky tips.
Length, 18 to 21 inches; wing, 14 to 15; tail, 6 to 8 (forked about one-half); culmen,
2.40 to 2.75.
21. Forster's Tern. Sterna forsteri Nutt. (69)
Synonyms: HaveU's Tern (Audubon's name for the immature bird). — Sterna forsteri,
Nutt., 1834, and most subsequent writers. — Sterna havelli, Aud., 1839.
Not to be distinguished from either the Common Tern or the Arctic
Tern except with specimens in hand.
60 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Distribution. — North America generally, breeding from Manitoba
soutliward to Virginia, Illinois, Texas, and California; in winter southward
to Brazil.
According to several writers this should be one of the common terns
of Michigan, but as a matter of fact, there are remarkably few actual
records. It was reported by most of the earlier writers to breed commonly
at St. Clair Flats, and according to Swales (1904), there is little doubt it
does nest there, although he has never taken it. We have a single specimen
in the Agricultural College collection which was taken on Long Lake,
Kalamazoo county, May 24, 1884, by Dr. Gibbs. B. H. Swales has a spec-
imen taken on the lower Detroit River, Sept. 10,1890, by J. Claire Wood,
(Auk, XXIV, 1907, 137). In his Birds of Indiana (p. 576) Butler
states that it is the most common tern on Lake Michigan during
the fall. In Kumlien & Hollister's "Birds of Wisconsin," p. 12, it
is said to be a common migrant during the first two or three weeks of May
and again from September until the middle of August; and still later on
Lake Michigan. There is little doubt that the Detroit and St. Clair rivers
mark the eastern boundary of the range of this species; while it occurs in
much greater abundance in the Mississippi Valley. Unlike the Common
and Arctic Terns this species prefers to nest in marshes instead of on sand
or gravel, and its nests are often built on floating vegetation or on ridges
of refuse w^ashed up by the waves. Its eggs are similar to those of the
Common Tern and equally variable in color and markings. They average
1.78 by 1.23 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
So similar to the Common Tern in corresponding seasonal dress as to be separated with
difficulty and then only with specimens in hand. The two species have precisely the same
measurements except that the tail of Forster's Tern will average about an inch longer.
Two points alone can be depended upon for separating them: In Forster's Tern the breast
and belly are pure white and the inner web of the outer tail feather is always darker than
the outer web, which is entirely white. In the Common Tern the breast and belly are
pearl gray and the outer web of the outer tail feather is dark, while the inner web is white.
These two differences in coloration are constant summer and winter. In other respects
winter specimens of these two terns are almost precisely alike and the same may be said
of the young of the year.
Length, 14 to 15 inches; wing, 9.50 to 10.30; tail, 5 to 7,70 (forked for 2.30 to 5 inclics);
culmen, 1.50 to 1.65.
22. Common Tern. Sterna hinindo Linn. (70)
Synonyms: Sea Swallow, Mackerel (iull, Wilson's Tern, Lake Erie (iull. — Sterna
hirundo, Linn., 1758, Wils., 1813, Nutt., 1834, And., 1838.— Sterna wilsoni, Honap., 1838,
Baird, 1859.
In full plumage may be distinguished by its red bill with the terminal
third black, breast and belly light gray, and outer web of outer tail-feather
dark, the inner web being white.
Distribution. — Greater part of Northern Hemisphere and Africa. In
North America chiefly cast of the Plains, breeding from the Arctic coast,
somewhat irregularly, to Florida, Texas, and Arizona; and wintering
northward to Virginia. Also coast of Lower California.
The commonest tern in Michigan waters, frequenting the shores and
islands of the Great Lakes, as well as all the principal streams and interior
lakes, and likely to appear on any pond or pool during migrations. It is
absent from our waters only during the severest part of the winter and is
one of the attractive features of the water about our summer resorts.
Formerly it was much more numerous than at present, but the craze for
WATER BIRDS. Gl
bird plumage for millinery purposes well nigh exterminated the terns,
thousands being killed on their nesting grounds, so that for a time the
species was threatened with extinction. During the past ten years
some legal protection has been secured for them and the cultivation of
popular sentiment by the Audubon societies and their friends has lessened
the destruction for such purposes.
In common with other birds which nest in colonies the eggs are used as
food by fishermen, Indians and other more or less irresponsible persons,
and the wasteful methods emploj^ed not only prevent increase, but in many
instances have driven the birds away from their favorite nesting grounds.
Formerly it was not an uncommon thing for parties to visit an island and
break every egg which could be found, going thoroughly over the surface
and taking pains not to omit a single nest. On a second visit a day or
two later any eggs found were sure to be fresh and were collected and
carried away. This method, however, so often resulted in the desertion
of the island by the terns that it has become customary on the first visit
merely to collect all the eggs of the colony into a few large heaps without
breaking any eggs or otherwise disturbing the nests. The birds then
continue to lay in the same nests and often a supply of fresh eggs is obtained
in this way for a month or six weeks. The present law makes such action
as this punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, and it is hoped that
strict enforcement of the law may be obtained.
The terns feed mainly on fish and perhaps are not of any great economic
importance, but they are among the most graceful birds in the world and
their beauty of plumage, sprightly actions and entire lack of harmful
qualities commend them to the public at large, as well as to the bird lover.
This species differs much in its nesting habits according to circumstances.
It loves to lay its eggs in little hollows in the clear sand, but it frequentl}-
lays them among the coarser pebbles without a vestige of nesting material,
while in other places it makes a hollow in the sand or gravel and lines it
with grass, weed-stalks or "sea-wrack." As a rule it avoids inland marshes
and prefers to nest on open sandy islands rather than among the rushes
and sedges. At St. Clair Flats Langille states that it most often lays its
eggs on the tops of old musk-rat houses. The eggs are commonly three,
very variable in ground color, which ranges from buffy-white to greenish-
olive, covered sometimes thinly, sometimes very thickly, with dots, spots,
and blotches of various shades of brown, sometimes even black. The
eggs average 1.57 by 1.17 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult in breeding plumage: Entire upper half of head from bill to occiput black; sides
of head and throat pure white; rest of under parts very pale gray, often almost white;
mantle pearl gray; primaries deep gray with the inner half of the inner web pure white
except near the tips; outer primary with outer web black, other primaries with outer webs
like mantle; outer tail feather with outer web dark gray, inner web white; the remaining
tail feathers with inner web paler gray, the central pair entirely white. Bill red with
black tip; feet orange-red. The winter adult is similar except that most of the black of
the head is replaced by white or gray; often the crown alone shows black, the forehead and
sides of the liead being entirely white. Young: So similar to those of several other
species that only the expert can separate them, and for this purpose reference should be had
to the detailed descriptions of Baird, Ridgvvay, or Coues. Length, 13 to 16 inches; wing,
9.75 to 11.75; tail, 5 to 7 inches, so deeply forked that the inner feathers are at least 3 inches
shorter than the outer; culmen, 1.25 to 1.50.
62 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
23. Arctic Tern. Sterna paradisaea Brunn. (71)
Synonyms: Sea Swallow, Common Tern.— Sterna macroura, Namn., 1819, Lawr.,
1858, Baird, 1859, Coues, 1872, etc.— Sterna arctica, Temm., 1820, Nutt., 1834, Aud., 1835.
Figure 7.
The adult in summer may be known by its entirely red bill, but in other
respects is so like the Common Tern that it cannot be separated except
by careful examination.
Distribution.^ — Northern Hemisphere; in North America breeding from
Massachusetts to the Arctic regions, and wintering southward to Virginia
and California.
This is the most northern member of the genus and is known to nest in
the Arctic regions almost as far toward the pole as man has gone. It has
been recorded from regions both sides of Michigan, and there is no reason
why it should not occur here in some numbers during migrations. It is
so similar, however, to the Common Tern that it is very readily overlooked.
Fig. 7. Arctic Tern. Natural size.
From Coues' Key to North American Birds, 5th ed. Dana Estes & Co.
The sole record for the state so far as we know is that of Mr. A. B. Covert
of Ann Arbor, who states that he "secured a male bird at Monroe, Mich.,
April 9, 1875." Kumlien & Hollister in the "Birds of Wisconsin" (page
13) say "A somewhat irregular migrant, at times fairly common, and
again quite the opposite. We have taken it nesting in Green Bay, 1879,
and in June, 1891 procured a set of eggs, the parent shot over the nest,
at Lake Koshkonong."
On the New England coast where the bird nests abundantly, it does not
differ in habits from the Common Tern except that it seems to be unusually
fond of its own society and is seldom found mingling with other species
of terns.
The nest and eggs are indistinguishable from those of the Common Tern.
WATER BIRDS. 63
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Strikingly like *Forster's Tern, except in two respects. The breast and belly are light
gray as in the Common Tern and the outer web of the outer tail feather is darker than the
inner web, in this respect also resembling the Common Tern. On the other hand the
Arctic Tern has a decidedly longer tail, which averages 7§ inches, and the bill is all red
with no black on the tip (both the Common and Forster's Tern have dusky tipped bills).
The adults and young of tlie year are with difficulty separable from corresponding })lumages
of the other three species. Length, 14 to 17 inches; wing, 10 to 10.75; tail, 6.50 to 8.50
(forked for 4 or 5 inches); culmen, 1.08 to 1.40.
24. Least Tern. Sterna antillarum {Lesso?}). (74)
Synonyms: Little Tern, Minute Tern, Sea Swallow. — Sternula antillarum, Less.,
1847.— Sterna minuta, Wils., 1813, Aud., 1838, and others.— Sterna frenata, Gamb., 1848,
Lawr., 1858, Baird, 1859.^Sterna superciliaris, Coues, 1872.
Recognizable by its small size, yellow bill and feet, and deeply forked
tail. In size and general coloration it resembles the Black Tern in im-
mature or winter plumage, but the latter always has black bill and feet
and the short tail is but slightly forked.
Distribution. — Northern South America, northward to California,
Minnesota, and New England, and casually to Labrador, breeding nearly
throughout its range.
This dainty little seabird is almost or quite unknown in jNlichigan at
the present time, but there is some reason to beheve that it once occurred
regularly although in small numbers. It is included in Dr. Miles' List
of 1860 on the authority of Prof. Fox who is said to have taken a specimen
at Grosse Isle, Detroit River. There is also a mounted specimen in the
University of IMichigan Museum at Ann Arbor, labeled "Michigan" which
may have been taken in that vicinity. In the MS. notes of A. B. Covert
there is a record of a male taken at Sanclshore Lake, Ann Arbor, May 4,
1873, as well as "three specimens (two males and one female) taken at
Bayport, Huron county, October 13, 1878." None of these specimens
can be located, however, and it is not impossible that they were in reality
fall specimens of the Black Tern, which has been mistaken repeatedly for
the present species. The Barron collection at Niles was said to contain
a specimen of the Least Tern, but a personal examination by the writer
in November, 1905 failed to reveal any such specimen, although a single
Black Tern in fall plumage, and without label, was found. A skin of an
adult male in breeding plumage, from the Gunn collection, is now in the
Kent Scientific Museum in Grand Rapids, but bears on the label (apparently
the collector's label) "Short-tailed Tern, Warsaw, 111." The Albion
record credited to 0. B. Warren by Cook proves to be erroneous.
It formerly nested sparingly about some of the small lakes in northern
Indiana, and possibly may do so still. Dr. Wheaton reported it as of
irregular occurrence along the Lake Erie shore in Ohio, and there arc several
old records for southern Ontario. This species has disappeared almost
completely during the last thirty years from places in southern New Eng-
land, where it was once abundant, but within the past few years a few pairs
have reappeared here and there, and possibly, if well protected, it may
reestablish itself in the Lake Region.
Its habits are similar to those of the Common and Arctic Terns, with
which it frequently associates, and it prefers to nest on sandy or pebbly
islands where its three or four eggs are laid in a little hollow scooped in the
64 MICHKIAN BIRD LIFE.
sand, with little or no nesting material. The eggs arc white, huffy-white
or buff, variously spotted with gray, brown and purplish, and average
1.28 by .91 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
The adult in summer seems almost a miniature of the Common Tern, having nearly the
same proportions, with the same slender, forked tail, and the same general pattern of col-
oration. Closer comparison, however, shows that the present species has the forehead
and a short extension backward over the eye pure white, the lores and crown black, mantle
and upper surface of tail pearl-gray, and under parts entirely white. Tlie bill is yellow,
usually tipped with black, and the feet are orange. In winter most of the black of
the head is replaced with gray or white, only the occiput^remaining black; the yellow bill
and feet also may become duller or paler, but never black. The young of the year besides
having shorter outer tail feathers (which are common to all young terns), has the upper
parts more or less spotted and mottled with buff and black, and the tail feathers similarly
blotched near the ends.
Length of adult, 9 inches; wing, 6.75 to 7.00; tail, 3.50 (forked for at least 1\ inches); cul-
men, LIO.
25. Black Tern. Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis {Gmel.). (77)
Synonyms: Short-tailed Tern, Sterna siu-inamensis, Gmel., 1789. — Hydrochelidon
surinamensis, Bonap., 1856. — H. plumbea, Lawr., 1858. — Sterna plumbea, Wils., 1813.
Sterna nigra, Sw. & Rich., 1831, Nutt., 1834, Aud., 1835. — Hydrochelidon lariformis suri-
namensis, Ridgw., 1881.
Readily distinguished by its small size, black body, and black bill. The
tail also is much less forked than in the other common terns, which has
given it the name Short-tailed Tern.
Distribution. — Temperate and tropical America. From Alaska and the
fur countries to Brazil and Chili, breeding from the middle United States
west of the Alleghanies northward.
An abundant bird during the summer in all suital^le places, at least
throughout the Lower Peninsula. It seems to prefer the marshy edges
of rivers and lakes, or the marshes themselves, provided they have open
pools here and there. It breeds abundantly along the Detroit River and
St. Clair Flats, the St. Clair River, Saginaw Bay and numerous points in
the interior of the state. It arrives from the south early in May and
remains until after the first of September (Swales). Doubtless in some
seasons it comes earlier and remains much later. It nests in large or small
communities, placing its two or three eggs on mats or windrows of floating
vegetation, or sometimes on a floating plank or log; the nest usually is
only a hollow in the vegetation, although sometimes the materials appear
to be slightly arranged.
The eggs are similar to those of the other terns, but commonly more
heavily spotted, the ground color being pale olive. Eggs average 1.35
by .98 inches. The young and adults after the nesting season lose much
of their dark color, and when seen at a little distance may be readily mis-
taken for the Least Tern, especially by one who has never seen the latter
species in life.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tlie Black Tern in adult plumage can hardly be confounded wifii any other l)ird, l)eing
so dark all over as to appear sooty-black at a little distance. Winter adults and yoimg,
however, show much white, but can always be separated from the Least Tern by the black
bill and feet and the comparatively short and slightly forked tail. The adult in summer
is entirely black or dark slate-color except the under ta,il-coverts which are white, and
WATER BIRDS. 66
the under surface of the wings and tail which are very light slate. Usually the head,
neck and breast are sooty-black, the remainder of the upper parts being slate-color; the
bill and feet black. In winter the adult has the forehead, nape and most of the under
parts pure ^yhite; the crown, occiput and auricular region mixed black or slaty and white;
the back, wings and tail pearl-gray. The young of the year are similar to winter adults,
but always have more or less brownish on the upper parts and are rather gray than clear
white on the sides below. Length of adult 9.00 to 10.25 inches; wing, 8.25; tail, 3.75 (forked
.90 inch); culmen, 1.10.
Order IV. STEGANOPODES. Totipalmate Swimmers.
KEY TO FAMILIES.
A. Bill without visible nostrils but distinctly hooked at tip. B, BB.
B. Tail deeply forked. Family 14, Fregatidse, Frigate Birds (not found
in Michigan).
BB. Tail not forked. C, CC.
C. Bill less than five inches long. Family 12, Phalacrocoraci-
dse, Cormorants. Page 66.
CC. Bill more than ten inches long. Family 13, Pelecanidse Pel-
icans. Page 68.
AA. Bill not distinctly hooked at tip. D, DD.
D. With small but distinct nostrils. Family 9, Phaethontidse, Tropic
Birds (not found in Michigan).
DD. Without visible nostrils. E, EE.
E. Tail fan-shaped, rounded; neck very long and slender. Family
11, Anhingidse, Snake Birds (Tropical birds of doubtful
occurrence in Michigan. See Appendix).
EE. Tail cuneate or wedge-shaped ; neck short and thick. Family
10, Sulidae, Gannets. Page 65.
Family 10. SULID^. Gannets.
26. Sula bassana (Linn.) Gannet. (117)
Synonyms: Common Gannet, Soland Goose, Solon Goose. — Pelecanus bassanus,
Linn., 1758. — Sula bassana, Briss., Nutt., Aud., and authors generally. — Sula americana,
Bonap., 1838. — Pelecanus maculatus, Gmel., 1788 (young).
The four-toed, fully webbed feet, wedge-shaped tail and large size form
a combination which is characteristic, the shape of the tail and the pointed
bill without a hooked tip separating it perfectly from the pelicans and
cormorants with which it might otherwise be confounded.
Distribution. — "Coasts of the North Atlantic. Breeds on Bird Rock
and Bonaventure Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on islets off the
British Islands. Winters from North Carolina coast south to Gulf of
Mexico, and on coasts of North Africa, Maderia, and the Canaries; occurs
off eastern United States in migration; casual north to Greenland; acci-
dental in Indiana and Ontario." (A. 0. U. Check-list, 3d edition).
The Gannet is a North Atlantic seabird depending for its food solely
on fish and rarely found at any distance from the coast. In America
it is most abundant in and about the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where doubtless
66 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
some individuals remain tliroughout the year, although the majority
move southward during the winter, at which season they are not un-
common along the Maine coast and even somewhat farther south.
Inland records at any season are rare and there are but one or two
records (and these not perfectly authenticated) for the Great Lakes. It
is therefore with much pleasure that we are able to record the capture
in Michigan of a fine specimen of this bird and its preservation in the
University Museum at Ann Arbor. This bird, an immature female
in the white-spotted brown plumage, was shot October 19, 1911, by Mr.
J. P. Case, on a small lake in Hamburg township a few miles north of Ann
Arbor. Mr. Norman A. Wood of Ann Arbor, to whom we are indebted
for the record, states that when first observed the gannet appeared to
be asleep, since it was resting with the head hidden beneath the wing
in the manner of a domestic goose. Evidently it was weak from lack
of food if not from fruitless wandering.
Gannets nest always in communities, and build bulky nests of seaweeds
on ledges and shelves of almost inaccessible rocks. The largest and best
known nesting grounds in this country are on the Bird Rocks in the Gulf
of St. Lawrence, but the species formerly nested on one or more islets
off the coast of Maine. Only a single egg is laid, which is at first pure
white with a thick chalk-like shell which soon becomes soiled and stained
by the feet of the bird and the materials of the nest. The egg measures
about 3 by 1.92 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
" Lower jaw (i. e. malar region), together with sides of chin and throat, densely feathered.
Legs and feet blackish. Adult: White, the remiges (wing-feathers) dusky brown, the
head and neck above washed with buff. Young: Dusky, everywhere streaked or speckled
with white. Length 30 — 40.50 inches; wing about 19.50; tail 10, culmen 4. (Ridgway.)
Family 12. PHALACROCORACID^.— Cormorants.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Tail of 14 feathers. — Common Cormorant. (Appendix.)
AA. Tail of 12 feathers. — Double-crested Cormorant. No. 27.
27. Double-crested Cormorant. Phalacrocorax auritus auritus (Less.).
(120)
Synonyms: Cormorant, Shag, Water Turkey. — Carbo auritus, Lesson, 1831. — Pelecanus
(Carbo) dilophus, Sw. & Rich., 1831. — Graculus dilophus. Gray, 1849. — Phalacrocorax
diplohus, Nutt., 1834,* Aud., 1835, Ridgw., 1881, Coues, 1882.
Figures 8 and 9.
Readily recognized from its size, black color, duck-like legs and feet
(but with the four toes all connected by webs), long neck, very small head
with bill hooked like a hawk's, and entire lack of nostrils.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding from the Bay of Fundy,
the Great Lakes, Minnesota and Dakota northward; south in winter to
the southern states.
WATER BIRDS.
67
Fig. S. Double-crested Cormorant. Reduced.
(Original.)
This bird seems to be generally distributed over the state during the
migrations, but is nowhere common. Most writers and observers state
that it is a rare migrant, but speci-
mens have been taken in almost
every county in the state, and
probably there are few sheets of
water of any size within our limits
which are not visited by this bird
occasionally. The following records
will give some idea of its migration:
Saginaw River, May 29, 1896 (Eddy) ;
Oakland County, May 3, 1902
(Swales); Mouth of Huron River,
April 12, 1875 (Covert) ; Sault Ste. Marie, ]\Iay 6, 1901 (Melville) ; Oakland
County, October 6, 1904 (Swales); St. Mary's River, September 26 (year?)
(Boies); Tuscola County, October 12, 1898 (Eddy); Wyandotte, October
25, 1904 (Barrows); Cadillac, November 13, 1897 (Selous). There are
also records without dates from Lansing, Kalamazoo, Muskegon County,
and Monroe. Undoubtedly more specimens are noticed in fall than in
spring because many more people are in the field during the fall shooting,
and also because there are actually more birds in the fall, the young of
the year being added to those which went north in the spring.
The distribution as given above would indicate that possibly the species
nests about the Great Lakes, but I know of no breeding record for Michigan,
and the nearest point of which I find, a recent
record is Shoal Lake in Northern IMinnesota. Ac-
cording to Mr. Chas. Dury it nested at St. Mary's
Reservoir, western Ohio, 25 or 30 years ago. The
nests are placed sometimes on rocky ledges, some-
times on low bushes, sometimes on trees, prefer-
ably dead ones. They are built of sticks, roots,
and twigs, and the eggs, from two to five, are
greenish white with a more or less chalky shell.
They average 2.52 by 1.59 inches.
The bird is so seldom seen that few have ob-
served it in life, and no one appears to be familiar
with its habits in Michigan. It dives easily and
constantly and remains for a long time under
water, in this respect resembling the loons and
grebes. It is also frequently mistaken for a
duck, but the length of the neck should prevent
an error of this kind. The fact that it frequently
alights on dead trees, the points of high rocks,
or even on the tops of boat houses and other
buildings about the water is a point likely to
attract attention at once and prevent its being
mistaken for a duck. The bird is like most
other Steganopodes in having no external nostrils;
breathing when adult entirely through the mouth.
This is true of all species of cormorant so far
as known, and F. A. Lucas states (Auk XIV, 87)
that "Probably the external nostrils close about
the time the young cormorants take the water and begin to feed
themselves."
Fig. 9. Foot of Double-crested
Cormorant. (Original.)
68 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
The adult in breeding plumage differs from the winter adult mainly in the clear black
and more glossy plumage and the presence on each side of the head of a tuft of narrow,
slender, black feathers. The winter adult has the entire under parts black, as also the
rump, tail, and head and neck all around; the back and upper surface of the wings light
brown, each feather margined with black; bare skin of the gular pouch orange in summer,
yellowish at other times. The tail has but twelve feathers. Immature birds have no
glossy black at all, but are gray, brownish-gray or brown, darker above and lighter below,
but always known by the peculiar, hooked bill, fully webbed feet and long stiff tail with
twelve feathers. Length of adult 29 to 34 inches; wing, 12 to 13; tail, 6 to 6.50; bill, 2 to
2.50.
Family L3. PELECANID.E.— Pelicans.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Twenty-four tail-feathers; lower jaw feathered, plumage of body en-
tirely white or with yellow on chest. — White Pelican. No. 28.
AA. Twenty-two tail feathers, lower jaw naked, plumage of body mixed
brown, gray and white. — Brown Pelican. No. 29.
28. White Pelican. Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Gmcl. (125)
Synonyms: Common Pelican (of the north). — Pelecanus trachyrhynchos. Lath., 1790.
—P. onocrotalus, Bonap., Nutt. — P. americanus, Aud.
A nearly white bird with black wing-tips and an expanse of eight or
ten feet can hardly be mistaken for anything else; and when this is coupled
with the possession of fully webbed feet and a bill at least a foot long
with leathery pouch below the bill there is no possibility of mistake.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, north in the interior to about
latitude 61°, south in winter to western Mexico and Guatemala; now rare
or accidental in the northeastern states; abundant in the interior and
along the Gulf coast; common on the coast of California.
This bird is httle more than a straggler in Michigan, yet there are many
authentic records, and the bird is such a large and remarkable one that
when captured the specimens have been preserved in most cases. It is
a well known species in the Mississippi Valley and the lakes of the Great
Plains region, and nests abundantly, and usually in colonies, in Manitoba
and other parts of British North America. There is no record of its nesting
in Michigan nor any likelihood that it has ever done so. It most often
occurs here in pairs or small squads, seldom more than four or five being
seen together. The following are the records I have collected: Clam
Lake, Wexford county, April, 1892 (Covert); Whitmore Lake, Washtenaw
county, October 4, 1878, and Lake Wade, July, 1879 (Covert); Sarnia
Bay, opposite Port Huron, no date (Hazel wood) ; Detroit River, July,
1902 (Swales); Detour, Chippewa county, fall of 1894, and another in
Hay Lake, St. Mary's River, earlier in the same year (Boies) ; two specimens
in the Broas collection at Belding, without data, but probably taken in
that vicinity (Barrows); Monroe, about 1882, mounted by B. J. Savage
of Monroe (Savage was with the man who shot it and says it was one of four
which were seen and followed fi'om place to place for several hours) (Bar-
rows); three killed in the vicinity of Marquette, and mounted by F. H.
W. Bailey of that city, the last one killed near Baraga in the spring of
WATER BIRDS. 69
1903 (Barrows); one killed at Dorr, Allegan county, September 1892
(0. & 0. XVII, 143); one killed at Tecumseh, Lenawee county in 1882
(L. W. Watkins); one specimen in Agricultural College ^luseum without
data, perhaps the specimen recorded by Cook (page 31) as from Berrien
county; two killed in Hillsdale county and mounted for a storekeeper
at Hillsdale (Hankinson); two shot in St. Joseph county and now in the
collection of Adolph Beerstecker (Gibbs, list of 1879); one killed near
Port Huron about September 26, 1877 (F. & S.); one seen and shot at on
Keweenaw Point "a few years since" (Kneeland, 1856-57); two shot
October 31, 1905, by Ira J. Boughton, on Indian Lake, near Pentoga,
Iron county.
The nest is bulky and placed on the ground, being "only a heap of earth
and gravel raked into a pile about six or eight inches high and about twenty
inches broad on the top, which is only very slightly hollowed" (Ridgway).
The eggs are two or three, white chalky, and more or less stained. They
average. 3.34 by 2.22 inches. The period of incubation is stated by Bendire
to be about twenty-nine days; at least that was all the time taken by a
hen to hatch pelican eggs placed under her.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
The largest of our water birds except the swans, and recognizable by its black and white
plumage, its huge bill, a foot or more long, with its great pouch of elastic skin below. The
sexes are alike in color, mainly pure white; the flight feathers (primaries and most of second-
aries) jet-black; bill and pouch reddish; feet red in summer, yellow in winter. In breeding
plumage there is a drooping crest "of white or pale yellow feathers from the back of the
head, the chest and lesser wing coverts are pale yellow, and there is a bony wart-like knob
or ridge near the middle of the upper mandible. This knob and the occipital crest are shed
after the breeding season. Young birds lack the black wing feathers, but have a little
brown or gray in the wings and on the head; otlierwise they are wliite.
Length of adult, 4^ to 6 feet; spread of wings, 8 to 10 feet; wing, about 2 feet; bill 12
to 15 inches.
29. Brown Pelican. Pelecanus occidentalis Linn. (126)
Synonyms: Common Pelican (of Florida). — Pelecanus onocrotalus occidentalis, Linn.,
1766. — Pelecanus fuscus, of most authors.
Readily distinguished from the White Pelican by the prevaiUng colors,
the naked lower mandible, and 22 tail feathers instead of 24.
Distribution. — ^Atlantic coast of tropical and subtropical America,
north on the Atlantic coast to North Carolina; accidental in Illinois and
Michigan.
According to Dr. Morris Gibbs of Kalamazoo, the late W. H. CoUins
of Detroit wrote him "A specimen taken near Romeo, Michigan in the
spring of 1882." Probably this record was considered too doubtful for
insertion in Cook's "Birds of Michigan," but we arc able now to add two
more records which establish the species as a very rare visitor to the state.
Dr. J. W. Vehe of St. Joseph, Michigan states that "an adult in good
plumage was shot at St. Joseph, Michigan, June 7, 1904, and was brought
to me in the flesh; I examined, measured, and fully identified it. I have
seen thousands of these birds alive, and have shot and skinned numerous
specimens in Florida, and there is no possibility of a mistake in this identi-
fication. It was not a bird which had escaped from some zoological garden,
or at least it showed no signs whatever of recent confinement. The gunners
who killed it refused to sell, but took it away and I have been unable to
trace the specimen." Dr. Vclie also states that "On September 8, 1904,
70 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Dr. Crowell of St. Joseph, Michigan saw two Brown PeHcans at the mouth
of the St. Joseph River. They passed quite close to him on the wing
and he had a good opportunity to note their pecuharities. He has spent
several winters in Florida and is perfectly familiar with the species there,
and is confident that there is no mistake in the identification."
I can add nothing to the record of this species in Michigan. In general
habits it is much like the White Pelican, but appears to be much less of
a wanderer.
It nests in large colonies along the Florida shores and the Gulf coast,
and lays two or three eggs which are similar to those of the White Pelican,
but smaller, averaging 3.01 by 1.95 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
"Nuptial plumage: Head, and feathers bordering base of gular pouch, all roimd,
white, the top of the former sometimes straw yellowish; rest of neck rich velvety reddish
brown, varying from light reddish chestnut to seal-skin brown, or nearly black; upper
part of hind neck with a more or less distinct crest of chestnut; upper parts silvery gray,
the feathers of back, rump, lesser wing-coverts, etc., edged with dark brown, producing a
striped or streaked appearance; lower parts dark brownish gray, the sides, etc., streaked
with silvery white. Winter adult: Similar, but whole head and neck white, except for
a straw yellow tinge on the former and on the lower part of the fore neck. Young: Head
and neck light brownish gray, somewhat mottled with paler tips to the feathers; back,
wing-coverts, etc., dull brown, the feathers tipped with pale fulvous; lower parts white,
tinged with brownish gray laterally and posteriorly." (Ridgway).
Length, 4 to 4J feet; wing, 18.50 to 21 inches; culmen, 9.40 to 12.20.
Order V. ANSERES. — Swans, Ducks and Geese.
Family 15. ANATID^.
A. Neck very long, at least as long as the body; tarsus reticulate. Large,
entirely white birds. Swans.
AA. Neck shorter than the body. Ducks and Geese. B, BB.
B. Legs comparatively long and toes short (shank or tarsus longer
than the middle toe without its nail) ; tarsus reticulate. Geese.
BB. Legs comparatively short and toes long (shank or tarsus shorter
than middle toes without its nail); tarsus scutellate in front
(Fig. 15). Ducks.
DUCKS.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Bill long and narrow (seldom more than J inch wide at narrowest part
never ^ inch wide), edges of both mandibles with saw-like teeth.
Saw-bill Ducks. B, BB. (Fig. 10).
B. Teeth long, sharp-pointed, inclined backward; bill long (2 inches or
more) wing over 8 inches. Goosander and Red-breasted Mer-
ganser. Nos. 30, 31.
BB. Teeth short, blunt, not inclined backward; bill short (much less
than 2 inches) ; wing under 8 inches. Hooded Merganser. No. 32.
WATER BIRDS.
71
Fig. 14. Bill of Mallard showing
lamellae. (Original)
Blue-winged Teal.
AA. Bill short and broad (never less than ^ inch wide at narrowest place) ,
edges of mandibles with strainer-like plates (Fig. 14) instead of saw-
like teeth. C, CC.
C. Tail of narrow, stiff feathers, only its
very base hidden by the extremely
short upper tail coverts. Ruddy
Duck. No. 57.
CC. Tail of ordinary type with broad soft
feathers well covered at base by
upper tail coverts. D, DD.
D. Hind toe without a distinct flap or
lobe (Fig. 15). River and Pond
Ducks. E, EE.
E. Small, wing less than 8^ inches
(Teal). F, FF.
F. Shoulder (lesser wing-coverts) light blue.
No. 39.
FF. Shoulder (lesser-wing coverts) grav. Green-winged Teal.
No. 38.
EE. Large, wing more than 8^ inches. G, GG.
G. Feathers of hind head lengthened to
form a drooping occipital crest, much
longer in the male; tail long, all its
feathers very broad. Wood Duck
(male). No. 42.
GG. No occipital crest. H, HH.
H. Middle tail-feathers elongated and
much narrowed at the tip. Pintail
(male). No. 41.
HH. Middle tail-feathers not noticeably
lengthened or narrowed. I, II.
I. Bill spatulate or spoon-shaped, nearly
twice as broad near the tip as at
base. Shoveller. No. 40.
II. Bill not spatulate, about as wide
at base as at tip. J, JJ.
J. Wing conspicuously glossed with
metallic blue, green,
bronze, the tips of primaries me-
tallic blue-green on inner webs, milk-white on outer
webs. Wood Duck (female andyoung male). No. 42.
JJ. Wings without metallic gloss, or with metallic colors
confined to the middle of wing (region of speculum).
K, KK.
K. Speculum metallic in whole or part. L, LL.
L. Speculum bordered in front with a black bar.
M, MM. MMM.
M. A white bar in front of the black one. Mallard.
No. 33.
MM. A large white patch in front of the black bar.
Baldpate. (Male and some females). No. 37.
MMM. No white anywhere on wing. Black Duck.
No. 34.
LL. Speculum bordered in front by a chestnut bar.
Pintail. (Female and young). No. 41.
, Fig. 15. Foot of Mallard
purple or showing hind toe with-
out flap.
72 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
KK. Speculum without metallic colors. N, NN.
N. Speculum gray or greenish-gray with a narrow
white bar (border) behind. Baldpate. (Fe-
male). No. 37.
NN. Speculum with anterior half velvet black,
posterior half pure white. Gadwall. No. 35.
DD.Hind toe with a distinct flap or
lobe. (Fig. 21.) O, 00.
O. Feathers extending forward
along sides or top of bill
until nearly or quite even
with hind margin of nos-
tril. P, PP.
P. Wing more than 10 inches
Inno- n CiCi Fig. 21. Foot of Redhead, showing liind
long, ^j, y^yci. _ ^^^ ^,ijj^ j^^p_
Q. A conspicuous white
bar (speculum) on wing. — White- winged Scoter. No. 55.
QQ. No white wing-bar. R, RR.
R. Feathering on sides of bill extending forward
nearly or quite even with hind border of nostril.
Eider. No. 52.
RR. Feathering on sides of bill not extending for-
ward nearly as far as hind border of nostril.
King Eider. No. 53.
PP. Wing less than 10 inches. S, SS.
S. Bird mainly black or brownish black, large, wing more
than 9 inches. Surf Scoter. No. 56.
SS. Bird largely white, medium size, wing less than 9
inches. Old Squaw. No. 51.
00. Feathers at sides or top of bill not reaching nearly to nostril.
T, TT.
T. Wing under 7 inches, a, aa.
a. With a conspicuous white wing-bar. Butter-ball;
Bufflehead. No. 50.
aa.'^With no white in the wing. Ruddy Duck. No. 57.
TT. Wing over 7 inches. U, UU, UUU.
U. Speculum wanting (i. e. black or brown like rest of
wing), b, bb.
b. Entire plumage black (male) or grayish brown
(female) without any white on head or wings.
Black Scoter. No. 54.
bb. Plumage largely white, the head and neck
always with white patches. Old Squaw.
No. 51.
UU. Speculum gray or bluish gray. V, VV.
V. Wing 8 inches or less. Ring-necked Duck. No. 47.
VV. Wing Sj inches or more, c, cc.
c. Head and neck reddish brown. W, WW.
W. Forehead and chin blackish. Canvas-
back (male). No. 44.
WW. Forehead and chin red like the rest of
head. Redhead (male). No. 43.
cc. Head and neck without anv reddish brown.
X, XX.
WATER BIRDS. 73
X. Back grayish brown more or less cross-
lined or pencilled with white. Canvas-
back (female). No. 44.
XX. Back grayish brown without cross-
lines or pencilUngs of white. Red-
head (female). No. 43.
UUU. Speculum pure white. Y, YY.
Y. Head mainly black, with blue, violet or green re-
flections, d, dd.
d. A conspicuous white spot on each side of
head, e, ee.
e. White spot round or oval. Whistler
(male). No. 48.
ee. White spot more or less triangular
(Fig. 24) Barrow's Goldeneve.
(male). No. 49.
dd. No white on head, f, ff.
f. Black of head glossed with green,
flanks pure white without cross-
Hnes. Greater Blue-bill (male).
No. 45.
ff. Black of head glossed with purple,
flanks distinctly cross-lined with
dusky. Lesser Bluebill (male).
No. 46.
YY. Head and neck mainly brown, g, gg.
g. A white face or ''mask" formed by
feathers about base of upper mandible,
h, hh.
h. Larger birds. Greater Bluebill (fe-
male). No. 45.
hh. Smaller birds. Lesser Bluebill (fe-
male). No. 46.
gg. No white face or mask, but a more or less
distinct white ring or collar around
lower neck, separating the brown of
the neck from the gray chest, i, ii.
i. White collar narrower. Barrow's
Goldeneye (female). No. 49.
ii. White collar broader. Whistler, (fe-
male). No. 48.
30. Goosander. Mergus americanus (Cass.). (129)
Synonyms: American Merganser, Shelldrakc, Fish Duck, Big Sawbill, Big Slielldrakc,
Greater Merganser, Buff -breasted Shelldrakc. — Mergus merganser, Wilson, 1S14, and most
writers. — Mergus americanus, Cass., 1853, Baird, 1858. — Merganser americanus A O
U. Check-list, 1895. > ■ ■
In full plumage the male is at once recognized by its dark green head
and neck, with short, bushy occipital crest, and under parts white more
or less shaded with salmon. The largest of the three species of "saw-
billed ducks. "
Distribution. — North America generally, bi-ccding south in the United
States to Pennsylvania and the mountains of Colorado and California.
Bermuda.
74 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Generally distributed throughout the state and not at all uncommon
during the migi-ations. Well known to sportsmen who generally despise
the "fish ducks," considering them unfit for food. This bird occurs spring
and fall on all the waters of the state, the smaller ponds and streams as
well as the shores of the Great Lakes. It nests, at least occasionally,
from the Saginaw Valley northward, and Dr. Gibbs states that he has
found it once with a brood of young in Kent county. Mr. Edward Arnold
informs me that in ]\Iay, 1905 he found a nest with fourteen eggs at Saginaw
Bay, Michigan. Mr. O. B. Warren states that in Marquette county it
nests on isolated lakes near Palmer, Major Boies says it breeds on the
St. Mary's River at Neebish and elsewhere. S. E. White states that it is
not uncommon as a summer resident on Round Island about a mile from
Mackinac Island. Mr. Norman A. Wood and others found it breeding
along the Lake Superior shore in Ontonagon county and at Isle Royale
in the summer of 1894. Mr. Ed Van Winkle says it is abundant and breeds
in Delta county. While a majority of the birds go farther south to spend
the winter, undoubtedly a few remain wherever open water is found,
and Mr. Amos Butler states that on southern Lake Michigan it is one of
the commonest ducks during the winter months (Birds of Indiana, 1897,
p. 591).
The bird feeds very largely on fish and has been accused of serious
injury to food fishes, particularly to trout. It is very doubtful, however,
whether it eats many trout, and we know positively that the bird is very
fond of crayfish, in which most of our Michigan streams abound. It dives
easily and swims with great rapidity below the water.
The nest of this duck is usually placed in hollow trees, or holes in cliffs,
although Audubon describes it as on the ground among rushes. In one
instance, at least, it was found nesting in a little cave in the edge of a
rocky cliff on the shore of Saginaw^ Bay, and it is probable that it frequently
nests in this manner. The eggs vary from ten to sixteen, or possibly
more, are buffy white, and average 2.63 by 1.82 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Nostrils near middle of bill. The adult male has the head and upper neck greenish-
black, the hind head short-crested; lower neck, breast, and belly white or pinkisli-white
(pale salmon); back black, rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail ashy-gray, wing-coverts
with a large white patch crossed by a black bar. The adult female and the young have the
chin and upper throat white, rest of head and neck brown or grayish-brown; imder parts
white.
Length of adult male 25 to 27 inches; wing, 10.50 to 11.25; culmen, 1.90 to 2.20. Length
of female 21 to 24 inches; wing, 9.60 to 9.75; culmen, 1.80 to 2.00.
31. Red-breasted Merganser. Mergus serrator (Linn.). (130)
Synonyms: Red-breasted Goosander, Red-breasted Shelldrake, Fish Duck, Common
Saw-bill. — Mergus or Merganser serrator of most authors.
Figure 10.
The adult male in full plumage is known by the black streaks on the
lower neck and sides of chest, and by the long, thin, green occipital crest
which is unlike that of either other species of Sawbill. The female has
a similar crest which is brown, giving the bird a close resemblance to the
female Goosander, which, however, is decidedly larger.
WATER BIRDS. 75
Distribution. — Northern portions of the Northern Hemisphere; south
in winter throughout the United States.
Most of what has been said about the preceding species applies also
to this, but tlie Red-breasted Shelldrake in most parts of the state does
not seem to be as common at
any season as the Goosander.
Like the latter it is found on
ponds and streams in the interior
as well as on the Great Lakes,'
and it also feeds mainly on fish
and crayfish and dives in the
same manner as other members
of the genus.
Like the Goosander it fre-
quently winters in southern and
middle Michigan and this fact
makes it difficult to fix accurate-
ly the time of arrival and depar-
ture of the migrants. Probably the
largest numbers move northward rig. lO. Red-breasted Merganser.
„„„i , ;„ A,,,.;i „^J +1,^ „^v.;»,„ ,^; From Hoffman's Guide to the Birds of New England
early m April and the sprmg mi- and Eastern New York. (Houghton, Miffiin & Co.)
gration is completed by the first
of May. Most of the southward migration takes place in October.
Even in the Upper Peninsula, however, some linger until December, and
Mr. Thomas B. Wyman, of Negaunee, Marquette county, says that it is
frequent there along open streams in winter.
In its nesting habits it differs somewhat from the Goosander since, so
far as known, it invariably nests on the ground, sometimes under a log
or stump, but often under the low spreading branches of an evergreen
or even a thick clump of bushes or weeds. So far as I can learn it has not
been found nesting in the southern parts of the state, but its eggs have
been taken from Saginaw Bay northward; at Mackinac Island and Round
Island (S. E. White); near Cross Village, Emmet county and on Beaver
Islands (Chas. L. Cass), and near Van's Harbor, Delta county (Van Winkle).
At Grand Island, ]\Iunising Bay, Lake Superior, Mr. E. A. Doolittle saw
a female and seven young but a few days out of the shell, July 6, 1906,
and a few days later a combined flock of three broods.
The nests are made of moss, grass and weed stalks, usually heavily
lined with down. The eggs are ten or more, cream-colored, and average
2.57 by L59 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Nostrils near base of bill. Adult male: The whole head and throat dull greenish black,
the color strongest on top of the head, duller on the throat; a white collar below the blapk,
below which there is a broad cinnamon-brown band interrupted by black streaks extending
over the upper breast and lower neck. Rest of under parts white, the sides and flanks
barred with narrow wa^-y lines of black; the tips of most of the secondaries and the greater
coverts white. Rest of upper parts black, more or less barred with white on the rump.
Adult female: No black on the head, which is mostly reddish-brown, darker on top and
with the chin and upper throat much paler or even pure white; the under parts from lower
neck to tail white, the sides washed or barred with ashy-gray; the upper parts darker ashy-
gray; the wings darker and the primaries nearly black; speculum white. The young when
fully grown resemble the female but are duller.
Length of adult 20 to 25 inches; wing, 8^ to 9 inches; culmen about 2.50; bill from nostril
to tip, about 1.75. In any plumage this species can be separated from the Goosander
by the position of the nostril, which in the present species is nuich nearer the base of the
bill than in the Goosander.
76
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
32. Hooded Merganser. Lophodytes cucullatus (Linn.). (131)
Synonyms: Hooded Sheldrake, Summer Slieldrake, Little Fish Duck, Little Saw-bill.
— Mergus cucullatus, Linn., 1758, and most of the older writers. — Lophodytes cucullatus
of more recent authors.
Figure 11.
Comparison with the figure of the head will identify the male at once,
and the female is sufficiently similar. The "saw-bill" and the small size
would also separate it from the other fish ducks with which alone it could
be confounded.
Distribution. — North America generally, south to Mexico and Cuba,
breeding nearly throughout its range. Casual in Europe.
A common migrant throughout the state, and probably breeds much
more generally than is suspected. It doubtless nests along most of the
streams of the Lower Peninsula, as
well as in the northern parts of the
state. We have records of eggs or
young from Alcona county, Oscoda
county, Iosco county, Kent county,
Chippewa county, Kalkaska county,
and Calhoun county. Wherever it
is found in midsummer it may be
fairly assumed to be nesting, al-
though as with most ducks the males
leave the females after incubation
has begun and wander more or less,
sometimes alone, more often in com-
pany with other males.
The bird nests invariably in the
hollow of a tree, often at a consider-
able height from the ground, and the
nest consists of grasses and down
from the breast of'^the mother. The j,jg „ h^^^^^ Merganser.
eggs, six to ten in number, are pure (From Bailey's Handbook of Birds of the Western
white, sometimes nest-stained, and united States. (Hougiuon, Mitfiin & Co.)
are rounded oval, sometimes almost globular. They average 2.09 by 1.75
inches.
In habits this species is similar to other fish ducks, but is more partial
to the smaller and more rapid streams where it is believed, probably with
more or less reason, to feecl on the j^oung of various fishes, including bass
and trout. It often remains through the winter wherever open running
water furnishes a supply of food. It dives and swims beneath the water
with the utmost ease, and its quick motions either in the water or on the
wing make it a difficult bird to shoot. Its flesh is much more palatable
than that of the other mergansers, being often entirely free from fishy
taste. This fact gives color to the statements of some writers that it
feeds largely on vegetable food, a question which we have had no oppor-
tunity to investigate.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
In the adult male the larger part of the head and the whole of the neck and throat are
deep black, but there is a very long crest of pure white feathers tipped with black, which
WATER BIRDS.
77
can be erected so as to form a complete semicircle making the most conspicious crest worn
by any of our ducks. The back is mainly black, the tertiaries and scapulars sharply
streaked with pure white. The under parts from lower neck to tail are pure white; the
sides and flanks finely barred with black or dark brown on a pale rufous groimd. Just in
front of the shoulders the black of the back extends downward on the sides of the upper
breast forming two conspicuous black horns or points, which however, do not meet in front.
These points are bordered in front and behind by a few narrow black and white bars. The
wings are dusky; the speculum white. The adult female has tlie black of the head and
neck replaced by reddish-brown of varying depth, with the upper throat white, and with
only a small crest which is usually distinctly cinnamon. The lower breast and belly are
white; the sides ashy, and the back brownish-black. The fully grown young resemble the
female, but have no crest.
Total length of adult, 17 to 19 inches; wing, 7.50 to 7.90; culmcn, 1.50.
33. Mallard. Anas platyrhynchos Limi. (132)
Synonyms: Conunon Wild Duck; Green-head (male); Gray Duck and Gray Mallard
(female). — Anas boschas, Linn., 1766, and of most authors.
Figures 12 and 13.
In full plumage known at once by its resemblance to the ordinary barn-
yard duck which is simply the domesticated form of the wild bird. The
blue-green or purple speculum, bordered along both edges by black and
white, marks the bird in any plumage.
Distribution. — Northern parts of Northern Hemisphere; in America
south to Panama and Cuba, breeding southward to southern United
States; less common in the east.
This duck is too well known to need any extended description, being
probably the most abundant species of duck found in this state. It is
one of the best table birds
among the water fowl, and ^ f) ^ ^ '/
is hunted therefore with
appropriate ardor.
The Mallard reaches
southern Michigan in
spring from the first to
the 15th of March, the
average date being not
far from the 10th, and
it passes northward as rap-
idly as the lakes and
streams open, affording a
safe food supply. In
autumn the southward
movement begins certainly
as early as September 1,
although the period of
greatest abundance is
nearer October 1, and the
birds often linger at favor-
able places until early No-
vember, in fact until the first ice forms
of this species, but since it sometimes
Fig. 12. MalUucl.
From Baird, Brewer & Ridgway's Water Birds of North
America. (Little, Brown & Co.)
. We have no winter records
winters in numbers in north-
ern Ohio,' Indiana, and even in southern Wisconsin, it is not improbable
that it sometimes does so in southern Michigan.
This is a typical marsh or shallow water duck, getting its food by "dab-
bling" and wading, or frequently by walking about on the shore. It
78
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
does not dive for its food, and in fact even when wounded seldom attempts
to escape by diving. It often visits stubble fields and meadows at long
distances from water, going out to feed late in the afternoon and returning
early in the morning, sometimes affording good "pass shooting" at such
times. It is hunted most commonly by the use of decoys, either living
domesticated mallards or wooden imitations, anchored near a blind, the
gunner sometimes using a duck call as an additional attraction. In many
places where clubs or private individuals have shooting grounds which
can be protected the Mallards and some other ducks are regularly baited
with grain strewed in the shallow water. Wild rice is also extensively
planted for the same purpose.
It formerly bred in suitable places everywhere in the state, nesting on
the ground in or near marshes, or on islands in marshy ponds. Persecu-
tion has driven it away
from many localities where
it formerly nested in abund-
ance and it is now known
in many parts of the state
mainly as a migrant.
It breeds rather early,
and most eggs probably
are laid in May, the duck-
lings being most commonly
seen in early June. The
nests are hollows in the
ground lined with grass and
other dry vegetable matter
with a good deal of gray
down from the bird's
breast. The eggs range
from eight to fifteen, are greenish or grayish buff, and average 2.32
by 1.67 inches. The mother is said to be very brave in defence of the
eggs or young, not only trying to decoy the intruder away but in some
cases threatening or even attacking man or dog.
Fig. 13. Wing of mallard, to show speculum. (Original.)
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
In the adult male the head and neck are rich green, bordered below by a white collar,
with clear chestnut below the white. The speculum is metallic blue or purple bordered
all around by black, and with a white bar outside the black both in front and behind.
The under parts are grayish white vermiculated with black, and the under tail-coverts
are deep black in strong contrast. The adult female is a totally different looking bird,
the only strong similarity to the male being in the wings where the speculum is nearly the
same. The remainder of the plumage is brown and black in streaks and mottlings, darker
above and lighter below. The adult male frequently has several of the upper tail-coverts
curled upward, but tliis is by no means always the case. Bill greenish; legs and feet,
reddish-orange. The drake cannot be confounded with any other; the female and young
might be taken for those of the dusky duck or black duck. Length of adult, 22 to 25
inches; wing, 10 to 12; culmen, 2 to 2.40.
34. Black Duck. Anas rubripes Brewst. (133)
Synonyms: Black Mallard, Dusky Duck, Dusky Mallard, Red-legged Duck. — Anas
obscura rubripes, Brewster, 1902. — Anas obscura, Gmel., 1788, and of most authors.
It may be recognized by its general brownish black color, violet speculum
tipped with black but without the white bands characteristic of the Mallard
wing.
WATER BIRDS. 79
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to the Mississippi Valley,
north to Labrador, breeding southward to the northern parts of the United
States.
The Black Duck is similar in appearance and voice to the common
Mallard, for the female of which it is sometimes mistaken. It is not
uncommon throughout the state during the migrations, and doubtless
formerly bred in suitable places everywhere.
It arrives from the south from three weeks to a month later than the
Mallard, an average date for the southern counties being not far from
April 10th. On the other hand its autumnal movement southward does
not begin until late in September, and numbers linger until after most of
the Mallards have gone. According to Swales it is occasionally found at
St. Clair Flats in winter, although very likely these birds may prove to
belong to the more northern form, the Red-legged Duck. At present it
seems to be only a migrant in the southern part of the Lower Peninsula,
but breeds sparingly throughout the remainder of the state. It is found
commonly in large flocks, flies and feeds much after dark, and is considered
just as good eating as the Mallard. The nest is placed on the ground not
far from the water, built of grasses and similar coarse materials, and more
or less heavily lined with down. The eggs are grayish white to greenish
buff, and average 2.43 by 1.75 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Resembles the Mallard in size and general appearance and might readily be mistaken
for the female or young of the year of that species. The sexes, however, are alike, and in
any plumage the Dusky Duck is always darker and less streaked than the Mallard. The
general color is a rich dark brown, the feathers usually with lighter edgings. The lower
back and rump are sometimes glossy black, but elsewhere the plumage is seldom darker
than a clear brownish-black. The head is deep brownish-black on top more or less mixed
with narrow streaks of ashy or brownish; tlie sides of the head, the throat, and the neck
all around are buffy white finely streaked with fuscous. The distinguishing mark of the
species is the speculum, which is deeper blue or violet-purple than in the Mallard, bordered
in front and behind by black, sometimes with a narrow white bar behind the black, but
none on the front edge. Bill greenish-black to olive-green; legs and feet brownish or
sometimes tinged with reddish.
Length, 21 to 24.50 inches; wing, 10.50 to 11.50; culmen, 2 to 2.35.
In the northern form, separated as a subspecies by Brewster in 1902
under the name Red-legged Black Duck, the tarsi and toes are bright
red and the bill yellow, while such individuals average somewhat larger
than those reared farther south. According to Mr. Brewster the Red-
legged form does not appear in New England as a rule before the middle
of October, his earliest record with a single exception being. October 8.
He is careful, however, to make it clear that by no means all the black
ducks which nest north of the United States belong to the Red-legged
form, Mr. C. F. Batchelder having collected many examples of the smaller
bird in Newfoundland in June and July.
The colors of the bill and feet change very quickly after death so that
in museum specimens or dried skins the colors of these parts in the two
forms are not noticeably different. Mr. Brewster, however, states that
the two birds "are sufficiently unlike in respect to size and proportions,
as well as in coloring, to be distinguished, under favorable conditions, at
more than gunshot distance when flying, and when freshly killed and
placed side by side they may be separated at a glance. The larger bird
usually has the entire bill (excepting the nail) yellow, varying from chrome
to canary or sulphur yellow, the legs and toes bright red, varying from
80
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
light scarlet to deep orange, the dark feathers of the pileum and nape
conspicuously margined with gray or fulvous and the throat (as well as
sometimes the chin, also) profusely spotted or streaked with blackish.
All the dark markings on the checks, throat and neck are broader, blacker
and more sharply defined [than in the southern form] and they often take
the form of coarse, rounded spots which are seldom if ever present on the
head or neck of the smaller bird. In typical examples [of the smaller
form] the bill is greenish black, dusky olive, or olive green, the legs are
.olivaceous brown with, at most, only a tinge of reddish, the pileum and
nape are nearly or quite uniformly dark, the throat and chin immaculate,
the markings on the neck and sides of the head fine, linear, and dusky
rather than blackish." (Auk, Vol. 19, 1902, pp. 184, 185).
35. Gadwall. Chaulelasmus streperus (Linn.). (135)
Synonyms: Gray Duck, Gray Widgeon. — Anas strepera, Linn., 1758. — Chaulelasmus
streperus of most authors.
Figure 16
The male is easily recognized by its chestnut middle wing-coverts and
the white speculum bordered in front by black. The female has the same
speculum, but usually no chestnut on the wings and can hardly be identi-
fied by the novice.
Distribution. — Nearly cosmopolitan. In North America breeds chiefly
within the United States.
This seems to be one of the rarer ducks in Michigan; it has been taken
here and there throughout the state, but is nowhere common. In southern
Michigan Purdy has
taken one at Plym-
outh; Swales reports an
adult female killed on
Monroe Marshes Octo-
ber 26, 1906, and a
young male and female
at the same place
about November 13;
Warren records it as
rare at Albion and oc- ^ ^
casional at St. Joseph. ^ S^^;)
Most of the older lists ^y'J -"
have it, but it is omit- '
ted by Cabot (1850). ,
I have no record for -
it for Ingham or the
adjoining counties and
it must be rare here.
We have no record of
its nesting in the state
yet there is no reason
why it should not do so occasionally, and it probably does. Mr. A. C. Bent
(Auk, XVIII, 334-35) says that in North Dakota, where the species is
fairly abundant, it nests always on dry ground, but not far from the water.
From Baird, Bre\\er & Ridgwaj's Water Birds of North America.
Little Brown & Co.
WATER BIRDS. 81
The nest is merely a hollow in the ground padded with grass and weed
stems and profusely lined with dark gray down around the eggs. These
are dull creamy white, whiter and less creamy than the Baldpate's, also
shorter and rounder. Mr. Bent found from seven to eleven eggs in a set,
and seven nests with eggs were found July 15, 1901. The eggs average
2.09 by 1.57 inches.
In its general habits it resembles the Mallard, frequenting the smaller
streams, the edges of ponds and rivers, and the sloughs and pools of marshes,
where it feeds on grasses and the leaves of various water plants, as well
as on their roots and bulbs, and probably also on snails and other small
animals, including insects. It never dives for its food, but secures it by
"tilting" or "standing on its head" in shallow water, or by wading along
the shore or waddling about on dry land. On the prairie sloughs of the
northwest where it is more abundant, it flies in moderate or small flocks,
but with us it is found singly or in squads of three or four, single Gadwalls
being most often seen in company with Pintails or Baldpates. We have
no data on its migration in Michigan, but the records for neighboring
states indicate that it is likely to reach us from the south during the latter
half of March, passing northward during April and returning in October.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
A large duck, similar in general appearance to the Mallard and Black Duck, but slightly-
smaller. The adult male has the^top of the head brown or brownish-white thickly streaked
and spotted with black, the top of the head with the ground color brownest and the streaks
nearly wanting; the sides of the head similar but paler. The lower neck all around
and the breast black, each feather with a white border and a ring or crescent of white which
gives the plumage a peculiar and unmistakable appearance. The belly is pale gray or
white, with the under tail-coverts"velvet black in sharp contrast. The upper parts are
brownish-slate, the rump and upper tail-coverts black. The lesser-wing-coverts are
chestnut-brown, a distinctive feature; speculum pure white with a broad velvet black
patch in front. The adult female has the head and throat similar to those parts in the
male, but the breast and sides buffy spotted with black and with the peculiar scale-like
markings less distinct than in the other sex; the lesser wing-coverts also commonly lack
the chestnut.
Length of male, 19.25 to 21.75 inches; wing, 10.25 to 11, culmen, 1.60 to 1.75. Female:
Length about 18 inches, wing, 10 to 10.25, culmen 1.55 to 1.65.
36. European Widgeon. Mareca penelope TAnn. (136)
Synonyms: Widgeon. — Anas penelope, Linn., 1758.
The male in adult plumage resembles the American Widgeon or Baldpate
except that most of the head and neck are rich reddish brown, the chin
and throat blackish. It is not likely that the two species would be dis-
criminated at gun shot range.
Distribution. — Northern parts of the Old World. In North America
breeds on the Aleutian Islands, and occurs frequently in the eastern United
States and occasionally in California.
Perhaps a dozen specimens have been recorded in the eastern United
States in the last twenty years, and of these four at least have been taken
in Michigan. There is a nice mounted specimen in the collection of the
Monroe Marsh Club, Monroe, Michigan, killed there by Robert Lawrence
of New York City, probably about 1898. The writer examined this speci-
men in March, 1905. Mr. Harold Herrick records one (Auk, XIX, 284)
taken at Monroe, March 27, 1902 by William B. Boulton. He also states
that another male in good plumage was taken in April, 1900, and a third
11
82 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
in April 1892. Mr. Herrick believes that females are also taken occasion-
ally, but owing to their close resemblance to the female of the Baldpate
they are not recognized.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
The adult male agrees with the Baldpate in having the "forehead and fore part
of crown, posterior half of middle wing-covert region, and belly, plain white; speculum
nietallic green anteriorly, velvety black posteriorly; crop plain vinaceous; sides, flanks
scapulars, and back, delicately waved with dusky upon a paler ground; under tail-coverts
])lain black." In addition the adult male in winter and spring has " Head and upper neck
plain rufous, the forehead varying from white to ochraceous; crop antl sides of breast
vinaceous; sides, flanks, and whole back white, waved with blackish" (Ridgway). Fe-
males, males after the breeding season, and young of both sexes are likely to be mistaken
for similar sexes and ages of the Baldpate, and can be positively identified only by the
expert who has proper material for comparison.
Length, 18 to 20 inches; wing, 10 to 11; culmen, 1.35 to 1.45.
37. Baldpate. Mareca americana (Gmel.). (137)
Synonyms: Widgeon, American Widgeon, Green-headed Widgeon, Bald Widgeon,
Poacher. — Anas americana, Gmel., 1789, and many authors. — Mareca americana, Steph.,
1824, and authors generally.
Figure 17.
Adult male recognizable most easily by the large amount of white on
the wings (most of the coverts), the green speculum bordered behind by
velvet black, and the broad patch of metallic green on the side of the
head behind the eye.
Distribution. — North America, from the Arctic Ocean south, in winter
to Guatemala and Cuba. Breeds chiefly north of the United States, and
west of the Mississippi.
Apparently not a common duck in this state. It is found sparingly
during migration, but we find no evidence that it nosts lipro. l^vol^al^ly
it never winters within our
limits, but arrives from the
south late in March and passes
north of our boundaries during
April, returning late in Septem-
ber and lingering until Novem-
ber, or even December. It is
usually found in small flocks,
a dozen or less, but associates
freely with other species and
has earned the name of Poacher
by its habit of keeping with the
Canvasbacks and Redheads
when they are feeding in deep Fig. n. Baldpate.
water and stealing from them a From Bailey-s Handbook of Birds of the Western
. , , , , p ,^ United States. (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.)
considerable part of the succu-
lent grasses, waterweeds and roots which they bring to the surface. It is
j)articularly wary and suspicious, and much disliked by gunners because it
not only protects itself but gives the alarm to less watchful ducks of
other species. It does not decoy readily, docs not dive except when
wounded, and when travelling usually flies in "company front" instead
of single file.
WATER BIRDS. 83
Some of the earlier lists gave it as nesting, but this probably is a mistake.
It is known to breed throughout most of northern British America, even
to the Arctic Circle, but the southernmost point where it now nests abund-
antly seems to be the Devil's Lake region of North Dakota. According
to A. C. Bent (Auk, XVIII, 335-36) it is a late breeder there, very few
eggs being found before June 1. On June 15 he found twelve nests in a
single half hour. All were placed on dry ground, in slight hollows, lined
with grasses, w^eeds and an abundance of gray down, with which the eggs
are completely covered when the mother leaves the nest. The eggs are
from eight to twelve and vary from almost white to deep cream color.
They average 2.06 by 1.48 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male in full plumage with the forehead and crown pure white or creamy white,
the sides of the head above and back of the eye glossy green, this color extending to and
including the nape. Ordinarily both the white of the crown and the green of the head
are more or less spotted and streaked, the former with black, the latter with white. The
remainder of the head and neck is gray due to rather coarse spotting and streaking with
black on the white ground color. The upper breast and sides are pinkisli-brown (" vinace-
ous") without streaks or spots, but the feathers often with ashy edgings. Lower breast
and belly pure white; under tail-coverts velvet black in sharp contrast. Back, scapulars
and rump finely barred (vermiculated) with black and slate or buff, some of the scapulars
with black shaft streaks. The speculiun shows a narrow green area surroimded by dull
black, with a large white patch in front. The shoulders (lesser wing-coverts) are pale
ashy-brown; the tertiaries lanceolate, much lengthened, the outer webs glossy black
margined with pure white. The female is difficult to describe, but may commonly be
recognized by the combination of a finely streaked head and neck with pinkish-brown
breast and sides and the lanceolate, streaked tertiaries. She does not ordinarily show
any trace of green about the head, or of pure white on forehead and crown.
Length 18 to 22 inches, wing 10.25 to 11, culmen 1.30 to 1.50.
38. Green- winged Teal. Nettion carolinense (Gmel). (139)
Synonyms: Green-wing, Winter Teal, Red-headed Teal. — Anas carolinensis, Gmel.,
1789. — Querquedula carolinensis, Steph., 1824. — Nettion carolinensis of most recent
authors.
The bright cinnamon head with a large metalhc green patch on each
side is characteristic of the adult male. In any plumage the small size
separates it from everything but the Blue-winged Teal, and the absence
of the pale blue shoulder excludes that.
Distribution. — North America, breeding chiefly north of the United
States, and migrating south to Honduras and Cuba.
The Green-winged Teal at present is not a common bird in any part of
the state. It occurs sparingly in early spring (March 15 to April 30),
and lingers in the fall at least until ice begins to form (Nov. 20 to Dec. 15).
We have little reason to believe that it nests within our limits now, although
it probably did so sparingly in years gone by. IMajor Boies records it as
nesting on Neebish Island between 1892 and 1894. Its normal breeding
grounds are well to the north of JNIichigan. The nest is placed on the
ground, not necessarily close to water, and the eggs vary in number from
eight to eighteen. They are white or buffy white, and average 1.75 by
1.28 inches.
Except while nesting the birds are commonly seen in compact flocks,
often of large size. They feed freely on seeds, grasses and other vegetable
matter, but also eat insects and other animal food. Where they have
84 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
been much disturbed they feed freely at night, resting during the day
on open stretches of water where they are comparatively safe. They dive
readily when necessity requires it, but seldom in search of food, the larger
part of their food being found in shallow water, along shore or on the
marshes and mud flats.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male with chin dusky or black, a large patch of metallic green on each side of
head including the eye and extending back to the nape where the two patches join and
the feathers are elongated into a crest; rest of head, upper throat, and neck bright cinnamon
brown. Sides and upper back finely vermiculated with black and white; breast pinkish-
brown (vinaceous) spotted with black ; a conspicuous white bar or crescent on the side of the
breast just in front of the bend of the wing; under tail-coverts buffy white at the sides,
black in the middle. Speculum metallic green and velvet black in about equal parts,
margined in front with clear pale brown and behind with pure white. Adult female
similar only as to wings. The rest of the bird mainly slaty brown above, many of the
feathers with ashy margins, the brown darkest on top of the head; the breast and sides
buffy white, each feather with a large spot of brown; tlie chin, belly, and lower tail-coverts,
white and unspotted; sides of breast and neck finely streaked with dusky-brown on a
nearly white ground color. Yoimg of the year resemble the female.
Length 12.50 to 15 inches; wing 6.25 to 7.40; culmen 1.40 to 1.(30.
39. Blue-winged Teal. Querquedula discors {Linn.). (140)
Synonyms: Blue-wing, Summer Teal. — Anas discors, Linn., 1766. — Cyanopterus
discors, Eyt., 1838. — Pterocyanea discors, Bonap., 1856. — Querquedula discors of authors
generally.
The adult male is instantly recognized by the large pure white crescent
(like a new moon) on each side of the head iDetween the eye and bill; adults
of either sex have most of the shoulder (lesser wing-coverts and scapulars)
light blue; the small size separates it from anything but the Green- winged
Teal.
Distribution. — North America in general, but chiefly eastward; north
to Alaska, and south to the West Indies, Lower California, and northern
South America. Casual in California. Breeds from Kansas and southern
IlUnois northward.
Probably the Blue-winged Teal is the most abundant summer duck
found in Michigan and formerly it bred commonly all over the state.
It still breeds in suitable localities, but much less frequently than formerly.
It is later in arriving in spring than most of our ducks, seldom reaching
the southern counties before the first of April, while it is one of the earliest
of all to move southward in autumn, the movement beginning by Septem
ber 1 and being practically competed during that month. Its abundance,
the ease with which it decoys, and its good table qualities insure constant
persecution during the open season.
While with us it shows a marked preference for marshes, grassy ponds
and sluggish streams, and is particularly partial to regions where wild
rice (Zizania) grows. It is rarely seen singly or in pairs, but almost always
in flocks of a dozen or more, sometimes more than fifty being found together.
It is neither shy nor suspicious and hence is more frequently bagged by
the amateur than any other duck.
The nest, placed on the ground in meadows or prairies, is formed of
grass and lined with down. The eggs are from eight to twelve, white or
buffy white, and average 1.84 by 1.134 inches.
Our nesting records are Hillsdale (Munson); moutli of Kalamazoo
WATER BIRDS. 85
River (S. E. White) ; Chandler's Marsh, Ingham county, (numerous records) ;
Ann Arbor (Covert); Monroe county, eggs taken June 15, 1890 (Trombley);
St. Clair Flats (Swales) ; Neebish Island, St. Mary's River (Boies) ; Wayne
county, (Purdy).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male with chin, face, and crown brownish-black, darkest on the crown; a con-
spicuous crescent of pure white on each side of head in front of the eye, the upper horn
ending directly above the eye, the lower horn nearly meeting its fellow on the throat;
rest of the head and most of the neck clear bluish ash with a purplish gloss; lower neck
and entire breast, sides and belly pinkish brown, each feather with a distinct rounded
spot; upper back ashy-brown, each feather margined with buffy-white; scapulars brownish-
black with sharp shaft-stripes of light buff; lower back and rump ashy-brown, unspotted;
lower tail-coverts velvet-black in sharp contrast with the spotted belly; a large white
patch on each side of the base of the tail. Speculum green, bordered in front by a white
bar; entire shoulder in front of this bar light blue. Female similar as to the wings, but
specidum merely greenish with only a narrow line of white in front; chin and upper throat
buffy-white, unspotted; remainder of under parts buffy or brownish-white everywhere,
the feathers streaked or spotted with brown or black; crown dark brown with a few pale
streaks; scapulars, back, rump and upper tail-coverts brownish black, each feather dis-
tinctly edged with buffy-white.
Length 14.50 to 16 inches; wing 7 to 7.50; culmen 1.40 to 1.65.
The male in late summer and the young of the year resemble the adult female except
that the adult male always shows the characteristic speculum.
40. Shoveller. Spatula clypeata (Linn.). (142)
Synonyms: Spoon-bill, Red-breasted Shoveller, Blue-winged Shoveller, Shovel-bill.
— Anas clypeata, Linn., 1758. — Spatula clypeata, Boie, 1822, and most recent authors.
Adults of either sex may be known at once by the size and light blue
wing-coverts; the much smaller Blue- winged Teal being the only species
with a similar shoulder. The blue is gray-blue or wanting in young birds.
The spoon-like bill of course is distinctive at any age.
Distribution. — Northern Hemisphere. In North America breeding from
Alaska to Texas; not abundant on the Atlantic coast north of the Carolinas.
Contrary to what might be inferred from the books this is nowhere a
common duck in Michigan. Our reports come mainly from the St. Clair
Flats and Saginaw Bay, but it has been noted here and there all over the
state. According to Swales, in southeastern Michigan it is a fairly common
migrant, has been taken at Plymouth, Wayne county, by Purdy, and
Morden and Saunders say "It may breed at the Flats" (Swales). We have
records from Kalamazoo county, Ingham county, Kent county, and St.
Clair county, in addition to those already given, but I do not find a single
definite nesting record, although several observers state that "It is a
summer resident," and Langille says the nest is "rarely found" at St.
Clair Flats (Bull. Buffalo Soc. Nat. Hist. V, 1877, 36). According to A.
C. Bent (Auk, XIX, 3, 4) it is one of the commonest ducks in North Dakota,
nesting abundantly. The nest is a slight hollow in the ground scantily
lined with down, and the eggs are similar to those of the JMallard and
Pintail, very pale olive buff or greenish gray. The nests are often placed
away from water on the open prairie, and sets are seldom complete before
June 15. The eggs average 2.12 by 1.48 inches. It may be looked for
in spring from about the first of April until the second week in May, and
its southward flight begins about September 1 and may last until the
middle or end of October.
It frequents the same feeding grounds as the Mallard and uses to great
86 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
advantage its large bill with its highly developed lamella), by means of
which it sifts out of the mud and water any and everything eatable. Its
flesh is said to be of the very best.
According to D. G. Elliot "When about the marshes, or moving over
the inland lakes and coasting along the shores, the Spoonbill is readily
recognized by its flight, which is more like that of a teal, although much
less swift, and is performed in an irregular, hesitating kind of way, as if
the bird was uncertain just where to go. * * * It is not particularly
timid, and will often come boldly up to decoys. * * * j have seldom
heard it utter any sound, though occasionally it gives forth a few feeble
quacks, but it is usually very silent."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male with head and neck all around dull metaUic-green with purplish reflections,
the chin, forehead and crown likely to be more brownish and with less metallic color;
entire breast, base of neck and scapulars snowy-white, the inner scapulars and back brown-
ish-black; rump black; entire belly rich chestnut; under tail-coverts velvet black separated
from the chestnut belly by a band of finely barred black and white feathers; a large patch
of white near root of tail on each side bordered posteriorly by a patch of metalUc-green;
speculum rich metallic-green bordered in front by a broad white band; entire shoulders
clear pale blue.
Adult female similar to the male only as regards the wings, and in these the colors are
not so strong. Upper parts grayish brown variously mottled and streaked; under parts
brownish-white, the neck streaked and the breast and belly spotted with brown. The
young of the year are similar to the adult females, but the pale blue of the shoulders is
duller or altogether wanting and the specukun has little or no green.
Length 17 to 21 inches; wing 9 to 10; culmen 2.60 to 2.90; width at end 1.10 to 1.20.
where it is nearly twice as wide as at the nostrils.
41. Pintail. Dafila acuta (Linn.). (143)
Synonyms: Spring-tail, Sprig-tail, Spike-tail, Sharp-tail, Pigeon-tail. — Anas acuta,
Linn., 1758. — Dafila caudacuta, Steph., 1824. — Dafila acuta, Gray, 1844, and most recent
authors.
The long middle tail-feathers are characteristic of the adult male and
the cinnamon wing-bar is a distinctive mark in any plumage.
Distribution. — Northern Hemisphere. In North America breeds from
the northern parts of the United States northward, and migrates south
to Panama and Cuba.
A rather common migrant in Michigan and one of the earliest ducks
to come north in the spring (southern Michigan March 15 to 20; returning
southward August 20 to last of October). P. A. Taverner writes ''Saunders
records it breeding on the St. Clair Flats, but I can find no verification
beyond his record published in 1882." Swales (MS. list 1904) says of
southeastern Michigan "A common migrant spring and fall, March and
April, again October and November. Purdy has seen it at Plymouth.
Saunders writes me that he has taken a nest at Rondeau, Lake Erie, and
has seen the birds in summer at St. Clair Flats one year, hence the inference
in Macoun and Mcllwraith that they breed there. I have never heard
of this bird being seen after ]\Iay first."
Positive proof of the nesting of this species within our limits was obtained
by Norman A. Wood during the past summer (1911), at the Charity Islands,
near the mouth of Saginaw Bay. ]\Ir. Wood took two young Pintails still
unable to fly, and one of the light-keepers on the island remembered see-
ing the parent bird in early summer and searching for the nest in vain.
WATER BIRDS.
87
"The normal nesting grounds of this species are in the far north, and it
is known to breed from northern Minnesota to the Arctic Circle. "In
North Dakota it is an early breeder, beginning to lay early in May; proba-
bly the majority of the broods are hatched by the first week in June. The
female is strongly devoted to the young, trying to decoy the intruder
away. It nests anywhere, often a half mile from water; the nest poorly
concealed, often in plain sight, a deep hollow in the ground, lined with
straw, stubble and a little down. Eggs eight to ten, much like the Mallard's,
but smaller and more glossy, pale olive green or olive buff." (A. C. Bent,
Auk XIX, 5-6). Ridgway gives the average size of the eggs as 2.21 by
1.47 inches.
Fig. 18. Pintail— Male.
From Baird, Brewer & Ridgway's Water Birds of North America. (Little, Brown & Co.)
On the water as well as on the wing the Pintail is easily recognized
by its long neck. According to D. G. Elliot it has three common notes;
a mellow whistle, a hoarse, guttural quack, and a rolling note similar to
that uttered by the Lesser Scaup. He adds "As a diver the Sprigtail
is only a partial success. It can go under water, though it cannot stay
long, but it skulks wdth great skill, stretching out the neck to the fullest
extent and laying it and the head flat upon the surface. At a little distance,
unless there is a complete calm, it is very difficult to be seen when it assumes
such a position."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male in full plumage with top of head very dark brown, sometimes nearly black;
sides of head and throat clear brown, with a greenish gloss posteriorly. The brown of
the crown passes into jet black on the occiput, nape and upper hind neck, where it forms
a narrow stripe passing down the back of the neck, becoming grayer and finally blending
with the vermiculated back. On the hind head and upper neck this stripe is bordered
on each side by pure white, whicli is an extension of the white of the lower neck, breast
and belly. The back and sides are beautifully vermiculated with narrow black and white
wavy lines; the tertiaries and some of the scapulars are elongated and lanceolate, and
have broad black shaft stripes in sharp contrast with the clear as of the rest of the vanes.
The speculum is green, edged posteriorly with pure white and in front by a bar of cinnamon-
brown (distinctive). The under tail-coverts are velvet black in strong contrast with the
white belly, and tlie middle tail-feathers are often very much elongated and taper to
sharp points. The female is much smaller than the male, never has the clear brown
and pure white head markings, nor the finely barred back and sides; she is usually a brown-
88 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
streaked or gray-streaked, inconspicuous looking duck, but may generally be recognized
by the elongated, sharp middle tail feathers which do not occur in any of our other ducks.
Length of male 2G to 30 inches; wing 10.25 to n.20; middle tail feathers 7.25 to 9.50;
culmen 1.85 to 2.15. Length of female 21 to 23.50; wing 9.G0 to 10.10; middle tail feathers
4.50 to 5; culmen 1.80 to 2.10.
42. Wood Duck. Aix sponsa {Linn.). (144)
. Synonyms: Summer Duck, Acorn Duck, Wood Widgeon (Conn.). — Anas sponsa,
Linn., 1758. — Aix sponsa, Boie, 1826, and most authors.
Figures 19 and 20.
In any plumage the long tail of soft, broad feathers is characteristic,
and some of the wing feathers (primaries and secondaries) show a metallic
sheen and frosted edgings or tips.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, breeding throughout its
range. Cuba.
Fig. 19. Wood Duck— Male.
From Nuttall's Ornithology. (Little, Brown & Co.)
This doubtless is the most beautiful of American ducks, and the male
in full plumage is probably without a superior in any part of the world.
Unfortunately it is one of the species which appears to l)e rapidly decreas-
ing in numbers throughout the state, and probably throughout the country
at large. Twenty years ago it was one of the most abundant ducks in
the state and nested commonly in the hollow trees bordering most of our
streams and ponds. Its present status is best shown perhaps by a few
notes from observers in different parts of the state. O. B. Warren,
Marquette county, 1898, says "Uncommon; when it occurs it stays to
breed." Hazelwood, Port Huron, 1904, "Very common years ago."
Swales, southeastern Michigan, 1904, "Now a rare bird but was formerly
a common migrant and fairly abundant summer resident. A few pairs
WATER BIRDS.
89
are said to breed still on the inland lakes in Oakland county. I have
seen two or three near Waterford in August. At the Flats it is occasionally
taken in April and October, and also in the marshes near Monroe and
Pt. Mouille." P. A. Taverner, Macomb county "Once common, now
rare; one bird, male, taken this fall on the Flats." Boies, Neebish Island,
1891-93, "People on the island tell me that they have found their nests
often during the summer, but I saw neither. They were plenty in the fall,
however." Purdy, Plymouth, 1904, "Formerly quite common, but now
very rare. It used to breed here, but now rarely visits our ponds and
streams." Dunham, Kalkaska county, 1904, "Rather rare; a few breed
along the Manistee River." Swales, St. Clair county, 1904, "Very rare
now; once a common summer resident." Van Winkle, Delta county,
1905, "Quite common, breeds.
It reaches the southern counties during the latter part of March, and
moves southward again during September and October, the latest dates
being about November first.
Fig. 20. Wood Duck. — Male.
From photograph of mounted bird. (Original.)
The nest is always placed in the natural hollow of a tree, which may be
living or dead, and the entrance is often forty or fifty feet above the ground.
Mr. Covert states that 19 eggs were taken from a nest at Bass Lake, Wash-
tenaw county, April 30, 1897, by Dean C. Worcester and F. G. Bournes.
This species seems to be an early nester and it is probable that the above
date represents about the average time for the completion of the set.
The number of eggs, however, seems abnormal, the usual number being
from eight to fifteen. The nest often contains much down, and the eggs
are white or buffy white and average 2.08 by 1.58 inches.
This duck is a general feeder, but is particularly fond of acorns, and
spends much of its time in October along wooded streams and about
the margins of ponds where these can be had. Wliile sometimes found
in the open lake and in large ponds it is far more frequently seen along
the smaller streams which wind slowly between heavily wooded banks,
especially if there is much oak timber in the vicinity. It does not, however,
disdain the ordinary food of other ducks, and is frequently found in the
90 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
wild rice swamps and grassy marshes with Mallards, Teal, and other marsh-
loving speQies.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Head mainly metallic green and purple above and pure white below,
with a long, full occipital crest of the same colors. Chin and throat pure white extending
upward and backward in two pairs of crescents, the anterior ending back of the eyes,
the posterior nearly meeting on the back of neck beneath crest. A narrow white Hne on
either side, starting from the forehead, runs backward over the eye and to tip of crest,
while a broader white Une starts behind the eye and also terminates in the crest. A black
collar separates the white throat from the chest, which is rich purplish chestnut, marked
with triangular white spots, very small in front but increasing in size toward the breast
and belly, which are white and unspotted. A vertical white bar on each side of the breast,
bordered behind by a velvet black bar of equal or greater width. Sides and flanks finely
cross-lined with black on a yellowish gromid color, the hindmost flank feathers beautifully
banded with crescent-like bars of black and white. Upper parts, including wings and tail
greenish-black or brownish-black, with metallic reflections of green, purple and bronze;
speculum metallic blue-green with a white bar behind; primaries frosted with wliite on
outer edge and tipped with metallic blue-green. Sides of base of tail purplish chestnut.
Adult female: Similar as to wings and tail but without crest and lacking the purplish
chestnut of lower parts and the cross-lined flanks. The chin and belly are white as also
a ring around the eye and stripe behind it. Rest of head and neck gray; chest mottled
and streaked with yellowish-white and brown. Yomig resembling the female at first,
but the young males soon showing signs of the characteristic throat-patch and crest.
Length of male 19 to 20.50 inches; wing 9 to 9.50; culmen 1.40. Female slightly smaller.
43. Redhead. Marila americana (Eyton). (146)
Synonyms: Pochard, American Pochard, Raft Duck. — Anas ferina, Wils., 1814. —
Fuligula ferina, Bonap., 1828. — Aythyaferina var. americana, Allen, 1872. — Aethyia
americana, B. B. and R., 1884. — Fuligula americana, Eyton, 1838.
The adult male can be confounded with nothing but the Canvasback,
from which it is easily separated by the shape of the bill and the clear
red head without any black. The "canvas" pattern of the back more-
over, is made of black and white cross lines of about equal width, while
in the Canvasback the light lines are wider than the black ones. The
females and young of the year are not readily separated except by the
characters of the bill.
Distribution. — North America, breeding from California, southern
Michigan(?), and Maine northward.
The Redhead is well known to sportsmen throughout the state, but is
abundant only during the migrations, and then mainly near the Great
Lakes, and particularly along the east side of the state. It does occur
sometimes on the smaller inland lakes, but, barring the accident of heavy
storms, its movements are governed largely by the abundance of food.
It is hunted extensively along Saginaw Bay, St. Clair Flats, Detroit River,
and the Monroe Marshes on Lake Erie, the latter point being one of the
most famous shooting grounds for Redheads and Canvasbacks in the
entire west. The birds are now shot mainly from blinds and over decoys,
less often from boats which float or sneak among the flocks.
The Redhead is a deep water species, rarely found along the margins
of ponds or streams, but usually gathering in large flocks or "rafts" on
the open lakes at a distance from shore, where it is constantly diving for
vegetable food on which it subsists almost entirely. It travels in v-shaped
flocks like geese, and flies with great rapidity, but the common statement
that its speed reaches 100 miles per hour is certainly a gross exaggeration.
It is safe to say that no species of duck when migrating flies more than
WATER BIRDS. 91
50 or 60 miles per hour — most species hardly more than 40 miles. Its
flesh is held in high esteem, and after feeding for a time on ''wild celery"
the bird is considered almost equal to the Canvasback under similar circum-
stances. When in poor condition neither species is as good as the Mallard.
This species is an early migrant ins pring, arriving in southern counties
from March 15 to 25 and lingering through April. Most of the birds
have gone north from the region of Detroit by the first of May, and they
do not come south in any numbers until late October; the best shooting
occurring during November and December. Probably a few spend the
winter about the mouth of the Detroit River, or more rarely on Lake St.
Clair, but formerly the Redhead nested occasionally within our Hmits.
In 1879 or 1880 the late W. H. Collins found two nests at St. Clair Flats,
one containing seven and the other eight eggs (Bull. Nuttall Club, V. 61,
62). J. H. Langille also reported the Redhead as nesting commonly at
St. Clair Flats at about the same time, and described the young as "olive
green with the cheeks and under parts bright yellow (Bull. Buffalo Soc.
Nat. Hist. V, 1879, 34, 35). It seems probable that an occasional pair
even nowadays nests in the same region, as Mr. Swales in a recent letter
states that he is "assured that a pair nested in the Dickinson Marshes
(St. Clair Flats) in the summer of 1901." In Wisconsin, according to
Kumlien and Hollister, "even at present a few pairs are said to nest annually
in the large marshes about Lake Koshkonong (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 21).
In North Dakota where the species breeds abundantly, Mr. A. C. Bent
states that the nest is well made of flags and reeds and lined with white
down. It is usually surrounded by water and is placed among growing
flags, its rim being seldom as much as a foot above the water. Fresh eggs
were found abundantly between the first and middle of June and the sets
varied from 6 to 22, the latter being an extraordinary number, but believed
to be the product of a single bird. The next highest number was sixteen
and the average number between ten and fourteen. Mr. Bent states that
the Redhead seems to be particularly careless about laying its eggs in
other ducks' nests. He found one of its eggs in a Ruddy Duck's nest,
and in three cases found from three to four of its eggs in nests of a Canvas-
back, but never found the eggs of any other species in the Redhead's nests
(Auk, XIX, 8-9).
The eggs are olive buff or greenish buff, with a very smooth and ex-
tremely hard shell, and average 2.42 by 1.73 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Head and neck all round bright reddish-brown, often glossed with purple;
lower neck, upper back and upper breast velvet black; rest of back, scapulars, sides and
flanks wavy cross-lined with black and white (canvas-pattern), the lines being of about
equal width. 'Most of breast and belly white, the latter grayer posteriorly; rump and
upper and under tail-coverts deep black; speculum gray or bluish gray, some of the inner
secondaries tipped with white.
Adult female: Without any red on head or neck, or any wavy pencilling anywhere.
Mainly grayish brown, darker above, lighter below, the chin and throat alone white.
Wing nearly the same as in male.
Length (sexes nearly alike), 17 to 21 inches; wing 8.50 to 9.25; culmen 2.05 to 2.25.
92 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
44. Canvasback. Marila valisneria (Wilson). (147)
Synonyms: White-back. — Anas valisineria, Wils., 1814. — Fuligula vallisneria, Steph.,
1824. — Aythya vallisneria, Boie, 1826, and many others. — Aethyia vallisneria, Ridgw.,
1881.
The adult male can be confused only with the male Redhead, but is
always blackish about the face, chin and crown. In common with the
Redhead and Ringneck the adults of both sexes have the pale bluish-gray
speculum. For other distinctions see remarks under Redhead.
Distribution. — Nearly all of North America, breeding from the north-
western states northward to Alaska.
This duck is seen almost invariably in flocks, these gathering often
into large companies of many hundred individuals. Like the Redhead
this species in Michigan is more common along the Great Lakes than on
the ponds and streams of the interior, yet it occurs sparingly in the latter
situations. It is one of the earliest ducks to arrive in the spring, appearing
usually as soon as the ice goes out, commonly early in March, sometimes
even in the last week of February. In the fall it reappears in October
and in places where food conditions are favorable may remain until late
December. Its favorite food, the "eel-grass" or so-called Avild celery
(Vallisneria spiralis) has been planted in several places during recent years
and attracts many kinds of ducks. It gives a peculiarly rich flavor to
the flesh, and "celeryfed Canvasbacks" are the best of fine eating. As
a matter of fact, other ducks which feed on the same plant are nearly or
quite as good and it is doubtful if even the expert can discriminate between
Canvasback and Redhead, or even Bluebill, if he had no other guide than
his palate. Formerly the birds were slaughtered by all sorts of abominable
devices, including night floating, punt guns, sail-boats and steam launches,
as well as by the more legitimate methods of decoys. At present they are
sometimes obtained by "sneaking" or drifting down upon flocks in the
open water in a boat more or less concealed by rushes, bushes, and similar
disguises, but the greater number are shot from blinds or hiding places
over painted wooden decoys.
Possibly this species once nested in small numbers at St. Clair Flats
(Langille, 1879) but we can find no proof that it did so, and certainly at
the present time it is altogether unlikely that it nests anywhere within
our limits. Its proper breeding grounds are far north, in Manitoba, the
Saskatchewan Valley, and Great Slave Lake. Probably the most southern
nesting locality is in the northern part of North Dakota, where (in Steele
county) Mr. A. C. Bent found a few nests in 1901. These were placed
in tall grass, entirely surrounded by water, and were made of grass, dead
flags and reeds, and sparingly hned with gray down. Three nests, found
June 7 or 8, contained eight, eleven, and eight eggs respectively, one of
them containing also four eggs of the Redhead, one three of the Redhead,
and the other one of the Ruddy Duck. The Canvasback's eggs are readily
distinguished from those of any other species, being a rich grayish olive
or greenish drab, of a darker shade than any of the others (Auk, XIX, 11,
12). The eggs measure 2.48 by 1.76 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Chin, face, and top of head black or blackish shading gradually into rich
reddish brown of the rest of the head and neck; chest, upper back and upper breast deep
black; back, scapulars, sides and flanks beautifully cross-lined or " vermiculated" with
WATER BIRDS. 93
black and white, the white lines being about twice as wide as tlie black ones, the result
being a very light canvas pattern (whence the name " Wliite-back ") ; rump and upper
and under tail-coverts black; lower breast and belly white, the latter grayish posteriorly.
Speculum bluish gray, some of the secondaries white-tipped, two or three of the inner
ones black-edged. Adult female: Head, neck and upper breast cinnamon or umber
brown, the throat and face lighter and more rusty; back, sides and flanks grayish brown,
usually more or less cross-lined with white; rest of imder parts white or grayish white.
Length 20 to 23.50 inches; wing 8.75 to 9.25; culmen 2.10 to 2.50.
45. Greater Bluebill. Marila marila (Linn.). (148)
Synonyms: Big Bluebill, Blackhead, Broadbill, Greater Scaup, Raft Duck, Flocking-
fowl, Shuffler. — Anas marila, Linn., 1761. — Fuligula marila, Steph., 1824. — Fulix marila,
Bd., 1858, B. B. & R., 1884.
The adult male is known by its size, dull blue bill, uniform greenish-
black head and neck, with black nape, and pure white speculum tipped
with black. The female is similar, but browner, and has a conspicuous
white face or "mask."
Distribution. — North America, breeding far north. South in winter
to Guatemala.
This bird is usually confounded with the Lesser Bluebill from which
it can be discriminated only wdth difficulty. It is probable that nine-
tenths of the records for Bluebills relate to the Lesser Bluebill and not
to the present species, which is much less common, more northern in its
distribution, and probably the species which most often remains in^ the
open waters about the state during the winter. In most respects it is
impossible to discriminate between the two species and I know of nothing
peculiar in the habits of the Greater Bluebill which requires mention.
The only record of its nesting in JNIichigan is by the late W. H. Collins,
who found one nest containing three eggs in the summer of 1879. _ "The
nest was built in a tuft of flags, and composed of rushes and wild rice
lined with some down and feathers. It was resting in the water and held
in place by the tuft of flags in which it was built. I killed the female."
(Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, V. 62). Mr. A. C. Bent states that "The American
(Greater) Scaup Duck probably breeds sparingly in North Dakota, but
I have no evidence to prove it, and I am inclined to think that if it occurs
there at all it is extremely rare." (Auk, XIX, 1902, 165). The eggs are
pale buffy olive gray, and average'2.54 by 1.71 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
So similar to the following species, the Lesser Bluebill, that except in two or three par-
ticulars the same description would answer for both. The most important difference
is in the size, the present species being decidedly larger, and this is particularly noticeable
in the width of the bill which ranges from .85 to 1.05 inch, the average being .97, while
in the Lesser Bluebill the greatest width ranges from .80 to .95 inch, the average bemg .89.
In the male of the Greater Bluebill the black of tlie iicad and neck always (?) shows a
greenisli gloss, and the flanks are pure white without any cross-lines or spots, while the
Lesser Bluebill has a purplish gloss on head and neck aiul the flanks distinctly cross-lined
with dusky. The females of the two species probably are separable only by the measure-
ments. Length 18 to 20 inches; wing 8.25 to 9; culmen 1.85 to 2.20.
94 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
46. Lesser Blue-bill. Marila affinis (Eyt.). (149)
Synonyms: Little Scaup Duck, Little Blackhead, Raft Duck, Flocking Fowl, Shuffler.
— Fuligula affinis, Eyt., 1838.— Fulix affinis, Baird, 1858, B. B. & R., 1884.
Plate III.
Not distinguishable from the preceding at gunshot range, nor with the
bird in hand except after careful examination. The principal difference
lies in the measurements.
Distribution. — North America in general, breeding chiefly north of
the United States, migrating south to Guatemala and the West Indies.
The Lesser Bluebill is mainly migratory in Michigan, and probably
one of the most abundant migratory ducks of the state, occurring in suitable
places everywhere, inland as well as on the Great Lakes. It is always
found in large flocks, which gather in great companies in open water and
on its feeding grounds, whence it gets the name of "Raft Duck and Flock-
ing Fowl." It gets most of its living by diving and is fond of the same
food as the Redhead and Canvasback with which it associates more or
less. It is much less suspicious than either of these birds, comes readily
to the decoys, and is therefore one of the good table ducks most often
bagged by the gunner. It appears in spring as soon as the melting of the
ice permits, indeed in some years numbers undoubtedly remain in favorable
localities throughout the winter. The great majority pass north as soon
as navigation opens and nest far north of our boundaries. Nevertheless
a few undoubtedly nest each year within our limits. Mr. Newell A. Eddy
of Bay City states that he is satisfied that it breeds in the marshes at the
mouth of the Saginaw River; the late W. H. Collins found many of these
birds, wdth the Greater Bluebill, at St. Clair Flats in the summer of 1879,
but did not find any nests, believing that he was too early for them, although
one nest of the Greater Bluebill was found (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, V, 62).
Mr. Swales (letter, October, 1904) says "I have seen this species several
times at the Flats in June, July and August. The past summer a flock of
some 15 to 18 birds remained all of June and July near Bryant's on the
Snibora. This flock consisted of both males and females and they Avere
wary and apparently in excellent condition. I have no doubt that they
bred on the Dickinson Island marshes, protected. A number of the
residents tell me that a few pairs still breed in the isolated parts and in the
marsh near the mouth of the Clinton River, Lake St. Clair."
In North Dakota Mr. Bent found the nest to be "A hollow scooped in the
ground profusely lined with dark, almost black down mingled with a little
dry grass and occasionally a white feather. They are late breeders, a major-
ity of the eggs laid during the second week in June or later." He found as
many as fifteen eggs in one nest, but the average was from ten to twelve.
He states that the eggs are "rich olive buff, and the lightest types approach
somewhat the darkest types of the Mallard's eggs, and the darkest types
are rich dark buff or deep coffee-colored. The nests were all on dry ground,
but never more than fifty yards from water." (Auk, XIX, 265-66).
As with many other species the male Bluebills flock by themselves
after the females begin to sit. The eggs average 2.25 by 1.58 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Bill light grayish blue, with a black nail; head, neck, chest and upper
back black, the head generally with a ptirplish gloss; most of breast, belly, and sides pure
Plate III. Lesser Bluebill.
From photograph of mounted specimen. (Original.)
WATER BIRDS.
97
white, the belly grayish posteriorily and the sides and flanks distinctly waved with dnsky;
back and scapulars with numerous zig-zig cross lines of black and\vhite; wings black,
the speculum pure white tipped wath black; rump and upper and imder tail-coverts black.
Adult female: Wings and speculum much as in male, but wings browner; head, neck and
upper back brown; a conspicuous area of white feathers about the base of the upper man-
dible (but not on the chin) ; breast grayish or grayish-brown, whiter on the belly, browner
on the sides; back and scapulars brownish; rump and upper tail-coverts brownish-black,
under tail-coverts grayish-brown.
Length 15 to 16.50 inches; wing 7.50 to 8.25; culmen 1.5S_to 1.90; greatest width of bill
.80 to .95.
47. Ring-necked Duck. Marila collaris (Donov.). (150)
Synonyms: Ring-necked Scaup. Ring-neck, Ring-bill, Ring-billed Blackhead, Marsh
Blue-bill (?). — Anas collaris, Donovan, 1809. — Fuligula collaris, Bonap., 1842. — Fuligula
rufitorques, Nutt., 1834, Aud., 1835.— Fulix collaris, Baird, 1858, B. B. & R., 1884.
Figure 22.
Most resembles the Lesser Bluebill, from which it may be known by
the dark bill with light cross-bar beyond the middle, the white chin mark-
ing, and the speculum, which is bluish-gray, never white. The adult male
always shows the chestnut collar, but females and immature males lack
this.
Distribution. — North America, breeding far north and migrating south
to Guatemala and the West Indies.
In many ways this bird resembles the Bluebill and Redhead to which
it is closely related, but in habits it differs in at least two respects: It is
usually foiuid singly or in
pairs, rarely if ever in large
compact flocks; also, it seems
to prefer inland waters,
ponds, and marshy streams
rather than the larger open
waters so much frequented
by its relatives. Naturally
it may be supposed that its
food is decidedly different, but
I am not aware that this
has been proved. It dives
easily and stays under water
a long time, and there is
no reason why it should not
feed precisely as does the
Bluebill.
It arrives from the south
somewhat later than the
Blue))ill, pr()]:)ably most often
between March 20 and April 10, in the southern counties. In the fall it
goes south in September and October.
It is not known to nest within our limits, but is one of the commonest
nesting ducks throughout northern Minnesota, and is not uncommon in
North Dakota. Mr. Job found a nest June 14, 1898, in the Turtle Moun-
tains, with twelve buffy eggs nearly fresh (Auk, XIX, 1G6). The eggs in
color are like those of the Bluebill, and average 2.23 by 1.57 inches.
This sj^ccies seems to be much less common in Michigan than any other
13
Fig. 22. Ring-necked Duck.
)in Baiid, Brewer & Ridgway's Water Birds of North
.America. (Little, Brown & Co.)
98 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
member of the genus. Mr. Swales states (Birds of S. E. ]\lich., 1904)
"I know little of this bird and have not met with it personally at the
Flats or on Detroit River, or seen it in any of the ducker's cabins. Purdy
says 'taken at Plymouth as a migrant.' " According to Chas. L. Cass
this species remained at Hillsdale, Michigan, until November 26, 1894.
Mr. L. Whitney Watkins has a specimen taken in Jackson county, April
18, 1894, and there are two specimens, male and female, in the Agricultural
College collection taken at Greenville, Montcalm county.
According to the late Percy Selous "in June, 1896, a pair of Ring-necked
Ducks spent weeks on Baldwin Lake (near Greenville), and probably
were nesting." Most of the public and private collections in the state
have specimens of this duck, lout it is certainly never common.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Head, neck, chest and back black, the chin with a snow-white triangular
patch, and the lower neck encircled by a chestnut ring; the head and neck glossed with
purplish, and the feathers of the occiput usually elongated, forming a dense, bushy, more
or less erect crest. Lower breast and belly white; flanks finely cross-lined with white
and dusky; rump and upper and under tail-coverts black. Speculum blue-gray, some-
times very narrowly white-tipped. The black scapulars are sometimes minutely sprinkled
with white. Bill black, bordered by white at the base, and crossed near the tip by a
bluish-white band. Adult female: Similar only as to the speculum and wings. Head,
neck, breast and back grajdsh-brown, deepest on the crown and neck, whitening to gray
or soiled white about the base of the bill and on chin and throat; rump brownish-black;
lower breast and belly soiled whitish; hinder part of belly grayish-brown like breast;
under tail-coverts gray.
Length 15.50 to 18 incnes; wing 7 to 8 culmen 1.75 to 2.
48. Whistler. Clangula clangula americana Bonap. (151)
Synonyms: Golden-eye, American Golden-eye, Whistle-wing, Spirit Duck, Garrot.
— Clangula americana, Bonap., 1838. — ^Anas clangula, Linn., 1766, part. — Glaucion
clangula, Kaup. — Clangula glaucion.'Bonap. — Bucephala clangula, Coues, 1872.
Figure 23.
A large, handsome, black and white duck with a green-black head and a
rounded spot of pure white on each side betw^een eye and bill. The female
has brown instead of black head, and other dark parts slaty gray instead
of black; no white cheek spot.
Distribution. — North America, breeding
from Maine and the British Provinces north-
ward; in winter south to Cuba and Mexico.
The Whistler or Golden-eye is one of the
best known ducks in the state, yet appar-
ently is nowhere very abundant. It does
not spend the summer within our limits,
and is late in arriving from the north,
few coming before the first of November.
Unless driven south by heavy ice some
3f them stay all winter. Even at Sault
Ste. Marie, where the river remains open
on account of the swift current, Mr. W. Fip. 23. Whistler. From BaUey's
P. Melville says that they are found all x^nTted^sutL'^'cHVuUton^MiffliS
winter. Butler states that on southern Lake & Co.)
Michigan this is the common winter duck,
WATER BIRDS. 99
staying all winter (Birds of Indiana, 1897, p. 621). Swales (Birds of
S. E. Michigan, 1904), says "A common migrant and winter resident, late
October and late April. It is the common winter duck in Detroit waters,
frequenting the open channels cut by the ferry and car boats. Becomes
more abundant in spring."
It seldom occurs in large flocks, the maximum being a dozen or fifteen
individuals. Oftener it is seen singly or in little squads of two to five.
It is a shy bird, usually being the first species to take alarm in a mixed
flock. The whistling noise made by the wings is characteristic, and of
course has given it its name. It dives most expertly and often avoids
the shot by diving at the flash of the gun, whence the name Spirit Duck.
Our only nesting record for the state appears to be Major Boies' state-
ment that it breeds about Neebish Island in the St. Mary's River (Bull.
Mich. Orn. Club I, 1897, 18). At Umbagog, Me., Mr. WilHam Brewster
found it breeding, and gives a full account in the Auk, Vol. XVII, 1900,
207. The bird nests always in a hollow tree, often entering through a hole
from 10 to 30 or 40 feet above the nest. "This is lined with down and the
eggs vary from 5 to 15, oftenest 8 or 10. Two females often lay in the
same nest, and often several eggs of the Hooded Merganser are laid with
them." The eggs average 2.38 by 1.71 inches.
It feeds freely on shell-fish, and along the sea coast is considered hardly
fit for food, but in the Great Lake region its flesh is commonly well flavored
and it doubtless feeds much on vegetable matter.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male:_ Bill black, iris golden yellow; head and upper neck glossy black with
greenish reflections and a large, rounded, snow-white spot between the base of bill and eye
(Fig. 23); lower neck, breast, belly and sides pure white; hinder part of flanks and sides
of tail brownish-black; back, rump and upper tail-coverts black; scapulars black with
broad white stripes; wing mainly black with a large white patch on secondaries and coverts.
Adult female without any trace of the white cheek spot, the head and neck brown
instead of black; the chest gray, separated from the brown neck by a whitish ring; the
rest of the bird much Hke male, but with less white on wings and none at all on scapulars,
and the back slaty instead of clear black.
Length of male 18.50 to 23 inches; wing 9 to 9.30; culmen about 1.65. Female about
16.50; wing 7.90 to 8.30; culmen about 1.30.
49. Barrow's Golden-eye. Clangula islandica (Gmelin). (152)
Synonyms: Rocky Mountain Golden-eye. — Anas islandica, Gmelin, 1789. — Clangula
Barrovii, Sw. & Rich., 1831. — Fuligula Barrovii, Nutt., 1834. — Bucephala islandica,
Baird, 1858. — Clangula islandica, Bonap., 1842.
Figure 2^.
Extremely like the common Golden-eye, the males practically alike ex-
cept in the shape of the white cheek spot; the females almost identical.
Distribution. — Northern North America, south in winter to New York,
Illinois and Utah; breeding from the Gulf of St. Lawrence northward,
and south in the Rocky Mountains to Colorado; Greenland and Iceland.
Accidental in Europe.
The evidence for this species as a Michigan bird is not voluminous.
A careful search of the museums and private collections of the state failed
for a long time to reveal a single specimen of undoubted i\Iichigan
origin. Finally Mr. E. R. Kalmbach, of Grand Rapids, sent us the
100
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
skin of a female taken March 22, 1907, by Mr. Bernard DeBries, on
Black Lake, Ottawa county. To remove all possible cloul)t this specimen
was referred to the U. S. National Museum, at Washington, 1). C,
and the identification confirmed by Dr. C. W. Richmond. So far as we
know this is still the only unquestionable Michigan specimen on record.
Specimens have been taken in Wisconsin, Ontario, Illinois, Indiana, and
Ohio, and there can be no doubt
that the bird occurs once in a
while in Michigan waters in
winter. Nelson states (Bull.
Nutt. Orn. Club, I, 41) that it
occurs on Lake Michigan in
winter. Stockwell (F. & S.
VIII, 380) says "Common on
St. Clair Flats and Sarnia Bay,
Michigan, in winter." This
certainly is not true now what-
ever may have been the case
twenty years ago.
In a letter dated December
15, 1906, Mr. B. H. Swales of
Detroit states that he has good
reason to believe that a bird of
this species was taken on the De-
troit River about April 1, 1905,
and mounted by Mr. Campion
of that city. The latter described the bird accurately and sketched the
crescentic white spot on the side of the head which is so different fi'om
the circular or oval spot of the common Whistler.
The statement in Cook's Birds of Michigan (1893, 2nd edition, p. 43)
as to the capture of a specimen at Hillsdale in 1892, proves to be an error.
Prof. Frank Smith, now of Illinois University, who mounted the specimen,
states that it was a female of the common Golden-eye. The statement
on the same page attributed to N. A. Eddy of Bay City is also incorrect,
Mr. Eddy himself having informed me that he has never taken this species
in Michigan waters. There is an adult female of Barrow's Golden-eye
in the Kent Scientific Museum at Grand Rapids, but its origin is entirely
unknown. Kumlien & Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 24) say "Large
numbers of Golden-eyes remain on Lake Michigan during winter, and no
doubt this species [Barrow's] is of regular occurrence with them. It was
reported from Racine in 1860 by Dr. Hoy; one specimen was sent to Thure
Kumlien from Edgerton in 1877, and one was shot by L. Kumlien No-
vember 14, 1896, on Lake Koshkonong."
Its nesting habits are similar to those of the Whistler, but it does not
nest within our limits. The eggs are dull pea-green, or pale grayish pea-
green, and average 2.47 by 1.77 inches.
Fig. 24. Barrow's Goldeneye.
From Coues' Key to North American Birds, 5th ed.
(Dana Estes & Co.)
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Bill black, feet orange yellow. Similar in general to the male Whistler,
but the white spot on the side of the head larger, somewhat crescent-shaped, and rounded
triangular in outline, the broad base near the corner of the mouth and the apex well above
the eye. The conspicuous white wing patch is crossed by a broad black bar, which is
not found in the common Whistler. The female is described by Ridgway as having the
"brown of head (usually a deep sepia or purplish snuflf-brown) descending to the middle
WATER BIRDS. 101
of neck all round; gray of chest broader and usually deeper, and white collar narrower
than in the same sex of dangula."
Length of male 21 to 23 inches; wing 9 to 9.40; bill from tijj to frontal angle 1.65 to
1.80; depth at base .95 to 1.10.
Female: Wing 8.25 to 8.75; bill from tip to frontal angle 1.40 to 1.70; depth at base
.80 to .95.
50. Bufflehead. Charitonetta albeola (Linn.). (153)
Synonyms: Butter-ball, Butter Duck, Spirit Duck, Dipper. — Anas albeola, Linn.,
1758.— Fuligula albeola, Bp., 1828, Nutt., 1834, And., 1838.— Clangula albeola, Steph.,
1824, and authors generally. — Bucephala albeola, Baird, 1858, and some others.
Figure 25.
The small size, general black and white plumage, puffed head of velvet
black with purple and green reflections, and pure white cheeks and occiput
make the male unmistakable; the female is smaller and browner, lacking
entirely the clear or metallic black and snowy white of the male, except
that there is a broad white wing-bar.
Distribution. — North America; south in winter to Cuba and Mexico.
Breeds from Maine and Montana northward through the Fur Countries
and Alaska.
This well known and beautiful little duck is an abundant migrant through-
out the state, some often remain all winter in favorable places, and it is pos-
sible that a few nest within our limits.
In 1893 Dr. R. H. Wolcott wrote "Com-
mon every winter on the rapids at
Grand Rapids, fished for by factory
hands along the banks with hook and
line." Swales (Birds of S. E. Mich.,
1904) says "In fall I have seen it as
early as September 6, but it is October
before the main body arrives. It re-
mains until early December if not later.
Generally reappears in the latter part of
of March, remaining until late April; oc-
casional birds remain well into May."
Purdy, at Plymouth, says "One of the Fig.25. BuffleiR-ad— Male.
most common ducks during migration. From Bailey's Handbook of Birds of the West-
arriving from April 1 to 15, depending ^^ United states. (Houghton. Mifllin& Co.)
on weather." Saunders mentions that a few pairs breed at St. Clair
Flats (Mcllwraith's Birds of Ontario, 1894, p. 84).
The species is similar in its habits to the Whistler, being restless, in-
quisitive but shy, but so abundant that it is killed in large numbers. In
fall and winter it is usually extremely fat, and probably it is this fact which
has given it the names Butter-ball and Butter Duck.
It is never seen in large flocks, and docs not fly in the " wedge formation "
used by so many ducks; as Lynds Jones remarks it "flies in bunches, not
flocks." Like the Whistler it nests in hollow trees and its eggs are dull
light buff, averaging 1.98 by 1.46 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION,
lit male: Head and nc
wedgt
Adult male: Head and neck changeable metallic bluc-grcen-i)uri)Ie except for a large
edgc-sliapcil patch of pure wliito on each side of the lieaxl which lias it« apex below the
102 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
eye and spreads backward covering the whole hinder half of the head; feathers of hind
head and neck thick, bushy and elongated, whence the name Bufflehead. Back, wings,
and tail mostly black or slaty black, the wing with a large white patch formed by the
wing-coverts, secondaries and outer scapulars. Entire under parts from neck to tail,
pure white, sometimes washed with grayish on the hinder belly and under tail-coverts
and a few of the posterior fiank feathers sharply edged with jet black. Bill black, feet and
legs yellow. Adult female: Upper parts brownish black, deepest on head and rump;
under parts white, washed with gray on chest, sides and flanks; speculum and part of the
greater coverts white, as also a patch on the side of head below and behind the eye. Bill
and feet black.
Length of male 14.25 to 15.25 inches; wing 6.75 to 6.90; culmen 1.10 to 1.15. Length
of female 12.25 to 13.50; wing 5.90 to 6; culmen .95 to 1.
51. Old-squaw. Harelda hyemalis (Linn.). (154)
Synonyms: Old-wife, Long-tailed Duck, Sou'-southerly, Coween, or Cowheen,
Cockawee, Squealing Duck, Winter Duck. — Anas hyemalis, Linn., 1758. — Anas glacialis,
Wils., 1814. — Harelda glacialis, Steph., 1824, and many authors. — Fuligula glacialis, Aud.
Figure 26.
The male is known from any other duck by its striking black and white
plumage, comparatively short neck, and very long middle tail-feathers.
Distribution. — -Northern Hemisphere; in North America south to the
Potomac and the Ohio (more rarely to Florida and Texas), and California;
breeds far northward.
This duck is by no means uncommon during cold weather on the Great
Lakes and is found with more or less regularity on many of the smaller
inland lakes and streams. The fact that it winters regularly wherever
open water can be found has given it the name of Winter Duck, a name
Fig. 26. Old Squaw.
From Baird, Brewer & Ridgway's Water Birds of Nortli America. (Little, Brown & Co.)
more generally applied to this than to any other one of the several species
which stay with us through the winter. It is most often found in fair
sized flocks and these frequently unite into bands of several hundred in
favorable localities. It is extremely noisy and the constant gabbling
undoubtedly has earned it the names of Old-squaw and Old-wife.
Like its relatives it feeds largely on fish and dives to considerable depths
in order to secure them. The late Dr. J. W. Velie told me that this was the
regular winter duck on Lake Michigan off shore from St. Joseph, being fairly
WATER BIRDS. 103
abundant some years while only a few were seen during other winters.
Several observers mention the fact that it is often caught in the gill nets
set in deep water for lake trout and whitefish. One fisherman at St.
Joseph told me most positively that he had seen it caught repeatedly in
nets set at a depth of 30 fathoms (180 feet). Butler (Birds of Indiana,
1897, p. 625) says "The depth to which they dive may be known by the
fact that they are often caught in that vicinity (ofif Michigan City) in
abundance in gill nets in 20 or 30 fathoms of water.
They usually pass north in February or early March, and the latest
record I have is one given by Mr. Stewart E. White, Grand Rapids, Mich-
igan, where he observed three April 3, 1891. They are taken occasionally
on the Grand River near Lansing, as well as on the smaller lakes in that
vicinity. We also have records from Greenville (Jan. 31, 1899), Grand
Rapids, Kalamazoo and several other inland points; and it is reported from
nearly every point along the shores of the Great Lakes. It is late in coming
from the north, although it often appears toward the end of October. W.
P. Melville states that in the winter of 1897-98 large numbers starved to
death at Sault Ste. Marie, owing to the fact that the open water was frozen
by the intense cold. Ordinarily the species spends the winter in the rapids
of the St. Mary's River at that place. This is one of the species recorded
as killed on Spectacle Reef Lighthouse in Lake Huron, February 25, 1885.
It nests in the Arctic regions, abundantly on the shores and islands of
Greenland, Iceland, Alaska, and even as far south as Labrador. The nests
are of grass and weeds, and lined with down, and the eggs vary from dull
pea-green to light olive-buff, and average 2.05 by 1.49 inches.
Although a handsome species the Old-squaw is not a favorite with
gunners, mainly because its flesh is tough and usually ill-flavored, but also
because it is a difficult bird to hit while flying (on account of its great speed)
and even more difficult to shoot while swimming, since it dives at the flash
of the gun and swims long distances under water.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male in winter: Entire top of head and back of neck, chin, throat, upper chest
and back all round, pure white; sides of head smoky-gray, sides of neck black above brown
below; lower chest and upper breast clear black; lower breast, belly, imder tail-coverts
and outer tail feathers pure white; sides and flanks pearl-gray; back, rump, upper tail-
coverts and four middle tail feathers black or brownish-black; scapulars bluish-white;
wing mainly black, part of the secondaries brown. Bill black, crossed by an orange
band; legs and feet black, iris yellow.
Adult female in winter: Similar, but head, neck and entire under parts mainly white,
the chest only grayish, and top of head dusky; upper parts dark brown, the scapulars
bordered with lighter and gray-tipped.
Length of male 20.75 to 23 inches; wing 8.50 to 9; middle tail-feathers 8 to 8.50; culmen
1.10. Length of female 15 to 16 inches, the middle tail-feathers not lengthened.
52. Eider Duck. Somateria dresseri Sharpc. (160)
Synonyms: American Eider, Common Eider, Big Sea Duck, Shoal Duck. — Anas
moUissima, Wils. — Fuligula mollissima, Nutt., Aud. — Somateria moUissima, Bonap.,
Baird, Coues.
Separable from everything except the King Eider by its large size and
the peculiarities of the bill and head.
Distribution. — Atlantic coast of North America, from Maine to Labrador;
south in winter to Delaware and west to the Great Lakes.
i04 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
This bird must be considered an extremely rare winter visitor to the
Great Lakes. Dr. Gibbs says that W. H. Collins of Detroit wrote him in
1883 that he had one specimen in his collection (a young male showing
white traces), taken on the Detroit River in December, 1882. Kumlien
and Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 25) say "Lake Michigan in winter,
rare. Recorded at Racine in winter of 1875 by Hoy. Two specimens
were also taken at Milwaukee, and were preserved in the Public Museum.
A female was shot on Lake Koshkonong (Wisconsin) in November, 1891."
E. W. Nelson states (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, I, 41) that an immature specimen
was shot near Chicago in December, 1874, and was in his collection. Dr.
H. B. Bannister of Evanston, told him that he had seen other specimens
taken near that place. Mcllwraith records two specimens from Ontario,
one taken near Hamilton and the other near Toronto (Birds of Ontario,
1874, p. 89).
This is a true salt water species, and its occurrence in the Great Lake
region must be considered as rather unusual. It is abundant along the
New England coast during winter and gathers in great flocks on the shoals
about the Island of Nantucket, Mass. It formerly nested on the coast of
New Brunswick and the neighboring islands on the coast of Maine, laying
five to ten (?) eggs in a large grassy nest on the ground. The nest is heavily
lined with down from the breast of the bird, and this is the eider-down of
commerce. The eggs vary from grayish pea-green to olive-buff and average
2.97 by 2.01 inches. When the first egg is laid there is but little down in
the nest, but more is added every day, so that long before the eggs hatch
they are deeply embedded in the down, often entirely covered by it.
In arctic and sub-arctic regions where the various species of eider nest
in great colonies, the eider-down is systematically gathered, each nest being
robbed at least twice and sometimes a third time, although care is used
commonly not to persecute the birds so far as to compel abandonment
of the nesting grounds. All the eiders dive with great ease and are able
to remain below the surface for a long time. They feed mainly, if not
entirely, on aquatic animals, such as crabs, barnacles, clams, mussels,
snails and fish, and as a natural consequence their flesh has an unpleasant,
fishy flavor which does not commend it to the average palate.
Eiders are heavy, robust, hardy birds, delighting in icy waters and not
infrequently found riding the waves of the open sea far out of sight of land.
Many of them linger in the far north through the entire winter, frequenting
the open seas about southern Greenland and in Hudson Bay. In flying
they keep near the surface of the water; travelling in long lines, single file,
and alternately flapping their wings and sailing.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire top of head, from forehead to nape, clear bluish black, extending
below the eyes, divided on the occiput and nape by a narrow stripe of cream color, and
bordered on the sides and nape by rich pea-green which covers the sides and back of neck
like a hood. Remainder of head and neck all round, together with back, scapulars, tertia-
ries, wing-coverts and sides of rump, pure white; lower throat, chest and upper breast
pale buff or rich cream color, sharply bounded below by the deep velvety black of the
entire lower parts; flight feathers (primaries), rump, upper tail-coverts and tail also clear
black. Bill pale yellow; legs and feet light green; iris brown. Adult female: Without
any white or green; above brownish-black; barred with yellowish-brown or rusty; breast
and sides similar, the belly being mostly without bars; head and neck light brown or buff
streaked witli brownish-black. Length 20 to 20 inches; wing 11 to 12; culmen about
2.25. In both male and female the feathering of the sides of the head (lores) extends
forward as far as (but below) the hinder end of the nostril.
WATER BIRDS. 105
53. King Eider. Somateria spectabilis (Linn.). (162)
Synonyms: Anas spectabilis, Linn., 1758. — Fuligiila spectabilis, Bp., Nutt., Aud. —
Somateria spectabilis of authors generally.
The large v-shaped black mark on the throat usually separates the adult
male of this species from the Common Eider; females and young can be
separated by careful comparison with named specimens, or with good
descriptions, the outline of the feathering at the base of the upper mandible
being distinctive.
Distribution. — Northern parts of Northern Hemisphere, breeding in the
Arctic regions; in North America south casually in winter to Georgia and
the Great Lakes.
Like the preceding species this is a rare winter visitor to the waters of
the Great Lakes bordering Michigan. The actual records are few. There
are two specimens, male and female, in the Kent Scientific Museum (Cat.
Nos. 20342, 20343), labeled as collected at Grand Rapids by Thomas
Harmer, but without other data. Dr. Gibbs quotes from a letter from
W. H. ColHns of Detroit: "Several specimens taken in young and female
plumage. One specimen in Smithsonian Institution identified by Pro-
fessor Baird, and one specimen in my own collection taken at St. Clair
Flats, 1874." Kumhen & Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 26) say "Al-
though this species occurs only as a rare winter resident on Lake Michigan,
there are more authentic records than of the Common Eider. Has been
taken at Racine, and there is now a specimen in the Milwaukee Public
Museum, taken at Milwaukee many years ago." Mr. E. W. Nelson (Bull.
Nutt. Orn. Club, I, 41) says: "An adult female taken at Chillicothe on
the Illinois River, in the winter of 1874, has been sent to the National
]\Iuseum by W. H. Collins of Detroit, Mich." It seems likely that the
last named specimen is the same as one of those noted above by Dr. Gibbs.
]\lcllwraith states that specimens have been seen occasionally in winter
near Hamilton and Toronto, usually in immature dress, so that they could
be identified only by capture. He adds, however, that "On the 25th of
November, 1889, Mr. Cross reports having obtained a fine male in summer
plumage, which was shot on Toronto Bay." (Birds of Ontario, 1894, p. 90.)
Like the preceding this species occurs in small flocks during the coldest
weather and its habits are very much like those of the Common Eider.
It also has the same breeding range, and its nest and eggs are similar. As
a rule the eiders lay only five or six eggs in a set, and when more are found
it doubtless is due to the use of the same nest by more than one female.
The hardy nature of these birds and their ability to dive to great depths
for their food, enables them to winter with comfort in the open sea or lake
wherever the water is not too deep for them to feed. It seems possible
that both species of eider may occur with some frequency in winter on the
Upper Lakes, but that their presence is seldom detected because navigation
of these waters is so generally suspended at this season.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Similar in color pattern to the preceding species (S. dresseri), but with
the head bluish-gray; with less green on the side, the base of the much expanded upper
mandible narrowly bordered by black feathers. There is a v-shaped black mark on the
upper throat, and the scapulars and tcrtiaries are entirely black. The bill is largely
orange, as also the legs and feet; iris l)iiglit yellow. The female and young closely resemble
those of the Common Eider, but the fcatliering of the side of head (lores) extends but
slightly forward toward the nostril, while in the Connnon Eider the feathering extends
lOG MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
forward below the hinder end of the nostril. Slightly smaller than the Common Eider,
the wing measuring 10.50 to 11.25 inches.
54. Black Scoter. Oidemia americana Sw. (163)
Synonyms: American Scoter, Black Coot, Black Sea-coot. — Anas nigra, Wils. —
Fuligula americana, Nutt., Aud. — .-Edemia americana, Coues, 1872, Ridgw., 1881.
Known by the swollen bill, uniform dark color, and absence of white
spots on head or wings at any age.
Distribution. — Coasts and large inland waters of northern North America,
breeds in Labrador and the northern interior; south in winter to New
Jersey, the Great Lakes, Colorado and California.
This bird undoubtedly occurs more frequently on the Great Lakes than
most people suppose, but as a rule gunners do not discriminate between the
females and young of the three species of scoter, hence many of the records
are indefinite. Probably, however, this is the least common of the three.
Mr, Newell A. Eddy of Bay City obtained a specimen in the market at
Bay City, October 26, 1883. Butler in his birds of Indiana does not mention
the species, which is odd, since the bird is known to occur regularly on Lake
Michigan. Kumlien & Hollister say "Rather common winter resident
on Lake Michigan. Less common in the interior, occuriing principally
as a migrant in late fall" (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 26).
It should be looked for in Michigan waters from late October until the
following May, but it is most likely to occur in November and April. It
feeds largely on shellfish of various kinds, and its flesh is coarse and fishy.
It breeds far north, laying white or buffy eggs in a down-lined nest on the
ground. The eggs average 2.55 by 1.80 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Featliering of the forehead extending forward on the bill about as far as that of tl;e
sides of the head (lores), and not much beyond the corner of the mouth. Adult male
with basal half of bill orange or yellow, the base much swollen, the terminal half black.
Entire plumage, including lining of wing, black, without any white patches on head or
wings; legs and feet black. Adult female: Grayish brown all over, darker above, lighter
below; the bill without the swollen knob at base; the legs, feet and bill plain blackish.
Length 17 to 21.50 inches; wing 8.75 to 9.50; culmen 1.65 to 1.80.
55. White-winged Scoter. Oidemia deglandi Bonap. (165)
Synonyms: White-winged Coot, White-winged Sea Coot, Velvet Duck, Velvet Scoter,
Lake Huron Scoter. — Anas fusca, Wils., 1814. — Fuligula fusca, Bonap., Nutt., Aud. —
Oidemia bimaculata, Baird, 1858. — Melanetta velvetina, Baird, Ridgw. and others.
Figure 27.
Known in any plumage by the swollen bill, uniform black or dusky color
and white speculum. Adults show a distinct white spot on the side of the
head, below the eye in the male, behind the eye in the female.
Distribution. — Northern North America, breeding in Labrador and the
Fur Countries; south in winter to Chesapeake Bay, southern Illinois, and
San Quentin Bay, Lower Cahfornia.
Undoubtedly this is the commonest scoter of the Great Lake region,
occurring regularly on Lakes Huron and Michigan in winter, although
WATER BIRDS. 107
the larger number probably winter farther
south. The bird is not confined to the
Great Lakes, but visits the smaller inland
waters, and has been taken at various
interior points throughout the state. Our
record of specimens includes the following
locahties: St. Clair Flats, St. Clair Co.,
Sault Ste. Marie, and Neebish Island,
Chippewa Co., Pine Lake, Ingham Co.,
Heisterman's Island and Bay City, Bay ^%ll^ b'IS^^K ^^ToFS'-^f
Co., and Point ]\Iouille Marsh, Monroe Co., the western united states. (Houghton,
(November 11, 1904). It is found usually ^ifflm & co.)
in flocks of varying size and according to Kumlien & Hollister it is "At
times exceedingly abundant on Lake Michigan, vast flocks being met with
at long distances from land. It is often taken in fishermen's nets in deep
water far from shore" (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 26).
Like the preceding, this species nests in the far north, but is not quite
so boreal. We have no record of its nesting within our limits, yet it is not
impossible that it may do so. It breeds abundantly in Labrador, Alaska,
and much of the intervening territory. Mr. A. C. Bent gives the following
facts in regard to its nesting in North Dakota (the Devils Lake region) :
"The nests were on islands among rosebushes, well hidden, being hollows
scooped in the ground, the eggs always thickly covered with rubbish when
left. New nests have no down, but it is added when the set is complete.
In North Dakota it was the latest of our ducks to breed, few eggs were
laid before the last week in June. June 27, 1898, Mr. Job found eight
nests containing eggs varying in number from 1 to 14, and all fresh. The
eggs are pale salmon buff or flesh-color. They average 2.68 by 1.83 inches"
(Auk, XIX, 170-171).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Feathering of sides of head (lores) extending forward on the bill much farther than
the corner of the mouth. Wing always with a white speculum. Adult male: Sides
and tip of bill orange-yellow in life, the middle line white, the rest black. Legs and feet
red; iris white. Entire plumage deep black except for a conspicuous white speculum and
a small curved white spot below and behind the eye. Adult female : Similar, but brownish
or grayish-black, grayest below; the speculum white as in the male, but the white on side
of head never a single, sharply defined, curved spot, but usually appearing as two rather
diffuse white patches, one between eye and bill, the other some distance behind the eye.
Bill blackish; feet and legs dark flesh-color to brownish black; iris dark brown.
Length 19.75 to 23 inches; wing 10.65 to 11.40; culmen 1.40 to 1.70.
56. Surf Scoter. Oidemia perspicillata (Linn.). (166)
Synonyms: Surf Duck, Surf Coot, Skunk-head Coot, Skunk-top. — Anas perspicillata,
Linn., 1758.— Fuligula perspicillata, Aud.— Pelionctta perspicillata, Reich., Baird, Ridgw.
Figure 28.
The male is known at once by its swollen bill, and uniform black plumage
except for a large white spot on the top of the head and another on the
nape, whence the name "Skunkhead"; the female is similar, but with no
white on the top or nape, but a "thumb-mark" of white at base of bill
on each side. No white on wings at any age.
Distribution. — Coasts and larger inland waters of northern _ North
America; in winter south to Florida, the Ohio River, and San Quentin Bay,
Lower California. Accidental in Europe.
108
MICllICiAN BIRD LIFE.
This duck is pro])ably not as common in our waters as the preceding, but
owing to its conspicuous marl-cings it is more generally recognized and hence
more often recorded. Like the
others it is a bird of late fall,
winter and early spring, but
not so likely to remain through
the winter as the White-winged
Scoter. Mr. N. A. Eddy calls
it less common in fall migration
on Saginaw Bay. Major Boies
secured one which was killed
on the St. Mary's River near
Neebish Island about the
middle of October; one was
killed at St. Clair Flats October
13, 1904, by W. H. Marquette,
and mounted in Detroit
(Swales); J. Claire Wood re-
ports a female from Detroit
River November 10, 1903; E.
W. Nelson says it is common on Lake Michigan and adjacent waters (Bull.
Nutt. Orn. Club, I, 41). Kumlien & Hollister say "Not rare on Lake
IMichigan in winter, and usually found on all the larger inland lakes in late
fall. Seldom taken in the spring, most of the specimens being young or
immature birds" (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 26).
Like the other scoters this species feeds mainly on shellfish and spends
much of its time in diving for this food. Its flesh is rank and fishy in
consequence. It nests well to the northward, and we have no reason to
suppose that it ever breeds within our limits. The nest and eggs are similar
to those of the other scoters, and the eggs, which are pale buff or pale creamy
buff, average 2.47, by 1.70 inches.
From Hoffman's Guide to the Birds of New England
and Eastern New York. (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.)
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Feathers of the head extending much farther forward than those of the lores; sides of
the upper mandible swollen at the base and naked. Adult male entirely black except
for a squarish white patch on the crown between the eyes and a much larger triangular
white patch on the nape; wings without any white; bill in life conspicuously colored with
black, red, and white; iris white. Adult female mainly dusky gray or grayish-brown,
somewhat paler on the belly, and usually with an indistinct whitish patch near the corner
of the mouth; the bill not much swollen at the base and uniformly dark colored. Young
in first winter similar to adult female, but the sides of the head with two indistinct white
patches, one near the base of the bill, the other below and behind the eye.
Length of male 20 to 22 inches; wing 9.25 to 9.75; culmen 1.30_to l.GO. Length of
female 18 to 19 inches.
57. Ruddy Duck. Erismatura jamaicensis (Gmel.). (167)
Synonyms: Spine-tail Duck, Fool Duck, Deaf Duck, Shot-pouch, Bull-neck, Rook,
Roody, Dipper, etc. — Anas jamaicensis, Gm., 1789.— Anas rubida, Wils. — Fuligula rubida,
Sw. & Rich., 1831, Aud., 1838. — Erismatura rubida, Bp., 1838, and most later authors.
Figure 29.
The small size, short, thick neck and extremely short upper tail-coverts,
leaving the tail-feathers exposed almost to their roots, are points which
WATER BIRDS.
109
serve to identify this species in any plumage. When swimming its habit
of carrying. the tail erect, almost like a hen, often aids in its recognition.
Distribution. — North America in general, south to the West Indies and
through Central America to Columbia; bi'eeds throughout much of its
North American range and south to Guatemala.
The Ruddy Duck is one of the best known of the smaller ducks, its
familiarity, its numbers, and the manner in which it avoids the sportsman
by diving, having made it familiar even to the youngest Nimrod, and it
Fig. 29. Ruddy Duck.
From photograph of mounted specimen.
(Original.)
has received more or less appropriate and distinctive names in all parts
of the country. Trumbull in his "Names and Portraits of Birds" lists
sixty-seven common synonyms for it, and doubtless there are others in
common use which that writer did not happen upon.
This little duck comes to us in large numbers from the north in October,
passes southward before the lakes freeze over, and returns to us again in A])ril.
While here it frequents ponds, streams and large and small lakes wherever
suitable food is to be found. It is largely vegetarian in its diet and secures
most of its food by diving. It is one of the species most often seen on
protected ponds, particularly in parks and on reservoirs, where it doubtless
does a large amount of good by eating the seeds and bulbs of water i)lants
which might otherwise decay and pollute the water. I once took from the
crop and stomach of a single Ruddy Duck at Middletown, Connecticut,
22,000 seeds of I a species of pondwecd {Naias) which at that time was
growing in great abundance in the city reservoir, where the bird was shot.
Much difference of opinion exists as to the table quality of this duck,
many writers averring that its flesh is coarse, tough and fishy. My own
experience is just the reverse of tliis, and I have found the bird in
autumn uniformly tender and well flavored. The birds scatter some-
what in feeding, and, as they are commonly found in flocks of con-
siderable size, some are always on the surface serving as sentinels while
the others are feeding below. In fliglit they keep well together in compact
110 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
bunches and fly with great rapidity. Having once found a good feeding
ground they are loatli to leave it and will return day after day in spite of
continued persecution. They are not easy birds to kill and the name
"Shot-pouch" in common use in some parts of the country probably
suggests the large number of shot which they can carry away.
The only description of the nesting of this species in Michigan waters
which we have been able to find is that given by Langille in his account of
the bird Hfe of St. Clair Flats. It must be borne in mind that these Flats
lie partly in Michigan territory and partly in Ontario, and we have no means
of knowing the exact region in which the observations were made. Con-
ditions, however, are nearly identical on the two sides, so that it makes
little difference. His account is as follows:
"Not infrequent in this locality is the nest of the Ruddy Duck, the
birds being quite common about the channels. The nests are generally
very slight, often scarcely more than a matting together of the tops of
the marsh grass over the water with a few additional grasses woven in;
sometimes, however, the nest is well made of fine grasses, especially if
incubation be advanced; sometimes it is but a slight placing of debris in
a decayed cavity of a floating log. the arrangement being so imperfect
that the eggs may roll out. These eggs are peculiar enough for a duck.
Larger than those of the larger ducks, nearly white and somewhat granu-
lated, they might easily pass for the eggs of some of the smaller wild geese;
especially as the duck can scarcely ever be caught on the nest, but stealthily
dives from it like a grebe, before the hunter can detect it. These eggs
may be found as late as July" (Rev. J. H. Langille, Bull. Buffalo Soc. Nat.
Sci., Vol. 5, 1877, p. 36).
In Michigan the Ruddy Duck is almost universally distributed during
migration, but probably does not often nest within our limits. The late
W. H. Collins reported taking its eggs, presumably at St. Clair Flats, and
Mcllwraith says that he has seen it there in summer and has been told
that a few pairs breed there every season (Birds of Ontario, 1894, p. 94.).
E. W. Nelson found it breeding in Ilhnois (Birds of N. E. IlHnois, p. 143).
In North Dakota, according to A. C. Bent, it nests in "deep water sloughs,"
always in reeds, over water and surrounded by water, much like the Redhead
and Canvas-back. He found the female the shyest of all the ducks, never
flushed from the nest or seen near it, and showing no anxiety for its welfare.
It is a late breeder, all the nests found during the second week in June
being incomplete or with fresh eggs. The eggs, six to ten in number, are
extremely large for the bird, rounded, pure dull white, with a finely granula-
ted or roughened shell. They average 2.42 by 1.80 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male in full plumage: Entire upper parts of head and nape black; cheeks, chin
and under tail-coverts pure white; front and sides of neck, back, rump, upper tail-coverts,
scapulars, chest, sides and flanks, bright chestnut; remainder of under parts silver-white
to silver-gray; tail black; wings brownish gray without white bars or colored speculum;
bill in life light blue, feet and legs blackish; iris brown. Adult female without any chest-
nut; the black of the male replaced by brown, and the pure white of the cheeks and chin
by grayish-white or grayish-brown; the under tail-coverts pure white; tail brownish-
black; most of upper parts brownish-gray, the under parts grayish or brownish white,
often strongly tinged with rusty. Young of the year are similar to the adult female,
but often show various mixtures, and young males frequently have chestnut feathers
on head, neck and back.
Length about 13.50 to IG inches; wing 5.75 to G; culmen about 1.50 to l.GO.
WATER BIRDS. Ill
GEESE.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Head and part of neck pure white. B, BB.
B. Wing-tips (primaries) black, rest of plumage pure white. Snow
Goose (adult). No. 58.
BB. Wing-tips not black, most of plumage grayish brown, wing-
coverts bluish-gray. Blue- winged Goose (adult). No. 59.
AA. Head and neck mainly black. C, CC.
C. A white "cravat" extending across upper throat from cheek to
cheek. Canada Goose and Hutchins' Goose. Nos. 61, 62,
CC. No white cravat, but sides of neck spotted with white. Brant.
No. 63.
AAA. Head and neck mainly brownish or grayish. D, DD.
D. Face (i. e. forehead and feathers about base of bill) white; breast
or belly usually with black patches. White-fronted Goose
(adult). No. 60.
DD. Head without white. E, EE, EEE.
E. Rump white (general plumage grayish). Snow Goose
(immature). No. 58.
EE. Rump slaty brown. White-fronted Goose (immature).
No. 60.
EEE. Rump grayish. Blue-winged Goose (immature). No.
59.
58. Lesser Snow Goose. Chen hyperboreus hyperboreus {Pall.). (169)
Synonyms : Snow Goose, Common Snow Goose, White Brant, Wavey, Common Wavey.
— .\nser hyperboreus, Pallas, 1769, Nutt., Aud., Baird and others. — Anas hyperboreus,
Gm., Wils.— Chen albatus, Elliot, 1869.— Chen hyperboreus, Boie, 1822, Ridgw., 18S1,
Coues, 1882. — Chen hyperboreus albatus, Ridgw., 1880.
Plate IV.
The adult at a little distance appears to be snow-white all over; in reality
it is so except for the outer wing feathers (primaries), which are black,
and the bill and feet, which are dull red. The young are grayish all over,
more or less striped with dusky above.
Distribution. — Pacific coast to the Mississippi Valley, breeding in Alaska,
and probably the entire Hudson Bay region; south in winter to southern
Illinois and southern California; casually to New England.
The Lesser Snow Goose is with difficulty separable from its sub-species
the Greater Snow Goose (nivalis), both of which have been reported from
Michigan and other parts of the Great Lake region repeatedly. The adults
of both are almost precisely alike in everything except size. The present
species, the Lesser Snow Goose, averages decidedly smaller than the sub-
species nivalis, and in addition the bill in the latter bird is said to be "con-
stantly longer and relatively more slender than that of the western bird,
hyperboreus" (Bishop). The geographical range of the two species is
widely different, for, according to Dr. L. B. Bishop, the Greater Snow Goose
breeds only in Eastern Greenland and is confined chiefly in winter to the
112 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
coast of North Carolina, while the Lesser Snow Goose breeds from the
Hudson Bay region westward and in winter is found mainly if not entirely
in the interior.
We have numerous records of Snow Geese in Michigan, sometimes under
the name of hyperboreus, sometimes nivalis, and occasionally with no
indication as to the species or subspecies. It seems likely that without
exception all these records refer to the Lesser Snow Goose, Chen hyperboreus,
unless possibly specimens of the totally different Blue-winged Goose have
sometimes been mistaken for young Snow Geese. The older records_ of
Snow Geese from the state certainly are not rehable in so far as this question
is concerned. The only satisfactory evidence at our disposition consists
of the few specimens still accessible known to have been taken within our
hmits or very near them. Of these there seem to be in all less than a dozen,
but without exception these prove to be Lesser Snow Geese. These, so far as
I am able to record them, are as follows: One taken at St. Clair Flats No-
vember 5, 1905 by a local sportsman and recorded by Swales and Taverner as
the Lesser Snow Goose, after careful measurement and examination of a
sketch of the bird by J. H. Fleming and Dr. Louis B. Bishop; one specimen,
an immature female in dusky plumage, taken October 27, 1905 on Point
Pelee near Leamington, Ontario; an immature specimen in the Barron
collection at Niles, identified by the writer, and probably taken in the
vicinity of Niles, although without data (Possibly this is one of the two
specimens recorded by D. D. Hughes as shot from a flock of five in Calhoun
county November 4, 1867; he states that both of these were mounted for
his collection) ; an adult specimen in full plumage received from A. H.
Boies of Hudson, who states that it was killed in Hillsdale county, Novem-
ber 28, 1890.
In addition to these positive records there are numerous records of the
occurrence of Snow Geese in various parts of the state. Dr. Gibbs states
"I have shot Snow Geese in Kalamazoo county, but am not able now to
say which species, and the specimens are not available." O. B. Warren
says "Occasionally seen in Marquette county during the fall migrations,
one was taken in 1895." Mr. L. Whitney Watkins states that a flock of
one hundred and fifty was seen at Manchester, near the boundary between
Washtenaw and Jackson counties, April 2, 1894. Major Boies states that
Snow Geese are "said on good authority to frequent the w^aters of Hay
Lake and Monosco Bay, St. Mary's River." Snow Geese are also reported
as not uncommon in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Ontario, but in
most cases the records seem to be no more satisfactory as regards the sub-
species than those of our own state. Mr. P. A. Taverner quotes Mr. J. H.
Fleming of Toronto as saying that he has found only specimens of the
Lesser Snow Goose in the collections which he has examined in Ontario.
On the other hand W. W. Cooke states that both forms of the Snow Goose
occur during the winter season in the lower Mississippi Valley. "It seems
probable that in this district the Mississippi River is the approximate
dividing line between the two forms, to the westward C. hyperborea being
the more common, and to the eastward C. nivalis. Both forms winter
as far north as southern Illinois, and the Lesser Snow Goose is abundant
in winter in Louisiana and Texas. * * * jt winters sparingly in
southern Colorado, more commonly in Utah, abundantly in Nevada, and
along the Pacific coast." (U. S. Dep't of Agriculture, Biological Survey,
Bull. No. 26, 1906, p. 66).
Under the head of the Greater Snow Goose Mr. Cooke states "There is
^
15
Plate IV. Lesser Snow CJoose. Immature.
From drawing by P. A. Taverner. (Original.)
WATER BIRDS. 115
no sharply defined line in the Mississippi Valley between the winter ranges
of the Greater and Lesser forms. In general the Greater Snow Goose is
the more common east of the Mississippi River and winters from southern
Illinois to the Gulf" (Ibid, p. 68).
As seen in Michigan Snow Geese usually occur in small flocks of ten to
forty individuals, flying at a considerable height and usually in an irregular
flock, seldom in a straight line or the v-shaped flock so characteristic of the
Canada Goose. When they alight to rest they sometimes select open
water in some of the inland lakes or the larger rivers, but they also frequently
alight in open fields, when, however, it is difficult to approach them and
hence specimens are seldom obtained.
Like all geese they get a large part of their food from the dry land, eating
grass and other herbage freely in the manner of the domestic geese. Un-
doubtedly Snow Geese are far less common at present than a few decades
ago, and from present indications the last of them will be seen within a very
few years.
The Lesser Snow Goose is known to nest in Alaska and its eggs are
described as two to six in number, dirty white, and measuring 3.13 by 2.12
inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Primaries and primary coverts black or brownish-black; rest of the plumage
pure white except that the feathers of head and neck (and occasionally the breast also)
are often stained rusty red at their tips by contact with iron-bearing waters or mud. Bill
in life light purplish and with a whitish tip or "nail," the deep gaping space along its
sides black. Legs and feet usually purphsh red. Sexes ahke. Immature birds are
mainly gray, paler and less marked below, darker and distinctly streaked above, particularly
on the scapulars and tertiaries, the feathers of most of the upper parts with wliitish edges,
and the rump, upper tail-coverts and tail commonly pure white; imder parts grayish or
soiled white, becoming clear white on the belly and imder tail-coverts.
Length 23 to 28 inches; wing 14.50 to 17; culmen 1.95 to 2.30; tarsus 2.80 to 3.25.
59. Blue-winged Goose. Chen coerulescens {Linn.). (169.1)
Synonyms: Blue Goose, Blue Snow Goose, Blue Wavey, Wliite-headed Goose, Bald-
headed Brant, Brant. — Anas caerulescens, Linn., 1758. — Anser coerulescens, VieilL,
1823.— Chen coerulescens, Ridgw., 1880.
The adult is known at once by its white head and neck in strong contrast
with the gray-brown body. The young of the year can be separated from
young Snow Geese only by careful comparison with descriptions, although
the wings resemble those of the adult and the white chin appears to be
distinctive.
Distribution. — Interior of North America, breeding on eastern shores
of Hudson Bay and migrating south, in winter, through Mississippi Valley
to Gulf Coast; occasional on Atlantic Coast.
While this bird is far from common in Michigan it appears to be more
often seen and taken than any other member of the genus. It occurs only
during migration, or possibly in winter, and of course does not nest anywhere
within our limits. The following are our records: The late W. H. Collins
states that two specimens were taken at St. Clair Flats (Gibbs Manuscript).
Mr. N. A. Eddy of Bay City, has a fine male in his collection, taken October
30, 1885, one of a dozen or more which he found in the Bay City markets,
said to have been killed on a lake on the Mackinac Division of the Michigan
Central, a little north of Bay City, where a large flock was surrounded at
116 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
night and killed by sticks! There is a fine, full plumaged adult in the
collection of the Marsli Club at Monroe, Michigan, killed there. Mr. B. H.
Swales says that one was shot by Mr. A. Ralph, November 16, 1888 on Lake
St. Clair, near the mouth of the Thames, and is preserved in London,
Ontario (MS. List, 1904). We have an adult mounted specimen (No.
6560) in the college museum, taken on Loon Lake, Greenville, Michigan,
April 30, 1895, and another specimen (No. 3574) immature, which probably
is local but unfortunately has no record. There are also two, one adult
and one immature, in the Kent Scientific Museum, Grand Rapids, but
without data. Taverner records one killed at St. Clair Flats early in April
1909.
These geese are similar in habits in the main to the Canada Goose, but
are said to migrate by night, as well as by day, and to fly in less regular
flocks, seldom in the characteristic v-shaped flocks so common with that
species. The nest and eggs are unknown.
In common with the snow geese they are known to sportsmen and
gunners generally under the name of "Brant," the adult of the former
being generally called White Brant, while the young of that species and
both old and young of the present species are confounded under the common
name of Black Brant.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Entire head and neck all round pure white; chest and base of neck brownish
black, the feathers edged with ashy; breast, sides, back, scapulars and tertiaries brownish
edged with ashy, the inner scapulars and tertiaries edged with white and with somewhat
darker shaft stripes; belly and under tail-coverts white; back, rump, and upper tail- coverts
bluish gray to nearly white; wings with the primaries slaty blue to black, tlie secondaries
mainly black, the coverts blue gray; tail pale brownish gray, each feather tipped and
margined with white. Bill purplish red, the gaping fissure along the sides black; legs
and feet purplish red; iris brown. Sexes alike. Iinmature: Described by Ridgway as
"similar to the adult, but head and neck miiform deep grayish brown, only the chin being
white." A specimen in our collection (No. 3574), however, has the back, wings and tail
almost like those of the adult, but the head, neck and scapulars brownish gray with a
bluish cast, darkest on back of the neck; the breast and most of the under parts light
slaty blue with a brownish cast; the chin white.
Length 2G.50 to 30 inches; wing 15 to 17; culmen 2.10 to 2.30; tarsus 3 to 3.30.
60. White-fronted Goose. Anser albifrons gambeli (IlariL). (171a)
Synonyms: American White-fronted Goose, Prairie Brant, Speckled-belly, Speckled
Brant. — Anser gambclli, Hartlaub, 1852. — Anser albifrons, Bonap., 1828, Nutt., Aud.
and others. — Anser albifrons var. gambeli, Coues, 1872,
The adult is known at once by its pure white face or "mask" (whence the
name "White-fronted") in strong contrast with the dark gray-brown of
the rest of the head and neck.
Distribution. — North America (rare on the Atlantic Coast), breeding
far northward; in winter south to Cape St. Lucas, Mexico and Cuba.
This is an extremely rare bird in the state and probably can be classed
only as a straggler. Mcllwraith states that he has a bird in his collection
taken at St. Clair Flats (Birds of Ontario, 1894, p. 97), and Mr. J. H.
Fleming, of Toronto, Ontario, writes under date of March 8, 1906 "There
is in the collection of Toronto University a mounted White-fronted Goose,
taken by the late Dr. Garnier of Lucknow, Ont., probably at Mitchell's
Bay, Lake St. Clair." In the Barron collection at Niles, Michigan, I
found an adult in good i)lumage, marked "Brant," but without
any locality label. In all probability, however, it was local. It occurs
WATER BIRDS.
117
in some of the older lists (Kneeland, 1857), and vStockwell states that it is
"common in Michigan" (Forest and Stream, VIII, 23, 380). The bird is
not now common anywhere in the Great Lake region, in fact in most places
it appears to be only accidental. Kumlien & HoUister say "Formerly an
exceedingly abundant spring and fall migrant, but of late years not at all
plenty. Frequents the large prairie corn-fields " (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 28).
It breeds in the far north, building a nest on the ground, of grass, weeds,
etc., Hned with down. The eggs are six or seven, greenish-yellow, and
average 3.16 by 2.07 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
"Adult: Fore part of head, all round, to about half way across lores and forehead,
white; rest of head grayish brown (darkest next the white) as are also the neck and upper
parts, the latter varied by distinct grayish tips to the feathers; lower parts grayish white,
blotched or irregularly spotted with black; anal region, crissum and tail-coverts white;
greater wing-coverts ash-gray tipped with white; secondaries blackish edged with white;
upper and under tail-coverts white; tail dusky, tipped with white; bill light colored (yellow-
ish or orange in life) with white nail; feet light colored (orange or reddish in life). Young:
Similar to adult, but fore part of head dusky instead of white, lower parts without black
markings, and nail of bill dusky.
Length 27 to 30 inches, wing 14.25 to 17.50; culmen 1.80 to 2.35, depth of upper mandible
at base .90 to 1.20, width .85 to 1.05, tarsus 2.60 to 3.20." (Ridgway).
61. Canada Goose. Branta canadensis canadensis (Linn.). (172)
Synonyms: Wild Goose, Common Wild Goose, Big Gray Goose, Honker. — ^Anas
canadensis, Linn., 1758. — Anser canadensis,
Boie, Baird, Ridgw., and others.
Vieill., Nutt., Aud. — Bernicla canadensis,
Figure 30.
Known from any but Hutchins'
Goose by its black head and neck
and white "cravat," from this form
by its greater size, the weight rang-
ing from eight to twelve pounds.
Distribution. — Temperate North
America, breeding in the north-
ern United States and British Prov-
inces; south in winter to Mexico.
This is the Common Goose or Wild
Goose of the country and is familiar
to even the most unobservant from
the fact that it passes northward in
the spring and southward in the fall
in large noisy flocks which fly
ordinarily in the shape of a V, the
two sides of which are seldom equal.
It is usually stated that an old
gander always serves as the leader
and pilots the flock on their semi-
annual pilgrimages. This may be
true, but it is certain that different
members of the flock act as leaders
at different times, and it is not
likely that any one individual is
invariably responsible for the direction of the flock.
Fig. 30. Canada Goose.
From photograph of mounted specimen.
(Original.)
118 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The knowledge which most people have of this species is limited to
these occasional glimpses as the birds pass overhead. Only in favor-
able localities do they alight, and then their stay is commonly of short
duration. During foggy weather or heavy storms they occasionally take
refuge in some small pond or river, but ordinarily they alight only on
one of the Great Lakes where they are fairly safe from approach. Of
course in certain places they stop to feed, frequenting stubble fields or
corn fields, but unless the conditions are unusually favorable their visits
to these places are made only in the morning or just at evening, and they
return to the open water when their hunger is satisfied, or sooner if they
are seriously disturbed. Probably a few spend the winter within our limits,
since flocks are occasionally seen passing over even in January and Febru-
ary.
Formerly they doubtless nested more or less commonly all over the
state, and it is not impossible that single pairs may do so still in favorable
places. Dr. Atkins states that in August, 1883, a small flock passed over
his house in Locke, Ingham Co., and Major Boies states that he thinks
they breed sparingly in the neighborhood of Monosco Bay and Hay Lake,
St. Mary's River, and he saw old birds in midsummer on Hay Lake.
Kumhen and Hollister state that in Wisconsin "Fifty years ago it was a
common breeder in almost any swamp or large marsh, or on the prairie
sloughs. At present only scattered pairs nest as far south as the southern
third of the state." (Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, p. 28). Butler says "They
still breed in some numbers in the Kankakee region and less frequently in
other favorable localities. They evidently begin nesting between April 15
and May 1, as nests with the full complement of eggs are usually found
from the first to the third week in May" (Birds of Indiana, 1897, p. 637).
The Canada Goose commonly passes through Michigan during March
and April and again in October and November, mostly in the latter month.
The average date of first arrival for five years was March 5, at Petersburg,
Monroe Co., and March 13 at Battle Creek, while the average date for 19
years at various points in southern Michigan was March 14, and the earliest
arrival was February 13, 1890, at Petersburg. In the same region the
average date of last appearance in autumn is November 7, and the latest
date November 25, 1890. Mr. B. H. Swales says "This bird ahghts on
Lake St. Clair in large flocks in April, but is wild and seldom shot. A
large flock was seen feeding in a meadow at Lake St. Clair Flats, April 30,
1905 — a late record." According to A. C. Bent "In North Dakota, in the
Devils Lake region, the Canada Goose nests on islands in the larger lakes
and sloughs. It is a very early breeder, the eggs being laid early in May
and young generally out by June 1. The nest is a bulky mass of dead
flags placed on the ground and very little hollowed" (Auk, XIX, 173-174).
The eggs average 3.55 by 2.27 inches; they are white or greenish white,
and usually five or six constitute a set.
The young are readily domesticated, but at least for several generations
it is necessary to clip their wings spring and fall lest they join some of the
flocks of their kindred passing over during migration.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Entire head and neck black except for a white "cravat" formed by two con-
spicuous cheek patches, whicli usually unite on the throat; rarely an imperfect white
ring about the lower neck; upper parts mainly brown, all the feathers with light grayish
tips; rump and part of upper tail-coverts clear black, but the shorter coverts pure white,
WATER BIRDS. 119
forming a conspicuous cross-bar; under parts light brownish-gray, becoming lighter on
the belly and pure white on the under tail-coverts; wings, tail, bill, legs and feet clear
black; iris brown. Sexes alike. Young: Very similar to the adults, but the black less
pure and the white of cheeks and throat more or less mixed with dark feathers.
Length 35 to 43 inches; wing, 15.G0 to 21; culmen 1.55 to 2.70; tarsus 2.45 to 3.70.
62. Hutchins' Goose, Branta canadensis hutchinsii (Rich.). (172a)
Synonyms: Goose-brant, Little Canada Goose, Little Wild Goose, Small Gray Goose.
— Anser hutcliinsii. Rich., 1831. — Bernicla hutcliinsi, Woodh., 1853, Baird, 1858.
Precisely like the Canada Goose in everything but size, the present
species being from 25 to 34 inches long, the wing 16 inches or less, and the
weight often not more than 3 or 4 pounds, and rarely exceeding 6 pounds,
while the Canada Goose averages 8 or 9 pounds and often reaches 12 or
even more.
Distribution. — North America, breeding in the Arctic regions, and
migrating south in winter chiefly through the western United States and
the Mississippi Valley; northeastern Asia.
The claim of this bird to a place in the Michigan fauna appears to rest
mainly on the statement of the late W. H. Collins, who in a letter to Dr.
Gibbs stated that he "had it, taken at St. Clair Flats." It was also reported
from Michigan by Stockwell (Forest & Stream, VIII, 23, 380). It is a
fair presumption that the species does occur here occasionally, since it has
been taken in practically all the surrounding territory. Sportsmen who
have the opportunity to examine freshly killed Canada Geese would confer
a favor if they would weigh and measure any unusually small specimens
and send the notes to us with the address if possible of the owner of the
specimens.
The specimen noted by Prof. Cook (Birds of Michigan, 2d ed. 1893, p.
47) as in Moseley's list of IMichigan birds in the Kent Scientific Institute
at Grand Rapids, proves to have no locality on the label, and may or may
not have been taken in the state; it is, however, only a small specimen of
canadensis, not hutchinsii.
Hutchins' Goose nests much farther north than the Canada Goose, along
the lower Mackenzie Valley and on the shores and islands of the Arctic
Ocean. Its nest resembles that of the Canada Goose, and is usually placed
on the ground, although sometimes the old nest of a Fish Hawk, or some
other large bird, in a tree, is used. The eggs are commonly four to six,
white or buffy white, and average 3.18 by 2.10 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
In color and proportions of parts precisely like the Canada Goose, but averaging decidedly
smaller.
Length 25 to 34 inches; wing 14.75 to 17.75; culmen 1.20 to 1.90; tarsus 2.25 to 3.20.
63. Brant. Branta bernicla glaucogastra Brchm. (173a)
Synonyms: Conunon Brant, Black Brant, Eastern Brant, Brant-goose, White-bellied
Brant. — Bernicla glaucogastcr Brehm., 1831. — Branta bernicla, Bann., 1870. — Anser
bernicla, Nutt., Aud. ^Bernicla brenta, Steph., 1824, Bd., Ridgw., Coues.
Distinguished from any other goose by the entirely black head and neck
with merely a small patch of white streaks or flecks on each side of the
upper neck.
120 MICHIGAN JUllD LIFE.
Distribution. — Northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere; in North
America chiefly on the Atlantic coast; rare in the interior, or away from
salt water.
This bird is properly a bird of the seashore and its occurrence inland is
always to be looked upon as accidental. According to some of the early
writers "the Brant" was at one time not an uncommon migrant across
the western end of Lake Erie and along the Detroit and St. Clair rivers.
jNIajor Boies states that formerly it was no uncommon thing to see several
flocks of this species passing up the Detroit River in spring, flying at a
considerable height and rarely stopping to feed or rest; even during the
spring of 1904 he states that he saw one or two flocks. Steere (1880) says
it is a transient; Stockwell says "One shot on Sarnia Bay, two on the St.
Clair Flats, and two on Torch Lake, all in Michigan" (Forest & Stream,
VIII, 380).
We are constrained to believe that all the foregoing notes on
"brant" refer to the immature and dark colored Snow Geese and Blue-
winged Geese, which are generally known as "Brant" or "Black Brant"
among sportsmen throughout Michigan. Mr. O. B. Warren's record of the
specimen taken in Calhoun county in 1884 (Cook, Birds of Michigan, 1893,
2d ed. 47), comes in the same category, for the Albion Museum specimen
(personally examined by the writer) proves to be an immature Blue-winged
Goose. There are, however, two specimens of genuine Brant in the collec-
tion of the Monroe Marsh Club, taken many years ago on the Monroe
marshes, but the exact date is not known. The taxidermist (Mr. Sauvage)
who assures me that he mounted them, says that they were killed between
22 and 25 years ago, that is, between 1877 and 1880. They were examined
by the writer in March, 1905, and are typical specimens, one, however, in
immature plumage. It is possible, but not probable, that these are the birds
recorded by Robt. B. Lawrence (Forest & Stream, Vol. 32, p. 316) as follows:
"On November 8, 1888, John Boyse, a local gunner, killed at Monroe, Mich.,
a pair of Brant which .were sent on to New York to be mounted by John
Wallace. The said Brant were examined by Mr. George N. Lawrence
and pronounced to be the common eastern species, Branta bernicla." It
seems likely that this gives us two authentic records for the state, at least
eight years apart, each record relating to two specimens, but all four from
the same limited region. Mcllwraith records the Brant for Ontario some-
what doubtfully, stating that "it seems partial to the seacoast" and "I
liave only seen it once, flying past out of range" (Birds of Ontario, 1894,
p. 101).
This species is similar in many ways to the other members of the genus,
and ])uilds a similar nest on the ground, of grass, w^eedstalks, or moss, lined
with down. It breeds only within the Arctic Circle, and the eggs, usually
four, are white or buffy white and average 2.92 by 2.02 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Bill, feet, and claws black; iris brown. Head and neck all round, and a little
of fore part of body, glossy-black, well defined against color of breast; on each side of neck
a small patch of white streaks; frequently also white touches on eyelids and chin. Breast
light ashy-gray, beginning abruptly from the black, fading on belly and crissum into white,
shaded along sides of body. Upper parts brownish-gray; feathers of dorsal region with
paler gray tips; rump darker; upper tail-coverts white. Tail-feathers, wing-feathers, and
primary coverts blackish; inner primaries whitish toward base. Young: Similar; general
cast of plumage browner, with more pronoimced white edging on the wing-coverts, and
tips of secondaries quite white; less distinction between colors of breast and belly; back of
WATER BIRDS. 121
head and neck rather brownish-dusky, and the patch of wliite streaks on side of neck
light or wanting. Length 24 inches; extent 48; wing 13; tail 4.50; bill 1.33; tarsus 2.25;
middle toe and claw about the same.
SWANS.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. A yellow spot near base of bill, in front of eye; tail-feathers 20.
Whistling Swan. No. 64.
AA. No yellow spot on bill; tail-feathers 24. Trumpeter Swan. No. 65.
64. Whistling Swan. Olor columbianus {Ord). (180)
Synonyms: Swan, Common Swan, Wild Swan. — Anas columbianus, Ord, 1815. —
Cygnus americanus, Sharpl., 1830, Aud., Baird and others. — Olor cohunbianus, Stejn.,
1882.
Recognized on sight from its resemblance to the domesticated swan of
our parks and gardens; to be confounded with no other bird except the
following species, from which, if adult, it may be known by the yellow spot
on each side of the base of the bill; the Trumpeter Swan has entirely black
bill and lores.
Distribution. — The whole of North America, breeding far north. Com-
mander Islands, Kamchatka; accidental in Scotland.
This beautiful bird is so conspicuous that it rarely escapes notice when
migrating or resting by day. Although it is so wary as to be seldom shot,
it is seen frequently during migration, both spring and fall, and is well known
to gunners and lake men throughout the state. Single birds or small squads
occasionally ahght during bad weather in ponds and streams in various
parts of the state, but it occurs most regularly on the Great Lakes, par-
ticularly on Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit and St. Clair rivers.
From the fact that it is such a difficult bird to shoot most specimens killed
are preserved, hence we find specimens in nearly every museum or collection
of any size in the state, and doubtless it has been taken in every county.
According to Swales (MS. list 1904) " It is a common migrant in southeastern
Michigan from March 2 to April 15, and October 26 to November. Large
flocks occasionally aUght on Lake St. Clair in fall, and commonly do so during
the spring. Generally these are wild and wary and keep out in the lake."
At Monroe, Michigan, Mr. B. J. Sauvage states that it is seen flying over
nearly every spring and sometimes in the fall. At Petersburg, Monroe
county, Mr. Trombley records 30 seen flying north April 2, 1894. JNIajor
Boies says it is "occasional in the spring and fall at Neebish Island, St.
Mary's River." Mr. F. H. Chapin, in a letter dated January 4, 1905, says
"A Whistling Swan in my collection weighed 15 pounds when alive. One
year ago last November one was shot at Long Lake, Portage township,
Kalamazoo county, which weighed 23 pounds. Possibly this was a
Trumpeter, but I never saw the ])ir(l. Swans are seen on this lake every
November but are rarely taken."
Early in March, 1910, large flocks of swans gathered in Lake St. Clair,
and on the 12th several were killed by gunners who were ignorant or care-
less of the law. Four of these swans were subsequently confiscated by the
122 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
state game warden, Charles S. Pierce, who Idndly gave two to the Agricul-
tural College and two to the University of Michigan, and they are now on
exhibition in the museums of these institutions.
Kumlien and HoUister say "During late fall, just before the larger lakes
freeze over, this species is not at all rare in suitable localities" (Birds of
Wisconsin, 1903, p. 31). Butler says " Formerly when these birds were more
abundant they migrated in flocks of 20 or 30, and sometimes as many as
50, high in the air, in two converging lines like a flock of Canada Geese.
It is said that there is not the noticeable movement of the wings as with
geese, yet when travehng at their ordinary gait, with the wind in their
favor, it is estimated that they travel at least 100 miles an hour" (Birds
of Indiana, 1897, p. 640-641). This estimate of their speed is doubtless
much too high, probably 50 miles an hour would be nearer the truth.
It was this species of swan which was killed in large numbers at Niagara
Falls about the middle of March, 1908, as noted in the newspapers and de-
scribed in greater detail in some of the scientific journals. Large flocks
alighted in the Niagara River above the falls and on two or three different
days numbers were swept over the brink into the seething water and grind-
ing ice below and were either killed outright or were so crippled as to be
easily captured by hunters on the watch for them. On March 15 not less
than 100 swans were thus killed (Auk, XXV, 1908, 306-309.)
The Whisthng Swan breeds in the Arctic or Sub-Arctic regions, the nest
being a mere heap of vegetable rubbish on the ground; the eggs, 2 to 5,
are white or buffy- white, averaging 4.19 by 2.72 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Hinder end of nostril nearer to the tip of the bill than to the corner of the eye, that is,
usually nearer to the tip of the bill than the base, tail-feathers 20. Adult: Entire
plumage pure white, the bill and feet black, a distinct yellowish spot on or near the base of
the upper mandible; iris brown. Young: Ashy or brownish ashy, the bill largely flesh
color and the feet grayish or whitish.
Length about 4^ feet; wing 21 to 22 inches; culmen 3.80 to 4.20; tarsus 4 to 4.32.
65. Trumpeter Swan. Olor buccinator (Rich.). (181)
Synonyms: Cygnus buccinator, Rich., 1831, Nutt., Aud., and authors generally.
May be separated from the preceding, which it resembles, by three points,
viz., much larger size; bill and lores entirely black in adult; nostrils placed
midway between tip of bill and eye, or nearer the eye. In the Whisthng
Swan, according to Ridgway, the nostril is nearer to the tip of the bill
than to the eye, and this point holds good at any age after the young are
able to fly.
According to Eaton the Whistling Swan is distinguished from the
Trumpeter Swan by its smaller size, 20 instead of 24 tail-feathers, yellow
or yellowish spot on the side of the bill, and particularly by the different
shape and dimensions of the bill (Birds of New York, Vol. 1, 1909, pp.
236-237). The difference in the bills most easily recognized is the fact that
in the Trumpeter Swan the sides of the upper mandible are approximately
parallel from base almost to tip, while in the Whistling Swan the bilHs
somewhat spatulate, that is, narrower in the middle than towards the tip.
There are also anatomical differences, particularly in the manner in which
the windpipe (trachea) is coiled or convoluted in the breast bone or sternum.
This point, however, can be determined only by dissection. Eaton claims
WATER BIRDS. 123
that the relative position of nostril and eye in the two species is not
diagnostic.
Distribution. — Chiefly the interior of North America, from the Gulf
coast to the Fur Countries, breeding from Iowa and the Dakotas northward;
west to the Pacific coast; rare or casual on the Atlantic.
The Trumpeter Swan is a decidedly rare bird in Michigan; in fact it
probably can be regarded only as a straggler. In his manuscript list of
the Birds of S. E. Michigan (1904) Mr. B. H. Swales says "I can add no
record to that of Dr. Gamier, who shot one at Mitchell's Bay, St. Clair
Flats. Mr. Saunders writes me that he has no record of this bird, and has
never seen the above specimen." Dr. Gibbs states that W. H. Collins
of Detroit wrote him that he "had several specimens, one taken in 1880."
I have not been able personally to verify these records, and since the two
swans are readily confused they must be accepted with some caution.
Major Boies states that it is "More rare than the Whistling Swan, but
occasional in spring and fall on St. Mary's river." There is an adult
male now in the National Museum at Washington (No. 70317) which was
taken at St. Clair Flats, Michigan, November 20, 1875 (Stejneger, Proc.
U. S. Nat. Mus. V, 1882, 218). Mr. J. H. Fleming of Toronto, who kindly
called my attention to the above record, also states that he has examined
a supposed male Trumpeter, taken at Grassy Point, Lake St. Clair, Nov.
30, 1887, and now in a local collection at Toronto, which proves to be a
Whistling Swan.
KumHen and Hollister say "Surely a very rare bird in Wisconsin at the
present day, and it is not certain that it could at any time during the past
sixty years be called common " (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 31). Mr. Albert Lane,
Madison, Minn., says "Not common in Minnesota; seven specimens noted.
The heaviest ever examined weighed 16 pounds and was fat; one fine adult
male weighed 15 pounds" (Auk, XIII, 78). Mr. Butler tells of one shot
at Valparaiso, Indiana, February 22, 1894, which weighed 24| pounds
and measured 50 inches in length and 83 inches between the extended
wing tips. He says this specimen is now in the collection of Mr. Ruthven
Deane, Chicago. (Birds of Indiana, 1897, p. 642).
In general habits this species does not seem to differ much from the
preceding, but it breeds farther south, although apparently some individuals
nest as far north as any of the Whistling Swans. The nest and eggs are
similar to those of the latter species, but the eggs are larger, averaging 4.46
by 2.92 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Hinder end of nostril nearer to the tip of the bill than to the corner of the eye, that is
usually nearer the tip than the base of the bill, tail-feathers 24. Adult: Entirely white,
as in the preeeding'species, but the legs, feet and bill entirely black, the latter and the
lores without any trace of yellow. Young: Similar to that of the Whistling Swan, but
without yellow on bill or lores.
Length 5 to 5^ feet; wing 21 to 27^ inches; culmcn 4.30 to 4.70; tarsus 4.54 to 4.94.
124
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Order VII. HERODIONES. Herons, Ibises. Storks.
KEY TO FAMILIES.
A. Bill straight, sharp pointed (Fig. 36). Claw of middle toe pectinate
(with a comb on inner edge, Fig. 37b). Family 20, Ardeidae.
Herons, Bitterns, etc. Page 127.
AA. Bill distinctly curved, the tip rather blunt. Claw of middle toe not
pectinate. B, BB.
B. Bill slender, curved throughout, the upper mandible with a distinct
groove from nostril nearly to tip. Family 18, Ibididic. Ibises.
Page 124.
BB. Bill very thick at base, only curved toward the tip. Upper
mandible without groove. Family 19, Ciconiida?. Storks.
Only one Michigan species, the Wood Ibis. Page 126.
Fig. 37. Foot of Heron, a. Scutellate tarsus, b. Pectinate claw.
Family 18. IBIDID.E. Ibises.
(Only one Michigan species, the Glossy Il)is.)
66. Glossy Ibis. Plegadis autumnalis (Linn.). (186)
Synonym.s: Ibis, C.roeu Il)is, P>ay Ihi.s, IMack Ciii-lew. — Tringa autumnalis, Linn..
1762.— Ibis falcinellus, Vicill., Bonap., Aud., Nutt.— Plegailis faleincllus, Ridgw., 1881,
Figure 31.
Its large size, chestnut and dark iridescent plumage, and decurved bill
five inches or more in length, render the species unmistakable. At a little
distance the living bird appears to be glossy black.
WATER BIRDS.
125
Distribution. — Warmer parts of Eastern Hemisphere, West Indies,
and southern portions of eastern United States, wandering northward to
New England and Illinois. In America only locally abundant and of
irregular distribution.
In Michigan this species can be considered only as a very rare straggler.
One was killed October 6, 1884 on a marsh near the shore of Saginaw Bay,
just west of Bay City.
Mr. Newell A. Eddy,
who got the specimen
for his own collection
says it is "a young bird,
without doubt, of the
year, wanting on the
head entirely and to a
considerable degree on
the back the beautiful
gloss and purple reflec-
tions of the adult bird"
(0. & O. X, p. 9). This
specimen, according to
Moseley, was at one time
in the Kent Scientific
Institute at Grand Rap-
ids, but I have failed ^to
identify it. In Novem-
ber, 1905, I examined
this collection carefully
and found two specimens
of the Glossy Ibis; one a
poorly mounted, imma-
ture specimen marked
"Grand Rapids, " and catalogued as No. 20189, but without other data; the
other the skin of a male in full plumage (Catalogue No. 22018) which prob-
ably came from the Gunn collection, but was without any data whatever.
Possibly the mounted specimen is the one taken near Bay City in 1884;
certainly there is no record of an additional capture at or near Grand
Rapids. According to Covert (MS. list 1894-95), the late D. D. Hughes
recorded another specimen taken at Marshall, Michigan. These cases
are the only ones known to me of the occurrence of this species in the state.
There are two records for Wisconsin, one for Ohio (Lake county, 1850),
and one or more for Illinois, but apparently none for Indiana. At Heron
Lake, Minn., it is said to occur singly or in pairs nearly every fall, and at
least once has been found nesting (Nidiologist, II, 116). ]\lcllwraith also
records the capture of two specimens near Hamilton, Out., in 1857 (Birds
of Ontario, 1894, 105).
It is a wanderer from the tropics, where it breeds in swamps, building a
nest of the stems of marsh vegetation placed on reeds or low bushes, and
laying usually three dark blue unspotted eggs, averaging 2.05 by 1.41
inches.
In regions where it is al)un(laiit it is one of the most striking features. of
bird life. It is found usually in flocks, sometimes of many hundreds,
which wade about fearlessly in the shallow water or through the open
marshes, their dark metallic plumage glistening in the sunlight, and their
quick motions and wheeling flight making a bird picture of unusual beauty.
Fig. 31. Olossy Ibis.
From' Baird, [Brewer and (Ridgway's Water Birds 'of North
America. (Little, Brown & Co.)
126 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Feathers about base of bill blackish (lores naked); rest of head and neck, lesser
wing-coverts and entire under parts, rich dark chestnut; upper parts, except lesser wing-
coverts, dark purplish-green with strong metallic reflections. Bill, feet and legs dark
greenish-brown, or black; iris brown. Bare skin between bill and eye dark blue. Sexes
alike.
Length 22 to 25 inches; wing 10.20 to 11.85; culmen 4.30 to 5.35; tarsus 2.90 to 4.30.
Family 19. CICONIID.F. Storks and Wood Ibises.
67. Wood Ibis. Mycteria americana Linn. (188)
Synonyms: Wood Stork, Wood Pelican (Catesby). — Tantalus loculator, Linn., 1758,
and authors generally.
Its stork-like appearance, bare head and neck, and strongly contrasted
black and white plumage are distinctive.
Distribution. — Southern United States, from the Ohio Valley, Colorado,
Utah, southeastern California, etc., south to Argentine Republic; casually
northward to Pennsylvania and New York.
This bird must be regarded as a mere straggler to Michigan from the
south. Our only positive record is furnished by Mr. P. A. Taverner, of
Detroit, who found a freshly mounted specimen in a taxidermist's shop in
July, 1910, and on investigation discovered that it was killed at Monroe,
Michigan, June 19, 1910. It was an immature bird, and the sex was not
determined.
The only other Michigan report comes from Mr. John Hazelwood, of
Port Huron, who writes: "I saw and shot at a specimen of the Wood Ibis
at this place recently. I have shot this species in Texas and Florida, and
a man that has once killed a Wood Ibis could always tell one again, especially
if he was within 225 feet from it, which I was when I fired two shots at it.
But the bird got away, hit quite hard with No. 1 shot. A large white bird
with black wing-tips and black tail, is easy to tell. This bird was following
in the flight line of migratory birds, and from this place it flew across the
river into Canada, going southeast as far as the eye could see." Mr.
Hazelwood does not know the exact date of this occurrence, but it was
during the fall migration, probably in August.
The Wood Ibis has been taken several times in Wisconsin, also singly
in Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio. According to E. W. Nelson it was
"very abundant in the vicinity of Mound City, 111., on the Ohio River,
and at Cape Girardeau on the Mississippi, the last of August, 1875. One
was taken near Cleveland, Ohio, in 1879" (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, I, 43).
Mr. John Hurter states that it was "abundant through August at a small
lake in Marion Co., 111., in 1879, but all disappeared about Sept. 5. Counted
fifty at one time" (Ibid., VI, 124).
The Wood Ibis breeds regularly in the Gulf States, and, hke some other
water birds, wanders north after the breeding season. The nest is of sticks,
placed high up in trees, and the eggs are two to three, white and chalky,
with pale spots or stains of brownish; they average 2.74 by 1.80 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: "Head and neck bare; primaries, secondaries, and tail glossy greenish-black,
rest of plumage white. Immature: Head more or less feathered; head and neck grayish-
WATER BIRDS. 127
broTvn, blacker on the nape; rest of pkunage as in the adult, but more or less marked with
grayish; wings and tail less greenish" (Chapman). Sexes alike.
Length 35 to 45 inches; wing 17.60 to 19.50; ciilmen 6.10 to 7.30; tarsus 7.00 to 8.50.
Family 20, ARDEID/E. Herons, Bitterns, Etc.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Large; wing 14 inches or more, culmen over 4 inches. B, BB.
B. Plumage entirely white. Greater Egret. No. 72.
BB. Plumage slaty blue or grayish blue above. Great Blue Heron.
No. 71.
A A. Medium; wing 6^ to 13 inches, culmen 2 to 3| inches. C, CC.
C. Plumage largely or entirely white. D, DD, DDD.
D. Entirely white, legs black, feet yellow. Snowy Heron;
Lesser Egret. No. 73.
DD. Mainly white, but primaries tipped with slaty blue, and
often scattered patches of slaty blue elsewhere. Little
Blue Heron (immature). No. 74.
DDD. Entire under parts white, crown and back dark green
or greenish black. Night Heron (adult). No. 76.
CC. Plumage with little white — at least on the upper parts. E, EE.
E. Larger; wing 9 inches or more. F, FF.
F. Plumage mainly slaty blue with maroon-colored head
and neck. Little Blue Heron (adult). No. 74.
FF. Plumage streaked above and below with brown, buff,
black and whitish. G, GG.
G. Tail with 12 feathers. Black-crowned Night
Heron (immature). No. 76.
GG. Tail with only 10 feathers. Bittern. No. 68.
EE. Smaller; wing 8 inches or less. Green Heron. No. 75.
AAA. Small; wing less than 6 inches, culmen less than 2 inches. H, HH.
H. Under parts buff or buffy-white streaked with darker. Least
Bittern. No. 69.
HH. Under parts chestnut or rufous. Cory's Bittern. No. 70.
68. Bittern. Botaurus lentiginosus {Montag.). (190)
Synonyms: American Bittern, Stake Driver, Thunder-pump, Poke, Marsh Hen, Indian
Hen, Bog Bull.— Ardea lentiginosa, Mont., 1813, Nutt., Aud. — Ardea minor, Wils., 1814.
— Botaurus minor, Coues, 1872.
Plates V and VL
The combination of the brown, buff and black plumage with green legs,
yellow eyes and the size of a hen is generally sufficient to identify tins
bird.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, south to Guatemala, Cuba,
Jamaica, and Bermuda; occasional in the British Islands.
One of the most abundant of our waders, and well known to every gunner
who hunts snipe or ducks. Unfortunately the bird is large enough to tempt
most juvenile shooters, and so thousands of these harmless and picturesque
128 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
birds are killed every year for no useful purpose whatever. Unlike many
of our herons it neither roosts, nests, nor feeds in flocks, but is seen singly,
or at most in pairs, during its stay with us. Arriving from the south as
soon as the frost is out of the ground, sometimes even earlier, and lingering
at least occasionally until the marshes freeze up again, it is well known to
every observant citizen who travels much over Michigan roads.
Its voice is unique, the names "Thunder-pump "and " Stake-driver " being
attempts to indicate two of its commoner notes. These notes are often called
'M^ooming" which is the term regularly applied to the note of the European
Bittern, but the term seems hardly applicable to the call of our bird. Good
descriptions of the notes themselves and of the contortions of the bird while
uttering them may be found in several of our standard works, one of the
best descriptions probably by Bradford Torrey.
This bird's plumage offers one of the best illustrations we have of
protective coloration, the brown, black and buff-streaked plumage har-
monizing so perfectly with the dead or dying marsh vegetation among
which it is found spring and fall, that the bird is wellnigh invisible even
when standing fully exposed. Moreover the bird takes advantage of its
color and puts itself in such attitudes as will favor the illusion, one of its
favorite positions being erect with legs, body, neck and bill all in the same
line, the bill pointing directly to the sky. It often assumes this postiion
in alighting and will sometimes retain it for several minutes, when it will
suddenly relax, taking the ordinary appearance of a heron, and proceeding
to look for its food.
The nest is made of grass, weed-stalks, twigs, etc., and placed on the
ground, among reeds, flags or bushes, and usually in marshy places; the eggs
three to five are "pale olive drab, or pale Isabella color, averaging 1.88 by
1.43 inches" (Ridgway). According to some writers the nest is placed
commonly on Inishes and at a height of several feet from the ground, but
we have never seen or heard of a nest so placed.
Its food is of the most varied character, including animal matter of
almost every description, but no seeds, berries or other vegetable materials.
We have taken from its stomach fish, frogs, mice, snakes, tadpoles, crayfish,
snails, and a great variety of aquatic insects, while Prof. Aughey of Nebraska
has recorded one from Grand Island, Nebraska, killed in September, 1873,
which had 16 grasshoppers in its stomach.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Forehead and crown broAvn, darkest in front, where it is mixed with blackisli; chin
white or creamy-white, divided by a narrow median brown stripe; side of neck with a
conspicuous patch of glossy black, dull or slaty in some cases and bordered above by clear
buff; under parts from neck to tail pale buff with broad streaks of light brown, each streak
minutely mottled with darker brown or black; back and scai)ulars heavily mottled with
l)uff, brown and black, tlie l)tiff jn-edominating; primaries light bluish slate, tipped with
brown, their shafts black. WiW mostly yellow, the culmcii dusky; legs and feet pale green;
iris l)right yellow. Sexes alike, and young quite similar, but autunmal specimens darker,
l)rowner, and more richly colored, spring si)ecimcns liaviiig a ])aler bleached appearance.
Length 24 to 34 inches; wing 9.S0 to 12; culmen 'I.FA) to :i.2(); tarsus 3.10 to 3.85.
Plate V. Bittern.
From drawing by P. A. Taverner. (Original.)
17
Plate VI. Nest and Eggs of Bittern.
From photograph by Thos. L.' Hankinson. (Original.)
WATER BIRDS.
138
69. Least Bittern. Ixobrychus exilis (Gmel). (191)
Synonyms: Dwarf Bittern, Little Bittern, Least Heron. — Ardea exilis, Gmel., 1789'
Wils., Nutt., Aud. and otliers. — Ardetta exilis, Gmidl., Baird, Ridgw., Cones, and most
recent authors.
Figure 32.
Known from all but the next (which is extremely rare) by its diminutive
size — a veritable pigmy among the herons, its body hardly heavier than
that of a Robin.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, north to the British Provinces
and south to the West Indies and Brazil. Less common west of the Rocky
Mountains; on the Pacific coast north to northern California.
This tiny bittern or heron is really an abundant bird in all suitable
places in the state, but owing to its small size, peculiar haunts, and pro-
tective coloration, it is seldom
seen unless sought for especi-
ally. It frequents the wetter
marshes, particularly those
covered in large part with
heavy growths of cattails, wild
rice, and reeds (Phragmites).
Occasionally it is found in
meadows which are not ac-
tually flooded, or in the
fringe of brush and water
plants bordering a quiet
stream, but those are excep-
tional cases and it is never
numerous in such places.
Even where it is abundant the
explorer who goes floundering
and crashing through the
thick flags is not likely to see
it unless he stumbles upon the
nest, or by accident frightens
the bird so thoroughly as to
compel it to take flight. Or-
dinarily when threatened the
bird selects a favorable place,
grasps a twig or flag stem,
stretches head, body and legs
into one straight line, and re-
mains immovable — and practi-
cally invisible — until the dan-
ger is past.
The nest is a slight platform
or shallow saucer of twigs,
sedges and grasses, in a tussock
or low bush, or on a mat of
broken down flags, always
Fig. 32. Least Bittern.
From Bull. Mich. Ornith. Club. (By courtesy of V
Taverner.)
134 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
over or near the water. The eggs, three to six (usually four), are bluish-
white or pale blue, unspotted, closely resembling those of the Yellow-billed
Cuckoo, and averaging 1.20 by .93 inches.
This species when disturbed rises with a good deal of awkward flapping,
much like most other herons, but makes fair speed when once under way.
Apparently it migrates mostly by night, and it is one of the birds often
killed by flying against wire fences, telephone and telegraph wires. We
do not know that its food differs much from that of the other herons.
In suitable places Least Bitterns are extraordinarily abundant, but
the numbers vary much in the same locality from year to year. On
Chandler's Marsh, Ingham county, we have known two collectors working
together to find more than 20 nests containing eggs, and nearly as many
empty ones, during a day's search. According to Dr. R. H. Wolcott many
false nests or "roosts" are constructed in the vicinity of the one in which
the eggs are laid. In the southern half of the state most of the eggs are
laid between June first and 15th, and we have no reason to suppose that
more than one brood is reared in a season.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Top of head, back, scapulars and tail deep greenish-black; the scapulars
margined on the outer edge by a pale buff stripe; sides of head and neck buff, deepening
to chestnut along the black cap and down the back of the neck; a brownish black patch
on each side of the breast in front of the bend of the wing; entire under parts from bill
to tail whitish or very pale buff, many of the feathers with narrow dark brown shaft-lines,
and a darker stripe down the middle of the neck and chest; lesser wing coverts and some of
the others light buff, but the greater coverts, tertiaries, and outer vanes of most of the
secondaries, rich chestnut; primaries dark slate color. Bill brown along the ridge, yellow
along the cutting edges; legs and feet greenish-yellow; iris bright yellow. Adult female:
Similar, but top of head dark brown instead of black, back and scapulars lighter brown,
the buffy stripe much wider than in male; the under parts darker buff and more heavily
streaked with brown. Immature: Similar to the adult female, but most of the back
feathers buff-tipped.
Length 12 to 14 inches; wing 4..30 to 5.25; culmen 1.60 to 1.90; tarsus 1.50 to 1.75.
70. Cory's Bittern. Ixobrychus neoxenus (Cory). (191.1)
Synonyms: Cory's Least Bittern, Cory's Dwarf Bittern. — Ardetta neoxena, Cory,
1886, and most subsequent authors.
Figure 33.
Precisely like the preceding in size and proportions, and very similar
in color, but with much more chestnut, the entire under parts being of this
color, more or less mixed or shaded with black.
Distribution. — Originally discovered in Florida, in the Everglades,
where all the earlier specimens were taken. Subsequently 16 specimens
were taken near Toronto, Ont., one was taken in Wisconsin, one in Ohio,
and at least two in Michigan. The first Michigan specimen was taken
at Manchester, Augusts, 1894, by L. Whitney ^Watkins (Auk, XII, 77),
the second by Jesse Craven, at St. Clair Flats, May 14, 1904. Very hkely
the distribution of this species will prove to be the same as that of
the preceding, and several ornithologists have suggested that Cory's Bittern
may prove to be simply a color phase of the Least Bittern. Almost nothing
is known as yet in regard to ^the habits^^of this bird, but what there is
agrees closely with what we know of the other species.
WATER BIRDS.
135
The nest has been found
but twice, once by J. F.
Menge, at Lake FHrt, near Fort
Thompson, Florida, June 8,
1890, containing four young
birds (Auk, VIII, 309); and
once at Toronto, Ont., Canada,
June 15, 1898, where Mr.
George Pierce, while collecting
in Ashbridge's marsh, took a
female from her nest. This
was simply a mass of last
year's reeds and contained
one egg. The female, which
was killed, contained another
fully developed egg which
agreed perfectly in size and
color with the one found in
the nest. Mr. James H. Flem-
ing of Toronto, who examined
the eggs, states that their color
is much darker than average
eggs of A. exilis, though he has
seen a single set as dark (Auk,
XVIII, 106). The eggs found
in the nest measured 1.30 by
1.00 inch.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Crown, back of neck,
inter-scapulars, rump, tail, bend of
wing, and under tail- coverts, glossy
black; front of neck, abdomen, sides,
and flanks, chestnut more or less
mixed or shaded with smoky black,
especially on the sides and flanks;
primaries slate-color without light
tips; outer secondaries gray without
reddish tips, inner secondaries black ;
median wing-coverts chestnut, greater wing-coverts blackish-gray, the inner ones with chest-
nut tips; no buffy margin on the outer edge of scapulars. Adult female: Similar to
atlult male, but the crown dull blackish instead of glossy black, and the back brownish-
black witliout gloss. Young birds appear to be similar to adults of the same sex, but
many of the dark feathers may be light edged or tipped.
Length and other measurements practically the same as tho.se of the Least Bittern.
Fig. 33. Cory's Bittern.
From Bull. Mich. Ornith. Club. (By courtesy of P.
Taverner)
71. Great Blue Heron. Ardea herodias herodias lAnn. (194)
Synonyms: Common Blue Heron, Blue Crane, Crane. — Ardca horoilias, Linn., 1758,
and most authors.
Plate VII.
Largest of our herons, but not to be confused with the Sandhill Crane
(Compare Fig. 40 and Plate 7). The latter has a comparatively blunt bill,
partly bald head always without long plumes, and the plumage rather
136 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE
brownish or grayish; the Blue Heron on the contrary has a bill as sharp
as a dagger, the head always well feathered and usually with elongated
occipital plumes, while the general tone of the plumage is always bluish.
Distribution. — North America from the Arctic regions southward to the
West Indies and northern South America. Bermudas; Galapagos.
The largest and probably, all things considered, the most frequently
seen of any of our herons. While it feeds largely at night and is most
active at morning and evening, yet it fishes more or less all through the day,
and may be seen quietly watching or slowly walking along the edges of
pond or stream at almost any time. It is rather wary and hard to ap-
proach, but quickly learns to avoid dangerous places and to know those
where it is safe. Its height enables it to look over the tops of the tallest
grass and it seldom becomes so absorbed in its pursuit of fish or frogs as to
allow the hunter to come within shooting distance, unless indeed the
murderer is armed with a rifle.
The Blue Heron feeds mainly on fish and frogs, but also eats immense
numbers of crayfish, small snakes, salamanders, insects (among them
grasshoppers), meadow mice, and almost anything of an animal nature.
So far as we know it never eats vegetable substances of any kind.
It breeds almost always in communities, placing its bulky nest of sticks
and twigs on the highest branches of swamp trees, often selecting those
which are dead. Sometimes several nests are placed on the same tree,
and frequently 150 to 200 nests may be seen in a single heronry. The
same place is resorted to year after year unless the birds are seriously
disturbed. Probably every county in the state has, or recently has had,
one or more of these heronries, but as the timber has been cut off and the
swamps and marshes have been drained the birds have been driven from
their nesting places until they are now found only in the more favorable
spots. They are still far from rare however, and the location of more than
twenty flourishing heronries of this species is known to us at present.
The eggs are commonly three to five, bluish green, unspotted, and average
2.50 by 1.50 inches. The same nests are repaired and used year after year,
and the eggs are laid rather early, in Kalamazoo county by the middle of
April, and probably by the first of May in the northern part of the state.
This species arrives from the south from the middle to the end of March
and remains usually through October, while single individuals linger
occasionally much later. One was killed in the streets of Lansing by a
poHceman, December 23, 1897.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult in breeding plumage: Forehead, crown, chin, and most of sides of head pure
white; a lieavy black stripe over each eye, uniting in a black drooping crest on the occiput
where the longest feathers reach a length of 8 or 9 inches; upper parts, including most of
wing-coverts and secondaries, light slaty blue; most of back feathers (scapulars and inter-
scapulars) elongated into bluish or creamy-white slender tips; throat and breast grayish-
white, or brownish-wliite, heavily streaked with black, the feathers of the lower neck
with elongated narrow wliite or buffy tips; a large deep black patch, with some white,
on each side of the breast; belly pure black with some white streaks; under tail-coverts
pure wliite; thighs (tibia;) and bend of wing clicstnut; primaries black. Bill yellow,
darker on culmen; iris yellow; legs and feet black. After the breeding season the occipital
plumes are shed and the plumage becomes duller and grayer. Sexes alike. Immatiu-e:
No long plumes; no white on the head, the entire crown being blackish; chestnut markings
paler or wanting; upper parts dull gray, often rusty; under parts streaked with ashy and
blackish. Length 42 to 50 inches; wing 17.90 to 19.85; culmen 4.30 to 6.25; tarsus 6 to 8.
Plate VII. Great Blue Heron.
From photograph of mounted specimen. (Original.)
WATER BIRDS. 139
72, Greater Egret. Herodias egretta (GmeL). (196)
Synonyms: Great White Egret, American Egret, Wliite Egret, (sometimes erroneously
WWte Heron or Great White Heron). — Ardea egretta, Gmel., 1788, Wils., Nutt., Aud.,
and others. — Herodias egretta, Gray, 1849, Baird, 1858, Coues, 1882.
The large size and pure white color are distinctive.
Distribution.- — Temperate and tropical America, from New Jersey, Minne-
sota and Oregon south to Patagonia; casually on the Atlantic coast to
Nova Scotia.
This large and beautiful bird is by no means common in any part of the
state, but its snow white plumage, large size, and the fact that it frequents
open marshes and mud flats makes it likely that a large part of the few
individuals which occur in the state are seen and reported if not actually
killed. As mentioned later it is possible that the species formerly bred or
may do so now occasionally in the southern part of the state, but its normal
nesting grounds are farther south and nine-tenths of the Michigan records
for the species are in July, August, and early September. Occasionally
several species of herons wander considerably north of their breeding
grounds after the nesting season, and this habit is well marked in the case
of the Greater Egret.
Our records for the state are as follows: One shot at St. Clair Flats
about 1886, and in possession of a Frenchman living on the Cana-
dian Flats (Swales). "Three or four have been shot near Plymouth
during my recollection; one of these is now in my possession. All were
taken during the months of July and August" (Purdy). A specimen in
the Broas collection said to have been taken in the vicinity of Belding;
now in the Agricultural College Museum. A specimen in the collection of
the Monroe Marsh Club, taken at least twenty years ago and mounted by
Sauvage. The latter thinks that he stuffed this specimen in 1882. Ex-
amined March 1, 1905 (Barrows). Mr. James Gunsolus, the present Keeper
of the Monroe Marsh Club, says that he has never seen this species in the
ten years or more of his connection with the club. A specimen taken on
Saline River, Washtenaw county, August 15, 1877, one of four seen (Covert).
A male taken July 12, 1886, near Ann Arbor, and another (female) taken
July 22, 1888 in the same region, both by Covert. A specimen taken April
14, 1877 in Kalamazoo county, and in the collection of G. B. Sudworth
(Gibbs). Another specimen, shot by William Glover on the Kalamazoo
River, July 9, 1886, and now in the collection of the Michigan Agricultural
College (Barrows). Dr. Gibbs writes "Every few years I hear of a number
of these birds being seen about Kalamazoo. They are never numerous
at any time, and I have not in my life seen half a dozen individuals all told."
A specimen taken September 10, 1881, near Saline, IMich. and mounted by
Norman A. Wood of Ann Arbor. Mr. Jason Nichols of Lansing saw four
"White Herons" in that vicinity in the summer of 1883 and they probably
belong to this species. There are two mounted specimens in the Barron
collection at Niles, without data, but probably local.
We have been told of specimens believed to be Greater Egrets, seen or
taken, in five or six other places in the state, but have not been able to
verify the statements. According to Amos Butler, this species formerly
bred in some numbers in the Kankakee Marshes in northern Indiana
(Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. for 1897). In his Birds of Indiana Mr. Butler has
the following: "Breeds in some numbers locally in the northern part
of the state (Indiana), and the lower Wabash Valley, in situations similar
140 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
to those occupied by the Great Blue Heron, and generally associating in
the same colony with them. For many years they have been known to
breed in Knox and Gibson counties. We know that it still breeds in some,
and did very recently in all, of at least six or eight of the counties in northern
Indiana; also that it is very rarely indeed observed in its northward migra-
tions before breeding time. This indicates that these herons migrate by
night. Mr. McBride says that at the heronries at Golden Lake, Steuben
county [which borders Michigan], for several years, he often saw a few of
these among the many Great Blue Herons, and while satisfied they nested,
he could not determine which nest was theirs. Mr. Woodruff says "Mr.
Chas. Eldridge found this bird breeding at Kouts, Porter county, Illinois,
May 1885, and took a large number of their eggs. He found their nests
in the same trees with those of the Great Blue Heron. He adds that he
visited the heronries in June, 1896, and did not see a single specimen of
the White Egret" (Birds of Indiana, 1897, 660).
According to Kumlien and Hollister the Greater Egret was a common
bird on the larger marshes and swamps bordering the inland lakes and
rivers of Wisconsin 25 to 50 years ago. "Of late years, thanks to bar-
barous plume hunters, it is rare, so rare at the present time that three
or four individuals only visit Lake Koshkonong each year where hundreds
were found thirty years ago during August and September. Young un-
able to fly were taken from a colony in a tamarack swamp near Jeffer-
son in July 1863. It was found breeding with a large colony of Great
Blue Herons to the westward of Two Rivers in June, 1880, also reported
as nesting near Waukesha in 1866" (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 35).
I can add nothing personally to the life history of this species in Michigan.
We know that its food is similar to that of the Great Blue Heron; that it
nests in trees, building bulky nests of sticks, and laying three to five blue
eggs, rather darker than those of the Great Blue Heron, and averaging
2.28 by 1.60 inches.
Southward, where the species formerly was very abundant and nested
in large colonies, known as "rookeries" or "heronries," there was great
variation in the position of the nests; sometimes these were placed in the
tops of lofty trees, even 100 to 150 feet above the ground, at other times
on low mangroves not six feet above the water, while other nests occupied
intermediate positions (Baird, Brewer and Ridgway).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult in breeding plumage: Entire plumage snowy white; a train or large bundle
of long, dissected plumes falls from the middle of the back, their tips almost or quite
touching the groimd when the bird stands erect. Legs and feet black; bill yellow or
greenish yellow. After the breeding season the long aigrette plumes are lost, but other-
wise there is little change in the plumage. The young resemble the adults except for the
absence of the long plumes. Length 37 to 41 inches; wing 14.10 to 16.80; culmen 4.20
to 4.90; tarsus 5.50 to 6.80.
WATER BIRDS.
141
73. Lesser Egret. Egretta candidissima candidissima (GmeL). (1Q7)
Synonyms: Little Egret, Sno\vy Egret, Common Egret, Snowy Heron, Little White
Heron. — Ardea candidissima, GmeL, 1789, Wils., Nutt., And., and others. Garzetta can-
didissima, Bonap., 1855, Baird, Ridgw., Coues and most recent authors.
Figure 34.
Known by its small size, pure white color, and in the breeding season
by the pecuHar plumes known as ''aigrettes."
Distribution.— Temperate and tropical America, from Long Island and
Oregon south to the Argentine Republic and Chili, casually to Nova Scotia
and southern British Columbia.
This species is much rarer in Michigan than the preceding. In fact its
presence here must be considered merely accidental. Formerly it may
have occurred regularly in the
southern tier of countieg, but there
is little to indicate that such was the
case. There are a few good records
for the state. Mr. Norman A.
Wood of Ann Arbor has a mounted
specimen in his collection which he
informs us was taken about four
miles from Ann Arbor, on the
Huron River, April 20, 1895. Ac-
cording to marginal notes in Mr. A.
B. Covert's copy of Cook's "Birds
of Michigan," he (Mr. Covert) took
a specimen near Ann Arbor in June
1895, and "an adult male in full
plumage, Aug. 17, 1874." He has
also recorded the capture of a
specimen at Ann Arbor, April 9,
1872 (Forest & Stream, VII, 10,
147). In his manuscript list (1894-95) however, he states that all
specimens taken in the state so far as he knows have occurred in the month
of August.
Dr. Gibbs states that "A specimen was collected in Kalamazoo county,
August 6, 1877, and is in the collection^of G. B. Sudworth. The species
is not mentioned in the lists of Boies, Trombley, Miles, Steere, Hughes,
Sager, Cabot or Stockwell." Mr.' Amos Butler states that "It is a not
common migrant and summer resident in the southern part of the state;
breeding locally in the lower Wabash Valle3^ Mr. Ridgway saj^s that it
bred in Knox and Gibson counties, and J. A. Balmer says that although
they varied in numbers from year to year they were quite constant summer
residents in Knox county. In 1890 they were common about Swans Pond.
This so far as known is their most northern breeding ground. After
breeding they roam over the country, soon extending their journeys, as
may be gathered by reported occurrences, into Michigan, Ontario, and
Manitoba" (Birds of Indiana, 1897, 662). Kumlien & Hollister say "A
rare and irregular visitor from the south during August and September.
Of late years very rare. We have never been able to trace a capture of
From Bird
Fig. 34
Lore.
Lesser Egret.
;. (Courtesy of Frank M.
Chapman.)
142 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
the Snowy Heron north of Milwaukee, Madison, and LaCrosse" (Birds
of Wisconsin, p. 35).
This bird is said to migrate by day as well as by night, and it usually
travels in compact flocks, often of fifty or even one hundred individuals.
In Florida, where it formerly nested in abundance in low trees, it laid
three or four eggs, which are similar in color to those of the other herons,
but possibly a Httle greener. The eggs average 1.68 by 1.34 inches.
The history of the persecution of this bird in the Gulf states is very sad
reading. Formerly one of the most abundant of water birds it has been
followed from place to place and driven from the more accessible nesting
places into the most impenetrable swamps, until at present it is with
difficulty that an undisturbed heronry of this species can be found. While
the plume hunter is directly responsible for this, the demands of fashion
stand back of it all, and the lax legislation which has permitted the slaughter
must of course bear its share of the blame. The "aigrettes" or plumes
so much sought after are found in perfection only during the nesting
season, and in order to obtain them the parent birds are shot and their
backs skinned at their nesting places, leaving the young to perish miserably
from starvation. Anyone wishing to learn the extent and details of this
abominable business should read Educational Leaflet No. 7 of the National
Committee of Audubon Societies, and the annual reports of Mr. William
Dutcher, the Chairman of this National Committee.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult in breeding plumage: Entirely white; a train of aigrette plumes growing from
the middle of the back (interscapulars), their recurved tips extending about even with
the tip of the tail, sometimes a little beyond; legs black, feet bright yellow in strong con-
trast; bill black, more or less yellow about the base. After the breeding season the long
plumes are shed, but there is no other change. The young resemble the adults except
in the long plumes. Length 20 to 27.25 inches; wing 8.20 to 10.50; culmen 2.08 to 3.75;
tarsus 3.15 to 4.50.
74. Little Blue Heron. Florida caerulea Linn. (200)
Synonyms: Blue Egret. — Ardea caerulea, Linn., 1758, Wils., Nutt., Aud. — Florida
caerulea, Baird, 1858, and most recent authors.
Recognizable always by the size and peculiar coloration; often the young
are mostly white, but the tips of the primaries are always slaty blue, and
the legs and feet greenish yellow in the young, so that they could hardly
be confused with the Lesser Egret, which they resemble closely in size and
proportions.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, from New Jersey, Illinois and
Kansas, southward through Central America and the West Indies to Guiana
and Colombia; casually north on the Atlantic cost to Massachusetts and
Maine.
This must be considered merely a straggler in ]\Iichigan and we have
only a single unquestionable record, that of a full plumaged bird in the
dark phase killed near Detroit May 2, 1882, by Mr. William S. Smith, 140
Grand River Ave., who has the mounted specimen in his possession still.*
Dr. Gibbs states (MS. notes) that Dr. Atkins took a specimen in Ingham
*Auk XXVI, 1909, 83.
WATER BIRDS. 143
cotinty, but Dr. Gibbs did not personally verify this statement, and I have
been unable to get any confirmation of it. The statement appears not
to have been published by Dr. Atkins, but occurred in a letter or manuscript
which is not now to be found. In Covert's manuscript list of 1894-95 we
find the statement "One specimen obtained at Geddes [near Ann Arbor],
in May, 1876, by the late Dr. Joshua Jones of Chicago, 111., formerly of
Ann Arbor. That specimen is still (1895) in what remains of his collection
at Ann Arbor." We have been unable to verify this record.
Four specimens were taken at or near Aylmer, Ont., an inland town
nine miles north of Lake Erie, in the summer of 1901 (Auk, XIX, 94),
and there are several records for the species in Ohio (Auk, XVIII, 392)
and Wisconsin (Kumlien and HoUister, p. 36). It was formerly abundant
along the lower Wabash Valley in Indiana, where it remained all summer
and nested (Butler, Birds of Indiana, 1897, p. 664).
In Florida and the Gulf States, where it is an abundant species, it is said
to feed mostly by day, to be always found in flocks, and to nest in com-
munities, placing the nest of sticks on bushes or low trees in or very near
the water. The eggs are three or four, blue, unspotted, and average 1.73
by 1.28 inches.
The immature birds, white or largely white, are often mistaken for White
Egrets, and from the fact that these are commonly found associated with
the blue adult birds, although flocks of either color are also found by
themselves, the adult birds are often called Blue Egrets. But these birds
never develop the slender and beautiful "aigrette" plumes, and con-
sequently are not in demand by the plume hunter. As a result the species
is still fairly abundant over large areas in the south where the Egrets have
been almost entirely exterminated.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
"Adult with scapular and jugular plumes elongated, narrowly lanceolate, compact-
webbed; occipital plumes slender, only a few of them much elongated. Color of adult
usually uniform dark slate blue, with maroon-colored head and neck, but not unfrequently
'pied' with white, or even almost wliolly white, with bluish tips to longer quills. Young
usually pure white, with longer quills (primaries) tipped witli slate-blue.
"Length 20 to 29.50 inches; wing 9 to 10.60; culmen 2.70 to 3.30; tarsus 3.15 to 4."
(Ridgway)
75. Green Heron. Butorides virescens virescens Linn. (201)
Synonyms: Green Bittern, Little Green Heron, Poke, Fly-up-the-creek. — Ardea
virescens, Linn., 1758, Wils., Nutt., Aud., and others. — Butorides virescens, Bonap.,
1855, Baird, Ridgw., Coues and most recent authors.
Figures 35, 36, 37, 38.
The measurements and general green color of the l)ack and wings serve
to separate this heron from any other. It is smaller than any other member
of the family except the Least liittern and Cory's liittcrn.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, from Ontario and Oregon
southward to Columbia, Venezuela, and the West Indies. Ikn-muda.
This perhaps is the best known of the smaller herons in Southern jMich-
igan, but it does not seem to extend far northward. It is abundant in
144
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
s^>
suitable places as far north as
Port Huron, Owosso, Ionia and
Grand Rapids, but north of
this latitude it becomes in-
frequent or unknown. Mr.
Newell A. Eddy states that it
has not been taken in Bay
county so far as he knows. Dr.
Dunham took a single specimen
in Kalkaska county, May 2,
1898, but says it is not common
there. Kneeland records it for
Keweenaw Point in his list of
1859, and Major Boies reported
a single one seen on the St.
Mary's River (Hay Lake), in
Chippewa county, but these are
the only reports from the Upper
Peninsula.
The Green Heron enters the
state from the south about the
first of May, the exact date
varying about a week either
way according to season and
locality. Nesting begins before the middle of May, and from the fact
that occupied nests are occasionally found in July it seems hkely that a
second brood is reared sometimes.
It gets its common name of " Fly-up-the-creek " from its abundance
along the wooded shores of our slow streams and the manner in which it
^^1
Fig. 35. Green Heron.
From Baird, Brewer and Ridgway's Water Birds of
North America. (Little, Brown & Co.)
Fig. 36. Green Heron.
Head, showing occipital crest and naked lores. (Original.)
will keep ahead of a boat, making short flights of 50 to 100 yards each
time the boat gets too near, and after such a flight usually alighting in a
tree or bush. Unlike most of our herons it does not seem to be at all social,
and is never found feeding in flocks, but is seen singly or more frequently
in pairs. I once saw five individuals along the shores of a muddy pond
of a couple of acres, but this was exceptional. It is rather crepuscular
in its habits, feeding and flying mostly at morning and evening, but fre-
quently heard during moonlight nights, and often abroad all day during
WATER BIRDS.
145
cloudy and rainy weather. Its loud and unmusical squawk suggests at
the same time the croak of the bull-frog and the call of a young crow.
The nest is carelessly built of twigs and small sticks, usually placed
from eight to thirty feet from the ground and not necessarily close to
water; we have known it to be built in orchard trees and shade trees at
least a quarter of a mile from water, although it is more often found in the
low trees and swampy thickets which
directly border streams and ponds.
The eggs are three to six, blue, un-
spotted, and average 1.50 by 1.14
inches.
Ordinarily the nests are widely
scattered, but more rarely a small
colony of three to six pairs may be
found. Dr. Morris Gibbs visited five
nests of this kind found "in willow
bushes near a creek, from 4 to 10 feet
from the ground" in Kalamazoo Co.,
in May, 1878.
The food is varied, but in addition
to the usual fish and frogs it eats large
numbers of insects, not always aqua-
tic. One taken at New Haven, Conn.,
"had the stomach filled principally with little salt-marsh minnows, and
in addition contained an eel, some kind of a water bug, several grasshop-
pers and two spiders " (Buck, Nidiologist, III, 37). One killed at Boone-
ville, N. Y., had the stomach "filled with grasshoppers."
Fig. 37. Foot of Green Heron.
Showing partly bare tibia and pectinate middle
claw. (Original.)
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Entire top of head dark lustrous green, blackish in front; back and upper
surface of wings and tail green of nearly the same shade as top of head, the elongated,
narrow interscapulars often with a bluish-white gloss and the slender shafts pure white;
most of the wing-coverts narrowly margined with yellowish-white; chin and upper throat
white, scarcely streaked; median line of middle and lower throat striped brown and white;
entire sides of head and neck rich dark chestnut with a purplish gloss at the back; remainder
of under parts smoky-gray; primaries slaty-blue; iris yellow; bill brownish-black above,
greenish-white below; legs and feet green. Sexes alike. Young somewhat like the adult
but with little clear chestnut or green; everywhere streaked with light and dark, and the
wing-coverts with much broader light edgings than in the adult. Length 15.50 to 22.50
inches; wing 6.30 to 8.00; culmen 2 to 2.55; tarsus 1.75 to 2.15.
19
146
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Fit,', -i^- N<'st of (Jrocn Heron.
1 pliotoKiapli by Tlio.s. I,, llankiiisoii.
76. Black-crowned Night Heron. Nycticorax nycticorax naevius
{lio(hl). (202)
Synonyms: Night Heron, Quawk, Squawk. — Ardea najvia, Bodd., 1783. — Botaurus
nu'viiis Briss., 17()0. — Nyctiardca grisea var. najvia, Allen, 1872. — Nyctiardca gardeni,
Baird, 18r)8.
When adult never to l)e mistaken for anything else, the green-black
crown and back, white underparts, thread-like occipital plumes, and
brilliant red eyes, forming a unique combination. The immature bird,
gray-streaked and with yellow eyes, might be mistaken for the common
J^ittern which has about the same size and general appearance, but the
tints of the Bittern are much browner and the plumage never shows the
white"^spots"^and streaks of the Night Heron.
Distribution. — America, from Ontario and Manitolxa southward to the
I'^alkland Islands, including part of the West Indies.
I'^Tliis odd and beautiful heron seems to be nowhere common in Michigan.
It has been taken here and there throughout the lower half of the Lower
l'(!ninsula, but always singly and at long intervals. Most of the specimens
taken are young birds and found in late summer and early autumn. Ac-
cording to Swales (Birds of S. E. Mich., 1904) "It is now a rare bird and
seldom recorded. * * * In 1904, May 5, one was taken at St. Clair
Flats, and on July 16 I saw'one near the River Rouge." Langille says
that formerly it was "constantly seen at^the Flats in summer, sometimes in
large flocks, and no doubt bred in woods'not far'away" (Bulb Buffalo Soc.
Nat. Sci. 1877, 89). Mr. T. L. Hankinson found it by no means uncommon
WATER BIRDS. 147
about Walnut Lake, Oakland county, during the early summer of 1906,
but no evidence of nesting was obtained.
We have no record of its breeding in the state. Boies states that "it
is reported as breeding on islands in St. Mary's River, but I did not see
one during my three seasons on the river" (Birds of Neebish Island). The
report to which Major Boies refers is probably that given in Cook's Birds
of Michigan by Hon. Chase S. Osborn of Sault Ste. Marie, but further
inquiry has shown that the heronry on Espanore Island is tenanted only
by the Great Blue Heron, and we have no reason to suppose that any colony
of the Night Heron will be found so far north. It is rather remarkable
that no colonies have been located in the state, but such appears to be the
fact.
The species breeds ordinarily in large communities, often as many as
500 or 600 pairs nesting within the compass of a few acres. Usually
it places its nests in low trees, but in Wisconsin it has been found nesting
more than once on or near the ground in marshes. Nelson states that
under such circumstances the nests are placed among the wild rice, but
Kumlien and Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 86) state that they have
always found the nest placed among the cane (Phragmites). When
placed in trees the nest is composed almost entirely of sticks and twigs.
The eggs are commonly three or four, clear blue, unspotted, and average
2.01 by 1.47 inches.
The species feeds singly, and mostly at night, and its food does not seem
to differ materially from that of other herons.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Forehead pure white, entire top of head, including the occiput, dark bottle
green, almost black; entire back and scapulars of the same color, perhaps a little greener,
the upper surface of wings and tail uniform pearl-gray in strong contrast. From the
long feathers of the occiput arises a slender, tliread-like plume less than one-eighth of an
inch wide and six inches or more in length, made of two or three pure white feathers laid
one within the other; chin, throat, and entire under parts pure white; sides and back of
neck shaded with ashy gray, as are also tlie sides of the breast and body. Bill mostly
black; iris bright red; legs and feet yellow or greenish-yelk)W. Sexes alike. Young of
the year entirely different; above, light grayish or buffy-brown, each feather with a tri-
angular streak or spot of whitish; below jjrctty evenly streaked with liglit brown and white
in nearly equal amounts, the chin and ui)j)cr throat mainly white with few streaks. Iris
yellow; bill and feet nearly as in adult. Length 23 to 26 inclies; wing 11 to 12.80; culmen
2.80 to 3.10; tarsus 3.10 to 3.40.
148 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Order VIII. PALUDICOLiE. Marsh-dwellers.
Family 21. GRUID^. Cranes.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Tarsus 11 inches or more, plumage mostly white. Whooping Crane.
No. 77.
AA. Tarsus 10 inches or less, plumage mostly slaty gray or brown.
Sandhill Crane. No. 78.
77. Whooping Crane. Grus americana (Linn.). (204)
Synonyms: Ardea americana, Linn., 1758, Wils., 1814. — Grus americana of most
subsequent authors.
The adult may be known at sight by its great size (decidedly larger
than the Sandhill) and the pure white plumage with the exception of the
black wing-feathers.
Distribution. — Interior of North America, from the fur countries to
Florida, Texas and Mexico, and from Ohio to Colorado. Formerly on the
Atlantic coast, at least casually, to New England.
This magnificent bird is now one of the rarest of our water birds east of
the Mississippi River. Formerly it was not uncommon throughout the
entire Great Lake region, and was seen singly or sometimes in small flocks
by itself, occasionally associated with the Sandhill Crane. Its striking
plumage and great size made it conspicuous wherever it appeared, and
although well known it probably was never really abundant.
So far as we can learn there are no recent records for Michigan which
are unquestionable. According to Covert (MS. List 1894-95) one was taken
at Geddesburg, Washtenaw County, Mich., June 8, 1877. In Covert's
copy of Coues Key a marginal note says "Three specimens, Brighton,
Mich., April, 1882, Chas. Gushing." Mr. Covert tells me that he remembers
the fact of their capture, but nothing more. We have not been able to
find a Michigan specimen of this bird in any collection. The record by L.
W. Watkins of Manchester (Cook's Birds of Michigan, 1893, 2d ed. 52)
doubtless relates to the Greater Egret, which is large enough to be mistaken
at a little distance for the Whooping Crane.
There is a record of one taken at Camden, Ontario, September 27, 1871
(Mcllwraith, Birds of Ont., 1894, 116). In Indiana, according to Butler
it is " A rare migrant; formerly more common. It has been known to breed
in Central Illinois (Nelson), and clear Lake, Iowa (Cooke), and doubt-
less did so in Indiana. Mr. L. P. Myers says that in Lake county it is ex-
ceedingly rare. It was a summer resident, but the draining of the Kankakee
marshes has driven it away. Mr. Timothy H. Ball also writes of their
former occurrence in Lake county, that they were common, but not so
abundant as the Sandhill Crane" (Birds of Ind., 1897,669). Kumlien and
Hollister say "Thirty or forty years ago it was not rare to see'a few among
the enormous flocks of Sandhill Cranes during the October migrations,
WATER BIRDS.
149
and even flocks composed entirely of this species. Of late years adults
are exceedinaly rare, and the last record we have of a Wisconsin capture is
October, 1878, when a fine old bird was shot in Green county, and sent to
Thure Kumlien. Newspaper and other reports of flocks of ' White Cranes '
and of specimens shot in various parts of the state of late years, refer to the
Greater Egret and not to this species" (Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, p. 36).
The nesting habits are similar to those of the Sandhill Crane, the nest a
rude structure of weeds and vegetable refuse on the ground, and the two
eggs olive or olive buff spotted with brown and gray, and averaging 4.04
by 2.50 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Plumage entirely white, except the outer wing-feathers (primaries) whicli are
black; top of head, lores and cheeks naked, usually reddish, and with a few scattered
black "hairs." Sexes alike. Young of the year, similar, but many feathers with yellowish
brown tips, often giving a rusty tinge to the entire plumage; the whole head feathered.
Length 50 to 54 inches; wing 22 to 25; culmen 5.35 to 5.80; tarsus 11 to 12.
78. Sandhill Crane. Grus mexicana (Mull). (206)
Synonyms: Brown Crane, Upland Crane, Field Crane. — Ardea mexicana, Miill., 1776
— Grus pratensis, Bartr., 1791. — Grus fusca (part) Vieill., 1817. — Grus canadensis, Nutt.,
1834, Baird, 1858, Coues, 1872, Ridgw., 1881.
Figures 39 and 40.
Comparison of the figures of the head of this species and that of the
Great Blue Heron will enable the student to separate the two at a glance.
The large size and general „^^ _^
proportions make'it impos-
sible to confound the bird
with anything else but the
Blue Heron, and from this
species it can be readily
separated by the bald head
and the gray or brown
plumage, which is never
blue at any age.
Distribution. — Southern
half of North America; now
rare near the Atlantic coast,
except in Georgia and
Florida.
Now that the Wild Tur-
key is extinct the Sandhill
Crane probably is the
heaviest wild bird found
in the state, unless pos-
sibly the Whistling Swan
sometimes equals it. It
is a decidedly larger bird
in every way than the
Blue Heron, with which it
f, f 1 1 1 F'S- 39- Sandhill Crane,
is Olicn COntOUnclCCl ana ^^.^^ ^^.^^^ Brewer and Ridgway's Water Birds of North
its weight IS at least double America. (Little. Brown & Co.)
150 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
that of the heron. Although it belongs with the waders, and is often
found in wet places, it has little in common with the herons and frequents
upland pastures and plowed fields as well as grain fields in preference to
marshes and swamps.
Its food is decidedly unlike that of the herons, since during a large
part of the year it feeds extensively on vegetable food, eating roots,
bul])s, grains, berries, etc. as well as insects, frogs, lizards, snakes and
mice. It is said to be especially fond of corn, which is taken from
the shock, and in Nebraska Prof. Aughey found it feeding freely on grass-
hoppers. Occasionally it may prey upon fish, but this certainly is not a
common food, and we do not know of an instance which has been observed.
While it migrates by night as well as by day it feeds mainly if not entirely
during the day, in which respect again it is unlike most herons. Its flesh
is excellent for the table, and it is hunted accordingly wherever it occurs.
Naturally watchful and suspicious it has become still more so through
persecution, until in most parts of the state at the present time it can be
approached only with the greatest difficulty and must be shot with the
rifle if at all. In flight it carries the neck and legs stretched out to their
full extent in line with the body, and squads or flocks are often seen flying
in single file like ducks or geese. Its note is not easily described, but once
heard is not soon forgotten. One writer likens it to the sound of a coarse
cow-bell, another to the rattling of blocks and tackle on shipboard when
getting up sail; still another says it resembles the creaking of a gate or
windmill, while I never hear the note without thinking of the sound
produced in trying to get water out of a wooden pump which has run down
and been long out of use. When heard at a distance of a mile or more
the notes are not unmusical, but at shorter distances they lose all charm
for the sensitive ear.
The nesting habits are very variable in different parts of its range. In
Michigan, so far as we can learn, the nest is invariably placed flat on the
ground in rather open and extensive marshes, but usually on some small
island or ridge of slightly higher ground where there is no danger of inunda-
tion. The nest itself consists of weed stalks, grasses and similar rubbish,
not very deeply hollowed, and rather carelessly lined with grass. The
eggs are invariably two, and are spotted and blotched with reddish brown
or gray on an olive or pale buff ground. They average 3.98 by 2.44 inches.
In Michigan this species is now far from common. Twenty-five years
ago it probably nested in almost every part of the state, and even ten
years ago it was seen spring and fall passing north and south in small flocks
in most parts of the state. Dr. Atkins of Locke, Ingham county, noted
its arrival at that place in spring for 27 consecutive years. His earliest
date was February 19, 1857, and the latest April 12, 1864. On 21 springs
it appeared in March, and on 16 of these it first appeared between the 15th
and the 31st. He found the nest with nearly fresh eggs on June 8, 1879.
Until within eight or ten years the species has nested every season near
the Agricultural College, and the eggs or young have been taken frequently.
Since 1900 the nest has not been found here so far as I know, although a
few of the birds have been seen passing northward in the spring. One or
more pairs spent the summer of 1910 at Chandler's Marsh, just north of the
College, and undoubtedly nested in the vicinity. They were not noted
during the summer of 1911, but a squad of 4 or 5 fed there regularly during
most of October.
Major Boies states that he noted but two of these birds during his stay
WATER BIRDS. 151
of two years on Neebish Island in the St. Mary's River. Mr. L. Whitney
Watkins beUeves that they still nest in parts of Jackson and Washtenaw
counties, and ]\Ir. Edward Arnold of Battle Creek has known of their nesting
recently in several places in the southern part of the state. W. P. Melville
states that he saw three adults and took a young one in the down on the
plains south of Newberry (Upper Peninsula), Luce county, in 1903; Mr.
Newell A. Eddy of Bay City reports seeing eleven on the marshes near
Seney, Schoolcraft county, September 25, 1895, and was informed by
residents that they occurred there every fall. Single specimens are taken
here and there through the state occasionally now, but it seems certain
that its numbers are decreasing steadily, and before many years in all
probability it will desert the state altogether, seeking nesting places farther
north and west where it can find greater security.
Fig. 40. Head of Sandhill Crane.
From photograph of mounted specimen.
The nesting date given above by Dr. Atkins would seem to be unusually
late in view of the fact that Trombley records two fresh eggs taken in Mon-
roe county, April 23, 1885, and L. J. Cole took two newly hatched young on
Chandler's Marsh, Ingham county in May, 1898. Several writers state that
the bird is an early nester, and we should infer that ordinarily the eggs
were laid the last of April or first of May. Covert, however, records a nest
found near Ann Arbor June" 2, 1870^ (Forest and Stream, VII, 10, 147),
and we find among the notes'of the late Percy Selous a record of a nest
and two eggs at Burgess Lake^ near Greenville, Montcalm county, June 30,
1894.
152 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Mr. L. Whitney Watkins, of Manchester, has in his collection the skin
of a Sandhill Crane which weighed 12^ pounds. It is one of two which were
killed at Fay's Lake, Jackson county, about 3 a. m., August 29, 1893, while
"roosting" in water eight inches deep on a bar in the lake.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Head, crown, and sides of head to level of eyes, naked or thinly covered with
small "hairs" (really minute feathers); chin, cheeks, and auricular region, pure white;
rest of head and neck bluish gray, becoming browner on lower neck; rest of upper surface,
including wings and tail, brownish gray, each feather margined or^ tipped with dull white,
or, on the wing-coverts, with rusty-brown ; under parts clear gray to brownish gray, mottled
with whitish, each feather having a wide margin of grayish-white; primaries slaty-black
with pure white shafts; tail-feathers ashy brown to nearly black. Bill and feet black;
iris yellow. Sexes alike. Immature: Similar, but much browner, the upper parts, and
especially the upper surface of wings, often mainly rusty-brown; reddish margins on
many of the feathers all over the body. Length 40 to 48 inches; wing 21 to 22.50;
culmen 5.15 to 6; tarsus 9.90 to 10.65.
Family 23. RALLID^E. Rails.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Forehead with a bony or membranous plate or shield. B, BB,
B. Toes with conspicuous lobes or flaps. Coot. No. 85,
BB. Toes without lobes or flaps. C, CC.
C. Plumage mostly slate color, flanks with at least a few distinct
white streaks. Florida Gallinule. No. 84.
CC. Plumage mostly bluish-purple and olive-green, no white
streaks on flanks. Purple Gallinule. No. 83.
AA. Forehead without trace of plate or shield. D, DD.
D. Bill (culmen) more than an inch long. E, EE.
E. Bill two inches or more, wing about six inches. King Rail.
No. 79.
EE. Bill less than two inches, wing less than four and one half
inches. Virginia Rail. No. 80.
DD. Bill less than an inch long. F, FF.
F. Bill f inch or more, wing 4 inches or more. Sora; Carolina
Rail. No. 81.
FF. Bill less than f inch; wing less than 4 inches. Yellow Rail.
No. 82.
79. King Rail. Rallus elegans And. (208)
Synonyms: Fresh-water Marsh Hen, Red-breasted Rail. — Rallus elegans, Aud., 1834'
and most authors. — Rallus crepitans, Wils., 1813 (but not of others).
Figure 4^.
The cinnamon breast, barred flanks, and red eye are common to this
species and the Virginia Rail, the latter, however, being very much smaller.
Compare the measurements.
Distribution. — Fresh-water marshes of the eastern United States, north
WATER BIRDS. 153
to the Middle States, northern lUinois, Wisconsin and Kansas, casually
to Massachusetts, Maine and Ontario.
In Michigan this species is confined apparently to the southern half of
the Lower Peninsula, although it may occur as a straggler somewhat farther
north. We have speci-
mens taken near Sagi-
naw Bay, and it has
been found breeding at
Grand Rapids. It is a
common nester at St.
Clair Flats, and is fairly
abundant in the neigh-
borhood of the Agricul- _. _ ^ ,^^. ^ ., ,^ . . ,^
, 1 ri II T 1, Fig. 41. Foot of King Rail. (Original)
tural College, Ingham
county, although far less common than either the Virginia Rail or the Sora.
Like all the rails it is shy, secretive, and rarely seen unless specially looked
for. Most of the specimens taken are killed in the fall while hunting quail or
woodcock with a dog, and at such times the rails are often found on dry
ground adjacent to marshes. It seems to migrate entirely by night and
ordinarily is rather quiet during the day, probably Hke most of the rails
feeding principally morning and evening, but more or less all through the
night.
i?he nest is placed usually in long marsh-grass, but little elevated above
the ground, and is made of grasses and weeds like most rail nests. The
eggs vary in number from 6 to 16 and are commonly about 10. They are
buffy or cream white rather heavily spotted and specked with red brown,
and average 1.63 by 1.22 inches. They are most often found in southern
Michigan from the middle of May to the middle of June. According to
B. H. Swales "Some breed at Grassy Island, Detroit River, just below
Detroit, but they are much more abundant at St. Clair Flats. A nest
found July 9, 1896, contained 9 eggs of the King Rail, 8 eggs of the Virginia
Rail, and one of the Sora. The bird seen to leave the nest was a King Rail "
(Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 32).
Undoubtedly the bird is much more common than it seems, yet Lower
Michigan forms the northern limit of its breeding range and it certainly
is one of the less common rails. Most of our correspondents call it rare,
but along the eastern side of the state, from Monroe county to Saginaw Bay,
it must be considered far from rare.
Its food is much like that of the Virginia Rail and consists of a mixture
of animal and vegetable substances. According to Kumlien & Hollister
" It occurs in much higher and dryer situations than any of the other rails,
and often frequents stubble fields when not too far away froni the marsh.
We have found the esophagus hterally crammed with oats, and in the latter
part of summer and early fall the birds subsist largely on grasshoppers"
(Birds of Wisconsin, p. 38). Prof. Aughey examined seven stomachs taken
in Nebraska in August and October, 1874, and May 1875, and found locusts
in every stomach, the number varying from 17 to 48. Each stomach
contained also other insects and seeds (1st Rep. U. S. Entom. Com.. App.
2, p. 56).
Owing to its nocturnal movements the dates of arrival and departure
are somewhat uncertain, but it probably reaches Michigan early in May
and leaves for the south during October, although individuals may linger
until early November (Detroit, Nov. 5, 1905, Swales).
154
MICHIGAN BIRD" LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Head and neck above olive brown; the back, including upper surface of wings
and tail, a lighter shade of the same color, heavily streaked with umber brown and black;
sides of head and neck reddish brown or cinnamon, this color continuing over the whole
of the breast, which is unspotted; a white streak from the base of the bill above the eye,
and a white spot below the eye; chin and upjjer throat pure white; sides and flanks black
or brownish black conspicuously barred with pure white; belly nearly white; primaries
dark brown, their coverts bright rufous; edge of wing white. Sexes alike. Immature:
Similar. Downy young, uniform glossy black. Length 17 to 19 inches; wing 5.90 to
6.80; culmen 2.12 to 2..'J0.
80. Virginia RaiL Rallus virginianus Jjinn. (212)
Synonyms: Little Red-breasted Rail. — Rallus virginianus of autliors generally. — Rallus
limicola, Vieill., 1823.
Figure 1^2.
Very similar to the King Rail in everything but size, the present species
being very much smaller.
Distribution: North America, from the British Provinces south to
Guatemala and Cuba.
Fig. 42. Virgin
)riginal.)
Unhke the King Rail this species is found over the entire state and
probably nests wherever found. It is, however, much more abundant
in the southern half of the state than farther north, and probably in most
parts of the Upper Peninsula it should be considered rather uncommon.
S. E. White calls it rare on iNIaclcinac Island; Major Boies saw only a few
on Neebish Island, St. Mary's River, in the summer of 1893; and one was
WATER BIRDS. 155
killed at Spectacle Reef Light, Northern Lake Huron, May 14, 1886.
Throughout the Lower Peninsula it occurs generally wherever the conditions
are suitable, but apparently it varies greatly in abundance in different
places, and also at the same place in different years. In most places it
seems to be less common than the Sora, but occasionally the reverse is true.
It frequents wetter ground than the King Rail, and I do not remember
ever to have flushed one in a dry field. The nest is commonly built among
reeds, rushes, or cattails, and sometimes is only a slight platform of
dead leaves and grass, while at other times it is a deeply hollowed and
compact nest around which the growing vegetation has formed a complete
screen and sometimes even a complete roof. The eggs, 6 to 10 in number,
are creamy or buffy white rather sparsely spotted with brown. They
average 1.24 by .94 inches.
The food is a mixture of animal and vegetable substances, insects, worms,
small Crustacea, etc., forming the major part during the summer, but
varied more or less with fruits, seeds, and grains whenever available. The
bird swims easily, but seldom takes to the open water, preferring to run
about on floating vegetation or jump from tussock to tussock while feeding,
and seldom taking wing, at least during the day, unless surprised. The
flight is feeble and fluttering at first, the heavy legs and feet dangling
for a considerable distance, but when the bird has gained good headway
the feet are stretched out behind, in the manner of herons, and the bird
flies steadily and with considerable speed. It migrates entirely by night,
and is one of the species frequently killed by flying against telephone and
telegraph wires and wire fences. It is also frequently picked up under
electric light towers, where, in company with scores of other migrants,
it has met death during thick weather.
This bird is frequently killed by snipe shooters and is considered fair
eating, although inferior to Wilson's Snipe.
William Brewster speaks of the notes of the Virginia Rail heard in May
and June, as "a succession of grunting sounds not unlike those of a hungry
pig. Although by no means loud, they have a penetrating quahty which
makes them carry to a considerable distance."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Head and neck above brownish-black, faintly spotted with light brown; back,
rump, and upper tail-coverts, black, streaked and spotted with pale brown; sides of head
bluish ash; a whitish line from bill to upper eye-lid, and edge of lower eye-lid white; chin
pure white; front of neck and breast cinnamon-brown, paler along the middle of the breast;
sides and flanks black with narrow white bars; lesser wing-coverts bright chestnut; edge
of wing white; under tail-coverts mixed black and white. Bill dark above, greenish-
yellow below; legs and feet greenish; iris red. Sexes alike. Downy young, uniform coal
black. Length 8.12 to 10.50 inches; wing 3.90 to 4.25; culmen.1.45 to 1.60.
81. Sora Rail. Porzana Carolina (Linn.). (214)
Synonyms: Carolina Rail, Common Rail, Rail-bird, Ortolan. — Rallus carolinus, Linn.,
1758, And., 1835. — Ortygometra Carolina, Bonap., 1838, Aud., 1839. — Porzana Carolina
of most recent authors.
Plate VIII.
Adult: Readily known by the short, chicken-like bill, black face and
throat, and barred flanks. The short bill separates it from any other
common rail.
156 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, breeding chiefly northward,
but less commonly on the Pacific coast. Casually north to south Greenland.
South to the West Indies and northern South America.
All things considered this is our commonest Michigan rail, nesting
abundantly in suitable places all over the state, and frequenting almost all
wet places except the overflowed woodlands which have neither underbrush
nor grass. Their favorite haunts are the extensive marshes of cattails,
wild rice, reeds and sedges, but a pair or two can almost always be found
in any small cat-hole in the pasture or woods, and they frequently are found
along the ditches and swales which border the highway, even when there
are no large marshes within sight.
In general habits they are similar to the Virginia Rail, but in most places
are more abundant and they also appear to be less shy and suspicious;
at all events they are more often seen by the sportsman and the average
pedestrian. They are decidedly noisy, their loud and not unmusical notes
being one of the characteristic sounds of our marshes, most noticeable at
evening, though often heard all night long. If one hides among the reeds,
or merely sits quietly in his boat in a favorable spot, he is very likely to see
one or more of these birds tripping lightly over the lily-pads or other
floating vegetation, picking up insects, snails, or floating seeds, and occa-
sionally fluttering up among the stems to catch an insect or reach a spray of
wild rice. Mr. Chapman speaks of their ordinary note as a "clear whistled
ker-wee, now and then interrupted by a high-voiced rolling whmny which,
like a call of alarm, is taken up and repeated by different birds all over the
marsh. They seem so absorbed by their musical devotions that even
when calling continuously it requires endless patience and keen eyes to see
the dull colored, motionless forms in places where one would not suppose
there was sufficient growth to conceal them" (Handbook, 1904, p. 143).
The nest is similar to that of the other rails, sometimes well built, some-
times very carelessly, almost always, however, in vegetation which is
growing directly in the water. The eggs vary from 6 to 15, and are buffy
white of a much deeper shade than those of the Virginia Rail, and usually
more thickly and heavily spotted with brown and purple. They average
1.32 by .95 inches.
This bird is commonly shot by sportsmen and is considered good eating.
After it has become fat on wild rice at the south it is much sought after
and is the "ortolan" of the Washington and Baltimore markets. The
name is an absurd one, having been transferred to this bird from the Bob-
olink, which is now called Rice-bird in the same localities. The true Ortolan
(Emberiza hortulana) is a European sparrow or finch about the size of our
Bobolink and much prized as food in southern Europe.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adiilt: Face and median line of crown black; rest of upper parts olive brown, spotted
witli pure black, and streaked and dotted with white; sides of head and neck bluish ash,
this color covering all the lower neck and the forepart of the breast; auricular region brown
like the back; chin and median line of throat black; lower breast and belly nearly white,
faintly barred with dusky; sides and flanks distinctly barred with black and white; sides
of breast shaded with olive, more or less dotted with white; under tail-coverts white,
washed with rufous. Bill bright yellow, feet green. Sexes alike. Immature: Similar,
but lores and stripe over the eye brownish, the bluish ash of head, neck and breast replaced
by light grayish brown. Downy, young, clear black with a tuft of orange colored bristly
feathers on the breast. Length 7.85 to 9.75 inches; wing 4.15 to 4.30; culmen .75 to .90.
Plate VIII. Sora Rail.
From drawing by P. A. Taverner. (Original.)
WATER BIRDS.
159
82. Yellow Rail. Coturnicops noveboracensis (Gmel.). (215)
Synonyms: Little Yellow Rail, Yellow Crake. — Fulica noveboracensis, Gmel., 1789. —
Ortygometra noveboracensis, Steph., 1824. — Rallus noveboracensis, Bonap., Aud., Nutt.
— Porzana noveboracensis, Cassin, 1858, and most subsequent writers.
Figure 43.
The small size, general yellowness, and sharp white cross-bars on the
feathers of the back are distinguishing marks.
Distribution. — Chiefly eastern North America, north to Nova Scotia,
Hudson Bay, etc., less commonly west to Nevada and California. No
extra limital records except for Cuba and Bermuda.
Fig. 43. Yellow Rail.
From Bird Lore. (Courtesy of Frank M. Chapman.)
This little rail is one of the rarest of the family in Michigan and specimens
are far from common in our museums. Mr. A. B. Covert states that nine
specimens were shot at Ann Arbor, Sept. 13, 1877 by one hunter, a single
specimen now preserved in the University Museum being the only one
saved. One or two were taken in muskrat traps at Vicksburg, Michigan,
by D. Corwin of that place; one was taken near Kalamazoo City, October
19, 1890, and is now in the University of Michigan collection at Ann Arbor
(Gibbs, Oologist, Nov. 1890) ; another specimen was picked up mutilated
and too much decomposed for preservation, in the center of Kalamazoo
City, about the middle of September, 1900. This specimen was doubtless
killed by flying against the telephone wires (Dr. M. Gibbs, The Bittern,
Grand Rapids, 1901, p. 4). Dr. Gibbs also records another specimen
taken in autumn (date not specified) near Kalamazoo, by Wm. O'Byrne
160 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
(Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, II, 1898, 7); and there is a mounted specimen in
the Barron collection at Niles, which was examined by the writer in Novem-
ber, 1905. This specimen has no label, but undoubtedly was taken in the
vicinity.
There are two specimens in the Museum of Hope College, Holland, Ottawa
Co., taken by Mr. Arthur G. Baumgartel in that immediate vicinity, April
21 and 28, 1896. Mr. Baumgartel also states, in a letter dated September
13, 1907, that a third specimen was killed but Avas lost in the mud. Still
another Yellow Rail was taken alive, but injured, on the university
campus at Ann Arbor, Sept. 30, 1908, and was mounted for the museum
by Norman A. Wood. One other record is that of a female caught by a
dog, Mar. 25, 1908, just north of the city limits of Detroit, and now in the
collection of P. A. Taverner (Auk, XXV, 1908,^327).
Jerome Trombley, Petersburg, Mich., has a set of four eggs, which in
size and coloration meet perfectly the requirements for this species, and
which were taken May 29, 1894, in the township of Ida, Monroe county,
Mich. Mr. Trombley did not take the eggs himself, but his collector
described the bird which was flushed from the nest, and his description
tallied well with that of the Yellow Rail. The situation was in a large
cranberry marsh, and the nest was fastened to the tops of the long marsh-
grass, the bottom resting on, or just reaching the water. It was composed
entirely of marsh grass. Mr. Trombley says " From the size and appearance
of both the bird and eggs the evidence is fairly conclusive, although it is
not absolutely certain that the bird was a Yellow Rail."
This species has been taken somewhat frequently in Ontario, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, according to Kumlien
and Hollister, ''This little Rail is not nearly so rare as generally supposed,
though by no means common. We have authentic records for Racine,
Milwaukee, Elm Grove, Delavan, Janesville, Milton, etc., and even breed-
ing records as far north as Brown county (Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, p. 39).
Butler says "Those who have met with the Yellow Rail agree that it is
the dryer marshes, or wet prairies or meadows, that it prefers; the more
decidedly marshy ground is frequented by the larger rails" (Birds of In-
diana, 1897, 678). According to Ridgway, the "eggs are six or more,
creamy-buff, densely sprinkled and speckled on the larger end with rusty
brown. They average 1.12 by .83 inches."
The species, though widely distributed over the United States, appears
not to be common anywhere. It is even more difficult to find and to flush
than the Virginia Rail, and specimens are rarely found without the aid
of a good dog. Few people have studied the bird enough to recognize
its note when heard, and so it is not likely to be detected except by syste-
matic and prolonged search in favorable localities. Of course one may be
found accidentally, but this is most likely to happen in the case of some
sportsman who does not appreciate the importance of the find and makes
no record of it.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Head, neck and breast brownish yellow, unmarked; ground color of upper
parts the same, but heavily streaked with black and crossed with numerous narrow bars
of[ white; flanks brownish black, barred with white; secondaries white; under tail-coverts
light brown. Sexes alike. Length 6 to 7.75 inches; wing 3 to 3.60; culmen .50 to .60;
tarsus .95 to 1.00.
WATER BIRDS. 161
83. Purple Gallinule. lonornis martinicus {Linn.). (218)
Synonyms: Sultana (Jamaica). — Fulica martinica, Linn., 1766. — Gallinnla martinica,
Lath., Aud., Nutt., Baird. — Gallinula porphyrio, Wils., 1824. — Porphyrio americanus,
Swains., 1837. — lonornis martinica, Reich., 1853, Ridgw., 1881, Coues, 1882.
The light blue wings, dark blue head, neck, and breast, green-tipped
red bill, and yellow legs, form a combination which makes the adult un-
mistakable. The young might be confused with those of the Common
Gallinule.
Distribution. — South Atlantic and Gulf States, casually northward to
Maine, New York, Wisconsin, etc.; south through the West Indies, Mexico,
Central America, and northern South America to Brazil.
There are but three or four records for this species in Michigan, so far
as we know, and none is entirely satisfactory. Stockwell says "Accidental
visitor in Michigan" (Forest & Stream, VIIT, 361); Covert has a marginal
note in his copy of Coues Key to the effect that a male was taken at Ann
Arbor, August 12, 1879, but he does not remember any of the particulars
of this capture, and the specimen cannot be located; ]Mr. B. H. Swales,
of Detroit, Avrites under date of December 15, 1906 "There is a record that
Dr. J. H. Garner of Lucknow, Ont., saw a Purple Gallinule at St. Clair Flats
about ten years ago (about 1883) that was killed by some boys and examined
by him but not preserved" (Biol. Rev. of Ont., Jan. 1894, p. 11). Campion
(of Detroit) also says that he has mounted one specimen of the Purple
Gallinule "from the Flats."
There are several records for Ontario, the most recent being that by
A. B. Klugh, who states that one was taken in Wellington Co., Ontario,
near Guelph, about 1894 (Ont. Nat. Sci. Bull. I, 3).
In view of the abundance of the Florida or Common Gallinule, and the
further fact that that bird is hardly known at all to the average sportsman,
it seems likely that the newspaper reports and occasional notes in sporting
magazines refer to the Common Gallinule rather than to the present species,
especially as the Common Gallinule in full plumage always shows more or
less purple gloss which would tend to deceive the amateur. The bird is
abundant in Florida and the Gulf States where it associates with the
Common Gallinule and s^ems to have much the same habits.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
"Adult: Head, neck, and lower parts slaty bluish purple, darker on the belly and thighs;
lower tail-coverts white; upper parts bright olive-green, changing to bright verditer blue
toward the purple of the lower ])arts; wings brighter green than black, shaded with bright
verditer blue; frontal sliicld dusky or bluish; bill bright red, tipped with yellow. Young:
Above light brown, tinged witli greenish on wings; beneatli pale fulvous or buffy, the
belly whitish; bill dull yellowish, and frontal shield much smaller than in adult.
Length 12.50 to 14.00 inches; wing 7.00 to 7.50; culmen (including frontal shield)
L85 to 1.95; tarsus 2.25 to 2.50; middle toe 2.25 to 2.35." (Ridgway).
84. Florida Gallinule. Gallinula galeata (Lichi.). (219)
Synonyms: (iallinule, Conuiion (lallinulc, Water Hen, Mud Hen (St. Clair Flats and
Detroit River), Red-billed Mud Hen.— Cre.x galeata, Licht., 1818.— Gallinula galeata of
authors generally. — Gallinula chloropus, Bonap., 1828, Aud.; 1835.
Figures 44 c^'^d J^B.
Readily known by the general slate color, with the white under tail-
coverts and a few white stripes along the sides. The red bill and the green
21
162
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
legs, changing to bright red close to the body, separate it at once from the
Coot, which is also called Mud-hen, but which has a white bill and green
legs without any red near the body.
Distribution. — Temperate and Tropical America, from Canada to Brazil
and Chili.
The Gallinule, under the name of Mud-hen, is commonly confounded
with the Coot, which is equally or more abundant in Michigan. The
GalHnule occurs in suitable
places throughout the en-
tire Lower Peninsula, but
seems to be most abundant
in its southern half. It is
plentiful in the Monroe
county marshes, along the
Detroit River, St. Clair
Flats, about Saginaw Bay
near the mouth of the river,
as well as at Chandler's
Marsh, Ingham county,
and elsewhere in the in-
terior of the state. Its
notes, flight, and general
appearance are so similar
to those of the Coot that
considerable care is needed
to discriminate between
them, and many of the
the records of ''Mud-hens" probably really refer to this species.
It nests wherever found, and in some localities is extraordinarily abundant
during the nesting season. The nest is commonly placed among the cat-
tails or reeds, in standing water, or on small islands in very wet marshes,
and the eggs are laid from the first of June to the middle of July. These
vary in number from eight to fifteen, and are buffy-white to clear buff,
spotted rather scantily with dark brown. They average 1.74 by 1.19
inches.
This is one of our most graceful water birds, a fact which no one would
suspect from examination of the distorted specimens usually seen on
museum shelves.
The food consists largely of insects, most of which are aquatic, but it
also includes many other forms, and Prof. Aughey examined a gallinule
killed at Beatrice, Nebr. in September 1872, which had eaten seven grass-
hoppers, 29 other insects, and some seeds and other vegetable matter.
Fig. 44. Florida Gallinule.
From Baird, Brewer and Ridgway's Water Birds of North
America. (Little,' Brown & Co.)
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Head and neck all around dark slaty blue, almost black; breast and belly-
similar but paler; upper parts, including wings and tail, similar, but brownish on in-
ner secondaries and rump; several conspicuous white streaks on tlie flanks; most of
the imder tail-coverts pure white; only the central coverts clear black. Tip of bill yellow,
remainder, including the frontal plate, bright red; legs and feet greenish, the half inch
next the feathers orange. Sexes alike. Immature: Similar, but imder parts gray or
nearly white; frontal plate much smaller, and no red on bill or legs. Length 12 to 14.50
inches; wing 6.85 to 7.25; tip of bill to back edge of frontal shield 1.70 to 1.85; tarsus
2.10 to 2.30.
WATER BIRDS.
163
Fig. 45. Nest of Florida Gallinule.
From photograph by Thomas L. Hankinson.
85. Coot. Fulica americana Gmcl. (221)
Synonyms: Mud Hen, White-billed Mud Hen, Crow Duck, Blue Peter. — Fulica atra,
Wils., 1825. — Fulica americana, Gmel., 1789, and of authors generally.
Figure 46.
The scalloped membrane or web along the sides of the toes is distinctive,
but even when swimming the bird may be known from the Gallinule, its
nearest relative, by the milk-white bill and the white patch, apparently
across the wing-tip, formed by the white tips of the secondaries.
Distribution. — North America, from Greenland and Alaska southward
to the West Indies and Veragua.
An abundant bird during the migrations, on all the waters of the state,
and breeding in all but the southern counties, possibly in all. According to
Swales (Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 31) it nests abundantly on Grassy Island
in the Detroit River, just below Detroit. It also nests in numbers at St.
Clair Flats, according to the same authority. Dr. Gibbs states that he has
never found it nesting in Kalamazoo county, although the Gallinule nests
there commonly. Cole and Hankinson found it nesting abundantly on
Chandler's Marsh, Ingham county, and it nests commonly in all suitable
places northward to Lake Superior.
While it resembles the Gallinule much in all its habits, it frequents
more open water than that bird, swimming most of the time, and apparently
not attempting to run rapidly through the weeds and coarse vegetation,
preferring to spend most of its time where it can swim. It is quicker to
take wing, flies better and farther, and has a characteristic way of "patter-
ing" over the water when taking wing, apparently trying to run on the
surface while flapping vigorously, the wings themselves beating the water
1G4
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
at first. While swimming it has a peculiar pecking motion of the head
and neck, a sort of exaggerated form of the bobbing of a hen in walking.
The nest is a heap of vegetable rubbish, sometimes placed well up among
the reeds and deeply hollowed, sometimes but little raised above the surface
of the water: occasionally almost floating like that of the Grebe. Langille
found the floating tyj^e of nest invariably about Dickinson Island, St. Clair
Flats. The eggs, from eight to sixteen or even more, are creamy or grayish
white, thickly and rather evenly speckled with black, brown, and gray,
averaging 1.91 by 1.32 inches. They are distinguishable at a glance from
the much more buffy eggs of the Gallinule.
During the migrations, and especially in the fall, the Coots collect in
large flocks, sometimes of hundreds, and mingle more or less with various
ducks. They are much less shy than ducks as a rule, and as they seldom
or never dive, and rise apparently with much difficulty from the water,
they are readily killed even by the most inexperienced gunner. The flesh
is palatable, but not of the first quality. Coots are rather omnivorous,
Fif?. 46. Nest and Eggs of Coot.
From photograph by Thomas L. Hankiiisoii.
eating grain, seeds, bulbs, snails, insects, tadpoles, and almost anything
animal or vegetable which is available. In one case they were observed
to tear off the feathers from a freshly killed duck and eat away a considerable
portion of the breast (Taylor, Nidiologist, II, 56).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Color in jjeneral precisely like that of the Florida Gallinule, but secondaries
broadly tipped with white, and no white streaks on the flanks; the head and neck are
often nearly black, and tlie slate color of the back and breast is purer and with very little
brown gloss. Bill milky-white; frontal shield brown; iris red; legs yellowish-green to
greenish-slate. Sexes alike. Young similar to adult, but frontal shield very small or lack-
ing, and under parts largely white. Length 13 to 16 inches; wing 7.25 to 7.60; culmen,
to end of frontal shield, nearly 2; tarsus 2 to 2.20.
WATER BIRDS. 165
Order IX. LHIICOL.E. Shore Birds.
Family 24. PHALAROPODID.E. Phalaropes.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Front toes with marginal webs, but the membrane not scalloped (Fig.
47); bill longer than head, very slender. Wilson's Phalarope.
No. 88.
AA. Front toes with lobed or scalloped webs. B, BB.
B. Bill about as long as head, very slender, cylindrical. Northern
Phalarope. No. 87.
BB. Bill about as long as head, rather stout, flattened. Red
Phalarope. No. 86.
86. Red Phalarope. Phalaropus fulicarius (Linn.). (222)
Synonyms: Gray Phalarope, Sea-snipe. — Tringa fulicaria, Linn., 1766.- — Plialaropu
fulicarius, Bonap., Nutt., Aud., Baird. — Crymophilus fulicarius, A. O. U. Check-list
1895, and most subsequent authors.
The snipe-like form, but rather short, stout bill and scalloped web border-
ing the toes, serve to identify this species in any plumage.
Distribution. — Northern parts of Northern Hemisphere, breeding in the
Arctic regions and migrating south in winter; in the United States south to
the middle states, Ohio Valley, and Cape St. Lucas; chiefly maritime.
When migrating this is a bird of the open water, usually the sea, where
it feeds and rests in flocks, swimming as gracefully and safely as a duck,
and found along the shore only when driven in by storms. In Michigan
it is one of the rarest of the waders and has been noted only a few times.
It is credited to Michigan by Stockwell (Forest & Stream, VIII, 22, 361).
According to Mcllwraith Dr. Gamier saw a flock of six at Mitchell's Bay,
near St. Clair, in the fall of 1880 and secured one of them (Birds of Ontario,
1894, 125). One was taken October 24, 1888, on Lake Erie at the mouth
of the River Raisin, Monroe, JNIich., and recorded by Mr. Robt. B. Lawrence
(Auk, VII, 1890, 204). A second specimen taken at Monroe, October 15,
1894, by Mr. Lawrence, was kindly presented to the Michigan Agricultural
College; it settled among the duck decoys of the Monroe Marsh
Club and was alone when shot. Kumlien & HoUister state that
"Small flocks may be met on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior in autumn,
and occasionally straggling individuals wander to the larger inland lakes.
Four specimens, one adult female and three young of the year, were taken
on Lake Koshkonong September 3, 1891. We have but a single state record
for the early part of the season, a solitary female killed by Tliure Kumlien
on Lake Koshkonong June 4, 1877" (Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, 41).
This species nests in Arctic regions, laying three or four pale brown,
heavily spotted eggs in a moss-lined hollow on the ground. The eggs aver-
age 1.24 by .86 inches. Eifrig found this a very common species about
Fuller! on and Southampton, in Northwestern Hudson Bay, laying the eggs,
166 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
without nesting material, in depressions of the sand or moss, often in lichens,
about the fresh water ponds (Auk, XXII, 238).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill sandpiper-like, about as long as the head, flattened and somewhat widened near
the end, the tip acute; legs slender and snipe-like, but toes margined with lobed flaps.
Adult, during fall migration: Entire under parts, with most of head and neck, pure
white; top of head, nape, back of neck, and ring around eye, slaty black; rest of upper
parts clear pearl-^ray; the primaries and tertiaries black or slaty-black; wing with a con-
spicuous white wing-bar, formed by the tips of the greater coverts. Immatvu-e, at same
season: Similar, except that a few blackish feathers may be scattered over the back,
and the tertiaries are margined with white or rusty. Length 7.50 to 8.75 inches; wing
5.25 to 5.50; culmen .80 to .95; tarsus .80 to .85. Adults in summer have the entire lower
parts deep purplish cinnamon, and the forepart of the head as well as the top dark slate-
color; it is doubtful, however, if specimens in this plumage ever occur in Michigan.
87. Northern Phalarope. Lobipes lobatus (Linn.). (223)
Synonyms: Red-necked Phalarope. — Tringa lobata, Linn., 1758. — T. hyperborea,
Linn., 1766. — Phalaropus hyperboreus, Nutt., Aud., Cass., Baird. — Phalaropus lobatus,
Ridgw., 1887, A. O. U. Check-list, 1895, and most subsequent authors.
Known by its similarity to the preceding (including of course the pecu-
liarly fringed toes), but rather smaller, and the bill very slender, cyHndrical
and sharp, although about the same length.
Distribution. — Northern portions of Northern Hemisphere, breeding in
Arctic latitudes; south in winter to the tropics.
This is another marine species which is hardly more than a straggler
in Michigan. Dr. Gibbs states that D. D. Hughes, in his manuscript Orni-
thology of Michigan, says that there is "A specimen in Mr. Barron's collec-
tion at Niles; also one in the Hobson collection at Detroit, and said to be
not rare on Detroit River in spring." We have not been able to verify
any of these statements, and the only phalarope in the Barron collection
in November 1905 proved to be Wilson's. Covert in his manuscript list.
1894-95, says there are but two authentic records of its capture; probably
referring to the ones just cited. Mcll wraith quotes Saunders' record of
"One found dead at Mitchell's Bay 1882" (Birds of Ont., 1894, 127). A
skin in the Kent Scientific Museum at Grand Rapids proves to have been
collected in Freeborn Co., Minn., August 29, 1878. I do not know of an
actual Michigan specimen preserved anywhere. Kumlien and Hollister
state that this species is "Much more common than the Red Phalarope.
* * * Noted on Lakes Michigan and Superior in September and October,
and a regular spring and fall migrant on Lake Koshkonong, though more
often taken in fall than in spring" (Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, p. 41).
In its habits the Northern Phalarope is quite similar to the Red Phalarope,
migrating in flocks, usually over the ocean, at a distance from land. It
feeds on small Crustacea and other marine animals found at the surface,
and it swims and dives with the greatest ease.
It nests far north, laying its eggs in a hollow on the ground, and they
closely resemble those of the other phalaropes, being pale olive-buff, thickly
spotted with dark brown, and averaging 1.20 by .82 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill very slender and almost cylindrical, hardly longer than the head; legs and feet very
slender, the toes partly webbed, the edges of the webs and the sides of the toes being
scalloped or lobed. Adult, during migration : ^ Under parts entirely white, as also the
WATER BIRDS.
16?
forehead, line over the eye, and the sides of the neck; top of head gray, more or less streaked
with dusky; a blackish spot in front of the eye and more or less dusky and gray behind
and below the eye; upper parts gray or bluish gray. Young, during fall migration: Similar,
but more streaked above, the feathers of back mostly margined with buffy, the middle
wing-coverts bordered with white or yellowish white. Length 7 to 8 inches; wing 4 to
4.45; culmen .80 to .90; tarsus .75 to .80. In summer the sides of the neck and a con-
siderable part of the upper breast are reddish brown, more conspicuous in the female
than in the male; if is doubtful, however, if this species is ever seen in this plumage in
Michigan.
88. Wilson's Phalarope. Steganopus tricolor Vieill. (224)
Synonyms: Summer Phalarope. — Phalaropus lobatus, Wils., 1825. — Phalaropus
Wilsoni, Sab., 1823, Nutt., Aud., Cass., Baird. — Steganopus Wilsoni, Coues, Ridgw. —
Steganopus tricolor, Vieill., 1819. — Phalaropus tricolor, A. O. U. Check-list, 1895.
Figure 47.
The combination of a snipe-like form and action, with the thick elastic
plumage of a duck and the web-margined toes, is common to the three
species of phalarope, but the present species is distinguished easily by its
superior size, the absence of lobes in the toe webs, and especially by the
slender bill from an inch to an inch and a quarter long.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, chiefly the interior, breeding
from northern IlUnois and Utah northward to the Saskatchewan region;
south in winter to Brazil and Patagonia.
This bird, both in structure and habits, is more snipe-like or sandpiper-
like than either of the others. Confined almost entirely to fresh water
lakes and marshes it is less often seen swimming on
the open lake, more often found wading in the
marshy pools or swimming there in small flocks.
According to Nelson "The charming grace of
movement exhibited • at such times, combined with
their tasteful elegance of attire, form one of the most
pleasing sights one could witness, as they swim
buoyantly from side to side of the pool, gracefully
nodding their heads; now pausing an instant to
arrange a feather or to daintily gather some fragment
of food, and now floating idly about, wafted by the
slight breeze which at intervals ripples the surface
of the water. A more common, but scarcely less
pleasing sight is presented when, unconscious of
observation, they walk sedately along the border of
the water, never departing from their usual easy
grace of movement" (Bull. Nutt. Club, II, 41).
The same writer states that the male commonly
prepares the nest and attends to the whole duty of incubation, but the
female remains in the vicinity and evidently helps care for the young,
although the females disappear about the middle of July, before the males
and young. The nest is said to be a shallow depression in the soft earth,
which is usually lined with a thin layer of fragments of old grass blades,
upon which the eggs, numbering from three to four, are deposited about
the last of May or first of June. Owing to the low situations in which
the nests are placed the first set of eggs is often destroyed by a heavy fall
of rain, causing the water to rise so as to submerge the nest. In this case
Wilson's Phalar-
(Original.)
l68 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
the second set, numbering two or three, are often deposited in a depression
scratched in the ground, as at first, but with no sign of any lining. Ac-
cidents of this kind cause tlie second set of eggs to be deposited sometimes
as late as the last of June (Nelson). These notes relate to northeastern
Illinois, where in suitable places the species is actually abundant, not
exceeded in numbers, saj^s Mr. Nelson, by even the ever-present Spotted
Sandpiper.
Wilson's Phalarope is far from common in Michigan. Dr. Gibbs and
two companions shot five in Kalamazoo county from a flock of fifteen or
twenty, May 21, 1878, and Dr. Gibbs states that another man shot a single
specimen September 8 of the same year. There is a specimen in the collec-
tion of C. J. Davis, Lansing, taken at Chandler's Marsh, Ingham county,
probably about 1892 or 1893, and T. L. Hankinson took a pair at Chandler's
Marsh June 21, 1897, and was sure they were breeding. Mr. Saunders
records one killed at Mitchell's Bay, St. Clair Flats in May 1882 (Mcllwraith,
Birds of Ont., 1894, 128); and J. Claire Wood (letter, July 28, 1905) says
"In June, 1900, my brother saw one specimen at St. Clair Flats, and Jesse
Craven saw a pair there under circumstances that convinced him they
were breeding." May 9, 1906 Mr. J. Claire Wood saw a pair of these
phalaropes in Ecorse township, Wayne County, and on May 12, Mr. P A.
Taverner took a female in full plumage near the same place (Auk, XXIII,
1906, 335). Mr. A. B. Covert records the taking of a male and female on
the Huron River, near Ann Arbor, April 19, 1887 (Marginal note Coues
Key). The same collector has also recorded a nest with both parent birds
secured at Portage Lake, 26 miles north of Ann Arbor, July 2, 1875 (Forest
& Stream, VI, 25, 402). Mr. Stewart E. White says it is uncommon at
Grand Rapids (MS. List 1885). It is also included in Kneeland's List of
the Birds of Keweenaw Point, 1859, a doubtful record.
The above records indicate that although the species is widely distributed
in Michigan it is nowhere common. The eggs are described as cream buff
or grayish buff, heavily spotted with dark brown or black; they average
1.28 by .90 inches.
The food of all the phalaropes seems to consist entirely of animal forms,
and mainly of minute mollusca, Crustacea, and aquatic insects. The present
species, however, does not confine itself to aquatic forms, but eats a great
variety of insects, including many terrestrial species.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill decidedly longer than the head, very slender, almost cylindrical; legs slender, toes
slightly webbed at base, with a narrow marginal web along each toe, but without scallops
or lobes. Adult female in summer: Entire top of head bluish-gray, whitening on the
nape and hind neck and becoming darker blue-gray on the middle of the back; a black
stripe through the eye, expanding into a large black patch on the side of the neck and
continued as a broad chestnut stripe along the side of the neck to the middle of the back;
chin and upper throat white, as also the breast and tlic belly; the middle of the tiiroat
more or less washed with rufous and pale chestnut; sides and flanks grayisii; rump and
upper tail-coverts white, sometimes buffy tinted; wings brownish gray, the outer ]irimaries
with white shafts; tail-feathers largely white, broadly margined with gray. The adult
male in summer is smaller and much less conspicuous, lacking almost entirely the strongly
contrasted pearl-gray, chestnut, and black, and being simply grayish above and white
below. In any plumage, however, the bird is recognizable by the details of bill and feet.
Length of female 9.40 to 10 inches; wing 5.20 to 5.30; culmen L30 to L35; tarsus L30 to
L35. Length of adult male 8.25 to 9 inches; wing 4.75 to 4.80; culmen L25; tarsus L20
to 1.25.
WATER BIRDS.
Family 25. RECURVIROSTRID.E. Stilts and Avocets.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Front toe fully webbed, hind toe present. Avocet. No. 89.
AA. Front toes slightly webbed, no hind toe. Stilt. No. 90.
89. Avocet. Recurvirostra americana Gmel. (225)
Synonyms: American Avocet. — Recurvirostra occidentalis, Vig., 1829. — Recurvirostras
americana of most authors.
Recognized at once by the sharp, slender, snipe-like bill turned up toward
the tip very decidedly. It can be mistaken for no other bird, except possibly
for the Black-necked Stilt, but the latter species has the bill slightly or not
at all turned upward, and has the back of the neck clear black while the
Avocet has the neck cinnamon or white.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, north to the Saskatchewan
and Great Slave Lake; in winter south to Guatemala and the West Indies.
Rare in the eastern United States.
One of our very rare waders, and apparently much less common now
than formerly. " W. H. Collins records one specimen taken at St. Clair
Flats in 1874, and preserved in the collection of the Audubon Club, in the
Museum of the Detroit Scientific Association" (Gibbs, American Field,
Nov. 10, 1894). Mr. B. H. Swales writes me from Detroit (May 28, 1906)
"There is an Avocet at Campion's which Collins mounted, and it may be
the same bird that he is understood to have taken at the Flats. Campion
tells me that when he came here he secured a lot of Collins' birds and that
there was a list with data, but this was destroyed." According to Moseley
there is, or was, a specimen in the Kent Scientific Institute at Grand Rapids,
and Dr. R. H. Wolcott writes that the specimen was collected in that
immediate vicinity. In November, 1905, I found a mounted specimen
of the Avocet in the Kent Scientific iMuseum, bearing the catalogue number
20220, but with absolutely no data from which its origin could be traced.
There are several records for Toronto, Ont., a number for Wisconsin
(Kumlien and Hollister p. 42), and it has been taken in Indiana, Ohio,
and Ilhnois (Butler's Birds of Indiana, 1897, p. 695). It is not known to
nest in Michigan, and occurs probably only during the northward migration
in May and the southward migration is September and October. It is
an abundant species about the alkaUne lakes of the Great l^asin region of
the west, and occurs frequently of late years in the irrigated regions of
Arizona and southern California. It may nest anywhere in the United
States. The nest is placed on the ground; the eggs are three or four, pale
olive or bufTy olive, thickly spotted with l)rown and black, and averaging
1.93 by 1.35 inches.
In habits the Avocet much resembles the Yellow-legs, frequenting sand
bars, mud flats and the shallow margins of lakes and streams, where it
feeds like a sandpiper on the minute animal life of the shores, or wades
about in the water gleaning aquatic insects, crustaceans and other forms
from the bottom. Profes.sor Aughey found many locusts in the stomachs
of two taken in Sarpy county, Nebraska, in Sei)temlier 1874, and one taken
in Richardson county, Nebraska in September 1873, had 71 insects of
various kinds in its stomach (1st Rep. U. S. Entom. Com. App. 2, p. 50).
170 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
A hind toe present, but very small; the three front toes fully webbed. Rump, upper
tail-coverts, and entire under parts pure white, as are also the middle of the back, the
outer scapulars, about half the secondaries, and the terminal half of the greater wing-
coverts; the rest of' the wings, the inner scapulars, and a stripe on each side of back,
brownish-black; tail ashy. In summer the adult has most of the head and the entire neck
and upper breast pale cinnamon; in winter these parts are pure white, or bluish or grayish-
white. Yoimg birds resemble winter adults, but the primaries are tipped with whitish,
the back more or less mottled with brownish or buff, and the back of neck washed with
rusty. Length 15.50 to 18.75 inches;' wing 8.50 to 9; culmen 3.40 to 3.65; tarsus 3.70 to
3.80 (Ridgway).
90. Stilt. Himantopus mexicanus (Mull). (226)
Synonyms: Black-necked Stilt, Lawyer. — Charadrius mexicanus Miill., 1776. — Him-
antopus nigricoUis, Vieill., Nutt., Aud., Baird.^ — Recurvirostra himantopus, Wilson, 1813.
Known at once by the extremely long legs, pure white under parts and
black back, the back of the neck also clear black.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, from the Northern United
States southward to the West Indies, northward to Brazil and Peru. Rare
in the eastern United States except in Florida.
An extremely rare bird in Michigan; and I know of no Michigan specimen
in any collection. It is included in Stockwell's list of Michigan birds (Forest
& Stream, VIII, 22, 361), but no specific instance of its occurrence is given.
Covert (marginal notes in Coues Key) records a specimen from Sand Shore
Lake, Ann Arbor, October 14, 1880; and D. D. Hughes (MS. Orn. of Mich.)
says that "a Mr. Metcalf, of Grand Rapids, Kent county, secured a specimen
near there, and has seen others on two occasions" (Gibbs).
While looking over specimens in the store of F. R. Vigeant at Sault Ste.
Marie, July 10, 1903, Mr. Vigeant told me that he killed a pair of Black-
necked Stilts on the shore near St. Ignace, on the Straits of Mackinac,
"several years ago,'.' and that he afterwards sold them, mounted to a
gentleman in Ohio, whose address he gave me. A letter to that address
was returned unclaimed, and I was unable to trace the specimens. In
Wisconsin, according to Kumlien and HoUister, "this species is a very rare
straggler, the only record being that of Dr. Hoy, who states that he met
a small flock near Racine in April, 1847. The single specimen preserved
in his collection was probably taken at this time" (Birds of Wisconsin,
p. 42). In Ohio, according to Lynds Jones (Birds of Ohio, 1903, 65) there
are some old records by Dr. Wheaton and Dr. Langdon, but nothing since
1879. Butler, in his Birds of Indiana, 1897, does not mention the species
at all.
The Stilt is a bird of the west and south, where it is not uncommon,
being particularly abundant about the alkaline lakes and pools of the Great
Basin, where it is often seen in company with the Avocet. It breeds, at
least occasionally, in the Gulf States and Mexico, and the eggs are olive or
drab, spotted and blotched with very dark brown, and averaging 1.79 by
1.23 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
No hind toe; a small web between outer and middle toes only. Plumage clear black
(or slaty black in female) and pure white, in large, sharply defined areas. Adult male:
Top of head,' back of neck, back, scapulars' and wings, continuous"decp black, sometimes
with a greenish cast; forehead, rump, upper tail-coverts, and entire under parts from chin
to tail, pure white; tail ashy; iris red; legs and feet rose-color or crimson. Female;
WATER BIRDS. 171
Similar, but the glossy black replaced by dull black or brownish slate. Young: Like
adult female, but all the dark areas more or less mottled by grey or buffy edgings of feathers.
Length 13.50 to 15.50 inches; wing 8.50 to 9; culmen 2.50; tarsus 4.
Family 26. SCOLOPACID Ji]. Snipe, Sandpipers, Etc.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Bill (culmen) two inches or over. B. BB.
B. Wing less than six inches. C, CC.
C. Three outer primaries much
narrower than rest (Fig.
49); tibia feathered to heel
ioint ("knee"). Woodcock.
No. 91.
CC. Outer primaries not narrow: lower end of tibia bare. D, DD.
D. Tail with a rust-red bar near end; rump and upper tail-
coverts without white. Wilson's Snipe. No. 92.
DD. Tail without a rust-red bar; rump and upper tail-coverts
largely white. Red-breasted Snipe. No. 93.
BB. Wing more than seven inches. E, EE.
E. Bill straight or with slight upward curve. F, FF.
F. Bill more than 2.75 inches. G, GG.
G. Bill 3.50 inches or more. Marbled Godwit. No. 103.
GG. Bill less than 3.50 inches. Hudsonian Godwit.
No. 104.
FF. Bill less than 2.75 inches. H, HH.
H. Basal half of primaries white, forming a large white
patch on the wing. Willet. (Appendix)
HH. No white patch on wing. Greater Yellowlegs. No
105.
EE. Bill curved decidedly downward. I, II.
I. Crown with a median light stripe between two broad
dusky ones. Hudsonian Curlew. No. 112.
II. Crown without median light stripe. J JJ.
J. Bill (culmen) 2.50 inches, or less. Eskimo Curlew.
No. 113.
J J. Bill from 3 to 8.50 inches. Sickle-billed Curlew.
No. 111.
AA. Bill (culmen) less than 2 inches long. K, KK.
K. Wing more than 6 inches. L, LL, LLL.
L. Rump without any white. Bartramian Sandpiper. No. 108.
LL. Rump pure white without bars or streaks. Lesser Yellowlegs.
No. 106.
LLL. Rump white, barred with dusky. Knot. No. 95.
KK. Wing less than 6 inches. M, MM.
M. Bill more than an inch long. N, NN.
N. Tarsus more than 1.50. O, 00.
O. Wing 5 inches or over. Stilt Sandpiper. No. 94.
00. Wing less than 5 inches. Red-backed Sandpiper.
No. 100.
172 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
NN. Tarsus less than 1.50. P, PP.
P. Tail with cross-bars. Solitary Sandpiper. No. 107.
PP. Tail without cross-bars. Q, QQ.
Q. Bill straight. R, RR.
R. Upper parts purplish-black without rusty.
Purple Sandpiper. (Appendix)
RR. Upper parts mottled with black, whitish
and rusty. Grass Snipe. No. 96.
QQ. Bill curved downward toward tip. Curlew
Sandpiper. (Appendix)
MM. Bill one inch or less. S, SS.
S. Only three toes, hind toe lacking. Sanderling. No. 102.
SS. Hind toe present. T, TT.
T. Wing over 4 inches. U, UU.
U. Upper tail-coverts white. White-rumped Sand-
piper. No. 97.
UU. Upper tail-coverts not white. V, VV.
V. Wing more than 5 inches, inner webs of
primaries speckled with blackish. Buff-
breasted Sandpiper. No. 109.
VV. Wing less than 5 inches. W, WW.
W. Outer tail-feathers with spots or bars.
Spotted Sandpiper. No. 110.
WW. Outer tail feathers without spots or
bars. Baird's Sandpiper. No. 98.
TT. Wing 4 inches or less. X, XX.
X. No webs between the toes. Least Sandpiper.
No. 99.
XX. Distinct (but small) webs between the toes.
Semipalmated Sandpiper (and possibly
Western Sandpiper). No. 101.
91. Woodcock. Philohela minor (Gmcl). (228)
Synonyms: Wood Snipe, Bog-sucker, Timber-doodle. — Scolopax minor, Gmel., 1788,
Wils., 1812, Aud., 1835. — Philohela minor of most authors.
Plate IX, Figures 48, 49, 50.
Distinguishing marks are the long, grooved bill, short legs feathered to
the heel ("knee"), very large eyes, and top of head barred with buff and
black. The scythe-shaped or falcate tips of the three outer primaries are
distinctive.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, north to the British Provinces,
west to Dakota, Kansas, etc.; breeding throughout its range.
This beautiful bird, justly celebrated for its table qualities, was formerly
an abundant resident of the entire state, being fairly plentiful in all suitable
localities, which of course are wooded or brushy swamps, since this species
is practically confined to wet woodlands and the thickets bordering streams.
In autumn it is occasionally found in cornfields and often about the edges
of fairly dry woods, but usually where the ground is soft enough for probing
with the whole length of the bill. This method of feeding is almost unique,
for the long bill is forced into the ground up to the feathers in search of
Plato IX. Woodcock on Nest.
From photoRiaph by II(>gnpr. (Courtesy of G. .\lan Al)l)ott.)
WATER BIRDS.
175
worms and possibly other animal food and its structure is such that the
mandibles may be separated near the tip without withdrawing the bill.
The holes thus left in the soft ground, and known to the sportsman as
"borings," are infallible indications of the neighborhood of the bird, but
since it feeds mainly by night and hides closely by day, a good dog is
absolutely necessary for successful shooting.
There is no reason to suppose that the Woodcock gets all its food by
probing or "boring"; in fact there is abundant evidence to the contrary.
The structure of the bill allows the bird to pick up food from the surface
with ease and precision, and the examination of stomachs proves that
the diet is quite varied. Although earthworms are consumed in large
Fig. 48. Woodcock on Nest.
Photograph from life. (Courtesy of Gerard Alan Abbott.)
numbers, various other worms are also eaten, and soft-bodied insect larvae,
especially those of subterranean habits, are constantly devoured. Dr.
B. H. Warren, of West Chester., Pa. records beetles, larvae, and a single
spider, as taken from stomachs, and one killed in November, had eaten
nothing but small seeds (Birds of Pa., 1888, p. 80). Professor Aughey
found locusts in several Woodcock taken in Nebraska, and although other
insects usually formed the larger part of the food, one taken in Otoe county
in September 1876, had 32 locusts in its stomach, "besides a large number
of other insects" (1st Rep. U. S. Entom. Com. App. 2, p. 51).
It has an interesting habit of "towering," that is, of rising to a con-
siderable height by spiral flight, at either morning or evening twilight,
uttering a peculiar scries of notes meanwhile, and then pitching back to
176
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
the earth again with great velocity and ahghting close to the point from
which it started.
The Woodcock has decreased in numbers very seriously within the past
twenty years, and for a time was believed to be on the verge of extinction.
Even at the present time it seems to be entirely absent from large sections
of country where it was formerly abundant, and although believed to be
again increasing in numbers it is nowhere so common as formerly.
It arrives from the south almost as soon as the ground is free from snow,
very frequently before the last snow storm of winter. Probably in the
southern counties a few always arrive before the middle of March, and the
greater part of the local birds by April first. Since the Woodcock nests freely
^^I^k.^AT*^
hE.i
Fig. 50. Nest and Eggs of Woodcock.
From photograph. (Courtesy of Gerard Alan Abbott.)
in the northernmost parts of the state, however, and since these regions are
often covered with ice and snow until the last of April, or even the first of
May, many migrants may be found in the southern half of the state all
through April. The southward movement begins in early September
and continues through October, but after the middle of the latter month
very few are found.
In Southern Michigan the first eggs are almost always laid in April.
The nest is simply a hollow among the dry leaves, and the eggs commonly
four in number, beautifully spotted and mottled with various shades of
brown, and averaging 1.51 by 1.14 inches. Nests with eggs are found
from the first week in April until well into May, but these later sets are
probably second layings, the first having been destroyed by bad weather
WATER BIRDS. 177
or by some of the numerous enemies which beset ground-nesting birds.
Miss Harriet H. Wright, of Saginaw, states that she examined two nests in
that vicinity, May 14, 1906, one of which contained three young, and the
other four eggs. The female is a very close sitter, seldom leaving the nest
until almost trodden on, and occasionally
she will allow herself to be lifted from
the nest by the hand, sometimes even .'%;''
scrambling back as soon as released. f -^^
The extent to which Woodcock some-
times suffer from bad weather during ^ig. 49. woodcock's wing-tip.
migration is well shown by an account "^'"^
given by Arthur T. Wayne of a cold wave and gale on the coast of South
CaroHna between December 27, 1892 and January 2, 1893. He states
that at Mt. Pleasant, S. C. 2,000 Woodcock were killed on one day and
10,000 in six days, l^etween the above dates (Auk, X, 204).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Forehead and crown ashy gray, with an indistinct median black stripe; occiput and nape
clear black, with three or four narrow cross-bars of deep biiff or rufous; entire back, scapulars
and rump black, mottled and barred with rufous, but many feathers broadly edged or
tipped with clear bluish-gray; side of hcA-d ashy to buffy-w^hite, with a black line from base
of bill to eye; a similar black stripe across the ear-coverts; chin white; sides of neck brownish
ash; throat, breast and belly buffy or pale cinnamon, deepening on the sides and flanks;
breast and throat indistinctly barred with rufous; primaries slate-colored; secondaries
and most of wing-coverts barred with black and buff; tail-feathers mainly clear black,
the tips abruptly ashy above, silvery white below. Sexes alike. Length 10.50 to 11.75
inches; wing 4.80 to 5.70; culmen 2.50 to 3; tarsus 1.25.
92. Wilson's Snipe. Gallinago delicata (Ord). (230)
Synonyms: Common Snipe, Jack-snipe, American Snipe, Bog-snipe, English Snipe,
Snipe. — Scolopax Wilsoni, Temm., Nutt., Aud., and others. — Gallinago wilsoni, Bonap.,
Cass., Baird, Coues. — Scolopax drummondi, Sw. and Rich.
Figures 51, 52.
The distinctive marks are the long slender bill, about 2h inches, the
comparatively short legs, the upper parts striped with brown and tan,
and the under parts more or less streaked, spotted and barred.
Distribution. — North and middle America, breeding from the northern
United States northward; south in winter to the West Indies and northern
South America.
This is another sportsman's bird, but, unlike the Woodcock, it is found
mainly in the open marshes, never in woods or even in thickets along streams.
Like the Woodcock, however, it is rarely or never seen upon the ground,
l)eing invisible until flushed, when it rises with a sharp call or ''scaipe"
and flies away with great rapidity and often in a zigzag course. W^hen first
flushed it is likely to keep near the grass, but after flying a hundred yards
or less it is apt to rise to a considerable height, circling about for several
minutes and finally pitching downward and alighting not far from its
starting point. It is never found in flocks, for although a dozen may be
found in the compass of an acre they usually rise singly, circle independently,
and alight separately.
It is most abundant Hi)ring and fall, arrives from the south as soon as the
23
178
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
frost is out of the bogs, and returns again from the north in September,
Ungering until November. Snipe shooting is notoriously uncertain, bogs
which are alive with them one day being almost deserted the next, and
marshes which afford good shooting one season being almost worthless the
next year.
Although the larger number pass farther north to breed, a few always
remain in middle Michigan for this purpose, and probably there are few
counties, even in the southern part of the state, in which Wilson's Snipe
does not nest occasionally. We have single records of nesting from
Jackson county (Watkins), Washtenaw county (Purdy, Covert); several
records from Kalamazoo county (Gibbs, Syke), and the vicinity of Lansing
(J. E. Nichols, W. B. Barrows). We have an egg in the Agricultural
Fig. 51. Wilson's Snipe.
Photograph from mounted specimen. (Original.)
College collection taken near Lansing by a friend of Mr. Jason E. Nichols,
whose dog, while hunting Snipe late in the spring, flushed a female from her
nest and broke all but one of the four eggs. During some summers Wilson's
Snipe are fairly common on Chandler's Marsh, Ingham county, during June
and July, and unquestionably nest there in some numbers. In -other
years not an individual is to be found there between June first and the
middle of August.
During the late spring (undoubtedly while mating) the bird has a habit
of "bleating," which consists of rising to a considerable height and then
pitching downward obliquely toward the ground with great rapidity, making
a peculiar sound with the wings, and probably also at the same time with
the voice. The same individual will repeat this action half a dozen times
in succession, and often several birds may be within hearing at the same
Fig. 52. Wing of Wilson's Snipe.
Seen from below, sliowing barred axillaries. (Original.)
WATER BIRDS. ' 179
lime. The male alone is supposed to indulge in this pastime, but I am not
aware that this is anything better than an inference.
The food is obtained largely by probing in the wet ground in the man-
ner of the Woodcock, but apparently this species prefers wetter ground
than the Woodcock, at all events the holes or "borings" are seldom visible,
even in places where Snipe are breeding regularly. But the bird also
eats large numbers of insects and other invertebrates for which it does not
probe. In eleven stomachs of this species examined by Professor Aughey
of Nebraska, there were found 678 insects. 412 of which were locusts (1st
Rep. U. S. Entom. Com., App. 2, p. 51).
Neither of the common names, English Snipe nor Jack Snipe, is strictly
correct. The first is a com- _ _
plete misnomer, since our
species is distinctly American;
the other is applied with equal
frequency to the Pectoral Sand-
piper or Grass Snipe, which it ^''^^^^^'^^^^f/'jY'^-^J^iL'^-Vi!]
slightly reseml)les. ,^*^^A^^ ^^
The nest is invariably placed
on the ground, in wet places,
and consists merely of a hollow
among the herbage, only slightly lined with grasses and leaves. The eggs,
usually four, are olive gray or olive brown, heavily spotted with deep
brown and purplish gray and average 1.55 by 1.09 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Top of head black, with a median stripe of bufTy white, and a similar one from nostril
over eye to nape; a dusky bar from bill to eye; chin white and unspotted in spring, buffy
brown, more or less streaked, in autumn; neck all around, and upper breast, buffy brown,
streaked with dark brown or black; upper parts brownish black or black, the scapulars
and interscapulars edged with creamy white in spring, rufous in autimin, most of the back
speckled or barred with rufous or buff; lower breast and belly white; sides and axillars
narrowly barred with black and white; tail barred with black and rufous, tips of feathers
often white. Sexes alike and seasonal changes not great, though the autumn dress is
much redder or browner. Length 10 to 12 inches; wing 4.90 to 5.60; cuhnen 2.50 to 2.70.
93. Red-breasted Snipe. Macrorhamphus griseus griseus {Gmel.). (231)
Synonyms: Dowitcher (Deutscher), Brown-back, Grey Snipe, Gray-back. — Scolopax
grisea, Gmel., — Scolopax noveboracensis, Wils., Aud., and others.
Known by its general resemblance to Wilson's Snipe, but the lower
back and rump white, mostly unspotted, and the under parts mainly
cinnamon or buffy brown.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding far north; south in
winter to the West Indies and Brazil.
This is a bird of the shore, not of the bog; moreover it is usually found
in flocks, running about in plain sight on the open mud or sand, in all
which it is entirely unlike Wilson's Snipe.
This does not seem to be a common species in Michigan. Dr. Gibbs
saw a small flock in Kalamazoo county. May 21, 1888; Major Boies says
it is occasionally seen in Hillsdale and Lenawee counties, and that he
observed a few in the spring on the shores of the west side of Neebish
Island (1892-1894). One was killed by J. Claire Wood on a mud flat
180 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
bordering the River Rouge, Wayne county, October 7, 1890, when a small
number were seen (Swales, MS. List, 1904). One was taken by the writer
at Chandler's Marsh, Ingham county, August 26, 1897 and a second specimen
at East Lansing, August 14, 1908.
These two skins were sent to the U. S. National Museum and the identifi-
cation confirmed by Dr. C. W. Richmond. Mr. P. A. Taverner has two
specimens in his collection taken in Wayne county, one on August 26,
1905, and the other, July 14, 1906. The former was doubtfully referred
by Ridgway to the western form, M. scolopaceus, but the latter was
identified as true griseus. More recently both specimens have been ex-
amined by other experts, and compared with better specimens, and it
seems probable that both belong to the eastern subspecies, griseus.
This subspecies so closely resembles the western form (Western Red-
breasted Snipe), that it is impossible to separate the two except with speci-
mens in hand. Michigan seems to be on the dividing line, since both sub-
species have been taken near Chicago, although the present form is more
common (Woodruff, Auk, XIII, 180). In Wisconsin, according to Kumlien
and Hollister, the eastern form was formerly a common migrant, but is now
exceedingly rare. There are in the Milwaukee Public Museum two speci-
mens from Lake Koshkonong, taken in August 1886 (Birds of Wisconsin,
1903, 43).*
The eggs are four, laid in a hollow in moss or grass, usually without any
lining. They are greenish olive to gray, spotted rather coarsely with umber
brown, and average 1.65 by 1.13 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Top of head, scapulars, interscapulars and upper surface of wings, brownish black
or black, more or less streaked or margined with buffy-brown; back of neck ashy brown,
dimly streaked; middle of back pure white, unspotted; rump white, with rounded black
spots; upper tail-coverts and tail evenly and narrowly barred with l)lack and white, about
ten black bars on each tail-feather; chin and belly buffy or soiled whitish; rest of under
parts washed or tinted with brownish buff, obscurely streaked witli dusky on the sides
and under tail-coverts; axillars barred black and white, the bars chevron-shaped, primaries
black, the outer one with a white shaft. Length 10 to 11; wing 5.25 to 5.90; culmen 2 to
2.55 inches.
94. Stilt Sandpiper. Micropalama himantopus (Bonap.). (233)
Synonyms: Long-legged Sandpiper, Frost-snipe. Tringa himantopus, Bonap., 1826,
Nutt., 1834. — Micropalama himantopus, Cass., 1858, Baird, Coucs, Ridgw., A. O. U.
Check-list, 1895.
The long, slightly recurved bill, somewhat widened toward the tip,
and the unusually long shanks (tarsi) are peculiar to this species and will
identify it in any plumage.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding north of United States,
and migrating in winter to Bermuda, West Indies and Central and South
America.
Occurs only as a migrant in Michigan, and that not commonly. Probably
a few pass through the state every season, but they are rarely detected.
According to Dr. Gibbs "D. D. Hughes in his MS. Ornithology of Mich.,
says that Sid Van Horn shot and mounted a fine young specimen taken at a
pond in Calhoun county." The species is mentioned in Miles' list, 1860, but is
omitted by Sager, Cabot, Boies and Trombley. Covert states that it is a
*For further notes on the Western Red-breasted Snipe see Appendix.
WATER BIRDS. 181
rare migrant in all parts of the state, more being killed during August than
at any other time. Three specimens were taken at Ann Arbor, May 4,
1877, and a specimen taken in August 1892 is preserved in the University
of Michigan museum (MS. list 1894-95). There are two mounted specimens
in the Kent Scientific Museum at Grand Rapids, under the single catalogue
number 20313. According to the record one of them is from Grand Rapids,
the other from Toronto, Ont., and both collected by Thos. Harmer. Ac-
cording to E. W. Nelson (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, II, 68) it is a migrant
along Lake Michigan in Cook and Lake counties. 111. It has been taken
in Indiana and Ohio, and was formerly not uncommon in Wisconsin,
although now very irregular (Kumlien and Hollister, Birds of Wisconsin,
1903, page 44).
It nests within the Arctic Circle, and the four eggs are said to be "pale
grayish buff, or grayish buffy white, boldly spotted with vandyke brown
and purplish gray, and average 1.42 by 1.00 inches." (Ridgway).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Hind toe present, bill longer than head, about equal to tarsus, the latter always more
than one and one-half inches long, and less than one and three-quarters inches. Adult
in summer: Back and scapulars mostly black, mixed with some gray and buff; upper tail-
coverts white, with dusky bars and streaks; top of head streaked with dusky and pure white;
ear-coverts and sides of occiput light rust-reel; a dark streak from corner of mouth to eye;
rest of head and neck whitish, streaked with dusky; under parts grayish-white, barred with
dusky. Adult in winter: Upper parts uniform ash or gray, the tail-coverts white, more
or less streaked and barred; upper breast, sides of neck, and lower tail-coverts streaked
with gray; rest of lower parts white, as is also a streak over the eye. Yoimg: Similar,
but browner and bufiier, the rump white, unspotted, the luider parts washed with buff,
sometimes streaked with dusky. Length 7.50 to 9.25 inches; wing 5 to 5.30; culmen
1.55 to 1.75; tarsus 1.55 to 1.70.
95. Knot. Tringa canutus Linn. (234).
Synonyms: Robin Snipe, Red-breasted Sandpiper, Red-breast, Beach Robin, Gray-
back. — Tringa canutus, Linn., 1758, Cass., Baird, Coues, A. O. U. Check-list, 1895. —
Tringa cinerea, Brunn., Gmel., Wils., Nutt. — Tringa islandica, Aud., 1838.
Adults may be known by the cinnamon or brick-red under parts, which
give them the names Robin Snipe and Beach Robin (Carolinas) ; immature
birds are gray above and nearly white below, but the size and proportions
are distinctive. Largest of our beach sandpipers.
Distribution. — Nearly cosmopolitan. Breeds in high northern latitudes,
but visits the southern hemisphere during its migrations.
One of the rare beach birds now, but much more common formerly.
It is one of those species which was extraordinarily al)undant on the Atlantic
coast thirty years ago but which has decreased to such an extent at present
as to be considerecl one of the less common migrants. We have few
positive records for Michigan. Covert states that one was picked up dead
on the Shore of Dead Lake, Washtenaw county, in October, 1876 (Birds of
Washtenaw county, 1878); and J. Claire Wood reports one killed near
Port Austin, Huron county, September 4, 1899 (Auk, XVII, 391). We
recently examined a specimen, apparently a "yearling" which was taken
at^Benton Harbor, Berrien county, June 23, 1904, by Russell Hawkins,
of Grand Rapids, and is now in his collection. He states that there were
about twenty in the flock, and that he killed two, one of which spoiled
before he could prepare the skin. The date is unusually late, but the bird
182 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
was in immature dress and probably the entire flock was composed of non-
breeding birds. Another specimen of the Knot was found in the Kent
Scientific Museum (No. 20215), said to have been collected by Thomas
Harmer, but without other data. We have two well mounted specimens
in the Agricultural College Museum, taken by Albert Hirzel, at Forestville,
Sanilac county, June 20, 1903; Norman A. Wood saw two and secured
one on Charity Island, Saginaw Bay, September 1, 1910, and A. G. Ruthven
took three at Oak Point, south shore of Saginaw Bay, August 20-21, 1908
(Rep. Mich. Geol. and Biol. Surv., Pub. 4, Biol. Ser. 2, 1910, p. 280).
The Knot is mentioned in Steere's list of 1880, and also in Stockwell's
list (Forest and Stream, VII, 22, 361). It is omitted from the Usts of
Sager, Cabot, Miles, Hughes, Trombley, and Boies. E. W. Nelson states
that it formerly occurred in migration along the shore of Lake Michigan
in northeastern Illinois (Bull. Nutt. Club, II, 1877, p. 68). In Wisconsin
it is said to have been a common migrant thirty years ago, in May and June,
and more sparingly in autumn; of late years decidedly rare at any season
(Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, p. 45). It has been taken also occasionally in
Ontario and Ohio, but is never common.
In habits it is a typical sandpiper, preferring the sandy beach to all other
localities, though it often visits the salt marsh, and the shores of ponds
and creeks at a little distance inland. It is always a sociable species and
formerly was invariably seen in flocks, sometimes of large size. These
flew with great rapidity, usually following the outline of the beach only
a few yards from shore and often directly over the breakers. In feeding
the Knot runs swiftly along the beach, following the receding waves to pick
up the minute animals left stranded, and avoiding the returning waves
with great agility and skill.
It nests in the far north — within the Arctic Circle. Only a single egg
is known, and that was taken near Ft. Conger, in latitude 81° 44' north,
by Lieut. A. W. Greely. It is light pea-green, closely spotted with brown
in small specks about the size of a pin head (Auk, II, 1885, 313).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Wing more than six inches long; bill rather longer than head. Adult in svimmer: Light
gray above, more or less mottled with blackish and tinged with rusty; rump and upper
tail-coverts white, with numerous narrow blackish bars; under parts uniform light reddish
or cinnamon, palest on the belly; flanks and under tail-coverts often barred or streaked
with gray; a whitish stripe over the eye, often tinged with cinnamon. Adult in winter:
Similar, but upper parts plain gray, with few darker markings, except the rump and upper
tail-coverts, which are as in summer; imder parts white or grayish white, the neck, breast
and sides barred or streaked with dusky, and with little or no trace of the cinnamon.
Young similar to winter adult, but scapulars and back feathers edged with pure white,
with a sub-edging of black; the top of head and back of neck narrowly striped with dusky.
Length 10 to 11 inches; wing 6.50; cuhnen 1.30 to 1.40; tarsus about 1 25.
96. Grass Snipe. Pisobia maculata (Vieill.). (239)
Synonyms: Pectoral Sandpiper, Jack Snipe, Grass-bird, Meadow-snipe. — Tringa
maculata, Vieill , 1819, Cass., Baird., A. O. U. Check-list, 1895.— Actodromas maculata,
Coues, 18G1, Ridgw., 1881. — Tringa pectoralis, Say, Nutt., Aud.
Figure 53.
Known by its moderate size, gray-brown back, black rump and upper
tail-coverts, thickly streaked chest and throat, white chin and belly, and
bill not over IJ inches.
WATER BIRDS. 183
Distribution. — The whole of North America, the West Indies, and the
greater part of South America. Breeds in the Arctic regions. Of frequent
occurrence in Europe.
This is the bird most often called Jack Snipe, a name also given to Wilson's
Snipe. The present species, though often known under the name of Grass
Snipe, is not entirely confined to
grassy places, but frequents the /
margins of muddy pools and is
occasionally found on the sandy /f _ ^--.--^-!j==:5£^tv,i
shores of ponds and streams. It is ^'[^^^^^^^iksM'^'^^^^^'^'^'lh
an abundant migrant throughout the T^^^^^^^^^^l^rX^S^ V'-'/'f
state, and is one of the best known ^^^-^^^^^-^ ~"" - ^
of the shore birds which occur "' />-
regularly. Ordinarily it is seen in -■_
squads of six to thirty, around grassy "'^
pools in marshes or meadow lands. • ^_::
On August 19, 1897, near Lansing, ^^--^^=SE^^^
the writer saw at least 300 Grass
Snipe about a temporary pool in a Fig. 53. Grass Snipe.
cornfield, associated with YellowlegS, From Baird, Brewer and^RidgwaysW^ater Birds
Killdeer, Solitary Sandpipers, and a of North America. (Little, Brown & Co.)
few Wilson's Snipe. It seems to be more abundant always in fall than in
spring, but occasionally it appears in some numbers in May. When
scattered about in grassy meadows it often lies close and flushes almost
as suddenly as Wilson's Snipe, and in the fall of the year it is considered
good eating.
There is no reason to suppose that it ever nests within our limits. It
passes northward usually before the first of June, and nests only in the
far north, where it lays three or four grayish buff or olive green eggs, heavily
blotched with vandyke brown and purplish gray, which average 1.44 by
1.02 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Top of head, back and scapulars mainly black and brown, each feather mostly black
with a wide margin of brown or buff; neck all around, and most of throat and upper breast,
ashy-gray, thickly and rather sharply streaked with black; chin, upper throat, and abdomen
white or buffy wlnte; sides (under wings) somewhat streaked with brown; axillars white,
unmarked; rump and upper tail-coverts black or brownish black.
Autumn specimens are browner, spring specimens grayer; little or no sexual difference
in color, but females larger than males. Length 8 to 9.50 inches; wing 5 to 5.50; culmen
1.10 to 1.20.
97. White-rumped Sandpiper. Pisobia fuscicollis (VieilL). (240)
Synonyms: Bonaparte's Sandpiper. — Trianga fuscicollis, Vieill., 1819, Coues, 1874,
A. O. U. Check-list, 1895. — Tringa bonapartei., Schleg., Cass., Baird. — Tringa Schinzii,
Bonap., Nutt., Aud.
Characterized by its moderate size (wing about five inches), and white
upper tail-coverts, unspotted or with very few spots indeed.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding in the high north.
In winter, the West Indies, Central and South America, south to the
Falkland Islands. Occasional in Europe.
This is one of our less common sandpipers, yet it doubtless occurs regularly
during migrations, although in small numbers. Dr. Gibbs states that
specimens were killed in Kalamazoo county during 1878 and 1879, by B.
184 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
F. Syke and others; he also states that it has been taken at Petoskey. Jas.
B. Purely states that at Plymouth, Mich., he has seen it but two or three
times, and then as a migrant. B. H. Swales (MS. List of Birds of S. E. Mich.,
1904) says "I have no records. It is not rare around Lake Erie in Monroe
county, according to Trombley." On July 29, 1897, the writer took a
specimen at Chandler's Marsh, north of the Agricultural College, but it
was so badly mutilated and so fat that it was not preserved; subsequently
(Aug. 18, 1897) several specimens were seen at a pool within the city limits
of Lansing. Mr. P. A. Taverner of Detroit, found six specimens at a little
mudhole in Ecorse township, Wayne county, on June 2, 1906, and took
three of them (Auk, XXIII, 1906, 335).
In its general haJjits it resembles closely the Grass Snipe, or Pectoral
Sandpiper, Avith which it often associates.
About the southern end of Lake Michigan it was formerly more abundant
than at present. Nelson says: "Rather uncommon migrant (in northern
lUinois). June 9, 1876 I obtained one specimen and saw c^uite a number
of others upon the lake shore near Waukegan. Mr. R. P. Clark informs
me that he has taken it late in autumn upon the lake shore near Chicago "
(Bull. Essex Inst. Vol. VIII, 1876, p. 127). It has also been taken in
Ohio, Ontario, and Wisconsin, but seems to be nowhere abundant.
It nests in Arctic regions in June and July, laying four eggs in a mere
hollow in the ground, with scarcely any lining. The eggs are reddish
drab, spotted with dark brown and black, and average 1.37 by .94 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Upper parts buff or brownish-gray, mottled and streaked with black, much as in the
preceding species, but the rump dusky and the upper tail-coverts pure white, or with a
few arrow-marks of dusky; chin and upper throat white; lower neck and breast, as well
as sides, spotted and streaked with dusky. In autumn the plumage shows more rusty
coloration, especially above, and immature (young of the year) birds often have white
or buff tips on the scapulars and interscapulars. Length 6.75 to 8 inches; wing 4.90 to
5; culmen .90 to 1.
98. Baird's Sandpiper. Pisobia bairdi (Coues). (241)
Synonyms: Actodromas bairdii, Coues, 1861, Ridgw., 1881. — Tringa bairdii, A. O.
U. Check-list, 1895.
Most closely resembles the White-rumped Sandpiper, with which it was
confused for many years, and for which it is often mistaken even now.
Baird's Sandpiper has brownish-black instead of white upper tail-coverts,
and autumn specimens are lighter below than the White-rumped Sandpiper,
and have a buffy tint on the breast, but, except for the white tail-coverts,
very careful examination would be needed to discriminate the two species.
Distribution. — Nearly the whole of North and South America, but
chiefly the interior of North and the western portions of South America,
south to Chili and Patagonia. Breeds in Alasks and on the Barren Grounds.
Rare along the Atlantic coast, and not yet recorded from the Pacific coast
of the United States.
This bird, which normally inhabits the interior-region to the west of Mich-
igan, appears to be not uncommon in the neighborhood of the Great Lakes
during the migrations, although for a considerable time it was regarded
as one of the rarest of our sandpipers. According to B. H. Swales (MS.
List of Birds of S. E. Mich., 1904) the first state record was made by J. C.
WATER BIRDS. 185
Wood, who obtained specimens in August, 1890, near the River Rouge.
Mr. Newell A. Eddy of Bay City, took two specimens on Saginaw Bay,
Sept. 11, 1891, four more Sept. 1, 1893, and several others Sept. 23, 1893.
One of those taken in 1893 was examined, and the identification verified,
by Dr. T. S. Palmer, of the Biological Survey, Washington, D. C, and the
writer also examined two of Mr. Eddy's specimens in November, 1904.
Mr. A. B. Covert took a specimen near Ann Arbor, August 15, 1893; Leon
J. Cole took one on the Lake Michigan shore, in Ottawa County, August
20, 1895, and several more were taken at the same place August 24 to 26,
1896, by L. J. Cole, T. L. Hankinson, and W. E. MulUken. Two of these
latter specimens are now in the collection of the Agricultural College, and
one (No. 24387) in the Kent Scientific Museum, Grand Rapids. There
is another specimen of Baird's Sandpiper in the same collection, which was
taken in Charlevoix county, September 6, 1879, and Mr. Leon J. Cole
informs us that on the back of the original label was written " T. bonapartii,"
and if ever reported in any list or otherwise it was as the White-rumped
Sandpiper. Mr. R. H. Wolcott states that he found Baird's Sandpiper
along the river at Grand Rapids at the end of August, 1897, and F. H.
Chapin states that he has seen it in Emmet, Cheboygan and Charlevoix
counties in August and September. Five individuals were seen on the
Charity Islands, Saginaw Bay, two on August 23 and three on August 24,
1910 (N. A. Wood, Wilson liulletin, XXIII, No. 2, 1911, 90). J. Claire
Wood says it is "common in July and August near Detroit, Wayne county"
(Auk, XVII, 390). On the other hand, according to Swales (MS. List of
Birds of St. Clair county, 1904), there is no authentic record for St. Clair
county.
In its habits it does not seem to differ much from its near relative the
White-rumped Sandpiper, and the descriptions of its notes, food, and
nesting habits are more or less confused with those of the latter species.
It nests far north, and lays four light buff eggs, thickly spotted with brown,
averaging 1.30 by .93 inches.
Professor Aughey examined the stomachs of five specimens taken in
Nebraska in October, 1873, 1874, and found locusts in three stomachs
and numerous other insects in all (1st Rept. U. S. Entom. Com., Appendix
II, 52).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Wing between 4.50 and 5 inches; median upper tail-coverts brownish black, the lateral
coverts much lighter. Ground color of entire upper parts i)ale grayish brown, often with
a buffy tint, always more or less streaked or spotted with dark brown or blackish, the
markings darkest and sharpest on top of head and interscapulars, lightest and most diffuse
on back of neck; chin and most of mider parts pure wliite or buffy white, tiie throat and
chest alone darker buff and sometimes indistinctly streaked with dark brown or blackish.
In winter the adult is less distinctly streaked above, and little or not at all below, wliile
young birds are distinctly streaked with brown or blackish on the chest and tliroat, ami
the scapulars, interscapulars, tertiaries and most of the wing coverts arc sharply edged
or tipped with pure white. Length 7 to 7.fiO inches; wing 4.00 to 4.85; culmen .90 to 1;
tarsus 1.
99. Least Sandpiper. Pisobia minutilla {Vicill.). (242)
Synonyms: Sand-peep, Little Sand-peep, Peep. — Tringa minutilla, Vieill., 1S19.—
Actodromas minutilla, Bonap., ISoG, Ridg^v., 188L — Tringa pu.silla, Wils., Sw. and Rich.,
Aud.— Tringa wilsonii, Nutt., 1834, Baird, 1859.
Recognizable by its small size (wing less than four inches), toes witliout
webs at base, and rump and median upper tail-coverts black.
186 MICHIGAN^BIRD LIFE.
Distribution. — The whole of North and South America, breeding north
of United States. Accidental in Europe.
This is one of the commonest of the sandpipers and occurs regularly
in spring and fall in suitable places, both on the lake shores and in the
interior, usually in squads of 3 to 10, or more rarely in flocks of 20 to 50.
On the Atlantic coast flocks of 200 to 500 are not uncommon in favorite
feeding places, but I have never heard of its occurrence in large flocks in
Michigan. It passes northward in May and June, the great majority
during the former month, but a few remain until after the first of June,
sometimes even until the 10th or 15th of the month. It reappears in July,
always as early as the 20th, sometimes by the 10th, and is usually abundant
through August, while some may remain until October.
While with us it frequents sandy and muddy shores, and particularly
the muddy pools in marshes, sloughs, and fields almost anywhere. The
temporary ponds formed by the heavy thunder showers of August are
commonly well patronized by this species, often accompanied by the
Semipalmated Sandpiper and the Grass Snipe, together with several larger
species. Usually it is very unsuspicious and especially when in small
squads will feed unconcernedly at a distance of four or five yards from the
observer. It eats vast numbers of minute aquatic animals, but also feeds
largely on insects, including injurious locusts.
We have no reason to believe that it ever nests within our limits, and the
argument sometimes advanced, that it could not leave here the first week
in June, proceed northward to Arctic regions and rear its young and be
back again by the middle of July, is based on an entire misconception of
the facts. The great majority of the birds go northward before the first
of June, and doubtless those which go north first are the ones which return
earliest in July; on the other hand those which linger until the middle of
June may not return to us with their young before the last of August, which
allows plenty of time for nesting. It is a well known fact, moreover, that
not all the individuals of a species nest every season, and it is entirely
possible that some of those we see in midsummer are not breeding birds.
Nevertheless Mr. E. W. Nelson found this species nesting along the
Calumet River in northeastern Illinois, on the 5th of June, 1875, and another
observer found several of them near Waukegan, Illinois, the first of July,
1875, and is certain that they nested in the vicinity (Bull. Essex Inst.,
VIII, 1876, 127).
Its usual breeding grounds are far north of the United States, where it
nests on the ground, laying three or four pale buffy or brownish eggs,
thickly spotted with brown and purplish, and averaging 1.15 by .83 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Smallest of our sandpipers, about six inches long and not heavier than an English
Sparrow. Upper parts mostly black, the feathers edged or streaked with buff or brown;
central upper tail-coverts black, unspotted; lateral upper tail-coverts white; chest and
part of throat white or grayish white, thickly streaked with brownish black; chin and rest
of under parts, including under-tail coverts, pure white. Autumn adults have the chin
grayish or spotted and the upper parts more rusty than in spring, while young of the year
have an ashy pectoral band, with tlie dark streaks more or less indistinct or wanting,
and many of the scapulars and interscapulars margined with pure white. Length 5 to 6.75
inches; wing 3.50 to 3.75; culmen .75 to .92.
WATER BIRDS. l8?
100. Red-backed Sandpiper. Pelidna alpina sakhalina (Vieill.). (243a)
Synonyms: Black-bellied Sandpiper, Red-backed Dunlin, American Dunlin, Black-
heart Plover (Ontario). — -Tringa alpina, Wils., Nutt., Aud.— Tringa alpina var. americana,
Baird, 1859, Coues, 1872.— Tringa alpina pacifica, Coues, 1861, A. O. U. Check-list, 1895.
A medium sized sandpiper (wing about 4f inches), known in' any
plumage by the rather long bill (about H inches) bent slightly downward,
like a curlew's, for the terminal third.
Distribution. — North America in general, breeding far north. Eastern
Asia.
This is one of the scarcely common, but regular, migrants, and apparently
pretty evenly distributed throughout the state. It is sometimes seen in
small flocks, but more often singly or in squads of 3 to 5, not infrequently
in flocks of other species. It was taken by F. L. Washburn at Ann Arbor,
May 14, 1888; P. A. Taverner found about a dozen on Sarnia Bay, May 26,
1901; Hubert L. Clark saw one on the shore of Long Lake, Brookfield,
May 24, 1904; A. W. Blain, Jr., killed one at St. Clair Flats, November
20, 1904; Newell A. Eddy finds it not uncommon on Saginaw Bay, and took
several specimens October 3, 1890, and a male October 5, 1891; Dr. Gibbs
records two taken at Austin's Lake, Kalamazoo county. May 25, 1878, by
Geo. B. Sudworth, and several seen and one killed at Humphry's Lake,
May 31, 1883; Purdy took one specimen at Plymouth in the spring of 1891,
and Swales states that it is occasionally reported at St. Clair Flats by J.
Claire Wood, and on St. Clair River. Major Boies says that it is frequently
seen on the south and east shores of Neebish Island, St. Mary's River,
in the fall (Bull. Mich. Orn. Club I, 1897, 20). We have three specimens
in the Agricultural College Museum, taken at Forestville, Sanilac county
by Albert Hirzel; and Norman A. Wood reports a flock of about twenty
at Oak Point, south shore of Saginaw Bay, August 20, 1908 (Rep. Mich.
Geol. and Biol. Surv., 1910, Pub. 4, Biol. Ser. 2, p. 291).
W. A. Oldfield recorded the nesting of this bird at Port Sanilac, Sanilac
county, where he took a nest, three eggs and parent bird (Cook, Birds of
Mich., 2d ed., 59). This record has been questioned, and at first sight
seems very improbable, since the species usually nests in Arctic and sub-
Arctic regions; but when we remember how many northern waders Nelson
and others found nesting in northeastern Illinois, it is scarcely wise to
condemn Oldfield's record as untrustworthy. Unfortunately the bird
taken with the eggs was never examined by a recognized ornithologist,
and both bird and eggs were destroyed by the burning of Mr. Oldfield's
house, when he lost his entire collection.
As with most other sandpipers, the eggs are laid on the ground, in an im-
perfectly lined nest, and are three or four in number, buffy or brownish,
spotted with dark brown. They average 1.43 by 1.01 inches.
Formerly this species seems to have been more abundant in the Great
Lake region, and as late as May, 1899, according to Kumlien and Hollister
"53 individuals were killed by the discharge of a double-barreled shot-gun"
(Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, 47). This bird is less suspicious than many of
the sandpipers, and being large enough to serve as food is frequently
killed in considerable numbers.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Wing between 4.25 and 4.75 inches, median upper tail-covcrts dark like the back, bill
distinctly longer than the head, gently curved downward. Adult in spring and summer:
i88 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Top of head, back, scapulars, tertiaries, lesser wing-coverts and median upper tail-coverts,
bright reddish-brown or rusty, each feather with a black streak or spot; lower breast
and belly with a more or less extensive black patch, sometimes with a few whitish feathers
intermixed; chin, breast and sides, pure white or pale grayish-white with a very few narrow
black shaft stripes; sides of head, neck all round, and chest clear grayish-white, more or
less distinctly streaked with dusky, the breast spots often arrow-shaped. Adult in winter:
plain ash-gray above, without streaks or spots except some indistinct dusky shaft stripes;
median upper tail-coverts blackish, the lateral ones nearly white; forehead, chin and most
of under parts pure white or grayish white, the throat and chest more or less distinctly
streaked with darker ash; no trace of the abdominal black patch. Young: Similar to
winter adult, but feathers of back more or less margined with rusty or buff and tipped
with white.
Length 7.60 to 8.75 inches; wing 4.30 to 4.75; culmen 1.15 to 1.40; tarsus .85 to 1.
101. Semipalmated Sandpiper. Ereunetes pusillus {Linn.). (246)
Synonyms: Peep, Sand-peep, Little Peep. — Tringa pusilla, Linn., 1766. — Tringa
semipalmata, Wils., Sw. and Rich., Aud. — Ereuntes pusillus of most authors.
Very similar in coloration to the Least Sandpiper and of about the same
size (wing less than four inches), though the rump is ashy instead of black;
it can always be separated from the Least Sandpiper, however, by the fact
that the toes are plainly webbed at base.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding north of the United
States; south in winter to the West Indies and South America.
A common bird in migration, appearing and disappearing at about the
same times as the Least Sandpiper, with which it is often associated. It
frequents the same localities and has in all respects essentially similar
habits excepting that the Semipalmated Sandpiper has never been found
nesting within the United States.
Butler states that in Indiana it is generally uncommon, but usually
more numerous in spring than the Least Sandpiper (Birds of Indiana,
1897, p. 715). In Wisconsin it is quite abundant during migrations, and
according to Kumlien and Hollister "so many are summer residents that
one usually gets the impression that it nests. Evidence of breeding is
however entirely lacking, although specimens shot on Lake Koshkonong
June 16, 1897, contained ova the size of medium hazelnuts and were in full
breeding plumage." (Birds of Wisconsin 1903, 47). E. W. Nelson also
found it in northeastern Illinois where he says that it is "a very abundant
migrant and many remain through the summer. From repeated dissec-
tions I am confident these are barren birds and, as Mr. Maynard suggests,
probably young of the preceding year." (Bull. Essex Inst. VIII, 1876,
126-127).
It nests commonly in Labrador and the Hudson Bay region, laying
three or four dull grayish-buff eggs, spotted with dark brown and purplish
gray, and averaging 1.21 by .85 inches (Ridgway).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Upper parts mottled black and gray, the central upper tail-coverts alone being clear
black or brownish black; marginal upper tail-coverts white; lower parts pure wliite except
for a pectoral band of ashy gray, more or less streaked with dusky or black, the streaks
most distinct and numerous in summer birds, indistinct or wanting in winter and in young
of the year; the latter also show some rusty, buffy or white edgings on the feathers of the
back. The bill is about the same length as that of the Least Sandpiper, but much broader
in proportion. Length 5.25 to 6.75 inches; wing 3.65 to 4; culmen .68 to .92.
WATER BIRDS. 189
102. Sanderling. Calidris leucophaea (Pallas). (248)
Synonyms: Beach Bird, Surf Snipe, White Snipe. — Tringa leucophsea. Pall., 1764. —
Tringa arenaria, Linn., 1766. — Calidris arenaria of most authors.
The only Beach Bird of its size with but three toes — the hind toe lacking.
It is also probably the palest or whitest of the sandpipers, young birds and
adults in the fall being pure white below, and white, speckled thinly with
darker, above. In flight the compact flocks, light bodies, dark wings, and
conspicuous white wing-bars, are good recognition marks.
Distribution. — Nearly cosmopolitan, breeding in the Arctic and sub-
Arctic regions, migrating, in America, south to Chili and Patagonia.
This seems to be a rather common species along the shores of the Great
Lakes during migration, but is seldom met with in the interior. Dr. Gibbs
states that so far as he knows it has never been taken in Kalamazoo county.
Mr. Newell A. Eddy has found it abundant some years on the shores of
Saginaw Bay. He took a dozen or more October 3, 1890, and found it
abundant again Sept. 26, 1896. Leon J. Cole calls it an abundant fall
migrant along the shore of Lake Michigan at Grand Haven, and JNIajor
Boies observed it on the east shore of Neebish Island in the spring of 1893.
The only record which I have been able to find for any point not on the
shore of the Great Lakes is a record of four seen at Ann Arbor, August 26,
1899, by Chas. L. Cass. A very late record is that of a male taken by
Hirzel at Forestville, Sanilac county, November 24, 1903, and now in the
Agricultural College Museum.
This is a typical beach species and is usually seen feeding at the very
edge of the water, following the retreating waves and picking up particles
of food, in Michigan mainly insects, left by the water. It rarely visits the
upper parts of the beach, and still more rarely, if at all, the grassy or muddy
ponds inland. In flight the members of the flock keep close together, yet
always preserve about the same distance, and they act practically like a
single bird, all rising and falling, turning to right or left, Avheeling or alight-
ing with the utmost uniformity and precision. Ordinarily they are one of
the least suspicious of the shore birds and may be approached very closely
while feeding.
They nest only in the far north and their eggs have been taken only a few
times. The nest is placed on the ground and sometimes at a considerable
distance from the water, which is surprising in a species which ordinarily
loves to have its feet wet all the time. The eggs are three or four, light
olive-brown, spotted and speckled with darker, and average 1.41 by .91
inches.
According to Elliot "its food consists of minute mollusca, Crustacea,
worms, insects, and in the far north it has been observed to eat the buds
of saxifrage" (North Am. Shore Birds, 1895, 102, 103).
TECHNIC.VL DESCRIPTION.
Toes throe in fronf , no trace of a hind toe. Bill about as long as licad, slender, straight
black. Adult in sununcr: Upper parts pale rusty with numerous black spots and many
featliers tipped witli white; imder parts mainly white, the throat and breast washed with
rusty and finely speckled and lined witli blackish; a conspicuous white wing-band formed
by tips of greater coverts; basal parts of inner primaries also wliite, tlic outer webs and tips
of all blackish, the sliafts wliitc. Ailult in s]iring: Top of head, occiput, back and
scapulars, black, coarsely mottled with grayish white, often some feathers showing rusty
edgings; Ijack of neck grayish white, more or less striped with pale brown; entire under
parts spotless white, the throat and chest often shaded lightly with pale rust-red. Some
190 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
late migrants arc quite ruddy on the chest, while others show liardly a trace of rusty above
or below. Length 7 to 8.75 inches; wing 4.70 to 5; cuhnen .95 to 1; tarsus .90 to L05.
103. Marbled Godwit. Limosa fedoa (Linn.). (249)
Synonyms: Great Marbled Godwit, Great Godwit, Red Curlew, Brant Bird, Red
Marlin, Brown Marlin, Spike-bill. — Scolopax fedoa, Linn., 1758. — Scolopax marmorata,
Lath., 1790.— Limosa fedoa, Ord, Aud., Nutt., and most recent authors.
A snipe-like bird of large size (wing about nine inches), known from its
relatives by the long bill (3 J inches or over) which has a distinct upward
curve all the way from base to tip. and by the cinnamon color of the lining
of the wings.
Distribution. — North America; breeding in the interior (from Iowa and
Nebraska, northward to Manitoba and the Saskatchewan), migrating in
winter to Guatemala, Yucatan, and Cuba.
This is a rare species in Michigan at the present time, but seems to have
been less so formerly. Covert records the capture of a female on Clam Lake,
Cadillac, May 3, 1881 (Marginal notes in Coues Key), and Hazelwood
states that it is "less common in September on the Michigan shore of Lake
Huron near Port Huron" (MS. List, 1904). L. Whitney Watkins has a
specimen in his collection, marked "Monroe Flats, 1881," which was
obtained from a taxidermist at Manchester, Michigan many years ago.
A mounted specimen in the Kent Scientific Museum (No. 20063) is marked
"D. D. Hughes, Grand Rapids," but bears no date. It seems to be in
autumnal pfumage. There is also a nicely mounted adult in the Barron
collection at Niles, but without data.
The Marbled Godwit is said to be decidedly rare in Wisconsin, Illinois,
and Ohio at present. It was formerly an abundant bird of the prairie
regions west of the Mississippi, but of late years seems to be found in
numbers only about the alkali lakes and large bodies of shallow water in
the far west. According to Kumlien and Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin,
1903, 48) "Mr. H. Nehrling gives it as breeding in the Northern Peninsula
of Michigan," but I am not able to verify this statement.
It is said to nest most commonly in Manitoba and the Saskatchewan
region, but it also nests in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Nebraska, and other
western states. The nest is placed on the ground, and the eggs are pale
olive to light grayish buff, rather sparsely spotted with dark brown and
dull purplish gray, and average 2.27 by 1.60 inches.
Professor Aughey found it feeding freely on locusts in Nebraska in 1867
and 1874, but says that it never feeds exclusively on them; he found from
30 to 45 other insects in each of the stomachs examined (1st Rep. U. S.
Entom. Com. Appendix 2, p. 53).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tail and its upper coverts cinnamon or buff, barred with black or brown; axillars and
under wing-coverts also cinnamon. Chin white; rest of underparts buffy white to pale
cinnamon, streaked on the throat, and more or less thickly barred on breast and sides
with brown or brownish black; entire top of head and back and sides of neck brown, streaked
with ashy or buffy white; rest of upper parts brown, the feathers variously spotted, barred,
edged or tipped with buffy white or cinnamon; wings mainly brownish black, the outer
primaries bufi'y on the inner webs and with white or buffy shafts; basal half of bill flesh -
colored, the remainder brown or black; legs and feet dark slate. Adults are more heavily
barred below than the yomig, which often are entirely without dark markings on breast,
sides and belly. Apparently there is little or no difference in the sexes. Length 16.50
to 20.50 inches; wing 8.50 to 9; culmen 3.50 to 5; tarsus 2.50 to 3.
WATER BIRDS. 191
104. Hudsonian Godwit. Limosa haemastica (Linn.). (251)
Synonyms: Black-tailed Godwit, White-rump, Black-tailed Marlin. — Scolopax haema-
stica, Linn., 1758. — Limosa hudsonica, Sw. and Rich., Nutt., Aud., and other authors,
Limosa haemastica of more recent writers.
Similar to the preceding but somewhat smaller, and with the rump
and upper tail-coverts pure white, unspotted. This mark, together with
the slender, nearly straight, but slightly up-curved bill, should identify
the bird in any plumage.
Distribution. — Eastern North America and the whole of middle and
South America. Breeds only in the far north.
Not common anywhere in the United States, probably less abundant
than the Marbled Godwit. It is also more northern in its summer distribu-
tion, nesting in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, for example, on the Barren
Grounds of British America, in the Anderson River region, etc. In Mich-
igan it occurs only as a very rare migrant and records are very few at best.
According to Dr. Gibbs, the late D. D. Hughes had a specimen taken in
Calhoun county in April, 1868. There is one (an adult in spring plumage)
in the Barron collection at Niles, without data, but probably taken there.
Mcllwraith states that he has seen it in spring at St. Clair Flats, and also
on the shore of Hamilton Bay (Ontario), where the specimen in his collec-
tion was obtained (Birds of Ontario, 1894, 149). Trombley records it from
the shore of Lake Erie, near Monroe (Swales SIS. List, 1904). It seems to
be rare in neighboring states, although specimens have been recorded
from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The latest instance of its
nearby capture is a male taken at Point Pelee, Ont., north shore of Lake
Erie, May 13, 1905, by P. A. Taverner.
It nests on the ground, laying four deep olive eggs, sometimes unmarked,
but oftener spotted or mottled with darker brown, and averaging 2.20 by
1.42 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tail black, with white base and tip, the tail-coverts with a broad white band. Summer
adult: Head and neck pale chestnut, streaked with dusky; lower parts deeper chestnut,
barred with dusky; back, etc., blackish, irregularly varied with buffy. Winter plumage:
Back, etc. plain, dull brownish gray; head, neck and lower parts dull whitish or pale grayish
buffy, shaded with brownish gray anteriorily. Young: Back, etc. dull brownish gray,
each feather marked with a submarginal dusky crescent and margined terminally with
buffy, the belly whitish and chest more grayish. Length 14 to 16.75 inches; wing 8.10
to 8.60; culmen 2.85 to 3.45; tarsus 2.25 to 2.50 (Ridgway).
105. Greater Yellowlegs. Tetanus melanoleucus (Gnicl). (254)
Synonyms: Big Yellowlegs, Winter Yellowlegs, Tell-tail, Stone Snipe. — Scolopax
melanoleuca, Gmel., 1789. — Gambetta melanoleuca, Bonap., 1856. — Tetanus vociferus,
Vieill., 1816. — Totanus melanoleucus of recent authors.
Figure 54-
The combination of the slender, straight bill about 2} inches in length,
long yellow legs, and nearly white rump, always speckled more or less, is
peculiar to this species.
Distribution. — America in general, breeding from Iowa and northeastern
Illinois, etc. northward, and migrating south to Chili and Argentine
RepubUc.
192 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
This and the Lesser Yellowlegs are two of the best known waders in the
state. They are often found associated in large flocks on their feeding
grounds, but when
alarmed commonly
gather in flocks by
themselves as they
take flight. Their fa-
vorite resorts for feed-
ing are grassy or
muddy pools, and
they often collect in
Fig. 54. Leg and Foot of Yellowlegs.
large numbers on sand-spits and sand-bars where they rest, preen their
feathers, and feed listlessly here and there in shallow water.
They are favorite birds with the gunner, who shoots them from a blind,
attracting them to his decoys by means of the whistle, which they answer
all too readily. Their ordinary call is a clear, mellow whistle, which can
be heard at a great distance (at least a mile in favorable weather), and is
written by Chapman as "When, wheu-wheu-wheu-wheu, when, wheu-
wheu." When answering the whistle, or when induced to return by the
cries of their wounded or deserted comrades, they have a habit of floating
quietly on extended wings for many seconds at a time, making a tempting
mark for the gunner. They fly in rather compact flocks and often as they
turn, their lower backs or rumps look pure white although really spotted
with black.
This species is supposed to linger longer at the north than the Lesser
Yellowlegs, and hence is called Winter Yellowlegs. As a matter of fact
there seems to be little difference in the movements of the two species.
They appear in Michigan in April, linger until the last of INIay, return again
from the north in July, often by the middle, and remain through August,
September, and occasionally well into October. It must not be supposed
that any single bird or flock remains for any great length of time in the
same place, but flocks linger a few days in a spot, pass on to the south and
are replaced by others of their kind. Probably the heaviest flights occur
during the first half of May and through the month of August.
It nests mainly north of the United States, but has been known to breed
in northeastern Illinois (Nelson, Bull. Essex Inst. VIII, 128-129) and in
southern Wisconsin (Kumlien and Hollister, Birds of Wisconsin, 1903,
49); however, there is no record of its breeding in Michigan. The nest is
placed on the ground, in or near a marsh; the eggs are three or four, brownish
buff, irregularly spotted with dark brown, and average 1.79 by 1.28 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill stniight or slightly curved upward, the nasal groove extending less than half way
to tip. Adult in summer: Upper parts mainly black or Inowiiish-black and white, the
white in streaks on head and neck, in l)ars and spots on hack, sc;ipulars and wing-coverts;
rump and upper tail-coverts white or nearly so, with a few spots and bars of brown or black.
Under parts mainly pure wliite, heavily spotted on lower throat and breast with black,
the sides and flanks barred with black; tail barred with brown or black and white; primaries
blackish, the outer one with a white shaft. Adult in winter: Similar but much lighter col-
ored above; the head and neck mainly ashy gray, streaked with pale brown, the back, etc.,
olive brown, the edges of the feathers with alternate dusky and white spots; the lower
throat, chest, sides of breast, and flanks more or less streaked and spotted with brown
and ashy, but without distinct rounded black spots. Bill black or greenish black, legs
and feet yellow. Length 12 to 15 inches; wing 7.50 to 7.75; culmen 2.20 to 2.30; tarsus
2.50 to 2.75.
The early spring migrants are variously intermediate in plumage between the winter
WATER BIRDS. 193
and summer dress, but those which linger until June assume the nearly perfect breeding
plumage. Autumn specimens are also more or less intermediate, but the winter plumage
predominates.
106. Lesser Yellowlegs. Totanus flavipes (Gmel.). (255)
Synonyms: Yellowlegs, Summer Yellowlegs, Little Yellowlegs, Little Tell-tale, Yellow-
shanks. — Scolopax flavipes, Gmel., 1789. — Gambetta flavipes, Bonap., 1856. — ^Totanus
fla^dpes, Vieill., and authors generally.
Known by its close resemblance to the preceding, and its smaller size.
It has the same nearly straight bill, less than 1| inches long, also the same
yellow legs, and the white rump slightly barred with black.
Distribution. — America in general, breeding in the cold temperate and
subarctic districts, and migrating south in winter to southern South Am-
erica. Less common in w^estern than in eastern North America.
In Michigan this bird has practically the same habits and distribution
as the Greater Yellowlegs, which it so closely resembles, and with which
it is commonly found. Its notes are practically the same, its feeding
habits identical, and it answers the whistle, comes to the decoys, and
behaves in every way precisely like its larger relative. The main difference
observable is that the Lesser Yellowlegs is commonly much more abundant
than the Greater Yellowlegs, being seen frequently in flocks of 100 or 200
individuals, while the Greater Yellowlegs is seen lay dozens or scores.
In many locahties it Hngers until the first or even the second week in
June, and by the middle of July flocks begin to return from the north.
]\Ir. Swales noted the first migrants at Detroit on July 9, 1905, and ]\Ir.
J. Claire Wood says they were back July 1, 1906. Our latest fall record
at Lansing is October 28, 1906, when a flock of eleven was found wading
and swimming in a pool near the College.
Its nesting range seems to be precisely the same as for the Greater
Yellowlegs, and like that species it has been found nesting in northern
Illinois and in Wisconsin, but not in Michigan. The eggs are buff, distinctly
spotted with dark brown and purplish gray, and average 1.73 by 1.14
inches.
Its food consists mainly of the smaller forms of animal life which abound
in shallow waters, including large numbers of insects and insect larvre.
In Nebraska Professor Aughey found locusts in five stomachs taken in
October 1874, as well as large numbers of other insects.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill straight or very slightly curved upward, and nasal groove extending more than
half way to tip. Colors of plumage, bill, and legs essentially the same as in the Greater
Yellowlegs, the summer and winter dress varying also in the same way.
Length 9.50 to 11 inches; wing 6.10 to 6.65; culmen 1.30 to 1.55; tarsus 2 to 2.15.
107. Solitary Sandpiper. Helodromas solitarius solitarius (Wilson). (256)
Synonyms: Big Sandpiper, Tip-up, Teeterer. — Tringa solitaria, Wils., 1813. — Totanus
solitarius, Aud., 1839, Coues, 1872. — Rhyacophilus solitarius, Cass, in Baird, 1858. —
Totanus chloropygias, Vieill., 1816, Nutt., 1834.
Figure 55.
Slightly larger than the common Tip-up or Spotted Sandpiper, for which
it is likely to be mistaken; but it is always darker above (sometimes quite
25
194 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
black), never spotted below (though the chest may be clouded or in-
distinctly streaked in the fall), and the bill is black, slender, perfectly
straight, and always a little over an inch long.
Distribution. — -North America, breeding occasionally in the northern
United States, more commonly northward, and migrating southward as
far as the Argentine Repubhc and Peru.
Unlike most of our sandpipers this bird is essentially sohtary in its habits
and is never seen in compact flocks. Four or five may be found feeding
on the edge of the same pool, and once or twice I have seen a score or more
in the compass of an acre, but scattered among hundreds of other waders,
thrown together by a common interest in the unusually good feeding ground.
While the Solitary Sandpiper frequents all the places in which the other
sandpipers are found, it evinces a special preference for pools in the woods,
and for marshy places which have become overgrown more or less with thick-
Fig. 55. Solitary Sandpiper.
From photograph of mounted specimen. (Original.)
ets and brush. Not infrequently it is found about the mossy, leaf-choked,
branch-strewn puddles in the deep swamps, where the big trees shut out
the sky above, and the Large-billed Waterthrush keeps it company among
the decaying stumps and half submerged roots. When flushed it usually
flies with unexpected swiftness, rises at a sharp angle to a height of several
hundred feet, and then flies wildly for a moment or two, and often returns
and alights near the place from which it started. Almost invariably it
utters a sharp whistle of three or four notes as it rises, not particularly
loud, but high-pitched, penetrating, and very characteristic. While
feeding it runs about and bobs its head and tail somewhat like a common
Tip-up, but the movements are much more abrupt and jerky, and there
is far less of the graceful swinging motion so prettily shown by that bird.
WATER BIRDS. 195
Often when standing quietly otherwise it will jerk its head and body stiffly
upward and back again, precisely as if moved by a hiccough.
It reaches southern ^Michigan the last week in April or the first in May,
disappears by the first of June, returns from the north during the latter
half of July and soon moves southward, although stragglers linger into
or even through September. During the fall of 1906 this species was com-
mon at Lansing all through September, and 6 or 8 were seen October 3.
In the northern half of the state a few remain all summer, and it is very
likely that an occasional pair may nest even in the southern counties.
Singularly enough its nesting habits remain totally unknown, and al-
though several collectors claim to have taken the eggs, there is no unques-
tionable specimen in any museum or private collection so far as we know.
An egg is said to have been taken from a nest on the ground, at Lake
Bomaseen, Vt., by Jenness Richardson, May 28, 1878 (Bull. Nutt. Club,
III, 1878, 197); Dr. C. K. Clarke claims to have found a nest and eggs on
Simcoe Island, Lake Ontario, June 10, 1898 (Auk, XV, 328, 329) ; and more
recently Walter Raine records the taking of three sets of eggs in northern
Alberta, one set in the summer of 1903, the other two in 1904, by Evan
Thomson, one of his collectors (Oologist, XXI, 1904, pp. 165-167). The
eggs from Alberta were taken from olcl nests of the Cedar Waxwing and the
Robin, placed in trees several feet above the ground; the Vermont and
Simcoe Island eggs were from nests on the ground. For one reason or
another no one of these records is entirely satisfactory and it remains for
some reliable ornithologist to clear up the mystery surrounding the nesting
of this species. There is a growing belief that it always nests in trees,
using the deserted nest of some other bird, a habit unknown in any American
Sandpiper, but said to be the rule with the European Green Sandpiper, H.
ochropus, which very closely resembles our bird.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill slender, straight, black, longer than the head; legs and feet greenish black. Advilt
in summer: Olive-brown above, with a greenish cast, dotted or speckled with white;
lower throat, chest, and sides of breast streaked with dusky; rest of imder parts pure white;
axillars barred with black and white; middle tail-feathers like the back, but spotted with
white along the margins; other tail-feathers with about five narrow bars of black, the
interspaces and tips white; primaries black with a purplish gloss, none of the shafts white
on the upper side. Adult in winter: Similar, but with fewer white markings above, and
the dusky streaks of throat and chest less distinct; a dark loral stri])e, bordered above by
a short white stripe. Young: Grayer about the head and nock, the top of head, back,
and scapulars, thickly marked with dots of rusty or buff. Length 7.50 to 8.(30 inches;
wing 5 to 5.40; culmen 1.15 to 1.30; tarsus 1.25 to 1.90.
108. Bartramian Sandpiper. Bartramia longicauda (Bechst.). (261)
Synonyms: liartram's Tattler, T pland Plover, Field Plover, Prairie Pigeon. Prairie
Plover.— Tringa longicauda, Bechst., 1812.— Tringa Bartramia, Wils., Aud., Nutt.—
Totanus Bartramius, Temm. — Actiturus Bartramius, Bonap.
Plate X.
The bill is too short for the ideal sandpiper and too long and slender
for a plover. The lengthened tail, and the outer primary sharply barred
with black and white are good recognition marks.
Distribution.— North America, mainly east of the Rocky Mountains,
196 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
north to Nova Scotia and Alaska, breeding throughout most of its North
American range: migrating in winter southward as far as Brazil, Peru (and
Argentina (W. 13. B.). Occasional in Europe.
This beautiful bird is one of the species which was formerly abundant
throughout the state, but has become distressingly scarce within the last
twenty years. Even ten years ago it was fairly common in suitable places
throughout the Lower Peninsula, but at present we know of but few places
where it breeds, and its voice during migrations is now seldom heard.
In the eastern states it frequents upland fields and hilly pasture lands
by preference, and usually, if not always, nests in such places; but in
Michigan, it frequently nests in wet grounds, although the nest itself is
usually placed on one of the dryer spots. We have seen the birds nesting
in two instances in good snipe-bogs where the mud was ankle deep and dry
spots few and far between. Probably it still nests in favorable localities
throughout the state, but only in small numbers.
As it is one of the early fall migrants, most of the birds leaving for the
south before the middle of September, one would naturally suppose that it
would have increased in numbers during the protection afforded by the
game law which did not allow the shooting of Snipe, Woodcock or shore
birds until October. So far as we can learn, however, there has been no
increase in numbers and it has continued to decrease in most localities. At
Plymouth, Michigan, Mr. Jas. B. Purdy states that it was formerly unknown,
but has appeared and increased in numbers recently though still far from
abundant.
It is an exceptionally good table bird and a favorite with amateur sports-
men, though it is very shy as a rule and does not decoy readily. Its mellow,
plover-like call when migrating is well known and characteristic, but it
has another and entirely different note when nesting, which Dr. Gibbs
accurately describes as "much like the twitter of the tree frog."
The nest is placed on the ground, and the eggs are buffy white, spotted
with brown and purplish gray, and average 1.79 by 1.30 inches. They
are commonly l^id during the latter half of May, but occasionally sets are
found in June, and it is possible that second broods are sometimes reared.
This is one of the few North American birds which extends its migration
to southern South America, being often extraordinarily abundant on the
pampas of Argentina in November, December, and January. Both at that
time and during our northern summer it feeds extensively upon grass-
hoppers and is one of the species which forms a natural check upon this
scourge in some places. It is doubtful whether it is abundant enough in
Michigan now to do much good in this way, but during the "grasshopper
years" in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska the Upland Plover or "Prairie
Pigeon " was reported in scores of places as being one of the most important
enemies of the grasshopper or Rocky Mountain locust.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Top of head brownish black with an indistinct median stripe of buff; chin and
upper throat white, rest of head and neck light brown or buff, streaked with dark brown
or blackish; back, scapulars and wing-coverts, mottled black, brown and buff, most of
the feathers black centrally, then brown, and with yellowish edges; rump and upper tail-
coverts glossy black, without bars or spots; outer primary sharply barred with black and
white, its shaft pure white; middle tail-feathers olive, barred with black, the others barred
with light buff and black, tipped with white and conspicuously spotted with black near
the ends; under parts pale buffy, fading to nearly pure white on belly and under tail-coverts,
the lower neck sharply streaked with tear-shaped spots of black, wdiich become arrow-
^^
'ilm
!"i i'^^^
. M
k
I
'v' fv^^^^^
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i
M
s^sSHi^H^
-X
^
1
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Hi
n
Plate X. Bartramian Sandpiper.
Courtesy of National Committee of Audubon Societies.
WATER BIRDS. l99
heads on the chest, brace-shaped on the breast and plain bars on the sides, the belly and
under tail-coverts unmarked. Upper mandible and tip of lower black, rest of bill yellow;
legs and feet gray or greenish gray. Sexes alike. Young: Similar to adult, but more
yellowish or buffy, and the dark markings below fewer and less distinct. Length 11 to
12.75 inches; wing 6.50 to 7; culmen 1.10 to 1.15; tarsus 1.90 to 2.05.
ni09. Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Tryngites subruficollis (Vieill.). (262)
Synonyms: Tringa subruficollis, Vieill., 1819. — Tryngites rufescens of most authors.
A small sandpiper with much the form and habits of the preceding species,
but not easily described for recognition by the novice. Reference to the
detailed description will be necessary, and careful examination of the
measurements and proportions.
Distribution. — North America, especially in the interior; breeds in the
Yukon district and the interior of British America, northward to the
Arctic coast; South America in winter as far as Uruguay and Peru. Of
frequent occurrence in EurojDe.
This is a rare sandpiper in Michigan and very few specimens have been
taken. Dr. Gibbs states that on September 17, 1875, he secured a pair,
the only ones he ever saw. They were taken while hunting for Golden Plover
on the Big Marsh one and one-half miles north of Kalamazoo. He further
states that on September 14, 1882, B. F. Syke, of Kalamazoo, secured three
specimens of this species and preserved one for his collection. There were
but three in the flock; they were found on Grand Prairie, Kalamazoo
county, and were very shy. There is a Buff-breasted Sandpiper (No.
20315) in the Kent Scientific Museum, Grand Rapids, but it was taken at
Toronto, Ontario.
The above are the only records for the state of which I know, but Stock-
well includes this species in his hst of Michigan birds (Forest & Stream,
VIII, 361). According to Kumlien & Holhster, it is one of the rarest
shore birds in that state (Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, 51). It is also rare
ordinarily in Indiana and lUinois, but in August 1874, Dr. A. K. Fisher
found hundreds of them on the dry prairie at Maywood, Cook county
Ilhnois, only ten miles from Chicago, and shot numbers of them (Cooke,
Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley, 1888, p. 97). There are also
records for Ohio and Ontario, but the species is nowhere common.
It breeds in the far north, the Saskatchewan Plains and the Barren
Grounds being favorite resorts. The eggs are buffy white, boldly spotted
with dark bronze and purplish, and average 1.53 by 1.04 inches.
There is a record by Mcllwraith (Birds of Ont., 1894, 156) of the nesting
of this species at Dunville, Ontario, June 10, 1879, but it has transpired
recently that this was a mistake and that the nest and eggs recorded really
belonged to Wilson's Phalarope (Macoun, Cat. Canadian Birds, Part III,
1904, 732).
^^ TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
No trace of webs between the front toes; bill barely as long as the head, or even shorter.
"Upper parts dull grayish buff or brownish, varied with blackish; lower parts buff, streaked
or speckled on chest with dusky; axillars white; under ])rimary coverts and inner webs
of quills [primaries] beautifully mottled or speckled with dusky on a wliitisli groimd.
Adult: Feathers of back, etc., blackish centrally, and without whitish borders. Young:
Feathers of back, etc. distinctly bordered with whitisli, tlie black and brown less sharply
contrasted; mottHng on inner webs of quills, and imder primary coverts, mucli more
minute and delicate than in adult. Length 7 to 8.90 inclics; wing 5.10 to 5.50; culmen
.75 to .80; tarsus 1.15 to 1.30" (Ridgway).
200 MICaiGAN BIRD LIFE
110. Spotted Sandpiper. Actitis macularia (Linn.). (263)
Synonyms: Sandj^eep, Sand-snipe, River-snipe, Tip-up, Teeterer, Teeter-tail, Peet-
weet. Peep. — Tringa macularia, Linn., 1766. — Totanus macularius, Temm., 1815. —
Tringoides macularius, Gray, 1849, and many others. — Actitis macularia, Naum., 1836,
A. O. U. Check-list, 1895, and most recent authors.
Plate XI.
The adult is recognizable as the only 'sandpiper whose under parts are
thickly marked with clean cut round spots or "polka-dots" of dark brown
or black on a nearly white ground color. In addition, the hving bird is
always bobbing and balancing as it sit or runs, and when in flight always
shows conspicuous white bars on the wings.
Distribution. — North and South America, from Alaska south to southern
Brazil. Breeds throughout temperate North America, less commonly
on the Pacific coast. Occasional in Europe.
This is the common Sandpiper or Tip-up of streams and ponds during
the summer, and is almost universally distributed, from the southern
border to Lake Superior. It never occurs in flocks, always singly, in pairs,
or at most in little family parties of five or six, the young then distinguish-
able by the unspotted breast. It is a late comer in spring, seldom arriving
before the first of May, sometimes not until the middle of the month;
and rarely remains after the middle of September. It is oftenest seen
along the edges of small ponds and streams, but occurs also along the
sandy beaches of the Great Lakes, and about the httle mud-holes and
ditches in upland pastures far from any large body of water.
It nests almost anywhere on the ground; not always near the water,
but in pasture, wheatfield, sand-bank, or in the wrack along the shore.
The nest is often well built, but at other times is hardly more than a hollow
scraped in the ground, with a few grass stems between the eggs and the
soil. Eggs are rarely found, even in the southern counties, before the
third week in May, and the larger number appear to be laid between the
first and fifteenth of June. Mr. E. A. DooHttle records three nests of four
eggs each, found June 28, July 2, and July 5, 1906, on Grand Island, Lake
Superior. He considered these to be second sets, but if so it would not
indicate second broods but only that the first set of eggs had been lost by
accident and the birds had made a second trial. Possibly no part of the hfe
history of our common birds has been so much neglected as this question
of second broods, and careful studies in this direction would well repay
the investigator. The eggs are almost invariably four in number, seldom
three or five, and are buffy or soiled white, spotted and speckled with
brown and black. They average 1.25 by .90 inches.
The characteristic note of the bird is usually written "pect-weet" and
when the bird is alarmed or is calhng anxiously to its mate or young it
sounds like p'weet'-p'weet'-p'weet'. When followed along the shore
the bird flies ahead 30 to 50 yards at a time, and almost always prefers
to fly out over the water rather than over the sand. After being followed
some Uttle distance it is Ukely to turn back, making a larger loop than
usual, and return to that part of the shore from which it was first driven.
It often alights on stumps, fence-posts and rails, as well as on boulders
and small rocks; and wherever it may be it keeps up the constant balancing,
teetering motion, which is by no means confined to this species, yet is carried
to such an extreme as to have given the bird several of its vernacular names.
Plate XI. Spotted Sandpiper.
From Coues' Key to North American Birds. (Courtesy of^Dana Estcs & Co.)
WATER BIRDS. 203
The Spotted Sandpiper feeds until late in the evening, and possibly is
more or less nocturnal, since its notes are frequently heard at night when
it cannot be migrating. Its food consists largely, if not entirely, of animal
matter, including small aquatic forms of every kind, but it also eats insects
of various sorts, and according to S. E. White, at Mackinac Island, it was
observed to feed on "stone spiders." Aughey found it feeding freely on
locusts in Nebraska in May, 1895, six stomachs containing an aggregate
of 91 of these injurious insects.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill about as long as head, stout, sliglitly deciu-ved, largely yellow toward the base, tlie
tip and culmen blackish; legs and feet greenish brown. Adult in summer: Entire upper
parts grayish or greenish brown, usually with a brassy luster, the head and neck more or
less streaked and the back and scapulars spotted and barred with black; a dusky loral
streak (continued back of the eye) bordered above by a whitish stripe; imder parts nearly
pure white, rather thickly dotted with rounded black or dark brown spots, smallest on
chin and throat, largest on breast and sides; middle tail-feathers olive brown like the back,
sometimes barred with black, lateral feathers barred with black and white, and with broad
white tips; wing with two conspicuous white bands, one formed by the white tips of the
secondaries, the other by the inner webs of most of the primaries and the basal half of all
the secondaries. Adult in autumn: Without any spots below, and with few or no black
bars above, but sides of breast shaded with gray. Young: Similar to autumn adult,
and unspotted below, but with narrow bars of buff and dusky on tips of many upper tail-
coverts, scapulars and wing-coverts. Length 7 to 8 inches; wing 4.05 to 4.60; culmen .90
to 1.0.5; tarsus .90 to 1.05.
ill. Sickle-billed Curlew. Numenius americanus 5ec/is/. (264)
Synonyms: Sickle-bill, Long-billed Curlew. Big Curlew, Hen Curlew. — Numenius
longirostris, Wils., 1814, and authors generally. — Numenius rufus, Vieill. — Nimienius
occidentalis, Woodh.
Known at a glance by its strongly down-curved bill, from five to eight
inches long, and its mottled brown and gray plumage. The only other bird
with a similarly curved bill of this length is the Glossy Ibis, which is readily
separable by its metallic green, bronze, and chestnut plumage.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, migrating south to Guatemala,
Cuba and Jamacia. Breeds in the South Atlantic States, and in the interior
through most of its north American range.
Doubtless this species was once fairly common in the prairie regions
of southern Michigan before the country was thoroughly cultivated.
Recent records for the Great Lake region are few and far between, and
I am unable to find a single instance of its nesting within our limits, although
we find the statement in Baird, Brewer and Ridgway's "Water Birds"'
(Vol. I, 1884, 314). "It is now known that they probably breed in all
or nearly all the western states north of Ohio and west of Lake P^rie."
A. B. Covert records the capture of a male in Washtenaw county, Septem-
ber 12, 1872, and another specimen taken near Ann Arbor "about "September
15, 1877." According to Norman A. Wood this last specimen is mounted
and now in the collection of the University of Michigan. A mounted
specimen, without any label, in the collection of the St. Clary's Academy,
Monroe, iMichigan, is said to have been collected in that vicinity, and to have
come from the collection of Father Kilroy. :\Ir. Ed. Van Winkle, of Van's
Harbor, Delta county, says that he has taken specimens there but that
they are rare.
The above constitute our only records for the species, although ac-
cording to Dr. Gibbs one instance of its capture was cited by D. D.
204 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Hughes in his manuscript Ornithology of Michigan, but without exact
time or place. It is also mentioned by Stockwell (Forest and Stream,
VIII, 22, 361).
According to Butler "It is a rare migrant (in Indiana), formerly more
numerous, and perhaps occasionally breeding in the northern part of the
state" (Birds of Indiana, 1897, 732). It was formerly abundant in Illinois,
and in Wisconsin, but has become rare of late years in both states. Nelson
says that a few nested on the Calumet marshes in northern IlUnois in
the spring of 1873 (Bull. Essex Inst., VIII, 1876, 130). Mcllwraith calls
it an irregular visitor in western Ontario.
It nests on the ground, laying three or four eggs, which are grayish buff
or buffy brown, spotted with darker brown, and averaging 2.59 by 1.81
inches. The nests are sometimes placed along the shore, sometimes on
dry ground at a considerable distance from water; in the interior usually
on the dryer parts of the prairies. The nest is a mere hollow in the ground,
scantily lined with grasses.
The food is varied, but includes a large proportion of insects, as well as
berries, seeds, and various crustaceans and other aquatic animals. In
Nebraska Professor Aughey examined ten stomachs between 1868 and
1876, and eight of them contained Rocky Mountain locusts, the number
varying from 51 to 70 in a stomach (1st Rep. U. S. Entom. Com., Appendix
2, 55).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Bill five to eight inches long, strongly decurved; top of head streaked with buffy
and black without any median light stripe; back cinnamon or grayish barred transversely
with blackish; secondaries and inner vanes of primaries rufous or cinnamon; under parts
varying from buffy brown to reddish brown or cinnamon; the neck and sides of breast
more or less streaked or barred with blackish, the axillaries plain ciimamon or rufous with
few or no black bars. Bill blackish, the base of the lower mandible flesh-color; legs bluish
gray. Length 20 to 26 inches; wing 10 to 12; culmen 5 to 8.50; tarsus 2.25 to 3.50. Sexes
alike and little seasonal change in plumage. The bill varies immensely with age, being
only 2.50 to 3 inches long in young of the year and reaching a length of 5 or 6 inches the
following season.
112. Hudsonian Curlew. Numenius hudsonicus Lath. (265)
Synonyms: Jack Curlew, Jack, Short-billed Curlew, Striped-head. — Numenius hudson-
icus. Lath., 1790, and authors generally.
Plate XII.
Known by the strongly decurved bill, which, however, is only from three
to four inches in length, together with the buffy and brown striped and
spotted plumage which is similar in all the curlews.
Distribution. — All of North and South America, including the West
Indies; breeds in the high north, and winters chiefly south of the United
States.
This is the least rare of our curlews, yet it is by no means a common
bird at present. W^hen it occurs at all it is likely to be found in flocks of
considerable size, but it also associates freely with the Golden and Black-
bellied plovers, and a single curlew is not infrequently seen in a large flock
of plover. B. H. Swales says "One record. On May 25, 1902, I met with
a flock of fully 200 birds at St. Clair Flats. My companion, C. H. AHce,
secured one male, which is mounted and in his possession. This flock was
commented on by several of the resident gunners as the only curlews they
had ever seen" (MS. List, Birds of S. E. Michigan, 1904). There is a
Plate XII. Hudsoniaii Cuiiuw.
From drawing by P. A. Taverner. (Original.)
WATER BIRDS. 207
diountecl specimen in the collection of the Michigan Agricultural College,
obtained from Mr. Peter Lepp, Saginaw, Mich., which he says was taken
in the fall of 1896, just outside Saginaw City. It was "leading a flock of
Golden Plover" and the only bird of the kind in the flock. We have a
second specimen taken by Albert Hirzel, at Forestville, Sanilac county,
April 23, 1906. There is also a mounted specimen (No. 20261) in the
Kent Scientific Museum, Grand Rapids, marked as local, but without other
data.
In Indiana, according to Butler, it is much rarer than the Long-billed
Curlew. In Wisconsin, according to Kumlien and Hollister, "it has
certainly been decidedly rare during the past thirty years, even in migra-
tions, and we have not seen a single specimen for twelve years " (Birds of
Wisconsin, 1903, 52).
The species nests only in the far north, and its eggs are pale olive, spotted
with brown, and average 2.27 by 1.57 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Top of head brownish black, with a median stripe of buffy or grayish white;
a similar but broader light stripe from bill over eye to nape, bounded below by a dusky
loral and post-ocular stripe; chin and upper throat white or whitish, without markings;
rest of throat, neck and breast grayish or buffy^white thickly streaked with brownish
black, the sides, flanks and under tail-coverts barred with the same; belly mostly imspotted;
back and scapulars brownish black, spotted with buffy white, the wing-coverts similar but
the lighter color predominating; primaries sharply barred on inner webs with buffy white
and dusky; the axillaries buffy or cinnamon, sharply barred with blackish; upper mandible
brown, lower mandible yellowish, especially toward base. Sexes alike, and seasonal changes
slight; young of year hardly different from adults. Length 16.50 to 18 inches; wing 9 to
10.25; culmen 3 to 4; tarsus 2.25 to 2.30.
113. Eskimo Curlew. Numenius borealis (Forst.). (266)
Synonyms: Little Curlew. — Scolopax borealis, Forst., 1772. — Nmnenius brevirostris,
Licht., 1823.^ — Nimienius borealis, Lath., 1790, and authors generally.
Known by its close resemblance to the Hudsonian Curlew, but the
strongly decurved bill is still shorter, averaging only 2j inches; the general
tone of the plumage is also more reddish.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding in the Arctic regions,
and migrating south throughout South America.
Formerly this curlew was more abundant and better known than either
of the others. It appeared in large flocks during migration, and frequented
dry fields and such situations as are preferred by Golden Plover. It was
much hunted for its flesh, which was considered superior to that of the other
curlews. Up to about 1890 it probably occurred with more or less regularity
both spring and fall, and there are several well attested records of its capture.
According to Gibbs (MS. List) B. F. Syke secured a female on the north
marsh at Kalamazoo, October 28, 1879. It was the only one seen. In
a letter to Dr. Gibbs the late W. H. Collins of Detroit said "It is quite
common in Detroit markets spring and fall. Two specimens taken at St.
Clair Flats in the spring of 1883; have had a number."
In northeastern Lal:)rador, where this species formerly collected in
immense numbers in the late summer and early fall, they almost totally
disappeared in 1894, and have been very rare ever since. Up to 1894,
they had remained in large numbers in spite of the persecution to wliich
they were subjected (Bigelow, Auk, XIX, 1902, 29). At present the
species seems to be on the verge of extinction, possibly the last one has
208 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
been killed already. The last specimen taken, so far as we know, was
killed at Hog Island, Hancock county, Maine, Sep. 2, 1909 (O. W. Knight,
Auk, XXVII, 1910, 79).
The food of all the curlews consists partly of animal matter and partly
of vegetable material, and the present species is known to feed freely on
locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, and a large variety of other insects, as well
as on various seeds, grains and berries. It formerly visited Labrador
after the breeding season, largely to feast on the crow-berry or curlew-
berry (Empetrum nigrum), and some other abundant berries before starting
on its long journey southward.
This is another of the species which formerly reached southern Argentina
and even Patagonia on its southward migration. The writer saw it in
flocks of hundreds on the Argentine Pampas in January and February,
1880 and 1881.
It formerly bred in large numbers on the Barren Grounds, within the
Arctic Circle, laying three or four spotted eggs in a poorly lined hollow in
the ground. The eggs average 2.04 by 1.43 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION,
Top of head uniformly streaked with brownish black and grayish or buffy white, without
any median light stripe; an indistinct light stripe from bill over eye; remainder of head
and neck buffy white, narrowly streaked with dusky or brownish black, the markings
becoming arrow-shaped or v-shaped on the lower throat and breast, the sides and flanks
with larger bars of the same color. Inner webs of primaries uniform brownish without
bars. Length 12.60 to 14.50 inches; wing 8 to 8.50; culmen 2.25 to 2.50; tarsus 1.70 to 1 80.
Family 27. CHARADRIID^. Plover.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Large, wing over 6 inches, bill nearly or quite 1 inch. B, BB.
B. Three-toed, hind toe lacking. C, CC.
C. Wing not over 6| inches; neck encircled by a broad white
ring with a black ring below it. Killdeer. No. 116.
CC. Wing more than 6f inches; neck without rings. Golden
Plover. No. 115.
BB, Four-toed, hind toe short but distinct. Black-bellied Plover.
No. 114.
AA. Small, wing not over 5 inches; a complete white ring around neck,
with a dark collar below it. E, EE.
E. General color of upper parts (back, etc.) pale gray or even
grayish white. Piping Plover. No. 118.
EE. General color of upper parts dark brownish gray. Ringneck.
No. 117.
114. Black-bellied Plover. Squatarola squatarola (Lmn.). (270)
Synonyms: Gray Plover, Beetle-head, Black-breast, Four-toed Plover. — Tringa
squatarola, Linn., 1758, T. helvetica, 17G6.— Squatarola helvetica, Cuv., 1817, and authors
generally. — Charadrius helveticus, Licht., Nutt., Aud. — Charadrius_apricarius, Wils.
Likely to be confounded in any plumage with the Golden Plover which
it closely resembles. With specimens in hand, however, they can be
WATER BIRDS. 209
-instantly separated by examination of the feet, since the present species
has a distinct hind toe in addition to the three front toes, while the Golden
Plover lacks the hind toe altogether. In spring the black breast and belly
have given it the name of Black-breast, while the general gray color in the
fall is sufficient reason for the name Gray Plover. Of course the Golden
Plover is in very similar dress at corresponding seasons, but the Golden
Plover, as its name implies, shows many dots and markings of yellow in
the gray upper parts, especially on the top and back of the head and the
lower back.
Distribution. — Nearly cosmopolitan, but chiefly in the Northern Hemis-
phere, breeding far north, and migrating south in winter, in America, to
the West Indies, Brazil, and Colombia.
In Michigan this is not an uncommon species during the fall migration,
but there are few records for spring. Dr. Gibbs states that the late D. D.
Hughes took a single specimen in spring (presumably in Calhoun county)
many years ago, and Mr. Albert Hirzel, of Forestville, Sanilac county,
took an adult male there May 2, 1905, which is now in the Agricultural
College museum. The earhest record in the fall is that of a specimen
taken near Greenville, Michigan, August 10, 1893, and another August 16,
1897, by the late Percy Selous. A few have been taken in September
(Sept. 26, Bay county, N. A. Eddy), but the majority are found in Octo-
ber (Oct. 5, Bay City, Oct. 29, Kalamazoo, Oct. 5, Ann Arbor, and Oct.
1895, Greenville). Mr. N. A. Eddy found one in the market at Bay City,
November 25, 1893, an unusually late record.
Norman A, Wood found this species fairly common on the Charity
Islands, at the mouth of Saginaw Bay, from Aug. 20 to Sep. 10, 1910.
Among the earliest to come from the north were five adults in almost per-
fect spring plumage (under parts black), while after Sep. 26, only young
birds, in the gray plumage, were seen. Some of these remained until Oct.
7, but the Hght-keeper said he shot some on Nov. 21, 1909. (Wilson Bul-
letin, XXIII, 1911, 91).
The bird sometimes associates with the Golden Plover, but is often seen
in small flocks by itself. It has much the same habits as the Golden Plove'-,
but seems more inclined to frequent the lake shores and wet places generally,
while the latter bird is more often seen on the dryer uplands. Both species
feed largely on seeds, berries, grasshoppers and other insects, and their
flesh is much better after a season of such diet, while a ranker and even a
fishy taste may result from their feeding along the shore or on fresh water
mud flats.
This species breeds in the far north, laying three or four "light buffy
olive eggs, spotted with brown and black, and averaging 2.04 by 1.43
inches" (Ridgway).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
,.' Toes three in front, one behind, the latter short but distinct. Bill shorter than head,
stout, acute, black. Adult in late spring and summer: Brownish black or dusky above,
darkest on crown and lower back, everywhere speckled or barred with white; lower parts
mainly clear black, including tlie sides of Iiead above the eyes, and the sides of the neck
to the middle line; only the sides of breast, the anal region, under tail-coverts, and thighs
white; black of the throat and neck sharply divided from the ^ray of the upper parts by a
white stripe along the sides of the neck, whicli gradually shaclcs into the gray; rump and
upper tail-coverts mostly white with a few dark bars; tail with numerous black and white
bars; axillarics plain black. Adult in autumn and winter: Upper parts much as in
summer, but lower parts without trace of black, the lower neck and sides of breast alone
streaked or mottled witli brownish or grayish ash, the rest of under parts nearly pure white,
27
210
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
but the axillars always black. Young: Similar to adult in winter, but upper parts more
or less speckled with buffy or pale yellow. Iris dark brown, bill, legs and feet, black
Length 10.50 to 12 inches; wing 7.50; culmen 1.10; tarsus 1.95.
115. Golden Plover. Charadrius dominicus dominicus (M»/Z.). (272)
Synonyms: American Golden Plover, Bull-head, Golden-back, Black-breast, Field
Plover, Prairie Pigeon.— Charadrius pluvialis, Wils., 1813, Sw. & Rich., Aud., Nutt.— C.
virginicus, Liclit., Cass., Baird. — C. fulvus var. virginicus, Coues, 1872.
Plate XIII and Figure 56.
In fall plumage similar to the preceding, but the upper parts usually
show numerous spots of dull yellow or buffy white which gives it the name
Golden Plover. Of course the absence of the hind toe will always separate
it from the Black-belhed Plover.
Distribution. — Arctic America, except coast of Bering Sea, migrating
southward throughout North and South America to Patagonia.
This bird is better known to sportsmen than most other shore birds
owing to the fact that it is found in high dry regions, as well as along the
shores and marshes. It is commonly seen in large flocks
from September to November, but the larger number -^
appear during the latter half of September and Hnger for
a month or more. These appear to be mainly young of
the year, and they are in the gray plumage characteristic
of the young birds. It seems certain that the old birds
pass south in August and early September, and that a
large part of them travel along the sea coast, or even
over the open sea, past Bermuda and the Lesser Antilles,
to the north coast of South America. On the return trip
in spring the great majority, young or old, travel west
of the Mississippi River, and it is exceptional to meet
with the species in spring anywhere in the eastern states.
This is true also of Michigan, and although several ob-
servers have reported it as seen in spring, I have not been
able to find a spring specimen in any collection in the
state, and it seems likely that these reports may be in-
correct. It has been reported in the fall from nearly
every point in the Lower Peninsula where we have
correspondents, and it formerly was abundant about Fig. 56. Foot of Goi-
Saginaw Bay and along the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers, ;?e™cuiatrta??uT'"^
as well as on the west side of the state, and at several
points in the interior, including Ingham and Kalamazoo counties.
Sometimes the flocks are very large, several hundred or even a thousand
birds feeding and flying together. They are apt to be wary and hard to
approach, and gunners often use a horse, or a horse and wagon, for ap-
proaching them. They are always good eating, and especially so in autumn
when they have fed for a few weeks on seeds, berries, and insects, at a
distance from salt water. They are very swift in their flight, and when
in migration flock after flock will pass over the most attractive country
without ahghting. Although they undoubtedly migrate at times by
night, great flights have been seen by day, and on the plains of southern
w
: -I
Plate XIII. Golden Plover. Fall plumage.
From drawing by P. A. Taverner. (Original.)
WATER BIRDS.
213
South America the writer has sometimes seen flocks pass in rapid succession
for many hours at a time.
Although they extend their migrations to all parts of the southern
hemisphere, even to Australia and Patagonia, they are not known to nest
anywhere except in Arctic regions, the American form nesting largely in
Alaska and British America to the northwest of Hudson Bay. Three or
four eggs are laid in a slight hollow in the ground. They are buff, grayish
olive, or brownish, and spotted with brownish black. They average
2.07 by 1.40 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Similar in all its plumages to the Black -bellied Plover, except in three respects, viz.:
The hind toe is always absent, the axillars are pale smoky gray instead of clear black, and
the upper parts are always distinctly spotted with buffy or pale yellow. This latter pattern
is seen also in the young Black-belly, but the yellow spots then are fewer and duller. Length
9.50 to 10.80 inches; wing 6.80 to 7.40; culmen .80 to 1; tarsus 1.55 to 1.82.
116. Killdeer. Oxyechus voc'ferus {Linn.). (273)
Synonyms: Noisy Plover. — Charadrius vociferus Linn., 1758, Wils., Nutt., Aud. —
Aegilitis vociferus, Bonap., Cass., Baird, Coues. — Oxyechus vociferus, Reich., 1853, Ridgw.,
1881. — Charadrius torquatus, Linn., 1766.
Figure 57.
Unique among our plover in having two black bands across the upper
breast, and the rump and upper tail-coverts bright cinnamon brown.
Distribution — Temperate North America, breeding north to New-
foundland and Manitoba, migrating to the West Indies and Central and
northern South America. Bermuda.
The Killdeer is too well known to merit any extended notice. It spends
the entire warmer half of the year with us, arriving from the south as soon
as any considerable amount
of bare ground appears in
the spring, and lingering in
autumn until the first snow
falls. Probably the greater
number arrive during the last
of March and first of April
and depart toward the end
of September, but consider-
able numbers come earlier
and stay later.
The Killdeer frequents wet
and dry places alike, but it
shows a decided preference
for newly plowed fields and
especially for the edges of the
shallow muddy pools which
abound everywhere throughout the state. It is one of the noisiest of the
shore birds, and in Coues new Key we find the name Noisy Plover given as
one of its synonyms. Though not exactly a gregarious bird, it is seldom
found alone, being most often seen in little companies of two to eight,
except during the nesting season when it is found only in pairs.
Fig. 57. Killdeer.
From Baird, Brewer and Ridgway's Water Birds of North
America. (Little, Brown «fe Co.)
214 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The nest is a mere hollow in a cornfield, pasture, or almost any open
field and usually there is little in the way of lining for the nest, merely a
few grass blades or weed-stalks, or sometimes only a few smooth pebbles.
Commonly the eggs are three or four, surprisingly large for the size of the
bird, and dull buffy white, thickly spotted with black. They measure
1.47 by 1.04 inches.
This bird has an exasperating habit of signaling the approach of a
stranger, or indeed of any individual which it chooses to consider an in-
truder. Often it will fly half a mile with loud outcries to meet and scold
the sportsman who is trying to get within shot of a flock of ducks, and it
will follow a man or a dog from one field to another during the nesting
season, calling attention to the enemy by its loud outcries. If the nest be
approached the bird redoubles its complaints, and if the young or eggs are
discovered will throw itself on the ground before the intruder and feign
lameness or serious injury in the attempt to draw him away. Both young
and old have the habit of squatting and remaining quiet under certain
circumstances, but they are much more hkely to rush into danger than to
tr}^ to avoid it.
The Killdeer is not considered a good table bird, and the few which are
killed by gunners are shot commonly in anger or merely for the sake of
practice in wing shooting.
From the fact that the eggs are found in May or June (occasionally
even in April in southern Michigan), and often again late in July, it seems
probable that this species rears two broods, but it is exposed to so many
dangers, and in particular it persists so obstinately in nesting in fields
which are soon to be plowed, that the nests found in July may indicate
only second or third attempts to rear a brood.
After the nesting season Killdeers frequently collect in flocks of twelve
to thirty and frequent the edges of ponds and streams, sometimes associa-
ting with other shore birds. Although most abundant in cultivated
districts, the species is fairly well distributed over the entire state and no
doubt nests in every part of the state where conditions are at all favorable.
The Killdeer is a voracious insect eater and is particularly valuable to
the farmer on account of its fondness for grasshoppers and for the insects
of cultivated land. It eats some seeds it is true, but we have never heard
a complaint of injury to wheat or any other grain, and it doubtless confines
its seed eating largely to grass seeds and weed seeds. Aughey took as many
as 49 locusts from a single Killdeer's stomach in Nebraska, and the average
in six stomachs was 44.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Bill shorter than head, straight, stout; forehead, chin, and broad ring round
upper neck, pure white; below the white collar is a black band, broadest in front, very-
narrow at the back where it is sometimes incomplete; below this is a white crescent across
the chest, bouiuled below by a broad black band across the breast; rest of under parts
l^ure white; a black l^ar across front of crown, and a blackish stripe from base of bill across
side of head, bounding tlie white collar above; a white stripe back of the eye, usually ending
in buff; top of iiead and middle of back brownish gray, the feathers often tipped with
rusty; lower back, rumj) and vipper tail-coverts light buff to deep rust-red ; tail long, much
graduated, the middle feathers blackish, tipped with brown, the outer feathers white or
buffy white at base, with sub-terminal black spaces and broad white tips; a conspicuous
white wing-bar, and both primaries and secondaries with large white patches. Iris brown,
eye-lids bright orange-red, bill black, feet and legs yellowish. Sexes alike, and little
seasonable change in plumage, but young birds in the fall show numerous rusty-edged
feathers on the back and wings. Length 10 to 11.25 inches; wing 6.20 to 6.75; tail 3.60
to 4.10; culmen .70 to .90; tarsus 1.40 to 1.55.
h
WATER BIRDS. 215
117. Ring-necked Plover, i^gialitis semipalmata (Bonap.). (274)
Synonyms: Semipalmated Plover, Ring-neck, Ring Plover, Beach Bird. — Charadrius
semipalmatus, Bonap., 1825. — ^gialitis semipalmatus, Cab., 1856, and authors generally.
— ^Tringa hiaticula, Wils.
Figure 58.
A small plover readily known by its grayish brown back and the com-
plete white collar above a similar black one of about the same width.
Distribution. — Arctic and Subarctic America, migrating south throughout
tropical America, as far as Brazil, Peru and the Galapagos.
A common bird of the lake shores in spring and again in late summer,
and regularly, though less often, seen along the shores of streams and
about mud flats in the interior of the state. It
arrives from the south during May, lingers until after -^
the first of June (sometimes until after the middle) . ^^ '^ \
goes north to breed, and is back again by the middle ^ ^^
of July, remaining here and there through August
and September. Sometimes it is seen in pairs or
even singly, but usually it appears in small flocks of
six to thirty individuals, and these feed and fly
together, seemingly unwilhng to be separated even for .
° ' ° -^ ° ^ Fig. 5S. KiiiK-in-tkcil
a moment. Plover. From Bailey's
Unlike most of our plover this species seems to be un- ^|^fJJo°^.f aioughton!
happy away from water, and I do not remember ever Mifflin & Co.
to have met with it except along the water's edge. It
associates commonly with sandpipers and other shore birds and we have
found it in Ingham county almost always with the Least Sandpiper and
the Semipalmated. In Nebraska, however, it must frequent the prairies
as well as the margins of ponds and streams, for Professor Aughey found
it feeding freely on the Rocky Mountain locust in 1865, 1874 and 1875,
and every stomach examined in those years contained large numbers of
these locusts, with comparatively few other insects; the average number
of locusts in each stomach was fifty-three (1st Rep. U. S. Entom. Com.,
App. 2, p. 49).
There is no hkelihood at all that it ever nests within our limits, and it is
not possible that the birds which leave us late in June are the same which
return by the middle of July; on the contrary, it is probable that those which
return to us earliest are the ones which went north early in May, while
those which linger with us until June do not reappear until September.
This, however, is mainly conjecture.
It nests in the far north, and a nest described by Eifrig (Auk, XXII,
1905, 239) was found at Fullerton, on Hudson Bay, July 1, 1904, and was
a mere hollow in the sand without any lining whatever. It contained four
eggs which were "light brown with a slight green tinge and numerous
roundish blackish umber and lilac spots and dots." According to Ridgway
the eggs measure about 1.26 by .94 inches.
TECHNICAL D KSCRI PTI OX.
Adult male in summer: Forehead white, bordered beliinil by a black bar across the
crown; remainder of crown, occiput, and nape grayish brown; chin, throat, ring round neck,
and most of under parts pure wliite; a black band across the upper breast, extcndmg back-
ward almost around the neck, but seldom complete; back and upper surface of wmgs and
216 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
tail grayish brown; primaries blackish on tlie outer webs and at tips, but with white shafts;
outer pair of tail-feathers entirely white, next two or three pairs white at base and tip,
with a blackish sub-terminal bar, middle feathers like tlic back, but blackening at tip. Bill
black at tip, orange at base; legs yellowish. Female: Similar, but most of the black
areas duller or browner. In winter plumage all the black is replaced by grayish brown,
but this is darker than the remaining areas, so that the pattern of coloration is similar.
Length 6.50 to 7.50 inches; wing 4.65 to 5; culmen .48 to .55; tarsus .95 to 1.05.
118. Piping Plover. iEgialitis meloda (On/). (277)
Synonyms: Pale Ring-neck, White Ring-neck, Belted Pi{)ing Plover, Western Piping
Plover. — Charadrius melodus, Ord., 1824, Bonap., Nutt., Aud.^ — Aegialitis melodus, Cass.,
Baird, Coues, Ridgw. — Acgialites melodus circumcinctus, Ridgw., 1881.
With a close general resemblance to the Ring-necked Plover, this bird
may be known at once by the pale brownish gray tint of the upper parts
and the black or dark collar which sometimes completely encircles the neck
(var. circumcincta) , but usually is broken in front (typical meloda).
Distribution. — Eastern North America. Breeds locally from southern
Saskatchewan, southern Ontario, Magdalen Islands and Nova Scotia
south to Central Nebraska, northwestern Indiana, Lake Erie, New Jersey
and Virginia.
This little plover is found everywhere along the shores of the Great Lakes
during summer, and probably breeds wherever conditions are suitable.
In 1874 Ridgway described a variety of this species which he named
circumcincta, in which the black collar was continuous across the chest
instead of being interrupted there by white as in the common form. This
new variety was said to be ''chiefly restricted to the Missouri River region,"
but was found later to occur more or less regularly throughout the Great
Lake Region and less often in the eastern states. The form was recognized
by the American Ornithologists' Union, under the name ^giahtis meloda
circumcincta, the Belted Piping Plover, and has figured as a distinct sub-
species for the last thirty years. Recently, however, sufficient evidence
has accumulated to make it clear that the two supposed forms intergrade
completely and occupy practically the same territory, so that the belted
form is no longer considered a distinct sub-species and the last check-list
of the American Ornithologists' Union (1910) recognizes only the Piping
Plover, as above.
The typical form {meloda) is common along the north shore of Lake
Erie, and has been found breeding in some numbers at Point Pelee, near
the western end of that lake (Birds of Ontario, 1894, 165). According to
Covert it is fairly common during migrations in Monroe county, and nests
at the Monroe ]\Iarshes (probably along the beach of Lake Erie). The
writer found two specimens on Little Traverse Bay, Emmet county, early in
July, 1904, and a female, evidently with eggs or young, was found on Big
Beaver Island, Lake Michigan, a few days later. We have records of the so-
called Belted Piping Plover (supported by specimens) from Ottawa county,
April 23 and 24, 1897, and April 25, 1896, and there are records for the Indi-
ana shore of Lake Michigan, and for the Illinois and Wisconsin shores of the
same lake. We have also a typical specimen taken at Port Sanilac on the
Huron shore, April 15, 1897, by W. A. Oldfield. According to Nelson "It is
a very common summer resident along the lake shore [of Lake Michigan in
Illinois], breeding on the flat pebbly beach between the sand dunes and
shore. Arrives the middle of April and proceeds at once to breeding. Some
thirty pairs were breeding along the beach at this place (Waukegan) April
WATER BIRDS. 217
24, 1876, within a space of two miles, and I afterwards found the birds
as numerous at several points along the shore. Every effort was made to
discover their nests, without success. The first of July the year previous,
Dr. Velie obtained young but a very few days old at this same locality,
showing that there is a considerable variation in the time of breeding"
(Bull. Essex Inst. VIII, 1876, 123).
Our notes are too meager to give much idea of its times of departure,
but a specimen in the College Museum taken near Forestville, Sanilac
county, Nov. 24, 1903, would indicate that stragglers at least remain
until ice forms.
Unlike the Ring-necked Plover this bird is seldom seen in flocks or even
in squads, being usually solitary or in pairs, although little family parties
of five or six are not uncommon in late summer. It is also more closely
restricted to the shores of the large lakes, and we have no record of its
occurrence in the interior of the state.
Its food is probably similar to that of the Ring-neck, and consists
largely of the larvae of aquatic insects, with some Crustacea, spiders and
worms. In Nebraska Professor Aughey found it feeding entirely on insects,
a large part of which were locusts.
The nest is a mere hollow in the sand, and the eggs are three or four in
number, pale buffy, rather sparingly speckled with black and purplish
gray and average 1.27 by .96 inches.
Taverner and Swales found this species nesting on the north shore of
Lake Erie during the first week of June, 1905, and state that the birds
have the habit of making scores of decoy or false nests, which they often
occupy, but in which eggs are never laid.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult in summer: A black bar across the crown from eye to eye, and a collar of black on
the sides of the chest and lower neck, sometimes complete on the back of neck but often
interrupted by white in the middle line of the chest; a white collar encircles the neck above
the black, and is continuous in front with the white throat, chin, and forehead; tlie entire
remaining under parts pure white; upper parts from crown to tail uniform pale drab gray or
smoke-gray, sometimes pale enough to be called ashy white, and interrupted only by the
white collar on the nape and the accompanying black feathers behind it; tail-feathers
largely white at base and tip, all except the outer pair (which are pure white) with a sub-
terminal blackish bar or spot; a conspicuous white wing-bar, and much of the inner webs
of the primaries white, their outer webs and tips dusky or black. Bill black at tij), yellow
at base; legs and feet reddish yellow. Sexes almost or quite alike. Adult in winter:
Similar, except that the black is replaced with gray like that of the back or a little darker.
Young: Similar to winter adults, but witii yellowish or wliite edgings on feathers of the
upper parts. Length 6.25 to 7.50 inclies; wing 4.50 to 4. SO; culmen .45 to .50; tarsus
.85 to 1.
Family 28. APHRIZID^. Surf Birds and Turnstones.
Only a single Michigan representative, the Turnstone.
119. Turnstone. Arenaria interpres morinella (Linn.). (283a)
Synonyms: Ruddy Turnstone, Calico-back, Rcd-lcggcd Plover.— Tringa morinella,
Linn., 17GG, Wils., 1813. — Strepsilas interpres, lUiger, JSll, and authors generally.
Figure 69.
Known by the plover-like bill, white throat, and the checkered or calico
pattern, in black, white and rufous, of most of the upper parts. In full
plumage the legs are red or distinctly reddish.
218
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Fig. 59. Turnstone.
From Baird, Brewer and Ridgway's Water Birds
of North America. (Little, Brown & Co.)
Distribution. — Arctic America, from the Mackenzie River eastward;
southward in migration, chiefly coastwise, to Patagonia and the Falkland
Islands.
Normally a bird of the sea shore this species occurs regularly, though
usually in small numbers, along the shores of the Great Lakes, and probably
in rare instances inland. Major
Boies says: "I killed a number
of these birds in the fall of 1894,
on the eastern shore of Neebish
Island, St. Mary's River [two
specimens in College Museum];
also saw them quite plentiful on
Crescent Key, on the west side. I
found them quite agreeable eating
as they were quite fat" (Bull.
Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 20).
Mr. Newell A. Eddy states that
he found the Turnstone common
at the mouth of the Saginaw
River on May 30, 1900, "where
it occurred in flocks as well as
singly." He took a male, which
is now in his collection, and says he could easily have taken many more.
According to Dr. Gibbs a specimen was taken by Mr. Corwin at Austin's
Lake, Kalamazoo county. May 20, 1878. He also states that since that
time others have been shot in Kalamazoo county, and it does not appear
to be a very rare migrant. We have recently obtained for the college col-
lection two specimens in nearly perfect breeding plumage taken near For-
estville, Sanilac county, June 3, 1904, by Mr. Albert Hirzel.
Mr. N. A. Wood, with the biological survey party, found the Turnstone
rather common as a migrant along the shore of Huron county, from Aug.
20 to 27, 1908. Again in 1910, with the Mershon expedition, the species
was found in small numbers on the Charity Islands, Saginaw Bay, from
Aug. 6 to 24. Mr. B. H. Swales records a flock of 30 seen at Grosse Isle,
Wayne county. May 29, 1910 (Auk XXVII, 1910, 452).
Mcllwraith states that at Hamilton Beach, Ontario, ''It is a regular
visitor in spring and fall, but there are seldom more than two or three found
together. Young and old are observed together in September and hnger
till the end of that month, when they move farther south " (Birds of Ontario,
1894, p. 168). In Kumlien and Hollister's Birds of Wisconsin (page 55)
the Turnstone is said to be not uncommon as a migrant especially in spring.
"Small numbers remain about Lake Koshkonong well into June, and a
few, in exceptional j^'ears, remained all summer, but there was no evidence
that they bred. We have seen these birds about Ontonagon, Michigan,
in the latter part of July, and Green Bay late in June; still they unques-
tionably breed only far north of us." Butler states that "except along
Lake Michigan it is almost unknown. There are but two records from the
interior of the state" (Birds of Indiana, 1897, 745). In northeastern
Illinois, according to Nelson, "it is a common migrant along Lake Michigan.
Arrives May 15, in full breeding plumage and is found until the first week
in June. Returns early in August, still in breeding plumage, which is ex-
changed for that of winter during the last of the month. Departs about
the 20th of September. While here they are generall}' found in company
WATER BIRDS. 219
with flocks of the smaller species of sandpipers" (Bull. Essex Inst. VIII,
1876,123).
This is strictly a shore bird, spending its time on beaches and flats con-
stantly wet by the waves, and probing in the sand and among the pebbles
for the minute forms of animal Hfe on which it mainly subsists. It nests
at the far north, on the ground, close to the beach, where it lays from two
to four light olive eggs, speckled with brown, and averaging 1.58 by 1.13
inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill shorter than head, straight, stout, spike-like; toes without trace of connecting webs.
Adult: Entire top of head, nape and hind neck, grayish white more or less streaked with
brownish black; loral region, chin, and upper throat white, without streaks or spots; a black
patch or streak above and in front of eye, joining another below the eye, this in turn con-
tinuous with the black of breast and sides of neck, which forms a large breast patch and
almost or quite encircles the middle of the neck as a black collar; lower breast and remainder
of under parts pure white; back, scapulars and wing-coverts marbled or mottled with
black and rufous or chestnut, some of the feathers with whitish edges; rump and long
upper tail-coverts pure white, shorter coverts black; tail-feathers with basal half and
narrow tips white, the rest black; primaries brownish black, with white shafts; greater
wing-coverts white-tipped; bill black; legs orange-red. Young: Similar, but with little
or no chestnut or rufous above, and with much more buff and whitish. Sexes alike.
Length 9 to 9.90 inches; wing about 6; culmen .80 to .90; tarsus 1.
220 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
LIFE HISTORIES OF MICHIGAN BIRDS.— PART 2. LAND BIRDS.
Order X. GALLING. Fowl-like Birds.
KEY TO FAMILIES.
A. Tarsus (shank) unfeathered. B, BB.
B. Head naked or merely bristly; forehead with a median fleshy horn
or "finger." Family 33. Meleagridte. Turkeys.
BB. Head mostly feathered, without fleshy horn or finger. C, CC.
C. Large birds; wing 8 inches or more; tarsus (shank) of male
always with a spur. — Family Phasianidse. Old World
Pheasants.
CC. Small birds; wing less than 6 inches; tarsus of male without
spur. Family 31. Odontophoridae. Quail or Bob white.
AA. Tarsus feathered at least half way from "knee" to foot (Fig. 61).
Family 32. Tetraonidse. Grouse, Ptarmigan, etc.
Fig. CI. Ruffed Grouse.
Family 31. ODONTOPHORIDAE. Quail or Bob white.
Only a single species, the common Quail or Bob-white, is native to Mich-
igan. Several other quails, from the Pacific states and the southwest, are
found occasionally in captivity in a half-domesticated state. Those most
often seen thus are the California Quail and Gambel's Quail, conspicuous
for the beautiful crest of recurved feathers.
120. Quail. Colinus virginianus virginianus {Linn.). (289)
Synonyms: Bob-white, Virginia Partridge. — Tetrao virginianus, Linn., 1758. — Perdix
virginiana, Lath., Wils., Aud., and others. — Ortyx virginiana, Jard., and many recent
authors.
Figure 60.
So well known as hardly to need description, but the small size, white
throat, and mottled brown, black and white plumage will readily separate
it from the only birds with which it could be confounded.
LAND BIRDS. 221
-• Distribution. — Eastern United States and southern Ontario, from
southern Maine to the South Atlantic and Gulf States; west to central
South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and eastern Texas. Breeds
throughout its range.
In Michigan the Quail is abundant only in the southern half of the state,
although it occurs at favorable points over the entire Lower Peninsula.
The sole record for the Upper Peninsula is
that by Dr. S. Kneeland, who reported it as
not uncommon on Keweenaw Point, the
most northern point of the state, in 1856-57.
His record is as follows: "This is another
of the birds that follow man in his agricul-
tural movements. A few years since Quails
were unknown in the Upper Peninsula; now
they are not uncommon on the Point; as yet
they have not been seen on Portage Lake
As more attention is paid to agriculture for
the support of the mining population, the Fig. 60. Bob-white. Male.
Quail will doubtless be common in the fields " From Hoffmann's Guide. (Hoiigh-
(Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. VI, 1859, p. 237). '°"' '"^^'^ ^ ^°-^
There are records for practically every county in the Lower Peninsula,
but it has been winter killed almost everywhere except in the extreme
south, and even there the severe winters have more than once nearly
exterminated it. Kneeland's statement as to the increase of this species
with the extension of agriculture, although not verified on Keweenaw
Point, seems to have ample confirmation in the Lower Peninsula, in the
northern portion of which this bird apparently was unknown until after
1850. It was unknown at South Frankfort, Benzie county, until the
summer of 1891, when a pair bred on the farm of Mr. W. G. Voorheis, and
soon spread over the surrounding country. Mr. H. A. Danville, Jr., of
Copemish, Manistee county, writes (Dec. 22, 1906): "The Quail was never
seen in this county (Manistee) until about 1890. From that time until
1903 they became more numerous, but the severe winter of 1903-1904
almost destroyed them, and I have not seen one in the last three years,
but a neighbor saw a flock about a mile from my place this week."
During the nesting season it is found in pairs, mostly in the open ground,
and the male is a conspicuous figure as he sits on the top of a fence-post
or stump and repeats his clear call of "bob- white" or "more wet" for half
an hour at a time.
The nest is generally well concealed in brush or long grass, sometimes
even approached by a covered arbor or tunnel through the grass., but more
often exposed in at least one direction. It is deeply hollowed, well lined
with fine grass, and may contain anywhere from ten to twenty-four white,
unspotted eggs, which average 1.19 by .94 inches.
The female sits very close, but both birds take part in incubation and
accompany the young after they are hatched. From this time on they
are always found in families or "coveys" and the male is less often heard
calling from the fence-posts, having plenty of other work to do. Not
infrequently a second brood is reared, but in most cases this seems to be
due to a failure of the first brood. However, young less than half grown
are frequently seen in September, and nests with fresh eggs have been
found occasionally in August and September. Ordinarily the eggs are
laid from May 20 to June 10.
222 MlCllIOAN I5IR1) IJFE.
This is one of the famous game birds, but it is much to be regretted
that some other bird cannot be substituted and the Quail be preserved for
his service as an insect eater. We have few species more valuable to the
farmer. It does absolutely no damage to any crop, but on the other hand
consumes immense quantities of harmful insects during the warmer half
of the year, and at other times gorges himself with seeds of the weeds which
are among the farmer's worst foes. It seems to be particularly fond
of span-worms or inch-worms, as well as of grasshoppers, and it is one
of the few species which habitually eat the chinch-bug, that scourge of the
wheat field from southern Michigan southward. For a full discussion of
this subject the reader is referred to Dr. Sylvester Judd's paper on The
Economic Value of Bob-white (Year book U. S. Dep't Agr. 1903, 193-204).
If the farmer had a httle more foresight he would keep his acres well stocked
with these birds, feeding them about his barns and straw-stacks during
severe winters, and posting his land to prevent shooting without permission.
Under such conditions he could get all the benefit to be derived from the
presence of the bird during the summer, and might still give his friends
good shooting in the fall, or even rent the shooting privilege under certain
restrictions, as is sometimes done in other parts of the country.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male in .summer: Forehead, line over and behind the eye, and entire chin and
upper throat pure white, this throat patch bordered everywhere with clear black which
forms a crescent on the chest and throat, the horns of the crescent formed by a stripe on
each side from bill below eye; top of head mixed black and brown, the nape and back of
neck similar, but sharply streaked and spotted with white; interscapulars and sides of chest
pinkish brown, more or less barred with black; scapulars and tertiaries rufous or chestnut,
heavily barred and spotted with black, the inner edges of tertiaries broadly margined
with creamy or pure white; rump streaked with black; tail bluish ash, sprinkled with black
and white; breast and belly pale cinnamon to dull white, the chest and breast with numerous
V-shaped or brace-shaped black spots and bars; sides of breast and flanks rufous or chestrmt,
more or less streaked with l)lack and white. Female: Similar, but the white head and
throat markings replaced l)y clear buff. In autumn and winter both sexes show less pure
black and white, and more rufous and buff, the inner edges of the tertiaries being then pure
buff instead of white.
Length 9.50 to 10.75 inches; wing 4.30 to 4.70; tail 2.40 to 2.90; culmen .55 to .65; tar-
sus 1.20 to 1.50.
Family 32. TETRAONID.E. Grouse, Ptarmigan, Etc.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Tarsus entirely feathered. B, BB.
B. Toes also feathered. Willow Ptarmigan. No. 124.
BB. Toes naked. C, CC.
C. A bunch of long narrow, stiff feathers on each side of neck
(Fig. 63). Prairie Chicken. No. 125.
CC. No bunches of stiff feathers on sides of neck. D, DD.
D. Wing less than 7 inches; outer web of primaries without
white spots. Spruce Partridge. No. 121.
])I). Wing over 8 inches; outer web of primaries with white
spots. Sharp-tailed Grouse. No. 126.
AA. Lower half of tarsus bare. Ruffed Grouse and Canada Ruffed Grouse.
Nos. 122, 123.
LAND BIRDS. 223
121. Spruce Partridge. Canachites canadensis canace (Linn.) (298c)
Synonyms: Spruce Hen, Spruce Grouse, Canadian Spruce Grouse, Canada Grouse,
Spotted Grouse, Fool Hen. — Tetrao canace, Linn., 1766.- — Tetrao canadensis, of many
authors. — Canace canadensis, Reich., 185 L — Canace canadensis var. canadensis, B. B. &
R., 1875.
The black chin and black tail tipped with buff are characteristic marks
of the adult male. The female is mottled black and white below, black
finely barred with buff above.
Distribution. — Northern Minnesota and Michigan, northern New York,
northern New England, New Brunswick and the Canadian zone of southern
and eastern Canada.
This was once a common bird throughout the pine regions of Michigan,
but even in those areas was restricted almost entirely to the spruce and cedar
swamps. It was formerly abundant throughout the Upper Peninsula
and in all the high lands about the sources of the Manistee, Muskegon,
and AuSable rivers, and is still found sparingly in these places. Just
how far southward it ever extended is difficult to say. There is a mounted
specimen in the collection of the Agricultural College, labeled "North
Michigan," but under the corresponding number in the museum catalogue
the entry reads: "Lansing, 1874." As the original name has been erased
and the name of the Spruce Partridge written over it, there is good reason
to suppose that the numbers on two specimens have been transposed.
Nevertheless, as the porcupine was formerly common about Lansing, and
the northern hare abundant in the same county, it is not impossible that
the Spruce Grouse also occurred. The most southern point in the state
at which it now occurs, so far as can be learned, is Roscommon county,
where a few may still be found in the deeper swamps.
Captain Bendire states that "at times during the winter, it is partially
migratory; probably due more to lack of suitable food than to cold" (Life
Histories, I, p. 51). In most cases it breeds wherever it is found. In 1894,
Major Boies found a few on Neebish Island, and was told that it was
abundant on the mainland on both sides of the St. Mary's River (Bull.
Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 20). Mr. O. B. Warren states that it was formerly
abundant in Marquette county, but in 1898 had become uncommon owing
to the changed conditions. He predicts its speedy extermination unless
better protected. In 1905, F. H. Chapin reported it as common in spruce
timber in Mackinac, Alger, and Luce counties, all in the Upper Peninsula,
and in Emmet county (Lower Peninsula) as well. Mr. Ed. Van Winkle
states that it was common in Delta county fifteen years ago but is now
growing rare, while Mr. Thomas B. Wyman, of Negaunee, says that in suit-
able places in Marquette, Alger and Luce counties it is still common (Dec.
1905) in spruce thickets, frequenting lower and moister lands than the
Ruffed Grouse. Mr. W. M. Wolfe reports seeing a single female near
Beulah, Benzie county, in the summer of 1906.
■ The accounts of different observers vary widely as to the habits of the
bird. As a rule, it is said to be far from wary, in many cases almost stupidly
tame; but of late years it seems to have learned something from persecu-
tion, for some observers call it more timid than the Ruffed Grouse in the
same regions.
It nests on the ground and lays from eight to fifteen huffy eggs, speckled
and spotted with deep brown, and averaging 1.71 by 1.22 inches.
The flesh of the Spruce Partridge is said to be much inferior to that of
224 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
the Ruffed Grouse, and always bitter in winter, presumably from the
spruce and tamarack buds which form a large part of its food. It is likel3^
however, that during a large part of the year it feeds on seeds, berries,
leaves, insects, and buds other than those of the spruce and tamarack,
and that its flesh at such times is well flavored.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tail-feathers sixteen. Adult male: Forehead black with a small white spot on either
side; bare skin above the eye bright red; rest of head and back of neck ashy gray, barred
with black; back, scapulars and wing-coverts similar, but the general tone brownish gray;
tail black rather broadly tipped with light rusty; chin and upper throat mainly black,
bordered more or less completely by a circle or necklace of white s^jots; lower neck and
breast black, most of the feathers with broad white tips, but a solid black patch of some
size on the chest, and another on the middle of the lower breast; sides and flanks mixed gray,
brown and black, with long white shaft streaks on many feathers. Female entirely
different: Upper parts closely barred with pale rusty and black, many feathers with
narrow white tips; tail similarly barred with black and rufous, with a broad terminal
band of rusty; under parts buff or white, sharply barred with black, buff predominating
on the chest and black and white on the belly.
Length 14.70 to 16.20 inches; wing 6.50 to 7.35; tail 5 to 5.75.
122. Ruffed Grouse. Bonasa umbellus umbellus {Linn.). (300)
Synonyms: Partridge, Pheasant, Grouse. — Tetrao umbellus, Linn., 1766, Wils., Aud.,
Bonap., Nutt. — Bonasa umbellus, Steph., Baird, Elliot and others.
Figures 61 and 62.
The tuft of broad, square-tipped black feathers on either side of the neck,
and the long fan-like, gray-tipped tail, with its broad sub-terminal band of
black or dark brown, are characteristic of both sexes; the neck ruffs of the
male, however, are larger and glossy, while those of the female are browner
or duller and without gloss.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, and southern Canada, west to
Minnesota, south in the mountains to Northern Georgia, Mississippi, and
Kansas.
The Ruffed Grouse, or common Partridge, is generally distributed over
the entire state, although it becomes yearly less common in the cultivated
districts. The bird is naturally unsuspicious and far from wdld, but constant
persecution has rendered it very timid throughout most of the state. In
the wilder portions of the Lower Peninsula, and in much of the Upper Pe-
ninsula, it still retains much of its unsuspicious nature, and when flushed,
either by man or dog, it goes but a short distance and often, if not usually,
alights in a tree, where it sits in full sight apparently quite unconcerned.
Its food consists largely of buds and leaves, and it is particularly fond
of the buds of hazel, birch, poplar, and apple, and instances are known
where apple trees standing close to the woods have been nearly stripped
of their buds during the winter. While the ground is bare of snow the
bird feeds largely on berries and seeds, and eats insects freely when they
are obtainable. Dr. A. K. Fisher, of the United States Department of
Agriculture, states that Ruffed Grouse are very fond of grasshoppers and
crickets, and that it is rare to find a stomach or crop that does not contain
their remains during seasons when these insects are plentiful. He also states
that "beech nuts, chestnuts, and acorns of the chestnut oak and white oak
are common articles of food. In the fall the foUage of plants often forms
LAND BIRDS. 225
a large part of their food, those of clover, strawberry, buttercup, winter-
green, and partridge-berry predominating" (Bendire, Life Histories of
North American Birds, Vol. I, p. 63).
Ordinaril}^ the Partridge roosts in trees, the covey separating somewhat
so that not more than two or three birds roost in any one tree. They
commonly select dense evergreens and perch in the thickest parts wdiere
they are well screened. In severe weather, after a considerable depth of
snow has accumulated, they frequently plunge into the snow toward
night and pass the entire night completely below the surface. It is com-
monly believed that many are killed each winter through this habit, the
snow freezing at the surface during the night, forming a crust so hard
that the bird is unable to break through in the morning; but while this may
happen occasionally it is not likely that many birds are thus killed. One
remarkable thing in connection with the life of this bird is the fact that
during the winter the toes become fringed with a growth of horny scales
or plates which serve to support it while walking on the snow. These are
shed again in the spring, being molted precisely like the feathers (See
Fig. 62).
The drumming of the Ruffed Grouse is one of the remarkable sounds of
the woods, and although most commonly heard during the mating season,
is continued with little interruption until snow falls, and is resumed again
in earliest spring. The sound is produced by the male bird beating the air
with its wings, and some observers believe that he strikes the wings together
over the back, others that most of the sound is produced by the blows of
the wings upon the bird's sides, while still others think that a hollow log
is necessary for the production of the resonant tones. It seems probable,
however, that the blows of the wings upon the air alone are sufficient to
produce the sound, and the performance is believed to be the call or invita-
tion of the male bird to the female.
The nest is placed on the ground, often, but by no means always, at the
foot of a tree or beside a log. It is merely a hollow lined with dry leaves,
and the sitting bird is usually in plain sight except for the protective color-
ation which her own plumage affords. The eggs vary in number from eight
to twelve, occasionally more, but more than fourteen is an unusual number.
Captain Bendire states that he has one reliable record of a nest with twenty-
three eggs, but that the average is about eleven. The eggs are nearly white,
varying from pure white to buffy, and are often entirely unspotted, although
others are more or less sprinkled with fine dots of reddish Ijrown which are
rarely large enough to be called spots. The eggs average 1.58 by 1.19
inches.
The young run as soon as hatched and when suddenly alarmed are very
skilful in hiding. At such times the old bird almost always feigns lameness
or injury in order to draw the enemy away, but if this fails she has l:)een
known to fly boldly at a man or dog, sometimes even driving the latter
away. The male is said to forsake the female as soon as the eggs are laid
and apparently takes no part in caring for the young, but when these are
well grown the males join the coveys and remain with them until the
following spring.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tail-feathers eighteen; feathers of crown somewhat elongated, forming a small crc.<;t;
neck with a dark ruff formed by a tuft of broad black or brownish black feathers on eitiior
side. Adult male: Top of head with many narrow cross-bars of black, rusty brown and
sometimes white; rest of upper parts mottled rusty-brown and whitish, the scapulars,
29
226 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
interscapulars, inner secondaries and wing-coverts usually edged or tipped with buffy
white and often witla large spots of black; each feather of lower back, rump and upper
tail-coverts with a lance-shaped or heart-shaped shaft spot of grayish white; neck ruffs
clear sooty black, with greenish or purplish metallic gloss at the tip; tail rusty brown to
clear gray, crossed at regular distances by 6 to 9 narrow black bars, followed by a broad
sub-terminal black or brownish black band, and tipped by speckled gray or grayish white.
Chin and upper throat clear buff, the lower feathers more or less tipped with dusky; re-
mainder of under parts white, grayish white, or bufTy white with numerous cross-bars of
deep buff, brown or black, these bars strongest and darkest on sides and flanks, often
obscure on breast and belly. Female: Similar, but somewhat smaller; the ruff smaller,
duller and more brownish, the dark bars below less distinct. Iris hazel, bill dark brown,
feet dark horn-color.
Length 15.50 to 19 inches; wing 7 to 7.50; tail 5.50 to 7.
Fig. G2. Foot of Ruffed Grouse, in summer and in winter (at riglit).
Reprinted from Cliapman's Bird Life, by courtesy of D. Appleton & Co.
123. Canada Ruffed Grouse. Bonasa umbellus togata (Linn.). (300a)
Synonyms: Northern Ruffed Grouse, Canadian Ruffed Grouse, Spruce-woods Ruffled
Grouse (not Spruce Grouse). — Tetrao togatus, Linn., 1766.
Separable from the common Ruffed Grouse by its somewhat larger
size, decidedly grayer upper parts and tail, and the heavier, more distinct
dark bars of the under parts. It also as a rule shows more black on the
upper surface and a decided absence of rufous on the same areas; typical
examples, however, can scarcely be named without comparison, even
by experts.
Distribution. — The spruce forests of northern New England, northern
New York, and the British Provinces, west to Oregon, Washington and
British Columbia, north to James Bay.
The occurrence of this subspecies in Michigan has been a matter of
doubt ever since its description by Ridgway in 1885. Various writers
have stated more or less positively that it was found in the colder parts
of the state, but in most cases specimens have not been examined by
competent authorities. Even now we do not feel sure that typical togata
is found anywhere in the state, although it seems highly probable that birds
from the spruce forests of the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula may prove
to belong to this race.
It is included in Mr. Wood's list of birds observed in the Por-
cupine Mountains, Ontonagon county (Ecology of Northern Michigan.
1906, p. 114), and Mr. Wood writes me that the specimens collected
by the party at that time (summer of 1904) were identified as togata by
■ LAND BIRDS. 227
Mr. H. C. Oberholser, of Washington. He is also positive that other
specimens in the University of Michigan Museum, viz., one from Delta
county, two from Iosco county, and one from Houghton county, belong
to the same subspecies. Mr. Frothingham also records this subspecies
from the Michigan Forest Reserve in Roscommon county, where, however,
he believes that both forms are found. On the other hand, Mr. William
Brewster, who has examined most of the specimens in the Agricultural
College collection, states that a specimen from Kalamazoo county and
another from Ionia county are typical umhellus, and that, as he has equally
good representatives of this form from Cadillac, Wexford county (the highest
ground in the Lower Peninsula), and from Oden, Emmet county (the
northernmost county in the Lower Peninsula), he should "infer that all
the grouse of the Lower Peninsula are likely to be umhellus." He writes
further "if I were forced to name your other three skins, from the Upper
Peninsula, I should call them togata, but two of them are females (it is
always more difficult to determine birds of this sex), and the third is cer-
tainly not a typical togata. To that form the Chippewa county female
affords a rather nearer approach than does the other female (from Marquette
county). I should not care to definitely refer these three birds to togata,
but I am inclined to think they are nearer to that subspecies than to
umhellus" (Letter, March 18, 1907.) The Chippewa county specimen
referred to was taken near Eckerman by Hon. Chase S. Osborn, October
26, 1906, and a second specimen, also a female, almost identical in plumage,
was taken at the same time and sent to me, but was so badly mangled
that I did not send the fragmentary skin to Mr. Brewster. At my request
Mr. (now Governor) Osborn, who collected these specimens, examined
and reported upon all the partridges killed by his party at Deerfoot Lodge,
near Eckerman, in November and December 1906. He writes that out
of 81 partridges taken by himself and his friends the proportion of gray-
tailed birds to brown-tailed birds was about four to one, or possibly greater.
Several red-tailed ones were noted. Of course the gray tail is by no means
confined to togata, yet no distinctly rufous-tailed bird can be considered
typical togata.
As at present understood the Canadian Ruffed Grouse is a bird of the
spruce swamps of the northernmost portions of the eastern United States,
but it unquestionably intergrades with the typical umhellus so as to form
a complete series of almost imperceptible gradations. Until we have
numerous specimens from all parts of the Upper Peninsula, as well as from
the northeastern counties of the Lower Peninsula, I do not feel safe in
attempting to outline the distribution of the typical Canadian form in
Michigan. However, it would seem perfectly safe to say that specimens
of typical uinhellus can be found anywhere in the Lower Peninsula and
almost anywhere in the Upper Peninsula, while specimens of typical
togata will hardly be found in the Lower Peninsula and certainly not south
of the Saginaw-Grand Valley.
It would seem that the Ruffed Grouse of Wisconsin are in very similar
case. Mr. Brewster states that "although the Wisconsin and Michigan
grouse that he has examined are darker and grayer than those from New
England, they appear to be nearer umhellus than to true togata, which
almost invariably has the entire throat barred transversely with dusky
markings, a feature not found in our birds" (Kumlicn and Hollister, Birds
of Wisconsin, p. 56).
The condition in Minnesota seems to be similar. Dr. Thomas S. Roberts,
228 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
of Minneapolis, has sent us an analysis of nine specimens of Bonasa from
various parts of the state, which he sums up as follows: "The confusion
is extreme, and if there is any object whatever in recognizing the two 'va-
rieties' the only conclusion which can be arrived at for Minnesota is that
this region is on the borderland between the two forms, with no distinctly
differentiated individuals, but with the togata element preponderating
throughout the state, reaching, as might be supposed, its most marked de-
velopment toward the Canadian boundary. It is probably true, as no little
evidence goes to show, that individuals of the same brood show wide varia-
tion, including, indications of both varieties. I cannot see that any good
purpose is subserved by recognizing these different color phases'^ (Letter,
June 5, 1909).
So far as we can learn the two forms of Ruffed Grouse in question do not
differ materially in habits, although the fact that the Canadian Ruffed
Grouse is partial to spruce swamps will doubtless be found to imply some-
what different food from that of the more southern bird.*
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Similar to the ordinary Ruffed Grouse, but "Darker, with brown markings on lower
parts very conspicuous, everywhere exposed, and bordered by very distinct clusky bars;
bars on flanks very dark brown, or brownish black. Upper parts with more or less of gray,
often mostly grayish, the tail usually gray (sometimes tinged with ochraceous) " (Ridgway)
124. Willow Ptarmigan. Lagopus lagopus lagopus {Linn.). (301)
Synonyms: Ptarmigan, Common Ptarmigan, Willow Grouse, White Grouse, Snow
Grouse. — Tetrao lagopus, Linn., 1758. — Lagopus albus, Aud., 1839, and authors generally.
Known in any plumage by the white outer half of wing (primaries and
secondaries) ; in winter the whole plumage pure white except the tail, which
is black.
Distribution. — Arctic regions; in America south to Sitka and the British
Provinces. Breeding range restricted to the arctic and sub-arctic regions,
mainly north of 55° north latitude. Accidental in New England.
Although we do not know of a Michigan specimen of this bird in any
collection, I am satisfied that it formerly occurred regularly in winter on
Keweenaw Point, and probably at other Michigan points on the south shore
of Lake Superior. According to Dr. Gibbs, Henry Schoolcraft, in a lecture
delivered in 1834, mentions this species as taken at Sault Ste. Marie.
Stockwell also states that it "is found in limited numbers upon the
mountains of the Upper Peninsula" (Forest and Stream, VIII, 241). Both
Dr. Gibbs and A. B. Covert state that Rev. P]. H. Day, whom they knew at
Cadillac, Michigan, but who formerly lived as a missionary among the
Indians on Keweenaw Point, informed them that these "Snow Grouse"
or Ptarmigan frequently appeared in large numbers during severe weather
and were often killed and used as food. Mr. Covert states that he has
talked with lumbermen, hunters, and others who had no special ornitholog-
ical knowledge, but who vouched for its occurrence around lumber camps
in the Upper Peninsula in winter, giving accurate descriptions. They
described it as very tame, sometimes fed by the cooks around the doors
*The Gray Ruffed Grouse, (/?. u. umhdloidcs) has been attributed to Alichigan once or twice by-
sportsmen and writers on popular natural history, but we have no reason to believe that this western
subspecies is ever found here. In all probability gray-tailed birds intermediate between umbellus
and togata have given rise to these reports. True vnibelloides is confined to the Rocky Mountain
region and probably does not range east of Manitoba.
LAND BIRDS. 229
of their shanties. One woman whose husband was the superintendent
of a lumber camp described it as "a large white dove with legs like those
of a Brahma chicken."
Mcllwraith states that ''C. J. Bampton, Registrar of the District of
Algoma, mentions the Willow Ptarmigan as a rare winter visitor at Sault
Ste. Marie. Their southern migrations depend to some extent on the
peculiarities of the season, but usually they are common winter visitors
throughout Manitoba and the northwest" (Birds of Ontario, 1894, 176).
In Kumlien and Hollister's "Birds of Wisconsin," page 57, we read: "Ex-
ceedingly rare straggler from the north. Two specimens captured in a
trap at Racine in December, 1846, by Dr. P. R. Hoy. It is certain that
the Ptarmigan occurs as a rare winter visitor in the Northern Peninsula
of Michigan, and formerly at least reached Wisconsin during the severest
weather." Dr. S. Kneeland says: "White Ptarmigan, Lagopus mutus?
Leach. There is a White Grouse in this region, but whether it is the L.
mutus, alhiis, or leucurus, I cannot positively say" (Birds of Keweenaw
Point, Lake Superior, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., VI, 1859, 237).
In view of the above facts it seems perfectly clear that the Willow
Ptarmigan formerly appeared, at least occasionally, at several of the north-
ernmost points in the state. Its natural habitat is far to the north, but
during the winter it collects in large "packs" and moves southward, often
several hundred miles, and doubtless under certain conditions these migra-
tions are extended so far that some individuals enter our territory.
According to L. M. Turner, it is abundant in the Anderson River region
of Arctic America, where it nests on the ground, laying, early in June,
from 7 to 11 eggs, which are cream-color to buff, heavily and thickly marked
with brown. The period of incubation is about 17 days. According to
Bendire its principal food is buds and leaves of l)irch and willow, together
with berries and insects.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTIOX.
Adult in winter: Plumage entirely snow white except the tail and usually the shafts
of the outer ])rimaries, which are black. All the tail-feathers are deep black, narrowly
tipped with jiure white, and the white upper tail-coverts completely conceal the black
wiien the tail is closed. Bill black; iris brown; tarsi and toes heavily covered with fine
hair-like feathers; even the nails white in midwinter. In summer plumage [never seen
in Michigan] the male has the upper parts barred with brown and black; the head, neck,
and most of lower parts deej) cinnamon-rufous, uniform on throat, fore-neck and chest,
barred with black on sides, flanks and midcr tail-coverts; primaries and outermost wing-
coverts white. The female in summer has the ])rimaries and outer wing-coverts white
as in the male, but lacks the deep cinnamon-rufous of head, neck and lower parts, being
coarsely and irregularly barred and spotted with l)utT and black above, and with black
and buffy white below (Hidgway).
Length 1 i to 17 inches; wing 7 to 7.r)0; (ail about 5.
125. Prairie Chicken. Tympanuchus americanus americanus (AV/c/?.). (305)
Hynonyms: Prairie Hen, Pinnated Grouse. — Cupidonia americana, Reich., isr)2.
— Cupidonia cupido, Baird, 1858. — Cupidonia cupido var. cupido, B. li. & R., 187").
Plate XIV and Figure 63,
A much heavier bird than the Ruffed Grouse, with much sliorter tail
(only four inches), and with a tuft of al)()ut sixteen long, narrow foathei'S
on each side of the neck ovoilying a patch of bare, rod or yellow skin. It
230
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
resembles the Sharp-tailed Grouse in a general way, but the latter lacks
the neck tufts, has the middle tail-feathers decidedly longer than the rest
(about an inch), and the breast spotted with V-shaped black marks instead
of barred regularly with black and white.
Distribution. — Prairies of the Mississippi Valley; south to Louisiana
and Texas, east to Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario;
west throu-gh eastern portions of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska,
Kansas, and Indian Territory; north to Manitoba; general tendency to
extension of range westward and contraction eastward; migration north
and south in Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri.
Formerly the Prairie Chicken seems to have been abundant over a large
part of the southern half of the state, and if it were afforded good protection
from the so-called sports-
men during the fall no
doubt it would still be a
common bird. It is well
known that this species
is not necessarily driven
out by civilization, in
fact up to a certain point
it increases in numbers
with the cultivation of
the country. It prefers
prairie lands and ordi-
narily nests in such
ground, and of course
when all suitable nesting
places are destroyed by
plowing the bird cannot
be expected to remain.
However, there are large
tracts of undrained or
poorly drained open country in southern Michigan in which the Prairie
Chickens have nested in considerable numbers until within a very few
years, and doubtless in most counties south of the Saginaw Valley at
least a few pairs linger yet.
The species was common in Ingham county, near the college,
until 1898 or 1899, but apparently none have nested in the old haunts
since 1900. I am informed, however, that there are still (1911)
some in the southeastern part oflthe county. Mr. John Hazelwood, of
Port Huron, writes: "I saw a flock of thirteen, at four different times,
quite close to Capac, St. Clair county, in 1899." In 1876 they were
abundant in parts of Washtenaw county, and a few were still found about
Brighton in 1886. Then apparently they became extinct there for many
years, but reappeared in 1908 and now seem to be on the increase in Wash-
tenaw county (N. A. Wood, Auk, XXVII, 1910, 131). Some are still
found in southern Jackson county (Watkins, 1906), and Hon. Chas. H.
Chapman, then State Game and Fish Warden, sent me reports from one
of his deputies who had found Prairie Chickens in some numbers in
parts of Eaton and Calhoun counties in November, 1906. We also have
recent reports of their presence in some numbers at several different places
in Kalamazoo county. A nest of twelve eggs was taken in Kalamazoo
county June 5, 1892 (Westnedge). At Petersburg, Monroe county, Jerome
Fig. 63. Prairie Chicken.
From photograph of mounted specimen.
(Original.)
Plate XIV. Nest and Eggs of Prairie Chicken.
From photograph by Thomas L. Ilankinson. (Original.)
LAND BIRDS. 233
Trombley stated that it was nearly or quite extinct in 1906. Probably
it exists in greatest numbers at the present time in those counties of the
three southern tiers, in which the swales and undrained marshes of the
original prairie region have been best protected from fire. Frequent fires
and the incessant persecution of gunners have completed the extermination
in scores of places where the b'rd was once abundant.
The call of the male during the mating season is one of the most re-
markable among bird notes. It is variously known as "booming," "crow-
ing" and "tooting," but no one of these terms gives any fair idea of the
notes, which combine the sweetness and clearness of a bell with the re-
sonance of a drum. Probably they could be most closely imitated with
a pure-toned cornet, at least this is the case with those we have heard
here in Ingham county. But other observers describe the sounds as
quite different. Thus Judge Caton speaks of "the proud cock* * * *
pouring out a booming noise, almost a hoarse roar, only more subdued,
which may be heard for at least two miles in the still morning. This heavy
booming sound is by no means harsh or unpleasant; on the contrary it is
soft and even harmonious. If heavier than the deep key notes of a large
organ, it is much softer, though vastly more powerful." Doubtless the
distance at which the Ijird is heard has much to do with the impression
produced, and we have found it extremely difficult to locate the bird by the
sound, so much so that the power of ventriloquism often ascribed to this
species seems to be quite warranted. When "booming" the male inflates
the naked air sacs on the sides of the neck, until they look, as Judge Caton
says, "like two ripe oranges."
So far as we can learn no southward migration of this species in the late
fall or winter has ever been noticed in this state, although it is a well known
fact that such a migration occurred formerly with great regularity in
Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, and to a lesser extent in Wisconsin
and Illinois. During these migrations flocks of several hundred individuals,
sometimes a thousand or more, have been noted, but they were always wild
and difficult of approach, and when alarmed made flights of several miles
without pausing. In Iowa at least it has been shown that these migrating
birds are chiefly, if not entirely, females, the males remaining all winter
at the north (Cooke, Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley, 1888, 105).
The Prairie Chicken nests invariably on the ground and lays from ten
to fifteen eggs which vary from "pale cream to vi^aceous and olive-buff,
as well as light brown and clay color, usually faintly but regularly spotted
with fine i)in-points of reddish brown" (Bendire, Life Histories, Vol. I,
p. 92). The eggs are generally laid early in May, but have been found
occasionally in July and August. Normally but one brood is reared in a
season, and the period of incubation is said to be from three to four weeks.
Our illustration (Plate XIV) is from a nest of fourteen eggs found at
Chandler's Marsh, Ingham county. May 31, 1897, by L. J. Cole. The eggs
average 1.66 by 1.24 inches.
Its food consists very largely of insects so long as these arc ol)tainable,
and not infrequently grasshoppers form almost the sole food for weeks at
a time. Various grains and seeds are also eaten freely, and during the colder
half of the year, buds, l^crries and leaves are freely taken. Since tlie bird
never injures grain ci'ops in any way, and destroj's myriads of harmful
insects, its preservation and increase would seem to commend themselves
to the farmer, who should encourage their presence whenever possible,
234 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
especially by feeding with grain in severe winter weather, and by cooperating
with the sportsman and game warden in enforcing the law.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tail of eighteen feathers, tarsus feathered to base of toes; side of neck with a tuft of
narrow, elongate feathers, largely black, but more or less striped or margined with bufT.
Upper parts barred and checkered with black, buff and gray, the tojj of head showing
most black and the feathers of crown somewhat elongated to form a crest; chin, upper
throat and most of sides of head buffy white; a brown stripe from bill below eye, and a
conspicuous dark patch half an inch lower; under parts from throat to tail regularly barred
with brown or black and buff or buffy white, the buff deepest on lower neck and chest,
the dark bars blackest on sides and flanks; tail-feathers brownish black, narrowly tipped
with pure white, and barred with buff in the female, but without bars in the male (except
sometimes on middle pair). The female also has the neck tufts much shorter than the
male, and is somewhat smaller throughout, but otherwise there is little difference be-
tween the sexes.
Length of male 18 to 19 inches; wing 8.60 to 9.40; tail 4 to 4.30. Length of female
17.50; wing 8.60 to 8.75; tail 3.60 to 4.
126. Sharp-tailed Grouse. Pedioecetes phasianellus phasianellus (Linn.).
(308)
Synonyms: Spike-tail, Pin-tail, Prairie Chicken, Blackfoot, Northern Sharp-tailed
Grouse. — Tetrao phasianellus, Linn., 1758, Forst., 1772, Gmel., Lath, and others. —
PedicBcetes kennicotti, Suckley, 1861. — Ped. phasianellus var. phasianellus, B. B. & R.,
1875.
Scarcely to be confounded with any other grouse except the true Prairie
Chicken, from which it differs as noted under that species.
Distribution. — Central Alaska and northwestern British Columbia east
through central Keewatin to central western Ungava, and south to Lake
Superior and the Parry Sound district Ontario; casual east to Saguenay
River, Quebec. (A. O. U. Check-Hst, 1910.)
Considerable uncertainty has existed with regard to the occurrence of
this species within our limits, but the question has been set at rest by the
recent expeditions (1904, 1905) from the University of Michigan to Isle
Royale* in Lake Superior, w'here this bird was found to be resident and
breeding in some numbers. According to Mr. Norman A. Wood, who was
in charge of the party which visited Isle Royale in the summer of 1904,
"A family of this species was seen at close range by Mr. Ruthven, near
Siskowit Bay, Isle Royale, August 29, 1904. The residents told me that
the 'Prairie Chicken' hved at Siskowit Bay throughout the year. The
large clearing (about 500 acres) about the old mines seems to furnish the
favorable conditions for them."
Three specimens taken on Isle Royale in the summer of 1905 were sub-
mitted to the Division of Biological Survey of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture at Washington, and were identified by H. C. Oberholzer as the
typical northern form, Pedicecetes phasianellus phasianellus. This of
course is just what would be expected, since Isle Royale Hes only eighteen
miles from the north shore of Lake Superior. Mr. Peet, who accompanied
the 1905 expedition, made the following notes on this species: Found at
Rock Harbor and Siskowit Bay by our party and was reported at Wash-
ington Harbor by the residents, who called it a pheasant. On July 25 a
female accompanied by three young, about half grown, was found in a
*Isle Royale belongs to Keweenaw county, Michigan.
LAND BIRDS. 235
clearing on a small rock ridge near Benson Brook. Mr. Kneutson, of Park
Place, reported July 20, that the Grouse nested regularly at his clearing
and that several broods of young had recently been seen there. He also
said that during the previous fall he had found them very plentiful and tame
at the clearing at McCargoe Cove. The Malone boys at Menagerie Light
House reported these birds to be quite common breeders at the clearing
when the old town stood near the head of Siskowit Bay (Max M. Peet,
Adams' Rep. Mich. Geol. Surv. 1908, p. 347).
It is worthy of remark that both A. B. Covert and Dr. Morris Gibbs
long ago stated their belief that this species occurred, at least as a winter
visitor, in parts of the Upper Peninsula. Dr. Gibbs has the following
statement in his notes written many years ago: "The Rev. E. H. Day,
pastor of the M. E. church at Cadillac, informs Mr. A. B. Covert and me that
this species is not rare in the Northern Peninsula. He lived on the meat
of this bird some time while an Indian missionary a good many years ago
[probably on Keweenaw Point]." In Forest and Stream (Vol. VIII, 241)
G. A. Stockwell says, alluding to this species, "An occasional visitor to
Lower Michigan; more frequent in the Upper Peninsula; variety colum-
bianus is confined to the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and is extremely
rare." The latter part of Stockwell's statement remains unexplained.
So far as can be learned no specimen of the Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse
has ever been taken in any part of Michigan. It is possible that the ordinary
prairie form of the Sharp-tail (P. phas. campestris) may have occurred
at one time over a part of the Lower Peninsula, but that, as this bird, unlike
the Prairie Chicken, retires rapidly before civilization, it has now become
extinct. McUwraith (Birds of Ontario, 1894, 180) says: "The Sharp-
tail is abundant near Winnipeg, from which point it has reached the
Hamilton market. It is also reported by Mr. Bampton as being found at
Sault Ste. Marie (Canada)." Doubtless reference is made here to the
northern form, the same found on Isle Royale.
In habits the Sharp-tail is not very unlike the Prairie Chicken, but it is
less often found in entirely open ground, preferring the edges of the forest
and particularly the brush slopes of an uneven country. The nest is placed
on the ground; the eggs, six to twelve, "varying from olive-buffy to deep
brown, often plain, but usually more or less speckled with dark brown,
and averaging 1.70 by 1.23 inches" (Ridgway).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tarsus featliered to base of toes; tail of eighteen feathers, tlie middle pair in tlie male
projectinji an inch or more beyond the rest; no elongated feather tufts on sides of neck.
General distribution of colors much as in the Prairie Chicken, inckKling the Hglit huffy
chin, throat and cheeks, with the dark stripe beneath the eye and the blackisli patch
below the cheek; under parts, however, whitish or very pale buffy, with numerous v-shaped
dusky spots on breast, sides and flanks, but no distinct bars except on a narrow belt at
base of neck, and sometimes on the flanks; lower breast and belly mostly pure white and
unspotted; upper parts mottled black, buff and white, the wing-coverts with ninnerous
large round or oval white spots, and the scapulars usually with sharp white shaft-streaks;
tail-feathers mostly whitish, only the two middle pairs mottled and barreil with black,
rusty and white. Female similar, but smaller, the middle tail-featiiers much shorter.
The above description will answer equally well for the typical Siiarp-tailed Grouse
(P. p. phasinnellus) of the interior of British America, and the Prairie Sharp-tail (P. p.
campestris) of the plains of the United States. The latter, according to Ridg^vay, is
light-colored, " the general tone of the upper parts buffy, and grayish or light brownish
of various shades always predominating over black markings, the white markings on
scapulars and wings not conspicuously contrasted with the general color." On the other
hand, the northern form P. p. phasiancUns, "is very dark colored, with black or dusky
largely predominating on upper parts, the white scapular streaks and wing spots showing
in strong relief."
23G MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Family 33. MELEAGRID^. Turkeys.
Only a single Michigan species, the Wild Turkey, formerly abundant in
the southern half of the state, now exterminated.
127. Wild Turkey. Meleagris gallopavo silvestris, Vieill. (310a)
Synonyms: American Turkey, I'^ustern Turkey, Northern Turkey. — Meleagris
gallopavo, Linn., 1758, and most of the older American writers. — Meleagris americana,
Bartram, 179L — Meleagris silvestris, Vieill., 1817. — Gallopavo sylvestris, Catesby, 1730,
Leconte, 1857. — Meleagris fera, Vieill., 1824.
So similar to the domesticated turkey that no description is needed,
yet a single tail-feather will show from which bird it was taken. In the
domesticated turkey the rump feathers as well as the tail-feathers are
always tipped with white; in the Wild Turkey these feathers are tipped
invariably with rich chestnut brown.
Distribution.— United States from Chesapeake Bay to the Gulf coast,
and west to the Plains, along wooded river valleys; formerly north to
southern Maine, southern Ontario, and up the Missouri River to North
Dakota.
Formerly an abundant bird at least as far north as the Saginaw Valley,
there is every reason to believe that at present the species is extinct in
Michigan. Up to 1875 it was fairly common over a large part of the state,
but during the next five years it decreased with extraordinary rapidity,
and before 1890 had become so uncommon as to be considered a very rare
bird almost everywhere. Mr. W. B. Mershon, of Saginaw, in a letter dated
July 18, 1905, says: "The last one I killed, as near as I can figure, was
about 18 years ago. It was at a point about three miles south and west
of Reece (in Saginaw Co.?), and weighed 23-| pounds, the most magnificent
specimen of a turkey gobbler I have ever seen. I have it nicely mounted
and in my collection at my office. There were five in the bunch. For a
few years after this I heard of turkeys still being in the dense swamp around
Akron, Tuscola county. This is a point just beyond Fairgrove, on the
S. T. & H., and I have no doubt they did exist in that locality longer than
in any part of Michigan, but I do not believe there has been a genuine
Wild Turkey left in Michigan in the last six or seven years. ' '
From an article by Mr. F. S. Shuver, we quote the following: ''Quite
common in Van Buren county until 1880. A few have continued to breed
in Arlington township, and 14 or 15 were shot in the winter of 1893-94.
Several more were killed in the winter of 1895-96, and a few were seen during
the winter of 1896-97. A gobbler shot in January, 1897, was the last one I
have heard of" (Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, Apr. 1898). Mr. Covert furnishes
a record of a male killed in Tuscola county, October 12, 1874, and a female
near Ann Arbor, November 19, 1876. In 1904 Mr. B. H. Swales stated
that it was then extinct in the southeastern part of the state (Birds of S.
E. Michigan). Mr. Newell A. Eddy tells me that in 1883, and for at least
three years later. Wild Turkeys were sold frequently in the Bay City markets
and doubtless were taken in the immediate vicinity. Mr. John Hazelwood
writes that he frequently shot turkeys within a mile of the city of Port
Huron "many years ago, but there is not one left in this county now"
(1904). Dr. Robt. H. Wolcott states that it was numerous near Grand
Rapids up to the middle eighties, and reported as late as 1897 from Hudson-
LAND BIRDS. 237
ville and Jenisonville (MS. List, 1904), Mr. Purdy says that at Plymouth,
Wayne county, he has heard of none since 1888.
We have a specimen in the Agricultural College Museum, taken in Clinton
county, a few miles north of the College, in November 1871, and Dr. Atkins
recorded a specimen seen at Locke, Ingham county, December 20, 1882,
and again January 17, 1884. Mr. C. J. Davis, of Lansing has in his collec-
tion a fine gobbler killed near Pine Lake, Ingham county, about December
18, 1884. This bird weighed 21J pounds and was one of a pair killed at
the same time and place. Mr. Davis believes these to be the last killed
in this county. Mr. J. Foster, of Pompeii, informs me that the turkey
was formerly found in some numbers in Isabella county. He has hunted
in every part of the Lower Peninsula but has never heard of or seen any
sign of this species north of that county. Mr. F. H. Chapin, of Kalamazoo,
writes that in the winter of 1888 he followed a Wild Turkey for some
distance in Cooper township, Kalamazoo county, but it escaped by flying
across the river. He also states that in the fall of 1892 or 1893 he was
informed by reliable parties that there was a small flock in jMartin township,
Allegan county, in a swamp bordering the Gunn River, and on jNIarch 6,
1892, he flushed one in a swamp near Almena, Van Buren county, and saw.
it disappear over the treetops. Farmers in the vicinity informed him that
there was quite a large flock in the swamp.
It should be noted that in several parts of the state the domesticated
turkey has run wild and is by many regarded as the true Wild Turkey.
Such birds fly nearly as well as wild birds and are almost as hard to shoot.
They may be readily distinguished, however, by the markings of the tail-
feathers and the upper tail-coverts, which are always white-tipped in the
domesticated form and chestnut in the wild bird.
The turkey nests on the ground, laying ten to eighteen eggs, which are
light buff, thickly speckled or sprinkled with brown, and averaging 2.55
by 1.79 inches. We have a single egg in the College ^Museum, numbered
4977, and collected by Wilham Kedzie, in Lansing township, but the date
is not known.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male:" Head,' with its bristly bare skin, fleshy apiicndaiie, wattles,' etc. red,
blue and white, as in the domestic turkey; a large tuft of coarse l)lack l)ristles hangmg
from the center of the upper breast; general plumage dark brown, with lich metallic lustre,
showing burnished bronze, copper, blued steel, or gold, according to the angle at which
the light strikes it; most of the feathers of the under parts, and especially those of the
wing-coverts, lower back and rump, tipped with velvet black; upper tail-coverts tipped
with chestnut; primaries and secondaries slate-colored, barretl with white, the white
bars broadest and most conspicuous on the secondaries; tail brown, narrowly barred
witii black, with a broad subterminal black band and tipped conspicuously witli brigiit
reddish brown or chestnut. Adult female : Similar but much smaller, iluller, and browner,
tlie metallic reflections largely wanting and no trace of the "beard" on the chest.
Length of male 48 to 50 inches; whig 21; tail 18.50; weight IG to 10 iiounds.
Family PHASIANID/E. Pheasants.
This is the old-world family to which belong the bai'uyard fowl, iioacock
golden and silver pheasants, and nearly a hundred other species. It is
represented in Michigan only by one or two species lecently introduced
and as yet 'doubtfully established. The commonest form is the Pmg-
necked or Japanese Pheasant, but the closely related I'lnglish Pliea.sant
may have been liberated in a few places.
238 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Order XL COLUMB^. Pigeons and Doves.
Family 35. COLUMBIDJi]. Pigeons.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Larger. Tail-feathers twelve; sides of neck without black spot.
Passenger Pigeon. No. 128.
A A. Smaller. Tail-feathers fourteen; a small but distinct black spot on
each side of the neck. Mourning Dove. No. 129.
128. Passenger Pigeon. Ectopistes migratorius (Lf;m.). (315)
Synonyms: Wild Pigeon, Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Red-breasted Pigeon, Blue-headed
Pigeon, incorrectly Carrier Pigeon. — Columba migratoria, Linn., 1766, Gm., Forst., Wils.,
Aud. — Ectopistes migratoria, Swains., 1827, and authors generally. — Columba canadensis,
Linn. — Columba Americana, Kalm.
Plates XV XVI, XVII.
The dove-like form and long, pointed tail will separate this species from
any of our birds except the Mourning Dove, and from this it may be known
at once (with the bird in hand) by its large size, the total absence of the
small black spot on each side of the neck, and the possession of but twelve
tail-feathers instead of fourteen. At a distance of fifty yards, however,
none of these points serves, and I doubt that any one could surely dis-
criminate the two species unless they were seen together, or some other
bird whose identity was known were close at hand for comparison of size.
The slate-blue head and ruddy breast of the adult male are very different
from those of the Mourning Dove, but females and immature birds do not
possess these marks.
Distribution. — Formerly eastern North America, from Hudson Bay
southward, and west to the Great Plains, straggling thence to Nevada
and Washington. Breeding range mainly restricted to portions of Canada
and northern border of the United States as far west as Manitoba and the
Dakotas. Now probably extinct.
Formerly the Wild Pigeon was one of the best known birds of the state,
appearing in immense flocks nearly every spring and almost invariably
in autumn in all parts of the state. Where "mast" was abundant small
numbers lingered until snow came, and a few frequently remained in the
southern counties through mild winters. The great invasions, however,
by hundreds of thousands or even millions, usually took place suddenly
in April, and the birds began nesting early in May.
This species was always partial to hardwood growths, and a large
"nesting" or "roost," as it was often called, was almost always located
in or near an extensive area of hardwood timber where food was abundant.
When a nesting tract had been selected, however, the pigeons used trees of
every kind — beech maple, birch, oak tamarack, cedar (arbor vitse),
hemlock, pine, etc., and scores, or even a hundred nests were placed in a
Plate XV. Passenger Pigeon. Adult Male.
Photograph from life. Courtesy of American Field.
LAND BIRDS. 241
single tree, sometimes only a few feet above one's head, but more often
at heights of twelve to fifty feet.
The nests were merely flat platforms of twigs loosely put together, small
and scarcely hollowed, while no attempt at concealment was made. Here
a single egg was laid and usually this was incubated and hatched alone.
In some cases two eggs were found in a nest, and a few observers claim that
a second egg was usually laid soon after the first one hatched, the heat of
the young bird helping to incubate the second egg. Nevertheless most
authorities believe that but one egg was laid by each bird, the cases in
which two eggs were found in a nest being explained on the supposition
that two females used the same nest.
Much uncertainty as to the period of incubation seems to exist, different
writers allowing from 13 to 24 days. The majority state that the period
is 18 to 20 days, and this is the time given by Bendire (Life Histories,
Part I, 1892, p. 138). On the other hand, David Whittaker of Milwaukee,
who had a flock in confinement for many years, states that the period of
incubation is "fourteen days almost to a day, and if the egg is not hatched
then the birds desert it." Mr. Whittaker also states that he has never
known any of his birds to incubate more than a single egg at a time, although
each female laid on an average three or four eggs each season, and some
laid as many as 7 or 8 (Auk, XIII, 1896, 234-237). The eggs, scarcely separ-
al)le from those of the domesticated dove, are white, unspotted, elliptical,
and measure 1.47 by 1.02 inches.
Studies of the large breeding places of the Pigeon show that at least in
Michigan nesting began frequently by the middle of April and lasted
normally until late in June or even into July; thus, the period of incubation
being less than three weeks, and the young remaining in the nest only about
two weeks, it seems evident that many of the birds, if not all, must have
reared at least two broods.
Many of the netters claim that the old birds pushed the 3"oung out of the
nests before they were able to fly and at once deserted them leaving them
to get what food they could from the ground for a few daj's. until they
learned how to fly and were able to shift for themselves. They were said
to be extremely fat when pushed out of the nest and this prevented them
from starving during the interval. Meanwhile the parent birds were said
to move away to a distance of twenty to fifty miles and at once construct
a new nest where another squal) was reared. However this may be, it
has been repeatedly observed that for many weeks after a nesting was
founded it continued to grow in extent, spreading more or less in all direc-
tions, but usually becoming an elongated area, from two to four miles in
width and often twelve to twenty miles in length, sometimes even larger.
The nests themselves were mere platfoi-ms of twigs and small sticks,
carelessly interwoven and so fragile as to be easily dislodged or shaken
to pieces. In many cases the single egg was distinctly visible from below,
through the bottom of the nest. Apparently both sexes took part in the
construction of the nest, but in the case of birds which have been watched
in captivity the female has been seen to arrange the material brought by
the male. After the eggs were laid the birds took turns in brooding and the
greatest uniformity is said to have prevailed in this respect throughout
the entire colony. Thus several different ol:)servors agree that the males re-
mained on the nest from nine or ten o'clock in the morning until about two
in the aftei-noon when their j)laces were taken by the females, who sat through
the niglit and until about nine o'clock the next morning. The females thus
31
242 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
fed mostly during the forenoon and the males early in the morning and
again late in the afternoon. According to one observer " the sitting bird
does not leave the nest until the bill of its incoming mate nearly touches
its tail, the former slipping off as the latter takes its place." The males
all returned from feeding at about the same time and the females went off
to feed as soon as they were relieved from the duties of incubation. Thus
there were two periods of great activity about the nesting place, one between
nine and ten in the morning and the other between two and three in the
afternoon. Of course there was also a general return of all the males just
at nightfall and a similar general departure in the early morning when these
birds went out again to feed. It is stated by many writers that the male
bird fed the female while on the nest, and this seems not improbable, as
they were frequently seen putting their bills into each others mouths much
in the manner in which they feed the young. As with most other species
of pigeons the young were fed entirely by disgorging the contents of the
crop, the food having been softened for a time in the crop of the parent
before the young were fed.
The food during a large part of the year was almost entirely of a vegetable
nature, consisting principally of acorns, beech nuts, corn, wheat, rye,
oats, buckwheat and the seeds of various wild grasses and weeds. But
during the nesting season, and probably to a considerable extent at other
times, the Pigeon fed largely upon animal substances, and particularly,
if we can credit numerous observers, upon angleworms and various grubs
and soft-bodied insects which are to be found in moist places. A few
writers state that the Pigeon was fond of roots or tubers of various kinds,
and that it scratched and dug for these with great energy, frequenting for
this purpose the softer grounds about the edges of swamps and marshes.
It seems likely, however, that a large part of the food obtained under such
conditions was the animal food already alluded to.
Pigeons are said to have been remarkably fond of salt, or rather of the
mud which is impregnated with the saline matter from salt springs. In
every region where Pigeons have been netted or trapped in any way use
seems to have been made of this fact, and so-called "salt beds" have been
prepared for the purpose of attracting them. The method varied with
different trappers, and the particular formula used was often guarded as
a secret of great importance. The process, however, always involved
the clearing of a patch of soft rich ground from all grass, weeds and brush,
and this was thoroughly moistened with brine, and frequently grain of
various kinds was scattered upon it and rolled or tramped in. after which
a second treatment with salt, or in some cases with saltpeter or sulphur,
was given; in other cases anise seed or anise seed oil was spread upon the bed.
In this way Pigeons were baited in large numbers, and after they had become
accustomed to the spot a net was so arranged that it could be sprung over
the bed and a large number of Pigeons captured at once.
In other cases neither salt nor anise was used in order to attract the
birds, but merely wheat, corn, or other grain. One Pennsylvania netter,
with whom the writer talked, stated that after the young were hatched
the old birds refused to eat grain and he secured several thousand Pigeons
by baiting them with angleworms which he dug for the purjDOse in large
quantities.
Pigeon netting was a recognized trade or pursuit in the early history
of the country and thousands of persons engaged in it whenever the con-
ditions were favorable. Aside from the baiting already described "stool
LAND BIRDS. 245
■pigeons" (that is, captive wild pigeons, blinded or hooded, and made to
flutter or spread their wings by manipulation with a string attached to a
movable perch) were used, and during the great migratory flights in spring
and fall these stool pigeons and "flyers" were indispensable to the capture
of any considerable number. They w^ere used for decoying the birds to
the netting grounds just described, as well as to a dead tree, or a frame-
work of poles arranged within easy gun shot of a bhnd, from which the
gunner could rake the pigeons after they had ahghted.
The literature of pigeon netting is so extensive that it is impossible to
go into the matter here. Those who are interested in this subject, as well
as in the methods which contributed largely to the extermination of the
Pigeon, are referred to the excellent book by W. B. Mershon, of Saginaw,
Mich., entitled "The Passenger Pigeon." (Outing PubHshing Co., New
York, 1907.)
Estimates of the number of pigeons nesting in any one place are ex-
tremely variable. Not a few writers claim that from a billion to a billion
and a half assembled at one place to nest. Other writers believe that
not more than five to ten millions were found together, while still others
are doubtful if more than one or two millions have ever nested at one time
in the same region. Apparently the largest nesting of which we have
definite knowledge was that which w^as located near Petoskey, Emmet
county, in 1878, which has been frequently described as from twenty-eight
to forty miles in length by three to ten miles in 'width. Within this
region one writer states that at least 150,000 acres were included and that
the nesting actually covered at least 100,000 acres. Since almost every tree
had some nests, and as many as 110 nests have been counted in a single
tree, it is possible to form some conception of the number of pigeons
which reared their young at this place.
It is stated that from this nesting the first shipment of birds was made
on March 22, 1878, and the last upon August 12, during which time the war
against the hapless birds was waged with varying intensity. "For many
weeks the railroad shipments averaged fifty barrels of dead birds per day,
thirty to forty dozen old birds and about fifty squabs being packed in a
barrel. Allowing 500 birds to a barrel, and averaging the entire shipments
for the season at 25 barrels per day we find the railroad shipments to have
been 12,500 dead birds daily, or 1,500,000 for the summer. Of live birds
there w^ere shipped 1,116 crates, six dozen per crate, or 80,352 birds. These
were railroad shipments only and not including the cargoes by steamer
from Petoskey, Cheboygan, Cross Village, and other lake ports, which were
as many more" (H. B. Roney, American Field, Jan. 11, 1879).
Squabs were considered special delicacies and were collected in immense
numbers by jarring the smaller trees, felling the larger ones, or even by
setting fire to the loose bark of the birches, which were favorite nesting
trees. In addition to the thousands destroyed in this way, and the hundreds
of thousands shij)ped yearly for food and for trap shooting, the Indians of
Northern Michigan, as well as many of the white residents in the neighbor-
hood of the roosts, collected immense numbers of adults and squabs and
preserved them for winter use by salting or smoking and drying.
Dr. Isaac Voorheis of Frankfort, Mich., told the writer personally that in
1880 or 1881, when there was a large nesting in Benzie county, he took,
at one throw of the net, 109 dozen and 8 pigeons (1,816 birds), and that
six catches of the net brought him $650. These birds were kept alive
until a schooner load was obtained, when they were sent directly to Chicago
246 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
for trap shooting. Dr. Voorheis states that at one time he had so many-
pigeons alive in crates that it took seven bushels of corn per day to feed
them. This was the last nesting in that part of the state, so far as Dr.
Voorheis knows, and it was broken up by a heavy fall of snow, at least eight
inches, after most of the nests had eggs. All the old birds left in a body
and never came back.
In several other cases large nestings are said to have been broken up by
heavy falls of snow, and in still others the entire hosts of pigeons abandoned
the nesting grounds apparently as the result of the persecution to which
they were subjected. During the years 1874 and 1876 there were immense
nestings near Shelby, Oceana county, and, perhaps owing to the favorable
location of the birds, larger numbers were shipped from these roosts than
from any other recent roosts of which we have data. One dealer alone
claims to have shipped 175,000 pigeons from the Shelby nesting during
a single season, and states that in that year (1874) the shipments of birds
from the Shelby nestings averaged about 100 barrels per day for more than
thirty days.
The disappearance of the Passenger Pigeon furnishes one of the most
remarkable and interesting problems of which we have any record, both
because of its suddenness and completeness. Up to about 1870 the bird
was considered a veritable pest by the farmers of the state, and the only
good obtained from it was the supply of food which it furnished from year
to year. Up to that time no attempt to protect it by legislation had been
made, and probably no one would have countenanced such an attempt.
Even as late as 1878 Pigeons were extraordinarily abundant in all the upper
counties of the Lower Peninsula, and according to several authorities not
only did millions nest near Petoskey, Emmet county, that summer, but
a nesting about half as large was located near Boyne Falls, Charlevoix
county, and another "farther south, on the Manistee River, some 26 miles
long by 5 average width, or 130 square miles, in which the birds hatched
three times, and from which not a bird was caught, as it was an impene-
trable swamp" (Quoted by Mershon, 1907, p. 94).
For some time previous to this the Michigan game law included the
Pigeon among the game birds, and certain sections nominally protected
the birds while nesting, prohibiting the use of nets within certain distances
of nesting grounds and also prohibiting the shooting of pigeons ^^ithin several
miles. These sections, however, were seldom if ever enforced, owing to
the difficulty of getting sufficient evidence to convict, as well as to the
attitude of residents in the neighborhood, who were all interested in the
business furnished by the Pigeons and unwilling to enforce a statute which
was objectionable. Each nesting was bes'eged by an army of professional
pigeoners, the total number of professionals often reaching 500 or even 800,
while residents of the vicinity, and other amateurs, increased the number
to a thousand or more. The business of pigeon catching was sometimes
a very lucrative one, and even under unfavorable circumstances the local
farmers and business men looked upon it as a boon which should be utilized
to the full.
In 1897 the legislature enacted a law prohibiting the killing of the
Passenger Pigeon at any time of year, for a period of ten years, and in
1905 the Passenger Pigeon was removed from the class of game birds to
that of non-game birds, so that its killing at the present time is illegal at
any season. The prohibition, however, appears to have come too late.
LAND BIRDS. 247
■for there is every reason to fear that the species is totally extinct not only
in Michigan but elsewhere.
So far as we can learn, the last nestings of any importance in Northern
Michigan occurred in 1880 and 1881. In 1880, according to Chief Simon
Pokagon, there was a large nesting on the Platte River, Benzie county, and
in 1881, according to Mr. S. S. Stevens of Cadillac, there was a nesting of
moderate size, perhaps eight miles long a few miles west of Grand Traverse.
In 1886 Mr. Stevens found a small flock, "of about fifty dozen pairs," nesting
in a swamp near Lake City, Missaukee county, and this, so far as we can
learn, is the last instance in which more than two or three pairs have been
found nesting together.
In 1888 Mr. William Brewster and Mr. Jonathan Dwight, Jr., of Cam-
bridge, spent several weeks in Northern Michigan in the hope of studying
a large nesting of the Wild Pigeon, but although thousands of pigeons
appeared in the neighborhood of Cadillac late in April of that year, and
a few pairs bred here and there in the surrounding woods, the greater
number disappeared before the middle of May, and are not known to have
returned. They were traced northward as far as Oden, Emmet county,
and are presumed to have crossed the Straits of Mackinac and nested some-
where in the Upper Peninsula, or even in the British possessions north of
Lake Superior.
Since that date (1888) no large flocks of Passenger Pigeons have been
seen anywhere, and since 1890 the occurrence of single individuals or small
squads has been considered worth recording in the scientific journals, on
account of the rarity of the bird. A few individuals were taken here and
there in the eastern United States in 1894, 1895 and 1896, but they were
almost invariably single birds or pairs.
In the summer of 1893 a careful observer (Vernon Bailey), at Elk River,
Minnesota, stated that two or three flocks, of four to six birds each, were
seen during the summer, and two pigeons were killed, but he had heard of
no nests (McUwraith, Birds of Ontario, 1894, p. 185). Another observer
reported a flock of 500 pigeons seen in Aitken county, Minnesota in the
spring of 1894 (Auk, XII, 1895, 80). One was shot in the northeast
corner of Delta county, Mich., October 1, 1895, by Dr. E. Copeland and
one was taken at Delevan Wisconsin, September 8, 1896.
The last specimen taken in the United States, so far as we can learn,
was an immature bird shot September 14, 1898, at Chestnut Ridge, near
Delray, W^ayne county, Mich., by Mr. P. H. Clements of Detroit. This
bird was mounted by Campion of Detroit, and is now in the collection of
Mr. J. H. Fleming of Toronto (Auk, XX, 1903, 66).
Of course there have been scores of reports of the occurrence of pigeons
during the last ten years, but in most cases investigation has shown them
to be based upon the Mourning Dove or Carolina Dove, which is so similar
in general appearance to the Passenger Pigeon that even the expert is likely
to be mistaken unless the utmost care is exercised (Examine Plate XVII).
It is barely possible that a few small flocks of Passenger Pigeons still exist
and nest somewhere in the more remote sections of Michigan or the
Dominion of Canada. It should be noted, however, that the reports of
the abundance of the Passenger Pigeon in California and the far southwest
are entirely erroneous, being based upon the presence there of an entirely
different bird, the Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata) which is restricted
to the western United States, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific.
248 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
As to the cause or causes of the disappearance of the I'assenger Pigeon
tlie greatest diversity of opinion exists. Most naturaUsts agree that man's
warfare upon the bird on its nesting grounds has l)een the prime cause of
its extinction; but tliere are not wanting tliose wlio refuse to admit this,
and it seems perfectly certain that other causes must have combined to
effect the complete extermination. Some believe that the development of
some unknown but deadly parasite was responsible for the death of the Pigeon
host, and it is pointed out that the gregarious nature of the birds would
favor the increase and spread of such a parasite, which might naturally
})ass thi'ough a cycle which would culminate in the practical extermination
of the Pigeon. There is, however, not a particle of direct evidence to
support this theory. A similar theory ascribes the sudden disappearance
to some unknown disease.
The fact that during sudden and heavy storms, and particularly during
foggy weather and snow storms, hundreds and perhaps thousands of
l)igeons have been drowned in the waters of the Great Lakes gives color
to the supposition that the last remaining bands of pigeons may possibly
iuxve perished in this way. Unquestionably the clearing away of the great
pine and hardwood forests of the north has been very largely responsible
for the rapid decrease, since this removed their principal food supply of
beech nuts, acorns and the seeds of various conifers, and these areas, recently
cleared by the lumberman's axe, were almost invariably devastated soon
after by fire, which in some cases swept over entire counties and left
hundreds of square miles a barren wilderness.
In the opinion of the writer the most probable cause of the disappearance
of the pigeon lies in the fact that, through this clearing of the forests and the
increasing persecution by man, the birds were driven from one place to
another and gradually compelled to nest farther and farther to the north,
and under conditions successively less and less favorable, so that eventually
the larger part of the great flocks consisted of old birds, which, through
stress of weather and persecution, abandoned their nesting places and
failed to rear any considerable number of young. Under such conditions
they would naturally become weaker, or at least less resistant, each year,
and in the attempt to find nesting places in the far north they may have
been overwhelmed by snow and ice during one or two of the unusually
severe summers which occurred between 1882 and 1890.
Many attempts have been made to domesticate the Wild Pigeon and the
birds have proved hardy in captivity and have nested somewhat freely;
yet no domesticated race has ever been established, and so far as can be
learned not more than two individuals of this species are now living
in any zoological garden or aviary in the world. Audu])on sent living
specimens to a British nobleman, the Earl of Kirby, as early as 1830, and
they lived and bred for many years, but seem to have died out eventually.
Mr. David Whittaker of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, secured a pair of young
Passenger Pigeons from northeastern Wisconsin in the fall of 1888, and in
the course of eight j^ears succeeded in breeding from them a little flock of
fifteen birds, six males and nine females. Many eggs were laid each year,
but few of the young which were hatched could be reared, apparently for
lack of proper food. This flock was divided, part of it going to Dr. C. O.
\\'liitman of Chicago University, who in 1904 had ten birds, but thought
they had been much weakened by inbreeding, as few of the eggs were fertile
and the flock steadily decreased. The following year only four were left.
Meanwhile the original Milwaukee flock had decreased in the same way,
^ s
LAND BIRDS. 251
and in 1908 there were but seven left, six males and a single female, ap-
parently barren. Since that time all the remaining birds of both flocks
have died, with the possible exception of a female which Dr. Whitman
sent to the Cincinnati Zoological Society in 1902, which was infertile in 1909
at the age of thirteen years. At that time the Cincinnati Society had a
single male left, about twenty-four years old and not likely long to survive.
For a history of the Milwaukee flock, with interesting details of the life of
the pigeon in captivity, the reader is referred to Mr. Mershon's book already
cited.
The belief that the Passenger Pigeon was a bird of remarkable vitality,
endurance, and powers of flight undoubtedly has a good foundation, but
all these powers combined might prove useless against that dominating
fear which compelled the bird to turn from the known dangers of civiliza-
tion— the axe, the gun, and the forest fire, toward the inhospitable and
semi-arctic regions of the far north. We may hope that a remnant of
the great hordes which once swept over our state still exists somewhere
and may eventually restock our forests, but it must be confessed that this
is far more a hope than an expectation, and with each succeeding year
this hope grows fainter.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire head, including sides and chin, together with back of neck, back,
rump and most of upper surface of wings, clear plumbeous or bright slate-blue, the scapulars
and tertiaries with a few large black spots, the lesser wing-coverts with similar but smaller
ones; lower throat, breast, sides and belly, rich reddish brown, deepest on throat and chest,
paler and more pinkish (vinaceous) on the sides and abdomen; sides of neck and base
of neck behind with a rich, metallic, red-purple iridescence; anal region and under tail-
coverts white; wings brownish black, several of the shorter primaries with broad bluish-
white areas on the outer webs near the base, and a narrow white edging even to the tips;
two middle tail-feathers entirely black, the rest slate blue at base, grading into pure white
at tip, each feather with a broad black area and a bright brown "tliumb-mark" on the inner
web near the base. Bill black; feet and iris red. Female: Similar as to wings and tail,
which, however, are dull slate instead of black; black spots on the wing-coverts tending
to form two or more bars; no clear slate blue anywhere, but head and neck mainly brownish-
gray, the back and breast grayish-brown, and the sides of the neck glossed with metallic
colors as in the male, but much more faintly. Young birds resemble the adult female
somewhat, but most of the feathers above and below have distinct white margins, and the
light borders on the wing-feathers are broader, giving a mottled appearance.
Length of male 15 to 17.25 inches; wing 8 to 8.50; tail 8.20 to 8.75. Female and young
somewhat smaller.
129. Mourning Dove. Zenaidura macroura carolinensis (Linn.). (316)
Synonyms: Carolina Dove, Turtle Dove, Dove— Columba carolinensis, Linn., 1766,
Wils., Aud., Nutt. and others. — Turtur carolinensis, Briss. — Ectopistes carolinensis,
Rich. — Columl)a marginata, Linn., Wagl. — Ectopistes marginata, Gray.
Plate XVII and Figures 64, 65, 66.
Not likely to be mistaken for any other bird, with the exception of the
Passenger Pigeon. It differs from the latter in its decidedly smaller size,
in having fourteen tail-feathers instead of twelve, and in having a distinct
blue-black spot on the side of the neck.
Distribution. — Temperate North America; from southern Maine, southern
Canada, and British Columbia, south to Panama and the West Indies,
breeding tliroughout its North American range.
252 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The Mourning Dove is an abundant resident of the southern half of the
Lower Peninsula during the warmer two-thirds of the 3'ear, and in the
southernmost counties a few frequently
winter; indeed it is not an uncommon thing
to see a few individuals as far north
as Lansing at any time of the year when
the ground is bare or nearly bare of snow. ^^^"^^ '^ A
North of the Saginaw Valley the Mourning «L ^
Dove is much less common, although there
are numerous records of its occurrence,
even in the Upper Peninsula. Mr. Thos.
B. Wyman has noted it three times at
Munising, Alger county, and thinks he has
seen it once or twice more when he failed \
to record the exact date. Mr. Ed. Van
Winkle says it is not common in Delta fir. 65. Mourning Dove,
county, but breeds there occasionallv. A ^''o"! photograph of mounted specimen,
flock of ''wild pigeons" reported "^ from (Original.)
Marquette in the summer of 1904, doubtless was a flock of Mourning
Doves.
It is one of the first birds to arrive in spring, coming at about the same
time as the Bluebird, Robin, and Meadowlark, usually in advance of the
Killdeer. It commonly arrives in pairs, but occasionally in small flocks
of three to ten individuals, which soon separate and begin nesting.
With us the nest is usually i)laced on the horizontal branch of a spreading
tree, and not more than eight or ten feet from the ground. Frequently it
is placed in a bush or a tangle of vines, at an elevation of but three or four
feet, and instances are by no means uncommon in which the eggs are placed
directly upon the ground with only the merest apology for a nest. In
l)rairie regions farther south and west this is the common mode of nesting,
while in New England the nest is almost invariably placed in trees. It
is difficult to determine the number of broods, but in southern Michigan
eggs may be found during every month from April to September inclusive,
and there are reports of sets in October and November. (?) Doubtless two
broods are always reared, and in case of disaster the bird may repeat the
attempt several times. By the first of July small companies of doves may
be found feeding in stubble fields and brushy pastures, and the size of
these flocks increases until in September sometimes a hundred individuals
or more will be found feeding in the same field, although when alarmed
they seldom unite into one large flock, more often dividing into six to ten
small companies. Later in the fall the flocks are smaller yet and when
the birds finally move south they generally go in couples oi' small squads.
Th's is one of our most useful birds, feeding ex-
tensively on weed seeds and never, so far as we are
aware, inflicting damage u])on any farm crop. It has
Ijcen accused of injuring i)eas when ripening on the
vines, but I do not know of a single well attested ^'^- ^"*-
instance. On the other hand it frequently eats insects, ^'" °^ ^'^""""g i'"^^^-
particularly grasshoppers, although it is always mainly vegetarian.
Until recently this was considered a game bird and its destruction was
allowed during the fall, but by act of the legislature of 1905 it was trans-
ferred to the list of non-game birds, and its killing is now wisely prohibited
at all seasons.
LAND BIRDS.
253
■ The ne.st is usually very slightly built, of a few twigs, weedstalks and
straws, forming a nearly flat platform on which the two white, unspotted,
elliptical eggs are laid. These measure 1.10 by .84 inches.
A noteworthy performance of this bird at mating and nesting time seems
to have been overlooked by its biographers. An
individual leaves its perch on a tree, and, with vigor-
ous and sometimes noisy flapping (the wings seeming
to strike each other above the back), rises ol^Hquely
to a height of a hundred feet or more, and then, on
widely extended and motionless wings, glides back
earthward in one or more sweeping curves. Usually
the wings, during this gliding flight, are carried some-
what below the plane of the body, in the manner of
a soaring yellowlegs or sandpiper, and sometimes the
bird makes a complete circle or spiral before again
flapping its wings, which it does just before alighting.
Occasionally a soaring dove glides downward in this
way until within a yard or two of the ground, but
more often it perches again at an elevation of twenty
or thirty feet. While gliding rapidly dowaiward
its resemblance to a small hawk is noticeable.
This peculiar evolution is commonly repeated
several times at intervals of two or three minutes,
and appears to be a display flight for the benefit of
its mate, the assumption being that only the male Dove soars. Although
familiar with the Mourning Dove's habits in New England, Western New
York, and elsewhere, we have never seen this peculiar flight except in
Michigan.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Forehead, sides of head and neck, and lucnst, clcnr pinkish-buff, lightest
and most buffy on forehead and sides of head, darkest .ind |iiiikcst on the breast; chin
nearly pure white; sides of the lower neck glossed with ch;ingeal>le iiictallic violet or reddish
purple; a small but distinct blue-black spot on each side "of the upper neck; crown and
occiput clear bluish gray, becoming brownish on back, rump, upper tail-coverts, scapulars
and wing-coverts; the inner wing-coverts and scapulars with distinct rounded black s[)ots;
middle tail-feathers like the back, the others slaty blue at base, crossed by a broad black
band, the terminal third or more white or bluish white. Adult female: Similar, but
duller and browner, with little or no blue-gray on the head, or pinkish on the breast;
the purplish area on the neck smaller and fainter; the black neck spots small and dull
blackish. Young: Similar to adult female, but many of the feathers of the upper surface,
neck and chest, with wliitish edgings or tips, the black neck spot and metallic gloss entirely
wanting-
Length 11 to 13 inches; wing 5.70 to 6.10; tail 5.70 to 6.50.
Fig. 66.
Tail of Mourning Dove.
254 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Order XII. RAPTORES. Birds of Prey.
Members of this order are at once recognizable by a glance at the structure
of the bill and feet, various though the modifications of these parts may be.
The strongly hooked bill, provided with a cere, only occurs elsewhere among
parrots, and there the feet are totally different, being "yoke-toed", as in
cuckoos and woodpeckers, two toes pointing forward and two always back-
ward, while in birds of prey either three toes point forward permanently,
as in all the diurnal Raptores except the Osprey, or the outer toe is versatile,
that is, may be turned in either direction, as in the Osprey and all owls.
In any case the claws or talons are long, curved and sharp, and in all except
the American Vultures they are extremely acute and flexibly jointed to
the toes, so that the feet become powerful weapons for grasping, piercing
and killing the living prey on which these birds mainly subsist.
Three suborders are recognized, separable as follows:
KEY TO SUBORDERS.
A. Head and part of neck without feathers (Fig. 67). Suborder Sarcor-
hamphi. American Vultures. Page 254.
AA. Head well feathered. B, BB.
B. Eyes placed at the sides of the head so that the two eyes never
look in the same direction. Suborder Falcones. Diurnal
Birds of Prey. Page 257.
BB. Eyes directed forward so that both look in the same direction,
surrounded by disks of radiating feathers, the so-called facial
disks. Suborder Striges. Owls.
Suborder SARCORHAMPHI. American Vultures.
Family 36. CATHARTID^. Buzzards or Vultures.
Only a single Michigan species, the Turkey Buzzard.
The family (and suborder) is characterized by the naked head, perforate
nostrils, short hind toe inserted a little above the level of the three front
toes, and the somewhat blunt and not strongly curved claws. The whole
structure of the foot is adapted rather for walking or standing than for
grasping and killing as in most other Raptores.
130. Turkey Buzzard. Cathartes aura septentrionalis Wicd. (325)
Synonyms: Turkey Vulture, ^'ultu^e, Buzzard, Carrion Crow. — Cathartes septen-
trionalis, Wied., 1839. — Vultur aura, Linn., 1766, and the older authors generally. —
Cathartes aura, lUig., 1811, and most recent writers. — Rhinogryphus aura, Ridgw., 1875.
Figures 67 and 68.
The large size, long, rounded tail, and head entirely naked or merely
downy, serve to separate this bird from all others.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, from New Jersey, Ohio Valley,
LAND BIRDS.
255
Fig. 67. Turkey Buzzard. Adult.
From photograph of mounted specimen. (Original.)
Saskatchewan region and British Columbia, southward to Patagonia and
the Falkland Islands.
In Michigan the Turkey Buzzard is practically confined to the two
southernmost tiers of counties, although it is found sparingly throughout
two tiers farther north and
wanders occasionally all over
the state. Being a bird of re-
markable powers of flight and
by no means sensitive to cold,
it is not surprising that single
individuals often extend their
wanderings even to the shores
of Lake Superior. We have
records from nearly all the
counties in the southern half
of the Lower Peninsula, and
reports of single specimens seen
or taken in half a dozen
localities farther north.
At Port Huron, Mr. Hazel-
wood states that he sees from
one to five every spring. We
have a specimen in the College
collection, taken at Riley, Clin-
ton Co. ; we examined a speci-
men at Harrisville, Alcona Co.,
taken near that place; and a description of one killed near Benzonia, Benzie
Co., was sent us several years ago. We also have a specimen taken at
the Agricultural College, and Mr. C. J. Davis, of Lansing, has one in his
collection, which was killed at Fowlerville, Livingston county. There is
a specimen in the Broas Collection (now in the College Museum),
taken in Ionia county, and it has been recorded several times from Kent
county. Mr. Ed. Van Winkle, of Vans Harbor, writes that he has seen
about a dozen specimens in Delta county (Upper Peninsula) during the
past fifteen years; and Mr. Thomas B. Wyman, of Negaunee, Mich., writes
that a specimen was seen there June 20, 1905, by Mr. E. A. Doolittle.
of Painsville, Ohio, who knows the species well and could not be mistaken.
Incidentally it may be noted that J. H. Fleming has recorded a specimen
taken at Moose Factory, James Bay, in June 1898 (Auk, XX, 66).
The nesting habits are somewhat pecuhar. The birds commonly nest
in a hollow tree, the hollow of a fallen log., the arched cavity beneath a large
stump, or a small cave or pocket in a ledge of rocks. Some times the eggs
are laid in the hollow top of a sycamore stub fifty feet or more from the
ground, but more often they are placed on or near the ground in some
such place as just indicatecl. There are several well attested instances
of nests found in ^Michigan, and probably in the counties bordering Indiana
and Ohio considerable numbers nest every year. Jerome Trombloy states
that a pair nests regularly in a hollow sycamore near the Raisin River
at Petersburg, Monroe county, and that other pairs have nested in that
vicinity. iNIay 30, 1903, a nest with two eggs was found in a swamp near
Freedom, Washtenaw county, by Mr. John Uphaus, and the birds have
nested in that vicinity regularly for several years. Mr. S. E. White and E.
Durfee took two eggs at Douglas, Allegan county, in 1891.
25G
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The eggs are always two, and are usually laid on the bare ground, or on
the chips and rubbish accumulated at the bottom of the hollow in which
they are found, without any sign of a nest. They measure 2.74 by 1.89
inches, and are usually buffy or greenish white, spotted and blotched with
rich brown and purplish gray. The young are covered with white down,
except the fore part of head, which is naked from the first.
The food of the Turkey Buzzard is mainly carrion, but it also eats snakes,
toads, and probably rats, mice, and occasionally young birds that chance
to fall in its way. It does not, however, attack poultry or game birds,
nor does it regularly search for and destroy the nests of other birds. On
Fig. GS. Turkey Buzzard. Four weeks old.
Photographed from life. From Bird Lore, by courtesy of Dr. Thomas H. Jackson.
the whole it is a beneficial species and should be rigorously protected. On
the wing it is one of the most graceful of birds and soars for hours at a time
in fair weather, wheeling in endless circles high above the earth, always on
the lookout for food. It is commonly believed to find its food through
the sense of smell, but this has never been proved. It seems much more
probable, from the evidence at hand, that it depends primarily upon sight,
and the gathering of large numbers about some newly discovered food is
due simply to the keen watch kept on each other, so that the motions of
the discoverer are immediately noted by others at a distance, and when these
stop circling and start toward the feast birds which are still farther away
notice the unintentional signal and speed in the same direction.
LAND BIRDS.
257
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Head and upper part of neck entirely bare or with only a few "bristles;" wings very
long, when folded their tips reaching to or beyond the tip of tail. Tail much rounded.
Adult: Nearly luiiform black, dull below, glossy above; the feathers of back, scapulars
and wing-coverts more or less margined with grayish b^o^\^l. Bill white; iris brown;
naked skin of head dull red; feet brownish black. Young: Similar, but bill blackish,
head dusky, and general color of upper parts black, with less bro^vn on scapulars and
wing-coverts. The young when just hatched, and for several weeks thereafter, is covered
with pure white down except on the head which is largely naked.
Length 26 to 32 inches; extent about 6 feet; wing 20 to 23 inches; tail 11 to 12; culmen 1.
Suborder FALCONES. Diurnal Birds of Prey.
This suborder includes all our birds of prey except the Turkey Buzzard
and the owls, and under the scheme of classification recently (1910) adopted
by the American Ornithologists' Union, is divisible into three families,
viz., the Buteonidae, comprising a majority of all the species, the Falconidse
or true falcons (four species), and the Pandionidse or ospreys, a single
species. The latter, the Fish Hawk, is unique in the structure of its foot,
which has the outer toe reversible, the lower surface of all the toes thickly
studded with spicules, and the claws or talons strong, slender, much curved,
extremely sharp, and all of the same length — adaptations for holding the
slippery prey on which it lives. The other families, Buteonida; and
Falconidse are defined with difficulty, the single point by which they can
be diagnosed sharply being the anatomical structure of the shoulder, onh^
to be determined by dissection. It seems best therefore not to attempt
to separate the three families here, but to give an artificial key for all the
species of the suborder, as follows:
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Fourth toe (outer toe) reversible, i. e. turning
either to the front or back; claws of all
the toes approximately the same length.
Osprey or Fish-hawk. No. 148.
AA. Fourth toe not reversible; claws of uneciual
length, that of the hind toe usually longest,
that of outer toe shortest. (Fig. 71.) B, BB.
B. Very large birds, wings 20 inches or more.
C, CC.
C. Tarsus or shank feathered to base of toes.
(Fig. 74). Golden Eagle. No. 143.
CC. Lower third or half of tarsus without
feathers. Bald Eagle. No. 144.
BB. Not so large, wing from 6 to 18 inches.
J), DD.
D. Cutting edge of upper mandible toothed
and notched (Fig. 75). E, EE.
E. With two or more teeth and inter-
vening notches on each side;
general color bluish-gray, almost
white on head; wing 10.30 to
12.30. Mississippi Kite. No. 133.
33
Fig. 71.
258
MICHIGAN HIRD LIFE.
Fig. 72
KE. With but one distinct notch, separating the hooked tip
of the mandible from a single sharj), tooth-like pro-
jection just behind it. F, FF.
F. Five outer primaries emarginate near tij). Sharp-shinned
Hawk. No. 135.
FF. Only one or two primaries emarginate. G, GG.
G. Wing over 10 inches. Duck Hawk. No. 145.
Possibly also the Gyrfalcon (Appendix).
GG. Wing less than 10 inches. H, HH.
H. Back and tail bright rust-red, usually with
regular cross bars of black. Sparrow Hawk.
No. 147.
HH. Back and tail without any rust-red, usually
slaty-blue or brownish black, the tail with a
few (four or five) white cross-bars. Pigeon
Hawk. No. 146. Possibly also Richardson's
Falcon (Appendix).
DD. Cutting edge of upper mandible not toothed and notched (Fig.
72). I, II.
I. Small hawks, wing less than 12 inches. J, JJ.
J. With only two outer primaries emarginate near tip.
White-tailed Kite. No. 132.
JJ. With more than two primaries emarginate. K, KK,
KKK.
K. With three emarginate primaries. Broad-winged
Hawk. No. 141.
KK. With four emarginate primaries
(Fig. 73). Red-shouldered
Hawk (small males). No. 139.
KKK. With five emarginate primaries.
L, LL.
L. Tail nearly square at end, that is,
tail-feathers all of about the
same length. Sharp-shinned
Hawk. No. 135.
LL. Tail rounded at end, that is,
middle feathers longest and
each successive pair shorter,
the outermost being the short-
est. Coopers Hawk. No. 136.
II. Larger hawks, wing 12 inches or more. M,
MM.
M. Tarsus feathered to base of toes. Rough-
legged Hawk. No. 142.
MM. Tarsus feathered only part way down.
N, NN.
N. Tail deeply forked. Swallow-tailed Fig 73
Kite. No. 131.
NN. Tail not forked. O, 00.
O. Upper tail-coverts pure white. Marsh Hawk.
No. 134.
LAND BIRDS.
259
Fig. 75.
00. Upper tail-coverts not white. P, PP.
P. Tail white, unmarked or at most with an in-
distinct dark bar toward the ti]). White-
tailed Kite. No. 132.
PP. Tail not Avhite. Q, QQ.
Q. Only first three primaries emarginate on
inner webs near tip. Swainson's Hawk.
No. 140.
QQ. First four primaries emarginate on inner
webs. R, RR.
R. Tail rust red, usually with a l)lack bar
near tip. Red-tailed Hawk (adult).
No. 138. Possibly also the Western
Red-tail (Appendix).
RR. Tail not red. S. SS.
S. Tail blackish, crossed at regular
distances by about five narrow
white bars. Red-shouldered
Hawk (adult). No. 139.
SS. Tail crossed by seven or eight dai'k
bars and an equal number of light
ones. T, TT.
T. The dark bars wider than the
light ones; primaries with
much rusty or bright buff
basally. Red-shouldered
Hawk (immature). No. 139.
TT. The light bars wider than the
dark ones; no buff or rusty on
base of primaries. Red-tailed
Hawk (immature). No. 138.
QQQ. First five primaries emarginate on inner
webs near tip. (ioshawk. No. 137.
Family 37. lUTTEONID.F. Kites, Hawks and Eagles.
131. Swallow-tailed Kite. Elanoides forficatus (/.//;».). (327)
Synonym.s: Swallow-tailed Hawk, Swallow-tail, Fork-tailed Kite, Snake Hawk. —
Falco forficatus, Linn., 1758. — Milvus furcatus, Vieill., 1807. — Nauclerus furcatus, Vig.,
Swains., Bonap. and many others. — Nauclenis forficatns, Wils., And.
A remarkable hawk, instantly recognizable at almost any distance by
its resemblance to a gigantic Barn Swallow, the slender wings and deeply
forked tail rendering it immistakable.
Disti'ibution. — Ihiitcd States, especially in the interior, from the Carolinas
and Minnesota southward throughout Central and South America; west-
ward to the Great Plains. Casual eastward to southern New England
and northward to Manitoba and Assinil)oia.
This remai'kal)lc bird nuist l)e i-egardcd as merely a wanderer from the
south which has been taken in Michigan perhaps half a dozen times in the
last thirty years.
260 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
According to Mr. Norman A. Wood, there is a specimen now in the col-
lection of Egbert Harper, at Saline, Washtenaw county, which was killed
there September 15, 1880. A pair was shot June 19, 1882. in Monroe
county, and the late W. H. ColUns took a specimen near Detroit in 1881.
Possibly this is the same specimen recorded by Dr. Gibbs, who states that
Mr. Collins wrote him: "One specimen taken seven miles from Detroit
in the summer of 1878, now in the Museum of the Detroit Scientific Associa-
tion." Mr. Edward Arnold took a specimen in Kalamazoo county, in
1897, and there have been several reports of birds believed to be of this
species which were seen but not taken. Among these are records by G.
A. Stockwell (Forest and Stream, XII, 9, 165), who says that it sometimes
breeds in the southwestern part of the state; and a record by Dr. Atkins,
who told Mr. Covert that he had seen it at Locke, Ingham county.
It has been taken occasionally in Ontario, and there are records for
Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
The nest is placed near the top of a tall tree, frequently near the tip of
a limb, and is built of small sticks and sometimes lined with moss and
feathers. The eggs are commonly two or three, white or buffy white,
boldly spotted with brown, and average 1.87 by 1.49 inches. The species
nests commonly in the Gulf States and Texas, but may nest in almost any
part of its regular range. There is no reason to suppose, however, that
it ever nests in Michigan.
Its food consists largely of snakes, lizards, tree-toads and frogs, but it
also consumes myriads of large insects, particularly grasshoppers and
locusts. In the southern states, where it is abundant, all observers agree
that it rarely if ever touches birds or mammals.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Back, wings and tail clear black, sometimes with metallic reflections; rest of
plumage pure white; bill blackish; feet grayish or flesh color. Young: Similar, but
head and neck narrowly streaked with blackish, and most of the dark fliglit feathers edged
and tipped with white. Length 19.50 to 25.50 inches; wing 15.40 to 17.70; outer tail-
feathers 12.50 to 14.50.
132. White-tailed Kite. Elanus leucurus {VieiU.). (328)
Synonyms: Black-shouldered Kite. — Milvus leucurus, VieiU. , 1818. — Elanus Icuciu'us
of authors generally. — Falco dispar, Bonap.
In general appearance resembles a small sea gull, for example, Bona-
parte's, and when seen at a distance might easily be mistaken for one of
those birds. In the hand, its pure white under parts, bluish gray back,
and clear black shoulders, together with the white tail, mark it unmis-
takably.
Distribution. — Eastern United States from South CaroUna and southern
Illinois to Texas and California, southward to Chili and Argentine Republic;
casual in Michigan. Breeds regularly throughout its general distribution
in the United States.
The claim of this bird to a place in the Michigan fauna rests mainly on
the statement of A. B. Covert, of Ann Arbor, who says he killed a specimen
in September 1878, on the Honeycreek marshes four miles west of Ann
Arbor, and that another was killed April 21, 1879, by C. H. IManley, in
Livingston county. The latter specimen is said to be mounted and now
in the possession of Capt. Manley. The first specimen was for a time in
LAND BIRDS. 261
tlie possession of Mr. Herbert Randall of Ann Arbor, but we have not been
able to examine either specimen. The record of a Grand Rapids specimen
by Professor Cook was partly incorrect; Mr. Stew^art E. White, to whom the
capture was credited, merely recorded seeing a specimen. He says:
"Identified while on the wing, but I think his peculiar shape and color-
ation leave slight room for doubt." Dr. Atkins, of Locke, reported it as
"a rare summer resident," but there can be little doubt that this was a
mistake.
The bird is a southern species, nowhere common, and not likely to occur
except as an extremely rare wanderer in southern Michigan. The nest
is placed on trees, usually near the water, and the eggs, which average
1.71 by 1.31 inches, are "handsomely marbled or clouded with various
shades of rich madder brown on a paler, sometimes whitish, ground"
(Ridgway).
Its food is similar to that of the Swallow-tailed Kite, and recent observers
do not confirm Audubon's statement that it sometimes feeds on small
birds.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Under parts pure white; upper parts bluish gray, bleaching to pure white
on the head; a black spot in front of the eye; tail pure white; shoulders (lesser wing-coverts)
deep black, rest of wing bluish white above, pure white below. Young: More or less
rusty and brown-streaked above; tail crossed by an indistinct dark band near tip; wing-
feathers tipped with white. Length 15.15_to 16.75 inches; wing 11.50 to 13.30; tail 5.90
to 7.40.
133. Mississippi Kite. Ictinia mississippiensis (Wils.). (329)
Synonyms: Blue Kite. — Falco misisippiensis, Wils., 1811. — Faico plumbeus, Aud.,
1831. — Ictinia plumbea, Bonap., Nutt.
Known from other kites by its bluish-gray color, becoming lighter or
nearly white on the head, and darkening almost to black on wings and tail.
Distribution. — Southern United States, east of the Rocky Mountains:
southward regularly from South Carolina on the coast, to Guatemala, and
casually north to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Iowa.
The title of this bird to a place in the Michigan list appears to rest on a
specimen said to have been taken in Cass county many years ago, and
recorded in the manuscript list of the birds of the state by D. D. Hughes.
This specimen is said to have been preserved, but we have been unable
to get any trace of it. The species is mentioned also in Stockwell's Forest
and Stream list where it is said to be "rare in Michigan."
The Mississippi Kite, like several of its relatives, often occurs in flocks
and is a tireless and graceful flyer. Its food consists "of insects such as
the larger beetles, grasshoppers and locusts, lizards, small snakes, and
frogs. It never has been known to molest birds or mammals" (A. K.
Fisher).
It nests in the tops of very tall trees, laying two or three nearly white
eggs, sometimes faintly marked with pale Ijrown, and averaging 1.G3 l)v
1.32 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION,
Adult: Uniform bluish-gray or lead color, becoming lighter on head and darker on
wings and tail; inner webs of outer wing-feathers partly rufous. A bhickish spot in front
of the eye. Iris red; legs and feet dull red. Young: Similar, but streaked and spotteil
with brown below, and the tail with three or more narrow bands of gray or grayish white.
Length 13 to 15.50 inches; wing 10.60 to 12..30; fail 6 to 7.
262
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
134. Marsh Hawk. Circus hudsonius {Linn.). (331)
Synonyms: Frog Hawk, ]5og-trotter, Harrier, M;
ruinped Hawk. — Falco hudsonius, Linn., 1766. — Circ
cyaneus var. hudsonius, Ridgw., 1872.
Harrier,
udsotiiuh'
Mouse Hawk, White-
Vieill., 1 SI 17. —Circus
Figure 09.
Recognizable in any plumage by the pure white upper tail-coverts which
form a conspicuous mark in females and young birds, but not so noticeable
in the adult male, which is largely bluish white.
IMstribution. — North America in general; south to Panama and Cid^a.
Breeds throughout its North American range.
The Marsh Hawk is one of our commonest and best known birds, arriving
from the south usually in March, often before the uplands are free from
Fig. 69. Nest and Eggs of Marsh Hawk.
From photograph by Thomas L. Ilankinson.
snow and before the ice is gone from the marshes. It is commonly seen
hunting back and forth over the low grounds, keeping generally within
a few yards of the surface and rising above the trees only in passing from
one marsh or field to another.
Its food is varied, consisting of meadow-mice, ground squirrels, frogs,
snakes, insects, and occasionally small birds, mainly blackbirds and the
smaller ground-nesting species. According to Dr. Fisher " It is unquestion-
ably one of the most l)eneficial of our hawks and its presence and increase
should 1)6 encouraged in every possible way, no': only by protecting it by
law but by disseminating a knowledge of the benefits it confers. It is
l)robably the most active and determined foe of meadow-mice and ground
squirrels, destroying greater numbers of these pests than any other species,
and this fact alone should entitle it to protection even if it destroyed no
other injui-ious animals." Out of 124 stomachs reported on by Dr. Fisher,
LAND BIRDS. 263
7 contained poultry or game birds; 34, other birds; 57, mice; 22, other
mammals; 7, reptiles; 2, frogs; and 14, insects.
This hawk is peculiar in nesting always on the ground, where it builds
a somewhat bulky nest, mainly of weed-stalks and grass, and lays from
four to eight bluish- wdiite, unspotted eggs, the usual number being five or
six. Occasionalhv the ground color is pure white and not infrequently
there are a few pale brown spots. The eggs average 1.80 by 1.41 inches.
The period of incubation is about four weeks.
In spring these hawks are seen always in pairs, but after the young are
able to fly they often hunt in fnmily parties, and later in the season gather
into loose flocks of twenty to fifty individuals. Their call note is said to
be "a peevish scream, not unlike that of the Red-tailed Hawk, though not
so strong" (Bendire, Life Hist. N. Am. Birds, I, 185).
This is one of the birds most often killed ])y sportsmen, few of whom can
resist the temptation of so fair a mark. This is much to be regretted, since
the bird does almost no harm and renders incalculable service by the de-
struction of mice and insects. In Nebraska Professor Aughey found it
feeding freely on the Rocky Mountain locust during locust years, and the
five stomachs which he examined showed an average of fifty locusts (1st
Rep. U. 8. Entom. Com., App. 2, p. 43).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Face with an imperfect ruff, somewhat as in owls. Adult male: Mostly light bluish
gray above, more or less streaked with white, the upper tail-coverts pure white; under
parts nearly white, usually with a bluish tinge, and rather faintly streaked with grayish
or buffy; wings tipped with blackish, forming an excellent field mark; tail bluish gray
with six or more narrow dark bars, the sub-terminal bar being broad and very dark. Adult
female: General color deep brown above, streaked with rusty; under parts buffy or
whitish, streaked with brown; upper tail-coverts white as in male; tail brown with six
or seven distinct blackish bars. Young: Similar to adult female but darker everywhere,
and tail with only four dark bands.
Length 19.50 to 24 inches; wing 12.90 to 16; tail S.SO to 10.50.
135. Sharp-shinned Hawk. Accipiter velox (TrZ/s.). (332)
Synonyms: Pigeon Hawk, Sparrow Hawk, Birtl Hawk, Chicken Hawk, Bullet Hawk.
— Falco velox, Wils., 1812. — Falco fuscus, Gmel., 1789. — Accipiter fuscus, Bonap., 1838,
and authors generally. — Nisus fuscus, B. B. & R., 1875.
Plate XVIII.
Known by the small size, comparatively short wings and long tail, and
especially l)y the slender legs and feet and the remarkably long toes. As
with many hawks, adult plumage is not acquired for several years and the
fully mature birds are entirely different in color and markings from younger
ones. This species is not likely to be confounded with any other save the
Cooper's Hawk, but the latter is commonly much lai'gor and the end of tail
rounded instead of square.
Distribution. — North America in genei'al; south to Panama. Breetls
throughout its North American range.
This little hawk is known in different })arts of the state by different
names, as indicated above, l)ut it is most often called "S]ian-ow Hawk,"
a mime to which it has every natural right, since it feeds largely upon
small birds; but unfoit unatcly the name "Sparrow Hawk" is the one given
L'G4 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
in almost all our books of reference to the little falcon, or Kestrel, which
is almost equally common, but which feeds much more commonly upon
insects and mice than upon sparrows.
The present species, the Sharp-shinned Hawk, is one of the few really
injurious hawks which is common in Michigan. It prefers feathered game
to anything else and creates havoc among the bird population of our fields
and forests during its presence with us. During migration it is generally
distributed over the state, but passes northward for the nesting season,
so that it is seldom found in southern Michigan after the first of June. It
nests usually in evergreen trees — pines, spruces, tamaracks, or cedars,
building a rather compact nest of sticks and twigs and laying from two to
five heavily blotched eggs, which average 1.47 by 1.16 inches. It has been
reported nesting from many counties in the southern part of the state,
but it seems tolerably certain that in most, if not all, these cases Cooper's
Hawk was mistaken for the present species.
We know of but two instances in which the eggs have been taken in the
state, and for these we are indebted to Mr. Edward Arnold of Battle Creek
He reports a nest with four eggs taken near Port Huron, St. Clair county,
May 26, 1899, the nest being placed twelve feet up in a cedar tree. Another
nest, with two eggs, was taken May 22, 1901, from a cedar tree, also in St.
Clair county. While these are the only actual records of nesting known
to us, the bird has been found during the nesting season at several points
in the northern part of the state; by Major Boies on Neebish Island, St.
Mary's River; by O. B. Warren in Marquette county, 1898; and by the
writer at Gaylord, Otsego county, and Grayling, Crawford county, in June,
1902, and on Beaver Island, Charlevoix county, in Jul}^ 1904.
While this species closely resembles Cooper's Hawk in flight, general
appearance, and character of nesting, the eggs are heavily spotted, while
those of Cooper's Hawk are never heavily spotted, and usually are plain
bluish white without any spots at all.
Among 159 stomachs reported upon by Dr. Fisher, 6 contained poultry
or game birds; 99, other birds; 6, mice; 5, insects; and 52 were empty. It
appears, therefore, that out of 107 stomachs which contained food 99
contained remains of wild birds while only 6 contained mice (Hawks and
Owls of the U. S., 1892, 35-37). These figures should be compared with
those relating to other hawks, and especially to the owls.
The Sharp-shin is by no means a noisy hawk, except perhaps when its
nest is threatened. At such times its shrill notes justify the description
given by a farmer who said they were always "squealing" when he went
near their nest. One writer says their call is a clear chee-up. chee-up,
while another compares it to the cac, cac, cac of the Flicker, and says "it
is exactly like that of the Cooper's Hawk, except perhaps a little shriller
and not quite so loud" (Bendire, Life Hist. I. 188).
This is one of the species which frequently migrates in large scattered
flocks, especially in autumn. Mr. P. A. Taverner observed such a flight
in the autumn of 1905 at Point Pelee, Ont., about 20 miles east of Detroit.
He writes: "There were Sharp-shins everwhere — sweeping about through
the woods, beating about just over the tree tops; higher, working up and
down the line of trees along the shore [Lake Erie], and still farther up,
as high as one could see them, were still hawks. Standing in a small open-
ing in the brush where I could look out over a field I counted 25 and I judged
there were but an average number for the day in sight then." This flight
Plate XVIII. Sharp-shinned Hawk. Adult.
Reprinted from Chapman's BirdLLife, by'courtesy ofjD. Appleton & Co.
LAND BIRDS.
267
lasted several days and appears to take place late in August and early in
September every year.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Uniform dark bluish gray or slate blue above, the feathers of the occiput
pure white beneath the surface; under parts white, the throat narrowly streaked and the
rest heavily barred with reddish brown; primaries blackish on outer webs, bluish white
barred with black on inner webs, the five outer ones emarginate on the inner webs; tail
colored like the back, but with about five blackish cross-bars, the tip narrowly white.
Tail square or slightly emarginate at tip; bill black; legs and feet yellow; iris reddish brown.
Length 10 to n.50 inches; wing 6.10 to 7.10; tail 5.80 to 6.10. Adult female: Similar
in color to the male, but decidedly larger. Length 12.50 to 14 inches; wing 7.80 to 8.80;
tail 6.60 to 8.20. Immature: Without any slate blue, the upper parts larownish, the
feathers mostly edged with rufous and the tertiaries and scapulars with many partly
concealed, large, white spots; under parts white, everywdiere streaked with pale brown,
many feathers with sharp shaft lines of dark brown or blackish.
136, Cooper's Hawk. Accipiter cooperi (Bonap.). (333)
Synonyms: Pigeon Hawk, Chicken Hawk, Quail Hawk, Blue Darter, Swift Hawk.-
Falco cooperii, Bonap., 1828. — Accipiter cooperi, Gray, 1844, and authors generally.-
Astur cooperi, Jard., DeKay, and some others. — Nisus cooperi, B. B. & R., 1875.
Fig. 70. Cooper's Hawk, .\dult.
•'roin Baini, Brewer & Rids^way's North American Binis
Little, Brown t»i Co.
Figures 70 and 71 .
With nearly the same proportions as the Sharp-shinned Hawk, but
averaging decidedly larger, with heavier legs and feet, and the tail rounded
instead of square. In coloration the two arc very similar, and there is the
same general diffci-ence l)etween adults and immature birds.
Distribution. — North America from southern British America soutii to
southern Mexico. Breeds throughout its range.
Probably, all things considered, our most abundant hawk. It is found
in all parts of the state, and in all seasons of the 3'ear, except during two or
three of the coldest months. It nests everywhere throughout the state,
268
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
and abundantly in most sections, placing the nest in almost any kind of
tree and at heights varying from a dozen feet to nearly one hundred. The
nest is commonly composed of sticks of various sizes, and lined with twigs
and scale-like pieces of bark. Rarely does the nest contain any soft lining,
although tufts of down from the old bird are often found clinging to the nest
and when visible from below are often taken as proof that the nest is injise.
The period of incubation is about twenty-four days, and only a single
brood is reared in a season. The eggs vary from two to six and are com-
monly bluish white or greenish white and unspotted, but occasionally
some or all the eggs of a set are distinctly though faintly marked with
spots of brown or gray. They average 1.93 by 1.50 inches, and may be
laid at any time from late April to mid June, though most frequently in
May.
This is the common "chicken hawk" of the farmers, and probably is
responsible for most of the loss of small chickens. The bird has a habit
of dashing suddenly among the poultry, picking up a small chicken in its
claws, and carrying it away so quickly that it is
commonly impossible to kill the robber. It is
very likely to return the same day or the next and
to repeat its visits indefinitely until killed. It also
eats large numbers of wild birds, including some
quail, young partridges and young waterfowl, and
although it does some good by eating an occasional
mouse or squirrel, it is nevertheless on the whole
a decidedly injurious species. Out of 94 stomachs
reported on by Dr. Fisher, 34 contained poultry
or game birds; 52, other birds; 11, mammals; one,
a frog; three, lizards; and two, insects.
Under the present Michigan law this species
and the Sharp-shin are the only hawks which may
be killed legally at any time; and the law seems
to be a wise one, most of our other hawks being
highly beneficial, and the few which form exceptions
(as the Goshawk and Duck Hawk) being so rare
as to be of no importance.
Unlike the buzzard hawks the Cooper's and
Sharp-shin seldom wheel aloft on the lookout for
food, but fly swiftly and silently from place to place,
flapping the wings rapidly for a few seconds and
then gliding noiselessly, always alert and watch- Left leg and %ot of Cooper's
ful, and ever read}'' to drop like an arrow on some Hawk. (Original.)
unsuspecting victim. Sometimes they alight for a few moments on the top
of a dead tree, or on some other commanding perch, sitting quite stiff and
upright, but soon taking wing again. They are among our most restless
and active hawks, apparently endowed with a surplus of strength and
energy and never content except when in action.
Fig. 71.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Top of head blackish or clear black, in strong contrast with the slate
blue of the rest of the upper parts; feathers of occiput and nape pure white below the
surface, the white showing when the feathers are ruffled; under parts white or nearly so,
the cliin and throat lightly streaked, the breast, belly and sides heavily barred, with red-
dish brown; primaries blackish on outer webs, the inner webs with broad and scanty
bars of dusky and white; tail rounded, similar in color to back, and with four or five broad
LAND BIRDS. . 269
blackish bars and a narrow terminal edging of white. Bill black; cere, feet and legs yellow;
iris reddish brown to deep red. Length 14 to 17 inches; wing 8.85 to 9.40; tail 7.80 to
8.30; tarsus 2.30 to 2.60.
Adult female: Similar to male, but duller, browner and decidedly larger. Length
18 to 20 inches; wing 10.10 to 11; tail 9 to 10.50; tarsus 2.60 to 2.85.
Immature: Similar to corresponding ages of the Sharp-shinned Hawk, but of course
larger. Most hawks require several years for attaining fully adult pkunage and almost
any intermixture of young and adult plumage is possible.
137. Goshawk. Astur atricapillus atricapillus (TFtZs.). (334)
Synonyms: American Goshawk, Blue Hen Hawk, Blue Darter, Partridge Hawk,
Dove Hawk. — -Falco atricapillus, Wils., 1812. — Astur atricapillus, Bonap., 1838, Wils.,
Nutt., and others. — Astur palumbarius, Sw. & Rich. — Astiu- palumbarius var. atricapillus,
B. B. & R., 1875.
With nearly the proportions of the two preceding species, but much
larger than the largest, and far more heavily built. The immature bird
closely resembles the immature Cooper's Hawk in all but size, but . the
adult, with the blue-gray upper parts and finely cross-barred gray and white
underparts. is entirely unlike any other hawk.
Distribution.— Northern and eastern North America, south in winter
to the middle states and southern Rocky Mountain region; casually west
to Oregon. Breeding range restricted to the Canadian fauna of the United
States and northward.
A magnificent but bloodthirsty bird with a particular fondness for game-
birds, chickens, and doves, to which it is very destructive whenever it has
a fair chance. Fortunately for the farmer it is seldom seen in Michigan
excei^t in severe weather when his poultry are generally well housed. Under
such circumstances the Goshawk chases the doves, and in spite of their
great powers of flight not infrequently captures them.
The great majority of specimens taken in the state are captured while
trying to catch poultry or doves during severe cold weather. Under
normal conditions the Goshawk feeds principally upon grouse and other
game birds, with an occasional rabbit or squirrel. Sometimes it is fairly
common in winter in the northern half of the state, and then several winters
may pass without any being observed. On the whole it must be considered
a decidedly uncommon species.
A])out the middle of November, 1906, a large flight of Goshawks entered
Michigan from the north and overspread the entire state. In the neighbor-
hood of Detroit and especially in parts of western Ontario, they weie
particularly abundant, and a score or more of specimens were taken. One
was taken at Morenci, Lenawee county, November 19, and one near Benton
Harbor, Berrien county, about the same time. Mr. C. E. McAlvey informs
me that about November 25, 1906, while hunting near Manistee, he shot a
Partridge or Ruffed Grouse, and before he could recover it a large Goshawk
darted down and carried it off. At about the same time a fine specimen
was killed near Copemish, Manistee county, by Mr. H. A. Danville, Jr.
It is worthy of note that almost without exception the Goshawks of this
flight seem to have been fully mature birds in the blue and white plumage,
only a single immature bird having been taken. The entire time covered
by this invasion did not exceed a month, and the birds disappeared as
suddenly as they came.
It probably nests in the state regularly, but in very small numl)ei's, and
most of bur records are far from satisfactory. Mr. A. B. Covert visited
a nest near Comers' Camp, Wexford county, about six miles northwest of
270 MICHIGAN RIRD LIFE.
Cadillac, April 22, 1882, and obtained the old female with one young and
one egg. None of these specimens can be located at present, and although
Dr. Gibbs examined the young bird when alive, June 26, 1882, he was not
able to identify it positively. The location is one of the highest in the
Lower Peninsula (about 1700 feet) and the surroundings precisely what
one would expect for the summer home of the Goshawk.
Mr. S. E. White states (Birds of Mackinac Island, Auk, X, 1893, 223)
that in 1889 two pairs of Goshawks could be seen about the island every day,
but that he was unable to secure a specimen. In 1890 there was but one
pair and the last pair had disappeared in 1891. There can be little doubt
that these birds nested somewhere on the Island.
At the Fontinalis Club, near Vanderbilt, Otsego County, the writer found
a pair of mounted Goshawks, July 28, 1909, which had been killed "a
year or two before" by Mr. I. F. Sellick, the caretaker of the club. Early
in the summer these hawks began carrying off his poultry, even taking
full grown fowls. Finally, in June or July, the boy who drove the cows
was attacked by one of the birds, which struck him on the head repeatedly
and so frightened him that he refused to pass the place again. Mr. Sellick
visited the place and was himself attacked. He located the nest "in the
top of a dead stub, perhaps 30 or 40 feet from the ground." No nest was
visible, but " the hen bird — at least the smallest one " was sitting in the top
of this stub and evidently had eggs or young there. He shot this bird,
and later secured the other when it returned to the nest. The nest itself
was not examined. Mr. Sellick is positive that birds of the same kind
nest in this vicinity every summer.
The Goshawk has been found nesting in the mountains of Pennsylvania
and in southern New Hampshire, as well as in the Adirondack region of
northern New York. We know of no reason why it should not nest regularly
in elevated regions in Michigan where there is still plenty of timber.
The eggs are two or three, nearly white, sometimes faintly marked with
brown, and average 2.31 by 1.74 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Bluish-gray or bluish-slate above, darkening to blackish or clear black on the
head, where tlie feathers are snow-white beneath the surface; usually a broad white stripe
above and beiiiiid the eye, bordered below by a stripe of slate-color or black; under parts
white finely barred with gray, blue-gray or blackish, regularly on the flanks and thighs,
irregularly elsewhere, and many of the feathers of throat and breast with narrow dark
shaft streaks. Tail bluish-gray like the back, sometimes without any dark bars above,
but usually showing four or five above, and these always conspicuous on the under side of
tail. Bill and claws black; cere, legs and feet yellow; iris deep red. Innnature: CJrayish
brown above, many feathers spotted, edged, or streaked with buff or white; lower ])arts
buffy white, heavily streaked and spotted (but not barred) with brownish-black; tail
grayish-brown with four or five dark cro.ssbands, and a narrow white terminal edging.
Male: Length 22 inches; wing 12 to 13.25; tail 9.50 to 10.50; tarsus 2.70 to 3.05.
Female: Length 24.50; wing 13. .50 to 14.25; tail 11.50 to 12.75; tarsus same as in male.
138. Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo borealis borealis (Gmel.). (337)
Synonyms: Buzzard Hawk, Red-tailed iiuzzanl, Hen Hawk, Big Hen Hawk, Chicken
Hawk, White-breasted Chicken Hawk, Eastern Redtail. — Falco borealis, Gmel., 1788,
Wils., 1808, Nutt., 1840. — Buteo borealis, Vieill., 1819, and American authors generally.
Plate XIX and Figure 72.
When adult readily recognized by the large size and the general bright
chestnut color of the tail with a narrow white tip and sometimes more or
Plate XIX. Red-tailed Hawk. Adult.
From ,V'»'//( Anicn'ran Fiiinui No. 1(3. Courtesy of Biological Survey, V. S. Dept. .Vsriculti
LAND BIRDS. 273
less perfect black bar. The immature birds are readily confused with other
species.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to the Great Plains, north
to about latitude 60°, south to eastern Mexico. Breeds throughout most
of its range.
This is one of the two most abundant buzzard hawks, commonly called
Hen Hawks, often seen floating in circles or spirals far aloft, especially
over the uplands. It seems to prefer open country, or
at least regions not too heavily timbered, and its food
consists almost entirely of meadow-mice, rats, ground
squirrels, rabbits, and an occasional snake, frog, or fish.
Like other hawks it sometimes gets into bad habits and
may then visit the poultry yard many times in succession
carrying away fowl after fowl unless trapped or shot.
As a rule, however, it feeds almost entirely upon mammals p. ^.-,
and must be considered an extremely beneficial bird. Bin of Red^taiifd
Out of 473 stomachs reported upon by Dr. A. K. ^''''^■
Fisher, 54 contained poultry or game birds; 51, other birds; 278, mice;
131, other mammals; 37, batrachians or reptiles; 47, insects; 8, crayfish;
1, centipedes; and 13, offal. It is no uncommon thing to find the remains
of 5 or 6 meadow-mice in a single stomach and in many localities during
the fall and winter it feeds almost exclusively upon small rodents.
While wheeling high in the air its common call-note is "kee-aah" as
written by Captain Bendire. While perched, often on the top of some
tall and conspicuous tree, it is usually silent.
The nest is a bulky structure of sticks and twigs lined with smaller twigs
and some bark, and usually a few feathers after the eggs are laid. It is
placed high up in a large tree, sometimes in the thick woods but more
often near the edges of wooded areas, or in single trees in the ojDen. The
eggs in Michigan are commonly two or three in number, but occasionally
four are found. They are laid earlier than those of the Red-shouldered
Hawk, often as early as the last week in March, and usually before the^
middle of April. Of thirty-one nests found by the late R. B. Westnedge,
in Kalamazoo county, ten contained eggs the last week in March, thii'teen
between April first and 10th, seven during the rest of April, and only one
in May (the 10th). The eggs vary much in color and markings, pei'haps
one-fourth of them being dirty white and unspotted, while the remainder
are spotted and blotched, sparsely or thickly, faintly or heavily, in endless
variation. They average 2.38 by 1.81 inches.
Tliis hawk is rarely if ever found in Michigan in winter, but arrives from
the south very early, usually before the middle of March, and remains until
mid-October or later. Fiequently it migrates southward in straggling
flocks of considerable size, either wheeling in wide circles and drifting stead-
ily southward, or alternately flapping and sailing, usually across the wind,
and thus carried steadily to leeward. During fine weather in late autumn
scores or even hundreds of Red-tails may be seen thus during a single day.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Four outer primaries notched on inner webs. Adult: Dark brown above, more or
less mixed or mottled with gray and whitisii; under parts white or wliitish, usually wa.>^hed
with bufi on the .sides of breast, only the belly streaked witli dark brown or blackisli;
tail bright rust-red (rufous) above, usually with a distinct black bar near the end, the
tip whitish; iris brown. Iiiunature: Similar, but the dark streaks on the belly so thick
35
274 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
as to form a broad zone or band of blackish, and the tail not rusty at all, but gray, crossed
by about eight narrow blackish bands.
Male: Length 19 to 22.50 inches; wing, 1:^.50 to 16.50; tail, 8.50 to 10. Female:
Length 23 to"25 inches; wing, 15.25 to 17.75; tail, 9.50 to 10.50.
139. Red-shouldered Hawk. Buteo lineatus lineatus (GmcL). (339)
Synonyins: Red-shouldered Buzzard, Hen Hawk, Big Chicken Hawk, Winter Hawk.
— Falco lineatus, Gmel., 1788, Wils., 1808, And., 1831.— Buteo lineatus, .lard., 1832, Aud.,
1839, and others. — Falco hyemalis, Gmel., 1789, Bona])., 1832. — Falco buteoides, Nutt.,
18.32.
Plate XX and Figure 73.
Likely to be confounded only with the Red-tailed Hawk, and young
birds of the two species can hardly be separated by the novice. The
present species, however, always shows rusty-red shoulders (lesser wing-
coverts), and the adult has a nearly black tail crossed by four or five distinct,
narrow, pure white bars, and usually is tipped narrowly with white. The
Red-shouldered Hawk is also more slightly built, the feet and legs in
particular being more slender than those of the Red-tail.
Distriljution. — Eastern North America to Manitoba and Nova Scotia;
west to Texas and the Plains; south to the Gulf States and Mexico. Breeds
throughout its range.
The Red-shouldered Hawk is an abundant hawk in Michigan, frequenting
every part of the state and found, at least occasionally, at all seasons of
the year. The greater number move southward at the approach of cold
weather, but many remain all winter, at least in the southern half of the
state. In its general habits it resembles the Red-tail rather closel3s but
is more partial to heavily wooded regions and less often seen at a distance
from timber, or sitting motionless on the top of an isolated tree. This
difference is correlated with its feeding habits, since the Red-shouldered
Hawk is much more partial to the tree-loving squirrels, and more of its
food comes from the woods than from the fields and meadows.
It is commonly called a Hen Hawk, and most farmers believe that it is
a constant menace to the poultry yard. Nevertheless this idea is absolutely
without foundation. Dr. A. K. Fisher says that in all his field experience
he has never seen one attack a fowl, nor has he found the remains of one
in the stomachs of those examined, except that in severe weather, when
the ground is covered with snow and when food is scarce, it will devour
dead chickens which have licen thrown out from the yard, as well as other
refuse found on the compost heaps or in the vicinity of slaughter-houses.
Out of 206 stomachs reported on by Dr. Fisher, 3 contained some remains
of poultry; 12, other birds; 102, mice; 40, other mammals; 20, reptiles;
39, batrachians; 92, insects; 16, spiders; 7, crayfish; 1, earthworms; and 3,
fish. It will be seen from a careful examination of Dr. Fisher's report
that the bird has a wide range in food and shows a decided preference for
snakes and frogs, as well as a fondness for mice, grasshoppers, beetles,
and various other insects. It does eat a few wild birds, but does not appear
to be particularly injurious to game, although it occasionally picks up a
quail.
Like the Red-tailed Hawk it is an early nester, though probably not
quite so early as that bird. The late R. B. Westnedge records 21 sets of
eggs taken in Kalamazoo county, of which n\imber 16 sets (fresh eggs)
Plate XX. Rcfl-shotildcrcd Hawk. Adult.
Courtfsy of National Cominitttf of .Amlubon Societies.
LAND BIRDS. 277
were taken between April 1st and 15th, one set April 21st, one April 18th,
two on May 5th, and the latest one May 13th. The nests are similar to
those of the^Red-tail and we know of no way in which they can be surely
discriminated. The eggs, however, average smaller and are more heavily
spotted, with a smaller proportion of entirely unspotted eggs. The usual
number of eggs is three, but four are often found. The ground color
varies from white to pale brownish and they are variously spotted and
splashed with brown of different shades. They average 2.13 by 1.69 inches.
It is difficult to discriminate between the call notes of this species and
the Red-tail, and still more difficult to put the distinctions into words.
Captain Bendire says "The note of early spring, especially in mating
season, is 'kee-yooh, kee-yooh,' the last syllable drawn out," and Dr.
Ralph says the call-note is "a loud whistle-like sound, resembling
'whee-ee-e,' with once in a while a 'ca-ac' added to or rather mixed with
it" (Bendire, Life Histories, I, 222).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Four outer primaries distinctly notched (emarginate) on inner webs, the outer webs
spotted with white or buff.
Adult: Upper parts mottled with reddish brown and blackish, the feathers often
with purplish reflections and sometimes tipped or margined with whitish; chin and throat
white or whitish with a few narrow dark shaft-stripes; upper breast with similar streaks
on a rusty ground, and more or less barred with white; lower breast, belly and sides regularly
cross-barred with rusty and white, with a few longitudinal streaks of dark brown; under
tail-coverts white and unspotted; shoulders (lesser wing-coverts) bright rust-red; tail
black with about four narrow white cross bars, the white tip making a fifth bar; iris reddish
brown. Immature: Upper parts similar, but with more numerous white edgings, the
shoulders duller red; under parts creamy to buffy white with numerous rounded, tear-
shaped or lance-shaped spots and streaks of brown, but with no trace of rusty and white
bars; tail pale brown (often quite rusty on outer webs of feathers near the base) with a
narrow white tip and about eight dark brown or blackish cross bars.
Male: Length, 17.50 to 19.50 inches; wing, 11.25 to 13.50; tail, 8 to'9.50. Female:
Length, 19 to 22 inches; wing, 13.35 to 14.25; tail, 9 to 10.
140. Swainson's Hawk. Buteo swainsoni (Bonap.). (342)
Synonyms: Brown Hawk, Black Hawk, Hen Hawk. — Buteo swainsoni, Bonap., 1838,
Coues, 1866. — Falco obsoletus, Gmel., 1789. — Buteo montanus, Nutt., 1833.
The adult in normal plumage is likely to be mistaken for the immature
Red-tail or possibly for the Red-shouldered Hawk, but it lacks the rufous
wing-coverts, and has a broad pectoral band of gray, brown, or cinnamon,
separating the white throat from the nearly white belly. The fact that
this hawk has only three primaries emarginate (cut out) on the inner webs
will separate it from either of the two hawks just named.
Distribution. — Western Noi-th America from Wisconsin, Illinois, Arkansas
and Texas to the Pacific and south to the Argentine Republic. Casual
cast to Maine and Massachusetts. Breeds nearly throughout its range.
Swainson's Hawk is a western bird which straggles eastward occasionally,
specimens having been taken in many of the eastern states. It has been
reported from Michigan a dozen times or more, but it seems probable that
in most cases the birds so reported have been improperly identified; at all
events in several instances specimens labelled and reported as Swainson's
Hawk have been examined and proved to be Red-shouldered or Red-tailed
Hawks. There are but two unquestionable records for the state, so far as
we now know. The first is a specimen taken by Norman A. Wood,
27S MICIIKiAN HIRD LIFE.
in Cheljoygan county, in October 1883, untl recorded in tiie Auk, Vol. XIV,
1897, p. 216. This specimen is now in the University Museum, Ann Arbor
(Catal. No. 36062), and is an immature bird, in the black phase of plumage.
The bird was not sexed when skinned, but its size would indicate a male.
The second record is that of a specimen taken at Hessel, Mich., about 18
miles from Mackinaw City, October 13, 1908, and now in the collection of
P. A. Taverner (Auk, XXVI, 1909, p. 83).
Specimens were reported from Kent county, Mich., by C. W. Gunn,
in November 1882, but examination of the Gunn collection, now in the
Kent Scientific Museum at Grand Rapids, reveals but three specimens,
marked B. swainsonii, two of which are from California and one from Kent
county, but all are Red-tailed Hawks without question. We are convinced
that the determinations in most cases have been based solely upon color
and pattern of plumage without comparison with genuine specimens of
swainsonii, and without an examination of the primaries to see whether
three or four were emarginate.
Several specimens were reported by W. A. Davidson, in January 1897,
as killed in Wayne county; one was recorded by Dr. Miles as killed in Genesee
county in the summer of 1859, probably the one mentioned by Stockwell
in the Forest and Stream list. Covert reported it breeding in Washtenaw
county, taking the female and eggs May 5, 1880. A. H. Boies informed
Dr. Gibbs that he took a specimen at Hudson, Mich., about the first of
November 1879. Mr. Covert also records a specimen taken by himself
in Cadillac, August 16, 1882. Major Boies recorded a specimen taken on
Neebish Island in October of either 1892, 1893, or 1894 (Bull. Mich. Orn.
Club, I, 27). With the exception of the Kent county specimens in the Gunn
collection, we have been unal3le to examine any of the birds mentioned above
but have ascertained from inquiry that most of them were sold, exchanged,
or given away, and so lost track of. It is by no means impossible that some
of these were genuine Swainson's Hawks, but we feel no certainty that this
was the case.
Mcllwraith (Birds of Ontario, 1894, p. 204) records a young specimen
observed at Hamilton in 1865, and another in the hands of a local taxider-
mist in 1886 but these identifications are open to some question. In
Wisconsin it is far from common. According to Kumlien and Hollister
(Birds of Wisconsin, p. 64) it has been "noted only during the autumnal
migrations, but probably occurs more frequently along the Mississippi
River than in the eastern or central parts of the state."
On the plains west of the Mississippi it is a common species and feeds
principally on small mammals and insects, rarely attacking birds, and never
poultr3^ It has been known to feed almost exclusively on grasshoppers
for many days at a time, and when these insects are extraordinarily
abundant the Swainson's Hawks gather in large numbers to feast upon them.
This is one of the species also which frequently moves southward in large
straggling flocks during the fall, although it seems probable that many,
if not all, our common hawks frequently associate in flocks during migra-
tion.
The eggs are from two to four, their ground color greenish white to
yellowish white, commonly spotted with different shades of brown and gray,
but not often heavily marked. They average 2.23 by 1.73 inches.
Plate XXI. Broad-winged Hawk. Young, 24 days old.
From Bird Lore. Courtesy of Dr. Thomas H. Jackson.
LAND BIRDS. 281
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
"Only three outer quills [primaries] with inner webs distinctly emarginated. Tail
grayish brown, or brownish gray, sometimes with a hoary tinge, crossed by an indefinite
number (about 9 or 10) of narrow dusky bands, which toward base of tail become gradually
indistinct and finally obsolete.
"Adult male, normal plumage: Above nearly miiform grayish brown; forehead, chin,
and throat wliite, usually abruptly defined and forming a distinct patch; chest and upper
part of breast usually plain rufous or cinnamon (rarely mixed or broken with whitish);
rest of lower parts buffy whitish, sometimes immaculate, but usually more or less barred
or spotted with brownish; length 19.50 to 20 inches; extent 48 to 50.50; weight 1^ to 2J
poimds; wing 14.40 to 16; tail 8 to 9; culmen .80 to .90. Adult female, normal plumage:
Similar to the male, but chest patch grayish brown instead of rufous or cinnamon; length
21 to 22 inches; extent 50.50 to 56; weight 2\ to 3| pounds; wing 14.75 to 17.25; tail
9 to 10; culmen .80 to .95. Melanistic phase, both sexes: Whole plumage imiform sooty
brown, the under tail coverts sometimes spotted or barred with rusty or whitish. (In
different individuals may be seen every possible intermediate condition of plumage be-
tween this complete melanism and the light-colored normal plumage described above).
Young: Tail as in adult; above blackish brown varied with bulTy or ochraceous; head,
neck, and lower parts creamy bufT (deeper in younger, paler in older individuals), the
lower parts usually more or less spotted with blackish, the head and neck streaked with
same" (Ridgw'ay).
141. Broad-winged Hawk. Buteo platypterus (VicilL). (343)
Synonyms: Broad-winged Buzzard. — Sparvius platypterus, Vieill., 1823. — Falco
pennsylvanicus, Wils., 1812, Aud., 1831. — Buteo pennsylvanicus, Bonap., 1830, and many
others. — Buteo latissimus, A. O. U. Check-list, 1889, and most subsequent authors.
Plate XXL
Decidedly smaller than any of the other buzzard hawks, the wing not
more than 13^ inches. It resembles the immature Red-shouldered Hawk
somewhat, but may always be known by the small size coupled with but
three emarginate primaries.
Distribution. — Eastern North America from New Brunswick and the
Saskatchewan region to Texas, Mexico, and thence southward to Northern
South America and the West Indies. Breeds throughout its United States
range.
In most parts of Michigan this is not an abundant bird, but it is more
common in the northern half of the state, where it is a summer resident
and breeds. It is so frequently confounded with the other Buteos that our
reliable records are not very numerous, and it is jDossible that it nests much
farther south than we now suppose. Mr. Edward Arnold of Battle Creek
has a set of two eggs of this species taken in Kalamazoo county, May 24,
1875, by Dr. Morris Gibbs. The nest was in a black ash tree and said to
have been about 100 feet from the ground. According to Dr. Gibbs the late
Richard Westnedge of Kalamazoo, took several nests in Allegan county,
in heavy woods along the Kalamazoo River, but after careful examination
of Mr. Westnedge's catalogue of eggs, kindly sent me by his mother, I am
unable to find any records for this species. The late Percy Selous found it
at Greenville, Montcalm county, in June, and it doubtless nests there.
We have found it nesting in Emmet county, near Harbor Springs, and it
has also been recorded from the same region by Otto Widmann. S. E.
White reported it from Mackinac Island, and Major Boies from Neebish
Island, St. Mary's River. According to B. H. Swales it is an abundant
migrant in southeastern Michigan and breeds there, at least occasionally.
He took a nest of three eggs, together with the parent bird, near Highland
282 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Piii'k, Wayne county, April 29, 1893. The nest was 55 feet up in a })eech
tree. Mr. Swales also states that this species is fairly abundant in St. Clair
county and is known to breed.
In its general habits it somewhat resembles the other Buteos but its
food consists more largely of insects and it is entirely free from suspicion
of injury to the farmer. It eats mice, squirrels, ground squirrels, rats,
shrews, wood mice, as well as grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and the large,
green, naked caterpillars which are the larvse of destructive moths. Out of
38 stomachs reported on by Dr. Fisher, 2 contained small birds; 15, mice;
13, other mammals; 11, reptiles; 13, batrachians; 30, insects; 2, earthworms;
and 4, crayfish.
The Broadwing nests always in trees, the nest being made ordinarily of
sticks and lined with thin scales of dry bark, but not infrequently green
leaves are added, possibly for protection during the absence of the parents.
The eggs are commonly two or three, very rarely four, the ground color
grayish white, spotted in variable degrees with brown or gray. They
average 1.93 by 1.56 inches.
This is another of our hawks which often migrates in flocks, and sometimes
hundreds may be seen passing slowly northward in spring, or southward
in fall, now flapping steadily, and again circling and drifting slowly
in the desired direction. The autumn migration takes place mostly between
the middle of September and the 10th of Otcober, and the birds return
from the south early in April.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Only three outer primaries notched (emarginate) on the inner webs; wing never more
than 13.50 inches long.
Adult: Upper parts grayish brown to brownish black, darkest on interscapulars and
crown, often with distinct pur])Hsh reflections; forehead and ciiin whitish, the latter some-
times streaked with (hisky, sonu'times pure white; featliers of occiput pure white below
the surface; imderparts redtlish l)rown, everywhere spotted or barred with white, most
freely and regularly on the belly, flanks and thighs (tibise), least on the chest; sides of
neck without white, but usually with a blackish patch from corner of mouth backward;
tail brownish black to clear black above, with 2 to 4 distinct, wide cross-bars of white or
grayish, and a narrow tip of the same shade; iris, cere and feet yellow. Immature: Upper
parts almost precisely like those of the young Red-shouldered Hawk, but the shoulders
not rusty, nor the outer webs of the primaries light-spotted; under parts pure white to
buffy white, more or less heavily spotted and streaked with dark brown, but without bars
except imperfect ones on flanks and thighs; chin and throat usually pure white, with few
or no streaks; iris bright yellow; cere and feet greenish yellow.
Male: Length, 13.25 to 15 inches; wing, 9.85 to 10.70; tail, 6.50 to 7. Female: Length,
16 to 18 inches; wing, 11 to 11.40; tail, 7 to 8.
142. Rough-legged Hawk. Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johannis (GmcL).
(347a)
Synonyms: American Rough-legged Hawk, Rough-legged Buzzard, Black Hawk,
Mouse Hawk. — Falco sancti-johannis, Gmel., 1788. — Buteo sancti-johannis, Nutt., 1833.
— Falco lagopus, Wils., 1808.— Buteo lagopus. Rich., 1831.
Known from all the rest of our hawks by the feathered shank or tarsus,
only the toes being naked. It is about the size of the Red-tailed Hawk, but
a much lighter built bird, with more slender feet, weaker bill, and especially
longer, more pointed wings. Its plumage is too variable for ready descrip-
tion, but nearly black individuals are rather common, and in specimens
not so coloi'cd a broad dark zone across the lower breast and belly is usual.
LAND BIRDS. 283
■ Distribution. — North America north of Mexico, breeding north of the
United States (except in Alaska).
This is a beautiful and valuable hawk, which is found with us only during
the colder half of the year, passing beyond our northern boundary to nest.
It arrives from the north usually in October or November and in favorable
seasons and localities some may winter, l)ut the majority pass farther
south after the streams and lakes freeze up. It returns in the spring with
the disappearance of snow, and a few linger until the first week in May
(Greenville, May 4, 1898, Selous).
Dr. Atkins, of Locke, reported it as breeding there (O. & O. IX, 44),
but this was certainly an error. No unquestionable instance of its nesting
within the borders of the United States (except in Alaska) has been recorded,
and the numerous reports of its nesting in Maine, Wisconsin, and Minnesota
have all been discredited. A single credible record is that of a nest and two
eggs found in Nelson county. North Dakota, June 7, 1901, by Mr. A. C.
Bent (Auk, XVIII, 393); the bird, however, was not killed in this case,
and although the collector of the eggs was positive of the identification,
there is still room for question. It nests in Labrador on ledges, cliffs,
etc., and in Alaska mainly in trees, 20 feet or more above the ground,
but occasionally on banks, bluiTs and cliffs. It lays from two to five eggs
(usually three or four) which are dingy white, sometimes plain, but oftener
spotted and blotched with various shades of brown and gray in every
conceivable degree and pattern. They average 2.31 by 1.74 inches.
While with us in spring and fall this hawk frequents by preference open,
low lying lands and marshes, where it perches on the tops of scattered trees
watching for its prey, which consists almost entirely of meadow-mice,
and frogs. In favorable situations, where such food is abundant, the
birds sometimes gather in considerable numbers, so that sometimes 30 or
40 may be seen in the course of a week and a large number may be shot
during the season. This has happened several times at the St. Clair Flats
and in the marshes bordering Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River. The
Rough-leg is irregular in its visits, some years appearing in considerable
numbers and during other years none being seen. It does absolutely
no harm to the farmer and should be rigidly protected.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Entire leg feathered to base of toes; basal half or more of tail white or whitish, the
remainder dark, four outer primaries emarginate on inner web.
Normal Adult: Plimiage too variable for description, but the above points are sufficient
if the specimen is in hand. In addition, there is usually a broad dark zone across the
lower breast and belly, sometimes solid fuscous or black, sometimes made up of a more
or less fused mass of spots, streaks and bars. The latter condition is said to characterize
older birds, while the solid dark zone indicates immaturity. As a rule tiie vipper parts
closely resemble those of the Red-tail, altliough the head and neck average lighter colored.
A dark phase (melanistic) is not uncommon, in which the entire bird is black or ])lackish
except the forehead, base of tail and inner webs of primaries, which are white. Inter-
mediate stages are also common.
Male: Length 19.50 to 22 inches; wing l').?") to Ki.SO; tail 9 to 10. Female: Length
21.50 to 23.50 inches; wing 16 to 18; tail 9 (o 11.
284
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
143. Golden Eagle. Aquila chrysaetos {Linn.). (349)
Synonyms: Brown Eagle, Gray Eagle, Black Eagle, Ring-tailed Eagle.- — ^Falco
chrysaetos, Linn., 1758. — Falco canadensis, Linn., 1766. — Aquila canadensis, Wils.,
1808. — Aquila chrysaetos, Sw. & Rich., 1831. — Aquila fulva, Nutt., 1833. — Aquila chry-
saetus var. canadensis, B. B. & R., 1875.
a rare bird anywhere
Michigan as the Bald
Plate XXII and Fiyure 74.
Its size, the expanse of wings being about seven feet, prevents con-
fusion with any other bird except the Bald Eagle, and the two may be
separated in any plumage by examination of shanks or tarsi. In the
Golden Eagle these are feathered to the base of the toes (Fig. 74), much as
in the Rough-legged Hawk, while in the Bald Eagle the shanks are naked
for some distance up the legs. Of course the adult Bald Eagle always has
the pure white head and tail, which the Golden Eagle always lacks, but the
immature birds resemble each other sufficiently to be readily confused.
Distribution.^ — North America, south to Mexico, and northern parts of
the Old World. Breeding range in the United States practically restricted
to the mountainous parts of unsettled regions.
While the Golden Eagle is generally considered
it would seem to be fully as common in winter in
Eagle. Probably it would not be
true of all localities but neither bird is
abundant anywhere and the Golden
Eagle occurs here and there through
the state almost every winter.
Naturally it is entirely absent during
the warmer half of the year and
almost all our records for the state
fall within the months December,
January, and February. However,
there are some records for November
and March and a few for October.
In at least three instances we have
known Golden Eagles to be caught
alive in the hands after becoming
entangled in bushes and vines where
evidently they had plunged after
some quarry which they had failed
to capture. In other cases specimens
have been caught in steel traps while
feeding on carrion during severe
weather. This is contrary to their usual habits, since the Golden Eagle
is much more particular than the Bald Eagle to have its food perfectly
fresh. One which we ke{)t in captivity at the College for more than a year
absolutely refused to eat tainted meat or any animal which had begun to
decompose.
The habitual food consists of partridges, quail, water fowl, rabbits, and
occasionally squirrels and even smaller game. It does not seem to care
for fish and is no more abundant along the lake shores than in the interior,
except possibly that it follows the migration routes of water birds. It is
not known to nest within our limits, the several reported instances for
Fig.
Right foot of (ioldtm Eagle
(Original.)
Plate XXII. Golden Eagle. Adult.
From pholoKraph of mounted specimen. (Original.)
LAND BIRDS. 287
Michigan beino; all referable to the Bald Eagle, with which the bird is
constantly confounded.
Most people, including many who should be better informed, consider
any eagle which lacks the white head and tail a Golden Eagle, whereas
the Bald Eagle does not acquire the white head and tail until the third or
fourth year at least, yet probably nests when one year old, that is, during
the second summer.
Dr. R. H. Wolcott states that a nest believed to be that of a Golden
Eagle was described to him in 1894, on the shore of Lake Huron, 40 miles
east of Mackinac. Mr. Ed. Van Winkle of Van's Harbor, Delta county,
Mich., was positive that the Golden Eagle nested in Delta county some ten
or twelve years ago, but he was doubtless mistaken. Of course it is not
impossible that the bird does sometimes nest among the cliffs along the
south shore of Lake Superior, but we have absolutely no proof that such
is the case. This is decidedly a mountain eagle and its nests are usually
placed in almost inaccessible places on cliffs. It is known, however, to
nest in trees occasionally, and in some regions (California and Oregon)
most of the nests are so placed.
Usually but two eggs are laid, though there are records of three. They
are deposited very early in the season, in January or February in Arizona,
from the 10th to the 20th of March in southern California, and from April
1st to April 10th in southern Oregon. We have no records of nests from
the vicinity of IMichigan. The eggs are sometimes plain white, but
oftener thickly spotted or blotched with brown or gray, various shades
of brown predominating. They average 2.93 by 2.34 inches.
The Golden Eagle sometimes attacks larger animals than hares and
rabbits, and occasionally, on some of the western sheep ranches, it is quite
destructive to young lambs. Probably also once in a while it attacks
young fawns of the common deer, but the instances are rare.
Major Bendire says of its note " The usual call-note is a shrill ' kee-kee-kee '
uttered in a high tone. It is often heard in the early spring before nidifica-
tion commences. Another note not so frequently used — one of alarm —
is 'kiah-kiah,' repeated a number of times."
The Golden Eagle rears but one brood in a season, and the period of
incubation is approximately four weeks.
TECHXKAL DESCRIPTIOX.
Atlult : (leneral color rich dark brown, lighter on tibiic anti tarsi, tlie feathers of tlie
occiput and hind neck with separate, lanceolate tips (like the hackles of a rooster) which
are yellower or more golden brown, whence the name of the eagle; tail white basally,
only the terminal half or less clear black, sometimes with a lighter tip; cere and feet greenish
yellow; bill dark horn color; iris brown.
Immature: Similar to adult, but darker, especially above, the hackles less golden,
and the tail white only at the very base, or with several imperfect grayish bars on its
basal half.
Male: Length '.iO to 35 inches; wing 23 to 24.70; tail 14 to L'). Female: Length
35 to 40 inches; wing 25 to 27; tail 15 to 16; extent of spread wings 7 to 7\ feet.
144. Bald Eagle. Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus (Linn.). (352)
Synonyms: White-hea<led llagle. American l^agle. Black Ivigle, Cray Eagle. \\'ash-
ington Eagle. — Falco leucocepiialus, Linn., 17G(i, (imel., Lath.. Wils. — Atjuila leucocepliala,
Briss., Vieill., Swains.— Haliaetus leucoce[)halus of authors generally.
Only two species of eagle occur in Michigan; the Golden Eagle has
just Ijcen described, the Bald Eagle when adult has a pure white head and
288 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
tail which readily identify it. Immature birds, hick these distinguishing
marks and are readily confused with the Golden Eagle. They may be
known always, however, by the partly bare shank or tarsus, coupled of
course with the large size the spread of wing being from six to seven feet,
averaging a little less than that of the Golden Eagle.
Distribution.— "United States to Southern Lower California and north-
ern jMexico, breeding in suitable locations throughout its range" (A. O. U.
Check List, 1910).*
The Bald Eagle is generally distributed over the state, but is most com-
monly seen near the shores of the Great Lakes, or along the larger rivers,
and is nowhere abundant. Its food consists very largely of fish and it
seldom or never nests at any great distance from some region where this
food can be obtained in abundance. It seems to be resident, or practically
so, wdierever found and if it absents itself at all it is only for a short time
during the coldest weather when the waters on which it depends so largely
for its food are tightly frozen.
It was formerly much more abundant, and probably a few pairs nested
in every county in the state, but the birds are followed relentlessly by
hunters who shoot them for specimens or for mere sport, and the nests
have been robbed year after year by egg collectors, so that one by one
the nests have been deserted and the birds have withdrawn to places of
greater security. It is much to be regretted that this wanton destruction
has been permitted, and it is a matter of congratulation that by an act
of the legislature of 1905, renewed at each subsequent session, these noble
birds are protected together with other non-game birds, and their destruc-
tion or the disturbance of their nests at any time of year becomes an offense
punishable by fine and imprisonment.
Although this is one of the largest of our birds of prey, and has been chosen
as the emblem of the Republic, it is nevertheless a robber of a rather dis-
graceful type, and although it frequently captures worthy prey, in open
fight or by direct attack, it often robs the Fish Hawk, compelling it to
relinquish the fish which it has just captured. When nothing better oflfers
it feeds freely upon decomposing fish washed up along the shore, or upon
carrion, in company with the Crow and Raven. True, it kills many rabbits,
grouse, ducks and water fowl of various kinds, and even stoops to squirrels,
mice and snakes; but on the whole it confers no decided benefits on the
agriculturist, although on the other hand, it is not commonly injurious.
On rare occasions it picks up a hen, usually at a distance from the house,
and in early spring it has been known to destroj^ young lambs, but these
are not common offenses.
The nest is very bulky and conspicuous, placed high up in a large tree
(often a dead one), and often so situated as to command a wide view of the
surrounding country. It is occupied year after year by the same pair of
eagles and is only slightly repaired each spring before the laying of eggs.
This takes place quite early in the season, in December or January in
Florida, and from February to March in the middle states. It is likely that
the exact time of egg laying varies with different pairs and in different
seasons, but in Michigan the eggs probably are laid in the latter part of
March or the first of April. But a single brood is reared in a season and
the period of incubation is about thirty days. The eggs are commonly
two. very rarely three; pure white in color (unless nest-stained), and average
3 by 2.30 inches
* For notes on the Northern Bald Eagle, see Appendix.
LAND BIRDS. 289
It is a well known fact that in most birds of prey the female exceeds the
male in size, and this is true of both species of eagle. It is not so generally-
known, however, that the young Bald Eagle, during the first year after
leaving the nest, is larger than either of its parents, the expanse of wing
being often a foot greater. It is also noticeably different in color, and these
large, immature birds were originally described by Audubon as the "Bird
of Washington," and even at present we sometimes hear allusions to the
" Washington Eagle " as if it were a distinct species.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tarsus bare for an inch or more above base of toes; five outer primaries deeply notched
(emarginate) on inner webs.
Adult: Entire head, neck, upper tail-coverts and tail pure white, in strong contrast
with the rest of the plumage which is mainly dark brown, many of the body feathers with
paler margins, and the wing feathers nearly black. Bill, cere and feet bright yellow;
iris pale yellow to yellowish white.
Immatm-e, first year (Black Eagle) : Plumage mainly black; no white on head, and at
most only small freckles of white on the inner webs of tail feathers, but all the body feathers
snowy white below the surface; bill black; feet yellow; iris brown.
Immature, second and third year (Gray Eagle); Head and neck mainly black, the
"hackles" of hind neck tipped with brown or gray; tail black, the inner webs of most
of the feathers more or less sprinkled or mottled with whitish; body feathers above and
below mixed brown, black and gray, or even streaked and margined with piu-e white.
Bill dark horn color; iris brown; cere and feet yellow.
Male: Length 30 to 35 inches; wing 20 to 26; tail 11 to 15.25. Female; Length
34 to 43 inches; wing 23.50 to 28; tail 12.50 to 16; spread of wings 6^ to 7| feet.
Family 8<S. FALCONID.E. The Falcons.
145. Duck Hawk. Falco peregrinus anatum {Bonaj).). (356a)
Synonyms: Peregrine Falcon, American Peregrine, Great-footed Hawk. — Falco
anatum, Bonap., 1838. — Falco peregrinus, Ord, 1808. — Falco communis var., Lath. —
Falco communis var. anatum, B. B. & R., 1875.
This is a large falcon characterized b}^ the notched and toothed 1)111,
and the single emarginate outer primary; only to be confounded with the
Gyrfalcon (Appendix).
Distribution. — North America at large, and south to Chili. Breeds
locally throughout most of its United States range.
This beautiful falcon is nowhere common; although a few individuals
are seen each season in favorable localities it probably would be impossible
for any collector to procure one on an order at any particular time. It
is most often seen during the large flights of water fowl in spring and fall,
when it seems to accompany these birds in their migratory movements,
feeding upon them whenever so incHned. Specimens are found here and
there in the public and private collections of the state, but in most cases
without definite data as to time and place of collection. Among the more
recent records are a female shot March 25, 1904, on the outskirts of Detroit,
and a male taken October 6, 1904, on the Detroit River near Ft. Mouille
(Swales, Wilson Bull. 53, 1905, p. 108); an immature bird taken by N. A.
Wood at the Charity Islands, Saginaw Bay, September 20, 1910, and a
second specimen at the same place October 3.
In general appearance and habits it is practically identical with the
Peregrine of the Old World, which was considered the prince of falcons,
37
290 MICHIGAN JilKD LIFE.
or "noble hawks" by the sportsmen of the middle ages and more recent
times who devoted much of their time to hawking. It kills its game
either by direct chase, sudden assault, or, more commonly, by rising in
a spiral until it gets above its victim and then dr()i)ping with unerring
precision upon it.
Sometimes it nests upon a lofty tree, but its favorite aerie is the inacces-
sible ledge of some cliff, where it builds a nest of sticks and twigs and rears
its young in perfect safety. Such a nesting place, the only one known to
us in Michigan, was located on the south shore of Lake Superior in the
summer of 1906, by Mr. E. A. Doolittle, who found the young, full-fledged
and very noisy, early in July. Among the remnants of food brought for
the young was found the entire foot and part of the skeleton of a Long-
eared Owl.
It lays three or four buffy or deep brown eggs, sometimes nearly uniform
in color, but more often heavily spotted and blotched with several shades
of brown. They average 2.10 by 1.60 inches.
Mr. Robert Ridgway describes three nests of this species found near
Mt. Carmel, 111., in the spring of 1878. All were placed in cavities in the
tops of very large sycamore trees, and were inaccessible. One tree was
felled and the measured distance from the ground to the nest was 89 feet.
The eggs in Indiana and Illinois are deposited in April or May; probably
somewhat later in our latitude. As with most other large hawks the period
of incubation is about four weeks, and but one brood is reared each year.
This falcon feeds almost entirely upon large bii'ds, particularly grouse,
partridges, and Avater fowl. It is decidedly fond of poultry, and were it
more common doubtless would prove quite a pest to the farmer. As it
is, not one Michigan farm in a thousand is visited by this bird in the course
of a lifetime.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Upper mandible not sinii)Iy liooked, but with an additional point or "tooth" near the
tip and a corresponding notch in the lower mandible; first and second i^rimaries longest
and about the same length, only the first distinctly emarginate, on inner web.
Adult: Top and sides of head very dark slate or black, the back similar but paler;
chin, throat and chest white or buffy white, without dark markings, or with a few narrow
shaft-streaks, but the lower breast, sides and belly sharply barred with black; wings and
tail blackish closely barred with lighter, mainly on inner webs of feathers. Bill bluish
black; iris brown; cere and feet yellow. Immature: Similar above, but most feathers
with light edgings; underparts much more buffy and lieavily streaked (not barred) with
brown or blackish.
Male: Length 15.50 to 18 inches; wing 11.30 to 13; tail 6 to 7.50. Female: Length
18 to 20 inches; wing 13 to 14.75; tail 6.90 to 9.
146. Pigeon Hawk. Falco columbarius columbarius Linn. (357)
Synonyms: Pigeon Falcon, American Merlin, Bullet Hawk. — Falco columbarius,
Linn., 1758, and authors generally. Lithofalco columbarius, Bonap., 1850. — ^^salon
columbariu.s, Kaup., 1850.— Falco (.Esalon) lithofalco, B. B. & R., 1875.
A medium sized falcon, smaller than the Duck Hawk and larger than the
Sparrow Hawk, with the two outer primaries emarginate on the inner
web. In color it most closely resembles the Sharp-shinned Hawk, but is
more heavily built, Avith shorter tail, more pointed wings, and above all,
the typical falcon bill.
Distribution. — The whole of North America, south to West Indies and
northern South America. Breeds chiefly north of the United States.
LAND BIRDS. 291
This dainty little falcon is one of the less common hawks, and although
it has been recorded from all parts of the state (mainly as a migrant) it is
never abundant and many a collector has spent several seasons in the
field without even seeing one. So seldom is it met with, and so generally
is it confounded with other small hawks, that the notes from our corres-
pondents are of little value in determining its habits. Like the Duck Hawk
and the Sharp-shin it feeds much upon birds, and thus should be con-
sidered rather an injurious hawk; j^et its scarcity saves it from this reproach.
Of 51 stomachs reported upon by Dr. A. K. Fisher, 2 contained poultry;
41, small birds; 2, mice; and 16, insects.
We do not know that its nest has ever been taken in Michigan. The
nearest approach to it is the fact that an adult and three young (able to
fly) were seen, and two of the young taken, by a member of the University
of Michigan party at the Porcuj^ine Mountains, in Ontonagon county,
July 24, 1904. It would seem extremely probable that these young were
reared in that immediate vicinity. The same party afterward (Aug. 23,
1904) saw several, and took three, on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Mr.
Norman A. Wood noted ten individuals at the Charity Islands, Saginaw
Bay, during the fall migration, 1910, from August 30 to October 10, and
took several specimens. Major Boies found it frequently on Neebish
Island, in the St. Mary's River, during summer, and had no doubt that it
bred there.
In the far north (Alaska and the Anderson River country), according to
Major Bendire, it nests in May or June, placing its nest in hollows of trees
or on the limbs, as well as frequently on the ledges of cliffs. The eggs, two
to four in number, are soiled white or buffy, more or less heavily spotted
with brown and cinnamon, and average 1.59 by 1.23 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill of the falcon type, with tooth and notch; second and third primaries longest and
about equal, only the first and second emarginate on inner web; middle tail feathers with
not more than four dark and five light bands.
Adult male: Above, bluish-gray Avith black shaft-stripes, and much rusty and white
about the back of neck; under parts buffy, thickly striped with brown or black; inner
webs of primaries with numerous (G to 8) light bars or spots; tail mainly black, crossed
by four narrow whitish or buffy bands and narrowly tipped with same color; bill horn-
colored; cere and feet greenish-yellow; iris brown.
Adult female and young: Similar, but brownish above, with less white on the hind
neck; the under parts less rusty than in the adult male.
Male: Length 10 to 11 inches; wing 7.40 to 7.80; tail 4.65 to 5.20. Female: Length
12.50 to 13.25 inches; wing 8.35 to 8.60; tail 5.30 to 5.50.
147. Sparrow Hawk. Falco sparverius sparverius Linii. (360)
Synonyms: American Sparrow Hawk, Rusty-crowned Falcon, American Kestrel,
Mouse Hawk. — Falco sparverius, Linn., 1758, and authors generally. — Tinnunculus
sparverius, Vieill. — Falco (Tinmmculus) sparverius var. sparverius, B. B. & R., 1875.
Plate XXIII and Figure 75.
The tyi)ical falcon bill, small size, and rust-red color suffice to identify
tliis bird. A glanc'e at Plate XXIII probably Avill serve the same purpose.
Distribution. — North America east of the Rocky Mountains, and from
Great Slave Lake south to northern South America.
This is by far our commonest falcon, being indeed the only one which
is at all abundant. Occasionally it is seen in winter, but more often it
292 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
arrives from the south early in March, or as soon as the
ground is nearly free from snow, and it does not retire
southward again till late in the fall, although it is some-
times seen migrating in large scattered flocks in August or
September, as described by Professor Frank Smith, in the
Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club, Vol. V, Fig. 75.
1904 p. 77. ^^^^ °^ Sparrow
It is found everywhere throughout the state, commonly Hawk,
perched upon some dead stub or bare limb, or more frequently on telegraph
wires or on a fencepost in the open field. Often it is seen hovering almost
stationary above a clover field, darting down into the grass to seize a grass-
hopper, cricket, or other large insect, or almost as often a field mouse.
Rarely is it seen following birds, and when so engaged the victims are as
often English Sparrows as any other species. On the whole it is an ex-
tremely beneficial bird and should be rigidly protected. True, it does
occasionally kill some small insect-eating bird, but these lapses from
virtue are more than atoned for by the continual war which it wages upon
injurious insects, field mice, and other vermin. Among 291 stomachs
reported upon by Dr. A. K. Fisher, only 1 contained remains of a game
bird (quail); 53, other birds; 89, mice; 12, other mammals; 12, reptiles or
batrachians; 215, insects; and 29, spiders.
In its nesting habits it is peculiar, since it makes its home almost in-
variably in the hollow of a tree, usually a more or less natural hollow caused
by decay, but not infrequently the hole of a woodpecker, sometimes already
deserted, but often deliberately wrested from the owner, usually after a
decisive conflict. As a rule the nest is high up in some dead tree, but
sometimes quite near the ground. Occasionally a bird-house or dove-cot
is used, but these are exceptions. The eggs in Michigan are laid between
the middle of May and the first of June. They range in number from two
to five (occasionally six or seven), and are generally white or rusty white,
thickly speckled and spotted with cinnamon brown, often so thickly as to
appear of uniform color. They average 1.38 by 1.11 inches.
As pointed out earlier, this true falcon should not be confounded with
the Sharp-shinned Hawk, which is of about the same size and is frequently
called the "Sparrow Hawk." The present species is a valuable bird to the
farmer, while the Sharp-shinned Hawk is very destructive to wild birds
and small chickens.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION,
Bill of the fiilcon type, with tooth and notch; second and third primaries longest and
about equal, only the first and second distinctly emarginate on inner web, and in many
females and young only the first; tail mainly deep rust-red (chestnut-rufous), with a
broad sub-terminal black band.
Adult male: Top of head bluish gray, with or without a central patch of rusty; back,
rump and scapvdars briglit rusty, with more or less numerous black bars; each side of head
witii two conspicuous black bars, and three more black patches encircling the neck, seven
black spots in all; chin and throat white, unspotted; rest of imder parts white, either pure
or rusty, and with or without streaks and circular spots of deep black; primaries black
above, their inner webs with numerous white bars; remainder of upper surface of wing
and coverts clear bluish-gray or bluish-slate, more or less spotted with black; tail with
the basal three-fourths rich rust-red without bars (except sometimes on outer two pairs),
then a broad subterminal bar of deep black and a narrow white tip.
Adult female: Head markings precisely as in male, including the seven black spots,
but entire upper parts back of neck, including upper surface of tail, narrowly cross-barred
with rusty and black, the subterminal black tail-band much narrower than in male, and
the tip rusty or buffy, not white; cliin and throat white, as in male, but breast and belly
Plate XXIII. Sparrow Hawk. Male (at left) and female.
From North American Fauna No. 16. Courtesy of Biological Survey,
U. S. Department Agriculture.
LAND BIRDS.
295
thickly streaked lengthwise with rusty on a whitish ground; bill black at tip, bluish gray
at base; cere and feet yellow; iris brown. Young resemble adults of the same sex.
Male: Length 8.75 to 10.60 inches; wing 6.55 to 8.05; tail 4.20 to 5.45. Female:
Length 9.50 to 12; wing 6.90 to 8.15; tail 4g-0 to 5.60 inches.
Family 39. PANDIONID^^]. Ospreys or Fish Hawks.
148. Osprey. Pandion haliaetus carolinensis {Gviel.). (364)
Synonyms: American Osprey, Fish Hawk, Fishing Eagle. — Falco carolinensis, Gmel.,
1788. — Pandion carolinensis of authors generally. — Pandion americanus, Vieill. — Pandion
haliaetus, Rich. — -Accipiter piscatorius, Catesby, 1754.
FiK. TO. Osprey; Fisli TIawk.
Key to North American Hinls,
Dana Estes & f'o.
Figure 76.
Intermediate in size between the larger hawks and the eagles, but readily
distinguished from both by the character of the feet. Instead of three toes
in front and one behind, as in all other hawks and eagles, this bird has the
outer toe reversible — turning front or back — as in the owls, and moreover
all the claws are of equal size, and long, slender, awl-like and much curved,
while the soles of the feet and under sides of the toes are thickly studded
296 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
with sharp, strong, horny papillse, evident adaptations for holding slippery
fish.
Distribution. — North America, from Hudson's Bay and Alaska south
to the West Indies and northern South America, breeds throughout its
North American range.
In Michigan the Fish Hawk or Osprey is generally distributed, but
apparently nowhere abundant. It arrives from the south soon after the ice
breaks up, usually by the middle of March, although in the northern part
of the state it appears much later. Unlike most other fish-eating birds,
it does not tarry with us until ice forms, but begins to move southward
in August or September and is rarely seen in the state after the first of
October. It was reported as last seen at Sault Ste. Marie September 14,
and at Greenville, September 18. It is by no means confined to the shores
of the Great Lakes, but frequents the larger inland lakes during the summer
and may appear on any small pond or stream during migration.
Along the middle Atlantic coast this bird sometimes nests in what might
almost be called communities, a score or more of nests being found within
a radius of a mile or two ; but in Michigan the nest is seldom seen and we
have never known of two occupied nests in the same immediate vicinity.
The nest, at least in Michigan, is almost invariably placed on a tree and at
a considerable height, and is occupied year after year by the same birds.
In other places, however, the bird frequently nests on cliffs, rocks, low banks,
or even nearly level ground, as for example, on Gardner's Island and Shelter
Island in Long Island Sound, and at various points along the New England
coast.
The eggs are usually three, occasionally only two, and rarely four. They
are very variable in shape, size and color; usually heavily spotted with
brown and pinkish red on a creamy white ground, but sometimes uniform
reddish brown. They average 2.44 by 1.77 inches. But a single brood is
reared in a season, but if the eggs are removed from the nest the birds
soon lay again. Major Bendire states that he believes the period of in-
cubation to be about 28 days, although usually given as 21.
The Fish Hawk feeds entirely upon fish, for which it poises, or hovers
and plunges, almost exactly as does the Kingfisher. It should be noted,
however, that while the Kingfisher catches its prey with its bill, the Fish
Hawk (like all other birds of prey) uses only its feet. For this purpose
the structure of the feet, claws and soles is admirably adapted as already
mentioned. In addition it may be said that the claws are rounded below
as well as above, not ridged beneath as in most birds of prey. This may be
of no particular advantage in clutching the fish originally, but undoubtedly
enables the b!rd to withdraw the claws readily if it becomes necessary.
Possibly this fact sometimes saves the bird's life, when through any error
in judgment it strikes a fish too large to be landed. In Kumlien and
Hollister's Birds of Wisconsin we find the statement that "A specimen
was found washed ashore on Lake Koshkonong [Wis.], in June, 1898, with
both feet firmly embedded in the back of a very large carp; the fish had
])roved too large for the hawk and he had weakened in the struggle and
drowned."
The fish commonly sought by the Fish Hawk in our waters are of little
economic value, and even were the birds much more abundant they could
not justly be called harmful. They are powerful and pictui-esque, which
adds much to the interest of the shore in summer, and they should be
LAND BIRDS. 297
rigidly protected wherever found. The present law (1912) forbids their
destruction and every person should see tliat the law is enforced.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill with a very long hook but without the distinct tooth and notch of the falcons;
claws all of equal length; second and third primaries longest and nearly equal, the first
four emarginate on inner webs.
Adult male: Most of the head and entire imder parts pure white, only the sides of
the head with a dark stripe, and the crown and occiput more or less streaked with dusky,
the upper breast sometimes faintly blotched with brownish; upper parts dark grayish
brown, many feathers with narrow whitish edges or tips; tail ligliter brown above witli
about seven or eight dark bars, the inner webs of all but the middle pair distinctly barred
below with pm-e white and dusky.
Adult female: Precisely like male except that the upper breast is more distinctly
spotted.
Immature: Similar to adult, but with less white on the head, and usually with most
of the feathers of back and upper surface of wings widely margined and tipped with whitish.
Little or no difference in size of male and female (exceptional among hawks). Length
20.75 to 25 inches; wing 17 to 21; tail 7 to 10; expanse of wings about 5i feet.
Suborder STRIGES. Owls.
This suborder is commonly divided into two families, the Aluconida?,
or Barn Owls, and the Strigida3, including all the rest. In addition to the
diagnostic points mentioned below the Barn Owls have a pectinate middle
claw not found in other owls.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Lower half of tarsi naked or bristly; facial disk much narrowed below
(Fig. 77) Family 40. Aluconidse. Barn Owl. No. 149.
AA. Tarsi well feathered; facial disk circular or nearly so (Fig. 80). Family
41. Strigida). B, BB, BBB.
B. Large owls, wing 13 inches or more. C, CC.
C. With prominent ear-tufts or feather-horns (plumicorns).
Great Horned Owl and Western Horned Owl. Nos. 157
158.
CC. Without prominent ear-tufts. D, DD.
D. Mainly white, more or less barred with black. Snowy
Owl. No. 159.
DD. Not mainly white. E, EE.
E. Very large, wing 16 to 18 inches. Great Gray Owl.
No. 153.
EE. Not so large, wing 13 to 15 inches. F, FF.
F. Under parts thickly streaked but with no cross
bars. Short-eared Owl. No. 151.
FF. Breast heavily cross-barred, only the belly
streaked. Barred Owl. No. 152.
BB. Owls of modeiate size, wing from 8 to 13 inches. G, GG.
G. With prominent ear-tufts. Long-eared Owl. No. 150.
GG. With very small car-tufts or none. H, HH.
H. Under parts heavily streaked, but no cross-bars. Short-
eared Owl. No. 151.
298
MICHIGAN 13IRI) LIFE.
HH. Under parts heavily barred, Ijut no streaks. Hawk
OwL No. 160.
BBB. Small owls, wing less than 8 inches. I, II.
I. With prominent ear-tufts. Screech Owl. No. 156.
II. Without ear-tufts. J, JJ.
J. Wing less than 6 inches. Acadian Owl. No. 155.
JJ. Wing more than 6^ inches. Richardson's Owl. No. 154.
Family 40. ALUCONID.E. Barn Owls.
Only a single species in Michigan.
149. Barn Owl. Aluco pratincola {Bonaj).). (365)
Synonyms: American Barn Owl, Monkey-faced Owl, Monkey Owl, Wliito Owl. —
Strix pratincola, Bonap., 1838.— Strix flammea. Max., 1820, Wils., AikI., Nutt.— Strix
flammea var. americana, Coues, 1872. — Strix flammea, var. pratincola, B. 13. & R., 1875.
Figures 77 and 78.
Known at a glance by the light creamy-yellow color, monkey-like "face"
(Fig. 78), and absence of ear-tufts. The long, nearly bare shanks and
pectinate middle claw are also distinctive.
Distribution. — United States, rarely to the northern border and Ontario,
southward through Mexico; northern limit of breeding range about 41
degrees. [In Michigan at least 44°.]
This remarkable owl is a southern bird which finds its northern limit of
abundance near our southern boundary but probably nests within the state
regularly, if somewhat sparingly.
It would seem that within the last
two decades the species has become
much more common in Ohio and
northern Indiana, and it is prob-
able that most of the specimens
taken in Michigan have been reared
in the state. Formerly it was
considered an extremely rare Mich-
igan bird, but we now have between
20 and 30 records for the state,
and doubtless many have been
killed and not recorded. Most of
the records are for the southern
half of the state, but there are at
least two records for the neighbor-
hood of Saginaw, and according
to Mcllwraith (Birds of Ontario,
p. 223), two individuals were re-
ported as seen near Sault Ste. Marie
(Lat. 46° 30') by C. J. Bampton.
An interesting breeding record
is furnished by Mrs. Gene Stratton-
Porter, of Geneva, Ind., who found a nest with young in a hollow tree
Fig. 77. Barn Owl.
Kroin mounted specimen.
Adult.
(Original.)
LAND BIRDS. 299
on the "Inland Route," Northern Michigan (probably in Cheboygan
county), about the middle of June 1900 or 1901. By the exercise of con-
siderable ingenuity and a vast amount of patience she secured a good
photograph of the parent bird as it was about to enter the nest in the early
morning. This picture was published in the Ladies Home Journal for
June, 1906 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7, p. 25), and appears to furnish the northern-
most nesting record for the species, about 454^°.
We have also received an account of a nest of "white owls" found in a
hollow tree near Mason, Ingham county, in the spring of 1906, and have
no doubt the species was the Barn Owl. Specimens have been taken at or
near Monroe, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Olivet, Kalamazoo, Hudson,
Johnstown, Grand Rapids, Coldwater, Saginaw, Plymouth, Brighton,
Fig. 78. Barn Owls. About three months old.
Photograph from life by Dr. Thomas H. Jackson.
Howell, Ionia, Grand Ledge, and Lansing. Apparently this species is not
migratory, but remains all winter in the vicinity of its nesting places.
Several of the specimens above recorded were taken in mid-winter.
This species is strictly nocturnal in its habits, and feeds very largely upon
rats and mice, although it occasionally takes a small bird, not infrequently
an English Sparrow. It also eats ground squirrels, shrews, bats, frogs,
insects, crayfish, and more rarely fish. Out of 32 stomachs reported upon
by Dr. A. K. Fisher, 1 contained poultry; 3, other birds; 17, mice; 17,
other mammals; and 4, insects. An examination of 200 of the "pellets"
ejected by a family of these owls showed a total of 454 skulls of small
mammals. Of these there were 225 meadow mice; 2 pine mice, 179 house
mice, 20 rats, 6 jumping mice, 20 shrews, and 1 star-nosed mole. There
was also one skull of a Vesper Sparrow (A. K. Fisher).
Unlike most other owls this species frequently nests in cities and villages
and often takes up its abode in the deserted loft of a warehouse, mill or
church tower, where, on the bare floor or in a shallow nest made of the
300 MICHIGAN BUU) LIFE.
disgorged pellets of its own undigested food, the eggs are laid and the young
reared. It has been known to nest in hollow trees, and even in crevices
of cliffs or holes in sand-banks, but ordinarily it prefers the vicinity of a
human habitation, and that doubtless has given it the name Barn Owl.
The eggs, like those of all owls, are white and unspotted, and measure
1.65 by 1.31 inches. The number is very variable, ranging from three to
ten, and not infrequently fresh eggs and newly hatched young are found
together.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Legs long :uid .slender, the shank (tarsus) covered with short feathers above and with
bristly, hair-like feathers toward the foot; outer toe reversible, as in all owls; the claw of
the middle toe pectinate (with a comb) on its inner edge (unique among our owls); facial
disk narrowed and elongated, giving the bird a weird, impish expression, like that of a
monkey or an old thin-faced man; none of the primaries emarginate on irmer web. General
color of plumage above ocher-yellow, silvered with grayish white and sprinkled with con-
spicuous dashes or spots, about half of each spot being black and the other pure white;
under parts pure white, creamy white, or deep bufT, thinly speckled with dusky; bill yellow-
ish-white; iris dark brown; primaries with four to six dusky bars on inner webs; tail with
four or five narrow blackish bars, most obvious on upper surface.
Sexes of nearly the same size (unusual in birds of prey). Length 15 to 21 inches; wing
12.50 to 14; tail 5.70 to 7.50.
Family 41. STRlGlDiE. Horned Owls, Screech Owls, and others.
This family includes all our Michigan owls except the Barn Owl, ten
species in all. For key to species see page 297.
150. Long-eared Owl. Asio wilsonianus (Less.). (366)
Synonyms: American Long-cared Owl, Lesser Horned Owl. — Otus wilsonianus, Less.,
1830. — Otus americanus, Bonap. — Strix otus, Wils., Aud. — Otus viJgaris, Jard. — Otus
vulgaris var. wilsonianus, Ridgw., 1872, B. B. & R., 1875.
Figure 79.
We have in Michigan only three species of owls which have conspicuous
ear-tufts, namely, the Great-horned Owl, the Long-eared Owl and the
Screech Owl, or Mottled Owl. The first is a very large bird whose wings
expand from four to five feet; the last a small one whose wings expand
little more than a foot. The Long-eared Owl is but slightly heavier than
the Screech Owl, but its measurements exceed it noticeably. It may also
be separated from that species by its proportionally much longer tail.
Distribution. ^Temperate North America; south to the table lands of
Mexico. Breeds throughout its range.
This does not seem to be an abundant owl in Michigan. In the southern
half of the state it is by no means uncommon, but we have practically no
records from the northern half of the Lower Peninsula, and but one (Munis-
ing, June, 1906) from the Upper Peninsula. This may be due to the fact
that the ordinary observer confounds the Long-eared Owl with the Screech
Owl, but if this bird occurs in any numbers in the north it should have
been reported by some of the good observers who have collected at various
points there. Mr. Newell A. Eddy of Bay City states that he has but a
single record for that region. It is not recorded by Dunham for Kalkaska
LAND BIRDS. 301
county, nor was it found by Otto Widmann, or by the writer, in Emmet
county. Major Boies did not find it on Neebish Island or along the St.
Mary's River, not has it been reported by Osborn, Melville or Steere from
Sault Ste. Marie. It does not occur in Kneeland's Hst of the Birds of
Keweenaw Point, nor did O. B. Warren find it during several years of
observation at Palmer, Marquette county. Other observers in Marquette
county have failed to report it, and the writer did not see or hear of it during
a week's collecting in Marquette, Alger and Chippewa counties. Finally,
it was not found by any of the Biological Survey expeditions to Ontonagon
county, Dickinson county, or Isle Royale.
Of course this does not prove that it does not occur in any or all of these
counties, and we know that the bird is naturally secretive and its protective
coloration enables it to escape observation very easily. Nevertheless it
is singular that we do not have other records from this large section of the
state. In looking over the notes relating to the Lower Peninsula one is
struck with the paucity of recent records, and it seems not unlikely that
this is one of the species which has been decreasing in numbers of late.
The Long-eared Owl is believed to nest wherever found, and the great
majority of eggs found have been laid in old crow's nests which have l)een
more or less repaired for the purpose. Ordinarily the nest is placed at a
height of ten to forty feet from the ground and the eggs would seem to be
laid C{uite early in the season, often early in April, although Mr. E. B. Schrage
of Pontiac, took a set of five eggs May 11, 1898. A set of four taken by
Jerome Trombley, in Monroe county. May 14, 1889 were almost ready to
hatch, and Dr. Gibbs reports a nest of young ready to fly May 22, 1878 at
Kalamazoo. He also mentions six eggs of this species collected near
Kalamazoo April 27, 1878 by A. Chambers. A nest found by Norman A.
Wood, May 20, 1907, in a tamarack tree at Portage Lake, Washtenaw
county, contained two young in the down. Leon J. Cole found a young
one, more than half grown, at Chandler's Marsh, Ingham county. May 31,
1897.
Mr. Amos Butler says that in Indiana the birds begin laying in March or
April and that incubation begins with the first egg laid and lasts about three
weeks (Birds of Indiana, p. 804). Major Bendire states that the Long-
eared Owl rarely constructs a nest of its own; fully three-fourths of the
nests he has found were old nests of the Crow. This species is generally
supposed to rear but one brood, yet there are some facts to show that it
sometimes rears two broods in a season, and like most other birds of prey
when robbed of its eggs it will lay a second set in the same nest or at least
in the same vicinity. The eggs are from three to six in number, pure white,
unspotted, and average 1.66 by 1.28 inches.
The food consists very largely of mice and other rodents, and although
a few birds are eaten they are mostly seed-eaters and the harm so done is
not serious. Of 92 stomachs reported upon by Dr. A. K. Fisher, 1 contained
a game bird (quail); 15, other birds; 84, mice; 5, other mammals; and 1,
insects. About 50 "pellets" of this species, collected at IMunson Hill,
Virginia by Dr. Fisher, yielded 176 skulls, of which all but 13 were mammals.
Among these were 95 meadow mice, 19 pine mice, L5 house mice, 5 white-
footed mice, 3 Cooper's mice and 26 shrews. Of the ot her skulls, 1 1 were
sparrows, 1 a Bluebird, and the other a warbler.
It is hardly necessary to add that this owl is decidedly beneficial to the
agricultui-ist and should ])e rigidly protected.
Major Bendire says that "except during the mating season it is rather
302
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
a silent bird and the few notes heard are low-toned and rather pleasing
than otherwise. One is a soft-toned 'wee-hunk, wee-hunk,' slowly and
several times repeated — another is a low twittering, whistling note like
'dicky, dicky, dicky' " (Life Histories, I, 328).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Ear-tufts (feather-horns or plumicorns) very conspicuous, black or black and tawny,
edged with whitish on inner margin; first primary emarginate on inner web near tip;
facial disk rusty or buffy, lightest between eyes and bill, edged with black; upper parts
mottled with brownish-black, buff and white; mider parts buffy white, thickly and broadly
streaked with dusky on the breast, spotted and barred (in "herring-bone" pattern) on
belly and sides with dusky and clear black; primaries heavily marked with blackish and
buffy cross bars, the dark bars broadest; tail with six to ten narrow dusky cross bars, the
spaces between being light grayish-brown on the upper surface, nearly white below; tarsi
and toes pale buff, unmarked; bill blackisli with lighter tip; iris dark yellow.
Length 13 to 16 inches; wing 11.50 to 12; tail (i to (5. 20. (The larger measurements
are those of the female.)
Fig. 79. Long-eared Owlf^
I'hof«frnii)li from lif<' by
About throe weeks old.
. Tlioitias H. Jackson.
151. Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus {Pont.). (367)
Synonyms: Marsh Owl, Swamp Owl, Prairie Owl. — Strix flammea, Pont., 17G3. —
Strjx accipitrina. Pall., 1771. — Strix brachyotus, Gmel., Wils., Aud. — Brachyotus palus-
tris, Bonap., 1838.— Brachyotus palustris americanus, Bonap., 1849. — Otus (Brachyotus)
brachyotus, B. B. & R., 1875. — Asio accipitrinus, A. O. U. Check-list, 1895.
Plate XXIV.
A medium sized owl, just about the size of the Crow, heavily streaked
above and below with buffy white and dark brown, and with ear-tufts very
inconspicuous, but to bfe found if carefully looked for.
rialr XXIV. Sliuii -raved Owl.
Courttsy of National Coniiniltre of Audubon Societies.
LAND BIRDS. 305
Distribution. — Throughout North America and much of South America;
nearly cosmopolitan. Breeds, somewhat irregularly and locally, from
about latitude 39° northward.
This owl differs widely in its habits from all other Michigan owls, since
it is found only in open ground, and roosts and nests invariably on the
ground. Although we have seen hundreds of these birds, we have never yet
seen one perched on a bush or tree and but rarely on a fence or post.
We do not recall any note uttered by this owl, and believe that ordinarily
it is entirely silent. IMajor Bendire says that while hunting at evening a
faint squeak, like that of a mouse, was the only note heard, but while ex-
amining a nest one of the birds "uttered a weak whistling sort of note
two or three times."
They are most often seen in October or November when flushed from
the long grass where they are resting during the day, after gorging them-
selves on field mice. They have a habit of gathering in some numbers
in places where the fields are overrun with these mice, and sometimes
a score or more may be found within the compass of a few acres. When
started by day they fly somewhat irregularly, often circling about the
intruder, and generally alight again after a flight of 200 or 300 yards.
After sunset they may be seen flying back and forth over grass lands very
much in the manner of a Marsh Hawk.
In Michigan this is an abundant owl in autumn, probably the most so
of any, unless it be the common Screech Owl. It is distributed somewhat
unevenly, so that in some regions it is abundant and in other places it may
be almost unknown, yet anyone who hunts quail is almost sure to run
across it at least once or twice each fall. It also winters occasionally within
our limits. It is a species of wide distribution, ranging from arctic regions
southward in winter at least to Panama, and very likely much farther,
since it has been recorded from Brazil, Chile and Argentine Repubhc. The
writer found it rather common on the Lower Uruguay river, Arg. Rep., in
May and June, 1880 (winter months), which would seem to show that it
nested still farther south (Auk, 1, 1884, 29). Being a bird of remarkable
powers of flight and endurance it has been found frequently on islands far
from land (in one instance on the Hawaiian Islands), and occasionally
it has been known to rest on vessels when hundreds of miles from shore.
Doubtless the greater number seen in Michigan are migrants, and nest
considerably to the northward of us, yet a few undoubtedly rear their young
each year within our limits. The nest is placed on the ground, usually
among bushes or clumps of coarse weeds, and the five or six pure white,
unspotted eggs are laid commonly in May, but sometimes not until June.
They average 1.59 by 1.23 inches.
We have few records of its nesting in the state, but this is not surprising
when we consider its scarcity in summer and that few observers visit the
places where it is likely to be found at that season. Covert records a nest
found near Ann Arbor, May 3, 1877, and Butler records a nest in Indiana,
with three young and two eggs. May 6, 1890, and anotlier on the same date
with three eggs. Mr. John Uphaus tells me that he found several young
of this species, just able to fly, sitting around on stumps in an open part
of Freedom Swamp, Washtenaw county, May 30, 1903. Mr. J. Claire Wood
writes that in the summer of 1906 he took two young of this species in the
down, in Wayne county, and Mr. Norman A. Wood informs me that a hunter
once told him of a pair nesting in a marsh in the Portage Lake region,
Washtenaw county. "On June 25, 1907, three young, still in the down,
39
306 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
were brought to the University Museum to be mounted. They were taken
in a marsh seven miles southwest of Ann Arbor and must have been bred
where they were found" (N. A. Wood). There is also in our Agricultural
College collection the skin of an adult female taken on Chandler's Marsh,
Ingham county, June 21, 1897, by Thomas L. Hankinson.
Of 87 stomachs reported ujDon liy Dr. A. K. Fisher, 11 contained small
birds; 77, mice; 7, other mammals and 7, insects. While this would indicate
that the food consisted mainly of mice, which we believe to be the case, it
seems likely that when feeding young in the nest this owl may prey more
extensively upon birds. In "Birds of Wisconsin," p. 69, we find an account
of a nest of three young found at Delevan, Wis., May 29, 1898, which were
"literally resting oh a mass of wing and tail-feathers of the victims of their'
appetites. From this mass we picked out over 600 feathers, and among
them positively identified more than 30 species of birds. No trace of a
mammal was foimd either about the nest or in the pellets around it."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Ear-tufts or plumicorns rudimentary, scarcely visible; first primary emarginate on inner
web near tip. Adult: Facial disk coal black about the eyes, grayish or buffy about the
edge, whitish above the inner corners of the eyes; chin white; upper parts buffy white to
deep buff or even rufous, thickly and broadly streaked with brownish black; under parts
similar, but the dark stripes bi'oad and close only on the throat and chest, becoming
narrower and scantier on breast and belly, and sometimes entirely wanting on the under
tail-coverts; tarsi and toes closely feathered, pale bufT, unmarked; first three i)rimaries
with two dark bars on inner webs near tiie tips, and usually with a third spot or imperfect
bar about the middle; rest of inner web buffy or whitish; tail whitish, buffy or rusty,
with four or five narrow dusky bars; bill blackish; iris dark yellow.
The female is larger than the male, but not otherwise different; the young of tlie year
are darker than old ))irds, especially above, while the imder parts are less thickly streaked,
sometimes not, at all. Length 13.80 to 16.75 inches; wing 11.80 to 13; tail 5.80 to 6.10.
152. Barred Owl. Strix varia varia Barton. (368)
Synonyms: Hoot Owl, Rain Owl, Wood Owl. — Strix varius, Bart., 1799. — Strix
nebulosa, Forst., and the older authors generally. — Syrnium nebulosum, (iray, 1844,
and most recent writers.
Plate XXV.
Known from the Great Horned Owl by its somewhat smaller size and
absence of ear-tufts; also by the greenish-yellow beak and dark brown e3^es.
The only other owl with which it could be confounded it the Great Gray
Owl, which is decidedly larger (although of about the same weight) and has
a yellow eye instead of a brown one.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to Minnesota, Nebraska,
Kansas and Texas, north to Nova Scotia and Quebec. Breeds throughout
its range.
This is undoubtedly the commonest large owl in Michigan and the one
most often killed by "sportsmen." It is a bird of the forest and is seldom
seen outside of the woods, although often obliged to be contented with the
fringe of large trees along a stream. Its range does not extend much farther
north than Upper Michigan, and probably it is more abundant in the
southern half of the state; but it has a decided preference for heavily
wooded regions and has decreased rapidly wherever the country has been
cleared up.
^^
.4r
%
/^E?»,
11' , / / / 'i
PlatelXXV. Barred Owl.
From "i'rarbook of Department of Agricultiiro, 1S'.){.
Courtesy of Biological Survey.
LAND BIRDS. 309
Mr. Purdy writes from Plymouth, Washtenaw county : " Quite abundant
here a few years ago, but now quite rare and will soon become extinct
unless there is some law to protect them. During my experience, of the
past 61 years, I have never known them to kill poultry, but a fool with a
gun will not allow one to exist if he can prevent it." It is recorded by
White at Mackinac Island, and by Major Boies at Neebish Island, St.
Mary's River. In Marquette county O. B. Warren calls it uncommon,
but it is resident there and breeds. Both Judge Steere and W. P. Melville
state that at Sault Ste. Marie it is the most abundant species of owl. At
Petersburg, Monroe county, Jerome Trombley says it is now nearly extinct.
This owl sees well in the day time and occasionally hunts by day in
cloudy weather. According to Bendire mating begins in February, early
or late according to the latitude, and in the middle states the eggs are
laid from the second week in March to the first week in April. Mr. Covert
states that at Ann Arbor it nests from the last week in March to the middle
of April, and Dr. Gibbs says that C. W. Gunn found Barred Owls nesting
in the hollow limb of a sycamore tree in Kent county, April 12, 1879.
In Kalamazoo county the late Richard Westnedge found a nest April
28, 1891, containing three young birds, and another, evidently an old
hawk's nest, in a basswood, 60 feet up, had a single egg well advanced in
incubation, April 9, 1893. K. R. Wilhelm found one egg and a two-day-old
chick in a cavity of a dead birch in the same county, April 21, 1887, the nest
made of dead leaves and feathers and nearly level with the opening. A
second nest found in the same vicinity, April 15, 1891, by the same collector,
had three eggs containing advanced embryos. It usually nests in hollow
trees, very rarely in an old nest of hawk or Crow. The eggs are usually
three, sometimes but two, very rarely four. But one brood is reared in
a season, and the period of incubation is variously given as three to four
weeks. The eggs are white, unspotted, and average 1.94 by 1.65 inches.
Probably this is the noisest of our owls. It has a variety of harsh screams,
some of which are almost blood-curdling. Bendire speaks of "the un-
earthly, wierd call-notes peculiar to this species, which surpass in startling
effect those of all other owls "with which I am famihar." He states further
that the common notes are "hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo-too-too." It often calls
in the day time in dark weather, and is most noisy when mating, several
birds often uniting to form an indescribable chorus.
Dr. A. K. Fisher sums up the food habits of this owl in the following
words: "While the general statements of certain authors, especially the
earlier ones, charge the bird with the destruction of poultry, game and
small birds, such destructive habits are comparatively uncommon. That
it does occasionally make inroads upon the poultry yard, and does more or
less damage among game birds, is true; but such acts are exceptional, and
the examination of a large number of stomachs shows that the greater
part of its food consists of mammals. And it is to be noted that among
the list are some of the most destructive rodents the farmer has to contend
with. If a fair balance is struck therefore, it must be considered that
this owl is on the whole beneficial and hence should occupy a place on the
list of birds to be protected" (Hawks and Owls of the U. S., 1892, 151-152).
Of 89 stomachs reported upon by Dr. Fisher, 5 contained poultry or game;
13, other birds; 46, mice; 18, mammals; 4, frogs; 1, a Hzard; 2, fish; 14,
insects; 2, spiders; and 9, crayfish.
310 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
No ear-tufts or plumicorns; five outer primaries emarginate or sinuate on inner webs;
facial disk gray, with several concentric, narrow, dark rings or lines; iris dark brown; bill
yellow or j^ellowish-white.
Adult: Upper parts deep brown (umber) regularly barred with pure white, these white
bars shortening to squarish or rounded spots on some of the wing-coverts and outer webs
of secondaries; throat and breast similarly barred but much'^grayer anteriorly, white or
grayish-white predominating on the throat and chest; belly and sides without any cross-
bars, but lieavily striped lengthwise with dark brown on nearly pure white; primaries
barred on inner webs with blackish and buffy white, the dark bars broadest; tail of same
color as back, with whitish tip and about five narrow white or brownish bars. Sexes
alike except that the female is largest. Young similar as to wing and tail feathers, but
entire under parts uniformly barred with light brown and buffy white, the bars of about
equal w^idth.
Length: 19.75 to 24 inches; wing 13 to 14; tail 9.
153. Great Gray OwL Scotiaptex nebulosa nebulosa (ForsL). (370)
Synonyms: Spectral Owl. — Strix nebulosa, Forst., 1772. — Strix cinerea, Gmel.,
1788. — Syrnium cinereum, Aud., 1839. — Scotiaptex cinerea, Swains., 1837.
Plate XXVI and Figure 80.
By measurement the largest of our owls, the wing reaching 16 to 18 inches.
The absence of the ear-tufts separates it from everything but the Barred
Owl, and its yellow eyes and dusky gray plumage distinguish it from that
species.
Distribution. — Arctic America, straggling southward in winter to southern
New England, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, IlHnois, Idaho and northern
Montana.
The, Great Gray Owl must be considered one of our rarest birds. It is
never seen except in winter, and often several years may pass without one
being recorded. Occasionally, as with most other northern birds, it becomes
more numerous, or rather less uncommon, and several specimens may be
taken in a single winter. Undoubtedly the greater number are shot by
deer hunters and woodsmen who do not appreciate the rarity of the bird,
probably confounding it with the Barred Owl.
We have records from Falmouth, Missaukee county, December 1881
(Covert); Munising, Alger county, November 1891 (Covert); Trout Lake,
Chippewa county, November 11, 1897 (Selous); and we have a specimen
in the Agricultural College collection, taken at St. Ignace, Mackinac county,
in January, 1894. There is also a fine specimen in the Kent Scientific
Museum, taken November 15, 1906, near Germfask, Schoolcraft county.
.Mr. E. R. Kalmbach, who mounted this bird informs me that the stomach
contained six short-tailed meadow mice. Mr. W. B. Mershon, of Saginaw,
has a very nice specimen in his collection, killed several years ago in the
Upper Peninsula, but the exact date and place of capture are unknown.
Major Boies states that it is occasionally seen on Neebish Island (presum-
ably in winter), and Judge Steere, of Sault Ste. INIarie, tells me that
he has seen several specimens, more or less mutilated, hung up at deer
camps in the Avoods in Chippewa and neighboring counties.
There is not the slightest reason to suppose that it ever nests within our
limits, nor has it ever been recorded except in winter. During the winter
of 1889-90 it was more common in New England than ever before, and
numbers were captured. According to Major Bendire it nests from the
Plate XXVI. Great Gray Owl.
From Baird, Brewer and Ilidgwaj''s North'American Bird.s
Little, Brown ATo.
LAND BIRDS.
313
shores of Hudson's Bay northward to the limit of trees, about 68 degrees.
In Alaska it nests near the sea as early as April, and in the interior as late
as the middle of June. The nest is placed in trees, and the eggs, two to
four, are dull white with Uttle luster, unspotted, and average 2.16 by 1.71
inches.
Although this bird exceeds the Great Horned Owl in measurements, its
weight is much less, in fact seldom greater than that of the Barred Owl.
Its plumage is very soft, fluffy and deep, so that it appears to be a much
heavier bird than it really is.
Little seems to be known of its food, but it probably feeds largely on hares.
Fig. 80. IGreat Gray Owl. Adult.
From photograph of museum specimen. (Original.)
meadow mice and squirrels, together with ptarmigan and smaller birds.
It is commonly reported to feed mainly at night, but since its habitat lies
in large part within the Arctic Circle, it must do all its hunting during the
summer by daylight.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Ear-tufts or plumicorns entirely absent; feet and toes heavily feathered to tlic base
of the claws; first six primaries cniarginate or sinuate on inner webs near tip; iris yellow.
Adult: Dark graj-ish brown above, irregularly mottled witii grayish-white, and with
some indistinct cross-bars; under parts mottled grayish wiiite and dusky, with irregular
dark grayish-brown stripes on breast and belly, and bars of same color on flanks, facial
disk grayish, with numerous concentric dark rings; bill yellowish or nearly white; claws
dark. Sexes alike in color, but female largest.
Length 25 to 30 inches; wing IG to 18; tail 11 to 12.50; spread of wings 4\ to 5 feet.
314 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
154. Richardson's Owl. Cryptoglaux funerea richardsoni (Bonap.). (371)
Synonyms: Arctic Saw-whet Owl, Sparrow Owl. — Nyctale richardsoni, Bonap., 1838.
— Strix tengmalmi. Rich. & Swains., 1831. — Nyctale tengmalmi var. richardsoni, Ridgw.,
1872, and rnost subsequent writers.
Plate XXVII.
About the same weight as the Screech Owl, but with sHghtly longer wings
and decidedly longer tail. Besides lacking the ear-tufts, it is easily recog-
nized by its chocolate-brown color above, spotted with white, and the
white under parts striped lengthwise with brown.
Distribution. — -Arctic America, south in winter into the northern United
States. Breeds from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Manitoba northward.
This is another decidedly rare owl in Michigan, and like the preceding
is found only in winter, and then only at long intervals. Owing to its small
size it probably escapes observation and capture more often than does the
Great Gray Owl, so that the lack of records must not be taken to indicate
extreme rarity. We have a specimen in the Agricultural College collection,
doubtless from northern Michigan, but without other data. Mr. W.
P. Melville, of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., writes that there are two male
specimens of Richardson's Owl in the high school museum at that place,
taken in the immediate vicinity, by Mr. Mark Cady, one on February 22,
1900, and the other January 28, 1902. Mr. A. B. Covert records two
females taken at Ann Arbor in December, 1877, one on the second and the
other on the thirteenth of the month. He also states that a male was killed
in a barn at Cadillac, Michigan, November 28, 1881, and that ''Mr. Warren
of Duluth, gets all he wants there."
According to Bendire it is "Possibly a very rare resident from latitude
46 degrees northward, becoming more abundant as higher latitudes are
reached. It appears to be very common about Great Slave Lake, seems not
to see well at all in daylight, and may often be caught in the hand. It
probably nests always in holes in trees; possibly, as a rare exception, in
deserted open nests of other birds." The eggs are two to seven, white and
unspotted, and average 1.35 by 1.14 inches.
Napoleon A. Comeau states that near Godbout, Quebec, it "has a liquid
note like dripping water."
Little is known of its food, but it appears to subsist mainly on mice and
small birds. In Michigan it is so rare that of course it has no economic
importance.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Small; no ear-tufts or plumicorns; iris yellow; bill white; first three primaries emarginate
or sinuate on inner webs near tip; feet heavily feathered to the very claws.
Adult: Upper parts chocolate-brown, with more or less numerous white spots; under
parts white, with numerous broad streaks of brown which extend even to the under tail-
coverts; wing and tail feathers with numerous paired white spots, those on the tail tending
to form two or tliree white cross-bars; tarsi and feet buffy, spotted with brown. Sexes
alike, but female largest.
Length 9 to 12 inches; wing 6.60 to 7.40; tail 4.10 to 4.70.
riate XXVII. Richardson's Owl.
Photograph from life. From Bird Lore. Courtesy of P. B. Peabody.
Plate XXVIII. Acadian Owl.
From Bird Lore. Courtesy of Frank M. Chapman.
LAND BIRDS. 319
155. Acadian Owl. Cryptoglaux acadica acadica (Gmel.). (372)
Synonyms: Saw-whet Owl, Si^arrow Owl, White-fronted Owl (young), Kirtland's
Owl. — Strix acadica, Gmel., 1788, Aud., and others. — Nyctale acadica, Bonap., 1838,
and authors generally. — Strix passerina, Penn. — Strix frontalis, Licht. — Nyctale albifrons,
Cass.
Plate XXVIII.
Smallest of our owls, the wing less than six inches. This, together with
the absence of ear-tufts, and the numerous small white spots above and
brownish stripes below, readily identifies the bird.
Distribution. — North America at large, breeding from the middle states
northward, and in mountainous regions of the west southward into Mexico.
A dainty little owl, doubtless much more common than generally
supposed, and well distributed over the entire state. Its small size, strictly
nocturnal habits, and protective coloration make it easy for it to avoid
detection. During the day time it secretes itself amid the thick foliage
of trees, evergreens being preferred. At such times it is ridiculously
tame and may sometimes be captured alive in the hands. It is commonly
stated to be resident wherever found, and it is certain that in Michigan
our records are more numerous in winter than in summer. Nevertheless
a considerable movement of the birds southward in cold weather has been
noted and there is a decided increase in their numbers in the middle and
southern states during the winter season. Mr. W. E. Saunders found 24
dead Acadian Owls among the hundreds of migrants which perished in a
snow storm on the east shore of Lake Huron, the night of October 10-11,
1906. For a full account of this disaster see the Auk, Vol. XXIV, 1907,
pages 108-110. Part of the account is c^uoted in the introduction to the
present volume, pages 26-27.
The nest is placed always in a hollow tree, and the eggs, in Michigan,
are probably laid early in April, at least before the first of May, and there
is no reason to suppose that more than a single brood is reared in a season.
The eggs vary in number from three to seven, are white and unspotted,
and average 1.19 by 1 inch.
The note of this bird is said to resemble that made by filing a saw, yet
in our own experience we have been unable to detect the resemblance. Dr.
W. L. Ralph says "their call is a frequently repeated whistle, sometimes
uttered in a high and again in a low key, in either a slow or rapid cadence.
Generally it is commenced slowly and gradually becomes faster and faster
until it ends quite rapidly. This call which is the only one I have ever
heard them give, sounds not unlike the noise made during the operation of
filing a saw, and it is easily imitated."
The food consists largely of mice, but it doubtless also eats squirrels,
chipmunks, and an occasional bird. Of 19 stomachs reported upon by Dr.
A. K. Fisher, 17 contained mice; 1, a bird (sparrow); and 1, an insect.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Smallest of Michigan owls; very much like Richardson's Owl, but nuidi smaller; no
ear-tufts or plumieorns; iris yellow; bill blackish; two or three outer primaries emarginate
or sinuate on inner webs.
Adult: Upper parts olive-brown or reddish-brown, lined with white on forehead and
crown, spotted with white on back of neck, scapulars, and sometimes elsewhere; unclcr
parts white, streaked with reddish brown; tarsi and toes buffy white, without markings;
320 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
facial disk whitish or gray; wing and tail feathers with pairs of rounded white spots, those
on the tail forming two or three imperfect bars, besides the white tip.
Yoimg: Similar to adult only in size and wing and tail markings; upper parts reddish-
brown without any light spots; under parts brown in front, yellowish posteriorly, and
without any streaks; facial disk dark brown with a white strijie above each eye, this white
"eyebrow" giving the name "White-fronted Owl."
Length 7.25 to 8.50 inches; wing 5.25 to 5.90; tail 2.80 to 3.25.
156. Screech Owl. Otus asio asio (Linn.). (373)
Synonyms: Mottled Owl, Red Owl, Gray Owl, Little Horned Owl. — Strix asio, Linn.,
1758, Gmel., Shaw. Wils., Aud. — Scops asio, Bonap. and many others. — Megascops asio,
Stejn., 1885, and most subsequent authors.
Plate XXIX and Figure 81.
Our only small owl with conspicuous ear-tufts; but recognizable also
by the absence of w hite dots above, the feathers of back and breast whatever
their color always showing dark shaft stripes.
Distribution. — Temperate eastern North America, south to Georgia
and west to the plains. Accidental in England.
Throughout most of Michigan this undoubtedly is the commonest owl,
found not only in thickly wooded regions, but in almost equal abundance
in the older settled parts of the state, where it frequents orchards, groves,
and the fringe of timber along the streams, and is even found in the small
parks or the shade trees along the streets in our largest cities. In spite
of the fact that this owl is almost invariably killed by man whenever
opportunity offers, it has held its own during recent years and probably
is as abundant now in most localities as it w^as fifty yenYS ago. It is perhaps
somewhat less plentiful in the Upper Peninsula, but it doubtless occurs
in every county in the state and appears to be resident wherever found.
During the day it secretes itself in some hollow tree, or more rarely in
some sheltered retreat among the thickest foliage (preferably of an ever-
green), and ventures forth only after sunset unless earher discovered,
mobbed, and driven from place to place by Blue Jays and other birds,
which are always on the lookout for their enemies.
The ordinary call of the Mottled Owl is a series of clear, tremulous
and plaintive, but rather musical notes, suggesting a wail rather than a
screech and by no means justifying the common name "Screech Owl."
This call is uttered at all hours of the night and at all seasons of the year,
although according to our experience most frequently and persistently
during the earlier jDart of the breeding season. Nevertheless Mr. Eugene
Bicknell states that in the lower Hudson Valley "The late summer far more
than the spring seems to be the season when its cry is most frequent and
most regular from year to year. Usually, after a considerable time of
silence, it begins to quaver in July or in August, thence continuing off and
on until winter. I am not without scattering records of having heard it
in winter; but it is virtually a silent bird from December or earlier until
March or later. With some uniformity it is to be heard for a short time
in late March or early April; but I have not a record for late April, May
or June" (Auk, II, 260-261).
The nest is placed invariably in the hollow of a tree, perhaps most often
a natural hollow, but not infrequently in the nest of a woodpecker which
has been deserted, or from which the rightful owner has been forcibly
Plate XXIX. Screech Owl.
Courtesy of National Committee of Audubon Societies.
LAND BIRDS. 323
expelled. The eggs are laid, in this latitude, from the middle of April
to the middle of May, and they are commonly placed on the rubbish at the
bottom of the cavity without any attempt at a nest. The birds are likely
to use the same nesting place year after year, but apparently only a single
brood is reared in a season. The eggs are pure white, unspotted, and average
1.42 by 1.19 inches.
The food of the Screech Owl is quite varied, but although small mammals,
and especially mice, form a large and constant factor in its diet, it also
catches a few birds (notably English Sparrows), and is very fond of insects
and of crayfish. Probably its continued and increasing abundance in our
larger towns and cities is due to the abundance of Enghsh Sparrows, on
which it largely subsists during winter. Out of 212 stomachs reported
Fig. 81. Screech Owls. Young.
From photograph by C. AVm. Beebe. Courtesy of Bird Lore.
upon Ijy Dr. A. K. Fisher, 1 contained poultry; 38, other birds; 91, mice;
11, other mammals; 2, lizards; 4, frogs or toads; 1, fi.sh; 100, insects; 5,
spiders; 2, scorpions; 9, crayfish; 2, earthworms; 7, miscellaneous. Among
the birds found in the stomachs there were remains of 21 sparrows, more
than half of which were English Sparrows. The fondness of this owl for
mice is well known, and it is probable that the farmer has no more valuable
ally in his war against these pests than the common Screech Owl. Doubt-
less this little owl, which is notoriously courageous or even savage, does
occasionally pick up a small chicken, but its opportunities for such harm
must be very limited and the damage so done is infinitesimal.
The remarkable differences in color which occur in this species, known
as "dichromatic phases," seem to be entirely independent of age, sex or
locality, and as yet no thoroughly satisfactory explanation has been given
of the fact that among young of the same parents some may develop the
324 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
red phase and others the gray phase, and this whetlicr both parents are
red, both gray, or one red and the other gray. It has been shown that in
captivity the gray bird can be converted into a red one by feeding regularly
with liver, and by withholding this food afterwards the bird has eventually
resumed the gray plumage. This would seem to indicate that the color
of the plumage may be largely influenced by the character of the food,
yet it is difficult to see how this fact can be used to explain the conditions
actually found in nature.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Small; ear-tufts (plumicorns) large and conspicuous; four or five outer primaries emargi-
nate or sinuate on inner webs; iris yellow; bill variable, but never white; toes scantily
feathered toward their tips.
Adult in Gray Phase : Upper parts brownish-gray, more or less mottled with blackish,
many feathers of tlie top of head and back with black shaft-streaks; outer edge of many
scapulars white or whitish, forming two conspicuous light stripes down the back; facial
disk gray with much dusky mottling, and bounded on its outer edge by a clear black
border which is continued down the side of throat as a black stripe; under parts white or
grayish white, with conspicuous black streaks and much finer and fainter wavy cross-bars
of dusky or black; outer webs of wing feathers with numerous white or buffy spots or
patches, the inner webs barred with blackish and gray; tail gray with six to eight narrow
dusky bars.
Adult, Red Phase: Prevailing color bright rust-red, sometimes uniform above except
for the white scapular stripes and an occasional blackish shaft line on forehead and
scapulars; under parts mixed rust-red and white, usually with some black streaks, but
sometimes all the markings very deep red; facial disk rusty gray, commonly bordered by
black as in the normal phase; wing feathers and tail with same pattern as in normal bird,
but the bars mainly of light and dark rusty, only partly blackish; bill reddish.
Between these two extremes of gray and red, are found intermediate forms of every
possible gradation, but the size and proportions will always discriminate it from the Long-
eared Owl, and tlie ear-tufts prevent confusion with any other.
Length 7.50 to 10 inches; wing 6 to 7.10; tail 3.05 to 3.50.
157. Great Horned Owl. Bubo virginianus virginianus {GmcL). (375)
Synonyms: Virginia Horned Owl, Big Hoot Owl, Cat Owl. — Strix virginiana, Gmel.,
1788, Wils., Aud. — Bubo virginianus, Bonap., Nutt. — Strix maximus, Bart., 1792. —
Bubo pinicola, Vieill., 1807.
Plates XXX and XXXL
Our largest common owl, readily identified by the conspicuous ear-tufts.
Any tufted owl with a spread of wings of four or five feet may be safely
identified as the Great Horned Owl, or its western variety, No. 158.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, Avest to the Mississippi Valley,
and from Labrador south to Costa Rica.
Generally distributed throughout the state, but more abundant in the
unsettled portions than elsewhere. As the country is cleared up and gunners
become more numerous this species becomes less and less common, although
doubtless a few pairs continue to rear their young even in the most populous
districts as long as any considerable patches of timber remain. It appears
to be resident wherever found and we know of nothing to indicate a migratory
movement, the great abundance at certain seasons or during certain years
being due probably to an increase in the total number of individuals, or
possibly to a concentration brought about by favorable food conditions.
The Great Horned Owl is mainly nocturnal in its habits, but if found
abroad during daylight appears to see fairly well and is usually a rather
Plate XXX. Great Horned Owl. Adult.
Photograph from mounted specimen. (Original.)
^g^ry^^ ;- W ' ^ . SH
^
■■''^1R5^
■
I
^^
1
r
iHH
*h.; *.
Plate XXXI. Great HomedlOwI. About six weeks old.
Photograph from life, by Dr. Thomas H. Jackson.
LAND BIRDS. 329
hard bird to approach, especially if once shot at or otherwise alarmed.
Ordinarily it spends the day time in some hollow tree, or hidden amid the
densest foliage, and appears to depend upon its protective coloration to
escape the notice of enemies. Among its inveterate foes is the Crow, which
takes delight in mobbing it and making its life miserable whenever it finds
it abroad by daylight. The owl retaliates by raiding the crow roost at night
and devouring a few of his persecutors. Apparently the crow is not a
favorite food and is eaten only when other food is scarce.
The usual diet consists of partridges, quail, ducks, rabbits, squirrels,
rats, and even fish, crayfish and insects. It is one of the very few enemies
(aside from man) of the common skunk, and specimens are frequently
taken whose plumage is rank with the odor of this animal. More rarely
still it attacks the porcupine, and W. P. Melville has recorded the capture
of a specimen at Windsor, Ont., in the winter of 1883-84, which had porcu-
pine quills in its tongue, mouth and skin, as well as in the stomach, in-
testines and liver. Although it unquestionably does much good by destroy-
ing rats, mice and other harmful rodents, it is particularly fond of poultry
and once it has visited a particular farm yard is almost certain to continue
its attacks until captured or killed. An instance is recorded where one
owner lost 59 young guinea-fowl in a single autumn by this owl. On the
other hand, Mr. Chas. Dury states that in the neighborhood of a nest of
these owls, in a sycamore stub near a farmer's barn, there were found the
remains of 113 Norway rats, most of them with the heads split open and
the brains removed.
Of 110 stomachs reported upon by Dr. A. K. Fisher, 31 contained poultry
or game birds; 8, other birds; 13, mice; 65, other mammals; 1, a scorpion;
1, fish; and 10, insects. Among the mammals were hares, rabbits, squirrels
of several kinds, skunks, musk-rats, w^easels, gophers, rats and mice of
various kinds, and even a few shrews. It has also been known to attack
and kill the ground-hog or woodchuck occasionally. This is the only
species of Michigan owl not protected under the present (1912) laws of the
state, and in view of its destructiveness to game and poultry it doubtless
was wise to make this exception in framing the law. It should be distinctly
understood, however, that all other owls, large or small, are protected
by the law, and their killing is prohibited under penalty of fine or im-
prisonment or both.
The Great Horned Owl nests very early in the season and probably
with very few exceptions the eggs are laid in Michigan before the first of
March. In many cases they are laid early in February and it is by no means
unlikely that during mild winters some of the birds nest even in January.
Sometimes a hollow tree is selected as a nesting place, but more often an
open nest is built, or an old nest of hawk, crow or heron is repaired and the
eggs laid therein* Such nests are almost always in large trees and at a con-
siderable height from the ground. One of the parents is almost always
found on the nest, a necessary precaution to prevent freezing of eggs or
3^oung, and it is no unusual thing to find the Great Horned Owl sitting
patiently upon her nest although deeply covered by falling snow.
The eggs are commonly two, occasionally three, more rarely but one.
They are always white and unspotted and appear to be decidedly small
for the size of the bird; they average 2.12 by 1.81 inches. According to
Major Bendire the eggs are laid at intervals of about three days, and the
period of incubation is 28 days. There is considerable evidence, however,
to show that much longer periods frequently elapse between the deposition
330 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
of the two successive eggs, and frequently one or two young birds and an
unhatched egg may be found in a nest together. It has been surmised
that this is designed by the old bird as a matter of convenience, the warmth
of the chicks protecting the freshly laid egg from freezing, so that the parent
may be absent for longer intervals in search of food. This, however, seems
to be merely an inference from a few observed facts. When first hatched
the young are covered with white down, and although they grow rapidly
they do not acquire their flight feathers until two months old and probably
remain in the nest from two to three months after they are hatched.
According to Bendire "The common call whieh is most often uttered,
and I believe that of the male, is a far-reaching ' too-hoot-too-hoot-too-hooh,'
while the answering one of the female is shorter, and usually consists simply
of a '00/ or 'to-oo.' Aside from these they have several others, one a
cat-like squeal or cry like ,waah-hu,' and again a series of yelps similar to
the barking of a dog." When heard at a little distance the hoot of this
owl may easily be mistaken for the ordinary crossing whistle of a loco-
motive, and at times it bears quite a strong resemblance to the notes of
the Morning Dove. When near at hand, however, the notes are too loud
and harsh to be mistaken for anything else.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Large; ear-tufts (plumicorns) very conspicuous; iris bright yellow; bill and claws black;
toes fully feathered; first three or four primaries emarginate or sinuate on inner webs.
Adult: Upper parts mottled black, white and rusty (tawny), the latter the prevaihng
color beneath the surface, the superficial pattern made up of narrow, wavy or zigzag, white
cross-bars, and wider black interspaces, giving the effect on head, neck and "cape" of a
gray ground-color broadly and irregularly striped with black; facial disk brownish gray
or rusty gray, with a broad black outer border and usually several concentric blackish
lines; a conspicuous snow-white patch on the lower throat, forming an imperfect collar;
rest of imder parts white, broadly and irregularly streaked with black on tlie chest, and
closely and evenly barred with black elsewhere, sometimes with a good deal of rufous
intermixed; wing and tail feathers barred with gray and black, the tail showing about six
distinct black bars.
Young: At first covered with snow-white down, which becomes buffy or even tawny,
spotted and later barred with brown or dusky everywhere except on legs and feet; the
wing and tail-feathers from the first have essentially the same colors and pattern as when
adult; the ear-tufts are visible in the down of the half grown bird and the characteristic
black border of the facial disk and white throat patch also appear at about the same age.
There is immense individual variation in adults, particularly as to the proportions
of rufous, black, and white, and the coarseness of the pattern. Females are noticeably
larger than males, but there seem to be no constant color differences.
Male: Length 18 to 23 inches; wing 14.50 to 15.25; tail about 8.25; weight about 3^ lbs.
Female: Length 22 to 25 inches; extent about 57; wing 16; tail 9.
158. Western Horned Owl. Bubo virginianus pallescens Stone. (375a)
. Synonyms: The synonymy is so involved that it seems useless to attempt to untangle
it here.
This western subspecies very closely resembles typical virginianus, but
is characterized by a decidedly lighter tone of coloration and by somewhat
smaller average size. The two forms, however, are separable only by the
expert.
Distribution. — The distribution is given by the A. O. U. Check-Ust (1910)
as western United States (exclusive of the higher mountains) from eastern
Oregon, Montana, and Minnesota south to southeastern California, Arizona,
New Mexico, western Texas, and northeastern Mexico.
This form, or its equivalent, has been included in several earlier lists,
but the specimens upon which the claims were based are inaccessible and
LAND BIRDS. 331
some doubt with regard to them remains. In the summer of 1904 the
University of Michigan party took four specimens, one in Ontonagon county,
July 26, and three on Isle Royale, August 26, which have been determined
by Mr. Ridgway as Bubo virginianus pallescens Stone, of the new (1910)
A. O. U. Check-list. Another specimen of the same race was taken by Mr.
C. McLaughUn, at Robbins, Ontonagon county, January 5, 1906, and was
determined by Mr. H. C. Oberholzer as Bubo virginianus occidentalis [Stone?]
(Swales, Auk XXVII, 1910, 208), which would therefore seem to make
this latter subspecies equivalent to pallescens of Stone (Auk XVIII, 1901,
300). In reply to an inquiry as to the status of these specimens Dr. C. W.
Richmond, of the U. S. National Museum, writes, under date of December
1, 1911: "The Owls identified by Mr. Ridgway are Bubo virginianus
pallescens of the new Check-list, but Mr. Oberholzer claims that B. v.
occidentalis is a definite, recognizable form occupying the middle west
(north of the range of true pallescens), and from his point of view the
Michigan birds are occidentalis."
The habits of this subspecies, as observed by Mr. Peet, on Isle Royale,
do not seem to differ much from those of the common Great Horned Owl.
It seemed to feed mainly on white-footed mice and northern hares, both of
which were abundant. It was not shy in the dusk of evening, but rather
curious, perhaps because most of those seen were young, or because they had
been Httle disturbed by man (Adams' Rep. on Isle Royale, Mich. Geol.
Surv., 1908, 353).
159. Snowy Owl. Nyctea nyctea (Lmn.). (376)
Synonyms: Arctic Owl, White Owl, Ermine Owl.— Strix nyctea, Linn., 1758, Vicill.,
Wils., Bonap., Aud. — Nyctea nivea, Cass. — Strix arctica, Bartr., 1792. — Nyctea scandiaca
var. arctica, B. B. & R., 1875.
Figure 82.
Mainly snow white, but always more or less barred with brown; no ear-
tufts or only mere traces; large.
Distribution. — Northern portions of northern hemisphere. In North
America breeding wholly north of the United States; in winter migrating
south to the middle states, straggling to South Carolina, Texas, California
and Bermuda.
This beautiful owl, not to be mistaken for any other species, comes to
us from the north late in autumn and is met with occasionally until early
spring. Sometimes one is seen as early as the middle of October, but more
often they do not come until late in November, and although a stray
loiterer may be seen in April (St. Clair Flats, April 5, 1906, Taverner) the
greater number retire to the north before the beginning of that month.
Usually very few are seen, and in the interior of the state several winters
may pass in any given locality without the record of a single one. They
prefer the shores of the Great Lakes and the courses of the larger rivers,
perhaps because they are decidedly fond of fish and these localities afford
them a fairly good supply.
At long intervals they appear in much larger numbers, and several of these
invasions have been recorded within the past thirty years. In the Avinter
of 1876-77, they were unusually abundant over all the northern United
States, being thus reported from'localities where previously they had been
extremely rare. Again in the winter of 1892-93, there was another large
332 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
influx from the north, and in 1901-02 perhaps the largest invasion of all
occurred. On this last occasion they appeared in such numbers that they
ceased to be rare and specimens were often seen for sale in markets along
with ducks and other birds, the taxidermists in the larger cities being already
so well supplied with specimens that they would not purchase more. Mr.
Peter Lepp, of Saginaw, told us that during that winter he had forty-two
Snowy Owls sent in to be mounted, coming from all over the northern half
of the Lower Peninsula, though many of them were from the immediate
vicinity of Saginaw. Mr. W. L. Kress, of Elk Rapids, mounted twenty-
eight during the winter, and thinks at least fifty were killed in the immediate
vicinity. He says they almost completely destroyed the quail and
partridges in that county. Mr. J. H. Fleming, of Toronto, Ont., estimated
that at least 1,000 were killed in Ontario during this remarkable flight.
He states that "during March, 1902, the females disappeared and were
replaced in April by the returning flight of the light-colored birds (apparently
all males). A few remained about Toronto Marsh all through May and
a small, light-colored male was taken on June 7. It was in excellent
condition and showed no signs of being a wounded bird."
This owl appears to see perfectly well by day and hunts freely by day-
light. It is said never to take prey which is not in motion, with the ex-
ception of fish, which it will pick up wherever found. It flies with remark-
able swiftness and is able to overtake and capture ducks, grouse, quail
and other quick flying birds.
It nests only in the far north, the southernmost breeding record apparently
being about 53°, in Labrador. Its eggs were found by Fielden, June 20,
1876, on Grinnell Island, latitude 82° 40' north, probably the most northern
nesting record for this species. The nest, if such it can, be called, is com-
monly placed on the ground, usuall}^ on some slight elevation, and consists
of a mere hollow in the ground with a few leaves, grasses, and stray feath-
ers for a lining. Normally the eggs are from five to seven, but as many
as ten have been found. They are oblong
oval, never as round as those of the Great
Horned Owl, roughly granular, and have no
luster. Usually they are clear white and un-
spotted, but occasionally they are pale cream
color. They average 2.24 by 1.76 inches.
Arctic travelers state that a few of these
owls remain all winter within the Arctic
Circle, but the great maiority move south- t,- o„ x. . ^ o
1 , ,, ° 1 p 1 1 .1 1 Fig. 82. Foot of Snowy Owl.
ward at the approach of cold weather, only (Original.)
returning in the summer time to nest.
While with us they feed largely upon game birds, including partridges,
quail, and ducks, but also on rabbits, rats and mice, and probably also on
muskrats and squirrels. As noted before, they are very fond of fish and are
said to be expert at catching them alive. They, however.^eat dead fish
washed up on the shore when other food is scarce.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Large; ear-tufts (plumicorns) almost or quite lacking; iris yellow; bill blue-black; four
or five outer primaries emarginate or sinuate on inner webs near tip; feet densely covered
with hair-like feathers, hiding the black claws; plumage largely piu-e white.
Adult male: Plumage nearly white, sometimes quite so except for a few dark spots
and bars on head, back and scapulars; as usually seen the upper parts are freely barred
with dark brown or slate on a pure white background, while the belly, sides and flanks
are similarly marked, but the throat and breast pure white, unspotted; wings also freely
LAND BIRDS.
333
spotted and barred witli black; tail mainly white, but middle feathers with several blackish
bars and the rest with one or more dark spots near tip.
Adult female: Similar, but much darker; heavily spotted and barred, above and below,
with dark brown or blackish, only the tliroat, breast and feet immarked; tail usually
with three or four dark bars.
Male: Length 20 to 23 inches; wing 15.50 to 17.30; tail 9 to 9.70. Female: Length
23 to 27 inches; wing 17.30 to 18.70; tail 9.70 to 10.30.
160. Hawk Owl. Surnia ulula caparoch (Mull). (377a)
Synonyms: American Hawk Owl, Day Owl, Canadian Owl, Hudsonian Owl. — Strix
caparoch, Mull., 1766. — Strix hudsonia, Gmel., Wils., Shaw. — Strix canadensis Briss. —
Strix funerea, Rich. & Sw., Aud., Bonap. — Surnia ulula var. hudsonica, Ridg^v.
Figure 83.
Known by its medium size, lack of ear-tufts, long, rounded tail, and dark
brown-and- white-barred breast.
Distribution. — Arctic America, breeding from Newfoundland northward,
and migrating in winter to the northern border of the United States.
Occasional in England.
A winter visitor from the wooded regions of the far north, where it nests
in April or May in hollows of trees, or in open nests of twigs and moss in
evergreens. It lays from three to
seven white unspotted eggs which
average 1.51 by 1.23 inches, and
closely resemble the eggs of the
Short-eared Owl.
It is one of our rarest owls, but
like the Snowy Owl, occasionally
appears in something like abund-
ance. We have no record in
Michigan of such an occurrence,
but in October and November
1884, a wave of these birds visited
northern New England and scores,
possibly hundreds, of specimens
were taken; one taxidermist at
Bangor, Me., receiving 28 freshly
killed specimens within a few
weeks (Brewster).
It may be looked for in the
northern third of Michigan from
the last of October until the latter
part of winter, but it appears to
retire northward much earlier
than the Snowy Owl, few if any,
lingering later than February.
As it hunts freely by daylight,
and is not particularly shy, it
should be easily recognized. It
perches like a hawk on the top
of some dead stub or isolated tree,
from which it watches for its prey,
which consists mainly of mice,
Fig. 83. Hawk Owl.
From photograph of mounted specimen.
(Original.)
334 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
squirrels and birds, though it is said to eat insects freely in its summer
home.
Specimens are not numerous in our collections. The Agricultural
College Museum has three, one taken by Major Boies on Neebish Island,
October 27, 1894, and two taken in Mackinac county, near Trout Lake,
by the late Percy Selous, one November 5, and the other November 10,
1896. Prof. H. L. Clark writes us that there is a specimen in the Olivet
College museum which was killed there, and in 1903 we saw two mounted
specimens in a store at Sault Ste. Marie, which were killed near by. One
was killed at Port Huron about November 17, 1905, and another November
6, 1906, and mounted by Eppinger of Detroit. Mr. Albert Hirzel, Forest-
ville, Sanilac county, mounted one in December 1906, which was killed
in the Upper Peninsula.
The nesting ground of this species lies mainly north of the United States,
but in 1905 members of a biological survey party from the University of
Michigan took a young bird, able to fly, but still partly "in the down,"
making it very probable that it was reared in the vicinity. The locality
was Isle Royale, Lake Superior, and the date August 4, 1905. An adult
Hawk Owl was seen near by but was too wary to be taken Adams, Ecolo-
gical Survey of Isle Royale, 1905, pp. 92, 353. Annual Rep. Mich. Board
of Geol. Survey, 1908).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Rather small; ear-tufts (plumicorns) lacking; facial disk poorly developed, making the
face hawk-Uke; feet heavily feathered; outer three or foxir primaries emarginate on inner
webs; tail strongly graduated; iris deep yellow; beak nearly white; claws black.
Adult: Top of head black, thickly sprinkled with small rounded, pure white dots;
cheeks white or grayish white, bounded posteriorly by a broad black bar or stripe which
extends downward on the side of the throat, meeting its fellow from the other side, thus
forming a black collar; two other black stripes bound the sides of the occiput and hind
neck; rest of upper parts chocolate brown to sooty black, profusely spotted with white,
the spots running into a rather conspicuous bar on the outer edge of the scapulars on
each side; under jsarts regularly and closely barred with pure white and brown or blackish,
except across the chest where the dark bars are scanty or wanting; tail like the back,
each feather with paired white spots, forming about five or six narrow white bars.
Yoimg: Much browner or more buffy, with fewer spots above, and the barring below
more indistinct.
Length 14.75 to 17.50 inches; wing about 9; tail 6.80 to 7.
Plate XXXII. Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
From original drawing by P. A. Taverner.
LAND BIRDS. 337
Order XIV. COCCYGES. Cuckoos, Kingfishers, etc.
KEY TO FAMILIES.
A. Toes two before and two behind, the front toes separate to the base;
bill about as long as head. Family 43. Cuculidse. Cuckoos.
(Only two Michigan species).
AA. Toes three in front and one behind, two of the front toes grown together
for half their length; bill longer than head, its cutting edges minutely
saw-toothed. Family 45. Alcedinidce. Kingfishers. (Only one
Michigan species).
Family 43. CUCULID^. Cuckoos.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Basal half of lower mandible yellow; most of the tail-feathers white
tipped, the outer ones for an inch or more (Fig. 84). Yellow-
billed Cuckoo. No. 161.
A A. Bill all black; tail-feathers with narrow white tips, the longest tip not
half an inch (Fig. 86). Black-billed Cuckoo. No. 162.
161. Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Coccyzus americanus americanus {Linn.).
(387)
Synonyms: Rain-crow, Rain-dove, Kow-Kow, Chow-Chow. — Cuculus americanus.
Linn., 1758. — Coccyzus americanus, Bonap., 1824, and authors generally.
Plate XXXII and Figures 84, 85.
Reference to the plate will serve to separate the cuckoo from all other
birds, and the present species may be known from the only other Michigan
cuckoo by the yellow lower jaw, the cinnamon in the wings, and the large
white "thumb-marks" on the outer tail-feathers (Compare figures 84 and
86).
Distribution. — Eastern temperate North America, breeding from Florida
north to New Brunswick, Canada, and Minnesota, west to the eastern
border of the Plains, and south in winter to Costa Rica and the West Indies.
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is generally distributed throughout the state
but probably is somewhat less common in the northern sections than farther
south; it is, however, nowhere
abundant and although at the
proper season you may see or
hear cuckoos almost any day
or night, it would be difficult in ^.^ g^ ^^^^^ tail-fcatl.rrs of Vdlow'-b.lled Cuckoo,
most places to find half a dozen From Hoffinann'.s Guide.
. '■ . 1 li? 1 ) 1 i Courtesy of Houghton, Mifflin <& Co.
specimens m a halt day s hunt-
ing. The two species of cuckoo are so similar in general appearance and so
often confounded that most of our notes for the state are badly mixed and
43
338 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
it is not possible to generalize safely in regard to either species. They
seem to arrive from the south at about the same time, which is early in May
in the southern part of the state and from five to ten days later in the
Upper Peninsula. Average dates for Detroit and Lansing will range from
May 10th to 20th.
This is one of the birds whose voice is often heard at night and its usual
call, coo-coo-coo, or kuk-kuk-kuk, is common to both species and is familiar
to most outdoor people. Both the cuckoos have numerous variations
of this call, and several entirely distinct notes, but our best observers are
unwilling to assign any one of these notes exclusively to either species,
and we know of no characteristic note belonging to the Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
Nest building begins ordinarily in June, but not commonly until the
middle of the month or even later. According to Bendire " In the northern
part of its range the breeding season is at its height during the latter part
of June and the first week of July, and here one brood only is reared, while
in the south they sometimes raise two." The nest is a very simple affair,
consisting of a little platform of twigs, leaf-stems, and perhaps a few catkins,
slightly hollowed to receive the eggs, and lodged rather than placed in the
crotch of a bush, among a tangle of vines, or sometimes on the horizontal
spreading branch of an evergreen. Not infrequently the old nest of some
other bird is used with only slight repairs or additions. The eggs are three to
five, pale blue, often more or less nest-stained, and always unspotted, though
frequently clouded or "water-marked" in a manner which is easily recog-
nized but not readily described. They average 1.21 by .88 inches.
It seems to be a fact that the two species of cuckoos not infrequently
lay their eggs in each others nests, and this by many is considered a relic
of the parasitic habit so strongly developed in the olcl world cuckoos, which
usually build no nests of their own, but impose the care of their eggs and
young on other and mostly smaller birds. Single cuckoos eggs are not
infrequently found in the nests of other birds here in Michigan, but not
more often perhaps than we find eggs of the Robin, blackbirds and some
sparrows. In this connection it should be noted that comparatively fresh
eggs and newly hatched young are sometimes found in the same nest,
although as a general rule the set is completed before incubation begins.
It is difficult to believe that only one brood is reared in Michigan each season,
since eggs are common in June and all through July and August, even a few
sets being found in September. It is possible that these are merely second
layings by birds which have been unfortunate with their first nests, but it
seems much more likely that many individuals rear two broods
The food of this cuckoo consists very largely of insects, and probably
we have no bird which is more valuable to the orchardist and fruit grower.
The careful studies made by the Department of Agriculture at Washington
have shown that more than 75 percent of the food consists of insects, and
these are almost all of injurious kinds. It is particularly fond of cater-
pillars and appears to delight in those forms which are covered with hairs
and spines. It is a common thing to see a cuckoo perch near a nest of tent
caterpillars (Clisiocampa) , and quietly swallow one caterpillar after another
until seven or eight have been taken, then rest for half a minute or more
before eating an equal number, repeating this action several times until
the appetite is satisfied or the supply of caterpillars exhausted. In several
instances more than one hundred tent caterpillars have been taken from
a single cuckoo's stomach, and the bird is almost equally destructive to
various other hairy caterpillars. Even those caterpillars which are covered
LAND BIRDS. 339
with protective stinging hairs, like^he lo caterpillar and the various species
of Vanessa, are eaten freely. Large quantities of beetles and bugs also are
consumed, and both species of cuckoo seem to be very fond of grasshoppers,
eating especially such forms as frequent shrubbery and trees, among these
the destructive tree crickets {G^canthus). Ten specimens examined by
Professor Aughey, in Nebraska, contained 416 locusts and grasshoppers,
and 152 other insects.
In Michigan the cuckoos seem to eat very little fruit, but farther south
they have been known to feed freely on elder-berries and mulberries, and
they doubtless eat other small fruits to some extent. They, however,
never become actual enemies of the horticulturist in this way.
The only serious charge ever brought against the cuckoo, so far as we
know, is that of robbing the nests of other birds. This crime was ascribed
Fig. 85. Nest, egg and young of Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
From photograph by Thomas T,. Hanklnson.
to the bird years ago, and several of the older writers have adduced some
proof in support of it. Audubon, Wilson and Nuttall all state that the
cuckoo is known to suck the eggs of other birds, and one would infer from
their statements that considerable damage was done in this wa3^ Recent
observers, however, have pretty generally failed to corroborate these
statements, and several of our best naturalists, whose opportunities for
observation have been ample, state positively that they see no reason to
believe these charges. Personally, the only evidence of this habit which
we have seen lies in the fact that many species of the smaller birds attack
the cuckoo and drive it away from their nests, even following it some
distance and treating it very much as they Avould Crows, Blue Jays and
Bronzed Grackles, which are known sometimes to rob nests. These actions,
however, are susceptible of another explanation, for in flight and general
appearance the cuckoo is not unlike some of the smaller hawks and very
possibly other birds may mistake them for birds of prey.
340 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Toes two in front, two behind; tail of long, soft feathers, much graduated.
Adult: Upper mandible mainly black, its edges and most of the lower mandible yellow;
entire upper parts brownish gray or olive gray, often with a bronzy luster; under parts
pure wliite; inner webs of most of the primaries rufous or cinnamon; middle tail-feathers
like the back, the rest black with abrupt and broad white tips. Young: Similar, but
feathers of upper parts usually with rusty or asiiy tips, and tail-feathers with smaller and
less abrupt white patches.
Length 11 to 12.70 inches; wing 5.40 to 5.80; tail 6 to 6.15.
162. Black-billed Cuckoo. Coccyzus ery hropthalmus (Wih.). (388)
Synonyms: Rain Crow, Kow-Kow. — Cuculus erythroi)lithalmus, Wils., 1811, and
authors generally.
Figure 86.
So similar to the Yellow-billed Cuckoo in appearance, habits and note
that the two are very generally confused. The present species shows no
yellow on the bill, which is nearly black, has a circle of bare red skin about
the eye, little or no cinnamon in the wing, and the outer tail-feathers only
lightly tipped with white. (Compare figures 84 and 86.)
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to the Rocky Mountains,
breeding north to Labrador, Manitoba and eastern Assiniboia; south, in
winter, to the West Indies and the valley of the Amazon.
In Michigan the Black-billed Cuckoo has nearly the same distribution
as the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, except that it is equally abundant all over
the state, whereas the Yellow-billed - _______ .;.=^
species is apparently less common -
in the northern half. The two ^
species are also so similar in general _^.^^"- - '"^^7^
habits that most of what has been -^lM^
written in the preceding pages is Fig. 8i>. i au oi jMa< k-tniim ( uekoo.
applicable to the present bird. It From Hoffmann's Guide.
arrives from the south at about the Courtesy of Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
same time, nests in much the same way and at the same time, and
moves southward again in the fall together with the Yellow-billed species.
Although a few field naturalists profess to be able to discriminate the
notes of the two species, most good observers agree that this is impossible.
Bendire says that it is impossible to distinguish its call notes positively
from those of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and Mr. E. P. Bicknell, one of
our best authorities on the notes of birds, states that he has been unable
to find any constant differences. The nests of the two species are likewise
extremely similar, but the Black-billed is the smaller bird and lays the
smaller egg; moreover the eggs average deeper in color, the shade being
described by Ridgway as glaucous-green or verditer-blue. They average
1.11 by .78 inches, and usually present the peculiar mottled appearance
already mentioned under the preceding species.
This bird has been charged with robbing the nests of other birds, precisely
as in the case of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and although the charge lacks
recent substantiation there may be some truth in the accusation. On the
other hand, it is equally destructive to injurious insects, on which it feeds
constantly and voraciously, consuming immense numbers of hairy cater-
pillars, bugs, beetles, grasshoppers and other injurious species. A single
LAND BIRDS. 341
bird was shot in an oat field infested with army worms near Ellsworth,
McLean county, 111., and when examined by Prof. S. A. Forbes, 95 percent
of the food in its stomach consisted of army worms (Trans. 111. State Hort.
Soc, Vol. 15, 1881, p.- 129).
It certainly is one of our most valuable birds and it is to be regretted that
it is not more numerous. Although generally distributed, and nowhere
rare, it nevertheless is nowhere abundant. It seems probable that with
us it rears two broods during the season, but exact data on this point are
very desirable. It seems to be a little more careless than the Yellow-billed
Cuckoo in regard to its eggs, which are frequently found in the nests of the
Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and less often, but occasionally, in those of other
birds. Mr. J. G. Davidson, of Lockport, N. Y., says that in Niagara county,
N. Y., on June 17, 1882, he "found a Black-billed Cuckoo and a Mourning
Dove sitting together on a Robin's nest. The cuckoo was the first to leave
the nest, which contained two eggs of the cuckoo and one of the Robin
(all somewhat incubated), and two of the dove, perfectly fresh" (Bendire,
I, 141).
F. S. Shuver, of Bangor, Mich., says: "It seems in this locality to nest
very commonly late in the fall, as every year I find several nests. On
September 14, 1897, I found a Black-billed Cuckoo sitting on four fresh
eggs. I stepped up and examined the nest, and the bird, true to its habit,
at once abandoned the nest. On September 3, 1894, I found a nest of this
cuckoo in a large spice bush, and as the heavy frosts had taken the leaves
from the bushes, I watched it from a distance without disturbing it. On
September 12, I found four young birds and an addled egg in the nest.
The birds cared for the young until the 18th, when a very cold autumn
rain began; they then deserted their brood and were not seen again" (Bull.
Mich. Ornith. Club, II, 1898, 16).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Similar to the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, but bill entirely blackish, or with merely a yellowish
tinge at the base of the lower mandible; edge of eyelid bright red (but iris brown); tail-
feathers (except middle pair, which are like the back) grayish brown, with a sub-terminal
darker bar, and narrow white tips; chin, throat and upper breast grayish white, often with
a buffy tinge; rest of under parts pure white; wing-feathers without rufous on inner webs.
Young: Similar, but duller brown above, the eyelids dull yellow instead of red.
Length 11 to 12.70 inches; wing 5.12 to 5.65; tail 6.25 to 7.
Family 45. ALCEDINID^. Kingfishers.
Only a single representative occurs in Michigan.
163. Kingfisher. Ceryle alcyon (Linn.). (390)
Synonyms: Belted Kingfislier.— Alcedo alcyon, Linn., 1758, Wils., 1811, Aud., 1831.
— Ceryle alcyon, Boie, 1828, and authors generally.
Figures 87 and 88.
One of our few birds in which blue predominates; possibly to l)e mistaken
for the Blue Jay by the beginner, but readily separated by a glance at
figures 87 and 98, and by noticing that the bill is nearly two inches long in
342
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
the Kingfisher and the feet very small, while the Blue Jay has a moderate
bill and large feet.
Distribution. — North America, from the Arctic Ocean south to Panama
and the West Indies, Breeds from the southern border of the United
States northward.
In Michigan the Kingfisher is universally distributed, and though nowhere
abundant is so conspicuous in plumage and note that it may always be
readily found. It frequents
the borders of ponds,
streams, large and small,
and the Great Lakes, and
is frequently to be seen
perched upon the pile of a
wharf, the mast or boom
of a vessel, the peak of a
boat-house, a dead stub '
standing in the water, or the
overhanging branch of some
convenient tree. The note
is a vigorous and prolonged
rattle, startlingly loud and
harsh when close at hand,
but not unpleasant when
heard at a distance. It is
not to be mistaken for the
call of any other bird and
bears a close resemblance to Fig. gy. Kingfisher.
the sound made by the old- From Hoffmann's Guide. Courtesy of Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
fashioned watchman's rattle.
In fishing the Kingfisher poises on quickly beating wings at a height of from
ten to twenty-five feet above the surface of the water, with the body at an
angle of perhaps 45°, but the bill pointed downward and the eyes scanning an
the water intently, watching for the approach of a fish toward the surface.
When a favorable opportunity presents itself the wings are partially closed
and the bird drops head foremost into the water with a splash, usually
capturing the small fish in the bill. Sometimes this is swallowed at
once, but more often it is carried away to some nearby perch where it is
beaten for a few moments until dead, and then either swallowed entire
or carried away to the nest to be fed to mate or young.
The nest is always a burrow in a bank of sand, gravel, or gravel and clay,
sometimes only three or four feet in length, but more often 'from five to
eight feet. At the end of the burrow is a somewhat
enlarged chamber where the eggs are laid, often on
the bare sand, but frequently on a collection of scales
and bones of fish, the shells of crayfish, or similar
skeletal material which has been ejected as pellets by
the birds. The eggs vary in number from four to
eight, but are commonly about six. They are pure
white, unspotted,' and usually'a short oval, sometimes
approaching the spherical. They average 1.36 by
1.05 inches.
The food of the" Kingfisher consists very largely of
fish, which are mainly the young of shallow water species, principally
^S>-^
Foot of Kingfisher.
(Original
LAND BIRDS. 343
minnows, chubs and related fish. Much complaint is made by fishermen
about the damage done by the Kingfisher, but this is almost entirely
imaginary. In a few cases persons who are raising gold fish, trout and
other fish in large quantities, and in exposed situations, may suffer some-
what from the visits of the Kingfisher, but the harm done on open streams
and ponds is infinitesimal.
Besides fish the Kingfisher eats large numbers of crayfish, some frogs
(mainly when fish are scarce), and many insects. Professor Aughey, of
Nebraska, writes "One that was sent to me to identify in September, 1874,
had 18 locusts, in addition to portions of some fish, in its stomach. One
that I opened in September, 1876, had mingled at least 14 locusts with his
fish diet" (1st Rep. U. S. Entom. Com., App. 2, p. 39). Another writer
records taking from a Kingfisher's stomach "fragments of various beetles
belonging to the famiUes Carabidse, Dytiscidse and Scaraboeidse." Larvae
of these beetles, particularly those of the Dytiscidse, are known to destroy
immense numbers of newly hatched trout, and the good done by the King-
fisher in consuming the beetles undoubtedly more than offsets any slight
harm it may do in catching young trout. Probably it is not markedly
beneficial, but it is a beautiful bird, whose presence adds much to the
pleasure of the summer resorts, and its absence would be keenly felt by the
nature lover. The custom of shooting the Kingfisher on sight, and in-
cluding it in the list of birds which may be killed in the competitive hunting
matches which are in vogue in some parts of the country, cannot be too
strongly deplored. The present law of the state protects the Kingfisher
at all seasons and this law should be rigidly enforced.
The Kingfisher arrives early from the south, usually in March, or by the
time the ice is out of the streams. It lingers in the fall until the waters
which it commonly frequents begin to freeze over, when most of the birds
move southward, although a few occasionally remain all winter in favorable
locahties. During prolonged rough weather, when fish can be seen with
difficulty, the Kingfisher is said to suffer much from hunger, and in such
cases always resorts to other food, even trying to catch mice, according
to Bendire. The latter writer also records one instance in which a King-
fisher was seen to greedily devour the berries of the sourgum (Nyssa
aquatica).
At the south the eggs are laid in April, while in the Arctic Circle they may
not be laid until the latter part of June. The male often digs a shallow
burrow near the one occupird by his mate and uses this for roosting at night.
According to Bendire only one brood is reared in a season, and the period
of incubation is about sixteen days. The female alone incubates, but the
male carries food to her at frequent intervals. For some time after the
young leave the nest they are dependent on the old birds for at least a
part of their food; but some of the stories as to methods employed by
the old birds in teaching the young to fish must be taken with a very large
grain of allowance.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
]iill long, strong, sharp, with a keel on the ridge, the edges of both mandibles minutely
barbed backward, like the tip of a porcupine quill, evidently for the purpose of holding
the slippery prey; feet small and weak, the three front toes largely grown together
(syndactylous), the sole much flattened, the tibia bare above the heel; head strongly
crested; iris dark brown; bill black.
Adult male: Above, clear leaden blue (plumbeous), the conspicuous double crest
with most feathers darkening at the tips; a small white spot in front of eye; chin, throat
344 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
and collar about the neck, pure white; a broad lead-blue band across the chest; belly and
under tail-coverts white; primaries largely white on the inner webs toward the base;
both primaries and secondaries often white-tipped, the latter always with white bars
on the inner webs; tail with numerous paired white spots, forming 8 to 10 narrow white
bars.
Adult female: Similar, but with a more or less complete chestnut band across the belly,
this color also extending along the sides and flanks. Young birds of either sex have the
blue chest band more or less mixed with brown or rufous.
Length 11 to 14.50 inches; wing 6 to 6.50; tail 3.80 to 4.30; culmen 2 or more.
LAND BIRDS. 345
Order XV. PICI. Woodpeckers, Wrynecks, etc.
(Only the Woodpeckers are found in America.)
Family 46. PICID.^. Woodpeckers.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Very large, wing more than 8^ inches. Log-Cock. No. 169.
AA. Smaller, wing less than 7 inches. B, B.
B. Back and rump shiny black, without any white markings; the top
of head with or without a golden yellow patch; only three toes,
two in front. Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker. No.
167.
BB. Back or rump always with white; head often with red, but never
with yellow; toes four, two in front and two behind (Fig. 90).
C, CC.
C. Shafts of wing-feathers golden yellow; breast and sides with
numerous clean cut, round, black spots. FHcker. No. 172.
CC. Shafts of wing-feathers not yellow, no round black spots on
breast or sides. D, DD.
D. Middle pair of tail-feathers largely white on inner webs.
E, EE.
E. A large black patch on chest. Sapsucker. No. 168.
EE. No black on chest. Red-bellied Woodpecker. No.
171.
DD. Middle pair of tail-feathers wholly black. F, FF.
F. Entire head, neck and chest red. Red-headed Wood-
pecker (adult). No. 170.
FF. Red only on the nape, if at all. G, GG.
G. Under parts all white. H, HH.
H. Wing 4^ inches or more; outer tail-feathers
white, without cross bars. Hairy
Woodpecker and Northern Hairy Wood-
pecker. Nos. 164, 165.
HH. Wing less than 4^ inches; outer tail-
feathers white, barred with black.
Downy Woodpecker. No. 166.
GG. Throat, chest and sides gray, more or less
streaked or mottled with blackish; some-
times a few scattered red feathers about
head and neck. Red-headed Woodpecker
(young). No. 170.
164. Hairy Woodpecker. Dryobates villosus villosus (Linn.). (393)
Synonyms: Guinea Woodpecker, Sap.sucker or Big Sapsucker (incorrect). — Picus
villosus, Linn., 1766, and authors generally.
The pure white under parts, black back with median white stripe, and
checkered black and white wings are distinctive of this and the Downy
346 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Woodpecker, which are separable only by size, the Hairy being at least
twice as heavy as the Downy. In each the male has a scarlet nape patch
which the female lacks.
Distribution. — Northern and middle portions of the eastern United
States from Atlantic coast to the Great Plains.
In Michigan this is a common woodpecker wherever there is any con-
siderable amount of woodland, but the bird is also seen during the colder
half of the year in orchards and groves at considerable distances from
large tracts of timber. It is commonly considered a resident wherever
found, but certainly there is a well marked movement southward in the
fall, since we have numerous reports from southern and southeastern
Michigan to the effect that it is much more common in winter than in
summer. Although widely distributed and nowhere rare, it is never really
abundant; it is also rather a solitary bird, seldom seen except singly or in
pairs, although for a few weeks after the young leave the nest family
parties of four to seven may be encountered once in a while.
It nests early in the season, and eggs may be found from the last week in
April to the middle of May according to latitude. Fully fledged young are
abroad the first week in July, or somewhat earlier in the southern part
of the state. The nest is a neat hole dug by the birds themselves in the
dead wood of a trunk or limb, usually at some little height above the ground.
In some regions maple seems to be preferred, but nests are often found
in willow, poplar, and other soft wood trees. According to Bendire the
eggs are usually four, sometimes three or five, rarely if ever more. They
are pure white, unspotted, polished, like the eggs of all woodpeckers, and
average .93 by .69 inches.
The food of this species is very similar to that of the Downy Woodpecker,
but is of less account to the orchardist, since the present species is less
often found outside continuous woods. According to Beal, who reported
on 82 stomachs examined at the Department of Agriculture, in Washington,
68 percent of the food consisted of animal matter and 31 percent of vege-
table matter. Insects formed 63 percent of the food, divided as follows:
17 percent ants; 24 percent beetles; 21 percent caterpillars; and 1 percent
miscellaneous, including a few plant lice or aphids. Spiders and myriapods
formed 4 percent of the food.
The vegetable matter, 31 percent in all, consisted mostly of wild fruits
and a few seeds, with about 8 percent of vegetable rubbish. The fruits
most freely eaten were dogwood, Virginia creeper, June berries, strawberries,
poke berries and sumac berries, both poisonous and non-poisonous. Eight
stomachs contained the seeds of sumac and the distribution of these
poisonous seeds seems to be the only harm done by this bird.
It cannot be claimed that the consumption of insects confers any great
benefit upon the agriculturist, since although the percentage of beetles is
very large, and many of them are boring beetles, they are all species which
work only in dead wood, thus doing practically no harm. A good many
caterpillars (21 per cent) are eaten, and about 17 percent of ants, the latter
item having very little economic significance.
This bird and the Downy Woodpecker are wrongly called sapsuckers
in many parts of the state, being confused with the Yellow-bellied Wood-
pecker or true Sapsucker, which drills the bark of living trees in order to
eat the sweet inner bark (cambium) and drink the sap. Neither the Hairy
Woodpecker nor the Downy has this habit, and when seen about fruit or
shade trees they are never injuring thoni, and usually it is safe to assume
LAND BIRDS. 347
"that they are eating some of the insect pests which might otherwise dam-
age the trees.
Bendire describes its note as a shrill and rattling sound like trriii, trriii,
or when flying from tree to tree several loud notes like hui'p, huip. Like
all our woodpeckers it is very fond of drumming or tattooing on a hollow
stub or any resonant object. An expert might possibly discriminate the
tattoo of the present species from the rest, but the ordinary observer would
notice little difference.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Upper parts mainly black, the middle of the back striped with white; a white stripe
over and behind the eye, sometimes continued across the occiput in front of the con-
spicuous scarlet crescent which adorns the nape; nasal bristles wliite or grayish white; ear-
coverts (auriculars) black; bordered below by a white stripe, which in turn is bounded
below by a black stripe running from base of lower mandible to shoulder; entire under
parts pure white; wings and coverts black, freely spotted with white; middle tail-
feathers black, the outer pair entirely white, the rest black and white.
Adult female : Precisely like the male, except that there is no red on the nape. Yoimg
males resemble the adult female.
Length 8.50 to 9 inches; wing 4.50 to 5; tail 3.10 to 3.60; culmen 1.18 to 1.35.
165. Northern Hairy Woodpecker. Dryobates villosus leucomelas (Bodd.).
(393a)
Synonyms: Picus leucomelas, Bodd., 1783. — Picus canadensis, Gmel., Lath., Aud.,
Bonap. — Picus septentrionalis, Nutt., 1840.
This is the northern form of the Hairy Woodpecker, characterized by
somewhat larger size and a larger proportion of white in the plumage. It
intergrades with the common Hairy Woodpecker, and suspected specimens
should be submitted to an expert for identification. It is not safe to assume
that every Hairy Woodpecker taken within the range assigned to leuco-
melas belongs to this subspecies.
Distribution. — Northern North America, south to about the northern
border of the United States.
Assuming that there is a southward movement of many individuals in
winter we should expect this race to occur in the Upper Peninsula and the
higher parts of the Lower Peninsula during winter, and it is not impossible
that it may prove to breed occasionally in favorable localities in these
regions. The only actual records, however, of which we know are those
obtained by the expedition of the University of Michigan to Isle Royale
in the summers of 1904 and 1905. Two specimens taken August 20 and
September 1, 1904 were identified by Robert Ridgway of the U. S. National
Museum. Mr. Peet, who was a member of the 1905 expedition says:
"Rather rare throughout the island. Probably nearly all are resident
throughout the year, although none were seen after September 12. July
12 one was procured in the balsam forest and on July 13 one was taken
in the birches along Benson Brook" (Max M. Peet, Adams' Rep., Mich.
Geol. Surv., 1908, p. 354).
There is no reason to suppose that this race differs materially in its habits
from the common Hairy Woodpecker of more southern latitudes.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
B the ordinary Hairy Woodpecker except in size, and possibly a somewhat
of white on the ui)per parts in the present sub-species. The measurements
Lengtii 10 to 11 inches; wing 5.02 to 5.40; tail 3.60 to 3.80; culmen 1.40
Precisely like
larger amount
are as follows: Lengtii 10 to ll inches; wing
to 1.02.
348
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
166. Downy Woodpecker. Dryobates pubescens medianus (5i^ains.). (394c)
Synonyms: Little Guinea Woodpecker, Little Sapsucker (error). — Pious (Dendrocopus)
medianus, Swains, 183L — Picus pubescens, Linn, (part), and most American authors. —
Picus medianus, Nutt., 1834. — -Dryobates pubescens, Cab., 1863, A. O. U. Check-list,
1889-1895.
Figure 89.
In general appearance precisely like the Hairy Woodpecker, but decidedly
smaller, the wing usually less than four inches long and the total length
from 6^ to 7 inches (See note under Hairy Woodpecker).
Distribution. — Middle and northern parts of eastern United States and
northward.
Probably the Downy Woodpecker, though actually not so abundant
as some other members of the fami]\-, is Ix'tter known than any other
woodpecker of the state. He is
a familiar resident not only of the
deep forests and smaller patches
of outlying woodland, but of nearly
every orchard and grove, even
coming regularly into the parks and
shaded streets of our towns and
villages and frequently nesting in
such places, particularly if the
English Sparrow is not super-
abundant. He shows a slight
tendency to withdraw to quieter
regions during the nesting period,
and is doubtless more conspicuous
in winter when the trees are leafless,
but nevertheless is in evidence at
all times of the year.
He is one of our most confiding
birds, and when busily at work
cutting out grubs from fruit trees,
or pecking into a dead stub for
burrowing larvae, will allow a quiet
observer to approach within a yard
or two and watch every movement.
Although he gets a large part of
his food from dead and more or
less decayed wood he also searches
the bark, limbs, and even the twigs
of apparently healthy trees in search of eggs, larvae, pupae and adult insects
of almost every kind, and we have no more indefatigable insect eater, and
probably few birds more beneficial to the farmer and fruit grower.
According to Beal, who examined 140 stomachs at the Department of
Agriculture in Washington, 74 percent of the food consisted of animal
matter and 25 percent of vegetable. The animal matter consisted almost
entirely of insects, of which ants formed about one-third (23 percent),
beetles another third (24 percent) and the remainder was made up largely
of caterpillars, with numerous bugs, among which were considerable
quantities of plant lice. The vegetable food, forming 25 percent of the
I- ig. 89. Downy Woodpecker.
From Coues' Key to North American Birds, 5th
ed., 1903. Dana Estes & Co.
LAND BIRDS. 349
stomach contents, consisted almost entirely of wild berries and seeds, with
a small amount of unidentifiable vegetable matter classed as rubbish.
The fruits taken were those of uncultivated plants and their consumption
caused no loss whatever to the fruit grower. The only item weighing in
any manner against the good character of the bird was the presence of
seeds of the poison ivy and poison sumac which were found in the stomachs
of 21 birds and sometimes in large numbers. These berries are eaten for
the nutritious, waxy pulp which surrounds the seed, and the seeds them-
selves, which are usually ejected by the mouth, are found to germinate
just as well afterwards. It is evident that these noxious plants owe their
wide distribution in large part to the birds which feed upon the berries,
and evidently the Downy Woodpecker does his part of this work.
In its consumption of insects the bird is decidedly useful, since it not
only eats many of the common pests of the orchard, but it visits plantations
of young trees, shrubs and even vines and hunts out injurious insects which
might otherwise gain a foothold and cause serious trouble. During the
winter it searches persistently for the hidden pupa and cocoons of various
insects and has been seen to drill through the silken cocoons of the cecropia
moth and devour the pupae within. It is credited also with the destruction
of the larvae of the codling-moth which often spend the winter hidden
beneath a thin scale of bark or a dry leaf cemented to the tree, and Dr.
Trimble's account of his discovery of this fact, in Morris county, N. J., is
worth repeating here. He writes "I was gratified in being able to ascertain
how he finds where to peck through the scales so as to be sure to hit the
appleworm that is so snugly concealed beneath. * * * g^^ what does
he do? By sounding, tap, tap, tap, just as the physician learns the con-
dition of the lungs of his patient by what he calls percussion. The bird
uses his beak generally three times in quick succession — sometimes oftener;
then tries another." One stomach was found to contain a codling-moth
larva and some beetles; another held one beetle, the heads of two codUng-
moth larvae and three small borers (Treatise on the Insect Enemies of
Fruit and Fruit Trees, pp. 116-117).
In its general habits the Downy Woodpecker quite closely resembles its
larger relative the Hairy Woodpecker, but, as already seen, it is more
likely to frequent the open country, and especially the orchards and trees
about houses. In nesting it also selects smaller trees or limbs, and the nest
is more often placed low down, often only two or three feet above the ground.
The eggs are commonly four or five, occasionally only three or as many as
six. They are pure white, unspotted, and average .77 by .58 inches. The
period of incubation is about twelve days. It begins nesting several weeks
later than the Hairy Woodpecker and eggs are not likely to be found
before the middle of May in southern Michigan, although in one instance
we found a nest of young in Ingham county May 8 (1897). On the other
hand, fresh eggs are frequently found the last week in May and occasionally
even in June. It seems probable that only one brood is reared in the season,
but birds which lose the first set of eggs are veiy likely to lay again.
The hole for the eggs is excavated by the birds themselves, and although
the same hole may be used year after year, probably in most cases a new
hole is made for each new set of eggs. Frequently single birds are found
excavating holes in midwinter, and they resort regularly to these holes to
roost throughout the year.
Of the voice of this bird E. P. Bicknell says: "In addition to its usual
short sharp note the Downy Woodpecker has a rattling cry which starts
350 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
and ends with an abruj)! precision suggestive of a nicclianical contrivance
set off with a spring. This is used in Ueu of song. It is set off for the first
time in the new year in March, usually about the middle, but sometimes
earlier and again not until the end of the month or even early April. It
is in use through the summer and autumn, often becoming infrequent
in October, and in November still more so; although in some years not
ceasing altogether until the end of the month. On a few occasions I have
heard it in winter" (Auk, II, 257-258).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Precisely like the common Hairy Woodpecker except for much smaller size and the
additional fact that in the present species the outer pair of tail-feathers is always more
or less barred with black, while in the Hairy these feathers are unspotted. The measure-
ments are: Length 6.25 to 7 inches; wing 3.40 to 4.05; tail 2.29 to 2.90; culmen .68 to .82.
167. Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker. Picoides arcticus (Swains.).
(400)
Synonyms: Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker. — Picus (Apternus) arcticus, Swains.,
1831. — Picoides arcticus, Gray, 1845, and most recent authors.
Plate XXXIII.
Reference to the accompanying plate will serve to identify this bird;
it can be known readily by its entirely black upper parts, except that the
male has a square golden-yellow patch on the crown, the female lacking
this mark.
Distribution. — Northern North America from the Arctic regions south
to the northern United States (New England, New York, Michigan, Minne-
sota and Idaho), and in the Sierra Nevada to Lake Tahoe.
The Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker has been confounded fre-
quently with its near relative the so-called American Black-backed Wood-
pecker, better called the ''Ladder-backed Woodpecker." The name
appearing in the A. O. U. Check-list for the present species is Arctic Three-
toed Woodpecker, but this name is objectionable since, of the two Three-
toed Woodpeckers this is the more southern in its distribution. It seems
better therefore, to call this bird (arcticus), the Black-backed Three-toed
Woodpecker, and the other form (which does not occur in Michigan as far
as we know) the Ladder-backed Three-toed Woodpecker.*
The Black-back is a fairly common species throughout the Upper
Peninsula and the heavily wooded higher parts of the Lower Peninsula,
but so far as we know it does not occur south of latitude 43° even in winter.
The southernmost record so far as we know is that of three specimens
taken, presumably at different times, near Port Huron, St. Clair county,
by Mr. John Hazelwood. Mr. N. A. Eddy took a male February 7, 1885,
on the Pine River, near Standish, Arenac county, and it is not uncommon,
according to Wood and Frothingham, in Ogemaw, Roscommon and Oscoda
counties, and has been recorded from nearly all the counties of the Lower
Peninsula north of this, as well as from most of the Upper Peninsula,
including Isle Royale. It is restricted mainly to heavily wooded regions,
but opinions differ widely as to the character of timber preferred. One
observer states that it frequents high lands and hardwood timber, another
*For additional note on this species see Appendix.
Plate XXXIII. Black-backed Three-toed "Woodpecker.
From North American Fauna, No. 16.
Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Agriculture.
LAND BIRDS. 353
that it is seldom seen outside the pine districts, and still another thinks
it should be looked for only in tamarack swamps. The truth probably
is that the bird is nowhere abundant and its choice of a residence and feed-
ing ground depends mainly upon the food supply. In one district there-
fore, it may be found in one sort of timber, and in another in a different
kind.
Its habits are by no means thoroughly known and much is yet to be
learned concerning them. Though usually considered resident wherever
found, it seems certain that it wanders farther south in winter and it would
not be surprising if stragglers were occasionally taken in the southern part
of the state, especially on the western side where the pine forests formerly
extended almost or quite to the Indiana line.
According to Bendire, "Both sexes assist in nidification, which is
usually at its height between May 20th and June 10th, as well as in
incubation, which lasts about two weeks. Only one brood is reared in
a season. The eggs are generally four, mostly ovate, the shell fine-grained
and only moderately glossy, and pure white." The eggs average .95 by
.71 inches. Although we are not able to give an instance of its nesting
within the state, there can be no doubt whatever that it breeds both in the
Upper Peninsula and in a large section of the northern half of the Lower
Peninsula.
Bendire states that its food seems to consist almost entirely of tree-boring
insects and their larvie, mainly Buprestidse and Cerambycidse, and this
seems to be borne out by Beal's examination of stomachs at the Department
of Agriculture. Audubon, however, states that it feeds also on berries
and fruits. Under any circumstances it cannot be considered harmful
to the agriculturist, and as its insect food is obtained almost entirely from
dead and decaj'ed wood it certainly does no harm to the forester; whether
on the other hand it confers any marked benefit is questionable. As a
rule the insects which infest dead trees are not those which have caused
their death, and therefore, their multiplication, which may be checked
by woodpeckers, would not be likely to cause further harm to the forests.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Toes two in front and one behind.
Adult male: Crown with a conspicuous squarish paich of satiny golden yellow; nasal
tufts black; forehead and stripe below eye white, bounded below by a narrow black stripe
starting from base of lower mandible; rest of upper parts glossy black, the ^ving feathers
alone with paired checks of pure white; under parts plain white, the sides and flanks barred
with black; middle tail-feathers entirely black, the outer ones white and without bars.
Adult female: Preciselj^ like the male except tliat it lacks the yellow crown patch.
Length 9.50 to 10 inches; wing 4.85 to 5.25; tail 3.60; culmen L40 to l.GO.
168. Sapsucker. Sphyrapicus varius varius. (Linn.). (402)
Synonyms: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied Woodpecker, Red-throated
Sapsucker. — Picus varius, Linn., 1766, and the older authors generally. — Sphyrapicus
varius, Baird, 1858, and most recent authors.
Plates XXXIV, XXXV.
The adult is known by the scarlet on the forehead and front pait of crown,
together with the i)ale yellow of the lower breast and belly. In addition,
the adult male has a bright red chin and upper throat. Both sexes have a
45
354 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
velvet black chest band, bvit the throat and chin of the female arc white.
Distribution. — Eastern North America north to about latitude 63-^°,
breeding from Massachusetts northward; south in winter to the West
Indies, Mexico and Costa Rica.
The Sapsucker is an abundant migrant in most parts of the state and
doubtless breeds regularly everywhere in the state except perhaps in the
southernmost three tiers of counties; even there it may nest occasionally
(one record for Monroe county). Farther northward it is a regular summer
resident becoming more numerous over the upper part of the Lower Penin-
sula and throughout the Upper Peninsula. It seems to prefer hardwood
growths and deciduous trees, although it is by no means absent from pine
regions. Ordinarily it appears from the south during the first half of April,
from the 1st to the 5th in the southern part of the state, and from the 12th
to the 20th farther north. It moves southward somewhat irregularly but
seems to be most abundant during the latter half of August. Occasionally
a few individuals spend the winter with us.
It is by no means a noisy bird, and as its tattoo closely resembles that of
other species, it may easily pass unnoticed unless attention is especially
called to it. It is our single woodpecker which is always mischievous,
and probably is the one least deserving of protection at the hands of the
fruit grower, farmer and forester. Its well known habit of perforating
the bark of fruit and shade trees with innumerable squarish holes, from
which it first extracts the soft inner bark or cambium and later drinks the
flowing sap, has given it the name of Sapsucker, to which it is fully entitled.
Many ingenious theories have been advanced to account for this remarkable
habit, but the simple truth of the matter is that the holes are made solely
to get the inner bark and the sap, never for the purpose of extracting insects
from the tree. True, the bird eats freely the insects which are subsequently
attracted by the flowing sap, but this is no part of the original plan. The
trees thus attacked are of various kinds, and probably at one time and
another almost every species of forest and orchard tree is attacked, but the
bird shows a particular fondness for the Scotch and Norway (red) pines, the
sugar maple, apple, pear, mountain ash, haw and white birch.
The late Frank Bolles gives the following summary of the habits of the
Sapsucker as observed by him in New Hampshire, from April to October,
in 1889 and 1890: "From these observations I draw the following con-
clusions: The Yellow-bellied Woodpecker is in the habit for successive
years of drilling the canoe birch, red maple, red oak, white ash, and probably
other trees for the purpose of taking from them the elaborated sap and in
some cases parts of the cambium layer; that the birds consume the sap
in large quantities for its own sake and not for insect matter which such sap
may chance occasionally to contain; that the sap attracts many insects
of various species, a few of which form a considerable part of the food of
this bird, but whose capture does not occupy its time to anything like the
extent to which sap drinking occupies it; that different families of these
Woodpeckers occupy different orchards, such families consisting of a male,
female and from one to four or five young birds; that the orchards consist
of several trees usually only a few rods apart, and that these trees are
regularly and constantly visited from sunrise until long after sunset, not
only by the woodpeckers themselves, but by numerous parasitical humming-
birds, which are sometimes unmolested but probably quite as often repelled ;
that the forest trees attacked by them generally die, possibly in the second
^ t «- r f ^ £ ^ »" M
Plate XXXIV. Sapsucker.
From Farmers Bulletin No. 7. Biological Survey,
U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Plate XXXV. Sapsucker. Photographed from life.
From Bird Lore. Courtesy of Dr. T. S. Roberts.
LAND BIRDS. 359
or third year of use; that the total damage done by them is too insignificant
to justify their persecution in well wooded regions" (Auk, II, 1885, 270).
Aside from the sap and bark eaten the bird has a varied diet. Eighty-
one stomachs examined' and reported on by Professor Beal, of the U. S. De-
partment of Agriculture, show that the food consisted of animal and vege-
table matter in exactly equal amounts. Forty-eight per cent of the food con-
sisted of insects, of which 36 percent was ants, 5 percent beetles, 2 percent
caterpillars, 3 percent flies, 1 percent grasshoppers, and 1 percent plant-
lice. The remaining 2 percent of animal matter was made up of spiders
and myriapods. The insect food thus consumed is, however, of slight
economic importance, from the fact that the ants are themselves of un-
certain value and the other forms because they are taken in such small
amounts. Undoubtedly some little good is done by the consumption of
caterpillars and plant lice, but the amount must be very shght. On the
other hand, about one-half of the vegetable food (23 percent of the whole
food) consisted of the inner bark of various trees, while most of the re-
mainder of the vegetable food was fruit. The fruits taken, however, with
the possible exception of some of the blackberries and raspberries, were all
wild fruits, and their consumption caused no loss to the fruit grower, It
is worthy of mention that only one stomach among the 81 examined con-
tained any seeds of the poisonous sumac, which is exceptional among the
woodpeckers, these birds as a rule being industrious planters of these
baleful seeds.
Probably this species of woodpecker, oftener than any other, excavates
its nesting hole in the trunk or branch of a sound and living tree. This is
by no means its universal custom, since nests are often found in dead wood,
but it frequently uses the living tree. It begins to nest about the first of
May, and digs a hole from eight to eighteen inches deep, the entrance being
perfectly circular and about one and one-half inches in diameter. The eggs
are from five to seven, and are laid, like those of most woodpeckers, on the
chips at the bottom of the hole, without any nesting material. They are
pure white, glossy, without spots, and average .86 by .66 inches.
A nest taken by Jerome Trombley, of Petersburg, Monroe county, Mich.,
was twenty-five feet up in a small basswood stub, near the edge of the woods.
It was ten inches in depth and contained five fresh eggs on May 25, 1880.
Another nest, of four fresh eggs, was found at Goodrich, Genesee county
May 19, 1887, and on Grand Island, Lake Superior, Mr. E. A. Doolittle
found several nests containing young the last week in June, 1906. Accord-
ing to Mr. Dunham it is a common summer resident in Kalkaska county,
and breeds. On the other hand, Mr. Newell A. Eddy, of Bay City, states
that from records extending over twenty years he finds nothing that
would indicate that it breeds in that locality.
In regard to its notes Mr. Bicknell states: " Perhaps at the time it passes,
April [Hudson Valley], it is not ready to begin courtship, and drumming,
which, as with other woodpeckers, in a measure takes the place of song,
is deferred until the birds are ready to seek their mates. I have never
known this woodpecker to drum in autumn. At that season it seems
especially reserved." In the vicinity of the Agricultural College the
Sapsucker drums freely in April and May, after which time it seems to
disappear and we have never found it nesting here. At Locke, however,
in the same county, Dr. Atkins found it a common summer resident and
'"•nesting; it has also been reported in summer from the southeastern part
of this county.
3()0 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
In a recent bulletin entitled Woodpeckers in Relation to Trees and Wood
Products (Bull. 39, Biological Survey, U. S. Dept. Agriculture, 1911), W.
L. McAtee devotes much space to the Sapsucker, and shows pretty con-
clusively that this bird, on the whole, does far more harm than good. Not
only does it kill valuable trees outright but its attacks cause distortion
of the trees themselves and irregularities in the woody layers, while the
punctures made for cambium and sap let in water, fungus germs, bacteria,
etc., which often result in serious damage to the timber.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Forehead, crown, chin and throat bright crimson, side of^head with two
white stripes and three black ones, the lowermost black one bordering the red throat and
running into the conspicuous velvet black patch on the vipper breast; rest of under parts pale
yellow or yellowish white, the sides and flanks spotted, streaked or barred with blackish;
upper parts mixed black and white, the rump and upper tail-coverts nearly white; wings
spotted with black and white and a conspicuous broad white stripe on the greater coverts,
forming a good field-mark; two middle tail-feathers mostly white on inner webs; outer tail-
feathers with only narrow white edgings or small spots near tips; bill bluish black; nasal
tufts white; iris brown.
Adult female: Similar to male, but the red of chin and tlu-oat replaced by pure white,
and the red of crown often mixed with gray or brown. Young birds of either sex usually
lack all red, or have only a few scattered red feathers on the crown, while the under parts
are more streaked and mottled, the black chest patch sometimes quite indistinct; the
species may always be recognized, however, by the white wing-patch and white-marked
middle tail-feathers, aside from the yellowish belly.
An interesting abnormality is noted occasionally in birds which seem otherwise adult.
It consists in the replacement of the red crown by glossy black, so that the entire top of
the head is clear black, with perhaps a few minute flecks of white or a tinge of red on the
forehead. The writer has seen four or five such specimens, all females, and P. A. Tav-
erner, of Detroit, has taken one or two.
Length 7.75 to 8.75 inches; wing 4.80 to 5; tail 2.90 to 3.20; culmen 1 to 1.08.
169. Log-cock. Phloeotomus pileatus abieticola (Bangs). (405a)
Synonyms: Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Pileated Woodpecker, Great Black Wood-
pecker, Cock of the Woods, Wood Cock, Wood Hen. — Ceophloeus pileatus abieticola.
Bangs, 1898. — Picus pileatus, Linn., 1766, Wils., 1811, Aud., 1834. — Dryocopus pileatus,
Bonap., 1838. — Hylotomus pileatus, Baird, 1858, and many sub.sequent authors. —
Ceophloeus pileatus, Cab., 1862, A. O. U. Check-list, 1889, 1895.
Plate XXXVI.
Known at once by its large size (scarcely less than the Crow) and pre-
vailing brownish black plumage with conspicuous red cap. The largest
by far of our woodpeckers.
Distribution. — Forests of the northern United States and northward to
about 63°. Toward the south it intergrades with Ceophloeus pileatus
pileatus, but as yet the limits of the two species have not been definitely
mapped. Resident and nesting (?) wherever found.
This, the largest of our woodpeckers, was formerly an abundant bird
throughout the state, but with the deforesting of the country it has become
more and more rare until at the present time it is seldom seen in the southern
half of the Lower Peninsula and probably is nowhere as abundant as it was
twenty years ago. Nevertheless, it is far from rare in the wilder parts of
the Lower Peninsula, and is fairly common in many districts in the Upper
Peninsula.
Among the lumbermen of the north it is commonly known as the " Wood
Plate XXXVI. Log-cock.
From Farmers Bulletin No. 7. Biological Siirvcj',
U. S. Department Agriculture.
LAND BIRDS. 363
Cock," a misnomer easily accounted for, since it is widely known as "Log-
cock" and of course recognized as a woodpecker. Bendire states that it
is also known in various parts of the country as "Black-log," "Black
Wood-cock," "Johnny-cock," "Wood Hen," and "Wood Chuck." He
states also that Mr. B. F. Gault says that in southeastern Missouri it is
known by the peculiar name of "Good Guard." The origin of this was
at first incomprehensible to us, but one of our students informs us that near
his home in South Carolina the bird is universally known among the negroes
as "Lord God," which is obviously a corruption of "Log-cock."
According to Bendire "the ordinary call-note is a loud 'cock-cock-cock'
several times repeated; another resembles the 'chuck-up' of the Red-
shafted Flicker, only somewhat slower, louder, and clearer; others again
remind me of the clacking of a domestic hen."
In Michigan the Log-cock appears to be resident wherever found, although
like most other woodpeckers it wanders widely in search of food. This
is obtained largely, if not entirely, from dead trees, and it seems not to be
at all material whether these are standing or fallen. With its powerful
beak it tears off the bark and cuts out great wedges of decaying wood,
thus exposing the grubs of the various beetles which are found in such
situations. It also feeds largely upon ants, which are likely to be found in
the same places, but it also resorts to the ground for these and other insects.
Mr. Manly Hardy, of Brewer, Me., states that he has seen one pick a large
hole "through two inches of frozen green hemlock to get at the hollow
interior, and it seemed impossible that a steel tool of the same size could
have done such work without being broken."
Most observers state that this bird is very shy, but this is contradicted
by others. Our own experience with the species is limited, but we once
spent an hour in following a Log-cock which allowed us to stand within
twenty feet and watch him at work for many minutes at a time.
We have few records of its nest in Michigan. A set of four fresh eggs was
taken from a hole two feet deep in a cherry stump, in a swamp in Al-
mena township, Van Buren county, April 26, 1889, by Mr. F. H. Chapin, who
took the female as she left the nest. Mr. Samuel Spicer of Goodrich, Gene-
see County, took two sets of eggs there in successive years from the same
pair of birds, one set containing three eggs, the other four. Both nests were
located in dead poplar stubs. Probably the years were 1886 and 1887, but
Mr. Spicer is not sure. From the fact that in Warren county. New York,
a nest was found with four eggs on May 15, 1878, and that C. H. Morrell
found four young just breaking through the shells May 28, 1895, and
three fresh eggs May 15, 1896, both at Pittsfield, Maine, it seems prob-
able that on the average May would be the most likely month for egg-
laying in Michigan. The eggs are pure white, unspotted, very fine
grained, and as glossy as if enameled. They average, according to Ridgway,
1.27 by .96 inches, but this includes northern and southern birds, and
since our northern form is decidedly larger than the southern, Michigan
eggs should exceed this. A single egg in our College collection, marked
" Lansing," and collected by Wm. K. Kedzie, measures 1.40 by 1.00 inch.
Probably but one brood is reared in the season. According to A. W.
Butler the period of incubation is about eighteen days.
It is unnecessary to give the records of all the specimens recently taken
in the state, but the following may ])e mentioned: One taken at Bangor,
Van Buren county, in the autumn of 1897, by Frank H. Shuver; seen in
Emmet, Cheboygan and Charlevoix counties in August and September,
and in Emmet, Mackinac, Alger and Luce counties in winter (F. H. Chapin) ;
3G4 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
reported from Oscoda county, July 5, and Alcona county, September 19,
1904 (Wood & Frothingham) ; one seen at Ann Arbor March 1, 1899 (Chas.
L. Cass); common in winter on Mackinac Island in 1889-91 (S. E. White);
common and breeds on Neebish Island, St. Mary's River (Major Boies);
frequent in Lake county in November, 1896 and 1900 (F. H. Chapin); not
uncommon in Kalkaska county in 1907 (W. H. Dunham) ; specimens in the
College Museum from Missaukee county, December, 1895; two taken near
Greenville, Montcalm county, in 1896 by the late Percy Selous; not un-
common at Chatham, Alger county, in July, 1903 (Barrows) ; four seen near
Houghton; Houghton county, in November 1904 (Wilbur H. Grant);
two taken near Okemos, Ingham county in 1905 (Barrows) ; not uncommon
on Isle Royale, Lake Superior, in 1905 (Max M. Peet) ; fairly common in
parts of Iron county in 1908 (Blackwelder).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire top of head (including the conspicuous crest) and patch at base of
lower mandible on each side, bright scarlet; side of head with a black stripe between two
white ones, the lower of which nms down the side of neck for several inches; rest of plumage,
above and below, entirely slaty or brownish black, except the lining of the wings, and the
basal half of the inner webs of all the wing-feathers, which are pure white; sometimes the
primaries also are white-tipped; tail entirely black; upper mandible blackish, lower mandible
largely whitish; iris brown.
Adult female: Similar to male, but only the occipital crest red, the forehead, crown,
and malar region being brownish gray or light slate color; the general color of the plumage,
moreover, is lighter and more slaty than in tlie male. Not much difference in the size of
the sexes.
Length 16 to 19 inches; wing 9 to 10; tail 6.75 to 7.40; cidmen 2.10 to 2.65; spread
of wings 25 to 29 inches.
170. Red-headed Woodpecker. Melanerpes erythrocephalus (Linn.). (406)
Synonyms: Rod-head, Tricolor. — Picus erytliroccphalus, Linn., 1758. — Melanerpes
erythrocephalus, Swains., 1831, and authors generally.
Figure 90.
Our only woodpecker with entirely red head and neck. Otherwise
conspicuous by the velvet black back, wings and tail, with large areas of
white on wings and rump.
Distribution. — United States, west to the Rocky Mountains, and north
from Florida to about latitude 50°, straggling westward to Salt Lake Valley
and Arizona; rare or local east of the Hudson River.
This is one of our best known woodpeckers, abundant in most places
and apparently not entirely absent from any section of the state. It
frequents equally the small groves of timber in
cultivated districts and the slashings and edges of
heavy timber in the wilder parts of the state. It
is the woodpecker oftenest seen in driving along
country roads, where it flies from fencepost to
telephone pole and by its noisy cries and striking
plumage attracts the attention of the most un- i.„,, .^ Jj^hefded Wood-
observant. pecker. (Original.)
The great majority of individuals move south-
ward at the approach of cold weather, returning again in numbers in the
latter part of April or early in May. A few, however, Hnger with us all
winter, at least in the southern half of the state, feeding largely on beech
LAND BIRDS. 365
nuts, but hunting insect larvse in decayed wood in the same manner as other
woodpeckers.
The food in summer is very varied and is about equally divided between an-
imal and vegetable substances. One hundred and one stomachs examined
at the Department of Agriculture, and reported on by Professor Beal, give
the following results: Animal food 50 percent, vegetable food 47 percent,
sand and gravel 3 percent. All but 1 percent of the animal food consisted
of insects, the remaining 1 percent being made up of spiders and myriapods.
The insect food included the following items: Ants 11 percent,
beetles 31 percent, grasshoppers 5 per cent, caterpillars 1 percent, plant
lice 1 percent. Unfortunately a very large part of the beetles eaten (24
percent) consisted of the predaceous families Carabidae and Cicindelida
(the ground beetles and tiger beetles), which are mainly beneficial. The
ants are of doubtful utility, so that practically the main good done in the
consumption of insects lies in the caterpillars, grasshoppers and plant lice
eaten, which aggregate only 7 percent of the food. To quote Prof. Beal
"A preference for large beetles is one of the pronounced characteristics of
this woodpecker. Weevils Avere found in 15 stomachs, and in several
cases as many as ten were present. Remains of Carabid beetles were found
in 44 stomachs to an average of 24 percent of the contents of those that
contained them, or ten percent of all. The fact that 43 percent of all the
birds taken had eaten these beetles, some of them to the extent of 16
individuals, shows a decided fondness for these insects, and taken with the
fact that 5 stomachs contained Cicindelids or tiger beetles forms a rather
strong indictment against the bird.'' In Tazewell county. 111., Professor
Forbes found it eating cankerworms freely in orchards overrun with them.
The 47 per cent of vegetable food covered 33 percent of fruit, much of it
cultivated, and a considerable amount of corn, much of it in the milk.
Among the cultivated fruits eaten freely were apples, pears, cherries, black-
berries, raspberries and strawberries, besides many wild fruits. The
Red-head is also known to eat both cultivated and wild grapes in quantity.
During autumn and winter it eats large numbers of acorns and beech nuts
and sometimes stores these away in large quantities in hollow trees, fence-
posts and similar cavities.
Practically the only favorable statement that can be made in regard
to the vegetable food of this bird is the fact that it does not seem to eat
the berries of poison sumac or poison ivy, and so is not one of the birds
responsible for the dis.tribution of these noxious plants.
One disagreeable trait which has been observed several times is its habit
of eating the eggs and even the young of other birds, and this not always
for the sake of getting them out of coveted nesting places, but apparently
from hunger, or from mere mischief. Dr. R. H. Wolcott wiites that he has
seen this bird destroy the eggs of the Wood Thrush and suspected it of other
depredations. Bendire gives several instances of what he calls its "cana-
balistic tendency."
Captain Bendire describes its notes as follows: "Its ordinary call-note
is a loud tchur-tchur ; when chasing each other a shrill note like charr-charr
is frequently uttered, an alarm is expressed by a harsh rattling note as
well as by one, which, according to Mr. Otto Widmann, is indistinguishable
from the note of the tree frog. He tells me that both bird and frog some-
times answer each other. * * * From an economic view it appears
to me certainly to do fully as much if not more harm than good, and 1
consider it less worthy of protection than any of our woodpeckers, the
Yellow-breasted Sapsucker not excepted."
366 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
In Kalamazoo county the late Richard B. Westnedge took nests of fresh
eggs from May 21 to May 28, and often farther north eggs are not laid
before the first week in June. The nest is a hole in the dead trunk or
branch of a tree, the entrance being about If inches in diameter and the
depth of the hole varying from eight inches to two feet. Usually the nests
are at a considerable height from the ground, rarely less than ten feet and
often sixty feet or more. Not infrequently telephone poles are used for
nesting, but we have never seen a nest in a fencepost. But one brood is
reared in the season, but, as with other species, a second laying is made
if the first set of eggs be taken (July 11, 1877, Kalamazoo county). The
eggs vary from four to seven, are white, unspotted and glossy, and average
.97 by .75 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire head and neck, all round, deep crimson; back, scapulars, and most
of wings glossy black; terminal half of secondaries, rump and upper tail-coverts pure white;
under parts, from lower neck to tail, pure white, sometimes washed with yellowish or
orange on the belly; tail entirely black, or a few of the outer feathers white-tipped; bill
blackish or horn-colored; iris brown.
Adult female: Similar to male, but usually with a narrow belt of clear black between
the red throat and white breast, and the inner secondaries always more or less barred or
spotted with black.
Young: Without any red, or only a few feathers, on head and neck, these parts brownish
gray, thickly spotted or mottled with blackish, and breast and sides streaked with the
same; rump and tail as in old birds; all the secondaries white, barred or spotted with black.
Length 9.25 to 9.75 inches; wing 5.30 to 5.70; tail 3.60 to 3.75; culmen .90 to 1.15.
171. Red-bellied Woodpecker. Centurus carolinus (Linn.). (409)
Synonyms: Zebra Bird, Zebra-back. — Picus carolinus, Linn., 1758, Wils., Aud. and
others. — Centurus carolinensis. Swains., 1837, and most subsequent authors.
Figure 91.
Our only woodpecker which shows any red on the belly, but often this
is a mere tinge, by no means conspicuous. On the other hand, the beauti-
fully cross-barred black and white back and wings are very conspicuous
and render the bird unmistakable.
Distribution. — Eastern and southern United States, north casually to
Massachusetts, New York, Ontario, southern Michigan, and central Iowa;
west to eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, Indian Territory and Texas.
The distribution of this bird in Michigan is of much interest. It seems
to be nowhere abundant, but is more frequently met with in the southern
half of the state, where, although not
common, it cannot be considered par-
ticularly rare. It is reported as a regular
migrant in almost every county in the
southern part of the state, as far north at
least as the Saginaw Valley, although it
seems to be rather more abundant on the
west side of the state than in the east.
B. H. Swales does not include it in his
list of the birds of St. Clair county (MSS.),
but Hazelwood finds it, though rarely, at Fig. 91. Red-bellled Woodpecker.
Port Huron. P. A. Taverner says it is very ^rom Bailey-s Handbook of Birds of the
rare about Detroit, has found it but once, Wc.ternu.s. Houghton. Mifflin &co.
LAND BIRDS. 367
in September. At Grand Rapids it is a common migrant, particularly in
spring, while in many of the southern counties it is said to be more frequently
seen in winter than at any other season. Dr. Atkins found it rather common
at Locke, Ingham county twenty-five years ago, and states that at least
three pairs nested there in 1884. Mr. F. H. Chapin noted it several times
in Eden township. Lake county, north of 44°, in 1896, and Major Boies
saw it several times on Neebish Island in the St. Mary's River, where he
says it undoubtedly breeds. This is north of 46°, and the northernmost
record for this species in the state. Major Boies' record has been ques-
tioned, but he is perfectly familiar with the species from long residence at
Hudson, Lenawee county, where it is fairly common, and there is no reason
whatever to doubt his identification. It is also certain that at most points
in Michigan where the species occurs regularly it is distinctly a migrant,
the greater number certainly moving northward in spring and returning
southward in the fall. Since it is well known that this bird winters in
southern Michigan frequently and without hardship there is no obvious rea-
son why it should not spend the summer as far north as it pleases. It is not a
very conspicuous bird and ordinarily is decidedly shy, seldom coming into
orchards or parks, but preferring the heavier growths of the river bottoms,
especially where beech and oak are the prevailing trees.
Undoubtedly it nests in Michigan wherever it occurs, but we have few notes
of nests actually found. Dr. Gibbs states that on May 15, 1873 he found
a nearly completed nest in Kalamazoo county, about six feet from the
ground, in a stump, and saw both the birds at work. The late Richard
B. Westnedge took a set of eight eggs from a dead elm stump in Kalamazoo
county, May 25, 1892. This nest was thirty feet from the ground, and the
hole was one and one-half feet deep. Samuel Spicer of Goodrich, Genesee
county, says this bird is rather common in that vicinity and nests. He
took one set of eggs from a hole in a sugar maple between 1881 and 1885,
and found another nest in a basswood but did not take the eggs. J. B.
Purdy, of Plymouth, Mich., took a set of five eggs, April 26, 1889, from a
hole in the top of a tall beech deep in the forest. Jerome Trombley, of
Petersburg, Monroe county, took a nest of four fresh eggs at that place,
May 23, 1882. It was forty feet up in a basswood stub. The hole was
about a foot in depth, two inches in diameter at the entrance, enlarging to
four or five inches at the bottom. Miss Harriet H. Wright, of Saginaw
writes as follows: "Last June (1907) I found a pair of Red-bellied Wood-
peckers nesting here in an old oak tree at the edge of a piece of woods.
Watched these birds until they were feeding young. I have never before
found them nesting here, have seen them during migration only." The eggs
are pure white, polished, unspotted, and average .96 by .71 inches.
The little that is known of the food of this species indicates that it is very
similar to that of the Redhead. Twenty-two stomachs examined at the
U. S. Department of Agriculture, and reported on by Professor Beal, showed
that vegetable matter formed 74 percent of the food, and animal matter
(all insects) the remaining 26 percent. Ants formed 11 percent, large
beetles 10 percent, and the remainder consisted of various insects. The
vegetable food is quite varied, but fruits are conspicuous and the bird
seems to be particularly fond of seeds of the poison Rhus, since they were
contained in six stomachs and formed twelve percent of the entire food
of the 22 birds.
In Florida, at least in some sections, this bird is known as the "Orange
Sapsucker" and "Orange Borer," owing to its fondness for oranges. It
368 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
eats into these in much the same manner that the Redhead attacks apples
at the north, but it rejects the skin and seeds, eating only the pulp. In
Michigan the bird is too scarce to have any economic importance.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire top of head and back of neck, from bill to shoulders, bright scarlet;
remainder of upper parts, including wings, closely and evenly barred with glossy black
and jjure white, the'rump and upper tail-coverts not quite so thickly marked with black;
sides of head, and entire imder parts, ashy gray of varying depth, sometimes tinged with
salmon on throat and breast, and the middle of the belly always strongly washed with
scarlet, sometimes almost as bright as the crown; middle tail-feathers black at tip, largely
white elsewhere; lateral tail-feathers barred with black and white; bill black; iris red.
Adult female: Similar to male, but the red of the head restricted to the nasal tufts,
occiput and nape, most of the top of the head ashy gray, like the breast; the red of the
belly is likely also to be fainter and less extensive, sometimes hardly more than a reddish
tinge.
Young birds are similar as regards pattern of coloration to adults of the same sex, but
are always much duller, the red of the head usually lacking altogether, the belly often
merely washed with buffy, and the black and white markings less sharply defined.
Length 9 to 10.10 inches; wing 4.85 to 5.50; tail 3.50 to 3.95; culmen 1 to L20.
172. Flicker. Colaptes auratus luteus Bangs. (412)
Synonyms: Northern Flicker, High-hole, Heigh-ho, High-holder, Wake-up, Wick-up,
Clape, Golden-winged Woodpecker, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Yellow-hammer, Pigeon
Woodpecker, Wood-pigeon, etc. — Cuculus auratus, Linn., 1758. — Colaptes auratus. Swains.,
1827, and most later writers. — Colaptes auratus luteus. Bangs, 1898.
Plate XXXVII.
The golden yellow of the lower surfaces of wings and tail, and the profuse
circular black spots ("polka-dots") of breast, sides and belly, are peculiar
to this species. The first mentioned character is a good field mark when the
bird passes above the observer, and the conspicuous white rump is an even
better mark as it flies away from him.
Distribution. — In summer northern and eastern North America from
North Carolina northward to Canada. In winter southward probably
beyond the limits of the United States, but records confused with those
of the southern form. Breeds throughout its summer range.
This is an abundant summer resident of the entire state and in most
sections is commonly referred to as the most abundant woodpecker. A few
individuals remain all winter, particularl}^ in the southern third of the
state, but the great majority move southward in September and October
and do not return until the following April.
This w^oodpecker.. differs widely in its habits from most others of the
family, getting a large proportion of its food from the ground and a cor-
respondingly small amount from the trees. In correlation with this habit
its bill is more curved and less chisel-shaped than in other members of the
family and it does not dig so readily into dead wood either soft or hard.
Apparently it never digs into living trees.
Its food consists largely of insects, among which ants form by far the
largest item. It is exceptional to examine a stomach wdiich does not
contain ants, and the average stomach contains hundreds, sometimes
even thousands. These are mainly ground-inhabiting species and of little
economic importance, so that the Flicker does no harm and possibly some
good by eating them. Two hundred and thirty stomachs examined at the
47
Plate XXXVII. Flicker. Adult male.
Courtesy of National Committee of Audubon Societies.
LAND BIRDS. 371
"U. S. Department of Agriculture, and reported on by Professor F. E. L. Beal,
showed 56 percent of animal matter, 39 percent of vegetable matter and 5
percent of sand. INIore than three-fourths of the animal matter consisted
of ants, so that they formed at least 45 percent of the entire food for the year.
In two cases the number of ants in single stomachs exceeded 3,000. Other
conspicuous insects found in the stomachs were large ground beetles,
mainly carabids, and others presumably beneficial. On the whole the
insect food of the Flicker does it little credit and its vegetable food does
not help the record much. It eats corn in the milk, and at least twenty
varieties of fruits, mostly wild. However, it eats cultivated cherries and
grapes, as well as candleberries or wax-myrtle berries (Myrica cerifera)
and berries of the poison ivy and poison sumac. On the whole its food
shows it to be of little economic account one way or another.
It nests commonly in May, selecting the decayed trunk of a tree and
excavating a hole from one to three feet in depth and usually at no great
height from the ground, most often from ten to thirty feet. It lays from
six to ten eggs, the usual number being seven or eight, but if all but one
or two be removed the Flicker has been known to continue laying until
fifty or more have been deposited. Apparently but one brood is reared
in a season, but, as with other birds, a second laying is made if the first
comes to grief.
It has a great variety of notes, some of which are indicated with more or
less exactness by the common names listed above. Eugene Bicknell says:
"Its long rolling call is usually given from some high perch, and has a free
far-reaching quality that gives it the effect of a signal thrown out over
the barren country as if to arouse sleeping nature. This call continues
irregularly through the summer, but then loses much of its prominence
amid the multitude of bird songs. It is not infrequent in September, but
later than the middle of October I have not heard it. Another vocal
acquirement of the High-hole is a sound much like that caused by the
whetting of a scythe. It is hardly necessary to allude to the familiar
call-cry of the species, which may well have conferred the name Clape
which this bird bears in certain sections. In the breeding season the High-
hole seems to be quieter than either before or after, perhaps from con-
siderations of caution" (Auk, Vol. II, pp. 259-260). Captain Bendire
gives the following description of some of its notes: "One of their com-
monest calls at this season of the year [spring] is a clear whick-ah, whick-ah;
another sounds like quit-u, quit-u, a number of times repeated; tchuck-up
tchuck-up, is another familiar sound uttered by them; a far-reaching
clape, clape, is also frequently uttered, while a quickly given rolhng or
rattling three-he-he-he-he and a low cack-cack-cack seems to be notes of
endearment. Another call, when courting its mate, sounds like ouit-ouit
and ends with a soft puir, puir, or a cooing yu-cah, yu-cah. Low chuckling
sounds are also frequently uttered during their love-making; another
common call note sounds like zee-ah, zee-ah and during the summer a clear
pi-ack, pi-ack, or pioh, is also frequently heard; in fact, no other of our
woodpeckers utters such a variety of sounds."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Top of head clear bluish-gray; occiput with a briglit scarlet crescent;
back, scapulars and wing-coverts brown, sharply barred with clear black; rump white,
unspotted; upper tail-coverts white, barred or marbled with black; sides of face above
372 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
and below eye, and entire throat, pinkish buff (vinaceous), the throat and cheek separated
by a velvet black malar patch; chest with a large jet-black crescent; breast, sides and belly,
pale brownish gray, thickly marked with circular or heart-shaped jet-black spots or " polka-
dots;" flanks and under lail-covcrts whitish barred with black; under surface of wings
and tail (except at tip) golden yellow, the shafts brightest; tail broadly black at tip, only
the outer feathers tipped and spotted on outer webs with whitish; bill blackish; iris brown.
Adult female: Precisely like the male, except that it lacks the black malar stripe or
" mustache," this region being of the same color as throat. The yovmg are scarcely different
from adults of tlie same sex, except that the colors are somewhat duller and the markings
not so sharp. The black mustache of the male is well developed before the young leave
the nest.
Length 12 to 12.75 inches; wing G to G.GO; tail 4.70 to 4.95; culmen 1.20 to 1.40.
LAND BIRDS. 373
Order XVI. MACROCHIRES. Goatsuckers, Swifts and Hummingbirds.
KEY TO FAMILIES.
A. Nail of middle toe pectinate (with a comb) on inner edge
Caprimulgida3. Whippoorwills and Nighthawks.
Page
AA. Nail of middle toe not pectinate. B, BB.
B. Each tail-feather tipped with a sharp spine (Fig.
92). Family 48. Micropodidse. Swifts.
Page
BB. Tail-feathers not spine-tipped; birds of very
small size, less than four inches long; plumage
more or less metallic. Family 49. TrochilidiD.
Hummingbirds. Page
Family 47. CAPRIMULGIDiE. Whippoorwills and Nighthawks.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. A conspicuous white patch in the middle of the wing (on several pri-
maries). Nighthawk. No. 174.
A A. No white patch on the wing. Whippoorwill. No. 173.
173. Whippoorwill. Antrostomus vociferus vociferus (Wilson). (417)
Synonyms: Caprimulgus vociferus, Wils. — Capr. virginianus, Vieill.
Plate XXXVIII.
The diminutive bill and immense mouth, taken in connection with the
very small feet and the pectinate middle claw, are distinctive marks of the
goatsuckers; in addition a conspicuous pure white patch in the wing marks
the Nighthawk, and the absence of such a spot indicates the Whippoorwill.
Distribution. — Eastern United States to the Plains, and from latitude
50° southward to Guatemala.
In Michigan the Whippoorwill is universally distributed, and although
nowhere abundant may be found in almost every section, except possibly
in regions where the woodland has been entirely removed, or in the most
populous districts immediately about the larger cities. In many places
where it was formerly common it is now reported as seldom heard, but it
is probable that it has not entirely disappeared from any of these sections.
It is not a particularly wary bird and even seems to prefer the vicinity of
dwellings, frequenting the open pastures and fields in farming districts
and seeming to have a special preference for sandy roads bordered by low
trees and bushes.
It is one of the later birds to ari-ive from the south, although it reaches
southern Michigan almost always in Api-il and even the northern part of
374 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
the state by the middle of May. It moves southward by the first of October
and the larger number probably pass entirely out of the United States to
winter, a few only lingering in the Gulf States. It is one of the birds much
oftener heard than seen, and its characteristic call resembles quite clearly
the words, whip-poor-will, the middle syllable being slighted and the first
and last syllables rather strongly accented. It has also numerous clucking
and purring sounds, which however, are inaudible at a distance. According
to Major Bendire it is much attached to its nesting sites and returns to the
same spots year after year. He says "Its flight is strong, swift, graceful
and entirely noiseless, gliding like a shadow across the ground in pursuit
of insects," which are mainly moths and beetles.
It nests rather early, the eggs in southern Michigan being laid from May
10th to 20th and somewhat later farther north. No nest whatever is
constructed, but the eggs are laid upon the dead leaves on the ground,
usually without the slightest hollow being prepared; in fact frequently
they are so placed that they will roll easily in any direction. The eggs are
two, creamy or pure white, spotted or blotched with lilac and brown.
They are regularly elliptical in outline, being of the same size at both ends,
and averaging 1.12 by .84 inches. Many observers claim that if frequently
disturbed the old bird will remove the eggs to another place, carrying
them in the mouth. It seems to be true that the eggs frequently disappear
soon after their discovery, but so far as we can learn no one has actually
seen the bird remove them. Jerome Trombley of Petersburg states that
"If you find a single egg of the Whippoorwill and do not take it it will be
gone next day; the old bird carries it off in her mouth invariabl3^ I have
noticed the disappearance many times." On the other hand many
observers have watched the eggs of the Whippoorwill, repeatedly disturbing
the birds, and have failed to cause the removal of the eggs. Bendire states
that after the young are hatched the mother is more likely to remove these
than the eggs, but it seems unlikely that these are carried in the mouth,
and Mr. H. W. Flint, of New Hampshire, Conn., once saw a female carry
a young bird about a rod. He says he does not think she used her bill,
liut is almost sure the claws and legs were used "as the young was hugged
close to the body." Like most other birds which nest on the ground the
mother makes every effort to prevent the discovery of the nest, and when
flushed often feigns lameness or other injury and attempts to decoy the
intruder away.
On its arrival from the south the Whippoorwill begins to "sing" almost
at once and continues until the young are well grown, but according to
Bicknell the note is seldom heard after the middle of the year (last of June),
although it is well known to sing in the autumn.
Its food, so far as known, consists entirely of insects, the larger part
of which are taken on the wing, but the bird frequently alights on the ground
to pick up food, although its feet are so weak that it does not run about
much. Undoubtedly it does some good by its consumption of injurious
insects, but in most places it is not abundant enough to be much of a factor
in this work.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill very small, but with long stiff bristles extending far beyond its tip; eyes very large;
feet small and weak, the claw of the middle toe pectinate (with a comb) on its inner edge;
tail rounded at end.
Adult male: Upper parts mottled with black, brown and silver gray, the top of head
broadly streaked with black in the middle, more narrowly on the sides, where the gray is
LAND BIRDS. 377
"more abundant; back, scapulars and wing-coverts similar, the degree of "frosting" quite
variable, the black markings tending to become cross-shaped; primaries blackish, spotted
and barred with rusty brown on both webs; chin and breast brownish black to sooty black,
more or less freckled with buff, the throat with a pure white collar; sides and belly buffy
white, finely and irregularly barred with black; middle tail-feathers like the back, the
others blackish, spotted and imperfectly barred with rusty buff, the three outer pairs
mostly pvu-e or buffy white, on the terminal half.
Adult female: Similar to male, but the white collar often buffy tinted, and the white
of the tail much more restricted, only the tips of the three outer pairs being whitish (usually
buffy).
Length 9.50 to 10 inches; wing 5.80 to 6.70; tail 5.10 to 6.50.
174. Nighthawk. Chordeiles virginianus virginianus (Gmelin). (420)
Synonyms: Bull-bat, IMusquito Hawk, Will-o-the-wisp. — Caprimulgus popetue Vieill.
— Chordeiles popetue, Baird. — Caprimulgus virginianus, Gmelin, 1789. — Cliordeiles
americanus, DeKay.
Plate XXXIX.
The goat-sucker characteristics, plus the white wing-spots, mark this
species. See remarks under Whippoorwill and examine plate.
Distribution. — Northern and eastern North America, west to the Great
Plains and central British Columbia, and from Labrador south through
tropical America to the Argentine RepubHc.
One of the best known of our summer birds and one of the latest to arrive
from the south. It is rarely seen even in the southern counties before
the 10th of May and frequently does not arrive until the 15th or 20th.
Its nesting is correspondingly late and eggs are rarely found before the
first week in June, while many are deposited late in that month or even
early in July. Captain Bendire states that the earhest date on which he
has known eggs to be deposited in the north was on May 27, in southern
Michigan. He further states that as a rule only a single brood is reared
in a season, but that a second laying occurs if the first is destroyed. He
gives the period of incubation as sixteen days and states that both sexes
assist.
The eggs are laid on the bare ground, usually in an open field or on a
bare rock, or not infrequently on the flat and gravelled roofs of buildings
in cities and towns. We have never known the eggs to be laid in woods
or even in the shade of a bush, but invariably in the open. In this respect
the bird is entirely unlike the Whippoorwill, which always lays its eggs in
the woods. The eggs, according to Ridgway, are pale olive buff, buffy
white, grayish white, etc., thickly speckled and dashed with deep brown,
olive, blackish, and usually with pale bluish gray. They average 1.19
by .85 inches. In regard to the coloration of the eggs Bendire says "There
is endless variation in the markings. Scarcely any two sets resemble
each other closely, and I consider the egg of the Nighthawk one of the most
difficult ones known to me to describe satisfactorily."
The note of the Nighthawk is a peculiar, loud, nasal call which may be
heard at a long distance and once heard is not likely to be confounded with
any other bird note. It is, however, very difficult to describe. Bendire
speaks of it as "their querulous and squeaky call note sounding like ceh-eek.
ceh-eek, or speek-ftpcck," Chapman, however, doscril)CS it better as "a
loud nasal peent."
It files freely by day, but is rather crepuscular than diurnal or nocturnal.
During its soutlnvard migrations it may be seen in Large, hiose flocks flying
378 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
in the bright sunlight, and at almost any time of day, but it seldom feeds
freely at such times, hunting mostly on cloudy days and particularly dur-
ing the morning and evening twihght. During moonlight nights it may
fly all night, but except when feeding young this does not seem to be
its usual custom.
During the mating season the male rises to a considerable height and then
suddenly dives toward the earth with incredible velocity, checking itself
suddenly, sometimes when within a few yards of the ground, and sweeping
upward again nearly to its original height. As it checks itself in its fall
the air rushing between the primaries produces a peculiar roaring sound
which has been aptly likened to the sound made by blowing into the bung-
hole of an empty cask. When children we were told that this sound was
made by the whistling of air through a hole in the wings, and the white
spot in either wing was pointed out as the actual hole. It is needless to
say that the white spot has nothing to do with the sound, which is similar
to that produced by several other species under similar circumstances,
notably by Wilson's Snipe.
This species is well distributed over the state, fairly abundant in most
sections, and well known to most dwellers in the country. Under such
circumstances it is amazing that it is so generally confounded with the
Whippoorwill. True, the two birds are close relatives, but they are de-
cidedly unlike in shape, coloration and habits. The Nighthawk has long
pointed wings, each with a conspicuous white spot, a somewhat forked tail,
and under parts strikingly barred crosswise with black and white. The
Whippoorwill has comparatively short and rounded wings, a rounded tail,
and under parts streaked and mottled but scarcely barred. The Whippoor-
will is practically restricted to the woods, rarely visits the open fields until
after dark, and seldom makes long flights in search of food, being content
to flit about here and there, alighting frequently on fenceposts, boulders,
or on the ground, in order to pick up insects. It is never seen flying high
in the air by daylight, and finally its eggs are laid always in the woods,
and though shaped like those of the Nightliawk are very differently colored.
The food of the Nighthawk consists entirely of insects, the great majority
of which are taken on the wdng. It seems to be remarkably fond of ants
and as many as' 1800 ants have been found in a single stomach. These
of course are the winged ants, the mating swarms, which fly in such numbers
in afternoon and evening, particularly in the late summer. Beetles of
various kinds are also eaten freely, and among them have been found a
few Colorado potato bugs and striped cucumber beetles. In addition,
flies, moths, grasshoppers, and an immense variety of other insects are
taken. The birds become very fat in the fall and when moving southward
in large numbers during the latter half of August thej^ are sometimes shot
for food, particularly at the south. Unquestionably they are valuable
allies of the agriculturist and should be rigidly protected from destruction.
Up to about 1897 the Nighthawk was a very abundant bird throughout
Michigan, as elsewhere at the north. Each year, late in August, great flocks
appeared in the afternoon, and sometimes for an hour or two the air would
be fairly alive with them, all feeding more or less, but steadily working
southward. Then followed a decade of rapid and marked decrease; migrat-
ing flocks were no longer seen and it seemed possible that the complete
extermination of the species might be at hand. Since 1906, however, there
has been a decided gain in numbers, and with better legislation and the grow-
Plate XXXIX. Nighthawk.
Courtesy of National Committee of Audubon Societies.
LAND BIRDS. 381
iiig sentiment for protection of all our insect eating birds it seems likely
that the species may regain its former numbers.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
This bird lias the general appearance of the Whippoorwill, together with the small bill
large eye, weak feet and pectinate middle claw; the bristles about the mouth, however,
are very small, the wings are long and pointed, and the tail is emarginate or somewhat
forked.
Adult male: Upper parts black, more or less spotted or mottled with buff or rusty on
top of head, back and scapulars, and with whitish on the wing-coverts; sides and back of
neck with series of buffy spots forming imperfect stripes; a whitish line over the eye; a
broad v-shaped white collar on the middle throat; chin and lower throat blackish, spotted
with buff or white; rest of under parts narrowly and evenly barred with blackish and pure
or buffy white; primaries black, with a conspicuous white patch crossing most of them
about the middle and looking like a hole through the wing as the bird is seen flying 'over-
head; tail black or brownish-black, with five or six narrow and imperfect whitish cross-
bars and a broad pure white band near the end; iris dark brown.
Adult female: Very similar to male, but the v-shaped collar buffy instead of pitre white,
the white wing-patch smaller, the white tail-band altogether wanting, and the under parts
more bviffy or rusty. Yoimg: Similar to female, but more mottled above' and less dis-
tinctly barred below.
Length 9 to 10 inches; wing 7.30 to 8.25; tail 4.30 to 4.75.
Family 48. MICRO PC) 1)11 ).K. Swifts.
(Only one species found in Michigan.)
175. Chimney Swift. Chaetura pelagica (Linn.). (423)
Synonyms: Swift, Chimney Swallow, Chinmey Sweep. — Hirundo pelagica, Linn., 1758.
— H. pelasgia, Linn. 1766. — Cypselus pelasgia, Aud.
Plate XL and Figure 92.
Known readily by its uniform sooty color, with slightly paler throat,
and the short stiff tail, each feather pointed with a strong sharp spine
(Fig. 92).
Distribution. — Eastern North America, north to Labrador and the Fur
Countries, west to the Plains, and passing south of the United States in
winter at least to Jalapa, Mexico, and Cozumel Island.
The Chimney Swift is an abundant summer resident throughout the
entire state, apparently as numerous along the Lake Superior shore as in
the southern counties. It arrives from the south the last
of April or first of May, coming usualh^ in flocks of con-
siderable size and attracting attention at once by its sharp
twittering, the only note commonly uttered by the bird.
It begins to nest soon after its arrival, but apparently
few eggs are laid before the last of May or the first of Juno.
We have records of fresh eggs on June 8 and June 17 in
Kalamazoo county, and there is little doubt that the bird ^. g.,
rears a second brood in most parts of the state during July. Tail of chimney
While it nests most commonly in chimneys, placing the nest ^^'""
from five to twenty feet from the top, it is also known to nest somewhat
frequently on the insides of barns, and less often still in hollow trees. The
latter method undoubtedly was once its universal custom, and probably
382 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
in many parts of the state the nest is still so placed, but owing to the habits
of the bird, and its al)undance everywhere, the fact escaj^es notice. Dr.
W. H. Dunham, of Kalkaska, states that in Kalkaska county it is an
abundant summer resident and nests in hollow trees and also in wells,
placing the nest in the latter case from six to eight feet below the surface.
The nest is made of small twigs broken by the bird from the tips of dead
branches and fastened to each other and to the wall by the gummy saliva
of the bird, which is especially modified for this purpose. The nest is often
only a narrow platform, at first barely large enough for the five or six pure
white, unspotted, elongated eggs, but later the platform is enlarged and
the edge turned up so as to make it more or less saucer-shaped. At best,
however, it is small and shallow and never contains any lining. The young
are fed for a time in the nest, but usually after the second week they get out
of the nest and cling to the wall near it. According to very careful observa-
tions made by Otto Widmann of St. Louis, Mo., the period of incubation
is about eighteen days, and about thirty days more is required before the
young are able to fly. Mr. Widmann does not believe that two broods
are reared in Missouri, but thinks that the first nesting is very uncertain,
depending largely on the weather, and that consequently some birds get
their young on the wing while others £Cre still incubating eggs.
The food of this species consists entirely of winged insects, which are
very largely two-winged flies, and presumably it is decidedly beneficial.
It has been claimed that this bird, as well as some of the true swallows,
carried bedbugs from house to house, but there seems to be nothing whatever
to warrant such a belief.
In collecting twigs for the nest there is some difference of opinion as to
the action of the bird. Some observers claim that the twig is seized with
the feet and broken off by the weight of the bird, and that the twig is then
carried away in the feet. On the other hand, most observers apparently
think that the twig is seized in the beak and held there during the flight
to the nest. More careful observations on this point are desirable.
The spring arrival of the Swift is quite variable in different seasons,
ranging in southern Michigan (Petersburg) from April 13, 1885 to May
12, 1902, but the average date for that locality is not far from May 1st.
At Bay City the arrivals average three or four days later, and at the Sault
a week or ten days later.
Sometimes on their first arrival in spring, but more commonly in late
summer after most of the young are on the wing, the Swifts gather in large
flocks toward nightfall, and after sweeping in great circles about some
favorite chimney, they form a conical cloud, somewhat like a cyclone
funnel, and drop rapidly from the apex into the chimney, where they roost
for the night. Favorite resorts of this kind, usually abandoned factory
chimneys or the unused chimneys of public buildings, are thus occupied
year after year, but apparently these places are never used for nests. The
earlier naturalists record the use of hollow trees in the same manner, and Mr.
J. Foster, of Pompeii, Mich., tells us that several years ago, while coming
down the Maple River, in Gratiot county, not far from Washington town-
ship, just after daylight he saw an immense flock of Swifts come out of
"a big hollow stub" close to the river.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
General color dark sooty brown, usually with a greenish tinge, blackening on top of head,
on lores, and on outer wing-feathers, lightening to grayish brown on rump, upper tail-
Plate XL. Chimney Swift.
Photograph from life by R. H. Beebe. Courtesy of Bird Lore.
Plate XLI. nuinininKl)ir(l on nest.
riiotoKraph from life by Frank M. ('liai)inan. (Bird Lore.)
LAND BIRDS. 387'
coverts and upper surface of tail, and to grayish white on the chin and throat; shafts
of wing and tail-feathers shining black, those of the tail prolonged one-fourth to one-half
an inch beyond the vanes of the feathers as stiff and very sharp spines; bill and feet black;
iris dark brown. Sexes alike in size and color, and young scarcely different.
Length 4.75 to 5.50 inches; wing 5 to 5.25; tail L90 to 2.15.
Family 49. TROCHILID/E. Hummingbirds.
(Only one species found in Michigan.)
176, Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Archilochus colubris (Lmw.). (428)
Synonyms; IIumniingl)ird, Common Ilununingbirtl, Hummer, Ruby-throat. —
Trochilus colubris, Linn. 1758, and most recent authors.
Plate XLI.
This, the smallest of our birds, measuring always less than four inches
from tip of bill to tip of tail, is not likely to be mistaken for any other
species, its metallic colors and humming flight, in connection with its
diminutive size, rendering such an error impossible. Not infrequently,
however, it is mistaken for one or another of our hawk-moths (Sphingidfe),
or rather the moth is mistaken for the bird.
Distribution. — Eastern North America to the Plains, north to the fur
countries, breeding from Florida to Labrador, and south in winter to Cuba,
Mexico and Veragua. A few individuals spend the winter in southern
Florida.
The Hummingbird is too well known to need description. In Michigan
it appears with the bloom on the apple orchards, rarely before the first of
May, often not before the 10th of the month even in the southernmost
counties. The average in ten years at Petersburg, Monroe county, is May
8, while at Bay City it appears nearly ten days later. It is not uncommon
in any part of the state, but appears to be most abundant in cultivated
districts where an abundance of bloom is to be found. It is frequently seen
however, in the depths of the forest, and a prettier sight can hardly be
imagined than two or three of these beautiful birds, in full spring plumage,
visiting the brilliant blossoms of the columbine in some quiet place in
the deep woods.
As is well known, this bird feeds largely upon the nectar of flowers, but
it undoubtedly eats numberless small insects at the same time. These
have been found in considerable numbers in its stomach, and it has been seen
to capture plant lice, small spiders, and numerous other small insects,
while Professor Aughey records finding four small locusts in the stomach
of one taken in Nebraska in June 1875. Nevertheless it seems probable
that its principal food is the nectar of flowers and other sweet vegetable
juices. It visits the bark punctures made by the Sapsucker, drinking the
sweet sap with avidity, and in autumn it sucks the sweet juices from
bruised or injured fruits, particularly pears, although there is no reason to
suppose that it ever attacks sound fruit of any kind.
The nest is one of the daintiest built by birds and is usually so skilfully
placed and so carefully covered with lichens, moss, cobwebs and other
materials as to be readily taken for a knot or excrescence on the branch of
a tree, so that it is not easily discovered. The bird generally selects a
more or Ipss horizontal branch, at no great height above the ground and
388 MICHIGAN P.IK1) IJFE.
usually at some little distance from the trunk of the tree, conuuonly saddling
the nest on a branch an inch in diameter or less. Occasionally it is
placed in a small fork, and more rarely still in one of the main forks of
a large tree. It is built of various soft fibers, mainly or entirely vegetable,
among others the down from various kinds of ferns, the milkweed down,
and the silky filaments from different kinds of willows and poplars. These
are held together largely by spider's silk, and the whole structure averages
about one and one-half inches in diameter outside and a little less in depth.
Internally the cup is about an inch across and a little more than half an inch
deep. The eggs are invariably two, pure white, with a polish, nearly
elliptical in shape, and average .50 by .31 inches. They are laid, in this lat-
itude, in June, the date varying somewhat with the season and locality.
There is some reason to believe that a second brood is reared in August, but
we have no positive evidence in support of this, except that Mr. B. H. Swales
found two fresh eggs in the vicinity of Detroit, July 15, 1896, and the late
R. B. Westnedge found two eggs far advanced in incubation, July 26, 1891,
at Kalamazoo. The earliest record, furnished by the same collector, is of
two fresh eggs taken June 3, 1892 in Kalamazoo county, and his notes refer
to other nests as follows: Fresh eggs June 16 and June 23, 1888, June 10,
13 and 15, 1891. At Plymouth, Wayne county, J. B. Purdy found nests
on June 11 and June 18, 1904.
The parent often betrays the location of the nest by diving at the passerby,
swooping back and forth past his head like an angry bumblebee. While
this action does not invariably indicate the proximity of a nest this is usually
the case.
Probably the Hummingbird is not particularly valuable on account
of any service rendered the agriculturist, but it is known to aid in the
cross-pollination of flowers, and it probably at the same time distributes
some plant diseases, as has been shown to be the case with pear-blight.
When visiting flowers with deep tubular corollas, like those of the trumpet
creeper (Bignonia), it frequently pierces the corolla near the base, thus
reaching the nectar without being compelled to enter the corolla bodily.
Its ordinary note is a high-pitched, insect-like chirp repeated many times
in succession, especially when two birds are chasing each other and when
two males give battle, as they frequently do.
Although commonly supposed to be very sensitive to cold, and individuals
are sometimes found apparently benuml)ed and unable to fly on very cool
mornings, yet the bird seems to be in no hurry to move southward in the
fall, remaining always until after the first of September, and not infrequently
until the very end of the month. In fact, Octol)er records are not paiticu-
larly rare; Major Boies records seeing one in October on Neebish Island,
in the St. Mary's River, and Swales found several near Detroit on October
2, 1893.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Upper ])art,s uniform metallic bras.sy green, as are also tiie sides and flanks;
entire cliin and throat rich metallic ruby-red endinji shar|)ly against the grayish white breast,
wiiicli darkens to dull gray on Ix'lly and under tail-coverts; wings purplish brown above;
tail similar but blacker, forked; l)ill black; iris dark brown.
Adult female: Similar above to male, but duller green on head; throat grayisli, without
trace of metallic coloring; rest of under parts dull whitish; tail double-rounded, not forked,
tlie middle pair of feathers entirely green, the rest green at base with a broad sul)-terminal
l)lack bar, the three outer pairs tipped with white. Immature birds resemble the adult
female, but sex is indicated by shape of tail.
Length 3.25 to 3.85 inches; wing 1.60 to 1.80; tail 1.20 to 1.25.
LAND BIRDS.
389
Order XVII. PASSERES. Perching Birds.
This, by far the largest order represented in the state, contains nineteen
famiUes and about one hundred and fifty species, or approximately one-half
the bird-species of the state. Although known collectively as Perching
Birds or The Perchers, they are by no means the only birds which perch,
and moreover many species within the order are mainly if not entirely
terrestrial, for example the Horned Larks, the Tit-lark, the Longspurs
and a few others. Eighteen of the families are grouped under the Suborder
Oscines, or Singing Birds, the remaining family, the Tyrannidae. alone repre-
senting in Michigan the Suborder Clamatores, or Songless Perchers.
KEY TO FAMILIES.
1. Upper mandible distinctly hooked, toothed, or notched at tip. A, AA.
A. The tips of mandibles crossed laterally (Fig. 111).
Crossbills. Family 56. Fringillids.
AA. The tips of mandibles not crossed laterally. B, BB,
BBB.
B. Bill strongly hooked and toothed, compressed
(higher than wide at base), with four or five
strong bristles on the rictus
(upper edge of mouth near
corner) (Fig. 130). Family 60.
Laniidse. Shrikes.
BB. Bill slightly hooked and toothed,
depressed (wider than high at
base) with four or five bristles
on the rictus (Fig. 93). Family
51. Tyrannidae. Flycatchers.
BBB. Bill slightly hooked or notched,
about as wide as high at base.
S, ss.
S. Head with a prominent crest,
no bristles on the rictus (Fig. 129).
Family 59. Bombycillidic. Waxwings.
SS. Head without crest, rictus with three
bristles (Fig. 132.) Family 61.
Vireonidffi. Vireos.
2. Upper mandil)le indistinctly or not at at all hooked,
toothed or notched at tip. C, CC.
C. Tips of folded wings reaching beyond tips of middle
tail-feathers. D, DD.
D. Tail more or less forked (Fig. 123), or first
primary longest, or botli. Family 58.
HirundinidiE. Swallows.
DD. Tail square or rounded, first primary
only one-third as long as longest (Fig.
147). Some Nuthatches. Family 69.
Sittidic.
Fig. 93.
390
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
CC. Tips of folded wings not reaching to tips of
middle tail-feathers. E, EE.
E. Head crested (Fig. 129), tail tipped with
bright yellow. Family 59. Bombycillidse.
Waxwings.
EE. Crested or not, the tail not tipped with
bright yellow. F, FF, FFF.
F. First primary much more than half as long
as the longest. (Fig. 108.) G, GG.
G. Tertiaries in folded wing reaching
nearly to tips of primaries.
Meadowlark and Pipit. Families
55 and 64.
GG. Tertiaries not reaching
nearly to tips of pri-
maries. H, HH. ^~^
H. Claw of hind toe
little curved, at
least twice as long
Fig. 123.
Fig. 147.
Fig. 97.
Horned Larks.
Fig. 102
as long as
claw of middle toe (Fig.
97). I, II.
I. Chin and throat yellow
or yellowish; a feather
horn on each side
of crown (Fig. 96).
Family 52. Alaudida3.
II. Chin and throat without trace of yellow; no
feather-horns. Longspurs and Snow Bunt-
ings. Family 56. Fringillidse.
Claw of hind toe much curved, less than twice
the length of the middle claw (Fig. 102).
J, JJ.
Cutting edge of upper mandible with a low
tooth-like lobe or projection about midway
(Fig. 122); plumage mainly red and black
or black and olive. Scarlet Tanager. Fam-
ily 57. Tangarida3.
JJ. Cutting edge of upper mandible without
tooth-like lobe. K, KK.
K. Bill conical, short, its height at base
one half or more of the length of culmen
(Fig 120). L, LL.
L. First or second primary longest;
nostrils not covered by bristles;
outer tail-feathers shorter than
middle ones. Cowbird and Bob-
olink. Family 55. Icterida.
LL. First and second primary not
longest, or if so, the nostrils
hidden by bristles, or the tail
more or less forked, or both.
Family 56. Fringillidpe. Spar-
rows, Finches, Grosbeaks, etc.
^
LAND BIRDS. 391
KK. Bill conical, longer, its height at base
equal to or less than one-half the
ciilmen (Fig. 106). M, MM.
M. Birds 6 to 12 inches long, the wing
(except in the Orchard Oriole)
p. ^^g ~ always exceeding 3^ inches.
^^' " Family 55. Icteridse. Orioles
and Blackbirds.
MM. Birds 44^ to 7^ inches long, the
wing seldom exceeding 3 inches,
never more than 3^ inches.
Family 63. Mniotiltidse. Wood
^'^- "'^- Warblers.
FF. First primary about
half the length of
longest (Fig. 145). N, NN.
(See also FFF).
N. Tail-feathers with soft, ^'^- ^^^■
rounded tips. 0. 00.
0. Wing less than 4.75 inches. P, PP.
P. Head crested. Tufted Titmouse. Family 70.
Paridse.
PP. Head not crested. Family 67, Troglodytidae,
Wrens, and Family 66, Mimidie, Thrashers.
00. Wing 5 inches or more. Family 53. Corvidse.
Crows and Jays.
NN. Tail-feathers stiff, sharp-pointed. Family 68.
Certhiidae. Creepers.
FFF. First primary not more than one-third as long as the
longest (Fig. 151). Q, QQ.
Q. First primary about one-third as long as the longest.
R, RR.
R. Wing less than 2^ inches. Family 72. Sylviidse.
Kinglets and Gnatcatchers.
RR. Wing more than 2J inches. Family 70. Paridae,
Chickadees, and Family 69, Sittidse, Nut-
hatches.
QQ. First primary not more than one-fourth as long as
the longest (Fig. 151). Family 73. Turdidffi.
Thrushes and Bluebirds.
Suborder CLAMATORES. Songless Perchers.
Family 51. TYRANNIDtE. Flycatchers.
A large family of interesting birds, represented in Michigan by only nine
or ten species. All are insect eaters of the best type, and most of this food
is taken on the wing, the structure of the entire bird being specially adapted
for this work. A characteristic action is the selection of a particular
perch from which the flycatcher makes sudden sallies to capture pass-
ing insects with an audible snap of the bill, returning directly to the chosen
392 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
perch to swallow its prey and watch for more. The smaller species are
mure readily identified by note, action and nest than by plumage.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Larger species, wing about four inches or over (3.90 to 4.75). B, BB.
B. Tail all one color, black or brownish-black. C, CC.
C. Breast uniform light brownish-gray; belly cinnamon. Say's
Phoebe. No. 180.
CC. Breast dark, mottled olive, divided by a median light stripe;
belly yellowish white. Olive-sided Flycatcher. No. 181.
BB. Tail not of one color. D, DD.
D. Tail-feathers blackish with conspicuous white tips; crown with
a concealed patch of orange. Kingbird. No. 177.
DD. Tail-feathers (except middle pair) with the inner vanes bright
rufous or chestnut. Crested Flycatcher. No. 178.
A A. Smaller species, wing not over 3^ inches. E, EE.
E. Wing from 3 to 3^ inches. F, FF.
F. Tail more than 3i inches. Phoebe. No. 179.
FF. Tail less than 3 inches. G, GG.
G. Upper parts dark olive brown; top of head darker than
back; two white wing-bars. Wood Pewee. No. 182.
GG. Upper parts olive green; top of head same shade as back;
two buffy wing-bars. Acadian Flycatcher. No. 184.
EE. Wing less than 3 inches. H, HH.
H. Upper parts olive-brown; throat nearly white. I, II.
I. Wing 2.60 inches or more; wing-bars -yellowish. Alder
Flycatcher. No. 185.
II. Wing 2.60 inches or less; wing-liars white. Least Fly-
catcher. No. 186.
HH. Upper parts olive-green. J, JJ.
J. Under parts, including throat and belly, pale suli)hur
yellow, shaded with olive on sides and breast. Yellow-
bellied Flycatcher. No. 183.
JJ. Throat and belly usually pure white; sides and flanks
tinged with yellow. Acadian Flycatcher. No. 184.
177. Kingbird. Tyrannus tyrannus (Linn.). (444)
Synonyms: Bee-bird, Bee Martin. — Lanius tyrannus Linn. 1758. — Lanius tyrannus
var. carolinensis, Gniel. 1788. — Tyrannus intrepidus, Vieill. — Tyrannus carolinensis
J^aird, 1858.
Plate XLII and Figure 93.
Easily known by the slate-gray upper parts, pure white under parts,
and black tail with conspicuous terminal band of white. The adult has a
concealed patch of orange red on the crown which can be displayed or hidden
at will.
Distribution. — North America from the British Provinces south in winter
through eastern Mexico, Central and South America. Less common west
of the Rocky Mountains.
The Kingbird is one of our largest and best known flycatchers, universally
Plate XLII. Kingbird.
From Coues' Key to North American Birds.
Dana Estes & Co.
LAND BIRDS. 395
distributed throughout the state in summer, and nesting freely along our
highways and in orchards everywhere. It is noted mainly for its frequent
and courageous attacks on crows and hawks, which have won for it the name
''Kingbird," and it has also obtained, more or less unjustly, a reputation
for the destruction of honey bees which has given it the name of "Bee
Martin " or " Bee-bird." Its valor in defence of its nest is not to be doubted,
but the facts as regards bee-eating do not warrant the general opinion.
It has been shown most conclusively, by the examination of numerous
stomachs, as well as by careful observation of the living bird, that it seldom
eats worker bees, usually contenting itself with drones. Of course it makes
an occasional mistake and snaps up an armed worker, undoubtedly paying
a severe penalty for its carelessness. The stomach examinations just
referred to (281 stomachs), made under our own direction, in the U. S.
Department of Agriculture, showed that about 90 percent of the food
consisted of animal matter, most of which was insects. These included
beetles, grasshoppers, butterflies, bees, wasps, two-winged flies, and even
caterpillars. There were fifty honey bees in these stomachs, forty of which
were surely drones, and only four certainly workers.
The bird feeds much like other flycatchers, selecting a perch from which
it makes frequent sallies after passing insects; but it also frequently descends
to the ground and picks up insects creeping there. It is fond of the vicinity
of water and may be seen frequently dipping its bill after the manner of a
swallow, and probably in some cases snapping up insects from the surface
of the water. Its characteristic flight, with widely spread tail and quickly
vibrating wings, is well known to every observer, and the species may be
identified almost as far as it can be seen by its characteristic motions.
The nest is bulky and usually in plain view on the horizontal branch of
a scrubby tree, often a thorn tree or a neglected fruit tree in an orchard
or by the roadside. Occasionally it nests on
the bough of an evergreen, or even on the
timber of a bridge or the top of a fence post,
but these are departures from its usual custom.
Still more unusual is the condition described
by R. W. Chaney, in the Hamilton Lake region ^'^- ^^■
on the west side of the state. He says: "This ^'^^ °^ Kmgbird.
species might be considered almost aquatic in its nesting habits, as the
nests were invariably placed in stumps projecting out of the water, often
at a considerable distance from the shore. Nests with eggs — always three
in number — were seen up to the middle of July" (Birds of Mason county,
Mich., Auk, XXVII, 1910, 274). The nest is compactly built of grass,
bark, roots, strings and often paper and rags, and lined usually with rootlets
and slender vegetable fibres. The eggs are four to six, pure white or creamy
white, boldly spotted and blotched with various shades of brown and lilac,
and average .95 by .69 inches. They are among the handsomest eggs
laid by our small birds.
The Kingbird arrives from the south late in April or early in May, and the
nest is built during the latter half of Msiy, often not until the first of June.
Fresh eggs are likely to be found in the southern half of the state during
the first week in June, although many arc not laid until the middle of the
month. Not infrequently nests with eggs of young are found in July,
indicating a second brood, but it seems likely that these are mostly the
nests of birds who'have been unsuccessful in their first attempt.
In August the Kingbirds often gather in small companies and feed
39G MICHIGAN J5IR1) LIl'lO.
ravenously on berries of sassafras and spice bush and to a less extent on
wild cherries, June berries (Amelanchier), honeysuckle, blackberries and
a few other species. They begin to move southward by the first of Septem-
ber and are all gone by the end of the month.
There has been much speculation about the use of the brilliant crown-
patch of the Kingbird, some writers claiming that the birds use this as
an imitation flower to attract insects, snapping them up as they come
within reach. Actual observation of this performance does not seem to
have been recorded and it would be well for those who have opportunity
to watch hungry Kingbirds in reference to this alleged habit, and publish
the results.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes alike) : Top and sides of head clear black, the middle of the crown with a
concealed patch of orange red; rest of upper parts slate gray, most of the wing-coverts
as well as the tertiaries and some of the secondaries, narrowly edged with white; vmder
parts pure w^hite shaded with gray along the sides and across the breast; tail square or
slightly rounded, clear black, each feather conspicuously tipped with white; bill and feet
black; iris brown.
Immature: Similar to adult, but red of crown entirely absent, and most of the light
edgings above tinged with rusty.
Length S to 9 inches; wing 4.45 to 4.75; tail 3.40 to 3.75; culmen about .60.
178. Crested Flycatcher. Myiarchus crinitus (Linn.). (452)
Synonyms: Great Crested Flycatcher, Snake-skin Bird. — Tiuxlus crinitus, Linn., 1758.
— Muscicapa crinita, Linn., 1766. — Muscicapa ludoviciana, Gmel.
Figure 94.
The ashy gray throat and breast and sulphur yellow belly mark this bird
among the other flycatchers, and the cinnamon edgings of the wing and tail
feathers serve to clinch the identity. The "crest" is no larger than in most
other members of the family.
Distribution. — Eastern United States and southern Canada, west to
Manitoba and the Plains, south through eastern Mexico to Costa Rica,
Panama and Columbia. Breeds from Florida northward.
A rather common bird in most parts of the state, but nowhere abundant,
and less often seen toward the north, although occasional pairs are found
along the south shore of Lake Superior, and Major
Boies noted it occasionally on Neebish Island in
the St. Mary's River, about 46° 20' north. It
arrives from the south rather late, rarely before
May 1 in the southern counties, and a week or ten
days later in the north. At Petersburg Trombley's
earliest record is April 27, 1888, but Swales noted
one at Detroit, April 9, 1889. It moves southward
again in September, only stragglers being seen — ^ j^-.^.
after the middle of the month. Fig. 94.
It shows a preference for the forest and is shyer Tail of crested Flycatcher,
than most of the flycatchers. Its favorite perch
is the top of some high tree (not necessarily a dead one), and its loud parrot-
like calls and whistles can be heard at long distances. Major Bendire
says: "It utters a variety of sounds; the most common is a clear whistle
like 'e-whuit-huit,' or 'wit-whit, wit- whit,' repeated five or six times in
LAND BIRDS. 397
"a somewhat lower key, and varied to 'whuir, whuree/ or 'puree,' accom-
panied by various turns and twistings of the head. Its alarm note is a
penetrating and far-reaching 'wheek, wheek.'" Bicknell says the birds
are nearly silent through most of July and August and use only low notes
until they depart.
The nest is built late in May or early in June; E. B. Schrage taking a set
of five eggs at Pontiac June 4, 1896, and R. B. Westnedge a set of six at
Kalamazoo June 10, 1891. Possibly a second brood is sometimes reared,
since we have several records of eggs in July. Mr. W. Wilkowski states
that at Kalamazoo, July 11, 1902, he found a nest containing ten eggs
evidently laid by two different females, since five were heavily blotched
and the other five thinly marked. The period of incubation is commonly
given as fifteen days. The nest is always placed in a hollow of some kind,
usually in the branch of an orchard tree, or the dead limb of some large tree
in the forest. It is made of a great variety of fibrous materials, but usually
has tufts of hairs, roots, grasses, feathers, and almost invariably pieces of
cast snake-skin, sometimes entire skins. Various explanations have been
suggested for this use of snake skins, the most common being that the skins
are supposed to protect the nest from the intrusion of enemies, but this
is extremely doubtful. The eggs are four to seven, rarely three or eight,
while five or six is the usual number. They have a buffy ground color
profusely marked with streaks, lines, and spots of darker color, commonly
reddish brown, purple and lavender. " Pen markings " usually predominate
and the eggs can hardly be confounded with those of any other Michigan
bird. They average .88 by .66 inches.
The food consists mainly of insects and if more abundant the bird could
be counted as one of the farmers' good friends, although it eats such a
variety of insects that the problem is by no means simple. It also eats
some small fruits, including blackberries, wild cherries, and the fruits of
honeysuckle, sassafras and spice bush.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes alike) : Upper parts clear olive or grayish brown, the top of head darker
and browner; most of tlie primaries edged externally with rusty (rufous), and the coverts
and tertiaries with white or buffy; throat and chest clear ash-gray, shading into sulphur-
yellow on the lower breast, belly, sides and under tail-coverts; edges and lining of wings
also yellow; middle pair of tail-feathers entirely brown, the rest brown on the outer webs,
rufous or chestnut on inner webs; bill brownish; feet black; iris brown.
Immature: Scarcely different from adults, but colors not so pure, and feathers of back
and wings, often with rusty edgings.
Length 8.50 to 9 inches; wing 3.90 to 4.40; tail 3.50 to 4.'J0; culnien about .75.
179. Phoebe. Sayornis phoebe (Lath.). (456)
Synonyms: Phoebe Bird, Pewee, Bridge Pewec, Water Pcwee, Barn Pcwee, Beam-
bird, Pewit Flycatcher. — Muscicapa phoebe, Latham, 1790. — Muscicapa fusca, CJmel.
1788. — ^Tyrannus fuscus, Nutt. — Sayornis fuscus, Baird.
May be recognized by its action and note, not by shape or color, at least
not by amateurs. The lack of conspicuous wing-l)ars, the white edging
of the outer tail-feathers, the nearly white (slightly yellowish) under parts,
are helpful points with a si)ecimen in hand. Probably the most character-
istic action of the bird is the constant dropping and flirting of the tail.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to eastern Colorado and
western Texas, and from the British Provinces south to eastern Mexico
398 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
and Cuba, wintering from the south Atlantic and Gulf States southward.
Breeds from South Carolina northward.
This is an abundant summer resident throughout the state, arriving early
and staying late; generally distributed, but perhaps somewhat less common
in the most northern parts of the Lower Peninsula and in the Upper Penin-
sula. Sometimes it arrives from the south before the middle of March
(Petersburg, March 10, 1887, March 10, 1894, March 17, 1889), but the
average date of arrival for southern Michigan is not far from March 20,
while occasionally it is not seen until the first week in April. It lingers
late into October — sometimes even into November, but does not then
haunt the waterside as in spring.
It shows a great fondness for the vicinity of water and often builds its
nest under bridges and culverts or on the rafters, cornices and other favor-
able parts of buildings close to the water. Not infrequently it is placed
on a ledge of rock in a river gorge, railroad cut, or entrance of a mine shaft
or tunnel; less often on a root or stump under a projecting sandbank.
The nest itself is made of various soft substances such as grasses, mosses,
roots, hairs, wool, and plant fibres, usually mixed with more or less mud,
though this may be absent. The eggs are commonly four or five, more
rarely three or six, pure white and unspotted, but occasionally one or two
eggs in a set will show a few dots of brown. The eggs average .84 by .55
inches and the period of incubation is about twelve days. The nest often
becomes infested with vermin, the most common parasite being a mite
which occurs in millions. In one case after the young left a nest over
our front door these mites invaded the house and caused more or less trouble
for several days.
The note of the Phoebe is not easily described. We have never been able
to detect any resemblance to the w^ord phoebe or pe-wee. Bendire says:
"They appear rather to approach the words see-hee, see-hee, and are some-
times varied to 'see-bee,' with the accent on the last syllable." The clear,
long-drawn, plaintive-whistled pe-wee of late winter and early spring
is given by the Chickadee, weeks or even months before the Phoebe appears.
The food is almost entirely insects, and the bird is valuable in keeping
down mosquitos, gnats and flies, as well as other insects.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes alike): Top and sides of head smoky brown, often blackish; rest of upper
parts grayish-olive, the wing-coverts and tertiaries narrowly tipped and margined with
whitish; under parts dull whitish, just tinged posteriorly with yellowish, the sides of the
breast and often the chin, strongly shaded with the color of the back; wing and tail feathers
blackish, the narrow outer web of the outer tail-feather pure white except near tip; bill
and feet black; iris brown. The female is slightly smaller than the male. Young are
scarcely different from adults, but at first sliow many rusty edged feathers.
Length 6.25 to 7 inches; wing 3.25 to 3.55; tail 3.45 to 3.75; culmen .45 to .50.
180. Say's Phoebe. Sayornis sayus (Boruip.). (457)
Synonyms: Muscicapa saya, Bonap. 1825. — Tyrannus saya, Nutt. — Tyraniiula pallida,
Swains. — Sayornis sayus, Baird.
Similar in general to the common Phoebe, but slightly larger, the bill
somewhat narrower, the belly cinnamon, and the tail black.
Distribution. — Western United States from the Plains to the Pacific;
north along the Yukon River to the Arctic Circle; south to Cape St. Lucas
LAND BIRDS. 399
and over the Mexican Plateau to Puebla and central Vera Cruz. Accidental
in Massachusetts.
This bird seems to be purely accidental in Michigan. But one capture
is recorded, a specimen taken by Rev. Chas. Fox at Owosso, Shiawassee
county, in July, 1853. This capture seems to have been the source of
several distinct records, one by Stockwell, in Forest and Stream, another
by Miles, in his list of 1860; and this in turn quoted by Swales, 1903, but
the locality given as Grosse Isle. Dr. Miles says of his own list "The species
in the catalogue marked 'a' were obtained at Grosse Isle, Wayne county,
by Prof. Fox and are given on his authority." In this list Say's Flycatcher
is preceded by an "a" and it is therefore possible that a second specimen
was taken at Grosse Isle, though it seems more likely that the intention
was merely to indicate that it was one of Fox's records. Miles' statement
is perfectly clear as to the Owosso specimen, and it would be a remarkable
coincidence if|Fox should have taken a second specimen of this bird at
Grosse Isle. Unfortunately Fox's original list, which was almost certainly
pubhshed, cannot be found. The color of this bird is so unlike that of any
other flycatcher that it can hardly be mistaken, but there is little likelihood
that it will be met with again in Michigan.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: "Lateral tail-feathers edged with whitish; belly light cinnamon or tawny
ochraceous. Above light brownish gray, the tail black; anterior lower parts light brownish
gray, posterior portions light cinnamon or tawny ochraceous; length about 7.50 to 8.05
inches; wing 3.90 to 4.25; tail, 3.35 to 3.75" (Ridgway).
181. Olive-sided Flycatcher. Nuttallornis borealis (Swains.). (459)
Synonyms: Nuttall's Pewee. — Tyrannus borealis, Swains., 183L — Muscicapa inornata,
Nutt. — Contopus boreahs, Baird.
Known by the conspicuous tuft of white fluffy feathers on the flank
together with its comparatively large size, seven to eight inches long. It
is not likely to be confounded with anything except the Wood Pewee,
which is smaller and unstreaked on the under parts.
Distribution. — North America, breeding from the northern and higher
mountainous parts of the United States northward to British Columbia
and the Saskatchewan River. In winter south to Central America,
Columbia and northern Peru.
This is one of our rarer flycatchers, occurring in the southern half of
the state as a migrant only, passing through during the latter half of May
and returning from the north late in August. Like many other migrants
it seems to be more frequently observed near the lake shores on the east
and west sides of the state. In Ottawa county Dr. Gibbs recorded
it on May 21, 1879, May 17, 1880, May 9, 1882 and May 25, 1883. One was
seen in Kalamazoo county, May 22, 1885. Prof. Frank Smith records it
at Macatawa, Ottawa county, as follows: One specimen each on August, 17
1903, and August 21, 1904, and one specimen August 15, 1905. There is
a pair in the museum of the University of Michigan taken near Ann Arbor,
May 28, 1896.
Throughout the higher parts of the northern half of the Lower Peninsula
this bird occurs sparingly as a summer resident. Widmann met with it
near Harbor Springs, Emmet county, in July, 1901 ; S. E. White took a s^Deci-
400 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
men at Mackinac Island, August 15, 1890; on the Charity Islands, Saginaw
Bay, N. A. Wood found it from August 18 to October 10, 1910; Wood
and Frothingham saw it in Crawford County, June 16, and Oscoda county,
June 18, on the tops of pines, where it was rare, and Wood again recorded
it several times in Ontonagon county in July and August, 1904, and found
it common on Isle Royale from August 17 to 28 the same year; the writer
saw two individuals along the Au Sable at Grayling, Crawford county,
June 8, 1902, and F. H. Chapin records it as seen in Emmet, Cheboygan
and Charlevoix counties in August and September. E. A. Doolittle found
several in Baraga and Marquette counties in June, 1905, and several pairs
on Grand Island, jMunising Harbor, in the summer of 1906. Max M. Peet
noted it on Isle Royale, Lake Superior, in 1905, as follows: "Seen at Rock
Harbor in the tamarack and spruce swamps; Siskowit Bay and Washington
Harbor, July 17 to September 3. A rather common resident and prol^ably
nesting, although no nests were found. A pair was taken July 17 in a
tamarack swamp. In nearly every swamp visited two or three pairs were
found. As a rule found in pairs, sometimes with a third, perhaps a young
one" (Rep. Mich. Geol. Surv., 1908, p. 358). So far as we know no Michigan
nest is recorded, but there can be no doubt whatever that the bird breeds
wherever found between the middle of June and last of July.
The nest is commonly placed in an evergreen, a horizontal lu-anch being
preferred, and at a height of fifteen to fifty feet from the ground. It is
built of twigs, roots and moss, is decidedly small considering the size of the
bird, but very compactly built and securely lodged in its place, although
so shallow that the eggs may be easily shaken out. These are usually
three in number, cream colored, spotted with different shades of brown
and purple, somewhat resembling large specimens of the Wood Pewee's
eggs. They average about .82 by .71 inches. Captain Bendire states that
the period of incubation does not exceed fourteen days, and that the young
are said to remain in the nest about three weeks.
The Olive-sided Flycatcher has a habit of perching on the tops of high
trees, either green or dead, from which it makes long sallies after insects
and utters occasionally its loud and striking call notes. These are very
differently described by different writers, but to us they always suggest
the note of the Piping Plover. Bendire compares the ordinary call to that
of the Wood Pewee, but states that it consists of three notes like "hip-
pui-whee," while the alarm note he gives as "puip-puip-puip."
The food consists mainly of winged insects, and in so far as wo know,
the Ijird must be considered beneficial to the agriculturist and forester.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Upper parts dark brownish olive, blackish on top of head, many feathers with
blackish centers; wings and tail clear brownish black (fuscous), the tertiaries and some
of tlie wing-coverts with grayisli or wliitish margins; cliin, throat and belly wliite or
yellowish, and often a narrow stripe of this color along the middle of breast; rest of under
j)arts olive like the back, most of the feathers witli blackish centers, giving a mottled
or streaked appearance; a conspicuous tuft of yellowish downy feathers on the flank; upper
mandible dusky; lower mandible yellowish except at tip, where dusky; feet black, iris
brown.
Length 7.10 to 7.90 inches; wing 3.90 to 4.50; tail 2. SO to '.i.'yO; culmcn ..58 to .70.
LAND BIRDS. 401
182. Wood Pewee. Myiochanes virens (Linn.). (461)
Synonyms: Pewee Flycatcher, Pewee.— Muscicapa virens, Linn., 1766. — Muscicapa
querula, Vieill. — Muscicapa rapax, Wilson. — Tyrannus virens, Nutt. — Contopus virens,
Cabanis and most recent authors.
So similar to the other small flycatchers that no single diagnostic mark
can be given. Perhaps the best character lies in the somewhat con-
spicuous white wing-bars, these being buffy or brownish in some others
and almost lacking in the Phoebe, with which the Wood Pewee is most
likely to be confounded. The present species is not quite so large as the
Phoebe, has a shorter tail proportionally, and its bill is decidedly broader.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to the Plains, and from
southern Canada southward, migrating through eastern Mexico and
Honduras to Columbia and Equador; breeds from Florida to Newfoundland.
The Wood Pewee is generally distributed throughout Michigan, its
abundance depending apparently on local conditions and not on latitude
or altitude. Other things being equal, it seems to prefer decidous woods,
but it is frequently found along the edges of white pine tracts or even in
the depths of hemlock and spruce timber.
It is one of the latest of our birds to come from the south, also one of the
most regular. In the latitude of Lansing it arrives from the 5th to the
12th of May, rarely earlier or later. At Petersburg, Monroe county, Mr.
Trombley's"^earnest record was May 6, 1887, and the latest May 20, 1890.
It lingers until about the middle of September, but is rarely seen during
the last week in that month.
On an average the first nest is built during the first week in June, and
fresh eggs may be found from the 6th to the 20th of that month. A second
nest is frequently built in July, often toward the last of the month, but
these second nests are by no means as abundant as the first. The nest is
unlike that of any other flycatcher of our acquaintance; shallow, thin-
walled, often bottomless, or nearly so, yet so securely placed on a horizontal
branch, and its materials so firmly interwoven and glued by spider's webs
and apparently l^y some other adhesive material, that it frequently out-
lasts the winter's storms, though the birds seem never to use the nest a
second time. It is built mainly of fine grasses, thin strips of bark, small
roots and various plant fibres, and covered outside by spider's webs, bits
of moss, lichens and similar material so as to closely resemble the branch
upon which it is placed. Ordinarily it is not less than ten feet from the
ground and occasionally is found at an elevation of forty or fifty feet, more
often from twenty to thirty.
The eggs are usually three, occasionally but two, more rarely four. They
are white or cream-colored, heavily spotted aljout the larger end with
markings of brown and purple, and average .71 by .53 inches.
According to Bendire "the ordinary call note sounds like 'pee-a-wee'
or 'see-e-wee,' long drawn out and plaintive in sound; apparently a short
note like 'pee-eer,' 'phce-hee,' or 'hee-ee' is also given, this if possible is
a still more mournful strain than the former, but it is not so frequently
heard. No two persons would put them down alike." After sunset the
Wood Pewee not infrequently breaks into a twittering song of consideral)le
length and variety which it utters while on the wing and fljang irregularly
here and there as if in great excitement.
The food consists very largely of insects taken on the wing, yet it not
51
402 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
infrequently hovers before a twig or leaf and snaps up small insects which
appear to be stationary, sometimes descending to the grass for this purpose.
Its food habits on the whole may be considered beneficial, though not
markedly so. Three specimens, taken in an orchard in IHinois which was
being destroyed by canker worms, were examined by Professor S. A.
Forbes and found not to have eaten any of the caterpillars, the stomachs
containing more than 50 per cent of flies and gnats, wdth various harmless
beetles and a few ants with other hymenoptera. In Nebraska Professor
Aughey found seven grasshoppers and many other insects in the single
specimen which he examined.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Dark olive above, darkest on top of head; under parts whitish, washed on sides
and across breast with the color of the back, and sometimes tinged with yellow on the
belly; wings brownish-black with two more or less distinct bars formed by the whitish tips
of the greater and median coverts; tail plain brownish black; upper mandible dark brown,
lower yellowish; feet black; iris brown. In general appearance much like the Olive-sided
Flycatcher, but decidedly smaller, lacks the cottony flank tufts, and does not show the
mottling due to dark-centered feathers.
Length 5.90 to 6.50 inches; wing 3 to 3.45; tail 2.50 to 2.90; culmen .43 to .52.
183. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Empidonax flaviventris (Baird). (463)
Synonyms: Tyrannula flaviventris, M. W. & S. F. Baird, 1843. — Muscicapa flaviventris,
Aud., 1844. — Empidonax flaviventris, Baird, 1858, and most authors.
The only one of the small flycatchers which is distinctly yellow below
in the spring; in the autumn it is not readily separated by this mark from
several other species.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to the Plains, and from
southern Labrador south through eastern Mexico to Panama, breeding
from the northern states northward.
In Michigan this bird occurs sparingly during the migrations, passing
northward during May, and southward during August and September.
It is so seldom noticed that average dates of occurrence cannot be given.
Swales calls it a common migrant at Detroit, giving May 7, June 9, August
12, and September 27 as extreme dates. While with us there seems to be
nothing in its habits which serves to distinguish it particularly from the
other species which it so much resembles. It is likely to be found in low
growths and in moist woodlands, and feeds principally on insects caught
on the wing.
Its nesting habits are peculiar, since, unlike any other native flycatcher,
the nest is always placed on the ground. Usually a mossy knoll or fern-
covered bank is selected and the nest is sunken to its edge and not in-
frequently roofed over and reached by a short passage from the outside.
The nest consists largely of mosses, fern stems and slender roots, and the
eggs, usually four, are white, finely marked with dots of brown, mainly
about the larger end. They average .73 by .51 inches.
We have no record of a Michigan nest of this species, yet it is extremely
probable that the bird breeds occasionally in the higher parts of the Lower
Peninsula and throughout a considerable extent of the Upper Peninsula.
It seems to be nowhere an abundant species and the scattered individuals
seen in midsummer in these localities might easily breed wdthout the nest
being discovered. Mr. T. B. Wyman writes that it is a fi-equent summer
LAND BIRDS. 403
resident at Negaunee, Marquette county, and breeds there. Max M. Peet
records a pair seen in a tamarack swamp on Isle Royale, July 14, 1905,
and the female taken. Also another pair found in a cedar swamp July
26 (Adams' Rep., Mich. Geol. Surv., 1908, 359).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Upper parts dark olive green, top of head little if any darker; under parts
mainly pale sulphur yellow, especially along the median line; sides of breast plain olive,
this color sometimes extending entirely across the breast and along the sides; two yellowish
white wing-bars formed by tips of greater and middle coverts; secondaries usually edged
with yellowish; tail olive brown; upper mandible dark brown, lower pinkish or yellowish
white; iris brown; feet black.
Young: Similar but duller, the wing-bands yellower.
Male: Length 5.10 to 5.80 inches; wing 2.55 to 2.75; tail 2.10 to 2.30; culmen .48 to ..59.
Female: Wing 2.40 to 2.50 inches; tail 2 to 2.25.
184. Acadian Flycatcher. Empidonax virescens (Vieillot). (465)
Synonyms: Green-crested Flycatcher, Small Green-crested Flycatcher, Green Fly-
catcher.— Platyrhynchos virescens, Vieill. 1818. — Muscicapa querula, Wilson. — Tyrannula
acadica, Bonap. — Empidonax acadicus, Baird, Coues, B. B. & R., Nehrling, Bendire, and
others. — Empidonax virescens, A. O. U. Check-list, 1895.
Not to be separated from the Alder Flycatcher, or even with certainty
from the Least and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, except by the expert.
Its note and its nest and eggs are alike distinctive, but the note is not easily
described and the nest is seen much less often than the bird.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, north to southern New York and
southern Michigan, west to the Plains, south to Cuba and Costa Rica. Rare
or casual in southern New England.
Throughout the southern half of the Lower Peninsula this flycatcher
is generally distributed and a rather common inhabitant of upland woods,
particularly beech and maple. It is nowhere abundant, yet it is seldom
that any beech and maple grove of a dozen acres does not contain one or
more pairs of these birds. It seems to prefer the deep woods, and its favorite
haunts are the more or less leafless spaces midway between the earth and
the leafy crowns of the forest trees above. Here it sits, very much like
the Wood Pewee, darting from its favorite perch on a dead limb to capture
passing insects and at intervals uttering its sharp and characteristic note
which Bendire describes as "resembling 'wick-up' or 'sick-up' interspersed
now and then with a sharp 'queep-queep' or 'chier-queep,' the first syllable
very quickly uttered."
The nest is peculiar, being frail, basket-like, j'et shallow, and almost
"always partly pensile. It is slightly built of slender twigs, rootlets and
grasses, often snugly fastened with cobwebs, and frequently decorated
with catkins of various trees. It is placed invariably on a horizontal spray
or drooping branch near the tip, most often on beech, maple or dogwood
{Cornus), but also on witch-hazel, hickory, oak and other trees. It is seldom
more than a dozen feet from the ground, often within reach of the hand,
and the bottom usually so thin that the eggs can be seen through it. These
are usually three, but may be either two or four. They are creamy or
buffy white, marked with specks and spots of different shades of brown,
mainly about the larger end. They average .71 by .53 inches.
This bird arrives from the south at about the same time as the Wood
Pewee, and nests with eggs are found most often between June 1st and 12th.
404 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The species has been reported from many points in the northern part
of the state, and even from the Upper Peninsula, but we have seen no
specimens collected north of 43^°, and believe that most, if not all, the
reports from farther north are based on mistaken identification. Accord-
ing to Kumlien and Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 132), this species
is not known to occur at all in Wisconsin.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Upper parts uniform olive or olive green, the precise shade variable, but the head
not darker than the back; wings olive, with two conspicuous buffy or yellowish bands,
and secondaries edged with same shade; throat and middle of belly usually pure white,
rarely tinged with yellow; breast and sides shaded with olive gray, the sides of the belly
usually tinged with yellowish; tail plain olive; upper mandible dark brown, loAver pale yellow
or flesh-color; iris brown.
Length 5.50 to 5.90 inches; wing of male 2.75 to 3.10; tail 2..30 to 2.70.
Female: Wing 2.55 to 2.70 inches; tail 2.25 to 2.35.
185. Alder Flycatcher. Empidonax trailli alnorum {Brewst.) (466a)
Synonyms: Traill's Flycatcher (part). — E. trailli alnorum, Brewster, 1895, A. O. U.
Check-list, 1895, and most recent authors.
Not separable from Traill's* or the Acadian Flycatcher except by the
expert.
Distribution.^ — Eastern North America from the Maritime Provinces
and New England westward at least to northern Michigan, etc., breeding
from the southern edge of the Canadian Fauna northward; in winter south
to Central America.
In Michigan the Alder Flycatcher appears to be generally distributed,
although there is a possibility that some of the records from the southern
part of the state may refer to the closely related Traill's Flycatcher.* It
has been reported as more or less common in the following counties:
Monroe, Kalamazoo, Wayne, Washtenaw, St. Clair, Ingham, Kent, Saginaw,
Emmet, Mackinac, Marquette, Keweenaw and Ontonagon. It has not,
been found breeding in all these places, but has been taken during the
breeding season in almost all of them, and there can be little doubt that it
nests wherever found between the middle of June and the middle of July.
In addition to the places just mentioned specimens were killed on Spectacle
Reef Light, in northern Lake Huron, and the writer found it on Beaver
Island, Charlevoix county. Lake Michigan.
In Monroe couiity Mr. Trombley found it nesting abundantly and states
that in 1879 he found at least twenty nests in one restricted locality, all
in alders, willows or similar low growth in wet ground. No other writer
api)ears to have found the species nesting so abundantly, yet according
to Swales it is by no means uncommon in Wayne and St. Clair counties.
Purdy states that it is abundant and nests along the margins of streams
near Plymouth, Wa3^ne county, and it has l)een found nesting commonly
in Kalamazoo and Ingham counties.
In its nesting habits it differs markedly from all the other small flycatchers
(except Traill's) in building a somewhat bulky, very compact, deeply
hollowed nest, seldom at a height of more than six feet from the ground,
often within two feet. These nests are almost invariably placed in upright
*ror notes on Traill'.s Flycatcher .sco Appendix.
LAND BIRDS. 405
•forks of slender bushes and usually in very wet ground, not infrequently
in standing water or at the very edges of streams. In this last respect
it seems to differ from Traill's Flycatcher, since the latter seems to be more
partial to higher ground, and nests more often in dry situations. The nest
consists of various soft substances and commonly contains three white or
cream-colored eggs, spotted, sometimes quite heavily, with brown. Occa-
sionally four eggs are found. They average .73 by .53 inches.
The bird arrives from the south from the middle to the last of May and
the eggs are seldom laid before the first week in June, probably ten daj^s
later in the Upper Peninsula.
Considerable difference of opinion exists as to the note of this bird, but
all observers agree that it is distinctly unlike that of any other Flycatcher.
Brewster writes it "kee-wing;" Dwight gives "ee-zee-e-up;" Mr. F. H.
Allen states that Dwight's rendering seems to him nearly correct, but he
prefers "wee-zee-up, the up very faint;" Dr. Morris Gibbs writes the call
"pit-too." On the few occasions when we have heard the bird there has
been a distinct nasal or metallic twang in the note which is not suggested
by any of the previous renderings unless it be Brewster's "ke-wing."
All observers appear to agree that the bird is partial to wet situations
and low growths, and is seldom found in the deep woods or the dr3^er groves
and orchards.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Upper parts clear olive or olive brown, darker on the head, where the feathers
usually have blackish centers; throat, lower breast and middle of belly pure white; sides of
belly and lower tail-coverts decidedly yellowish; breast olive gray, darkest on the sides,
but distinct all the way across; two conspicuous wing-bars of grayish or buffy white, and
the secondaries and tertiaries rather broadly edged with the same; upper mandible dark
brown, lower mandible pale, but much darker than that of the Acadian or Yellow-bellied
Flycatchers; iris brown.
A large male from Marquette coxmty gives the following measurements: Length (fresh),
6.10 inches; wing 2.80; tail 2.50; culmen .46. A female taken at same place and time
(June 10, 1894) gave: Length 5.80 inches; wing 2.60; tail 2.30; culmen .42.
According to Brewster tliis subspecies differs from the typical Traill's Flycatcher "in
having the coloring of the upper parts richer and more olivaceous, the wing-bands yellower
and hence more conspicuous, the bill decidedly smaller and the legs'rather shorter" (Auk
XII, 1895, 161).
186. Least Flycatcher. Empidonax minimus (Baird). (467)
Synonyms: Chebcc, Sewick. — Tyrannula minima, Baird, 1843. -^Empidonax minimus,
Baird, 1858. — Muscicapa acadica, Nutt.
Figure 95.
So similar to the three preceding species as to be separated with difficulty,
but the Least Flycatcher is smaller than any of the others and the wing bars
are nearly pure white. Its note, well expressed by the common name
"Chebec", with strong accent on the last syllable, is distinctive; it is also
the only one of our flycatchers which lays unspotted eggs, the color being
creamy white.
Distribution. — Chiefly eastern North America, west to eastern Colorado
and central Montana, south in winter to Central America. Breeds from
the northern states northward.
In Michigan the Least Flycatcher seems to be universally distributed,
406 MICIIKJAN 15IIII) LIFE.
but nowhere very abundant. It is an inhabitant of the open woods
orchards and groves, and is not infrequently
found in city parks and gardens. It is one of
the later migrants in spring, rarely reaching us
before the first of May, although Trombley
recorded it at Petersburg on April 23, 1885,
and April 29, 1892; in 1890, however, it did not
appear until May 12, and in 1898 was first
seen May 14. In the northern part of the
state it is a week or ten days later.
It nests usually in deciduous trees and at all
heights from ten to sixty feet from the ground,
the nest being sometimes saddled on a branch
of about its own diameter and at other times
placed in an upright fork. It is small, compact,
deeply hollowed, and very neatly built of soft
fibrous materials, with a lining of cottony
fibres and occasionally a few_ feathers. _ The
eggs are white, usually with a distinct
creamy or buffy tint, and almost always un-
spotted; occasionally eggs are seen with a few ^^^ ^^^ ^^ catcher
faint brown dots. They are commonly four, rrom^originai^'drawing^by r a.
but may be three or five, and average .64 by Taverner.
.49 inches. The period of incubation is said to be twelve days.
The food is mainly insects, though a few berries are eaten in the late
summer. The bird is strongly beneficial to the farmer and fruit grower
and should be rigidly protected.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Very similar to the Alder Flycatcher, but besides being decidedly smaller the upper
I)arts are olive-grey rather than olive-green or olive-brown, the two wing bars are decidedly
whitish, or at most grayish-white, not yellowish, and there is a conspicuous whitish eye-
ring; chin, throat and belly whitish, the throat sometimes nearly white, the belly usually
faintly tinged with yellowish; breast and sides washed with ashy gray; upper mandible
dark brown, the lower much lighter but not yellowish except perhaps at very base, in this
resembling the Alder Flycatcher; iris brown.
Male: Length 4.90 to 5.50 inches; wing 2.30 to 2.60; tail 2.10 to 2.40.
Female: Wing 2.20 to 2.40 inches; tail 2.10 to 2.25.
Suborder OSCINES. Song Birds.
Family 52. ALAUDID.E. Larks.
This family is represented in Michigan only by the Horned Larks or
Shore Larks, two or three species of which occur with more or less regularity
in migration, but only one, the Prairie Horned Lark, nests. The old world
Skylark {Alauda arvensis), famous for its beautiful song and lofty flight,
is a member of this family, but has never been recorded from this state,
though it was introduced in the vicinity of New York city fifty years ago
and has become sparingly naturalized on Long Island.
LAND BIRDS. 407
187. Horned Lark. Otocoris alpestris alpestris {Limi.). (474)
Synonyms: Northern Horned Lark, Winter Horned Lark, Shore Lark. — Alauda
alpestris, Linn, 1758. — Eremophila alpestris, Boie. Alauda cornuta, Wilson. — Eremophila
cornuta, Boie, 1828, Coues, 1861. — Otocoris alpestris, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most
recent authors.
The little feather-tufts or ''ears" which suggested the name ''Horned
Lark," and the very long, nearly straight claw on the hind toe, are dis-
tinctive of the Horned Larks; the present species may be separated from
the Prairie Horned Lark by its larger size, the deeper yellow on the throat,
and the yellow line over the eye, but the two forms are readily confounded
by any but the expert.
Distribution. — Known to nest only along the coast of Labrador and north-
eastern America, probably west to Hudson's Bay; in winter south to the
northern United States regularly, and occasionally as far as the Carolinas
and the Ohio River. Its range as yet has not been satisfactorily separated
from that of Hoyt's Horned Lark, but the latter is decidedly more western
in its distribution.
The Horned Lark and the Prairie Horned Lark are so similar in general
appearance, and have been so generally confounded by observers, that it
is difficult to say how common this species really is in Michigan. Ap-
parently it occasionally spends the winter in the state, mingling more or
less with its near relatives, but withdrawing northward in the late winter
or early spring, and returning southward again in autumn. Mr. Wilbur
H. Grant observed a flock of 20 near Houghton, Houghton county, October
2, 1904, and took specimens, one of which is now in the University of
Michigan collection (No. 31775) at Ann Arbor. Another specimen in the
same collection (No. 30278) was taken by Dr. JMorris Gibbs in Montcalm
county, October 20, 1883. In the collection of the Kent Scientific Museum,
Grand Rapids, there are skins of four males, all taken in Kent county,
one by Stewart E. White, November 1, 1890, the other three, May 6, 1878,
by C. W. Gunn. In the collection of Mr. Newell A. Eddy of Bay City,
there is a fine specimen of a male taken at Bay Shore, Bay county, October
9, 1890, and identified by A. K. Fisher of Washington. Other specimens
taken at the same time belong to the subspecies praticola. Mr. H. A.
Purdy, of Plymouth, states that it is sometimes seen in winter, but that
its place is quickly filled in spring by the Prairie Horned Lark. ]\Ir. Swales,
of Detroit, does not know of any record for southeastern Michigan. It
was found in some numbers on Isle Royale, Lake Superior, in the autumn
of 1905 by the University expedition, the first small flocks appearing as
early as September 13, but increasing in size within a few days until single
flocks contained 200 or 300. On the Charity Islands, at the mouth of
Saginaw Bay, N. A. Wood found it fairly common in the fall of 1910, the
first one appearing on September 18. A series of typical specimens was
taken (Wilson Bulletin, XXIII, 1911, 98).
There is no reason to suppose that it ever nests within our limits. Its
habits while with us in fall and winter are similar to those of the Prairie
Horned Lark, with which it associates freely, yet flocks of the two species
frequently keep distinct. Like the Prairie Horned Lark it nests on the
ground, the nest being deeply sunken in the moss or herbage, and the eggs
closely resembling those of the other subspecies. There were no eggs of
this species in the United States National Museum in 1895, according to
Captain Bendire, and so far as we know none have been taken since. Mr.
408 MIClIKiAN J51HI) J.IKE.
E. A. Mcllheii}^ took several nests with eggs in Labrador in 1S94, but all
his collections were lost by the foundering of the steamer Miranda in which
he was returning from Greenland.
TKCHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill shorter than head, conical, acute, without trace of notch or hook; claw of hind toe
straight and much elongated, as long as or longer than the toe itself; two conspicuous
little feather-horns or ear-tufts at the side of the crown.
Adult male: Upper parts dark pinkish brown, brightest and clearest on the nape,
shoulders, rvunp and u[)per tail-coverts, the back and scapulars more grayish and heavily
streaked with brown; forehead, line over the eye, part of the auriculars, chin and throat,
rather bright sulphur yellow; front of crown, ear-tufts, lores, line under eye, cheeks and a
broad crescent on the chest, black; lower breast whitish, shaded at the sides with pinkish
brown and usually more or less streaked with dusky; belly and under tail-coverts white;
primaries brownish, darker at the tip; middle pair of tail-feathers grayish like the back,
the others black, the outer vane of the outer pair edged with white; bill bluish black or
horn color; iris brown.
Adult female: Similar, but smaller, grayer, duller and more streaked.
Male: Length 7.50 to 8 inches; wing 4.20 to 4.60; tail 2.70 to 3.10; culmen .40 to .50.
Female: Length G.75 to 7.25; wing 3.95 to 4.55; tail 2.50 to 3.10.
188. Prairie Horned Lark. Otocoris alpestris praticola Henshaw. (474b)
Synonyms: Lesser Horned Lark, Summer Horned Lark, Prairie Lark, Yellowthroat. —
Otocoris alpestris praticola, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and all recent authors.
Figures 96 and 97.
For distinctive marks see notes under preceding species.
Distribution. — Upper Mississippi Valley and the region of the Great
Lakes to New England, breeding eastward to northeastern New York
and western Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and migrating
south to South Carolina, Texas, etc.
The Prairie Horned Lark occasionally remains through the winter in
southern Michigan, but ordinarily is entirely absent from the state during
December and January, arriving from the south as
soon as the snow begins to disappear, usually in
February, sometimes not until the first of March.
It is said to arrive in large flocks, but if so these soon
break up and the birds are found singly, in pairs, or
in small parties of three to ten. In the late fall it is ^ yy
sometimes seen in flocks of fifty or one hundred, ^^ ^^
and at that season probably associates with the iiead of Prairie Horned
northern species, alpestris. It is our earliest passerine ^^^^'
bird to nest, and frequently eggs are found before the middle of March
and Avhile snow still covers most of the ground. The birds begin to sing
or twitter immediately on their appearance, and if not already paired
soon select mates and begin nesting. Probably two broods are reared
always, and sometimes three, while a few observers claim that a fourth
brood is sometimes raised. It seems likely that a large proportion of the
earlier nests are covered by snow and abandoned, since young Horned
Larks are rarely seen before May, and they are much more abundant in
June and July. The writer found young just ready to fly at Gaylord,
LAND BIRDS. 409
Otsego county, June 6, 1902, and has inspected a nest found March 27,
1904, with two eggs, near the College in Ingham county, and another near
the same place, with three eggs, March 13, 1906. Mr.
Hazelwood, of Port Huron, states that he has taken
the eggs in March, and Dr. Gibbs took them several
times in April. Mr. L. Whitney Watkins took a set
at Manchester, Jackson county, March 20, 1889, and
L. J. Cole records a nest with four eggs taken at pj^ ,,7
Grand Rapids, March 27, 1896. Mr. Swales found a Foot of i^ahV Homed
set of eggs, June 19, 1895, in southeastern Michigan. ^^ "
Mr. S. E. White states that this species is very common at Mackinac
Island about the middle of September, and that the Indians shoot them
for food under the name of "Yellow-throat." It has been generally
supposed that this bird was extending its range toward the east; that
formerly it was restricted to the Mississippi Valley, but that since 1860
it had overspread the eastern states, even reaching eastern Massachusetts
in 1903. It seems doubtful whether this is really the case. It is conceivable
that the species has always occurred in small numbers throughout the
northeastern states, but that it has passed unnoticed until recent years,
when the increase in the number of collectors and the more general publica-
tion of field notes have called attention to its presence.
The nest is always placed on the ground, in a hollow scooped out by the
birds, and consists of grasses and vegetable fibres carefully interwoven
and sometimes quite thick and warm. The eggs are from three to five,
varying from olive to dirty white, thickly and finely speckled with brown.
They average .85 by .62 inches.
The food of this bird is of much interest, since it has been accused of
injuring grain crops, both by pulling the sprouting seed and by consuming
the ripened grain. Thus far we have no evidence whatever in support
of these charges, and the examination of a large number of stomachs shows
that the Horned Larks are decidedly beneficial to the farmer, through the
consumption of such weed seeds as pigweed, bitterweed, amaranth and
sorrel, which they eat at all seasons of the year, while some good is done
also by the eating of insects, although the bird is essentially a seedeater
and the average amount of insects and spiders eaten during the year falls
a little below ten percent (Barrows, U. S. Dept. Agr. Rep., 1892, p. 197).
Le Baron, in 1870, recorded the fact that the Prairie Horned Lark ate cut-
worms as well as grain, and Professor Aughey shot one in Nebraska, June
16, 1875, whose stomach contained 33 small seeds and 42 locusts. We
may safely say, therefore, that the species is mainly granivorous, but that
insects are eaten more or less at all times, and, other things being equal,
a larger proportion of insect food is taken when it is most abundant. Nest-
lings appear to be fed largely on insects even at a time when such food
must be obtained with some difficulty.
TEOIINIC.\L DESCRIPTION.
Bill, hind toe and claw, ear-tufts and general pattern of coloration precisely as in the
typical Horned Lark just described, and with whicli the present subspecies intergrades.
Tlie main differences are as follows: The prairie form is decidedly smaller on the average,
and the upper surface somewhat paler; jiractically no yellow markings anyAvhere except
on throat, which is sometimes decidedly yellowish and sometimes almost white, with just
a perceptible tinge of yellow; forehead and line over eye grayish while to pure white,
410 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
usually without any yellowish tinge, while the auriculars are grayish white also. The
same general differences are found between male and female as in the typical alpestris.
Young: Birds just out of tlie nest lack the ear-tufts, but show the long hind claw; upper
parts light grayish brown, mottled with blackish, tiic head and neck thickly sprinkled
with small white spots, and most of the wing-feathers and coverts with white edgings and
narrow black sub-marginal lines; under parts mainly whitish, the breast with numerous
dusky spots or streaks, but with little or no sign of the black crescent.
Male: Length 7 to 7.50 inches; wing 4 to 4.30; tail 2.90 to 3.10. Female: Length
G.75 to 6.85 inches; wing 3.70 to 4; tail 2.60 to 2.90.
189. Hoyt's Horned Lark. Otocoris alpestris hoyti Bishop. (474k)
Synonyms: Otocorys alpestis hoyti, Bishop, 1896, A. O. U. Committee, 1903, and more
recent authors.
Similar to the northern Horned Lark, alpestris, but the upper parts
paler and grayer, the posterior auriculars gray rather than brown, and more
of the yellow of the head and neck replaced by white.
Distribution. — In summer, British America from the west shore of Hudson
Bay to the valley of the Mackenzie River, north to the Arctic Coast, south
to Lake Athabasca; in winter southward to Nevada, Utah, Kansas and
Michigan, casually to Ohio and New York.
This new subspecies of Horned Lark was described by Dr. Bishop in 1896
and is included in the list of Michigan birds on the strength of a single
specimen, taken at Grand Rapids (Oberholzer, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 24,
812), and two specimens taken in Montmorency county, in the fall of 1908,
and now in the collection of P. A. Taverner, Ottawa, Can. The latter skins
have been compared with authentic specimens of typical alpestris and
hoyti in the collection of J. H. Fleming of Toronto, and there can be
little question as to identity.
So far as known this form does not dijffer in habits from typical alpestris,
from which it can be discriminated only by the expert, and with which
it doubtless associates in winter. The technical description which follows
may give some idea of the bird, but suspected specimens should be sub-
mitted to some competent ornithologist for critical comparison before their
capture is published. It seems likely that this subspecies occurs as a
straggler in Michigan at the same time as the northern Horned Lark,
alpestris, but even this fact is not actually known.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
"Similar to Olocoris a. alpestris, but with the upper parts generally paler and more gray,
the posterior auriculars gray rather than brown, and the yellow of the head and neck
replaced by white, except the forehead, which is dirty yellowish white, and the throat,
which is distinctly yellow, most pronounced toward the center. Adult male: Length
7.35 inches; wing, 4.54; tail, 3.01; bill from nostril, .41; tarsus, .89. The adult female in
spring plumage differs in a similar manner from the female of alpestris, but in the female
of hoyti tlie yellow on the throat is much paler than in the male" (L. B. Bishop, Auk, XIII,
1896, p. 130).
LAND BIRDS. 411
Family 53. CORVID^. Crows, Jays, etc.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Large birds, wing 12 inches or more, plumage all black. B, BB.
B. Wing more than 15 inches, tail graduated. Northern Raven. No.
193.
BB. Wing less than 15 inches, tail-feathers all of same length. Crow.
No. 194.
AA. Smaller birds, wing less than 10 inches, plumage not all black. C, CC.
C. Tail very long (over 9 inches) and much graduated, the lateral
feathers scarcely one-half the length of the middle ones. Magpie.
No. 190.
CC. Tail moderate (about 6 inches), somewhat rounded at tip. D, DD.
D. Head with conspicuous crest, plumage largely blue. Blue
Jay. No. 191.
DD. Head without crest, plumage mostly gray, no blue. Canada
Jav. No. 192.
190. Magpie. Pica pica hudsonia (Sabine). (475)
Synonyms: American Magpie, Black-billed Magpie. — Corvus hudsonius, Sabine, 1823.
— Corvus pica, Forst., 1772. — Pica hudsonica, Bonap., 1838. — Pica melanoleuca var.
hudsonica, Coues, 1872. — Pica caudata var. hudsonica, Allen, 1872.
A strikingly handsome bird, averaging about 18 inches in length, of which
the tail forms nearly half; general color glossy blue-black with purple and
metallic reflections, but the entire belly and large areas on the wing-feathers
and scapulars pure white. The bird suggests a Crow Blackbird or Grackle,
but is larger than our species, and the conspicuous white markings of course
distinguish it at a glance.
Distribution. — Northern and western North America, from the Plains
to the Cascade Mountains and north to Alaska; casually east and south
to Michigan (accidental in northern Illinois in winter), and in the Rocky
Mountains to New Mexico and Arizona.
This species is mentioned in several of the older lists of birds of the state
and there can be little doubt that it is, or formerly was, found occasionally
in winter in the northern parts of the state, particularly in the Upper
Peninsula. Schoolcraft wrote: "The Magpie is found to approach as far
north as Lac du Flambeau on the head waters of the above river [Montreal
River, which forms the boundary between Michigan and Wisconsin], and
in the vicinity of Lake Superior this bird is called by the Chippewas ' Wobish
Kakagee' or 'White Crow'" (Schoolcraft, Discovery of the Sources of the
Mississippi River, ''Birds of Lake Superior," 1855, page 104). Dr. S.
Knceland, Jr., in his Birds of Keweenaw Point (Boston Soc. of Nat. Hist.
VI, 231) states that he has seen a few specimens obtained near Eagle River
(Keweenaw county). This was in the winter of 1856-57. Dr. Gibbs
states that the Rev. Mr. Day of Cadillac, who formerly lived as a missionary
at an Indian reservation in the Upper Peninsula, told him that he knew
of this species as a very common one at that time "ten to twenty years
412 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
ago." The bird is also included by G. A. Stockwell in his list of Michigan
birds (Forest and Stream, Vol. 8, 19, 300). Mclhvraith, in his "Birds of
Ontario," states that Mr. C. J. Bampton, Registrar of the District of Algoma,
reports it as a rare winter visitor at Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario), this of course
is just across the St. Mary's River from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. It has
also been reported at Odessa, Ont. March 12, 1898.
In recent years apparently none have been seen within our limits. There
are two Magpies (Nos. 20000 and 20001) in the Kent Scientific Museum,
marked "Michigan, Gunn Collection, C. W. Gunn," but without other
data. The bills of both, however, are nearly pure white, and the birds
are doubtless the Yellow-billed Magpie, from California. Kuralien and
Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 84) give several records for Wisconsin,
but none of recent date. Mr. H. N. Clark of Meridian, is said to have
captured one in a trap in Dunn county. Wis., in 1870, and to have seen
another in February, 1884. According to Dr. Hoy one was obtained at
Bagley's Harbor, Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan, November 15, 1849.
This bird is very closely related to the European Magpie, so closely in
fact that it is almost or quite impossible to separate the two birds. In its
northwestern home it is said to nest in thickets or dense trees, building an
immense nest of sticks, twigs and similar material, in the midst of which
a hollow is left for the eggs, this being reached by a covered opening or
burrow sometimes of considerable length. The eggs vary in number from
six to ten, are drab or greenish, heavily spotted with brown and purplish,
and average 1.30 by .91 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes alike) : Head, neck, breast and entire upper parts (except scapulars) deep
black, the top of head usually with a metallic gloss, and tlie feathers of the throat largely
white below the surface; belly, sides and flanks pure white; thighs black; upper surface of
wings mainly black, with green, blue, or violet reflections, the inner webs of the primaries
largely white; scapulars pure white; tail metallic greenish-black with purplish and bronzy
reflections toward tlie tip, much graduated, the lateral feathers only about half as long as
the middle pair; bill, legs and feet black; iris bluish gray; naked skin about the eyes blackish.
Yoimg: Similar to adult, but without metallic reflections except on wings and tail;
the head, neck, and back dull black.
Length 17.40 to 2L75 inches; wing 7.30 to 8.40; tail 9.30 to 11.95; culmen 1.15 to 1.42.
191. Blue Jay. Cyanocitta cristata cristata (Linn.). (477)
Synonyms: Jay, Common Jay. — Corvus cristatus, Linn. 1758.— Garrulus cristatus,
Vieill.— Cyanurus cristatus, Swains. — Cyanocorax cristatus, Bon.
Figure 98.
Recognizable at a glance l)y the general bright blue color checked with
black and white, and the conspicuous crest. It can be mistaken for no other
bird, except possibly for the Kingfisher, and its habits sufficiently distinguish
it from that species.
Distribution. — Eastern North America to the Plains, and fi'om the Fur
Countries to Florida and eastern Texas.
The Blue Jay is found abundantly throughout Michigan and is commonly
believed to be resident wherever found. Certain it is that Blue Jays occur
LAND lilRDS.
413
in every part of the state
during winter as well as
summer, yet in many sec-
tions there is a well marked
migration, thousands pass-
ing southward in Septem-
ber and October and north-
ward again in . May. At
Poi't Huron Mr. Hazelwood
states that a large flight
starts about JNIay first and
lasts all through the month,
thousands passing north.
It is possible that the
individuals which remain
with us through winter
have come from places
farther north and that the
birds which nest in any one
locality move farther south
in winter. They frequent ;
Fig. 98. Blue Jay.
Photograph from mounted specimen.
(Original.)
kinds of timber and seem to have a special
liking for orchards and the vicinity of towns and villages. In this respect
they differ widely from the Blue Jays of the eastern states, which avoid
populous districts and are inclined to be shy and retiring.
On the College campus the Blue Jay is one of our most familiar birds.
The nest is placed in apple trees, shade trees, either deciduous or evergreen,
often within reach of the hand; the birds show almost no fear of human
beings, and in defense of their nests will often strike a person on the head
or even swoop down and peck a cat or dog. During winter they live
largely upon scraps furnished by the residents, but whenever the snow is
not too deep they hunt for acorns and other hidden stores which are buried
in the ground.
Nesting may begin very early, but eggs are rarely laid before the first
of May. We have repeatedly seen birds repairing old nests and starting
new ones in March, and on one occasion a pair worked several days on a
nest in the middle of February, but we have never seen young out of the
nest before June first, and although but one brood seems to be reared, we
have occasionally seen young unable to fly during the first week in July,
Old birds feeding four young just out of the nest were found on July 15,
1903. On July 31, 1907, we examined a nest near the College which con-
tained a single egg and two young, possibly three or four days old. This
of course was a second brood. On the same day an adult Ja}^ was seen
feeding a full grown young one which was following her about and clamoring
for more; and even on August 18, 1907, old Jays were seen feeding full
grown young.
Among eight nests containing fresh eggs, found in Kalamazoo county
by the late Dr. Westncdge, the earliest was found May 5, 1888, and the latest
May 31, 1886. The greater number of nests were found between May 10
and 25. The eggs vary greatly in color, the ground color being pea-green,
olive-green, buff, and even cream-color, more or less heavily spotted with
brown 'and lavender of various shades. They average about 1.10 by .81
inches.
414 MIClIKiAN BIRD LIKE.
The food of the Jays includes almost everything eatable, but they show
special fondness for acorns, beech nuts, small fruits and insects. They
rob the nests of smaller birds frequently, yet so far as our personal observa-
tion goes such robberies are restricted to particular birds and are by no
means general. With at least half a dozen Blue Jays' nests under observa-
tion each year we have known an entire season to pass without the detection
of a single act of violence on the part of the Jays. On the other hand,
we have occasionally known several nests of Robins and Chipping Sparrows
to be destroyed within a week.
The Blue Jay is a rather general feeder on insects and probably does a
large amount of good in this way, especially since it does not disdain hairy
caterpillars but appears to eat them with some pleasure. Probably the great-
est good done is in eating caterpillars and grasshoppers, but it may be useful
also in consuming the bark-boring and wood-boring beetles and other large
insects infesting woodlands. It gets a large part of its food from the ground
and also buries or hides there any surplus that it may have. This is
particularly true of small fruits, acorns, beechnuts and grain, although it
also stores these things away in knot-holes, crevices in trees, and chinks
behind loose sheets of bark.
Undoubtedly the Blue Jay is an important factor in reforesting burnt or
cut-over lands, since it is continually planting acorns, nuts and seeds of
various kinds. Of course it also distributes the seeds of many of the fruits
which it eats, as these are disgorged or pass through the intestines and are
distributed under favorable conditions for growth. Mr. Amos Butler,
of Indiana, believes that the Blue Jay distributes seeds of poison ivy ex-
tensively in this way, but our own investigations indicate that it eats few
if any poison ivy berries, and the distribution of these seeds is largely
accomplished by other birds. Professor F. E. L. Beal, of the U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, found no seeds of poison Rhus in the 292 Blue Jay
stomachs which he examined. He says "Jays do not eat the seeds of the
poison ivy (Rhus radicans) or poison sumac (Rhus vernix). It is worthy
of notice that the sumac seeds eaten are those of the harmless staghorn
(Rhus hirta) and smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) " (Yearbook U. S. Dept.
Agr., 1896, 205).
Under some circumstances the Blue Jay becomes very annoying in its
injury to cultivated fruits. It frequently attacks ripening apples and pears,
pecking holes in the sides of the largest and ripest fruits and injuring a much
greater number than it can possibly use. Moreover, its example is quickly
followed by other birds, who begin by enlarging the openings made by the
Jay, but probably attack sound fruits after a taste has been obtained.
When work on a tree of early apples has been once started the Jays, Red-
headed Woodpeckers, Robins and Orioles sometimes destroy almost every
apple.
The Blue Jay has an immense variety of call-notes, many of which are
decidedly musical, especially when heard at a little distance. Its ordinary
harsh scream of "jay, jay" has given it its common name, but it has in
addition a common yodling note which Seton Thompson writes "sir-roo-tle,
sir-roo-tle, sir-roo-tle," which he says is uttered in a subdued undertone; the
same syllables, however, express very well one of its common calls in autumn
Avhich may be heard at a distance of a quarter of a mile or even more. It
also imitates the calls of the Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks with
such precision and accuracy as to mislead many birds and even deceive
the practiced human ear. During quiet days in winter, and especially
LAND BIRDS. - 415
late in winter and in earliest spring, the Blue Jay frequently utters a subdued
and somewhat varied warble which is decidedly musical. More than once
we have been on the point of passing a tree from which this sound issued
under the belief that the author was a Pine Grosbeak, but after seeing the
performer in the act we were able to note a decided difference in the songs
of the two birds. Dr. Morris Gibbs has called our attention to the same
song, and it has been reported by others. The bird is something of a
ventriloquist and we believe it possesses considerable power of mimicry.
Taken altogether, it is a bird of such strong character, and with so many
good points, that in spite of its occasional forays on the eggs and young of
other birds we should sorely miss it if exterminated. The present law,
which places the Blue Jay among protected birds, is on the whole a wise one.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adiilt (sexes alike) : Forehead, spot in front of eye, crescent on chest continued into
collar .encircling the neck, deep black; top of head, including conspicuous crest, back,
scapulars, rump and upper tail-coverts, bright blue without spots; upper surface of wings
bright blue, the secondaries, tertiaries and coverts narrowly barred with black, the greater
coverts, secondaries and tertiaries broadly tipped with pure white; tail-feathers blue,
barred narrowly with black, all except the middle pair with deep white tips; throat grayish
white, with a pm-plish tinge; breast and sides dusky gray; belly and under tail-co^^erts
pvu-e white; bill and feet black; iris dark brown.
Young: Similar, but duller, the crest shorter and markings less sharply defined.
Length 11 to 12.50 inches; wing 5 to 5.70; tail 5.05 to 5.70; culmen .93 to LOG.
192. Canada Jay. Perisoreus canadensis canadensis (Linn.). (484)
Synonyms: Whiskey-jack, Whiskey -John, Moose Bird, Meat Bird, Grease Bird, Venison
Bird, Camp Robber, Meat Hawk.- — Corvus canadensis, Linn., 1766. — Garrulus canadensis,
Nutt., Aud. — Garrulus fuscus, Vieill.
Size of the Robin, dark gray above, hghter gray below, bleaching into
whitish on forehead and crown and becoming almost black on the back
of the head and neck.
Distribution. — Northern New York, Northern New England, and
Northern Michigan northward to Arctic America.
A bird well known to deerdiunters throughout the northern half of the
Lower Peninsula, and in most of the Upper Peninsula, since it hangs about
their camps, picking up refuse scraps thrown out by the cook and pecking
at meat or game hung up outside. It often becomes perfectly fearless
under such circumstances and is sometimes a great nuisance. Ordinarily,
however, it is shy and not often seen, although its voice may be constantly
heard both summer and winter. Probably it is resident over most of the
territory where it is found, but it may be driven somewhat farther south in
winter, and there are records of several southward movements of consider-
able magnitude; the last of these, in the fall of 1904, extended southward in
Ontario almost or quite to the city of Toronto.
In Michigan the bird is rarely if ever seen south of the Saginaw-Grand
Valley and must be considered decidedly rare except in the higher and more
densely wooded regions of the northern half of the Lower Peninsula.
Professor Cook's statement that this species was seen in winter of 1893
on the campus of the Agricultural College (Birds of ]\Iich., 2d ed., 1893,
p. 100) is doubtless a mistake, since neither Professor Cook himself nor any
of his assistants has any recollection of the fact, and no one else has ever
•IKi MICIIKIAN BIRD LIFE.
observed the bird here. It is not improbable that before the pine forests
were cut off this species may have been a winter visitor as far south as
Shiawassee county at least, and possibly much farther south along the Lake
Michigan shore. The most southern record which we can find is the
statement by Mr. Newell A. Eddy that he found it common on the south
branch of the Pine River, north of Bay City, in November, 1879.
It is common in suitable places throughout the Upper Peninsula and has
been recorded repeatedly from Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw,
Crawford, Oscoda and Alpena counties in the Lower Peninsula. We
have a skin in the College collection taken in Alpena county, November
22, 1898, b}^ A. B. Durfee, and two skins of young birds, still in immature
plumage, taken near Iron Mountain, Dickinson county, May 20, 1894, by Mr.
E. E. Brewster. This may be considered pretty good proof that the bird
nested in that county, for it is not hkely that these birds would have
wandered south during the spring. Mr. O. B. Warren states that the species
is common and nests in ^larquette county, but we have been unable to
obtain a single nesting record for the state. The interesting account given
by Mr. O. B. Warren (Auk, XVI, 1899, pp. 12-19), with excellent photo-
graphs of nest and 3'oung, relates to Mahoning, Minnesota, not Michigan,
although the statement occurs in the article that the observations were
made at "Mahoning, Mich." This nest was built between February 22
and March 12, 1898, and confirms the statement made by various other
authors that nesting is always very early in the season, the eggs being laid
almost invariably in March.
According to Captain Bendire the eggs are usually three or four, although
five are sometimes found. Their ground color is gray, flecked and spotted
over the entire surface with various shades of brown and lavender. They
average 1.16 by .82 inches.
The Canada Jay is said to be fully as destructive to the eggs and young
of wild birds as his near relative the Blue Jay, but we have no data tending
either to confirm or disprove these statements. In Michigan the bird
has been but rarely noted in summer, and so far as we know there have been
no observations made on its summer food.
Dr. Kneeland, in his Birds of Keweenaw Point (1859) says: "This
bird is common in Avinter, and a great pest to the trappers, from its pro-
pensity to steal their poisoned baits. Like the Raven it often falls a victim
to its greediness, by devouring meat containing strychnine set for foxes
and the fur-bearing animals."
According to Seton Thompson "Many of its notes resemble those of the
Blue Jay, but it has a number distinctly its own. Some of these are
musical, but most of them are harsh and discordant."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes alike): No crest; forehead and anterior part of crown white or erayish
white, the nasal tufts usually buffy or rusty; crown, occiput and nape brownish black to
sooty black, bordered behind by a broad grayish white or ashy collar; rest of upper surface
brownish or slaty-gray, the wing and tail feathers tipped with whitish; cheeks, chin, throat
and chest white or grayish-white; rest of under parts plain gray, very variable in shade,
but always darker than the chest; bill and feet black; iris brown.
Young: Nearly uniform slate-gray, as they leave the nest, with whitish tips on wing
and tail feathers, but no trace of white forehead or throat; later the forehead becomes much
lighter than the occiput, but the full plumage is not assumed until the following spring.
Length 11 to 12.10 inches; wing 5.60 to 5,90; tail 5,65 to 6.35; culmen .95 to 1.08.
LAND BIRDS.
417
193. Northern Raven. Corvus corax principalis Ridgiv. (486a)
Synonyms: Raven, Common Raven. — Corvus corax, Wils., Nutt. — Corvus carnivorus,
Baird, 1858, Coues, 1861. etc. — Corvus corax principalis, Ridgw., 1887, A. O. U. Com-
mittee, 1889.
Figure 99.
Known at a glance by its strong resemblance to the common Crow,
from which it is readily separated by its much greater size, the lance-shaped
separate feathers of the throat and neck (Fig. 99) and the graduated tail.
Distribution.— Northern North America, south to British Columbia,
northern Michigan, New Brunswick, Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina,
etc.
During the early history of Michigan the Raven was an abundant bird,
and even forty years ago it was fully as abundant about Lansing as was
the common Crow. At the present time it is confined almost entirely to
the northern part of the Lower Peninsula and the more heavily wooded
Fig. 99. Heads of Crow and Eaven (at right) to show^relative size.
Photograph from mounted specimens. (Original.)
portions of the Upper Peninsula, and even there it is by no means abundant.
Stragglers may wander south in winter and it would not be surprising
if an occasional individual were to be found in winter at any point in the
state; nevertheless the Raven must be considered a vanishing bird and its
extinction doubtless will be complete within a very few years.
According to B. H. Swales it was formerly common in Wayne county,
l)ut is now probably extinct; the latest record for that vicinity being a
pair seen by Mr. J. Claire Wood in 1885, not far from Windsor, Ont., just
across the river from Detroit. Mcllwraith, in his Birds of Ontario, states
that he had a specimen in his collection which was obtained at St. Clair
Flats, where it was said to be an occasional visitor in the fall. That,
however, was previous to 1894. In 1879, according to A. W. Brayton,
it was not uncommon along the shores of Lake Michigan from October
until spring, eating the dead fish thrown up by the Lake (Trans. Ind. Hort.
Soc, 1879, p. 129). Jerome Trombley states that it was common at
Petersburg, Monroe county, when he was a boy, but is now entirely extinct.
Mr. John Hazclwood of Port Huron writes that formerly he shot a good
many near that place, but of late years never sees them. Dr. Gibbs states
53
418 MICHIGAN J5IR1) LIFE.
that he saw two in Lake county, October 12, 1883, and S. K. White records
one as seen at Grand Rapids, April 8, 1890. We have a specimen in the
College iNIuseum taken November 12, 1896, near Trout Lake, Mackinac
county, Mich., and Mr. C. J. Scranton of West Branch, Ogemaw county,
told the writer in 1899 that, although not common there, several were
seen every winter and that they usually stayed through the summer.
The same year Mr. Oscar Palmer of Grayling, Crawford count5^ assured us
that it was not uncommon in that vicinity still. Major Boies found it
rather common in the fall on Neebish Island in the St. Mary's River, and
O. B. Warren stated in 1898 that Ravens were seen every month of the year
at Marquette, although they were rare. From 1889 to 1891 S. E. White
found it common along the north shore of the Straits of Mackinac, and Mr.
Newell A. Eddy of Bay City tells us that his last record for the Lower
Peninsula is a pair seen at a lumber camp in Roscommon county, March
27, 1891. Judge J. H. Steere informed us in 1903 that the Raven was still
very common at Sault Ste. Marie during some Avinters, often coming into
the city after refuse. He stated that scores were killed in Chippewa county
each winter by poison put out for Avolves. Mr. Joplin of JMunising informs
us that it occurs regularly in winter on Grand Island (in Lake Superior),
Alger county. Professor Eliot Blackwilder states that in Iron county
(Upper Peninsula), it is a bird of the deep recesses of the forest, not
common anywhere, but single pairs seen at frequent intervals (Auk, XXVI,
1909, 368).
Formerly the Raven doubtless nested all over the state and it is not
impossible that it still nests in suitable places here and there. According
to Hon. Chase S. Osborn it breeds in the Upper Peninsula "in the tallest
dense-topped conifers," and by the middle or latter part of April deposits
from two to seven eggs, which are hatched after about twenty days.
Under date of December 22, 1906, IMr. Osborn wa-ote: "During the last
month I have seen quite a number of Ravens in this vicinity (near Ecker-
man, Chippewa count}^), and upon one day I saw twenty-two, seven of
them in one flight, but the}^ are not as numerous as in former years."
The only account which we have been able to get of the actual finding of
a Raven's nest in the Lower Peninsula comes from Mr. F. H. Chapin, of Kal-
amazoo, and refers to a part of the state in which this bird would hardly be
looked for under present conditions. Mr. Chapin writes: "In May, 1880,
there was a large swamp, several miles long and two miles wide, at the head-
waters of the north fork of the Paw Paw River, in Almena township. Van
Buren countj^ Here, breeding for the most part in large sycamores, was
a large colony of Great Blue Herons, ^Mr. Sykes and myself went up there
to get some herons and I immediately remarked a pair of Ravens. I was
unal)le to visit the place again, however, until April 26, 1889, when I
returned to the heronry with Mr. L. E. Reed, a student at that time in
Kalamazoo College. The herons were not there, but we noted a pair of
Ravens and after some search we saw a bird leave a large nest. We secured
this bird and also another which had appeared on the nest. Both proved
to be full grown young of the year, and I have one of them still in my
collection. We did not get the old birds, for they were too wary. The
nest was situated on the broken top of a sj^camore, sixty feet up. The top
had been blown off squarely and on this break a very large nest of sticks
had been built. ^larch 18, 1890, Mr. Reed and myself again visited the
place, hoping to secure the old Ravens and the eggs, but were disappointed
in both I'espects. The old l)irds kept out of range and the nest contained
LAND BIRDS. 419
young too small to be of any use as specimens, so they were not molested.
They were very noisy, and about two weeks old. February 15, 1891, Mr.
Reed, Mr. R. F. Judson and myself again visited the swamp, but did not
see or hear a Raven. ^March 6, 1892, Mr. Judson and myself again went
to Almena and saw one Raven, but found no nest; this was my last visit
to the place."
Max ]\I. Peet, who accompanied the University of Michigan expedition
to Isle Royale, Lake Superior, in the summer of 1905, gives the following
interesting account of the habits of the Raven at that place: "The
Northern Raven was nowhere common but seemed to occur in limited num-
bers all over the island. Three were seen in a cedar swamp on July 29,
and a skeleton was found previous to this on the rocks near the lighthouse.
They were occasionally seen at Siskowit during August, usually flying
overhead or at some natural clearing near the beach. At Washington
Harbor they were only visitors, coming every now and then to the clearings
where they fed on grasshoppers w^hich were so abundant. They were
very wary. While exploring the ruins of the deserted town near the head
of Siskowit Bay, on September 10, a nest of the Northern Raven was found
in the old stamp mill. It was placed in the small hollow formerly occupied
by the metal plate upon which the head of the stamp fell. The side walls
of the stamp mill are broken down in places so that the entrance to the in-
terior was simple. The nest was about four feet square and the deepest
part about a foot deep, and was composed of sticks varying in size from
a quarter inch to three-quarters in diameter, and a foot to three feet long.
Several tail-feathers of the Raven were found in different layers of the nest,
showing that in all probability the mass was the accumulation of several
years of nest-building and repairing. Smaller feathers were scattered about
the nest and floor. The lining consisted of small sticks and roots loosely
laid together, but forming quite a compact mass in connection with the
other material. The floor of the building was strewn with pellets con-
sisting principally of fishbones, skeletons of small mice, and some insect
remains. Under some of the rafters this had accumulated to such an extent
that the deposit was four or five inches in depth. In places it was weathered
so badly that it appeared simply as a mass of brownish earth" (Adams'
Rep., Mich. Geol. Surv., 1908, pp. 361-362).
In other parts of the country the Raven frequently nests on cliffs and
ledges of rock, but where such locations are not to be had it contents itself
with tall trees, in which it builds a bulky nest, similar to that of the Crow,
and usually rears its young in safety. According to Bendire the number
of eggs varies from five to seven, sets of five and six being most common.
The eggs have a ground color of pale pea-green, drab, or greenish-olive,
and are unusually thickly and heavily spotted with different shades of
brown, lavender and drab. The average size is 1.95 by 1.36 inches.
Probably the food of the Raven is almost as varied as that of the Ciow,
yet it is not known to attack cultivated crops of any kind, and the belief
that it is destructive to young birds, eggs and game is rather an inference
than the result of oliservation. At all events its scarcity at the present
time precludes the possibility of its doing serious injury of this kind any-
where. Possibly it may hang about the nesting places of the gulls and
terns in our northern waters, and do some mischief by robbing nests, but
no actual observations of such piracy have come to our knowledge.
The ordinary call note, according to Bendire, is "craack-craak" varied
sometimes by a deep grunting "kocrr-koerr," and again by a "clucking,
420 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
a sort of self-satisfied sound, difficult to reproduce on paper; in fact, they
utter a variety of notes when at ease and undisturbed, among others a
metalUc-sounding 'klunk' which seems to cost them considerable'effort."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Feathers of the throat lanceolate and the tips distinct from each other, Hke the hackles
of a rooster; tail much graduated, the lateral feathers two inches or more shorter than the
middle ones; entire" plumage dark black, with bluish, greenish and purplish reflections;
bill, legs and feet black; iris dark brown. The female averages a little smaller than the male,
and the full grown young are hardly different.
Length 22 to 2G.50 inches; wing 16.50 to 18; tail 9.20 to 10.50; culmen 2.65 to 3.45.
194. Crow. Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos Br dim. (488)
Synonyms: Common Crow, American Crow, Carrion Crow. — Corvus corone, Wils.,
Bonap., Nutt. — Corvus americanus, Aud. and most American authors. — Corvus frugivorus,
Ridgw. 1881, Coues, 1875, and some others. — Corvus brachyrhynchos, Brehm,' 1822.
Figure 99.
Entirely black, including bill and feet; length about 18 inches; feathers
of throat with normal blended tips. Much larger than the Crow Blackbird
and much smaller than the Raven; otherwise easily separable from both
by the simply rounded, not pointed, tail.
Distribution. — North America, from the Fur Countries to the southern
border of the United States. Locally distributed in the west.
In Michigan the Crow is an abundant bird during the larger part of the
year and probably a few hardy individuals remain in all parts of the state
even during severe winters. By far the greater number, however, with-
draw from the state before the first of November, passing southward in
large flocks and wintering, as is well known, in immense numbers through-
out a belt of country less than two hundred miles in width, extending from
Chesapeake Bay westward to Missouri and Kansas. Within this belt
there are numerous "Crow-roosts" at each of which several hundred
thousand Crows congregate each night to roost after foraging the sur-
rounding country over an area often fifty miles in diameter during the day.
Crows begin to reenter the state from the south in February, sometimes
as early as the middle of the month, but more often toward the close, and
during March most of the Crows which nest in Michigan reach the locations
selected for that purpose. Crows which proceed beyond our northern
limits to nest continue to pass through the state until late in April or even
the first week in May, at which time many of our local Crows already have
young in their nests.
In the southern part of the state nest-building begins early in April,
while along the northern border this may be postponed until the first of
May. The nest is always bulky and consists largely of sticks, twigs, grasses,
roots and similar fibrous material, to which sometimes masses of sod or
even mud may be added. The nest is usually placed at a considerable
height above the ground, and in regions where evergreens are plentiful
these are most often selected. The eggs are commonly five or six in number,
but may range from four to eight. They vary interminably in color and
markings, but usually have a bluish or greenish white ground color heavily
spotted and blotched with different shades of brown. They average 1.69
by 1.17 inches.
LAND BIRDS. 421
The Crow is proverbially shrewd and shy and doubtless succeeds in
rearing its young in safety in the great majority of cases. In the latitude
of Lansing the young leave the nest by the middle of June, and there is no
reason to suppose that more than one brood is reared in the season.
The economic status of the Crow has been in dispute for more than a
hundred years, and in spite of all the work which has been done in the
attempt to settle the question, not a few points still remain obscure. Be-
tween the years 1886 and 1894 the author made a continuous and minute
study of the food of Crows, based primarily upon the examination of more
than 900 stomachs brought together at the Department of Agriculture in
Washington, and this work has been supplemented by more than seventeen
years of observation and examination in this state. For a detailed account
of the food of the Crow as shown by stomach examination the reader is
referred to the author's work on the Crow published by the United States
Department of Agriculture in 1895.* The following abstract and summary
of this investigation may be useful to those to whom the bulletin itself is
not accessible:
The writer personally examined, classified and estimated the stomach
contents of the 909 Crows on which the investigation was primarily based.
The remains of insects found in these stomachs, after careful study in our
own laboratory, were submitted to the Entomological Division of the
Department of Agriculture and were determined by the members of that
division, Mr. E. A. Schwarz submitting a report upon the insect food of the
Crow which was embodied in the bulletin as finally published.
As a result of the detailed investigation of these stomachs and of the
vast amount of other evidence gathered, the writer became fully convinced
that the Crow on the whole is far more injurious than beneficial. The
stomach examinations showed that the average amount of animal food
in winter was 33 percent and in summer 67 percent, while the average
amount of vegetable food was exactly complementary, that is, vegetable
food formed 67 percent of the winter food and but 33 percent of the summer
food. We may say therefore, speaking roughly, that the Crow's food for
the year consists of nearly equal parts of afiimal and vegetable substances,
the animal predominating in summer and the vegetable in winter.
Much the larger part of the animal food consists of insects, the average
for the year amounting to about 24 percent. The proportion howeve
varies widely according to season. Thus in January insects form less
than 3 percent of the food, while in April they form 53 percent, in May
49 percent and in June 41 percent. This large percentage of insect foocl,
and the common assumption that all insects are injurious, leads the careless
observer to conclude that the Crow must be necessarily a very beneficial
bird. As a matter of fact only a small part of the insects eaten are injurious,
many are beneficial, others are neutral, and a large number — whether good
or bad — are dead before they are picked up and hence have no bearing
on the question. Furthermore the stomach examinations prove beyond
doubt that the Crow must be held blameworthy for this neglect to eat at
all many of the most common and injurious insects which attack the farmer's
crops. The following extracts from Mr. Schwarz' report will give a fair
idea of the insect food:
"The insect food is almost exclusively composed of terrestrial species, tiiat is, such as
are found on the surface of the ground, or hide during the daytime at tlie base of plants
* Barrows and Schwarz. — Tho Common Crow in its Relation to Agriculture. Bull. No. 6, 18'J5,
Division of Ornithology ami Mammalogy, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
422 MICIIKJAN lURD LIFE.
or under the various objects lying on the surface; or sucli as Hve in tlie (hnig of domestic
animals, in decaying vegetable or animal matter, or underground. * * * The almost
complete absence of the numerous arboreal insects of all orders * * * indicates that
the birds when sitting or resting on trees do not ])ick up insects.
"The almost constant presence of coprophagous (dung-cat inu) insects in the stomachs
indicates that Crows preferably frequent dry pasture l.-imls, (hv meadows, or very open
woods, where cattle or horses are grazing. In many instances tlie presence of certain
species of Chlcenius, water beetles, or an occasional aquatic hemi|)ter or a Gryllotalpa or
Corydalus, etc., shows that the birds frequent the margins of ponds or streams.
"The insect food of the Crow consists only of large or medium-sized insects; small species
are only rarely, if ever, picked up. The smallest insects found are certain species of
Aphodius (dung-beetles). Ants form a marked exception to this rule, as small or very
small species are frequently found in many stomachs [doubtless taken with carrion].
"The Crow appears to prefer insects with a hard covering to the more soft bodied ones
* * * no soft-bodied imagos (a few Diptera excepted) seem to be eaten * * *
Ci'ows derive a great deal of their food from the insects living in dung-heaps and dead
animals, where dipterous and other larva; abound, still these are but rarely met with in
the stomachs. A marked exception to this rule is the freqvient occurrence of spiders, and
more especially of the family Lycosidse or ground spiders. [These are neutral — neither
harmful nor beneficial].
" Crows seem to have a predilection for insects possessing a pungent or otherwise strong
taste or odor. This is exemplified by the prevalence of Carabidse (among them the often
recurring genus Chloenius, possessing a peculiar odor), copropliilous or necrophagous
coleoptera (Silphidse, Histeridte and ScarabceidiE Laparosticti) , ants, and more especially
by the almost constant occurrence of certain species of the heteropterous family Penta-
tomidse (stink-bugs and spice-bugs).
"The following groups of insects representing the principal (insect) food supply of the
Crow are arranged according to their relative importance, but this sequence might undergo
some changes if an equal number of stomachs from all parts of the country were available
for examination :
"1. Grasshoppers. During the months of May and June * * * grasshoppers,
mostly of the genus Tettix, occur in the vast majority of stomachs, but with few exceptions
in moderate numbers only. * * * Toward the end of June specimens of the typical
locusts (grasshoppers, Melanoplus and allied genera) increase in nvmiber imtil in the month
of August and throughout the fall they constitute by far the greatest part of the insect
food, often occurring in astonishing numbers, and often forming the only insect food.
"2. Dung beetles. A larger or smaller number of dung-beetles, and more especially
of the genera Silpha, Hister, Copris, Onthophagus, Aphodius and Stnphylimis, occur in most
of the stomachs from all localities and throughout the whole year, and in many instances
comprise the greater bulk of the insect food.
"3. Ground beetles (Carabidse). These occur likewise in the vast majority of stomachs
from all localities and throughout the year, and the list of the species thus foimd is a very
extended one. However, none of these species is ever represented by any considerable
number of specimens in a single stomach.
"4. May beetles (Lachnosterna). During a short period of the year, commencing, in
the latitude of Washington, D. C. at the end of April, and in Maine and Michigan about
a fortnight later, and extending toward the end of June, these beetles furnish, as regards
bulk, number of specimens, and frequency of occurrence, the principal insect food of the
Crow. * * * Freijuently lai'ge numbers are found in a single stomach and this often
to the exclusion of other insect food. This habit prevails throughout the whole region
antl would occupy the foremost rank in this enumeration but for the fact that it is restricted
to two months of the year. * * * The principal but by no means exclusive insect
food of the nestlings may be said to consist of these May-beetles.
"5. Ground spiders (Lycosidse). The only soft-bodied insects that occur in a very
large numl)er of stomachs from all localities and throughout the warmer seasons. * * *
Often repn^sented in considerable numbers in the stomachs, occasionally forming the greater
bulk of the insect food.
"t). Weevils (Rliynclio])hora). Two species of weevils, Epicoerui^ itiihn'cains and
Phylonomvs putictatii's. botii often referred to in economic entomology, occui- ahunchmtly
in a large numt)er of stomachs. They would play a very prominent role in the food su])i)ly
of tli(! CroAv but for the fact that they are locally restricted. Epicoerus inihricalus does
not extend into the northern and northwestern states, and the clover weevil (Fhytonomus)
is a comparatively recent importation from Em-oi)e [First noteil in Michigan in 1892,
but now abundant and injm-ious].
"7. Cutworms (larvae of Noctuida;). Considering the enormous numl)er of cutworms
that occur, especially in sjjring and the earlier jjart of sunnncr. in ))astures, dry meadows.
LAND BIRDS. 423
«,nd oi^en fiekls, and that they hide during the day * * * in just such places as are
preferably investigated by the Crow in search of food, it is remarkable that they do not
constitute the largest part of the insect food. Even if we include all other lepidopterous
larvae and pupae found in the stomachs, this food does not by any means rank among the
most prominent features. The only explanation that occurs to me * * * js that the
Crow greatly prefers insects with hard bodies. Cutworms occur in many stomachs, usually
singly or in very small numbers, rarely forming the bulk of the food in any one stomach
and never the entire food. Noctuid pupae were foimd only in isolated cases.
"8. Soldier bugs (Pentatomidae). Although by no means representing a considerable
portion of the insect food, the constantly recurring presence of various species of soldier
bugs constitutes a characteristic feature in the food habits of the Crow. * * * it
seems probable that the strong odor or taste of these soldier bugs is the reason why they
are so eagerly sought l^y the Crows. * * * Those found belong to Podisus, EuscMstus,
and allied genera.
"9. Ants (Formicidae) . Ants form only a small proportion of the bulk of the insect
food, but their frequent occurrence in the stomachs suggests the explanation that they are
relished by the Crow on account of their peculiar acid taste. * * * The largest species,
Camponotus and Formica, are most frequent. The presence of very small species is probably
due to accident (picked up with dead or wounded May-beetles).
"Among insects which occurred only in a moderate number of stomachs and visually
only as single specimens, or only in a few stomachs in large numbers, the following perhaps
deserve mention:
"Click-beetles (Elateridae) . A tolerably large number of species but none represented
by many specimens. Larvae (wire-worms) were found only in a few isolated instances.
"Lamellicorn beetles. Lucanids occur occasionally, while various species of Scaraboeids
form in the aggregate a not inconspicuous portion of the insect food.
"Ants, bees, and wasps (Hymenoptera) . Only a moderate number of species and speci-
mens found, except of ants, already referred to.
"Flies (Diptera). The whole order is comparatively poorly represented. The small
number of larvae and puparia found in the stomachs is in striking contrast with their
enormous abundance in the excrement of horses, cattle, etc., or in dead animals.
"Crickets (Gryllidae). Very poorly represented. Ground crickets of the genera (Jn/llus
and Nemobuis occur in a moderate number of stomachs."
The complete or almost complete absence in the stomachs of numerous
harmful insects which live in places readily accessible to the Crow is note-
worthy. Witness the following from Mr. Schwarz' report:
"The absence of the large family of leaf-beetles (Chrysomelidse) is striking. Not a
specimen of the notorious Colorado potato beetle was found, nor a single larva of any
member of the family.
"The absence of all cabbage-worms deserves mention, also the absence of the various
Sphingid larvae and their pupae, which infest potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and
tobacco. The corn-worm (larva of Ileliothis armigera) is here specially mentioned. because
it is said that the Crows pull open and injure the ears of corn only for the purpose of getting
at tlie corn worms. None were recognized in the stomachs.
"No traces of the Hessian-fly were fovmd in the stomachs, but the small size of the
larva and pupa, as well as their mode of occurrence, make it improbable that the Crows
ever feed on this insect.
" Among all the stomachs examined only a single specimen of the notorious chinch bug
{Blissus leucopterus) was found, and, unless we assume that this insect is too small, no
explanation of its absence is offered.
"The more or less injiu"ious leaf-hoppers (Jassidse, Cercopidae, Membracidae) are not
represented in the stomachs.
"No specimens of white ants (Termitidae), the only injurious family of the order
Neuroptera, occurred in the stomachs.
"All spiders are insectivorous but only a few are useful to man. The only family which
is well represented in the stomachs (Lycosidae) has no economic importance.
"No ticks (Ixodidae) were found in the stomachs."
In summing up the good and harm done by the Crow in the consumption
of insects we must give full credit for his work on grasshoppers, May beetles,
click beetles and weevils. The work on grasshoppers is all good ; the work
on May beetles is likely to be greatly overrated, yet unquestionably is
important. Many yoai's of cjiroful field work have coiiviiicfMl us that
424 Michigan bird life.
during the May beetle season the Crow gets a large part of its animal
food from the refuse thrown up on the shores of sea, lake or stream. Fre-
quently insects are drowned by the million, and anyone who will carefully
search the shores of even the smallest pond in May, June and July will
find scores if not hundreds of drowned insects. Often the Crow gorges
itself with this food, and carries large amounts to its young, the May beetles'
almost always forming a conspicuous part. Moreover, myriads of May
beetles are injured or killed outright by accident every night, and these
dead or maimed beetles are among the commonest objects met with on
pavements, roadways and paths everywhere in the early morning. Often
they are covered with tiny ants which are trying to tear them to pieces
or drag them away, and when the Crow discovers and swallows the beetles
he takes the ants as well — the proof of this being evident in scores of the
crow stomachs examined. In short, dead insects are just as palatable
to the Crow as living ones, and there can be no question that a very con-
siderable part of the insects found in the stomachs represent merely so
much refuse animal matter, in fact carrion.
The work done on click beetles and weevils is commendable, but it is
very much smaller in amount than that on grasshoppers and May beetles.
The other harmful insects eaten are so few that they may be disregarded,
even the cut-worms being insignificant.
Two groups of beneficial insects, however, must be considered, namely
the ground beetles (Carabidse) and the soldier bugs (Pentatomida?). The
Crow eats these constantly, and although it is impossible to say just how
much harm is done in this way, it seems probable, all things considered,
that it is sufficient to offset almost completely the good done in eating
grasshoppers and May beetles.
This would leave a small balance in the Crow's favor from the consumption
of injurious insects, but, as will be shown directly, this is practically the
only credit to which the bird is entitled, and when weighed against the
vast amount of harm done in other ways is absolutely insignificant.
The remaining part of the animal food of the Crow is made up mainly
of rabbits, mice and other small mammals; snakes, frogs, toads, and fish;
wild birds and their eggs; crayfish, crabs, clams, snails and other shell fish;
and carrion. Taking up these items in the order mentioned, we may say
at the outset that the evidence afforded by the stomach examinations
must be weighed with considerable care in order to avoid misapprehension.
For example the presence of flesh or fibres of meat, sinew and bone may
mean that the Crow has been eating carrion or that it has been eating some
of the birds or mammals already mentioned. The presence of a single
tooth, a little hair, or a few entire bones or feathers may enable us to identify
this material positively, but in most cases it is still impossible to say whether
the remains thus identified are from individuals killed by the Crow or from
dead animals, that is carrion. The stomach examinations show that the
carrion not otherwise identified amounts to about 3 percent of the entire
food; rabbits, mice and other small mammals form about 1.7 per cent;
snakes, lizards, frogs, toads and fish form 2.2 per cent; remains of wild birds
and their eggs, together with poultry and their eggs, form about 1 percent;
crayfish and clams about 1.2 per cent.
Undoubtedly the Crow destroys a considerable number of young rabbits,
pouncing upon them and killing them by blows of the beak and afterwards
devouring them. But it also eats any remains of dead rabbits, young or
old, which it may find. The same is true of mice, which would seem from
LAND BIRDS. 425
the stomach examination, to form a rather constant item in the diet. Un-
doubtedly the Crow occasionally destroys the nests of meadow mice,
particularly in early spring when the snow is melting away, and it then
devours the helpless young, thereby doing some positive good. It must
be remembered, however, that the normal mortality among field mice
and meadow mice is considerable and the Crow unquestionably consumes
hundreds of these little rodents, picked up as carrion. The same is true
of frogs, toads, snakes and fish; for although any of these may be taken
alive when opportunity offers, it is unquestionably true that the great
majority of such remains in the stomachs are from individuals found dead
by the Crow, thus merely representing so much carrion. The habit already
referred to, of haunting the margins of pond, stream, and sea, points
plainly to this fact in the Crow's economy, and nothing is more certain
than that it watches the shores and patrols the water's edge continually
on the lookout for such food. Similiarly when a stream, pond, or pool
dries up the Crow is always on hand to get the dead or dying water animals
thus left at its mercy. In all this work (with the possible exception of that
on mice) no good of any importance is done, since the materials thus
consumed would have been effectually disposed of by the various carrion-
eating insects or by speedy dessication and decay, without injury of any
kind to man.
The relation of the Crow to our wild birds and to domestic poultry is
of decided importance. Perhaps no single trait has been more generally
noted or more uniformly condemned than its habit of robbing the nests
of other birds; not simply those of the robin, thrush, meadowlark and other
song birds, but those of the quail, partridge, wild duck, sea gull, and various
other birds or waterfowl, in fact the nest of any bird whatever, provided
it can secure the eggs or young without too much danger to itself. The
skill with which this is done is often amazing. Crows will pass back and
forth in the vicinity of birds nests which seem to be plainly exposed and
of which the Crows must know the location, yet day after day they will
ignore these nests until precisely the right moment arrives, when almost
invariably they descend upon the nest in the absence of the parents and
devour or carry away for their young whatever the nest may contain.
The fact that the stomachs show so small a percentage of the remains
of wild birds and eggs is readily explained by a consideration of the facts.
In the first place the eggs usually are devoured at once by the Crow, not
carried to the nest to be fed to the young; and in most cases the shells are
entirely discarded, only the soft interior of the egg being swallowed. Again,
the unhatched chicks or the nestlings devoured by the Crow or fed to the
young contain few or no hard parts which can escape digestion and remain
to be used as evidence against the criminal. The beak, bones and claws
ate all soft and in most cases the feathers are too small and undeveloped
to be identified. Thus it happens that Crows may feed extensively upon
the eggs and young of other birds, while the stomach contents may give
little or no evidence against them. The complaints from sportsmen and
naturalists alike, are almost unanimous in condemning the Crow for the
destruction of immense numbers of the eggs and young of game birds
and waterfowl; and all the evidence collected goes to show that, aside
from climatic conditions, no single factor is so important as the Crow in
reducing the number of these birds.
It is now known with certainty that the Crow destroys large numbers
of chickens, ducklings and the young of other domesticated poultry.
426 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Complaints of thiri nature come from all parts of the country, but naturally
.are most frequent in those regions where Crows nest abundantly. We
have heard scores of complaints from farmers in Michigan and it may be
safely affirmed that in this state Crows kill far more chickens than all species
of hawks combined. In some instances poultry raisers have noticed the
loss of young chickens continuously for days or even weeks without suspect-
ing the cause, for although Crows were frequently seen in the vicinity
they were not observed to trouble the chickens and in the absence of hawks
it was difficult to account for the loss. Careful observation, however,
shows that the Crow is very adroit in his chicken stealing, usually visiting
the poultry yards very early in the morning, often before sunrise, although
in some instances he becomes bolder and makes his visits at any time of
day. Often he may be seen sitting on fence or tree not far from the
barn, but apparently unconcerned about the chickens which may be near.
He watches his opportunity, however, and at the favorable moment floats
quietly to the ground, snatches up a downy chicken and flies swiftly away
to the nearest woods.
For some obscure reason these visits of the Crow do not cause the flurry
and alarm which follows the visit of the hawk, and often no outcry is raised
except perhaps by the mother of the unfortunate chick. One successful
exploit of this kind is followed quickly by another and in this way a score
or more of chickens may be taken in the course of a week without the
detection, or at least without the punishment, of the thief. Such robberies
are more frequent when the broods of chickens are at some distance from
the house and especially when the hen has stolen her nest in the woods
some distance away. A Crow has no objection to taking the eggs of poultry
when these can be had but except in cases like that just mentioned it seldom
gets the opportunity.
Turning now to a consideration of the vegetable food of the Ciow we
find still less to commend and much more to condemn. Directly or in-
directly the Crow inflicts a large amount of damage on the agriculturist
and in most cases it is possible to estimate this loss with considerable
accuracy and weigh it with approximate justice against the good.
The principal vegetable foods of the Crow are corn, wheat, oats, l)uck-
wheat and the seeds of some grasses and weeds, together with a considerable
amount of acorns, chestnuts and beechnuts (collectively spoken of as
"mast"), to which is added a comparatively small amount of cultivated
fruits, particularly cherries, strawberries, and l)lackberries, and a rather
larger amount of various wild fruits and berries. In the consumption of
all this vegetable food the Crow is known to do good in but two ways;
namely, in the destruction of a very limited amount of the seeds of grasses
and weeds, and in the distribution or planting of chestnuts, acorns, beech^
nuts and the seeds of various more or less valuable trees, particularly tho'se
of the wild cherry (Primus serotina) and the red cedar (Jvniperus
virginiana). The good work done in this way should of course be taken
into consideration, but it is not greater, if it is as great, as that done by
numei-ous other species; moreover it is entirely offset by the large amount
of harm done by distributing the seeds of poison sumac and poison oak
or poison ivy (Rhus venenata and toxicodendron).
In common with many other birds the Crow eats freely the berries of all
the species of Rhus, but is particularly fond of the poisonous species above
named, and during the colder half of the year it often eats these in immense
quantities. The writer has frequently taken more than a hundi'cd seeds
LAND BIRDS. 427
of the poison ivy from the stomach of a single Crow, and among hundreds
of stomachs collected in cold weather not 5 percent failed to contain some
of these seeds. In the gizzard of the Crow the nutritious pulp of these
berries is quickly separated from the hard bony seeds, and the latter, mixed
with large quantities of the sand and gravel used for grinding, are choked
up by the Crow in compact masses of twenty to fifty seeds at a time. These
seeds are not injured in the least by this process and the greater part of them
are distributed by the Crow under conditions which favor their germination
and growth. It is difficult to estimate the amount of harm thus done,
but it is safe to say that the misery thus caused is enormous and our estimate
of it is not lessened l^y the fact that numerous other Inrds assist in the
harmful work.
The consumption of ripened grain (including corn) perhaps is not very
great, although we have scores of complaints relating to the destruc-
tion of green corn, corn "in the milk," and corn "in roasting ear" by
Crows. In such cases the amount of damage seems to depend largely
upon the location of the field, and it is usually noted that the rows which
are nearest the woods, or which are least exposed to human observation,
are the ones which suffer most. It is not uncommon to find more than 50
percent of the ears in ten or more of the outermost rows seriously damaged
if not entirely destroyed. At this time the Crows are in flocks of con-
siderable size formed by the union of three to thirty family groups and the
marauding parties often consist of thirty to eighty individuals.
But by far the most serious injury which the Crow does the farmer is
in pulling up the corn which has just come through the ground. This
habit is so well known and the complaints are so universal that it seems
idle to spend time in discussing the fact. There are those who claim that
the mischief is done by chipmunks, gophers, or even red squirrels, and it
is well known that the Crow-blackbird or Bronzed Grackle does a certain
amount of damage in the same way. But beyond question the larger part
of this work is done by the Crow alone. A few seemingly intelligent people
still claim that in pulling corn in this way the Crow is carefully searching
for the wire-worm, the cut-worm or the white grub found at the root.
This claim has been absolutely disproved by repeated observations and
by examinations of stomachs of Crows which had been feeding on corn
pulled in this way. In no case have any of the insects above named been
found in the same stomach with sprouted corn, and it may be added
that these three groups of insects are rarely found in Crow's stomachs at
all. The cutworm being distasteful to the Crow is taken only as a last
resort.
The consideration of the foregoing facts should convince any candid
mind that in the long run the Crow must prove far more injurious than
beneficial to the agriculturist. The question now naturally arises, what
can be done to prevent the harm? Two methods of procedure suggest them-
selves: (1) The more or less complete destruction of Crows. (2) The more
or less complete protection from Crows of the crops which he injures.
Destruction of the Crow is hardly practicable. The conditions are
such that in spite of persecution of all kinds the Crow is sure to survive at
least in small numljers. The use of poison, the gun, and bounties have
effected a temporary lessening of numbers in limited areas, but all these
factors com])ined are insufficient to secure extermination. Nor is this
altogether to be regretted. In spite of his many l)ad qualities the Crow
has an attractive pci'sonality and his presence in small numbers adds
428 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
a picturesque element to the landscape which the nature lover can ill afford
to lose. Probably few, even of the most inveterate Crow haters, would
care to see the species completely exterminated. Doubtless, however,
it is perfectly safe to allow the killing of the Crow at all seasons and in
almost any manner, for his watchfulness, intelligence and hardiness seem
sufficient to insure the survival of a moderate number in spite of everything.
On the one hand it does not seem wise to afford him the protection which
the law gives to most species, while on the other hand the offer of bounties
is ill advised for many reasons. Among these is the fact that Crows can be
most readily killed during the nesting season, and anything which takes
the man with a gun into the field during the season for game is always to
be deplored. The average American, particularly the young American,
is always ready to kill, and if he does not find Crows is sure to satisfy his
ambition with the killing of some other and valuable bird.
The protection of poultry and the nests of wild birds against the ravages
of the Crows is practically impossible, and so long as Crows exist they will
continue to distribute the seeds of the poison sumacs.
In one direction only can the farmer secure partial protection from the
Crow. If he is willing to prepare his seed corn by moistening with tar
oil or some similar material before planting the Crow will seldom make
any attempt to pull up this corn after it has sprouted. This practice,
known as the "tarring of seed corn," has been in common use in Maryland,
Virginia and parts of Pennsylvania and Delaware for more than a hundred
years and if properly used seems to be quite effective. The protection
secured doubtless depends upon the strong flavor which the tar imparts
to the growing shoot and young plant, until the latter is at least several
inches high. It is not necessary or desirable to soak the grain in strong
tar oil, but merely to coat it lightly so that enough of the material will
remain upon the kernel to give a strong flavor to the young plant. There
are several objections to the method, the most important being that it
involves a considerable amount of additional labor, especially as the planter
can seldom be used for this prepared seed.
The usual method is to soak the seed corn for ten or twelve hours in water
and then drain off the water and stir the corn with a stick which is dipped
at short intervals into the tar oil. When the kernels have become dis-
tinctly brown from the coating of tar air-slaked lime, wood-ashes or fine
road dust is stirred into the grain until the kernels no longer stick together.
In this condition the corn can be planted by hand and will sprout in due
time. Too heavy a coating of tar may hinder the absorption of water
from the soil, and a too thorough soaking in tar oil may entirely prevent
germination. A few farmers claim that such preparation has not protected
their corn but that the Crows pulled it almost as if untarred. The general
verdict, however, is decidedly otherwise, and most corn growers would
follow the practice regularly were it not for the labor involved.
The use of "scarecrows" is quite general and most people are familiar
with the human effigies of straw and old clothes which do duty in this
way, as well as with the small windmills, rattles, wires, jingling tin and sheet
iron suspended from poles and moved by the wind. Perhaps the most
effective of these devices consists in stretching white twine around and across
the newly planted field, especially if the strings be stretched in two direc-
tions so as to form a coarse net work over the field. The protection secured
in this way, however, is seldom complete or long continued.
LAND BIRDS. 429
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Feathers of the throat broad and blended at the tips, like those of the breast and back;
tail but little rounded, the lateral feathers hardly an inch shorter than the middle ones;
entire pliunage black, as in the Raven, with similar greenish, bluish and purplish reflections;
bill and feet black; iris dark brown. The sexes are nearly alike in size and color, though
females may average a little smaller. The young just after leaving the nest are duller
black than the adults, lacking the glossiness and metallic reflections.
Length 17 to 21 inches; wing 11.90 to 13.25; tail 6.90 to 8; culmen 1.80 to 2.05.
Family 55. ICTERID.E. Orioles. Blackbirds, etc.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Plumage showing some blight yellow or red. B, BB.
B. With red or red and yellow. C, CC.
C. Breast orange red, tail with much yellow and black. Baltimore
Oriole, male. No. 203.
CC. Shoulders alone red, tail without yellow. Red-wing and
Thick-billed Redwing, adult male. Nos. 198, 199.
BB. Without red; under parts largely yellow. D, DD.
D. Throat yellow. E, EE.
E. A black crescent on chest; breast and belly yellow.
Meadowlark and Western Meadowlark. Nos. 200,
201.
EE. No black crescent on chest. F, FF.
F. Entire head and neck yellow, breast and belly black,
white patch on wing. Yellow-headed Blackbird.
No. 197.
FF. Entire under parts yellow, two whitish wing-bars.
G, GG.
G. Under parts light greenish yellow, wing 3.25 or
less. Orchard Oriole, female. No. 202.
GG. Under parts reddish yellow, wing 3.50 or more.
Baltimore Oriole, female. No. 203.
DD. Throat black. H, HH.
H. Tail with much yellow and black. Baltimore Oriole,
male. No. 203.
HH. Tail greenish yellow, without black. Orchai'd Oriole,
young male. No. 202.
AA. Plumage without bright red or yellow. I, II.
I. Distinctly streaked below. J, JJ.
J. Breast and sides thickly streaked with black or dusk}- on a
nearly white ground color. K, KK.
K. Streaks sharp and black. Redwing, female. Nos. 198,
199.
KK. Streaks blended and dusky. Cowbird, young, and some
adult females. No. 196.
JJ. Under parts clear buff, streaked mainly on the sides, with
black. Bobolink, female, and fall specimens of both sexes.
No. 195.
430 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
II. Not streaked below. L, LL.
L. Mainly black or slate color all over, and without anj^ white
in wings. M, MM, MMM.
M. Large, length 11 to 14 inches, tail much graduated.
Bronzed Grackle. No. 205.
MM. Medium, length 8 to 10 inches, tail nearly squai-e, bill
slender. Rusty Blackbird. No. 204.
MMM. Small, length 6 to 8 inches, tail square, bill short and
thick. Cowbird, male and female. No. 196.
LL. Not all black or slate color, some white on wings. N, NN,
NNN.
N. Under parts clear black, upper parts largely white. Bob-
olink, adult male. No. 195.
NN. Under parts mainly rich chestnut, only throat and chest
clear black. Orchard Oriole, adult male. No. 202.
NNN. Under parts plain greenish yellow, upper parts plain
olive, two whitish wing-1)ars. Orchard Oriole,
female. No. 202.
195. Bobolink. Dolichonyx oryzivorus (Linn.). (494)
Synonyms: Skunk-head l^ilackhird, White-winged Bhickbird, Meadowwink, Towhee
(mistake), and, at the soutli, Kiee-bird and May-bird. — Fringilla oryzivora, Linnaeus,
1758. — Dolichonyx oryzivorus, Swains., 1827. — Emberiza oryzivora, Wilson.
Plate XLIII.
]\Iale in spring entirely l)lack l^elow, mixed black, white and cream above;
female everywhere pale buff, the upper parts and the sides streaked with
black. In both sexes and at all ages and seasons the tail-feathers are very
sharp pointed.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, w^est to Montana, etc. ; north to
Ontario and the southern parts of Manitoba, Assiniboia, and Alberta;
south in winter to the West Indies and South America. Breeds from the
middle states northward, and winters south of the United States.
In Michigan the Bobolink is a summer resident over by far the larger
part of the state. Wherever there are open meadows and grain fields
the bird is found at least occasionally, but it must be considered an in-
frequent resident of the entire Upper Peninsula, and even in the Lower
Peninsula it is far more abundant south of the parallel of 44^ than north
of it. In a general way the Saginaw-Grand Valley may be said to be the
northern limit of its abundance, but we have records of its occurrence,
sometimes in considerable numbers, in almost every county in the Lower
Peninsula, and it occurs regularly, although in comparatively small numbers,
in parts of Mackinac, Chippewa, Delta and Marquette counties in the
Upper Peninsula, and will doubtless be found at various other points. It
is a liird of such striking appearance and beautiful song that it is not likely
to be overlooked at any point where it occurs in numbers.
This is one of our finest songsters and also one of the birds which is
believed to be most beneficial to the farmer as a consumer of insects in-
jurious to mowing lands, meadows and gi-ain fields. It arrives from the
south the last of April or the first of ]May, the dates ranging at Petei'sburg,
Plate XLIII. Bobolink. .Male and Female,
frotn Chapman's Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America.
By courtesy of D. Appleton & Co.
LAND BIRDS. 433
Monroe county, from April 26, 1885 to May 6, 1897, while at South Frank-
fort, Benzie county, Mich., the earliest date is May 21, 1892, and there is
a single record at Sault Ste. Marie on May 28, 1900. As in many other
cases the males usually precede the females by a week or more and nesting
does not begin until perhaps a fortnight later.
Nests with fresh eggs are most often found during the first week in June,
but in some years they may be built as early as the 20th of May. The
nest is invariably placed on the ground, usually sunk flush with the surface,
somewhat deeply hollowed, and carefully concealed by the surrounding
vegetation. It may be placed in a meadow, a pasture or a grain field,
and occasionally in ground so low that it is flooded by heavy rains. So
thoroughly is the nest concealed that it is seldom discovered while it
contains eggs, except by flushing the female from the nest, but after the
young are hatched a little careful watching of the birds usually will indicate
the exact location. The eggs vary from four to seven, but are commonly
five or six in number. They are dull white, heavily spotted with dark
brown or bluish, and often irregularly scratched and pen-marked with
black. They average .83 by .61 inches. But one brood is reared in the
season.
From the time of arrival until the young are out of the nest the males
sing constantly and the indescribable song is by many considered the
most remarkable, if not the most beautiful, of any of our bird songs. As
soon as the young are on the wing the male begins to moult his dark suit
and usually by the first of August can be distinguished from the female
only by his somewhat larger size and rather deeper yellow color. At this
time young and old resemble each other quite closely and, many families
uniting into one flock, they roam from one meadow or grain field to another,
feeding freely upon grass seeds, weed seeds, and sometimes upon grain
(most commonly oats) in the milk. The damage done in this way, however,
is negligible and is more than offset by the destruction of weed seeds, which
must be enormous. Moreover, during the entire nesting season both old
and young feed very largely upon insects, thus conferring a vast benefit
upon the agriculturist. Among these insects v/eevils, cutworms and
grasshoppers are conspicuous, and although numerous other insects are
consumed those just named appear to form the bulk of the insect food
during June, July and August.
Although one of our most beautiful and valuable birds, it would be hardly
fair to withhold the statement that our Bobolink passes southward about
the first of September, and uniting with various species of blackbirds pillages
the rice-fields of South Carolina, Georgia and the Gulf Coast where it is
commonly known as the "Rice Bird." The damage clone to ripening
rice is very great and it not unfrequently causes losses of thousands of
dollars to individual planters. Prof. F. E. L. Beal makes the following
statement in this connection: "The picturesqueness of the Bobolink
and the melody of its song do not offset the financial loss and harrassing
care of the southern rice grower. As the case stands at present the harm
done by the bird far outweighs its benefits; but it is to be hoped that
science may devise some means by which the rice growers may be relieved
from some portion, if not all, of the labor and expense now incident to
saving their crops from its devastations" (Bull. No. 13, Division of Biolo-
gical Survey, U. S. Dep't of Agriculture).
55
434 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male in spring: Entire top of head glossy black; occiput, nape and hind neck
rusty white, buffy, or pure white; outer scapulars, rump and upper tail-coverts white or
whitish; interscapulars mainly black, usually streaked with rusty or whitish; entire under
parts clear black except for whitish or rusty edgings on some feathers of abdomen and under
tail-coverts; wings and tail pure black, the tertiaries rather broadly margined with whitish,
and the first three primaries witli very narrow white edges; bill bluish black; iris dark
brown; legs and feet brown.
Adult female in spring: Top of head deep brown, with a median stripe of grayish buff,
wliich is also the ground color of the entire upper parts, but plentifully streaked and spotted
with dark brown and blackish, most heavily on the scapulars and interscapulars; imder
parts clear buff or grayish buff, more or less streaked on sides, flanks and under tail-coverts
with blackish, the chin nearly pure white; wings and tail brownish, with narrow light
edgings; up]3er mandible reddish brown, lower flesh colored; feet and legs pale; iris light
brown.
Adult male in autumn: Similar to summer female, but the grovmd color a deeper, richer
buff, and the streaking more pronounced. Autumn females, and young of both sexes,
are similar but paler than the autumn male, the females usually separable by smaller
size.
Male: Length 7 to 7.60 inches; wing 3.50 to 4; tail 2.75 to 3; culmen about .55. Female
averaging about one-half inch shorter, the wing about one-fourth inch less.
196. Cowbird. Molothrus ater ater (Bodd.). (495)
Synonyms: Cow Blackbird, Cow Bunting, Lazy Bird, Brown-headed Blackbird. —
Oriolus ater, Boddaert, 1783. — Molothrus pecoris, Aud., Bona})., Baird, and others. —
Emberiza pecoris, Wils.
Plate XIJV.
Smallest of our black])irds. Male, metallic greenish black, the entire
head and neck brown; female, dirty grayish brown.
Distribution. — United States from the Atlantic to the i^icific, north
into southern British America, south in winter into ^lexico.
This, the smallest of our blackbirds, is abundant throughout the state
and well known not only from its constant association wdth cattle in the
l)asture, where it is seen feeding about their feet and perching upon their
backs, but also on account of the remarkable habit of laying its eggs in the
nests of other birds. It never builds a nest of its own, nor does the female
take any care whatever of its young. The birds are polygamous and are
commonly found during spring and summer in small flocks of twenty or
less in which the males may outnumber the females or vice versa.
When the female is about to lay she searches for the nest of some smaller
l)ird, preferably a warbler or a sparrow, and watching her opportunit}'
deposits her egg in the nest while the owner is temporarily absent. Usually
the owner of the nest accepts the situation and hatches the egg along with
her own, and eventually the young cowbird is reared, very often at the
expense of the other young; for, being larger, stronger and more voracious,
the young Cowbird demands and receives the larger part of the food brought
by the parents, so that, if not crowded out of the nest, the rightful young
are often starved to death. That this is not always the case is shown by
the fact that nests are occasionally found containing a single young Cowbird
and two or more young warblers or sparrows all nearly or quite read}^ to
leave the nest. It is much more common, however, to find a pair of warblers
or vireos feeding a single young Cowbird. It is claimed that the Cowbird
is careful to select a nest already containing eggs, but this certainly is not
true in Michigan, since scores of deserted nests are found each year con-
Plate XLIV. Cowbird. Mai.-.
Reprinted from Chapman's Bird Life. By courtesy of D. Appleton & Co.
LAND BIRDS. 437
taining single eggs of the Cowbird. It is also common to find a nest con-
taining two, three, or even four Cowbird's eggs along with one or more
eggs of the rightful owner. Ordinarily such nests are promptly deserted.
The species most commonly imposed upon are the various warblers,
flycatchers, vireos and sparrows which nest in exposed situations where
the Cowbird can readily find them. Nevertheless, a very large number
of small birds suffer from the visits of the Cowbird, and a few species which
nest in the deep woods are frequently victimized, among them the Ovenbird.
Captain Bendire gives a list of ninety-one species and subspecies in whose
nests Cowbirds' eggs have been found, and states that undoubtedly a number
of others yet remain to be added to the list. In a few cases a bird thus
imposed upon builds a false bottom or shelf above the eggs of the intruder
and also raises the rim of the nest, thus leaving the Cowbird's egg to become
stale in the basement while it lays its own eggs above. This, however,
does not always secure safety, for the same or another Cowbird is likely
to visit the nest again and leave another egg. Such two-story nests are
not uncommon in collections, and occasionally even a three-story nest
is found. We have such a one, built by a yellow Warbler, in our college
collection. The Cowbird's eggs are variously speckled and spotted with
brown on a soiled white back-ground, often with a greenish tinge, and
average .81 by .66 inches.
The Cowbird arrives from the south about the first of April. At Peters-
burg the earliest record is March 17, 1889 and the latest April 27, 1892.
At Grand Rapids the dates are April 1 to April 4, and at Sault Ste. Marie
the single record we have is April 22, 1901. The males come first, and often
singly or with flocks of other blackbirds, and it is not until nine or ten
days after their arrival that they are seen in flocks with the females.
Their food has been carefully studied by the Division of Biological
Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture, and is found to
consist of about 22 percent of animal matter and 78 percent of vegetable
matter. Insects form about 20 percent of the food for the year, but are
mainly taken in INIay, June, July and August. The Cowbird appears to
eat few beneficial insects, avoiding the predaceous ground beetles, but
eating a few wasps, bees and ants. Its best work is in destroying grass-
hoppers which form about half the insect food, and in August make 45
percent of the entire food of the species. It also eats snout beetles or
weevils (about 2 percent), and caterpillars to about the same extent.
Among the latter are a few cutworms, and the armyworm (Leucania) was
found in four stomachs. Contrary to expectation it eats few flies or
maggots, and there is no proof whatever that it eats intestinal worms
from cattle droppings, or ticks from the animals themselves. In fact,
the association of this bird with cattle has never received any satisfactory
explanation.
The vegetable food consists mainly of weed seeds and grain, the former
predominating. Many stomachs contained nothing but weed seeds and
clover seed, and many others nothing but these and grain. The latter is
largely waste grain, principally oats, but a considerable part is from newly
sown fields. The Cowbird does no harm to cultivated fruits. On the
whole its food would indicate that it is rather more beneficial than harmful.
It must not be forgotten, however, that in causing the death of multitudes
of small birds, all of which are valuable to the agriculturist, this blackbird
is doing an injury for which no amount of beneficial work in other directions
can ever atone. It is one of the few species of native birds which might
well be exterminated if possible.
438 MICHK;AN ]iIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire head and neck uniform glossy dark brown; rest of plumage glossy
greenish black, usually with a purplish tinge where the brown and black areas merge; bill
and feet black; iris dark brown.
Adult female: Dull brownish gray to plain dark gray, somewhat darker above than
below; throat much lighter, sometimes soiled white; breast and belly often obscurely
streaked with dusky; bill and iris brown.
Young: At first quite similar to the adult female, but more distinctly streaked below;
young males, however, begin to assume the adult plumage in early autumn, and are often
seen patched in various degrees with gray and deep black.
Male: Length 7.75 to 8.25 inches; wing 4 to 4.60; tail 2.90 to 3.35; culmen .61 to .72.
Female: Averages about one inch shorter, the wing about 3.75.
197. Yellow-headed Blackbird. Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus {Bona/p.).
(497)
Synonyms: Copperhead. — Icterus xanthocephalus, Hona|)arte, 1826. — Agelaius
xanthocephalus, Sw. & Rich., Aud., Baird. — Xanthocephalus icterocephalus, Coues, B.
B. & R., Lawr., Ridgw. and many others.
Male glossy black with bright yellow head and neck in sharp contrast,
and a pure white patch in the wing which is conspicuous in flight. Female
similar, but smaller, browner, the yellow duller and no white in the wing.
Distribution. — Western North America, from Wisconsin, Illinois and
Texas to the Pacific Coast, and from British Columbia and the Saskatchewan
River southward to the valley of Mexico. Accidental in Ontario and the
Atlantic states.
The Yellow-headed Blackbird must be considered a straggler in Michigan
and a very rare one at that. A single specimen, an adult male, was taken
May 17, 1890, near Iron Mountain, Dickinson County, Mich., by Mr. E. E.
Brewster. Mr. Brewster has kindly donated this specimen to the College
and it is now in our collection, numbered 8044. This, so far as we can learn,
is the only unquestionable Michigan specimen in existence. There is a
specimen in the Barron collection at Niles, Mich., which may have been
taken in that vicinity, but it is without any label and its origin is entirely
unknown. Mr. John Hazelwood of Port Huron states that a single specimen
of this species was brought to him for identification by a boy who had
shot it, but the specimen was not preserved and the date of capture is not
known. A. B. Covert of Ann Arbor states that specimens have been
secured on the Monroe marshes in Monroe county, and he has a note to that
effect on the margin of his copy of Coues Key, but no definite data as to
these specimens have been found. There is in the Universit}^ of Michigan
collection a specimen of the Yellow-headed Blackbird labeled "Scole-
cophagus carolinus, Mich., J. Hobson & Son." It is a young bird, but
evidently was well able to fly. N. A. Wood informs us that Hobson was
once curator of the University Museum, and he feels sure that this spec-
imen must have been taken in the immediate vicinity of Ann Arbor.
The bird is known to nest abundantly in certain parts of Wisconsin,
and it formerly nested in numbers in Lake county, Indiana, within a
very few miles of the Michigan border. The Gibbs collection contains a
set of four eggs taken at Sheffield, Lake county, Ind., June 16, 1878, by
Geo. F. Clingman, nest in wild rice two feet above the mud. It also breeds
in northeastern Illinois and it is not impossible that small colonies may
occasionally nest in IMichigan territory in the southern tier of counties.
It is a i)rairie bird, nesting in the marshes and sloughs after the manner
LAND BIRDS. 439
of the Red-winged Blackbird and feeding largely on grain and weed seeds
as do the other blackbirds.
It builds a bulky nest and lays fi'om four to six eggs, which are thickly
speckled with brown on a gray back-ground, sometimes with pen scratches
of black. The eggs average 1.05 by .71 inches.
Although a handsome bird it seems to be doubtfully beneficial, according
to Prof. Beal's study of its food in the Biological Survey at Washington.
He finds that about 30 percent of its food consists of insects harmful to
vegetation, all taken from the ground, mainly beetles, grasshoppers and
caterpillars. Among the latter the army-worm is not uncommon. On
the other hand it gleans waste grain from roadsides, barn yards and pastures
like the Cowbird, but it also visits grain fields in large flocks and eats enough
to cause much complaint among farmers. Oats and wheat suffer most.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Feathers about the base of bill, including the lores and small area about
the eye, deep black; rest of head, neck and chest bright canary yellow, sometimes almost
orange; usually a few yellow feathers about the vent and on the thighs (tibise) ; a conspicuous
pure white patch on each wing, including the primary coverts and often some of the greater
coverts; rest of the plumage, including wings and tail, glossy black; bill and feet black;
iris brown. Adult female: Decidedly smaller; brownish black, only the chest, throat
and a line over the eye dull yellow; breast with some whitish intermixed with the dark;
no white wing-patch. Young: Similar to adult female. In autumn and winter the
adult male has the bright yellow much obscured by dusky or brownish tips of the feathers.
Male: Length 10.60 to ILIO inches; wing 5.65 to 5.80; tail 4.50 to 4.85; culmen .75
to 1. Female: 9 to 10 inches; wing 4.40 to 4.65; tail 3.50 to 3.70.
198. Red-winged Blackbird. Agelaius phoeniceus phoeniceus {Linn.). (498)
Synonyms: Red-wing, Red-shouldered Blackbird, Swamp Blackbird, Red-winged
Starling. — Oriolus phoeniceus, Linn. 1766. — Icterus phoeniceus, Bonap., Nutt. — Sfurnus
praidatorius, Wils., 1811. — Agelaius phoeniceus of most other authors.
Figures 100, 101, 102, 103.
Adult male mainly or entirely black except for the shoulders (lesser
and middle wing-coverts), which are brilliant scarlet bordered with buffy
white. Female and young streaked with brownish or grayish above and
below, and mottled or not with dull red on the shoulders.
Distribution. — North America in general from Great Slave Lake south
to Costa Rica, with minor exceptions.
In Michigan the Red-winged Blackbird is almost univci'sally distributed
and breeds in every part of the state Avhere suitable conditions are found.
It is, however, much more plentiful in the
middle and southern portions of the state,
although this may be due largely to the
greater abundance in these sections of
marshes, cattail swamps and similar
ground for which it has a decided
preference.
It arrives from the south very early, ,,j^, _
the first flocks (which consist entirely of ],,.<r a,,,! foot of i^'Mi'-whiijc.i Biaokhini
males) fi-equently entering the southern
tier of counties before the end of February (Petersbui'g, Feb. 18, 1893), and
440
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
reaching all parts of the Lower Peninsula before the end of March in ordinary-
seasons. At Lansing the males commonly arrive between the 10th and 20th
of March and the females follow a week or ten days later. Nesting does not
begin until May, and even in the southern part of the state probably not many
eggs are laid before the middle of that month, while in the northern part of
the state the first eggs are found the latter part of May and first of June.
Undoubtedly a great many of the birds rear second broods in July, but this
habit is not universal and it is difficult to say to what proportion it applies.
The species is more or less polygamous, a single male often mating with
two, three, or possibly more females and driving other males away from
the immediate vicinity.
Fig. 100. Red-winged Blackbird. Adult Male.
From Farmers' Bulletin No. 13, Biological Survey,
U. S. Department of Agriculture.
The nest is commonly a somewhat bulky and substantial structure
woven out of coarse grasses and weeds and lined with finer material of the
same kind. It is most often attached to the stalks of grass, reeds or flags
at heights ranging from a few inches to several feet above the water, or
in rarer instances above the ground. Not infrequently nests are placed
in Avild rose bushes, low willows or other slender shrubs growing in water,
and more rarely in a tree of some kind at a height of a dozen feet or more.
Occasionally nests are found placed close to the ground or even directly
upon it, but this is exceptional.
The eggs are three to six, most often four or five, and are greenish or
bluish white variously dotted, spotted and often pen marked with brown,
purple, lavender and black. They average .97 by .67 inches. The birds
Land birds.
441
are more or less gregarious even when nesting, and in favorable localities
scores, or even hundreds, of nests may be found placed here and there at
intervals of but a few yards, sometimes only five or ten feet apart.
The song, if it can be called such, commonly consists of three syllables
which Emerson writes " o-ka-lee, " and Samuels as " quonk-a-ree." Nehrling
writes this " con-cur-ee," and calls its whistling note "tii-tii." This
whistle is one of the clearest and most penetrating of bird-calls and in clear
weather can be heard at great distances. When one is collecting in a marsh
where Red-wings are nesting in numbers this persistent and powerful
Fig. 101. Red-winged Blackbird. Young about five days from nest.
Photograph from mounted specimen. (Original.)
whistle becomes so monotonous and yet so painful to a sensitive ear that
at length the irritation becomes almost unbearable.
As soon as the young are able to fly the birds gather into larger or smaller
flocks and begin to forage on the cultivated fields in the vicinity, retiring
at night to the cattail marshes to roost. It is at this time that the greatest
harm is done to grain, for the birds sometimes assemble in flocks of twenty
to fifty thousand and are capable of inflicting heavy damage upon oats or
wheat. This has been more particularly the case in the past, for in the early
history of the state the breeding grounds of the blackbirds were extra-
ordinarily abundant and the grain fields were few and far between. Thus
an immense blackbird population was likely to concentrate on a small
acreage of grain, naturally with disastrous results. The steady increase
in the area of cultivated lands, and perhaps more especially the drainage
of a large part of the swamps and marshes, has changed these conditions
completely; at present not nearly as many blackbirds are reared in the state
442
Michigan bird life.
and these distribute their atta(^ks over a imicli hirger area so that the loss
to any one farmer is very smalL
Studies of the food of the Red-wing bi-ino; out three points of })articulai'
interest: It eats immense quantities of grass seed and weed seeds, a moder-
ate amount of grain of various kinds, and a con-
siderable number of insects, the greater part
being injurious species. According to Beal,* in
108-3 stomachs examined more than half the
food (55 percent) was grass and weed seeds,
particularly seeds of pigeon grass or foxtail,
bitter-weed, smartweed, dock, sorrel, etc.; 14
percent was grain, half of which was waste
grain; while the other vegetable matter was of
little account. Insects formed 26 percent of
the food, with beetles heading the list and
caterpillars and grasshoppers next. Practically
all the insects are taken from the ground and
l)y far the larger part are injurious forms.
Among these may be named weevils or snout-beetles, cutworms (including
army worms), span-worms, chafers, and grasshoppers. About one-fourth
of the beetles are predaceous forms, and thus more or less beneficial, but
as a whole this blackbird does excellent service for the farmer in ridding
his fields and meadows of harmful insects. In regions where the bird is
but moderately plentiful the balance is largely in its favor, but where it
is very abundant its inroads on grain are too serious to l)e overlooked.
Fig. 103.
Tail of Red-winged Blackbird.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male in summer: Glossy velvet black all over, except shoulders (les.ser wing-
coverts) which are bright scarlet, and the middle wing-coverts which are buffy or creamy
white, forming a broad margin for the red shoulders. In autumn all the black feathers
(except primaries and tail-feathers) are margined with buff, rusty red, or even chestnut,
most broadly and heavily on back, scapulars and tertiaries, more narrowly and lightly
on under parts; bill and feet bluish-black; iris brown.
Adult female in summer: Smaller and otherwise entirely different. ITpper j^arts
brownish black, more or less streaked with ashy or whitish, with a more or less distinct
median light stripe on the crown, and a distinct whitish stripe over tlie eye; under parts
streaked longtiiwise with whitish and black in almost equal amounts, tlie chin and throat
reddish or yeUowish and faintly or not at all streaked; shoulders usually mixed red and
black, occasionally nearly as red as in the male, sometimes without any red; bill brownish
l)lack; iris brown. Young at first resemble the adult female, but males are soon separable
l)y larger size and darker color pattern.
.Male: Length 9 to 10 inches; wing 4.60 to 5.05; tail 3.55 to 3.95; culmen .88 to 1.
Female: Length 7.50 to 8.50 inches; wing 3.80 to 4.25; tail 3.10 to 3.40; culmen .72 to .80.
199. Thick-billed Red-wing. Agelaius phoeniceus fortis Ricl(/ir. (498d)
Synonyms: Northern Red-wing.
Similar to the common Red-wing, but decidedly larger, with the bill
relatively much shorter and thicker.
Distribution. — Central North America, breeding northward; migrating
from Manitoba south to Illinois, Indian Territory, and western Texas,
westward to and including the Rocky Mountains, and south to Arizona
and Chihuahua.
The Thick-billed Red-wing is a new subspecies of blackbird described
by Ridgwa}^ in 1901, and as yet but imperfectly known as to habits and
♦Biological Survey Bull. 13, pp. 33-44.
LAND BIRDS. 443
distribution. So far as we know now it has been found within iMichigan
territory only at Isle Royale, Lake Superior, where, in the fall of 1904,
members of the University of Micliigan expedition took four specimens,
two males on August 18 and 26 and two females on August 24 and 29.
Several flocks were seen during the month of August and it is possible
that all belonged to this subspecies, Init more likely that the flocks were
mixed.
Again, in 1905, this subspecies was found in numbers on Isle Royale
and about fifty specimens were taken. They appeared first on August
19, in large flocks, which seemed to consist entirely of immature birds
and adult females, since no adult males were taken. Several specimens
of the common Red-wing (phoeniceus) were taken on August 18, but none
after the Thick-billed Red-wing appeared. It seems almost certain that
the latter form does not nest on Isle Royale (Feet, An. Rep. Mich. Geol.
Surv., 1908, 362-363). We do not know of any differences in feeding
or other habits between this subspecies and tlie typical Red-wing. Its
nest and eggs are as yet unknown.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
The original descri])tion of this suhspecie.s is as follows: "Similar to Agchiiiis j>h(iniceus
phoeniceus, but decidedly larger, witli 1)111 relatively much shorter and thicker; :i(hilt tVmale,
adult male in winter, and immature female, similar in coloration to the same of .1. p.
sonoriensis, but distinguished by very different measurements" (Ridgway, I'roc. Wash.
Acad. Science, III, April 1901, p. 153).
200. Meadowlark, Sturnella magna magna (Linn.). (501)
Synonyms: Common Lark, Old Field Lark, Field Lark, Marsh Quail. — Alauda magna,
Linn. 1758, Wilson, 1811. — Sturnus ludovicianus, Bonap., Nutt., Aud. — Sturnella magna.
Baird, Allen, Ridg^vay, Brewster, and most American writers.
Plate XLV and Figure IO4.
Recognizable at a glance by the gray-and-brown-streaked upper parts,
and the brilliant yellow throat and breast separated by a broad v-shaped
black collar. In flight the white outer tail-feathers are conspicuous.
Distribution. — Eastern United States and southern Canada to the Plains.
Breeds from the Gulf of Mexico northward.
In Michigan the Meadowlark is widely distrilnited, being most abundant,
however, in the Lower Peninsula and occurring only in the most favorable
spots in the Upper Peninsula. We
have records from Beaver Island in
Lake Michigan, Mackinac Island at
the head of Lake Huron, and Neebish
Island in the St. Mary's River, as
well as from Chippewa, Mackinac,
Luce, Alger, Marquette, Iron, Dickin-
son and Delta counties, all in the
Upper Peninsula. That it also occurs
in favorable localities farther west
in the Upper Peninsula is not to l)e
doubted, but at present we have no
data which wan-ant a positive state-
ment in this respect. Piesumal)ly ^.
it breeds wherever it is found within wins; of .Arcadowiirrki'siVowins? .-lonsatt'd
our Ijorders. ""'•*''"'
444 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
It is one of our first birds to arrive from the soutli, in fact, a few individuals
always winter in favorable places in the southern part of the state, and in
mild winters considerable numbers remain. The northward movement
always begins early in March if not before, but the records for the southern
part of the state are of course vitiated by the fact that some of the birds
have wintered there. At Lansing the first arrivals range from March 3
to March 28, and probably an average date for the center of the Lower
Peninsula would be March 12. Often they come in small flocks, but these
are seldom compact and the birds are soon found everywhere, in pairs or
singly, or occasionally in little parties of three to five.
Nest building begins early in May and fresh eggs may be found at almost
any time after the 10th of that month in southern Michigan, and from
ten days to two weeks later in the more northern counties. Very com-
monly, if not usually, a second nesting takes place in July, and it is not
uncommon to find young birds barely able to fly late in August. The nest
is always placed on the ground, sometimes in the side of a tussock or bank,
but more often on the level ground in some neglected field, pasture or
meadow, where the dead grass is somewhat long. It is always well con-
cealed, and not infrequently is approached by a covered tunnel or run,
sometimes extending two feet or more from the nest. The nest itself
is composed almost entirely of grasses, and the eggs are commonly five or
six, occasionally four or seven. They are variously marked with brown,
purple and lavender dots and lines on a nearly white ground color. Some-
times the spots are very few, and rarely the eggs are thickly spotted.
They average 1.10 by .78 inches. Incubation is said to last fifteen or
sixteen days.
The song of the Meadowlark is hardly more, than a prolonged call-note,
yet it is so sweet and clear that when first heard after the long silence of
winter it is one of the most attractive of bird calls. Bendire writes the
song " hee-hee-hee-thee-hea " and gives the call-note or alarm-note as
"eeck-eeck, ending with a tremulous quaver."
From the standpoint of the agriculturist the Meadowlark has few rivals;
in fact, we do not know that it has a single bad habit. It feeds almost
entirely upon insects, grass-seed and weed-seeds, rarely eating grain of any
kind and probably never taking sprouting grain or grain from the head
or shock. Moreover, the insects consumed are nearly or quite all injurious
forms. It eats moths, grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, cut-worms, cater-
pillars, and a variety of other insects, but is partial to the forms which are
so constantly present in pastures and meadows, working upon the vegetation
in such places that it is impossible for the farmer to destroy them. This
bird by no means confines itself to the naked span-worms and other larvse
which most other birds eat, but it devours with equal avidity the hairy
caterpillars which few birds will touch. In Illinois, in the summer of 1880,
Professor Forbes found that the Meadowlarks ate the chinch bug "in barely
sufficient numbers to show that they have no unconquerable prejudice
against them."
It is much to be regretted that the bird is large enough to make an
attractive mark for the would-be sportsman and the small boy, for it is
followed up relentlessly and shot for food or for "sport" in spite of the
protective law which absolutely forbids its destruction at any time, but
which unfortunately is seldom enforced. The Meadowlark is not naturally
shy or suspicious and wherever it is rigidly protected for a few seasons
it becomes familiar and even confiding, nesting readily in close proximity
Plate XLV. Meadowlark.
Courtesy of National Committee of Audubon Societies.
LAND mRDS. 447
to travelled roads, and even in parks and on lawns wherever it finds itself
safe from persecution. Its beautiful plumage, attractive notes, and great
economic value commend it alike to all classes and situations and it should
be most rigidly protected and encouraged.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Upper parts mainly black, streaked, spotted, anel imperfectly l)arred
with grayish-brown; crown mainly black, with a median whitish stripe; a similar light
stripe runs backward from the eye, with a narrow black stripe below it, dividing it from
the cheeks and auriculars, which are also grayish white; a bright yellow line from nostril
to eye; chin, throat, breast, belly and bend of wing, rich yellow, the yellow of the throat
not extending laterally onto the malar region; chest with a conspicuous black crescent
separating the yellow of throat and breast; sides and flanks heavily streaked with black
and grayish-white; two or three outermost pairs of tail-feathers pure white on inner webs;
bill brown, horn-colored at base; iris brown.
Adult female: Smaller and duller, the black above not so deep, and the yellow of throat
and breast paler. Young birds resemble the female, and for a time show no black collar,
or only a series of black spots there. In autumn all specimens have the black and yellow
markings much veiled or overlaid by the broad ashy tips and margins of the feathers; these
wear off almost entirely before the breeding season.
Male: Length 9.50 to 1 1 inches; wing 4.40 to 5; culmen 1.20 to L52. Female: Length
-8 to 10 inches"; wing 3.95 to 4.30; culmen 1.04 to 1.17.
201. Western Meadowlark. Sturnella neglecta .l;«/(/oo/?. (501b)
Synonyms: Common Meadowlark, Field Lark, or Lark, of the West. — Sturnella neglecta
of Aud. and most authors until about 1870. — Sturnella magna neglecta of most recent
writers.
So similar to the eastern Meadowlark as to be separable with difficulty
except by the expert. The western form is decidedly paler both above
and below, having a peculiar bleached appearance, which, however, is
also found sometimes in specimens of the eastern form when in worn
plumage. In size the two forms are nearly alike, but the western form
averages a little larger.
Distribution. — Western United States, from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa,
Texas, etc., west to the Pacific Coast and north to British Columbia and
Manitoba, south through central and western Mexico.
The only unciuestioned record of this species for the state is that of a pair
seen near Palmer, Marquette county (Upper Peninsula), on May 10, 1894,
by Mr. Oscar B. Warren. One of these birds was secured and the skin is
now in the College collection. The species has been reported at various
times by different observers in wddely separated parts of the state, but
we have no specimens to confirm any of these observations and it seems
almost certain that the birds reported by Dr. Atkins from Ingham county,
and by Covert from other parts of the state, were simply ordinar}^ eastern
Meadowlarks in somewhat unfamiliar plumage.
Similar as the two forms are in plumage and general habits, they differ
remarkably in song. The present species, on its natural nesting grounds
west of the Mississippi, has a beautiful warbling song, suggesting somewhat
that of the Baltimore Oriole, but much more prolonged and sometimes
almost rivalling that of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Even the imperfect
autumnal song, which the writer has heard many times on the Minnesota
prairies in September, is utterly unlike anything which the eastern bird
ever produces, and it would seem impossible that the two birds could be
confounded if one were familiar with their songs.
448 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
It is very desirable that someone should search for the Meadowlark
in the western part of our Upper Peninsula, and if colonies can be found,
should study them carefully and publish the results. At present we do
not know that either species occurs in this territory, yet from the fact that
the western form is not uncommon in northern Wisconsin it seems likely
that it may frequently enter adjoining Michigan territory.
The nesting habits and eggs are entirely similar in the two species,
but the eggs of the western form average slightly larger and rather more
sparsely marked.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Upper jiarts mainly dark brown, streaked, spotted and barred with
grayish, thus giving a lighter and grayer tone to the plumage; tertiaries and middle tail-
feathers distinctly barred with black and grayish, the latter color reaching the shaft, not
merely indenting or scalloping the black as it does in the eastern Meadowlark; under parts
similar to those of the eastern form, but the yellow somewhat paler, and that of the throat
extending laterally more or less over the malar region; flanks and under tail-coverts nearly
white — not buffy. The sexual and seasonal differences are parallel with those of the
common form.
Male: Wing 4.85 to 5.30 inches; culmen 1.20 to 1.36. Female: Wing 4.30 to 4.60
inches; culmen 1.10 to 1.22.
202. Orchard Oriole. Icterus spurius {Linn.). (506)
Synonyms: — Brown Oriole, Basket-bird. — Oriolus spurius, Linn. 1766. — Oriolus mutatus,
Wilson, 1808.^ — Pendulinus spurius, Cassin. — Icterus spurius of most authors.
Adult male mostly deep black, the breast and belly rich chestnut brown;
no pure white anywhere. Female yellowish olive above and olive-yellow
below, with two white wing-bars.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, north to the southern portions of
New England, New York, Ontario, Michigan and North Dakota, west
to the Plains, south in winter to northern Colombia. Breeds throughout
its United States range.
In Michigan the Orchard Oriole is a resident from May to September
in most of the southern half of the state. ■ It seems to be a fairly common
bird in suitable localities as far north as Grand Rapids and Port Huron,
or about to the parallel of 43°; farther north than this it is decidedly
uncommon and probably the Saginaw-Grand Valley forms the northern
limit of its distribution. Mr. Newell A. Eddy of Bay City records a single
specimen from Kawkawlin, in Bay County about ten miles north of Bay
Cit5% the only record for the county. At Goodrich, in the southeastern
part of Genesee county, Mr. Samuel Spicer reports it common and nesting.
This oriole arrives from the south at about the time the apple blossoms
open, the dates ranging from May 6 or 7 at Petersburg and Ann Arbor to May
19 or 20 at Lansing and Grand Rapids. It is everywhere much less com-
mon than the Baltimore Oriole, but shows decided preferences for some
localities. Thus, about Lansing an entire season may pass without the
record of a single Orchard Oriole and it is never common, while along the
western shore of Lake St. Clair and St. Clair River, in INIacomb and St. Clair
counties, Swales and Taverner call it a fairly abundant summer resident.
Its song, according to Bendire, is quick, hurried and impossible to de-
scribe, but reminds one somewhat of the Warbling Vireo, but is louder and
clearer. In Michigan the song always seems to have a pecuhar wiry,
metallic twang which suggests the inti'Oductory notes of the Bobolink's
LAND BIRDS. 449
song. Bicknell notes the fact that it sings regularly on the wing and
"passes with uninterrupted song from tree to tree." It is most often seen
searching for insects among the terminal sprays of blossoming trees.
It seldom visits the ground, and, at least while with us, its food consists
mainly of insects. It is very fond of plant-lice, small caterpillars, and the
flies and wasps found about blossoms. According to Bendire it also eats
beetles, rose-bugs, grasshoppers and cabbage worms, as well as "larv8B
of all kinds." Two specimens were killed in an orchard overrun with
canker worms in Tazewell County, 111., in 1881, and the contents of their
stomachs studied by Professor S. A. Forbes. He found that nearly four-
fifths of their food was cankerworms, while other caterpillars formed all
but three percent of the remainder, this being ants. Butler states that in
Indiana when the young leave the nest the whole family go into the corn-
fields and feed upon the insect enemies of the corn.
It feeds sparingly on fruits, mainly wild varieties. It also, like the
Baltimore Oriole, probes flowers for insects and possibly for nectar, and
seems to pinch off and eat stamens quite freely, but since the species is not
abundant, this work, as well as the work on small fruits, may be entirely
disregarded.
Its nest, unlike that of its nearest relative, the Baltimore Oriole, is seldom
completely pensile; although deeply cup-shaped and basket-like, it is most
often attached to twigs at the sides as well as at the rim, so that it never
swings freely. It is most often found in orchard trees, but the bird is not'
very particular and sometimes selects oaks, elms, cottonwoods, maples,
hackberries, and even occasionally the red cedar or pine. The nest is seldom
placed at any considerable height, usually from eight to twenty feet above
the ground. The material is almost invariably slender grass, which is
commonly used green and often retains this color for months afterward.
It is woven and fastened with the same skill possessed by other species
of the family and forms a neat and remarkably durable nest. The eggs
are from four to six, usually five, bluish-white, spotted and pen-scratched
with brown, purple and lavender. They average .79 by .57 inches. The
nest is seldom built before the last week in May, and in Kalamazoo county
fresh eggs were taken by Westnedge and Syke at various times from May
27 to June 11. Dr. R. H. Wolcott records a nest with young at New
Baltimore, Macomb county, July 20, 1893.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill conical, acute, slightly down-curved toward the end; tail shorter than wing, slightly-
graduated, the lateral feathers less than half an inch shorter than the middle pair.
Adult male: Entire head, neck, anterior half of back, scapulars, throat and chest, deep
black; breast, belly, imder tail-coverts, sides, lesser and middle wing-coverts, lower back,
rump and upper tail-coverts, rich deep chestnut; greater wing-coverts black, narrowly
tipped with whitish; tail black; bill black above, horn-blue at the base of lower mandible;
iris pale brown.
Adult female: Yellowish olive above, brightest on head and rump, grayer or browner
on back and scapulars; wings with two whitish bars; under parts light greenish-yellow;
no chestnut any^vhere. Young: At first like the female, but the second season the
young male has the lores, chin and throat deep black, and frequently a few black or chestnut
feathers here and there. Probably three years are necessary for the attainment of full
plumage.
Length 0 to 7.25; wing 2.90 to 3.25; tail 2.65 to 3.20.
57
450
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
203. Baltimore Oriole. Icterus galbula (Linn.). (507)
Synonyms: Golden Robin, English Robin, Hang-bird, Hang-nest, Fire-bird, Pea-bird,
Hammock-bird. — Coracias galbula, Linn., 1758. — Icterus baltimore of many authors.
Figures 105, 106.
Adult male mainly orange-yellow and black, the latter restricted mostly
to the head, tail and wings; wings with two imperfect white bars. Female
much duller yellow, with little or no clear black, decidedly smaller than
the male.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, north to Ontario and Manitoba,
west nearly to the Rocky Mountains, south in winter through Mexico to
Colombia.
Fig. 105. Baltimore Oriole. Adult Male.
From Yearbook of U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1895.
This is a common visitor to the greater part of the Lower Peninsula,
but occurs in abundance only south of latitude 44°, and apparently is absent
altogether from most of the Upper Peninsula. It is reported as not common
at Van's Harbor, Delta county, which appears to be the northernmost
record for the state. This distribution is somewhat singular, since the
bird is common in Minnesota as far as Leach Lake, latitude 47°, and is fairly
common in parts of Manitoba.
It reaches Michigan from the south late in April or early in May, the
dates ranging from April 19, 1889 to May 2, 1893 at Petersburg, Monroe
county, and from April 19, 1896 to May 11, 1885 at Lansing. '•'' "^--
The males
LAND BIRDS. 451
come first, as is usual with birds of this family, the females following from
five to ten days later. Ordinarily the species first becomes abundant
at the time the apple trees are coming into full bloom. Almost immediately
on the arrival of the females nest-building begins and most nests are com-
pleted and contain eggs by the first of June. Dates for fresh eggs in
Kalamazoo county are May 21, 1887, June 1 and 2, 1891, June 8 and June
11, 1888. On the College campus the young almost invariably leave the
nest between June 18 and 30, the great majority between the 20th and
25th.
Before the middle of July both old and young have disappeared
from garden, orchard and park, and except for an occasional almost silent
individual at rare intervals, none are seen again until about the middle
of August, from which time until their departure for the south in September
they are fairly common and the male frequently sings almost as sweetly
as in May. This disappearance for a month or more is rather apparent
than real, for a careful search of the woods and swamps will reveal a fair
number of orioles, spending most of their time, however, in the leafy crowns
of the higher trees, where they are hardly visible, and being almost silent
are pretty sure to be overlooked. They may also be found at this season
about wild cherry and service berry trees, feeding on the ripening fruit.
The nest is a purse-shai3ed net of plant fibres, twine, roots and hair,
varying in size and depth, but usually fastened by its upper border to
several drooping twigs on the hanging branch of some large tree, preferably
an elm, oak, or birch, although nests are seen occasionally in a dozen other
kinds of trees. These nests are so firmly fastened and so durably woven
that not infrequently a nest lasts for several years, although the builder
never uses the same nest for more than a single brood. The bird appears
to return year after year to the same tree, and often to the same branch,
and sometimes two or even three nests built in consecutive years may be
seen on the same branch in winter. The eggs are pale bluish-white or
rosy-white, spotted, streaked and pen-scratched with black and brown,
mostly at the larger end. They average .91 by .61 inches. The set usually
consists of four, but often five are found and rarely six. The period of
incubation is about fourteen days.
Captain Bendire says of its song: "A very peculiar note, a long drawn
out chattering 'chae, chae, chae' is apt to draw ones attention to it on its
first arrival, and this is more or less frequently uttered throughout the
season. This note is difficult to reproduce exactly, and I find its song still
more so. One sounds somewhat like *hioh, hioh, tweet, tweet;' another
something like 'whee-he-he, whee-he-he, oh whee-he-he-woy-woy.' This
last is much more softly uttered than the first."
The food of the oriole has a wide range, but consists mainly of insects,
at least while with us. It is true that it has a special fondness for green
peas, sometimes stripping the pods so freely as to cause con-
siderable complaint. It also punctures ripening grapes -^^^^^
whenever it has opportunity, but particularly where vines '^ ^
have run up into trees or over arbors or shrubbery in such "^j^ j^g
a way as to hide the bird while at work. It is rare to hear Biu of Baltimore
complaints from grape growers, for where the vines are
numerous and properly pruned the Oriole seldom injures them. Occasion-
ally it attacks early apples and pears, digging holes into the soft pulp and
of course ruining each apple attacked. This work, however, is often carried
on in conjunction with several other birds, notably Red-headed Wood-
452 MICHKiAN BIRD LIFE.
peckers, Robins, and Blue Jays, while Catbirds and occasionally Bronzed
Grackles, take a hand in the work.
On the other hand, the good work done by the Oriole in the consumption
of harmful insects can hardly be overestimated. The examination of 113
stomachs in the Division of Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Agri-
culture, reveals the fact that more than 83 percent of the food of the year
consists of animal matter, almost all of which is insects. Of this material
the most important item is caterpillars which form more than 34 percent
of the whole. Next come beetles, among which the snapping-beetles,
of the family Elateridse, whose larvse are known as wire-worms, seem to
be preferred. May-beetles are also eaten greedily and the destructive
leaf-beetles (Chrysomelida) usually avoided by birds, seem also to be a
favorite food. Weevils are often taken, and wasps, ants and bees are
consumed in some numbers. Perhaps the most interesting item in this
connection is the fact that the Oriole eats considerable numbers of scale
insects (Coccidae) and plant-lice (Aphidse), two of the most destructive
families of insects known. These are so minute that it is remarkable the
birds should eat them, but any one who has watched the Oriole gleaning
among the opening buds of apple trees will realize that a single bird must
destroy thousands of plant-lice daily. Forbes found that it ate canker-
worms freely in Illinois, and Trimble, in New Jersey, found the wing-covers
of the plum-curculio in its stomach. It has been noted also by many
different observers that the Baltimore Oriole feeds freel}^ on the apple-tree
tent caterpillar, tearing open the silken web in order to reach the young
insects and returning again and again to feast upon them. The writer
has watched the l)ird thus employed in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New
York and Michigan. Not a few grasshoppers and locusts are eaten also,
but it must be remembered that almost all the Oriole's food is gleaned from
trees, and that it seldom searches for food on the ground. On the whole,
it is one of our most valuable, as well as most beautiful birds, and the little
harm done is more than compensated by the blessings conferred in the
destruction of insects.
"Added to these good qualities, its briUiant plumage, sprightly manners,
pleasing song, and skill in nest-building excite our admiration. Let the
farmer continue to hold his good opinion of the Oriole and accord to it
the protection it so well deserves." (Beal.)
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill much stouter than that of Orchard Oriole; conical, acute, slightly if at all dccurved;
tail but slightly graduated.
Adult male: Upper parts from bill to middle of back, including scapulars, glossy black,
this color covering neck, chin and throat, and usually extending downward on the middle
of the ciiest; rest of imder parts rich orange or deep yellow (very variable), brightest on the
chest; wings mainly black, with a single white bar across tips of greater coverts, the tertiaries
margined witii white, and the lesser coverts (shoulders) l)right orange; tail yellow at base
and tip, each feather with a broad area of black in the middle, most on the middle feathers
and least on the lateral pair; bill and legs horn-blue; iris pale brown. In late summer,
after moulting, the wiiite wing-markings are wider and much more conspicuous.
Adult female: Rather smaller than the male and otherwise very different. Upper parts
dull brownish yellow, more or less mottled or obscurely spott(>d on head and back with
blackish; chin and middle of belly whitish; rest of under parts dull yellow, often with obscure
dusky markings on throat and chest; wings grayish-brown with two white bars; tail gicenish
yellow without black markings. Young: Similar to female, but young males acquire
the color pattern of the old male (but not the brilliance) in the second year.
Length 7 to 8.15 inches; wing 3.50 to 3.90; tail 2.85 to 3.35.
LAND BIRDS.
453
204. Rusty Blackbird. Euphagus carolinus {Mull). (509)
Synonyms: Rusty Grackle, Thrush Blackbird. — Turdus carolinus. Muller, 1776 —
Scolecophagus ferrugineus, Sw. & Rich., Baird, Coues, and many of the older naturalists.
— Quiscalus ferrugineus, Bonap., Nuttall, Audubon.— Gracula ferruginea, Wilson. —
Scolecophagus carolinus, Ridgvv., 1885, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most recent authors.
Figures 107, 108.
Male in spring uniform bluish or greenish black; in autumn most of the
feathers edged with rusty. Female brownish slate-color in spring, with
rusty edgings in autumn. In both sexes the iris is straw-yellow.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to Alaska and the Plains.
Breeds from Northern New England, northern New York, and northern
Michigan [?] northward.
This beautiful blackbird is one of the first spring migrants, entering the
state from the south early in March, usually as early as the 10th, and
frequently lingering, at least in
the latitude of Lansing, until
the first or even second week in
May. This statement is at
variance with reports from
several sections of the state,
where observers speak of the
Rusty Grackle being seen only
for a day or two in spring, but
making a longer stay in fall.
Our own experience at the
College during the past seven-
teen years has been as stated
above, the birds appearing at
about the same time as the Red-
wings and lingering, in larger
or smaller flocks, for almost or
quite two months. Eventually
all pass northward entirely out
of the state and nest beyond our
limits. Statements that this
species nests in the Upper Peninsula, or elsewhere in the state, seem to be
entirely unwarranted, as not a particle of evidence in confirmation has
been obtained. The bird returns to us late in September (Isle Royale,
Sept. 15, 1905), or early in October, and lingers until after heavy frost,
or often until tlie ground freezes. Frequently large flocks are found late
in November, and stragglers linger into December and even occasionally
all winter. At least three times during the last ten years we have known
from one to three individuals to remain in the neighborhood of the College
all winter, and similar instances have been reported from other parts of
the state.
In the spring the birds are decidedly musical and though a single song,
if it can be called such, consists of hardly more than a dozen chuckling
and whistling notes, yet a chorus of several hundred birds produces a
very i)U^asing effect. Sotun ''l''l\(nni)S()n speaks of (hem in April as
FiR. 107. Rusty Blackbird.
From photograph of mounted specimen.
454 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
follows: "They blacken the fields
and crowd the air. The bare trees ^^.^:r:::-^^-^—
on which they alight are foliaged by /'^"^^^ ^' -;'~,^:;v.
them. Their incessant jingling songs ^^"^
drown the music of the Meadowlarks
and produce a dreamy far-away effect ,,.. , ^^' ]^\, , . . ,
/ . , r J- J. i 1 • 1 1 n » Wing of Rusty Blackbird.
as ot myriads of distant sleigh bells
(Birds of Manitoba, p. 581). During their spring visit in Michigan the
food seems to consist entirely of weed-seeds, waste grain, and such insects
and other scraps of animal life as they can pick up in the marshes and
around the edges of ponds and streams. They are specially fond of damp
places and are continually wading in the shallow edges of pools and streams,
apparently never so happy as when their feet are wet. In autumn they
frequent stubble fields, corn fields and sometimes the beech woods, feeding
on practically the same substances as in spring, though probably with a
larger proportion of insects. The examination of 132 stomachs by the
Department of Agriculture at Washington shows a larger proportion of
animal matter (53 percent) than in any other American blackbird except
the Bobolink. They eat immense numbers of water-beetles and their
larvffi (which probably have no economic importance), but they also eat
snout-beetles, leaf-beetles, May-beetles and numerous other Coleoptera,
most of which are harmful. In autumn grasshoppers form a very large
part of their food, amounting to nearly 40 percent. They eat but little
wheat, oats or corn, except waste in the fields, and it is not probable that
they pull up sprouting grain, although this has been alleged. On the whole
this species is at least as beneficial as harmful, and probably has a large
margin to its credit on the beneficial side.
As already stated, it is not known to nest within our limits, and the only
record at hand of a nest in this latitude is the statement that one was
found at Storr's Lake, near Milton, Wisconsin, in June 1861 (Kumlien and
HoUister, Birds of Wisconsin, p. 89). We are also informed by Mr. F. C.
Hubel of Detroit, that he and Mr. Kay found a pair feeding young, near
Cobalt, Nipissing district, Ont., in the summer of 1905. According to
Job it breeds abundantly on the Magdalene Islands, in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, where it nests like the Robin, "low down in spruces, usually
near the ends of thick boughs" (Auk, XVIII, 1901, 200).
The eggs are described by Bendire as light bluish-green, blotched and
spotted with different shades of chocolate and chestnut-brown and lighter
shades of ecru, drab and pearl-gray. The eggs are four or five in a set,
and average .99 by .73 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: In spring, glossy greenish black all over, sometimes (usually) with very
narrow whitish or rusty edgings on a few featliers, particularly the under tail-coverts; in
autumn, black, all the feathers of the forward half of tlie bird margined more or less strongly
with buff, rusty, or chestnut, most heavily on the top of head amd interscapular region;
bill and feet black, iris straw-yellow.
Adult female: In spring, uniform slate-color, with scanty buffy or rusty edgings, which
are remnants of the winter plumage; in autumn, similar, but with the slate-color overlaid
on head, breast and back with rusty brown or even chestnut; often a conspicuous light stripe
extending backward from above the eye. Young are similar to the adult female at first,
but the males soon show much blacker wings and tail.
Length 8.20 to 9.75 inches; wing 4.25 to 4.75; tail 3.65 to 4.20; culmen .70 to .80.
LAND BIRDS. 455
205. Bronzed Grackle. Quiscalus quiscula aeneus (Ridgw.). (511b)
Synonyms: Grackle, Crow Blackbird, Big Blackbird, Western Crow Blackbird. —
Quiscalus seneus, Ridg^v'ay, 1869. — Quiscalus versicolor, Aud., Swains, Baird (part). —
Quiscalus purpureus aeneus, Coues, Brewster and others. — Quiscalus quiscula seneiis,
Stejn., A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most recent authors.
Plate XLVI and Figure 109.
Largest of our blackbirds, and readily known by the changeable blue-
purple-green-black, of the head, neck and upper breast, and the metallic
bronze or brassy color of the body, the feathers of the back and belly
without iridescent bars.
Distribution. — From the AUeghenies and southern New England north
to Newfoundland and Great Slave Lake, west to the eastern base of the
Rocky Mountains, and south to Louisiana and Texas. In migrations,
the southeastern states, except Florida and the Atlantic Coast district
south of Virginia.
The Bronzed Grackle arrives from the south early in March, occasionally
in the latter part of February, and a few instances are known of individual
birds wintering in the state. O. B. Warren states that he once saw them
in a protected creek bottom in Albion, Calhoun county, in January, and
single ones have been observed about the Agricultural College in December
and January. At Petersburg the earliest arrival was March 6, 1897 and the
latest March 27, 1885. Near Detroit Swales recorded them on February
24, 1891, and in 1896 not until March 29. In the fall the majority depart
in October and early November but a few linger until the latter part of
November or even into December.
This species is found almost invariably in flocks except during the
nesting season, and even then the nests are often placed in communities
and the birds feed in companies of ten to fifty ^(^
even when gathering food for the young. They
are somewhat local in their distribution, being
common in some towns and almost or entirely
absent in adjoining ones, but the species is widely
distributed over the state and occurs in greater
or less abundance probably in every county. W.
H. Grant found it near Houghton, on Keweenaw „ , , ^'"" ^°"' , , ,
-.^ .,.,__. ,, . ,-V 1,1 T 1 Foot of Bronzed Grackle.
Pomt, m 1904; Norman A. Wood took one on Isle
Royale in August of the same year; White found it on Mackinac Island,
Major Boies found it on Ncebish Island, and several observers have reported
it from Marquette county and all the Upper Peninsula counties east of that
point.
Unlike any of our other ])Uickbirds this species nests almost always in
trees and at a considerable height from the ground. Its favorite nesting
place is in the thick tops or the bushy branches of spruces and other ever-
greens, but it also places its bulky nest in many of the deciduous trees, and
not infrequently in abandoned woodpeckers' holes or in the natural cavities
of dead or living trees. We have also seen the nest in vines against the walls
of buildings, upon rafters of sheds, the timbers of bridges, and not in-
frequently on cornices or brackets on large buildings. Dr. R. H. Wolcott
also records their nesting in lumber piles at Grand Rapids. We have
never seen a nest less than eight feet from the ground, but in the lake regions
456 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
of Minnesota and Iowa, according to Bendire, they sometimes nest in large
colonies in shrubs and wild gooseberry bushes, or even in the reeds, placing
the nest sometimes within a foot or two of the ground. It is possible that
this may occur in Michigan, but we have been una])le to find any record
of such a habit.
Ordinarily the nest is very bulky and made of coarse grass, weed-stalks
and similar materials, sometimes with a little mud in its composition, more
often without. It is lined with finer grass and other fibrous materials,
is deeply hollowed, and usually contains five or six eggs, but frequently
only four are found and rarely as many as seven or eight. The eggs vary
interminably, the ground color ranging all the way from pale greenish-
white to light brown, heavily blotched and streaked with brown and.
purphsh. They average 1.18 by .81 inches.
Nesting often begins in March, and in the southern part of the state
probably most of the eggs are laid in April. At the Agricultural College
young frequently leave the nest before May 20th, but they seem to be
maturing from this time on, all through May and June, and we have
repeatedly seen young hardly able to fly as late as the 10th of July. It
is possible that two broods are reared by some of the birds, but we are in-
clined to believe that these late broods are due to the loss of a first nest
of eggs or young during April or May.
From an economic standpoint the Bronzed Crackle possesses unusual
interest. It is extraordinarily abundant over large areas, and has pro-
nounced good habits as well as bad ones. Selecting its nesting places
in the shade trees of towns, parks and cemetries, and constantly visiting
gardens, lawns, and farms, it has became familiar to almost every one,
and its habits have been noticed and criticized. Under these circumstances
it is not surprising that the widest difference of opinion exists as to its value.
Fortunately the Division of Biological Survey of the United States De-
partment of Agriculture has made an exhaustive study of the stomach
contents of this species and the results go far toward settling this vexed
question. The writer did a large part of this work himself between the
years 1886 and 1890, and the results of this, and additional work by Prof.
F. E. L. Beal, were published in Bulletin 13 of the above Division in 1900.
Two thousand three hundred and forty-six stomachs were examined,
and of the material contained in these stomachs 30 pei-cent was shown
to be animal matter and 70 percent vegetable matter. Insects formed
27 percent of the food for the entire year, while grain formed 47 percent,
fruit 5 percent, weed seed 4 percent, and "mast," that is, acorns, chest-
nuts, beechnuts, and similar material, 14 percent. By far the largest part
of the grain consumed is corn and this formed 41 percent of the food in
April, 27 percent in May, 28 percent in June, 8 percent in July, 14 percent
in August, 53 percent in September, 51 percent in October, and 35 percent
in November. Doubtless at least half this corn was of no consequence,
being waste grain picked up in the fields or about the farm and roads, but
that taken in August and September was mainly corn "in the milk" and
caused a direct loss and a serious one to the grower. Wheat, on the other
liand, formed about 26 percent of the food in July and August, and in other
months less than one percent. This again shows that the bulk of this
grain was taken from the harvest field, part of it doubtless from the stand-
ing grain and the shock, but much of it from the stubble. Oats formed
14 percent of the food in April, 5 percent in July, 9 percent in August;
during the other months the amounts were insignificant. Occasionally
'"P'^BP"
U'/-
\L
y^^""
k^^..:
^:
m^
Plate XLVI. Bronzed Crackle.
Reprinted from Chapman's Bird Life, by courtesy of D. Appleton & Co.
LAND BIRDS. 459
the birds pull up sprouting grain, either corn, wheat or oats, and they
also pick up any grain left uncovered; but it is during the harvest season,
and especially during the time when corn is "in the milk," that their attacks
are most important. These facts show conclusively that the Crow Black-
bird or Bronzed Grackle is a serious foe to the farmer whenever it occurs
in large numbers. Many instances are on record of flocks numbering
thousands, or even tens of thousands, which have visited cornfields and
grain fields, doing a vast amount of damage in a short time.
The Grackle also eats considerable quantities of fruit at certain times,
the figures furnished by stomach examinations being 13 percent in June
and 10 percent in July. The fruits most commonly attacked are rasp-
berries, blackberries, cherries, and mulberries, but ordinarily no great
damage is done.
One other serious accusation is made against the Grackle, namely,
that it robs the nests of other birds, devouring their eggs and young. That
this is true to a limited extent is shown both by numerous direct observa-
tions and by the stomach analyses. The latter, however, show that remains
of eggs and young birds were found in only 37 of the 2,346 stomachs ex-
amined, or in less than one stomach in 63. During seventeen summers'
observation on the campus of the Michigan Agricultural College, where
from fifty to one hundred pairs of these Grackles nest every year, we have
but twice seen Grackles robbing the nests of other birds, and very rarely
have birds been seen mobbing or attacking the Grackles, which seems to
be pretty good proof that they do not regularly pillage the nests of other
species.
Turning now to the brighter side of the Grackles character we find that
the work which it does in the destruction of insects is of the most interesting
and valuable kind. As stated already, 27 percent of the entire food of the
year consists of insects, but these are eaten in quantities which vary with
the season. Thus in March insects formed 17 percent of the food, in April
25 percent, in May 63 percent, in June 59 percent, in July 45 percent, in
August 39 percent, in September 17 percent, and in October 12 percent.
As to the kinds of insects eaten, beetles form an important part, and
probably the Grackles do a vast amount of good by destroying the mature
beetles and the larvae of the May-beetle or June bug (La chno sterna) , which,
under the name of "white-grub" is so well known to the farmer as an
enemy of grass lands and many cultivated crops. These insects belong
to the family Scaraboeidse, and members of this family formed one-fifth
of the insect food of the Grackle for May, and one-seventh of the food for
June. On the lawns of the Agricultural College it is no uncommon thing
in May and June to see fifteen or twenty female Grackles at a time busily
searching the turf for these large May-beetles and flying away with one
or two at a time to feed their young in the neighboring spruces. On
exceptional occasions we have counted as many as sixty of these birds
searching for May-beetles and apparently for nothing else. In our opinion
the good condition of the college lawns is due very largely to the protection
afforded them by these birds. Snout-beetles (weevils or curculios) are
also eaten regularly and in considerable numbers, indicating that the
Grackles have a special fondness for these insects which are small, hard-
shelled, and not particularly attractive to most birds. In one stomach
seventeen specimens of the corn-weevil (Sphenophorus) were found and
in other stomachs fourteen. Grasshoppers formed 19 percent of the food
in May and increased in amount regularly until August, when they formed
460 MICHIGAN BIRD IJFE.
23 per cent of the food. It is hardly necessary to point out tlie importance
of these facts. Remembering that, especially" in August, the blackbirds
are feeding in large flocks it is easy to see that at this time they must
consume grasshoppers by the million. Caterpillars formed 8 per cent of
the food in May and 4 percent in June; not a large amount, but forming
nevertheless an important item; many of the caterpillars eaten are cut-
worms, and among these the army-worm was recognized in six stomachs.
The Grackles eat large numbers of spiders, but these probably have small
economic significance.
Practically the only harm done in the course of the insect-eating is the
destruction of a considerable number of predaceous l^eetles, ground beetles
belonging mainly to the family Carabida. The largest percentage of these,
13 percent, was found in June, and this would indicate that the birds were
doing some harm, for these beetles feed mostly upon other insects and are
therefore potentially beneficial. It must be remembered, however, that
these beetles are abundant at all times of the year, that they are con-
spicuous by their size and activity, and also, being often strong-scented,
are not generally eaten by other birds. It is therefore natural that a bird
like the Grackle should eat a considerable number of them, especially
as the taste and odor do not seem to be disagreeable.
Taken all in all the facts seem to show conclusively that in the long run
the Bronzed Grackle is a valuable bird which does considerably more good
than harm, but the manner in which this good and evil are distributed
makes it impracticable for the average farmer to tolerate the bird invariably.
The good done is widely distributed; the harm is often concentrated on a
few acres. So long as the birds are but moderately abundant the good done
is pretty sure to outweigh the harm, even in the case of the fruit grower,
market gardener or small farmer; but when they become superabundant
instances of great injury are sure to occur and much complaint will follow.
It seems probable that it will be best not to attempt to protect the Grackles
by law at present, but to try to teach the farmer to let them alone so long
as they are doing no visible harm, only striving to limit their numbers
or drive them from his fields when they threaten serious injury.
The Bronzed Grackle is one of the few birds for whose vocal performance
little can be claimed. It has nothing which, even by the most imaginative,
can be called a song, and its usual love notes have been aptly likened to the
creaking of a rusty hinge. In the case of other blackbirds numbers
sometimes modify the character of the individual performance so that a
chorus is musical, but in the case of the Grackle the larger the number
the 'greater the discord.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult'male: Head and neck all round, metallic black, with purple, viulet, blue or green
reflections; rest of the body plumage above and below, black, with a distinct brassy gloss,
tlie line between neck and body sliarply defined; wings and tail with purplish or violet
gloss, never bluish; bill and feet black; iris bright yellow. Adult female: Decidedly
smaller and duller, the head and neck not noticeably different, but the body plumage
lacking much of the metallic luster. Young: Similar at first to adult females, but even
duller, the body plumage mostly slate color, with no metallic reflections; before moving
southward, however, the sexes are distinguishable by the plumage.
Male: Length 12 to 13.50 inches; wing 5.45 to 5.95; tail 5.25 to 5.90 (its graduation
1.15 to 1.60); culmen 1.12 to 1.26.
Female: Length 11 to 11.50 inches; wing 5 to 5.25; tail 4.80 to 4.90.
LAND BIRDS. 461
Family 56. FRINGILLID.E. Finches, Sparrows, Buntings, Linnets,
Grosbeaks, Crossbills and Longspurs.
The largest famil}' of Michigan birds, including not less than 38 species.
KEY TO SPECIES.
Closed tail showing a distinct notch or fork (Fig. 112), that is, middle
tail-feathers shorter than lateral feathers. Group 1.
Closed tail rounded or double-rounded (Plate 53), the lateral tail-feathers
always shorter than the middle ones. Group 2.
Closed tail square or nearly so (Fig. 114) (sometimes slightly double-
rounded), the middle and lateral feathers of about the same length
Group 3.
Group 1.
Closed tail with a distinct notch or fork.
A. Wing over 4.25 inches. B, BB.
B. Wings black, the primaries or secondaries, or both, with large white
markings (patches). Evening Grosbeak. No. 206.
BB. Wings brownish-black (fuscous), only their coverts white tipped,
forming two white wing-bars. Pine Grosbeak. No. 207.
AA. Wing less than 4.25 inches. C, CC.
C. Mandibles with hooked tips which cross each other like scissor
blades. D, DD.
D. With conspicuous white wing-bars. White-winged Ci'ossbill.
No. 210.
DD. Without any white in wing. Red Crossbill. No. 209.
CC. Mandibles not crossed. E, EE.
E. Claw of hind toe twice as long as claw of middle toe. F, FF.
F. Hind claw much curved. Snow Bunting. No. 218.
FF. Hind claw little curved. Lapland Longspur. No. 219.
EE. Claw of hind toe not twice as long as claw of middle toe
G, GG.
G. Birds showing more or less bright blue, vellow f)r red
(not brown). H, HH, HHH.
H. Marked with red. I, IL
L A conspicuous red cap or crown; chin l)lack.
Redpolls. Nos. 211-214.
11. Most of plumage washed with red; cliin not black.
Purple Finch, male. No. 208.
HH. Marked with blue, or whole body blue. Indigo
liird, male. No. 242.
HHH. Marked with yellow. K, KK.
K. Yellow mainly on head and body plumage; none
on wings or tail. Goldfinch. No. 215.
KK. Wings and tail with more or less yellow, head
and body without. Pine Finch, Siskin.
No. 216.
462 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
GG. Birds without any bright blue, yellow, or red. L, LL.
L. Streaked below. M, MM.
M. Broadly and strongly streaked; wing over 3 inches
long. Purple Finch, female. No. 208.
MM. Narrowly and often faintly streaked; wing less
than 3 inches. Indigo Bird, female. No.
242.
LL. Without streaks below. N, NN.
N. A dusky spot in middle of breast. Tree Sparrow.
No. 230.
NN. No dusky spot in middle of breast. O, 00.
O. Crown with a distinct median stripe. Clay-
colored Sparrow. No. 232.
00. Crown without median stripe. P, PP.
P. Bill black. Chipping Sparrow. No. 23L
PP. Bill reddish yellow. Field Sparrow.
No. 233.
Group 2.
Closed tail rounded or (loul)le-rounded.
Larger, wing over 2.75 inches. B, BB.
B. Plumage with more or less red or yellow. C, CC.
C. Breast yellow, no red anywhere. Black-throated Bunting.
No. 243.
CC. Breast not yellow. D, DD.
D. Head crested, mainly red, no white on wings or tail.
Cardinal, male and female. No. 240.
DD. Head not crested, nor red; some white on wings or tail.
E, EE.
E. A yellow spot in front of eye. White-throated
Sparrow. No. 229.
EE. No yellow spot in front of eye, under wing coverts
rose red or lemon yellow. Rose-breasted
Grosbeak, male and female. No. 24L
BB. Plumage without red or yellow. F, FF.
F. Outer tail-feathers with much white. G, GG.
G. Breast narrowly streaked with blackish. Vesper Sparrow.
No. 220.
GG. Breast not streaked. H, HH.
n. Breast black or bi'own, sides bright brown. Chewink,
male and female. No. 239.
HH. Breast whitish with a small central patch of blackish
spots. Lark Sparrow. No. 22G.
FF. Outer tail feathers without white. I, IL
L Upper parts mainly rust red. Fox Sparrow. No. 238.
IL Upper parts without rust red. J, J.I.
J. Crown milk white or with a median light buff stripe.
White Crowned Sparrow. No. 228.
JJ. Crown black or blackish without median light stripe.
Harris' Sparrow. No. 227.
LAND BIRDS. 463
AA. Smaller, wing 2.75 or less. K, KK.
K. Streaked above and below. L, LL.
L. Crown with a distinct median light stripe. M, MM.
M. Smaller, wing barely 2 inches. Leconte's Sparrow.
No. 224.
MM. Larger, wing always more than 2 inches. N, NN.
N. Tail short, barely 2 inches. Henslow's Sparrow.
No. 223.
NN. Tail long, 2.25 to 3 inches. 0, 00.
O. Chest white, broadly streaked and spotted with
brown or blackish, usually with a central
dark patch. Song Sparrow. No. 235.
00. Chest gray or buff with narrow or indistinct
dark streaks and no central dark patch.
P, PP.
P. Chest gray or brownish gray with broad
indistinct streaks. Swamp Sparrow,
(young). No. 237.
PP. Chest buff with distinct narrow streaks of
blackish. Lincoln's Sparrow. No. 236.
LL. Crown without distinct median light stripe; tail feathers
acute. Nelson's Sparrow. No. 225.
KK. Streaked above, but plain below. Q, QQ.
Q. Bend of wing and spot above eye yellow, crown without chest-
nut. Grasshopper Sparrow. No. 222.
QQ. No yellow on bend of wing or above eye, forehead black,
crown chestnut. Swamp Sparrow (adult). No. 237.
Group 3.
Closed tail square or nearly so.
A. With more or less blue in plumage. Indigo Bird, male. No. 242.
AA. Without blue. B, BB.
B. With more or less bright yellow. C, CC.
C. Only bend of wing and streak over eye yellow. Savanna
Sparrow. No. 22 L
CC. Breast vellow. Black-throated Bunting. No. 243.
BB. Without yellow. D, DD.
D. Outer (lateral) tail-feathers largely white. E, EE.
E. Upper parts and breast slate-colored, not streaked, bill
white or pink. Junco. No. 234.
EE. Upper parts and breast streaked with Hght and dark,
bill dusky. Vesper Sparrow. No. 220.
DD. No white in the tail. F, FF.
F. Upper parts distinctly streaked; wing more than 2.75
inches. English Sparrow. No. 217.
FF. Upper parts indistinctly or not at all streaked; wing
less than 2.75 inches. Indigo Bird (female). No. 242.
464
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
206. Evening Grosbeak. Hesperiphona vespertina vespertina (Coop.). (514)
Synonyms : Sugar-bird. — Fringilla
vespertina, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886.
vespertina, W. Cooper, 1825. — Coccothraustes
-Hesperipliona vespertina of most recent authors.
Figure 110.
The male is a striking bird with immense bill, with black and white
and old gold plumage, the yellow and black passing into each other through
all the shades of brown, olive and buff. The female is largely drab-gray
or ashy with little or no yellow and more white in the wings and tail.
Distribution. — Western British Provinces, east to Lake Superior and
casually to Michigan, Ohio, Ontario, New York and New England.
The Evening Grosbeak is doubly interesting to Michigan bird lovers
not only because it is a rare and beautiful bird, but because the first speci-
men known to science, the
type from which the species
was described, was taken
near Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.,
in April, 1823, by School-
craft, and described by
Cooper, in January, 1825,
under the name Fringilla
vespertina, the specific name
given apparently under the
belief that the bird sang
oftenest or best at evening.
As a matter of fact, the song
appears to be the least inter-
esting of its characteristics,
nor does it appear to sing
better or more frequently at
evening than at other times.
Mr. Stewart E. White, who
observed these grosbeaks
carefully at Grand Rapids
from March 5 to May 14,
1890, says of their song:
"The males have a single Fig. no. Evening Grosbeak. Adult.
metallic crv like the note of ^''O"^ North .\merican Fauna No. 16. Biological Survey,
a trumpet, the females a loud
U. S. Department of Agriculture.
chattering like the large Cherry Birds {Ampelis garrulus)." This was in
March, but on April 14, just before they withdrew to their summer home,
Mr. White adds, "Their song now is a wandering, jerky warble, beginning
low, suddenly increasing in power, and as suddenly ceasing as if the singer
were out of breath" (Auk, Vol. IX, 1892, p. 245).
It may be objected that this was not nesting time and the locality not
home. However, J. K. Townsend, who studied tliis bird along the Columbia
River in May 1836, Avrote for Audubon's work the following account of the
call-note and song. "It is stated that they are retiring and silent during
the day and sing only at the approach of evening. Here they are re-
markably noisy during the whole of the day from sunrise to sunset. They
then retire quietly to their roosts in the summits of the tall pines and are
LAND BIRDS. 465
not aroused until daylight streaks the east when they come forth to begin
as before. * * * Their ordinary voice when they are engaged in
procuring food, consists of a single rather screaming note, which from its
tone I at first supposed to be one of alarm, but soon discovered my error.
At other times, particularly about midday, the male sometimes selects
a lofty pine branch, and there attemps a song; but it is a miserable failure.
The note is a single warbhng call, exceedingly like the early part of the
Hobin's song, but not so sweet, and checked as though the performer were
out of breath. The song, if it may be called such, is to me a most weari-
some one. Am constantly listening to hear the stave continued and am
as constantly disappointed (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, IV, 1879, pp. 70-71).
As intimated alread}^ the Evening Grosbeak is merely a winter visitor
to Michigan, and not a regular visitor at that. Nevertheless, its ap-
pearances seem to have become more frequent in recent years, and there
is some reason to believe that the species is extending its range eastward
and may eventually become a regular winter resident of the state. After
its discovery in 1823 it does not appear to have been noted in the state
until 1869, when Dr. Morris Gibbs met with it at Kalamazoo. He also noted
it there in 1872, 1873, 1874, 1878 and 1879, sometimes singly and sometimes
in flocks. It was reported from Albion in the spring of 1886 by O. B.
Warren, and near Brighton by A. B. Covert in December of the same year.
In 1887, Mr. N. A. Eddy of Bay City reported it, and during the winter
of 1889-90 it was reported very generally from all over the Lower Peninsula.
In 1893, P. A. Taverner found a flock in the city of Port Huron, and it was
reported in March, 1897, by Percy Selous at Greenville, and in December,
1899, by W. H. Dunham in Kalkaska county. In April, 1900, Mr. Dunham
again reported it in Kalkaska county, and in December of the same year
Mr. Melville reported it at Sault Ste. Marie, ]\Iich. In December 1903
it was reported from Prescpie Isle county by B. H. Swales, and in March
1904 from Mt. Pleasant, Isabella county, by Mr. Newberry, also from
Goodrich, Genesee county by Samuel Spicer. Mr. Thomas B. Wyman of
Munising, Alger county, reports that a large flock remained on Grand
Island in Lake Superior from January 23 until March 14, 1906. And they
have reappeared in some numbers each succeeding winter. During the
winter of 1908-1909 they were quite generally reported from the northern
parts of the state, and there were a few reports the following winter, but
the winter of 1910-1911 brought the largest numbers seen in recent years,
for they appeared everywhere in flocks, even in the most southern counties
of the state.
Mr. Amos Butler thus sums up the eastern extension of this species
during the last fifty years: "It is not every winter that these birds cross
the Mississippi, and it is unusual when we note their wide distribution
east of that river. Michigan appears to be more often visited than any other
state noted here. As has been observed, its first recorded extension of range
east of Lake Su])erior was at Toronto, Ont. in 1854; next it was noted
from Ohio in I860; from Ontario again in 1866 and from Michigan in 1869.
* * * The first extensive wanderings of the Evening Grosbeak, as far
as we know, appear to have occurred in 1871, when they extended south into
Illinois and east into Ontario, and in 1879 they were found in localities as
far apart as Charles City, Iowa, and Grand Rapids, ]\Iich. In the
winter of 1886-87 they were reported from Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois,
Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and Ontario. That
year they appear to have been most common in the states of Iowa, Indiana
59
466 MICHEGAN BIRD LIFE.
and Illinois and the area of eastern North America covered was the greatest
known up to that time, but this was very much exceeded by the wide
distribution of the species in the winter of 1889-90, when although they do
not appear to have been as numerous in some localities as in the last pre-
ceding dispersal, they reached nearly to the Atlantic Coast at several
localities" (Auk, IX, 1892, 246-247).
During their winter sojourn in Michigan the Evening Grosbeaks feed
largely upon the seeds of maple, box-elder, ash, and of various frozen or
dried fruits from trees and vines, and frequently upon the seeds of various
cone-bearing trees. According to Mr. L. Whitney Watkins, who observed
them carefully at Manchester, Mich, during the winter of 1889-90, they
preferred apple seeds, taken from frozen apples, to all other food ; next they
ate maple seeds, and took the seeds of evergreens only as a last resort.
Three male grosbeaks which he kept in captivity for nearly two years re-
fused to eat any kind of grain except a few oats when hard-pressed. They
also refused to eat insects of any kind that could be procured. Almost
all observers agree that the birds are remarkably tame and unsuspicious
when they first appear in late autumn or winter, moving about and feeding
often in large flocks (very seldom singly) and show little fear of man until
after they have been repeatedly shot at or otherwise alarmed. Towards
spring, however, and especially toward the end of their stay in April and
May, they become more shy and more suspicious and are altogether more
restless and uncertain.
The nest and eggs of this species remained unknown until 1901, when
they were found at Willis, New Mexico by Francis J. Birtwell, who collected
two nests of three and four eggs respectively and lost his life in attempting
to collect a third. The nests were of sticks and Usnea moss, lined with
rootlets, and placed near the tips of horizontal branches of large pines,
from forty to seventy feet from the ground. The eggs are described as
"in color, size, form, texture and markings, indistinguishable from those
of the Red-winged Blackbird. '' The birds appeared to be nesting in a small
colony of a dozen pairs or less.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill very large, short and strong, nearly as high at base as long. Adult male: Forehead
and stripe over eye bright yellow; crown deep black; rest of head and neck all round, dark
olive-brown, fading to lighter olive on the back and changing to rich golden yellow on the
scapulars and rump; similarly, the dusky olive of the throat fades on the breast and be-
comes bright yellow on the sides, belly, flanks and under tail-coverts; upper tail-coverts
and tail deep black, without spots; primaries deep black; most of the secondaries and their
coverts snowy white; the tertiaries rather duller white; bill greenish yellow; iris brown.
Adult female: Top and sides of head brownish or brownish-gray; throat white, bordered
on each side by a black or dusky line; breast and sides gray, marked with yellowish, and
becoming pure white on belly and under tail-coverts; nape dull yellow, tending to form a
collar about the hind neck; back and rump brownish or ashy gray; upper tail-coverts black,
tipped witli white; tail-feathers black, broadly spotted with white at ends; primaries and
secondai-ics black, boldly spotted witli white; lining of wing yellow. Young: Similar to
adult female, but duller and more brownish, usually lacking the dark lines at the sides
of tlie throat. Length 7 to 8.50 inches; wing 4.20 to 4.50; tail 2.75 to 3.20; culmen .75 to .80.
207. Pine Grosbeak. Pinicola enucleator leucura (Mull.). (515)
Synonyms: American Pine Grosbeak, Canadian Pine Grosbeak, Canadian Grosbeak,
Pine Bullfinch. — Loxia leucura, Muller, 1776. — Loxia enucleator, Wils. — Pinicola cana-
densis, Baird, 1858. — Pinicola enucleator canadensis, Ridgw., 1887.
Males vary from rose-pink to dull yellow, according to age, and females
are mainly slate-gray with some dull yellow on head, rump and upper
LAND BIRDS. 467
tail-coverts. Two conspicuous white or whitish wing-bars at all ages.
Bill very stout, but short and small for a grosbeak.
Distribution. — Northern parts of Northern Hemisphere to about the
northern limit of trees; south in winter irregularly into the United states
east of the Rocky Mountains; breeds mainly north of the United States.
The Pine Grosbeak is a winter visitor to Michigan, coming with some
regularity into the northern part of the state, and once in a dozen years
perhaps appearing in large numbers and extending its range over the whole
of the state. As far south as the latitude of Lansing a few individuals
are seen almost every winter, but in the two southern tiers of counties,
and particularly in the southeastern corner of the state, it is a comparatively
rare visitor. At Ann Arbor Mr. Covert states that it was very common
during the winter of 1874-75, and a few specimens were taken in December
1878, but that ordinarily it is not seen. In 1881 it was seen in flocks
of thousands in Jackson county, but with that exception is considered
rare. At Plymouth, Wayne county, Mr. Purdy took a single bird December
9, 1903, which he says is the only one he ever saw there. Mr. Swales does
not consider it common about Detroit, but two were killed near there
November 9, 1903, and two more were seen March 6, 1904. They were
fairly common at Kalamazoo during the first week in December, 1903,
and several specimens were taken. A few are seen almost every winter
on the campus of the Agricultural College, Ingham county, and two or
three times since 1894 they have been present in large numbers, and from
December to March. Occasionally they come from the north in November,
and in New England they have been noted repeatedly in October, but as
a general rule they do not appear until December or later, and a few
instances are known in which they have been absent until February and
then have appeared in large numbers.
Though ordinarily seen in flocks, sometimes to the number of one hundred
and fifty or two hundred, they also occur singly or in pairs, but these single
birds are readily attracted by a whistled imitation of their note" and always
seem anxious to rejoin others of their kind. Usually they prefer regions
where conifers are abundant and much of their food consists of the buds
of pine, spruce and tamarack, and of the berries of the Virginia juniper,
but they also eat the buds of other trees and are particularly fond of the
seeds of maples, the berries of the mountain ash, and a large variety of other
berries and seeds. They are quite unsuspicious, allowing a very close
approach while feeding, and the writer has frequently taken them alive
with a butterfly net or with a noose of wire on the end of a fishing-rod.
A great majority of the specimens which we see appear to be young birds,
the proportion of old males, as indicated by the rosy color, being seldom
greater than one in twenty-five, and not infrequently a flock of fifty or
more will not contain a single high-plumaged male.
The call-note is a very clear whistle, repeated two or three times, and
resembles somewhat the plaintive note of a lost chicken. On sunny days
in winter, especially after an abundant repast on seeds and berries, the
male frequently warl)les a low, sweet song which somewhat resembles
that of the Purple Finch. During the nesting season it is said to have
a beautiful warbling song of considerable volume and great sweetness.
The Pine Grosbeak is not known to nest within our limits; in fact, United
States nesting records are few, and mainly uncertain. The only suggestion
of possible nesting lies in the fact that M'Creary, who accompanied the
University of Michigan party to Isle Royale in 1905, found two Pine
468 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Grosbeaks among the balsam firs on August 14, a rather early date for
migrants (An. Rep. Mich. Geol. Surv., 1908. Isle Royale, 364). Probably
this island, the northernmost bit of Michigan territory, is as favorable
a breeding place for this species as any in the state and it is by no means
improbable that the grosbeaks may nest there occasionally, or even
regularly. It is said to nest in the tops of evergreens, building a structure
which is shallow and thin and consists mainly of rootlets. The eggs are
three or four, bluish-green, spotted somewhat thinly with brown and
black. They average 1.01 by .74 inches. According to Kumlien and
Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 91) this species is said to nest within
the boundaries of the Badger State, but they have been unable to sub-
stantiate the claim and think it very doubtful.
Aside from the possible distribution of the seeds of valuable trees we know
of no benefit which this species confers on the agriculturist. It is, however,
almost if not entirely harmless, since the few buds cut from evergreens
and shade trees are of little consequence, and the bird is so beautiful and
interesting that it deserves protection on this account if for no other.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Upper parts rose-pink, brightest on head and rump, dullest on inter-
scapular region, where all the feathers have dusky centers; under parts mainly pink, but
duller than above, and shading into ashy gray on the flanks and belly; wings and tail slate-
color to slaty-black, the tail unmarked, the wings with two white bars and the tertiaries
broadly edged with white; bill and feet brownish black; iris brown.
Adult female: General color gray or brownish gray, the head, neck, rump and upper
tail-coverts pale greenish yellow to rusty yellow, and the breast and sides often washed
with the same; wings and tail as in the male. Young: Similar at first to adult female,
but with less yellow, and the wing-bars buffy instead of white. Probably males take more
than one year to attain full plumage, and nearly all degrees of coloring occur, from pale
yellow through brownish yellow and madder-brown to rose.
Length 8.25 to 9 inches; wing 4.50 to 5; tail 3.70 to 4.45; culmen .53 to .59.
208. Purple Finch. Carpodacus purpureus purpureus (GmcL). (517)
Synonyms: Purple Linnet, Red Linnet, Gray Linnet (immature and female). — Fringilla
purpurea, Gmelin, 1789. — Carpodacus purpureus of all recent authors.
Size of the English Sparrow. Adult male mostly rosy red, l^righter in
summer, duller in winter, the back more or less streaked with dusky.
Adult female streaked above with brown and gray, below Avith dusky
and white; likely to be mistaken for a sparrow.
Distribution. — ^Eastern North America from the Atlantic coast to the
Plains. Breeds from middle states northward.
In suitable places throughout the Lower Peninsula north of the Saginaw
Grand Valley, as well as in the entire Upper Peninsula, the Purple Finch
is a not uncommon summer resident. It haunts the margins of evergreen
forests, pours forth its beautiful song from the tops of balsams and junipers
along the margins of the Great Lakes and the smaller ponds, and soon after
its first arrival in spring may be found frequentl}^ in the orchards nip-
ping the buds from pear, apple and cherry trees.
South of the Saginaw-Grand Valley the bird is mainly a migrant or a
rare winter resident, but for that matter a few individuals probably winter
in all parts of the state. The writer found it common and in full song on
Big Beaver Island, Lake Michigan, in July 1904, and also found it fairly
LAND BIRDS. 469
common throughout the Upper Peninsula from Marquette eastward to
the Sault. Major Boies states that he saw it on Neebish Island in summer
feeding on the seeds of the burdock, and Mr. 0. B. Warren states that it
is abundant and breeds in Marquette county. It has also been recorded
by Dr. Wolcott as breeding at Charlevoix in the summer of 1894, and
Hazelwood states that it sometimes nests at Port Huron, although he
has not taken the eggs. There is a nesting record for Lansing, a bird having
built its nest in an evergreen tree in a dooryard in that city. Dr. Gibbs
records a set of two eggs taken in Kalamazoo county in 1870, '71 or '72,
but is unable to give other data. In St. Clair county both Mr. Taverner
and Mr. Swales say that it is rather scarce and irregular, occurring only
as a migrant. Even at Lansing, where it is a regular spring visitor, it
comes singly and in small numbers in the spring, but occurs in flocks of a
dozen or two in October, when it is frequently found feeding on the seeds
of various trees, most often perhaps on those of the hornbeam or blue
beech.
This is a bird of somewhat doubtful utility, since it has a pronounced
fondness for the blossom-buds of fruit trees and a small flock will some-
times nip off nearly all the fruit buds on a good-sized pear tree in the course
of a few visits. On the other hand, it eats a good many injurious insects
during the summer and is one of our very best singers, its song resembling
that of the Canary, and also to a certain extent that of the Warbling Vireo.
It is one of the few species which habitually sing on the wing, and an old
male in full plumage, floating slowly in a descending spiral and pouring
out a perfect flood of melody, makes one of the most attractive experiences
which fall to the lot of the bird lover. The males do not acquire the full
plumage until at least two years old and many of the yearlings sing and nest
while still in the gray plumage. Specimens intermediate in plumage
and song are frequently met with, but most breeding pairs are found to
consist of a rosy male and gray female.
The nest is usually placed in the top of an evergreen tree (often a red
cedar or a balsam fir) at a height of twelve to fifty feet, and is compactly
built of grasses, roots and usually some hair, and in the writer's experience
is deeply hollowed, although other observers describe it as shallow. The
eggs are three or four, greenish blue, speckled and sometimes pen-scratched
with brown and black. They average .80 by .57 inches. Both nest and
eggs closely resemble those of the common Chipping Sparrow, but of course
are decidedly larger.
This is one of the birds which ought to increase in numbers with the
settlement and cultivation of the country, but thus far it does not seem
to have done so in Michigan; indeed, several correspondents state that the
bird is not as common now as formerly.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Clcneral color rosy red, brightest on crown and rump, fadiuj^ to wliitisli
on lower breast and belly, but usually tinged with red even there; back and wing-coverts
mottled red and brown, owing to brownish centers of the feathers; wings and tail dusky
or brownish, the wings usually with two distinct reddish bars formed by tips of middle
and greater coverts; bill, feet and iris, brown.
Adult female: Without any red; upper parts streaked with gray and olive-brown,
the latter predominating; under parts whitisli, thickly streaked and spotted with olive-
brown; a broad brownish stripe behind the eye, bordered above and below by whitish;
wings and tail similar to those of male, but with no reddish edgings, the two wing-bars
470 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
soiled white. Many young males (perhaps all) wear the plumage of the female luitil at
least a year old, perhaps longer, and they sing freely and breed in this plumage. Adult
males in winter are darker and more purplish, but at best the bird is never purple, but
rather crimson.
Length 5.50 to G.25 inches; wing 3.15 to 3.40; tail 2.30 to 2.50. Female sliglitly smaller
than male.
209. Red Crossbill. Loxia curvirostra minor (Brehm.). (521)
Synonyms: American Red Crossbill, American Crossbill, Common Crossbill. — Cruci-
rostra minor, Brehm, 1846. — Curvirostra americana, Wilson. — Loxia americana, Bonap.
— Loxia curvivostra minor, Ridgw., 1885, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886.
Figure 111.
Size of the English Sparrow; both mandibles curved and crossed at the
tip (Fig. Ill); no white on the wings. General color brick-red (either
dull or bright), greenish-yellow, or brownish-yellow, the rump always
either red or yellow.
Distribution. — -Northern North America, resident sparingly south in
the United States to Maryland and Tennessee in the Alleghanies. Irregu-
larly abundant in winter.
In Michigan the distribution of the Red Crossbill is similar to that of the
Pine Grosbeak except that it is more common. In other words it is a
frequent winter visitor to most parts of the state, occurring
often in large flocks and being most abundant in regions
where conifers are plentiful. Unlike the Pine Grosbeak,
however, the Red Crossbill often spends the summer in
the more northern portions of the state, especially in pine
and spruce regions, and it probably nests within our i'''^- m-
T •, ^ , • r j-i lied Crossbill.
hmits not mfrequently.
It often appears in the middle and southern counties, in flocks of fifty
or more individuals in October and November, moving restlessly from
place to place, feeding mostly on the seeds of cones and buds of evergreens,
but also eating weed-seeds and wild fruits of various kinds. Often it is
remarkably unsuspicious, and with care specimens may sometimes be
caught in the hand, or more readily with a butterfly net. It is very fond
of the seeds of the arbor-vitse (Thuja), as well as those of tamarack and the
various spruces, firs and pines, and the peculiar structure and great strength
of the bill enable it to tear open the strongest and toughest cones and
pick out the nutritious seeds. A flock of a hundred or more of these
birds tearing open the cones of the Norway Pine makes noise enough to
attract the attention of the most careless observer, and the commotion is
increased by the chattering of the birds, which, however, whistle more
loudly while on the wing than when at work on the trees.
Although the species is almost universally distributed through the state,
it is by no means equally common in all parts, or even in the same place
in successive winters. In the southeastern part of the state it seems to
be rather rare, while in the central and northern portions of the Lower
Peninsula, and much of the upper Peninsula, it occurs in some numbers
almost every winter and sometimes in enormous flocks. On the other hand,
there have been occasional winters when apparently no specimens were
noted in any part of the state.
LAND BIRDS. 471
There has been a vast amount of dispute as to the nesting habits of the
Crossbills and the matter can hardly be considered settled as 3^et. It has
long been believed that the species nested in mid- winter, and in fact positive
statements to this effect, supported by fairly conclusive evidence, have been
published many times. Nevertheless, the birds have been found nesting
during the spring and summer, and birds which were evidently immature
have been taken at almost all seasons of the year. The truth seems to be
that the food, mainly seeds and buds of coniferous trees, on which they
depend, is available in favorable regions during almost the entire year,
and it is possible therefore for the birds to nest at almost any season. That
the greater part of them nest in late winter or very early spring seems
rather probable, but it is desirable that every actual instance of the Cross-
bill's nesting should be published with all possible details, in order that the
matter may be thoroughly investigated and the question definitely settled
as soon as possible.
A nest with two eggs was found at Hillsdale, Mich., on the college
campus in February of 1893 or 1894, by Mr. G. E. Douglas. Mr. Adolph
Hempel, who was with Mr. Douglas at the time, states that there
were many crossbills on the campus that winter and that he is sure
of the identity and still has the nest and eggs in his possession. Both
Chas. L. Cass of Ann Arbor and Prof. Frank Smith of Urbana, 111., re-
member the circumstance and are sure there was no mistake about the facts
or the identification of the birds. The writer has also been informed that
nests of the crossbill (which species is not certain) were found in pine trees
on the grounds of the Northern State Normal School at Marquette, Mich.,
by Miss Flora IMowbray and others, during late winter, but the details
have not been learned.
Kumlien and Hollister state that in Wisconsin it nests irregularly in the
north central parts of the state and formerly as far south as Dane county.
Young just able to fly were procured in a cemetery at Albion, Wis., in August
1869 (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 92). According to Butler they were reported
to have nested in the vicinity of Cleveland, Ohio, in the summer of 1878,
and a pair is reported to have bred at Bloomington, Ind., in 1885, the nest
being placed in a pine tree and made exclusively of pine burrs. Mr. R. B.
Moffit informed Dr. Butler that they nested at West Lafayette, Ind. in 1885,
and that young birds were taken there (Birds of Indiana, 1897, 919-920).
The same authority states that Dr. H. A. Atkins is said to have taken their
nests near Locke, Ingham county, jNIich., July 13, 1880, but we are unable
to verify this statement.
Early in 1906 Mr. Harold F. Tufts found three nests near Wolfville,
Kings county. Nova Scotia, two containing young just hatched, the
other three eggs advanced in incubation. These nests were found
Jan. 31, 1906, and during the following months many other nests
were found, most of them placed on horizontal limbs of spruces from
twenty to forty feet from the ground and well out from the trunk, others
in spruces, firs and hemlocks at elevations ranging from ten to eighty feet.
The birds continued nesting until May 7, at which time flocks of full fledged
young were to be seen feeding about the woods, while nests with eggs were
still to be found (Auk, XXIII, 1906, 339).
While the ordinary call of this bird is a very sharp whistle repeated
rapidly three or four times, and sounding as Dr. Gibbs states, like "cleep-
cleep-cleep," the birds also have a very sweet warbhng song during the
472 MICPIIGAN BIRD LIFE.
nesting season and during the late winter and spring, and even wlien not
nesting they frequently give snatches of this song.
From an economic standpoint the species has little importance. Occa-
sionally it may slightly injure an ornamental evergreen by cutting the twigs
or destroying the terminal buds, but ordinarily this is of very slight moment.
That it eats numerous insects during the summer can hardly be doubted,
but we know very little of its summer food. It is possible that it may
occasionally attack grain crops, but no report of this kind has come to our
notice as yet.
The eggs, usually four in numl)cr, arc described as pale bluish, spotted
with various shades of brown mixed with purplish gray, and averaging
.75 by .57 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Brick red, usually dull but sometimes almost vermillion, always brightest
on rump and crown, dullest on belly and under tail-coverts, the latter often plain dusky;
wings dusky, without white markings; tail similar, the tip rather deeply emarginate; bill
and feet dark brown; iris light brown.
Adult female: Mainly olive or olive-green, brightening to greenish yellow, or occasionally
to clear yellow, on the rump, the crown and breast then usually washed with the same
color; ear-coverts, chin, throat and belly usually dusky gray; wings and tail as in male.
Young at first reseml)le the female, but have the head and body, above and below, thickly
streaked with dusky. Males probably require more than one year to get the full plumage
of the adult, and specimens may be found in every conceivable stage between the yellow
and red.
Length 5.50 to 6.25 inches; whig 3.20 to 3.60; tail 1.85 to 2.40.
210. White-winged Crossbill. Loxia leucoptera (GnicL). (522)
Synonyms: Crucirostra leucoptera, Brehm, 1827. — Curvirostra leucoptera, Wilson.
— Loxia leucoptera of most authors.
Similar in general appearance to the Red Crossbill, but somewhat larger,
the red of the male rose-red or even crimson instead of brick-red, and the
wings in both sexes and at all ages with two conspicuous white wing-bars.
The distribution of this species in Michigan is quite similar to that of
the Red Crossbill, but it seems to be decidedly less common than that
species. In general habits, flight, note, song, and food the two species
also are practically identical. Occasionally both forms are found in the
same flock, but this is unusual and it often happens that one species will be
fairly abundant for a month or more at a particular place while no
individuals of the other species can be found.
, _ The nesting habits are even more obscure than those of the Red Crossbill,
and so far as we know there is but one record of nesting within our limits.
Mr. H. Nerhhng states that a nest was found in Delta county, Mich., on
April 21, 1891 (Butler, Birds of Indiana, 1897, p. 922). The statement
in Cook's Birds of Michigan (2d ed., p. 108), that Samuel Spicer of Genesee
county, found a nest of this species there September 28, 1888, is an error;
the species referred to was the Goldfinch. The account just given of the
nesting of the Red Crossbill at Wolfville, Nova Scotia, will serve equally
well for the present species, since ]\Ir. Tufts found nests of the White-winged
Crossbill at the same time and place, and in considerable numbers. First
nests were found in January, and nests with eggs were still to be found on
May 7. He states that the nests of both species were composed chiefly
Land birds. 473
of twigs and beard-moss, but sometimes strips of decayed wood and bark,
grasses and plant-down, were added. Some of the nests were seventy
feet from the ground, while others were placed in low bushes.
The eggs are described as "pale blue, dotted chiefly at the larger end
with black and hlac; averaging .80 by .56 inches" (Coues).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: General color rosy red, sometimes almost carmine on head, breast and
rump, and generally without any trace of the brick-red color of the preceding species;
usually a black patch back of the ear-coverts, sometimes connected with a black stripe
from behind the eye; scapulars also black, and this color often extending across the lower
back, forming a black bar between the red of the interscapulars and rump; wings black,
with two conspicuous white bars, and the tertiaries also often edged and tipped with white;
tail black, sometimes very narrowly edged with whitish; bill, feet and iris brown.
Adult female: General color olive-green or grayish-olive, washed with yellowish as in
the Red Crossbill, but the wings always with the two white bars; the wings also are merely
dusky or brownish black, not pure black as in the male. Young at first are streaked above
and below, but otherwise resemble the mature female. As they grow older the males
change from yellowish to yellow, orange, and finally to crimson, but tliis probably not
until the second year.
Length 6 to 6.50 inches; wing about 3.50; tail 2.60.
211. Greenland Redpoll. Acanthis hornemanni hornemanni (Holb.). (527)
Synonyms: Greenland Mealy Redpoll. — Linota hornemanni, Holboll, 1843. — Acanthis
hornemanni, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most recent writers.- — ^'Egiothus cancescens,
Coues, 1861.
The Redpolls (genus Acanthis) are described by Ridgway as "small,
streaked, red-capped and often rosy-breasted finches with long and dis-
tinctly emarginate tail and small acute bill." Two species and two or
more subspecies probably occur in the state, but only one is ever abundant.
The adults always have a bright garnet crown (whence the name Redpoll),
a blackish spot on chin and upper throat, and the males usually are more
or less rosy on breast and rump as well.
Redpolls nest only in the far north and are seen within our limits only
in winter. From the fact that they are very irregular in their appearance,
sometimes coming in flocks of thousands and other winters not appearing
at all, they are commonly believed to be driven south by the cold, their
numbers here indicating the severity of the winter farther north. More
likely, however, their movements depend on abundance or shortage of food
supply, although other factors may enter into the problem. All the species
and subspecies are so much alike that they can be separated only by the
expert.
The present species, the Greenland Redpoll, is the largest and lightest
colored of all and is restricted in the nesting season to Greenland, Iceland,
Spitzbergen, and eastei-n Arctic America, wandering southward in winter
to the northern boundary of the United States. There is a single specimen
in the museum of the Sault Ste. Marie High School, taken in that vicinity
March 29, 1900, and identified by the Division of Biological Survey at
Washington (Letter from W. P. Melville). Wo find no other recorcl for
the state.
TECHNICAL DESCIIIPTIO.V.
"Adults with top of head bright red and a dusky spot covering chin ;uid uj^iior part of
throat. Wing exceeding tail by less tlian lengfli of tarsus; rum]) i)l:iiM white or pinkisli;
474 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE,
sides very narrowly, or sparsely, or not at all, streaked; under tail coverts with darker
shaft-streaks narrow and indistinct, or sometimes altogether wanting; inner webs of tail-
feathers very broadly edged with white; plumage in general very light, with whitish or
light grayish prevailing on upper parts, the lower parts almost entirely white; adult males
with chest and sides of breast merely tinged with delicate peach-blossom pink.
" Length about 5.50 to 6.50 inches. Male : Wing 3.35 to 3.45; tail 2.70 to 2.85; exposed
culmen .32 to .37; depth of bill at base .30 to .32; tarsus .62 to .70. Female: Wing 3.25
to 3.35 inches; tail 2.65 to 2.80; bill same as in male; tarsus .62 to .68" (Ridgway).
212. Hoary RedpolL Acanthis hornemanni exilipes {Coues). (527a)
Synonyms: Mealy Redpoll, American Mealy Redpoll.- — ^giothus exilipes, Coues,
186). — Fringilla borealis, Aud., 1839. — ^giothus canescens var. exilipes, Ridgw., 1874.
Similar to the preceding, but smaller.
Distribution. — Arctic America and northeastern Asia, south in winter
to the northern border of the United States.
This subspecies is included in Stockwell's ("Archer") list in Forest and
Stream (VII, 18, 276), and in Covert's list in the same publication, but the
only Michigan specimen we have been able to locate is a male in the High
School museum at Sault Ste. Marie, collected there December 7, 1899,
b}^ Mr. Ralph Endress, and identified by the Division of Biological Survey,
U. S. Department of Agriculture (Letter from W. P. Melville). According
to Kumlien and Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 92) this form was tolerably
common in Dunn county, Wis., from January to March, 1896, and has been
found several times in other northern counties in that state. It is said
they may be readily recognized in flocks of the common Redpoll by their
lighter color. Although lighter than the common Redpoll they are darker
than the Greenland Redpoll.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Precisely like the preceding, according to Ridgway, except for size, the present subspecies
averaging smaller, and with proportionally smaller and more acute bill.
"Length 4.50 to 5.25 inches. Male: Wing 2.95 to 3.10 inches; tail 2.50 to 2.55;
exposed culmen .30; depth of bill at base .22 to .25; tarsus .52 to .58. Female: Wing
2.80 to 3.05; tail 2.30 to 2.60; exposed culmen .28 to .32; deptii of bill at base .20 to .25;
tarsus .50 to .57" (Ridg%vay).
213. Redpoll. Acanthis linaria linaria (Linn.). (528)
Synonyms: Common Redpoll, Lesser Redpoll. — Fringilla linaria, Linn., 1758, also of
Wilson, Nuttall and Audubon. — Acanthis linaria, Bonap., Stejn., A. O. U. Check-list,
1886, etc. — jEgiothus linaria, Baird, Coues, Ridgw. and many others. — Linaria minor,
Aud., 1839.
Figure 112.
About the size of the Hoar}^ Redpoll, but decidedly darker, the rump
never white and the under tail-coverts always distinctly streaked (Ridgw.).
Distribution. — Northern portions of the northern Hemisphere, south in
winter pretty regularly to the northern United States, and occasionally
to the middle states (Virginia, southern Ohio and Indiana, Kansas).
This is the common Redpoll which appears frequently in November
in large or small flocks and remains until March. Our earliest fall record
LAND BIRDS.
475
is November 9, 1889,
on which date one
was killed on the
Spectacle Reef Light-
house in northern
Lake Huron. In
northern Wisconsin it
has been observed as
early as October 28.
It does not visit the
south and south-
eastern counties of
Michigan so often as
the northern parts of
the state, probably
b e c a u s e it finds
abundance of food
and suitable condi-
tions in the north.
It feeds to a large
extent on the seeds of the birches and alders, but also attacks the cones
of the tamarack and arbor- vita3, and probably to some extent those of
other pines. It also feeds freely on grass-seeds and weed-seeds, but takes
to the bare ground with some reluctance. Not infrequently it is found
in company with crossbills and has been known to follow the latter and
extract seeds from the cones torn open by the stronger bird.
Apparently it has little or no song even at the nesting season, though
one observer speaks of a faint warble and another of a "twittering."
The nest, found only in arctic and subarctic regions, is built of various
grasses, plant fibres and moss, lined with feathers and hair, and placed
in low bushes, alders, willows, etc., usually but a foot or two above the
ground. The eggs are three to five, bluish white finely spotted with brown,
and average about .69 by .48 inches (Ridgw.).
Redpoll,
gj. Little, Brown & Co.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
"Adult: Top of head bright red (usually crimson), and a dusky spot covering chin
and upper part of throat; wing exceeding tail by more than length of tarsus; rump distinctly
streaked; sides distinctly, often broadly and heavily, streaked with dusky; under tail-
coverts with very distinct dusky mesial streaks; imier webs of tail-feathers very slightly,
if at all, edged with white; plumage in general darker, with darker markings preyaihng
on upper parts, tlie lower parts never entirely white; adult males with chest and sides of
breast deep madder-pink; bill in winter yellow, tipped with black. Females lack the red
of breast and sides but have the red cap. Young of both sexes are without red on crown
or elsewhere; whole head streaked with dusky ^and grayish or brownish white, the latter
color prevailing on under portions; otherwise much as in adult female, but plumage of
much softer, more 'woolly' texture, and markings less sharply defined" (RidgAvay).
" Length 4.50 to 5 inches, with proportionally longer and more acute l)ill. Male: Wing
2.80 to 3.05 inches; tail 2.20 to 2.50; exposed culmen .32 to .38; depth of bill at base .22
to .27; tarsus .55 to .60. Female: Wing 2.75 to 2.90; tail 2.20 to 2.40; exposed culmen
.30 to .37; deptli of bill at base .20 to .25; tarsus .55 to .60" (Ridgway).
476 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
214. Greater Redpoll. Acanthis linaria rostrata (Coues). (528b)
Synonyms: ^giothus rostratus, Coues, 18G1. — Acanthis linaria rostrata, Stejn., 1884,
A. U. O. Check-list, 1886.
Similar to the common Redpoll (and also to Holboell's Redpoll),* but
much larger, darker, and the bill relatively shorter, thicker, and less acute
(Ridgw.).
Distribution. — Greenland and northeastern North America, south irregu-
larly in winter to New England, New York, and northern Illinois.
Apparently a rare winter visitor to Michigan. The first specimen
recorded was taken by F. H. Chapin, of Kalamazoo, in the winter of 1878,
and referred to Dr. Morris Gibbs, and by him to Robt. Ridgway, for identi-
fication. A second specimen, a female, is in the High School Museum of
Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., taken near that place, December 7, 1899, by W. P.
Melville, and identified by the Division of Biological Survey, U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Two more females were taken
near Kalamazoo, one January 23, 1904, and the other March 1, 1904, by W.
Wilkowski, Jr., and identified by Ridgway. These were found in flocks
of the common Redpoll.
In northern Wisconsin, according to Kumlien and Hollister (Birds of
Wisconsin, p. 93), more than thirty specimens were collected in Dunn
county, in the winter of 1895-96, and examples identified by Ridgway.
Others have been taken from time to time in Wisconsin, always associated
with the common Redpoll.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Ridgway discriminates between this bird and its nearest relatives as follows: Length
about 5.25 to 5.75 inches; with proportionally shorter, thicker, and less acute bill; wing
averaging more than 3.15 in males, more than 3.05 in females; color also usually darker
than in A. linaria and A. holbcelli, the lateral lower parts usually much more broadly or
heavily striped.
Male: Wing 3.05 to 3.30 inches; tail 2.35 to 2.70; exposed culmen .32 to .42; depth of
bill at base .25 to .30; tarsus .60 to .70. Female: Wing 2.95 to 3.25; tail 2.40 to 2.60;
exposed culmen .33 to .42; depth of bill at base .25 to .30; tarsus .60 to .68.
215. Goldfinch. Astragalinus tristis tristis (Linn.). (529)
Synonyms: American Goldfinch, Ycllowbird, Tliistle-bird, Lettuce-bird, Wild Canary'
— Fringiila tristis, Linn., 1758, also of Wilson, Bonap., Audubon, Nuttall.^Spinus tristis'
A. O. II. Check-list, 1886. — Chrysomitris tristis, Hainl, Allen, Coues and others.
Figure 113.
The male in summer, with lemon-yellow body, velvet-black cap, and
black wings and tail with white edgings, is unmistakable. The female
is yelloAvish brown without strong contrasts of color, although yellow
predominates below.
Distribution. — Temperate North America generally, south in winter
to lower boundary of lower California; breeds southward to the middle
districts of the United States, and winters mainly within the United States.
One of the commonest and best known birds throughout the state,
*For note on Holboell's Redpoll, sec Appendix.
LAND BIRDS.
477
■^^^
Fig. li;i. Goldfinch.
.Vdiilt male, in raid.siunii
universully distributed and found both summer and winter, although
the winter plumage is so unlike that
of summer that the birds usually pass
unrecognized. Moreover, it is much
less abundant in winter, and often
the entire season may pass without
any being seen. Undoubtedly all the
summer Goldfinches in any one
region move southward in autumn,
and those which are found in winter
have come from more northern
regions. These latter seem to return
northward again in spring before
their plumage has brightened much,
but very soon the birds appear which
have wintered farther south and
these already have begun to take on
the brighter summer plumage. They
reach middle Michigan in flocks the
last of April or first of May and
during that month and June are very
conspicuous, feeding on the seeds of the elms, often on the ground, or
gathering by scores on the patches of dandelions to feast on the ripening
seeds.
They remain in flocks until nesting begins, which is usually not until
early July, and probably many of the birds do not nest until late in that
month. Eggs may be found all through August and occasionally in Septem-
ber. Samuel Spicer of Goodrich, Genesee county, records a nest with two
fresh eggs found in a corn shock September 28, 1888. The nest is commonly
placed in small orchard trees or shade trees, frequently in nurseries or
willow thickets, and at heights varying from two to thirty feet from the
ground. It is compactly and very neatly built of grasses and plant fibres,
is deeply hollowed and lined with the softest of fibers, often with down
from thistle, milk-weed, and other plants. The eggs are three to six, very
pale blue and usually without spots, but rarely with a few brown specks.
They average .66 by .47 inches.
The Goldfinch feeds mainly on seeds of various kinds, among which
those of the Composita) hold the most important place. Its fondness for
lettuce seed has earned for it the name of Lettuce-bird in some sections
and the names Thistle-bird and Salad-bird have a similar origin. The
fact that the young are fed mainly on the (regurgitated) seeds of these
Compositas, which are mostly late blooming plants, has been given as the
probable explanation of the late nesting, ancl no better one has been offered
thus far. That insects form some small part of the food is probable, but
no great amount of credit can be claimed on this account. The consump-
tion of weed seed, however, is a positive benefit, but perhaps hardly more
than repays the market gardener and seedsman for the turnij), lettuce, and
other valuable seeds taken. Besides the seeds named the Goldfinch eats
a host of others and is particularly fond of goldenrod, aster, and the various
wild sunflowers; also in winter it eats the seeds of the birch and alder, and,
with the Pine Finch or Siskin, visits the arbor-vita; and scrub pine and
extracts such seeds as it is able.
Its ordinary call-note when at rest is very similar to that of the common
478 MICHIGAN HIRD LIFE.
canary, but it has another call, loud and characteristic, used mainly on the
wing, and consisting of four emphatic notes. Its song is also somewhat
canary-like and is often long continued and varied. Dr. Brewer says of
it "It is sweet, brilliant and pleasing; more so indeed when given as a solo
with no others of its kindred within hearing. I know of none of our common
singers that excel it in either respect. Its notes are higher and more flute-
like, and its song is more prolonged than that of the Purple Finch. Where
large flocks are found in spring and early summer the males often join
in a very curious and remarkable concert, in which the voices of several
performers do not always accord. In spite of this frequent want of
harmony, these concerts are varied and pleasing, now ringing like the
loud voices of the canary, and now sinking into a low soft warble."
This bird is'always sociable and is found in flocks during the greater part
of the year. Even during the nesting season the males frequently gather
in little companies about watering-troughs and other drinking places, and
frequently a dozen of these bright plumaged birds will be found bathing
in a puddle in the middle of the road.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: In summer; forehead and front half of crown velvet black; upper tail-
coverts white; rest of upper parts, including scapulars, bright lemon-yellow; entire under
parts the same, except the under tail-coverts, which are white; wings deep black, the greater
and middle coverts tipped with white, and most of the secondaries and tertiaries edged
and tipped with the same; tail clear black, each feather with a broad white spot on inner
web near tip; bill yellow; iris brown.
Adult female : In summer; upper parts olive-brown, yellowish on outer edge of scapulars;
under parts buffy or yellowish-brown, varying to dull greenish-yellow, and whitening on
belly and under tail-coverts; wings and tail about as in male, but duller black or even
brownish. In winter the female is similar, but browner above and less yellowish below,
the white wing-markings changing to buff. The male in winter resembles the female
quite closely, but the wings are much blacker and the light wing-markings broader. Yoimg
birds of both sexes resemble the winter female, but are still browner and more buffy.
Length 4.45 to 4.50 inches; wing 2.60 to 2.90; tail L80 to 2.10; culmen about .35.
216. Pine Finch. Spinus pinus (Wils.). (533)
Synonyms: Siskin, Pine Siskin, American Siskin, Pine Linnet. — Fringilla pinus,
Wilson, 1810, also of Nuttall and Audubon.— Chrysomitris pinus, Baird, 1858, Coues,
1873, B. B. & R., 1874, and many others.— Spinus pinus, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and
most recent authors.
Size and general appearance of the female Goldfinch, but distinctly
streaked with brown and gray, above and below, and with no 3'ellow except
on wings and tail; the half concealed yellow wing patches being
characteristic.
Distribution. — North America generally, breeding in the British Provinces
and sparingly in the northern United States.
Like its near relative, the Goldfinch, the Pine Finch is resident throughout
the year in Michigan, but in a very different way. Over the larger part of
the state it occurs only as a winter visitor or as a spring and fall migrant,
appearing in flocks from October to March and occasionally lingering
Avell into May and then disappearing northward. Throughout a consider-
able part of the northern half of the state, however, it is resident during
the summer, and it unquestionably nests in the higher parts of the Lower
Peninsula, north of the Saginaw Grand Valle}-, and probably over the
larger part of the Upper Peninsula. Its appearance is quite irregular
LAND BIRDS. 479
in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula, some years none appearing,
while at other times it is fairly abundant.
Often it comes in small or moderate sized flocks by itself, feeding
principally on the seeds of the white cedar or arbor-vitse, the larch or
tamarack and the various pines and spruces, but also when the ground is
bare, eating the fallen seeds of maple, elm and other trees and devouring
w^eed and grass seeds with reUsh. It associates freely with the winter
Goldfinches and Redpolls, and not infrequently is seen with the crossbills,
and eating the same food. It has been reported frequently in spring
as eating dandelion seeds, and the late Percy Selous observed it at Green-
ville, Montcalm county, as late as May 25, 1897, feeding on these seeds.
Peet found it feeding among balsams and tamaracks on Isle Royale, in
July, 1905 (Mich. Geol. Surv., Rep. 1908, 365), and Blackwelder states that
in late summer, in Iron county, it was seen in small bands and was especially
characteristic of cedar swamps (Auk, XXVI, 1909, 368).
We do not know of the actual finding of a nest within the limits of the
state, but the University of Michigan expedition found it common in the
Porcupine Mountains, Ontonagon count)^ from July 15 to August 14,
1904, and females were seen to carry nesting material from the camp into
the woods, while the reproductive organs of the specimens taken showed
that they were breeding. Dr. W. H. Dunham also writes that it is rather
common in Kalkaska county and nests in April and early May, but he does
not seem to have actually found the nest. Mr. O. B. Warren states that
in Marquette county it is an abundant migrant and breeds. He adds
"Although the vast majority of those seen in migration do not stop to
breed, yet the better one becomes acquainted with the bird at Palmer
the more common is seems in summer" (1898).
In Wisconsin, according to Kumlien and Hollister, it is not known to
breed, although Dr. Hoy believed that it nested in the pine regions. The
nest has been found in other states from about the first of May until July 1.
A nest was taken at Sing Sing, New York, May 25, 1883, by Dr. A. K. Fisher.
The nest is described by Ridgway as a compact structure of pine twigs,
rootlets, hair, plant fibres, etc., lined with fine rootlets and hair. It is
placed at moderate heights in evergreen trees. The eggs are three or four,
pale bluish or greenish, thinly clotted with brown and black, and average
.62 by .50 inches.
Even during the summer the birds are usually found in flocks and fly
with a wheezy, chattering note which is quite characteristic. Dr. Jonathan
Dwight, Jr. speaks of their song as a "soliloquizing gabble interspersed
with a prolonged wheeze," and says that their ordinary call-note is much
like the common note of the English Sparrow.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes alike): Entire upper parts brown or brownish-gray, streaked thickly with
blackish; under parts grayish white to almost pure white, streaked with brownish or
blackish; wings blackish, the primaries narrowly edged with pale yellow on outer margins,
and both primaries and secondaries largely sulphur-yellow toward the base; tail like the
wings, largely yellow at base and without any white spots at tip; bill dusky; iris brown.
Young similar to adults, but wing-coverts usually tipped with deep buff or tan-color.
Length 4.50 to 5.25 inches; wing 2.75 to 2.90; tail 1.85 to 1.95; culmen .35 to .40.
480
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
217. English Sparrow. Passer domesticus (Linn.).
Synonyms: House Sparrow, European House Sparrow, Sparrow.
Linn., 1758. — Passer domesticus of most authors.
-Erin "ilia domostica,
Figure 11 4-
The adult male has a clear ash-gray crown, deep black throat and upper
breast, with white on both sides, and a conspicuous chestnut collar or cape
extending from the eyes along the sides and back of neck. The wings and
back are streaked chestnut and black with a short white bar on the shoulder,
the "chip" which the little fighter carries on his shoulder as a challenge
to all others of his kind.
Distribution. — Nearly the whole of Europe and practically all of
temperate North America, as well as Australia, New Zeeland and parts of
South America. Originally a European bird, it has been carried all over
the world and has now become naturahzed in almost all temperate climates
of both the northern and southern hemispheres.
The English Sparrow, more properly known as the European House
Sparrow, was first brought to America, so far as we know, in the fall of 1850,
when eight pairs were _
brought to Brooklyn,
N. Y. and liberated in
the spring of the follow-
ing year. Since this
time there have been
scores, probably hun-
dreds of importations,
and small lots of spar-
rows have been trans-
ferred from one city in
the United States to
another, and subse-
quently transfers of
these plantings have
been made until the bird
is now naturalized over
practically the whole
United States.
So far as we can learn
the first birds were
brought to Jackson,
Michigan, l)etween 1874
and 1876, and four birds were Hberated at Owosso in 1876. The place from
which these birds were obtained is not known. The Sparrow is now
abvmdant throughout all the larger towns and cities of the entire state and
also in most of the smallest villages and hamlets, unless these are situa-
ted at considerable distances from any railroad or lake or river port.
Its habits are too well known to need extended mention. It is an
unmitigated pest, whose good points are so few that they may be summed
up in a few lines. The Sparrow remains with us through the winter and
his presence does something to enliven that nearly birdlcss season; it eats
Fig.
From Bull
male.
JJept. Agriculture.
LAND BIRDS. 481
s^ome insects, a few of whi(;h arc injurious; it consumes some grass seed
and weed seeds. That is all.
On the other hand, its bad qualities are numerous and pronounced.
It is a natural grain eater and regularly damages grain crops in the field
and in the shock; it eats buds, young sprouts, flowers and seeds of almost
every green thing which is cultivated; at certain times and places it does
considerable damage to fruit, although this is one of its lesser crimes; it
is a persistent enemy of our native birds, pai'ticularly of those kinds which
appear to seek the vicinity of dwellings, or which nest in boxes, holes or
other places prepared for them by man.
From the fact that the Sparrow remains with us over winter and liegins
to nest very early in the spring it naturally takes possession of all the
available nesting places, so that when the Bluebird, Wren, Phoebe and Tree
Swallow arrive they find their homes occupied and are compelled to fight
for them or go elsewhere. Even the Purple Martin has been dispossessed
in many instances and the decrease in its numbers, which has been notice-
able in the last two decades, probably is largely attributable to the Sparrow.
Not only does the interloper affect these species, but it often directly
attacks Robins, Song Sparrows, Chickadees, Flycatchers, Thrushes, Tana-
gers, and a host of other birds, annoying them by repeated visits to their
nests or by actual attacks on them while feeding.
One of the most serious aspects of the Sparrow problem is due to its
filthy habits. It gathers in immense flocks to roost and often selects
cornices, windowcaps, ornamental work about the eaves and gables of
buildings, and the vines which cover the walls of public and private dwel-
lings. In these places its presence is soon shown by the defacement of the
structures by its droppings, by the destruction of the vines, and the litter
which it causes. Often still further damage is caused by its carrying
nesting material into gutters, down-spouts, and similar places about the
eaves, so that the water of cisterns is defiled, or overflow of pipes results,
sometimes causing great damage.
The reader who is interested in the details of these charges may consult
the author's work on the English Sparrow, published as Bulletin No. 1 of
the Division of Economic Ornithology of the United States Department of
Agriculture, in 1889.
Within the last decade two new and serious charges have been made
against the Sparrow; one, that it is frequently concerned in the spread of
hog cholera, the other, that it is partly responsible for the distribution of
the lice and mites which affect poultry. The evidence in support of the
latter charge is direct and convincing. Sparrows are always attracted to
poultry yards by the food to be found there. They use feathers freely
for lining their nests, both in summer and winter. Thus their nests become
infested with the lice and mites of the chickens. Careful experiment has
shown that at least one species of chicken mite, Dcrmanyssus gallincc,
and prol)ably the worst one, is perfectly at home on the Ihiglish Sparrow,
frequently swarms in its nests, and after multiplying freely on the Sparrow
may be transferred again to chickens without any loss of vitality. A
single feather in a vSparrow's nest was found to carry 72 living chicken
mites, and at least 250 similar feathers were found in this single nest, giving
a probable total of at least 18,000 mites in one nest (Ewing, Auk, XXVIIl,
1911, 335-340). In the light of such facts the numerous Sparrow's nests
about barns and sheds, as well as in trees about the farm yard, should
acquire added significance.
01
482 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Turning now to the question of hog cholera, that modern scourge which
has caused losses of millions of dollars to American farmers, we find the
evidence less direct but almost equally convincing. Single cases, and even
some extensive outbreaks of hog cholera have Ijeen traced to the transfer
of the germs from farm to farm on the boots of the laborer or the common
farm vehicles and stable implements. The manure and mud of an infected
hog pen must contain the germs of the disease. What more likely, more
inevitable, more certain, than that Sparrows feeding on and in that mud
should carry some of it away on bill and feet and so infect other hog yards,
perhaps miles away? We do not know that the germs of hog cholera
have ever been demonstrated from the mud on Sparrows' feet, but we do
know of more than one outbreak of the dreaded disease, from which all
ordinary modes of infection were apparently excluded, but where English •
Sparrows were known to have passed freely in and out of the yards, and
might easily have brought the infection from farms less than a mile away.
We have no wish to condemn the Sparrow on mere suspicion, yet the known
and proved evils which attend his presence are so real and serious, and the
benefits claimed (very few of which have been proved) are so meager and
insignificant, that it seems the part of common prudence for everyone
interested in agricultural welfare and the beauty of country life to do all
that can be done legitimately to exterminate this bird.
The English Sparrow when once fairly established increases with
phenomenal rapidity. Two broods at least are reared in a season, and
usually three, while instances of four or five broods have been reported
by competent observers. Moreover, the young seldom number less than
four in a brood and the old birds are remarkably successful in getting
them safely on the wing, so that in favorable seasons an immense number
of Sparrows may be reared in a comparatively small area. Without
quoting the sensational figures which are sometimes introduced we may
say that a dozen pairs in a city will produce hundreds of thousands in the
course of three or four years, and in making plans to exterminate Sparrows
this remarkable fecundity must be reckoned with. The dangerous character
of the Sparrow has been recognized generally throughout the country for
nearly thirty years, and various suggestions for restriction and extermina-
tion have been made, but the hopelessness of the attempt to entirely
exterminate is now almost universally conceded. Several of the states
early resorted to bounties, not only without good results, but with dis-
astrous effect upon our native birds. In 1887 Michigan enacted a bounty
law allowing one cent apiece for Sparrows in lots of not less than twenty-
five. At a subsequent session of the legislature this act was amended
so that the bounty was increased to two cents apiece and the birds might
be presented in lots of ten or more. Some of the defects of the earlier
bounty laws were also corrected and the law remained on the books until
repealed in the spring of 1901. The legislature of 1905, however, reenacted
practically the same bounty law, with the proviso, however, that it should
take effect only in such counties as saw fit to adopt it by a majority vote
of the Board of Supervisors. Very few of the counties appear to have
made the act effective, in fact, up to the present time we know of but three
counties in which such bounties are paid.
We have not space to go into the merits of bounty laws in general. It
is suflficient to say that except under very unusual conditions they serve
no useful purpose, but result in only a slight reduction of the numbers of
the animals attacked, while they invariably produce more or less corrup-
LAND BIRDS. 483
tion among the people taking advantage of the bounty offer, and usually,
as in the case of the Sparrow, work much harm to beneficial species. In
Michigan the Sparrow laws have served no useful purpose whatever. True,
in two or three instances the number of Sparrows has been temporarily
reduced, but in no case has the reduction been carried anywhere near the
point of extermination, and as soon as active warfare against them was
relaxed they speedily regained their former numbers. On the other hand,
the taxpayers of the several counties have been called upon to pay out
enormous sums for this work and the most scandalous corruption has been
developed in certain places.
Owing to the fact that the bounty money is paid entirely out of county
funds it has proved impossible to get complete figures for the state or even
for any single county, but some of the figures obtained by direct corre-
spondence with county officers are sufficiently suggestive. Thus complete
returns were obtained from nineteen counties, all in the Lower Peninsula,
for the year 1898, and they showed amounts ranging from $12.36 in Gladwin
county to $3,804.60 in Gratiot county. The total bounties paid in that
year by the nineteen counties amounted to $21,416.06, the average being
$1,127.16. During that year Eaton county paid $1,386.00, Genesee county
$1,697.00, Jackson county $2,370.00, Ingham county, $2,407.00. Remember-
ing that these nineteen counties represent less than one-fourth of the state,
it would certainly be within bounds to estimate the total Sparrow bounties
paid in 1898 at $50,000.00. The increase of bounties paid during successive
years in some of the counties is also very suggestive; thus Branch county
in 1894, paid $142.00, in 1895 $170.00, in 1896 $352.00, in 1897 $890.00, and
in 1898 $1,064.00. Gratiot county in 1896 paid $967.00, in 1897 $2,239.00,
and in 1898 $3,805.00. Ingham county in 1896 paid $432.00, in 1897
$1,372.00, and in 1898 $2,407.00.
Careful inquiry in all the counties where the largest amounts were paid
has satisfied us that there has been no appreciable decrease in the number
of Sparrows as a result of the money expended. Moreover, fraud and graft
have developed to an alarming degree in connection with the Sparrow
bounty law, and serious, and in several cases fatal, accidents have resulted
from the use of firearms in the hands of careless and inexperienced people,
and particularly in the hands of boys who have used firearms within city
Hmits and in violation of the ordinances. This feature of the case alone
should prevent the adoption of the bounty law by any county of the state.
The conditions affecting Sparrow increase in Michigan probably are
unlike those in most of the states, at all events it is certain that Sparrows
will not increase indefinitely in our larger cities. A succession of two or
three mild winters will be followed, almost always, by a noteworthy increase
in the number of Sparrows ; but not all these will remain in the cities or
towns where they were bred, a large part of the increase will spread out
through the surrounding country and only a part of this increase will return
to the cities in winter. An ordinarily severe winter kills off a very large
number of Sparrows. Just what is the proportion thus killed it is im-
possible to say, but severe winters have a marked effect in cutting down the
numbers, and two or three severe winters in succession would doubtless
do more to lessen their numbers than the expenditure of several millions
of dollars in liounties.
It is entirely feasible to kill out one-half to three-fourths of the Sparrows
in any city in a single winter, at a very small expense, by the judicious
use of poisoned food. This work of course should not be trusted to irrc-
484 MICHKIAN BUil) LIFE.
spoiLsihlc i);iriics, but cci'tain persons should ))e designated and paid for the
work, and proper precautions should be taken to prevent accident of any
kind. The system which has been successfully used by individuals in
various places in the country is as follows: During midwinter, when the
Sparrows have congregated in the towns and cities and when heavy snow
has covered most of the available food and they are pinched more or less
for supplies, they should be baited for several successive days to some
stal)le yard or inclosed area where they will gather in immense numbers
if not needlessly alarmed. When several hundreds have thus been lured
to feed regularly, and the amount of food which they will consume com-
pletely has been determined, a similar amount of the same food, previously
soaked with strychnine and carefully dried, is fed to them at the usual time.
Ordinarily the whole of this poisoned grain will be eaten, and four-fifths
of the Sparrows will die within a few moments and within a few yards of
the feeding place. The remainder will flutter a little farther away, but
within a few hours every Sparrow which ate at this place is likely to die.
No danger whatever is to be apprehended to cats, dogs, pigs or other animals
which might eat the poisoned Sparrows, and if any poisoned grain is left
uneaten it can readily be swept up for use at another time or can be de-
stroyed by burning if desired. There is far less cruelty in killing Sparrows
in this way than by ordinary shooting or trapping, since experiment with
caged Sparrows shows that strychnine is very quickly effective and that the
Sparrows die from it with practically no pain at all. It is important that
the poisoning should be done only during the winter season, when all native
birds are absent, and in case poultry or pigeons are attracted by the baiting
they may be excluded by the use of coops made of laths, through the spaces
of which the Sparrows can pass freely while the pigeons will be kept out.
For illustrations of the working of the Michigan law and other bounty
laws the reader should consult the work on the English Sparrow already
mentioned, or an article by Dr. T. S. Palmer entitled "Extermination of
Noxious Animals by Bounties," which may be found in the Yearbook
of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1896, pp. 55-68.
If any bounty law is to remain upon the Michigan statute books it is
certainly advisable that it should be materially different from the present
law. Under the statutes Sparrows may be killed at any time of year,
although bounties may be paid only in December, January and February,
and the examination of Sparrows so killed is made by the county clerk of
the "townshij), village or city within which such Sparrows have been
killed." While the bounty law provides a fine for the attempt of any
person to collect a bounty on birds other than English Sparrows, it is obvious
that the aforesaid county clerk must be able to discriminate between
English Sparrows and other birds or there is danger not only that bounties
will be illegally paid, but that many of our valuable birds will be destroyed.
Under the best conditions bounty laws are expensive and unsatisfactory,
and so far as the English Sparrow in Michigan is concerned they are at
least extremely vmwise and ineffective.
TECHNIC.VL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Top of head clear gray; a broad stripe of chestnut runs backward from the
eye and spreads on the nape and sides of neck so as to form an imperfect collar or cape;
back and scapulars streaked with black and chestnut; rump and uj^per tail-coverts plain
brownisii gray; imder parts grayish-white or almost white on sides of neck and cheeks,
the middle line of throat and a large patch on the chest deep black; most of the wing-
coverts and outer margins of secondaries and tertiaries bright chestnut, the middle co\ertB
LAND BIRDS. 485
pure white in strong contrast; wing and tail feathers plain dusky; bill and feet black; iris
brown. In winter the clear ash gray becomes more brownish, the white under parts de-
cidedly brownish gray, and the black throat and chest more or less veiled by gray tips of
the feathers.
Adult female: General color brownish, darkest above, fading to brownish gray on breast
and sides and to soiled whitish on the belly; back, wing-coverts and tertiaries black, streaked
or edged with buff or rusty; usually a pale buff or whitish streak behind the eye, and the
middle wing-coverts tipped with buffy or wiiitish, but no clear black, white, or chestnut
about the head. Young birds at first resemble the females, but within two or three months
the young males show traces of the distinctive head markings.
Length 5.50 to 6.25 inches; wing 2.85 to 3; tail 2.35 to 3. Female decidedly smaller
than male.
218. Snow Bunting. Plectrophenax nivalis nivalis {Linn.). (534)
Synonyms: Snowflake, Snowbird, White Snowbird. — Emberiza nivalis, Linn. 1758.
— Passerina nivalis, A. O. U. Committee, 1899. — Plectrophanes nivalis of most others
until 1882.— Plectrophenax nivalis, Stejn., 1882, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most
recent authors.
Males in winter are mainly white below, mottled white, black and chestnut
above, with the wings mainly white, but tipped with clear black. The
females are similar, but with brownish black replacing the clear black.
Toward spring the amount of brown decreases and the black and white
))ecome purer and more prominent.
Distribution. — Northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere, breeding
in the Arctic regions; in North America south in winter in the Northern
United States, irregularly to Georgia, southern Illinois, Kansas and Oregon.
This well known bird is a regular winter visitor to all parts of Michigan,
but in much greater abundance along the shores of the Great Lakes and
about the mouths of the rivers, and in greater numbers some years than
in others. Stragglers and small squads appear in the northern counties
late in October; Wood took a specimen at Caseville, Huron county, Oct.
12, 1910, and Selous took one at Greenville as early as October 9, 1897.
There is also a record for Mason county as early as September 25, 1909
(Chaney, Auk, XXVII, 275). In the middle counties and southern parts
of the state it rarely appears in force before November and the largest
flocks, often aggregating several thousand, are most often seen after mid-
winter. The bird is decidedly gi'egarious and delights in flying in the
stormiest weather. Indeed, its appearance in numbers is often considered
the harbinger of snow, and during heavy snow storms it seems to be i)ai'ti('U-
larly active and restless.
Its food is obtained almost entirely from the ground and consists mainly
of small seeds of various kinds, although Professor Aughey states that in
Nebraska it always eats locusts eggs when they are obtainable. Its con-
sumption of grass and weed seeds must be enormous, but owing to the
desolate character of the i-egions it frociuents, and the brevit}' of its visits
to farming hinds, it seems doubtful if tliis woi'k has any great economic
value.
The bird has a peculiar rolling twitter or whistle which is quite character-
istic and very pretty. In its summer home it is said to have a very musical
\vai'l)I('.
It usually I'ctires northward with the disapi)earance of snow in March
or early April, but a few linger for some weeks, and occasionally until tlie
end of April. A. li. Covert records a large flock at Cadillac on May 11,
18S2, but it seems moi-e likely that this was a flock of Lapland Loiigspui's.
48G MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
In the neighborhood of Detroit Mr. Swales records it only as late as March
16, and the latest date on which specimens were killed at Spectacle Reef
Light, in northern Lake Huron, was April 23, 1890. According to Mr.
Eifrig this species arrived at Fullerton, in the northwestern part of Hudson
Bay, from April 7 to April 20, 1904 (Auk, XX, 240), and since these birds
nest almost altogether within the Arctic Circle, it is evident that the great
majority of them must leave our state long before the first of May.
It nests only at the far north, building a somewhat bulky, warm nest
on the ground, and laying three or four whitish, brown-spotted eggs which
average .91 by .64 inches.
Formerly this species was slaughtered commonly for food and also for
milUnery purposes, the beauty of the black, white and brown plumage
rendering it particularly attractive as a "hat bird." Fortunately wise
legislation and growing public sentiment have largely stopped this business,
but during the earlier years when bounties were paid on English Sparrows,
thousands of heads of Snow Buntings were palmed off on more or less
unsuspecting county clerks as those of Sparrows.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill yellow, its tip dusky; claw of hind toe longer than the toe itself, curved.
Adult male in winter: Top and sides of head, rump and usually a patch on each side
of breast more or less rusty or fawn-colored; back and scapulars mottled with ashy white
and pure black, each feather being black centrally, with a broad whitish margin; under
parts pure white, often soiled to gray; wings mostly white basally, the terminal half of the
primaries clear black, the tertiaries mainly black, edged with rusty; tail with three outer-
most pairs of feathers mainly white, the remainder mostly black but with narrow wliite
edgings. There is infinite variation in the relative amounts of black, white and rusty
on the upper parts, the forehead and crown being often very dark brown, almost blackish.
Adult female in winter: Similar to male, but the black of wings duller, and only two outer
pairs of tail-feathers mainly white. As spring approaches the rusty tints lessen in botli
sexes and the black and white become purer and more strongly contrasted. Young birds
resemble tlie adult females, but have no white at the base of primaries.
Length 6 to 7 inches; wing 4 to 4.50; tail 2.70 to 3.15; culmen .39 to .42. Female averag-
ing a little smaller than male.
219. Lapland Longspur. Calcarius lapponicus lapponicus Linn. (536)
Synonyms : Common Longspur. — Fringilla lapponica, Linn., 1758. — Emberiza lapponica,
Bonap., Aud. — Plectrophanes lapponicus, Baird, Coues, 1873. — Centrophanes lapponicus,
Coues, Ridgw. — Calcarius lapponicus, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most recent authors.
Similar in size and general appearance to the Snow Bunting, but usually
with a large black patch on the throat and upper breast, and a more or less
distinct chestnut "collar" about the back of the lower neck. In spring
plumage the black patch is very conspicuous, in fall or winter more or less
obscured by white tips of the feathers. The bird also has streaked sides
and is distinctly darker on the back than the Snow Bunting. Since it
often occurs as a straggler in flocks of Snow Buntings it may be picked
out by its conspicuously darker color. The name Longspur refers to the
lengthened nail or claw on the hind toe, but this is not distinctive, since
the Snow Bunting has one nearly or quite as long and the Horned Lark's
is even longer.
Distribution. — Northern portions of the Northern Hemisphere, breeding
far north; in North America south in winter to the northern United States,
regularly to the middle states, accidentally to South Carolina, and a])und-
antly in the intoi'ior to Kansas and Colorado.
LAND BIRDS. 487
This is another winter resident, often found with the Snow Buntings
and Horned Larks, but usually singly or in small numbers. On the other
hand as a migrant it frequently occurs in October and November, and
again in April and May, in large flocks, but apparently these do not use
the same route in successive years, for the visits at any one place seem to
be quite irregular. It seems to come from the north earlier than the Snow
Bunting, often as early as the first of October (Charity Island, Saginaw
Bay, Sept. 30, 1910, Wood), and frequently lingers until after the first of
May. We have records of two specimens killed on Spectacle Reef Light-
house, in northern Lake Huron, May 17, 1891, and May 15, 1892. Accord-
ing to Swales it does not occur commonly in southeastern Michigan, where
he has never observed it personally; on the other hand Mr. J. Claire Wood
states that he finds it a common spring migrant near Detroit up to the
first week in May. At Houghton, Mich., Mr. Wilbur H. Grant found it
by thousands October 1 and 2, 1904, and W. P. Melville found specimens
with a flock of Shore Larks at Sault Ste. Marie. October 6, 1898. At
Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1904, Mr. William Wilkowski, Jr., states that they
were first seen November 11, and were still there in flocks of hundreds on
November 19. He also says that they were abundant there during Decem-
ber, 1902, and January, 1903.
In Ingham county it does not seem to be abundant regularly, but was
noted in some numbers by T. L. Hankinson as late as November 15, 1896,
and again in large flocks March 21, 1897. Undoubtedly the great majority
pass far south in the fall and return again in the spring, while compara-
tively few spend the winter with us. At Grand Rapids C. W. Gunn recorded
it years ago as a rare winter visitor, appearing in company with Shore
Larks and Snow Buntings; and in St. Clair county, Mr. P. A. Taverner
states that according to his experience there is always a little bunch of
Longspurs with each large flock of Snowflakes. For an account of the
migration of this species, from its breeding grounds north of the 60th
parallel to its winter quarters between the 40th and 37th parallel see R.
H. Howe, Jr., Auk, XVIII, 1901, 396-397.
Its food while with us consists entirely of seeds of various weeds and
grasses, and so far as we know is precisely like that of the Snow Bunting.
Before leaving us in the late spring it often sings snatches of its beautiful
song, but hardl}' enough to give a good idea of its quality. Of its song
in Alaska Mr. E. W. Nelson says: "It is an exquisite jingling melody,
having much less power than that of the Bobolink, Init of the same general
character; though shorter it has even more melody" (Nat. Hist. Coll. in
Alaska, p. 184).
It breeds only in the far north, building its nest of grasses, moss, etc.
on the ground and laying three to six eggs, which are dull white, heavily
spotted and washed with ])rown, and averaging .83 by .60 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Claw of liiiid toe longer than toe itself, gently curved; outer tail-feather with inner web
hir-oly blackish.
Adult male in spring: Top and sides of head, entire throat, and chest deep black, often
with a few white or rusty feathers; a buffy or whitish stripe behind the eye, running down
the side of neck to the breast; iiiiid neck with a reddish brown or chestnut collar; rest of
upper parts streaked with black and buffy in about equal amounts; brea.st, belly and mider
tail-coverts white; sides and flanks streaked with blackish; wings blackisii, with two narrow
white bars (on tips of greater and middle coverts), tiie outer primary edged witli white
on outer vane; two outer pairs of tail-feathers marked obliquely with wiiite. The adult
488 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
male in autumn and winter is similar, but the black of head and chest and the chestnut
collar are largely obscured by the ashy tips of the feathers.
Adult female: Similar to the winter male, but smaller and the black areas more re-
stricted and much more obscured, so that the throat and breast show little or no black;
the chestnut collar often wanting altogether.
Male : Length 6. 10 to G.90 inches; wing 3.60 to 3.90. Female : Length 5.50 to G inches,
wing 3.50 to 3.60.
Note. — For an account of the Painted Longspur or Smith's Longs})ur, not yet recorded
from Michigan, see Appendix.
220. Vesper Sparrow. Pooecetes gramineus gramineus {Gmel). (540)
Synonyms: Grass Fincli, Bay- winged Bunting, Pastm-e IMrd, Grass Sparrow, Ground-
bird. — Fringilla gramiiiea, (imclin, 1789, also of Audubon and Nuttall. — Emberiza
graminea, Wils. — Zonotricliia graininea, Bonap. — Pooca>tes gramineus, A. O. U. Check-
list, 1886. — Pooecetos gramineus, Sclater, 1862, and most recent writers.
Plate XLVII.
One of our larger, streaked, gray-brown sparrows, always recognizable
by the white outer tail-feather (the next feather often largely white) and
the red-brown shoulders (lesser wing-coverts), which give the bird the
name of Bay-winged Bunting.
Distribution. — Eastern North America to the Plains, from Nova Scotia
and Ontario southward; breeds from Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri
northward.
This bird is generally distributed in open lands throughout the state
from April to October, and nests abundantly, particularly in pastui'o lands
and dry upland fields wherever the grass is not too long.
It arrives from the south from the last of March to the middle of Apiil,
according to latitude, having been observed at Petersburg as early as
March 19, 1894, and at Detroit March 19, 1897, and March 20, 1892; even at
Marquette it has been recorded by Miss Mowbray as early as April 10, and
we have eggs in the College collection taken at Kalamazoo, April 27, 1879.
In autumn the bird leaves the northern part of the state during September,
but lingers in the southern counties always until November and occasion-
ally later. From the time of its arrival until the first of August it sings
almost constantly, and during the hot days of midsummer its pretty chant
is one of the refreshing bird voices which is constantly heard. The song is
difficult to describe, but is often mistaken by the novice for that of the
Song Sparrow, which, however, it only resembles in a general way.
Its habit of singing from before sunset until dark has given the appro-
priate name of Vesper Sparrow, but it also sings freely at all hours of the
day, even in the middle of the hottest days.
It is restricted mainly to the open country and is the characteristic
bird of pastures, fields, roadsides and lanes, being ahvays recognizable by
the white tail-feathers, which show conspicuously as the bird flies away.
It most often perches on a fence or a stone when singing, but frequently
sings from the bare ground, and occasionally from the top of a tree.
The nest is made of weed-stalks and grasses of various kinds, sunk in a
hollow scratched in the ground, and often with its upper edge nearly flush
with the surface. The eggs ai-e three to five, most often four, and are
bluish or pinkish white spotted with brown and purplish, and frequently
with a few dots or fine lines of lilack. They average .81 by .60 inches.
Probably two broods are reared l)y the great majoi'ity of the birds, and
Plate XLVir. Vesper Sparrow.
From an original drawing by P. A. Taverner.
LAND BlliDS. 491
'not infrequently three. We have a set of eggs from Montcalm county
taken July 18, 1883, and another from Kalamazoo county taken July 26,
1890, both by Westnedge.
The food consists mainly of grass-seeds and weed-seeds, but insects are
taken freely, particularly grasshoppers.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes alike) : Upper parts brownish-gray, streaked with darker brown or blackish,
tlie streaks narrower and sharper on the head (without median Hght stripe) and neck,
broader and more diffuse on the back, almost wanting on the rump; under parts whitish,
washed with buff across the breast and along the sides, these parts also streaked with brown
or blackish, the streaks often tending to form a spot on the chest; middle of throat and
belly unstreaked; a whitish or buffy stripe runs backward from the base of the lower mandi-
ble, bounded above by the dark auriculars and below by a series of narrow dark streaks
along the sides of the throat; wings and tail brownish-black, the lesser wing-coverts
(shoulders) bright reddish-brown or chestnut, the greater and middle coverts tipped with
wliitish; outer tail-feather mostly white, the next one usually with a Httle white; upper
mandible brown, lower yellowish; iris brown. Young, similar to adult, but colors softer
and markings not so sharp.
In late summer and autumn all the white areas (except possibly the throat) are strongly
tinged with buff, and the tertiaries and secondaries are broadly edged with the same color.
Length 5.50 to 6.70 inches; wing 2.95 to 3.40; tail 2.40 to 2.75; culmen .38 to .45.
221. Savanna Sparrow. Passerculus sandwichensis savanna (Wils.). (542a)
Synonyms: Ground-bird, Field Sparrow (incorrect). — Fringilla savanna, Wilson, 1811.
— Passerina savanna, Vieill.^Passerculus savanna, Bonap., B. B. & R., and many others.
— Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna, Ridgw., 1885, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most
recent authors.
A small gray or gray-brown, streaked sparrow, similar in many respects
to the Vesper Sparrow, but distinguished by the absence of the white
outer tail-feathers and the almost invariable presence of a yellow line or
area above the eye and a more or less distinct yellow edging at the bend of
the wing.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding from the northern
United States to Labrador and Hudson Bay territory.
This pretty little sparrow is really a rather abundant migi-ant in all parts
of Michigan, arriving between April 1 and 15, according to latitude, and
departing from the northern part of the state in September or early October,
but lingering indefinitely in the southern counties. Among the birds killed
on lighthouses in Michigan waters it has been recorded more frequently
probably than any other sparrow. It was reported from Spectacle Reef
Light on thirty-four different dates, the earliest being April 23, 1889, and
the latest October 4, 1893, the larger part of the dates falling in May and
September. Although generally distrilnited during migrations, the bird
seems to nest somewhat sparingly, or else ver}^ locally, since it is reported
by most observers as not known to nest. However, we know that it breeds
somewhat regularly in Wayne county (Swales, Taverncr) ; St. Clair county
(Swales, Taverner); at Grand Rapids and at Ann Arbor (R. H. Wolcott,
L. J. Cole); near Lansing (T. L. Hankinson, L. J. Cole, and the author);
Marquette (O. B. Warren); Isle Iloyale (Peet). It seems probable from
these facts that the bird nests regularly at suitable places in all the in-
tervening territory.
Its habits are somewhat peculiar; dui'ing spi-ing and fall it keeps very
closely on the ground, running like a mouse among the long grass (prefer-
492 MlClIKiAN BiKl) I.IFE.
ably in wet places), and when flushed flying rapidly and often in a zigzag
manner, and dropping suddenly out of sight to run rapidly away again.
There may be scores of the birds scattered through a meadow, yet the
inexperienced collector will find but two or three. When nesting begins
tlie male sings rather constantly and is often seen to perch on a low bush,
a fence, or even a tree, and repeat his song at intervals of a few seconds
for half an hour at a time. But the song itself is so feeble and so devoid
of striking characters that it is not likely to attract attention.
The nest is doubtless variable in composition and location, but, from the
fact that while with us the birds are found almost invariably in damp
situations, we should expect the nest to be placed in low grounds, or at
least very close to them, and this is the case in the few instances known to
us. It is usually described as sunken to the rim in the ground, made of a
few grasses and weed stems, and often completely hidden. The eggs are
four or five, bluish-white, spotted with reddish brown, usually quite thickly.
They average .78 b}^ .56 inches.
From the early arrival of this species and the fact that Mr. Hankinson
found a nest with young near the College, June 21, 1897, it seems likely
that, like most other sparrows, it rears two broods; yet the fact that the
male does not appear to sing after midsummer may indicate that a second
nest is not a regular thing.
The food does not differ materially from that of other ground sparrows
so far as we know.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Outer tail-feathers longer than the middle ones.
Adult (sexes alike) : Upper j^arts grayish or brownish-gray, thickly streaked with
dark brown or black, the streaks on either side of crown so close together as to appear
almost solid black and always leaving a distinct median stripe of grayish; a distinct yellow
stripe from nostril over eye and backward, and a whitish stripe from base of lower nuincUble,
bounded below by a dark line along the side of throat, and above by a similar line skirting
the ear-coverts; chin and throat white or whitish, faintly or not at all spotted; chest and
sides boldly streaked with brown or black; lower breast, belly and under tail-coverts white
and unspotted; wings and tail blackish, all the feathers with narrow edgings of whitish
on the outer webs; the bend of the wing distinctly yellowish. About one specimen in three
lias the chest streaks somewhat crowded together so as to form an indistinct spot. Autumn
specimens are decidedly more brownish above, the sides of the head more buffy and fre-
quently washed with pale yellow, while the tertiaries are broadly edged with buff or brown
and sometimes the secondaries also; upper mandible dusky, lower yellowish; iris brown.
Young birds are similar to adults, but usually browner, the markings not so sharji and
distinct, and ordinarily without the yellow stripe over the eye.
Length 4.85 to 5.50 inches; wing 2.60 to 2.90; tail 1.90 to 2.20; culmen .38 to .43.
222. Grasshopper Sparrow. Ammodramus savannarum australis Maynard.
(546)
Synonyms: Yellow-winged Sparrow. — Ammodromus australis, Maynard, 1887. — Frin-
gilla passerina, Wilson, Bonap., Aud.- — Coturniculus passerinus, Baird, Sclater, Allen,
Coues, etc. — Ammodramus savannarum passerinus, Ridgw., 1885, A. O. U. Check-list,
1886, and most recent authors.
Streaked above but plain below, the edge of the wing bright yellow,
and usually a distinct yellowish spot just in front of and above the eye.
Distribution. — Eastern United States and southern Canada, west to the
Plains, south in winter to Florida, Cuba, Porto Rico and coast of Central
America.
This little sparrow appears to be restricted to the southern half of the
LAND BIRDS. 493
Lower Peninsula, the northern limit being the Saginaw-Grand Valley.
About Lansing it is by no means common, but it was observed between
Lansing and Grand Ledge by L. J. Cole, in June 1898, and T. L. Hankinson
found it not uncommon near the College, on May 30 of the same year. In
the southern and southeastern part of the state it seems to be irregularly
distributed, but not uncommon in some places. J. Claire Wood found a
nest and four eggs in Wayne county, ]\Iay 28, 1902. Mr. Purdy says it is
increasingly abundant at Plymouth, Wayne county. Mr. Swales states
that careful search has revealed it in a number of localities in Wayne,
Oakland, Genesee, and St. Clair counties, but that it is extremely local in
its distribution. Apparently it occurs in little communities, several pairs
nesting within hearing of each other. At Petersburg, Monroe county,
Mr. Trombley says it is tolerably common and breeds, and specimens have
been taken rather frequently in Kalamazoo county in June and July.
The bird gets its name of Grasshopper Sparrow from the shrill whirring
song, which" is an insect-like trill closely resembling that of some grass-
hoppers, and not readily detected by every ear. Mr. Bicknell says: "It
is most persistent in song in hot dry summers, when on the most fervid
days its fine notes sound sibilant and insect-like about the parched fields "
(Auk, I, 330).
It nests on the ground, laying three to five eggs, which are nearly white,
rather sparsely speckled with brown and black, and more nearly resembling
the eggs of some warblers than those of a sparrow. They average .73 by
.58 inches.
This bird arrives from the south in April, early in the month in the
southern part of tlie state, and from the middle to the end of the month
in Ingham county. It seems to prefer somewhat bushy and decidedly
barren grass lands more or less overgrown with weeds, briars, etc. Taverner
states that he never found it at Port Huron, but that at Pearl Beach, St.
Clair county, it is scarce and quite local.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Outer tail-feathers a little shorter than the middle ones.
Adult (sexes alike) : Top of head with a distinct whitish or buffy median stripe between
two blackish ones; rest of upper parts brownish-gray, streaked with black (and sometimes
chestnut), most broadly and heavily on the scapulars and middle back, more narrowly
and sparsely on the neck and rump; a yellowish spot or sliort streak above the eye, and a
more or less (Hstinct dark hue behind the eye; cheeks, throat, sides of neck, chest, sides and
under tail-covcits, l)uliy wliite to clear buff, unspotted except for a few snuill streaks occa-
sionally on tlie sides of cliest; wings and tail brownish gray, edged externally with whitish
but without any spots; the wing sometimes with two rather inconspicuous whitish bars
across tips of niiddle ami greater coverts; bend of wing bright yellow; bill brown above,
yellowish below; iris brown. In worn midsummer plumage the reddisli brown of the uj)per
parts is mostly wanting and the buffy chest becomes soiled brownish. Young birds lack
the red-brown back markings, the feathers being widely edged witli buify and wliitish.
the chest distinctly streaked with l)rownisli or blackisii, tlie yellow eye-spot indistinct or
wanting.
Length 4.85 to 5.20 indies; wing 2.:i5 to 2.(10; tail l.SO to 2; culmen .40 to .47.
494 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
223. Henslow's Sparrow. Passerherbulus henslowi henslowi (And.). (547)
Synonyms: Henslow's Bunting. — Emberiza henslowii, Aud., 1829. — Fringilla henslowii,
Nutt. — Coturniculus henslowi, Bonap., Baird, Coues, and most others. — Ammodramus
henslowi, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and recent writers.
Plate XLVIII.
Similar in size and general appearance to the Grasshopper Si)aiT()\v, and,
like that species, with the bend of the wing yellowish, but the under parts
show distinct black streaks on the sides and breast, and two black lines
between eye and throat.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to the Plains, north to
southern New England and Ontario.
Henslow's Sparrow is one of the less common sparrows in Michigan
and seems to be confined to the southern parts of the state. So far as we
can learn it was first taken in the state by James B. Purdy, who found the
nest with eggs at Plymouth, Wayne county, July 27, 1893 (Auk, XIV,
1897, 220). The nest was destroyed and the eggs broken by a mowing
machine, but the bird was identified by Dr. C. W. Richmond of the National
Museum, and enough of the eggs remained for identification by Captain
Bendire. The following year (1894) a nest and eggs were taken in Jackson
county, near Manchester, by L. Whitney Watkins, and the writer, accom-
panied by Mr. Watkins, took a second nest with four eggs at the same
l)lace June 6, 1904. Under date of June 11, 1908, Mr. B. H. Swales writes:
"Henslow's Sparrow seems to be not uncommon in small colonies all over
Wayne, St. Clair, and Oakland counties, as Taverner, Wood and myself
have ascertained. I have found a number on Grosse Isle without special
search." The bird has also been found in some numbers in Wayne county
l)y J. Claire Wood and P. A. Taverner, and by Taverner and Swales near
Peai-1 Beach and elsewhere in the southern part of St. Clair county. Speci-
mens were taken also on June 26, 1907, by E. R. Kalmbach and H. A.
Moorman, near Eaton Rapids, Eaton county, where a colony was located
and evidently nesting, although no nests w^ere found.
There are several records from western Ontario and it seems to be not
uncommon on both sides of Lake St. Clair. It is by no means an easy bird
to find, since it frequents wet grounds, often overgrown with long grass,
weeds and shrubs, and it runs like a mouse among the thick herbage, flics
rapidly and irregularly when flushed and is usually difficult to stai't a
second time.
The nest is placed on the ground, and the two nests found in Jackson
county were in very wet situations, the water being ankle deep at the time
they were taken. The one recorded by Mr. Purdy was in mowing land
and in a dryer situation. The nest is composed mainly of grasses, coarse
externally and much finer within, is deeply hollowed and rather carefully
hidden among the roots of the coarse grasses and weeds. The eggs, com-
monly four, are bluish white, flecked and speckled with reddish-brown,
and, like those of the Grasshopper Sparrow, resemble some of the warblers,
for example, the Maryland Yellowthroat, more than those of other sparrows.
They average .74 by .57 inches.
The male has a rapid insect-like tiill oi- song which is sometimes delivered
while perched in plain sight on the top of a weed-stalk, oi- in a rosebush or
Plate XliVIII. Henslow's Sparrow.
From an original drawing by P. A. Taverner.
LAND BIRDS. 497
other small shrub, but also not infrequently while entirely hidden in the
grass.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Outer tail-feathers much shorter than middle pair.
Adult (sexes alike) : Top and sides of head and neck greenish-olive, streaked narrowly
with black except on middle of crown, which thus shows a clear pale stripe; a narrow black
line from base of upper mandible around and behind the ear-coverts to the back of the
eye, and a second black line bordering the white throat on each side; back, scapulars and
rump mainly chestnut and black, each feather black centrally, surrounded by chestnut,
and narrowly edged with white; breast and sides buffy, sharply streaked with black:
belly white; wings and tail without bars or spots, the secondaries and outer tail-feathers
mostly chestnut, the primaries and some of the tail-feathers dusky; bend of the wing yellow;
bill brownish above, yellowish below; iris brown. Young: Similar to adult, but sides
alone streaked, the breast without spots; only a single black streak from base of bill l)elow
eye (the one bordering the throat wanting).
Length 4.75 to 5.25 inches; wing 2.10 to 2.20; tail 1.90 to 2.05.
224, Leconte's Sparrow. Passerherbulus lecontei (Aud.). (548)
Synonyms. — Leconte's Bunting. — Emberiza leconteii, And., 1844. — P>ingilla caudacuta.
Lath., 1790, Nutt., 1832.— -Ammo'dramus leconteii, A. (). U. Clieck-list, 1886.— CoturniciUus
lecontii, Baird, 1858, Coues, 1878.
Similar to Henslow's Sparrow, but without any yellow on the bend of
the wing. The general appearance of the bird is decidedly more buffy
or even yellow. Perhaps the most noticeable difference is in the smaller
bill which is really minute for such a bird, the culmen measuring only .35
of an inch.
l)istiil)ution. — From the Plains eastward to Illinois and Indiana, and from
Manitoba south in winter to South Carolina, Florida and Texas.
This is a western bird, only stragglers reaching eastward as far as Indiana,
and possibly to southern Michigan. Our only record is a specimen in the
Museum of the University of Michigan, said to have been taken near Ann
Arbor. According to Kumlien and Hollister this species is sometimes
fairly abundant in autumn near Lake Koshkonong, Wis., where in 1895
hundreds could have been taken. A few occur there every year in Septem-
ber, but none are found in spring (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 96).
The bird is said to be similar in its habits to Henslow's S])arrow and has
a similar insect-like voice.
TECHNIC.\L DESCRIPTION.
Outer tail-feathers much shorter than middle ones; bill very small and slender.
Adult (sexes alike): "No tlusky rictal or submalar streaks; median crown-stripe buff
anteriorly, the rest pale buffy-grayisli or dull buffy whitish; lateral stripes streaked blackish
and brownish, the former usually predoniiiiating (nearly uiiiforin l)iack in sununer); liinil
neck streaked chestnut and pale buffy or buffy -grayish; sides of iiead, including broad
superciliary stripe, buffy (dee[)er, almost ochraceous, in winter, paler, sometimes nearly
white in summer), the lores and ear-coverts light grayish or brownish, the latter bordered
above by a blackish streak, becoming larger posteriorly; anterior and lateral lower parts
buffy, the sides and flanks streaked with blackish; belly wiiite; upper parts brownish, spotted
or striped with blackish and streaked with whitish or buffy. Young: General color buff,
deeper above, paler beneath, the belly whitish; upper parts streaked and striped with
blackish, the chest, sides and flanks more narrowly streaked with tiie same.
"Length 4.40 to 5.50 inches; wing 1.87 to 2. (Hi; tail 1.87 to 2.25; culmen about .35"
(RidgAvay).
()3
498 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
225. Nelson's Sparrow. Passerherbulus nelsoni nelsoni (AZZew). (549.1)
Synonyms: Nelson's Finch, Nelson's Sharp-tailed Finch. — Ammodramus caudacutus
var. nelsoni, Allen, 1875. — A. c. nelsoni, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886. — Ammodramus nelsoni,
A. O. U. Committee, 1899.
Somewhat similar to Henslow's Sparrow, but decidedly browner above
and below, the throat, breast and sides strong buffy-brown with few or no
streaks of black. Not readily identified except by the expert.
Distribution. — Fresh water marshes of the interior, from northern
Illinois to North Dakota and Manitoba; south in winter to Texas and
drifting eastward to the Atlantic coast during migrations.
This rare sparrow was first described in 1874 from specimens obtained
in Calumet marsh, northeastern Illinois. Dr. Morris Gibbs states that on
October 5, 1878, Mr. William Ely secured two specimens of Nelson's Sparrow,
an adult female and a young male, in Kalamazoo county. The young
specimen was preserved in the collection of G. B. Sudworth. Another
specimen was shot near Detroit September 27, 1893, by J. Claire Wood,
and is now in the collection of B. H. Swales, Grosse Isle.
The birds frequent wet places, and apparently prefer the margins of lakes,
where they delight to run about among the bullrushes wdiich fringe the shores
or grow in the water. They are said to be abundant, sometimes exceedingly
so, in September and October about Lake Koshkonong, Wisconsin, but
no specimens are found in spring or summer. It has been found nesting
near Devil's Lake, North Dakota, where E. S. Rolfe took a nest and five
eggs, sunken in the wet earth and Iniilt of fine dry grass. The eggs were
grayish-white, thickly sprinkled and clouded with brown, and average
.65 by .50 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tail mucli graduated, the feathers slender and acute, the outer pair much shorter than
the middle ones.
Adult (sexes alike): "Crown without a distinct median pale stripe, at least anteriorly;
edge of wing very pale yellowish, supraloral streak deep buff or ochraceous, like the rest
of the very distinct superciliary stripe; malar stripe deep buff or ochraceous. Above
olivaceous, mixed or glossed with ashy, the sides of the back streaked with ashy, buffy
or whitish, the crown with two broad lateral stripes of sepia-brown enclosing a narrower
and less distinct one of grayish; chest and sides more or less distinctly washed with buff
or ochraceous (often deeply of this color) and streaked with dusky or grayish. Young:
Above dull ochraceous, the back broadly streaked with black, and sides of the crown chiefly
of the latter color; lower parts entirely buff, streaked on chest with dusky. Colors of upper
parts usually very sharply contrasted, especially the chalky white streaks of back, as
compared with the rich umber-brown ground color; chest and sides usually very deep buff
or ochraceous and not very distinctly or sharply streaked with dusky. Length 4.<S() to
5.85 inches; wing 2.12 to 2.35; tail 1.83 to 2.21; culmen .49 to .53" (Ridgway).
Males average somewhat larger than females.
226. Lark Sparrow. Chondestes grammacus grammacus (Say.). (552)
Synonyms: Lark Finch, Little Meadowlark. — Fringilla grammaca, Say, 1823.— Chon-
destes grammaca, Bonap., Baird, Allen, etc.^C. grammica, Brewster, Gibbs, Ridgway.
and others. — Chondestes grammacus, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most recent authors,
Figure 115.
The head, broadly striped with chestnut, white, and black, the small
black spot in the center of the breast, and the rounded tail, most of the
LAND BIRDS. 499
feathers broadly white-tipped, combine to mark this sparrow unmistakably.
Distribution. — Southern Ontario and Mississippi Valley region, from
Ohio, IlHnois and Michigan to the Plains, south to eastern Texas and
northwestern Alabama. Accidental near the Atlantic coast.
This is a prairie sparrow which is said to have invaded Michigan from
the west during the last thirty years, but which is just as likely to have
been here in small numbers from time im-
memorial, extending its area, however, as the /■ff'.
woods were removed and the country came ^ ^^
under cultivation. ^' --^
It is nowhere abundant in Michigan, but it
is not rare as a summer resident in certain
localities, although even there its numbers
vary greatly from year to year. We have
numerous records from Wayne, Washtenaw, pig. us. i,ark sparrow. Re-
Monroe, Lenawee, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Kent printed from aiapman's Handbook
, f-, ' „, . ',. ,, . , , ,1 1 IP of the Birds of Eastern North Amer-
and fet. Ciair counties, all m the southern halt ica, bv courtesy of d. Appieton &
of the state. The bird must be very local in ^"o"^p^">'-
its distribution, for the writer has sought for it carefully but unsuccessfully
in Oakland, Genesee, Livingston, Eaton, Clinton and Ingham counties, in
territory apparently just as favorable as the localities in Jackson, Washtenaw
and Lenawee counties where it has been found. It is listed as common at
Marquette, on the south shore of Lake Superior, by Miss Mowbray, although
no specimens were taken, and it has not been found there by other observers.
In the summer of 1906 Mr. W. M. Wolfe reported the Lark Sparrow nesting
near Beulah, Benzie county. He writes : " With the Lark Sparrow I am fairly
familiar, as with the Cardinal. It did not nest in the timber, but in the
brush that grows abundantly on the wide beach of Cr3\stal Lake. The eggs
were characteristic. Its note led to its identification." With these two ex-
ceptions it has not been found north of a line through Grand Rapids and
Port Huron, but since it ranges north to Manitoba, and is by no means un-
common over a large part of Minnesota, it is not improbable that it may
yet be found in numbers in parts of the western half of the Upper Peninsula.
Professor A. J. Cook recorded it from the Agricultural College (Birds of
Michigan, 2d ed., 1893, p. 113), but we have been unable to find on what
authority, and certainly it has not been seen there during the past eighteen
years.
In its habits and song it much resembles the Vesper Sparrow, and
frequents similar open pasture lands, roadsides, and cultivated fields along
the edges of orchards and woods. Ridgway speaks of its song in Illinois
as resembling that of the Indigo-bird, but louder, clearer and more metallic.
Its marked colors, and particularly the white in the tail, which invariably
suggests the Mourning Dove, render it conspicuous wherever it occurs
and it is not likely to be overlooked.
While it feeds mainly on seeds of grasses and weeds, it also eats many
insects, particularly grasshoppers.
It appears to nest wherever found. Mr. Mark B. Mills records a nest
with five eggs at Macon, Lenawee county, April 20, 1896, and Mr. Trombley
took three eggs at Summerfield, Monroe county. May 7, 1889. We have
a set of five eggs in our College collection taken by L. Whitney Watkins
at Fairview Farms, Jackson county. May 20, 1896. The nest is most often
placed directly on the ground, more rarely in a low bush, and is built of
grasses and weed-stalks, and lined with various fibrous materials, usually
500 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
including bristles or hair. The eggs are three to five, white or ])liiish white,
rather thinly spotted with brown, purple and black, and usually with dark
irregular pen-scratches. They average .80 by .61 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes alike) : Top of head with a median stripe of whhe or grajdsh-white, bordered
on either side with a broader dark stripe, which is black on the forehead, bright chestnut
on the crown, and mixed witli black on the nape; a narrow black line tlirough the middle
of the lores, with a long white stripe above it and over the eye, and a shorter white stripe
below it and the eye; ear-coverts chestnut, with black spots before and behind; a broad
white stripe from the base of lower mandible along side of head, separated from the white
throat by a narrow black stripe; back brownish gray, the scapulars and interscapulars
streaked with blackish, the hind neck, rump, and upper tail-coverts mostly unstreaked;
under parts white or grayish-white, the chest with a patch of five or six small black spots;
wings grayish-black, edged with white externally, and with two more or less conspicuous
whitish bars; tail rounded, all but the middle feathers black with broad white tips, the
outer pair about half white, the amount decreasing regularly on the next four pairs, the
middle pair brownish-gray without white tij)s; bill dusky alH)ve, l)hiish lielow; iris brown.
Young birds are more or less streaked with l)lackish on the breast, and the head markings
are much less distinct, the crown entirely grayish-brown streaked with blackish, and the
ear-coverts plain grayish-brown.
Length 5.75 to 6.75 inches; wing 3.20 to 3.80; tail 2.70 to 3; culmen about .45.
227. Harris's Sparrow. Zonotrichia querula (Niiit.). (553)
Synonyms: Fringilla querula, Nutt., 184(1. — l''ringilla harisii, And., 1843. — Zonotrichia
querula of most other authors.
With the proportions and general appearance of the White-throat, but
rather larger, the top of the head without any stripes, and mainly clear
black in the adult, as is also the chin, throat and middle of the breast.
In immature birds these black feathers are ashy on buff tipped, more or
less hiding the black.
Distribution. — Middle United States from Illinois, Missouri and Iowa
west to middle Kansas and the Dakotas, and from Texas north to JManitoba.
This appears to be a rather rare straggler from the west, yet from its
similarity to the White-throat and White-crown, with which it associates,
it may occur more frequently than we suppose. Thus far but three specimens
have been recorded from INIichigan, as follows: (1) An immature female
shot at Palmer, Marquette county, September 30, 1894, by O. B. Warren;
the skin now in the Agricultural College collection. (2) A male shot at
Battle Creek, Calhoun county, October 12, 1894, by Edward Arnold; this
bird was with a flock of White-throated Sparrows. (3) A female collecteil
at Sault Ste. Marie, Chippewa county, February 22, 1900, by Richard
Ryan, and identifietl by the Division of Biological Survey, U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture. This specimen is now in the museum of the Sault
Ste. Marie high school (Melville).
Mr. Warren states that he first noticed this species at Palmer in the fall
of 1893 among flocks of the White-throated and White-crowned Spai-rows
and found it tolerably common in the fall migrations of 1894 and 1895,
but was unable to find it in the spring..
It appears to be similar in its habits to the other members of the genus,
but its nesting habits and eggs are imperfectly known.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Whole top of head black, without lighter median strijie; rest of ujiper parts
brownish-gray or grayish-browji, tiie scajjiilars and middle of hnck broadly streaked
J^Iatf XLIX. While-crow iicd Sparrow.
From North American Fauna No. 16. Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Afjriculturc.
LAND BIRDS. 503
with blackish, the rump and upper tail-coverts plain; lores black; sides of head gray-
ish white or gi'ay; chin and throat black, this color usually extending downward
to the center of the breast; sides and flanks buffy brown, streaked with dark brown
or blackish; rest of under parts white; wings and tail grayish-brown, the former with two
white bars on the tips of the coverts, and the tertiaries and inner secondaries margined
with chestnut; bill reddish, darker at the tip; iris brown. Young: Similar to adult, but
the black of head much obscured by the gray feather tips, and that of the chin and throat
largely replaced by white; usually there is some black visible on the chin and a second
patch on the middle of the chest (sometimes reduced to a group of dusky streaks) ; the sides
of head also are distinctly buffy or brownish.
Length 6.75 to 7.75 inches; wing 3.20 to 3.60; tail 3.30 to 3.75.
228. White-crowned Sparrow. Zonotrichia leucophrys leucophrys (ForsL).
(554)
Synonyms: White-crown. — Emberiza leucophrys, Forster, 1772. — Fringilla leucophrys,
Bonap., Nutt., Aud. — Zonotrichia leucophrys of most authors.
Plate XLIX.
A large, handsome sparrow with a broad milk-white stripe through the
middle of the crown, bordered on each side by a stripe of clear black. The
chin is white, and the throat and breast are continuous light gray.
Distribution. — North America at large, breeding chiefly in the Rocky
Mountains, the Sierra Nevada and northeast to Labrador. South in winter
to the Valley of Mexico.
A not uncommon spring migrant in all parts of the state; less often noticed
in autumn. It associates more or less with the White-throats, but is
frequently found in small parties of five to ten by itself. Mr. Swales records
it near Detroit as early as April 27, 1889, and as late as May 21, 1899. Speci-
mens were killed on Spectacle Reef Light frequently, the earliest May 6,
1887, and the latest I\Lay 28, 1892. Fall records at the same light are
September 24 and 25, 1889 and October 5, 1890. In the southern part
of the state it probably is more common in October than in September.
At the Agricultural College it appeared May 8, 1897, and May 12, 1900.
There is a possibility that this sparrow nests in the northernmost parts
of the state, but we have no positive record. Miss Mowbray says it is very
common at Marquette from April 17 to September 20, which would indicate
nesting, but neither O. B. Warren, E. A. Doolittlc, nor the writer, has
found it in that region, where the White-throated Sparrow breeds com-
monly; moreover. Major Boies did not find it nesting on Neebish Island,
nor have any of the good observers at the Sault recorded it in summer.
On the other hand it is known to nest not rarely in similar latitudes in
Wisconsin and Ontario. It is said to nest on the ground, or in a low bush,
and the eggs are described as varying in ground color from pale blue to
pale brown, more or less thickly speckled with reddish brown. They average
.85 l)y .61 inches.
Dr. A. K. Fisher, speaking of the song as heaid during migration at
Sing Sing, New York, says that it suggests that of the Meadowlark.
tkchnical description.
Adult (sexes practically alike) : Forehead and sides of crown velvet black, enclosing
a broad stripe of pure white, which darkens into clear gray on the nape; a narrower white
stripe starts above the eye and curves backward to the nape, being boimded below by a
black line which starts just behind the eye; back ash-gray, streaked with dark brown, the
501 MK'llICAN BIRD LIFE.
ruiiii) and ui)i)L'r tail-covert w plain grayish-bnmn; cliin and holly while;; throat, sides of
heaci and neck, and breast, clear ash-gray; sides and (ianks huffy hrowii, without streaks;
wings with two 'white bars; outer webs of tertiarics clicslnut, tipped with white; tail-feathers
brownish or dusky, unmarked; bill bright reddish-brown; iris brown. Immature: No
clear black or white uboiit the head, the forehead and sides of crown being rich brown,
and the central stripe bulT or fawn-color; a similar stripe behind the eye; gray of throat
and breast duller and browner, the upper parts also much browner than in the adult.
Length 0.50 to 7.50 inches; wing 3 to 3.30; tail 2.80 to 3.20; culmen .38 to .45.
229. White-throated Sparrow. Zonotrichia albicoUis (Gmcl.). (558)
Synonyms: White-throat, Peabody Bird, White-throated Crown-Sparrow, Canada
Bird. — Fringilla albicoUis, Cimelin, 1789, Wilson, ISIL — Zonotrichia albicollis. Swains,
1837, and most writers. — Fringilla pennsylvanica, Aud.
Spring males have a narrow white stripe through the middle of the crown,
one on either side, a distinct yellow spot in front of the eye, and a pure
white chin and throat, sharply marked off from the grayish under parts.
Females and young birds are duller and dingier, but there are always traces
of the yellow eye spot, white throat and streaked crown.
Distribution. — Chiefly eastern North America, west to the Plains, north
to Labrador and the Fur Countries. Breeds from Montana, northern
Wyoming, northern Michigan, northern New York and northern New
England northward, and winters from Massachusetts southward.
An abundant migrant throughout the state, and a common summer
resident from the middle of the Lower Peninsula northward. Possibly
a few individuals remain over winter in the southernmost counties, but this
is not usual; few White-throats are to be found in the state from the last
of October to the first of April. They enter the state from the south late
in April, and the greatest movement takes place during the first half of May.
Many have been killed every year on Spectacle Reef Lighthouse, some as
early as April 23, 1889, and others as late as May 15, 1891. Autumn records
at this Hghthouse were September 24, 1889, September 29, 1887, and
October 7, 1893. During migration they travel in loose flocks of a dozen
to a hundred, and feed almost anywhere, except in perfectly open fields,
seeming to prefer the edges of woods, roadsides, gardens and similar places.
They get almost all their food from the ground, often scratching like a
Junco or Chewink, and the food consists largely of grass seeds and weed
seeds, though insects are eaten freely and large numbers are fed to the young.
We have been unable to fix definitely the southern limit of its nesting
range, owing to the paucity of observers in many counties. It nests
abundantly in suitable i)laces north of the Saginaw-Grand Valley and
sparingly in the northern half of that Valley. Probably a few pairs nest
considerably south of that region, since it is said to have nested near Grand
Rapids, and individuals have been known to spend the summer about
Detroit. We have failed to find it, however, in summer in Ingham county.
In the valleys of the Au Sable, Muskegon and Manistee it is one of the
most abundant and charac^teristic summer birds, and the same is true of
the entire Upper Peninsula.
The nest is usually placed on the ground, often at the foot of a small
evergreen, and is generally sunken flush with the surface and well hidden
by overhanging vegetation. More rarely the nest is placed in a bush or
small tree, but this appears to be exceptional. Numerous observers in
the northern part of the state have seen scores of nests on the ground, but
never one elsewhere. Mr. E. A. Doolittle, however, writes that on July
LAND BIRDS. 505
6, 1906, he found a nest containing three eggs on Grand Island, Munising
Harbor, placed three feet from the ground in a small balsam. The nest
is much like that of other sparrows, and the eggs are four or five, bluish
white or grayish, thickly covered with reddish-brown markings, some-
times fine, often coarse; they average .83 by .59 inches. Often if not
usually, two broods are reared in a season, and the birds may be heard
singing well into August.
The song is characteristic, and once heard is not likely to be forgotten.
It is fairly well suggested by the words "sow-wheat, peabody, peabody,
peabody," which is the song ascribed to it in New England, based on a
pretty story to the effect that a farmer named Peabody, doubtful as to the
proper time for sowing his wheat, was led to sow at once by hearing the song
of this bird at every corner of the field. Reaping a bountiful harvest that
year, he waited for the song of the bird in following seasons and his neighbors
eventually named the bird "Peabody's Bird." There is very great varia-
tion in the songs of individual birds and it is hard sometimes to make out
the above song. A fisherman friend declared that he never lost a fine trout
in a Michigan stream that he did not hear a little Inrd in the neighboring
swamp call "Oh dear, dear, dear, dear!" The song is peculiarly clear
and penetrating, and is heard at all hours of the day, and frequently during
the night. Seaton Thompson states that the White-throat is so well known
as a night singer that in many parts [of Manitoba] he is called the Nightin-
gale, and adds that he should not be surprised to find that the bird also
had an air song. We have no reason to suppose, however, that this Ijird
ever sings on the wing.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes nearly alike) : Top of head with a narrow median white stripe between
two broader black ones; a bright yellow stripe from nostril to above tlie eye, where it changes
to white and runs backward toward, but not to, the nape; below this stripe is a narrow
black one which starts behind the eye and ends on a line with the other five; chin and upper
throat pure white, usually edged with a narrow dusky line and surrounded by the deep
ash-gray which covers the sides of the head and neck, lower throat and chest, and in many
specimens extends along the sides; belly pure white; back warm brown or chestnut, streaked
with black, except on rump and upper tail-coverts; wings and tail similar to those of the two
l)rcccding. but browner, especially the secondaries and wing-e<)\erts; bend of the wing
bright yellow; bill dusky or bluish; iris brown. Immature: At first without yellow on
lu'iid 1)1- licml of wing; the head wit ii light brown in place of pure white, and the under parts
exccjit chill and belly, thickly streaked with dusky; later the streaks di8ap|)ear more or less
completely, and a little yellow apjiears over the eye and on the wing, but the distinctive
head markings (including the white tliroat) do not develop until the bird is at least a year
old, and many breed before attaining them.
Length ().;-i() to 7.65 inches; wing 2.S() to .S.15; tail 3.05 to 3..35.
230. Tree Sparrow. Spizella monticola monticola (C/wr/.). (559)
Synonyms: Winter sparrow. Winter Chippy, Canada S])arrow. — Fringilla monticola'
Cimelin, 1789. — Fringilla canailensis, Nutt., Aud. — Fringilla aiborea, Wils. — Spizella
monticola of most authors.
Similar to the Chipping Spaii'ow, but larger; crown chestnut, unstripetl;
breast grayish with a small blackish spot in the centei"; two white wing bars.
Distribution. — P^astern North America, west to the Plains, and fi'om the
Arctic Ocean south in winter to the Carolinas, Kentucky and eastern Kansas,
l^reeds north of the ITnited States, east of the Rocky Mountains.
Next to the English Sj)ai'i()W this ])i()l)ably is our most abundant and
univei'sally distributed wiutoi- bii-d. It comos to us fi'om tlie noilh in
Octoboi', usualh' after the middle of the inontli, and nin\' be fnnnd in var\--
506 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
ing numbers all through the winter and until at least the middle of April,
after which it passes rapidly northward beyond our borders. Whether
this bird is less abundant in Michigan in winter than in the other northern
states we cannot say, but it is certain that during midwinter very few are seen
here compared with the thousands which winter in the New England states,
and, according to other observers, in Iowa and Nebraska. Apparently
the greater number pass entirely south of the state in winter, since the
species is much more abundant in November and March than at other
seasons.
During its stay it feeds almost entirely upon grass seed and weed seed,
and examinations made by the U. S. Department of Agriculture show that
probably each bird consumes at least one-fourth of an ounce of such seed
per day. Upon this basis, counting ten Tree Sparrows to an acre, it has
been estimated that they destroy during a season, in the state of Iowa
alone, 1,750,000 pounds, which equals 875 tons, of weed seed (Beal, Farm-
ers Bulletin No. 54, p. 28).
While with us it associates frequently with the Juncos, and is oftenest
found in flocks of 25 to 100 individuals. It has been reported to nest in
the northern part of the state, but there seems to be no evidence whatever
that this is the case. In fact, the bird is not known to nest within the
limits of the United States, but is a summer resident of Arctic and Sub-
arctic America, never remaining in Michigan through the summer. Wood
and Frothingham state that they saw a single one with a flock of Juncos in
Iosco county on August 6, 1904 (Auk, XX, 45). This is an extraordinarily
early record and seems likely to have been based on a mistaken identifica-
tion, as the specimen was not taken.
The nest, in the far north, is placed either on the ground or in low bushes,
is composed of dry grasses, feathers, etc., and the eggs are three to five,
similar to those of the White-throated Sparrow, but averaging .75 by .58
inches (Ridgway).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes alike) : Top of head, stripe behind eye, and often a short streak from base
of lower mandible, chestnut; rest of head and neck all round ash-gray, washed with brownish
at back of neck; middle of back and scapulars reddish brown, streaked with black; rump
and upper-tail coverts plain brownish-gray; under parts mostly plain, dull ash-gray,
browner on the sides and flanks, nearly white on the belly; middle of breast with a small
but distinct dusky spot; two conspicuous white wing-bars, and the tertiaries black with
wide rusty or chestnut margins, which often become pure white near the tips; tail-feathers
dark gray or dusky, unmarked excei^t for narrow white or whitish edgings on the outer
webs; upper mandible and tip of lower blackish; rest of lower mandible yellow; iris brown.
In autumn and in immature birds the lower parts are usually strongly washed with buff,
even on the belly and under tail-coverts. Young : Similar, but with top of head streaked
with blackish and brown, the sides of neck with narrow dark streaks, and the chest also
streaked with dusky. Length 6 to 6.50 inches; wing 2.80 to 3.10; tail 2.60 to 2.90.
231. Chipping Sparrow. Spizella passerina paserina (5ec/t.). (560)
Synonyms: Chippy, Chip-bird, Hair-bird, Hair Sparrow. — Fringilla passerina, Bech-
stein, 1798. — Fringilla socialis, Wils., Nutt., Aud.— Spizella socialis, Bonap., 1838, and
most recent authors. — ^Spizella domestica, Coues, 1875. Ridgw., 1881.
Plate L.
A small sparrow with reddish-brown crown, bordered just above the eye
by a gray streak, and with a black line through the eye. The under parts
are ashy gray without spot or streak.
Plate li. Chipping Sparrow.
From an original drawing by P. A. Taverncr.
LAND BIRDS. 509
l)istiil)ution. — Eastern North Ainei'ica, west to the Rocky Mountains,
north to Great Hlave Lake and south to eastern Mexico; breeding from the
Gulf States northward.
This famihar httle sparrow is too well known to require any extended
description. It nests abundantly in all parts of the state, showing, however,
a decided preference for the cultivated regions and a decided liking for the
society of man. Were it not for the ever-present English Sparrow and the
far too abundant cat this bird would be found in every dooryard in the state
where there were a few shrubs and trees. It arrives from the south in April;
from the 3d to the 12th in the southern counties, from the 5th to the 15th
at Lansing, and from the 25th of April to the 5th of May at Sault Ste. Marie.
Its departure in the fall has not been so accurately noted, but it probably
leaves the northern counties before the middle of September and the
southern counties before the first of November. Mr. Swales states that
he has seen it near Detroit as early as March 29, 1891 and as late as October
25, 1893, but that the bulk of the species leaves much earlier.
It commonly rears two broods, nests with eggs being found al)out the
middle of May and again about the first of July. The nest is placed usually
in a shrub or tree, small evergreens being preferred, but it is sometimes
found high in an apple tree or an oak, and not infrequently in a tangle of
vines or even on a lattice or the cornice of a house. It is always compactly
built of grasses, weed-stalks and I'oots, and so invariably and heavily linetl
with hair as to have given the bird the name of "Hair-bird."
The eggs are commonly three or four, of a beautiful blue-green color,
thinly spotted and lined with brown and black, often wreathed at the
larger end. They average .69 by 50 inches.
The young birds when able to fly differ noticeably from the adults, being
thickly streaked below so that they are often mistaken for other species.
Old and young often collect in flocks in late summer and mingle more or
less with other species.
The song is a peculiar trill which is very variable, sometimes justifying
the usual description "like the sound made by striking two small pebbles
together rapidly," but at other times it consists of a succession of more
musical notes uttered at somewhat longer intervals and not distantly
suggesting the song of the Junco.
The food of the Chipping Sparrow is very varied, consisting largely of
grass-seed and weed-seeds, but also of other vegetable substances, including
a few berries and the buds and leaves of chickweed and other herbaceous
plants. It eats a variety of insects with relish, including grasshoppers,
beetles, bugs and caterpillars, and when feeding young it gathers immense
numbers of span-worms and other injurious insects. It is not known to
do any harm whatever; on the contrary it is one of the best friends of the
agriculturist and should be encouraged and protected everywhere. It
suffers much fi'om the English Sparrow, the Blue Jay, the Cowbird, and the
domestic cat, but in si)ite of all these enemies it remains one of our most
familiar and abundant birds.
TECHNICAL DESCHIPTIOX.
Adult in summer (sexes alike): Tail decidedly shorter tliaii wiuij,; forclicail l)lack;
crown brigiit reddish brown or chestnut, without streaks and usually without trace of
median pale stripe; a whitish or light gray line from nostril over and behind the eye, and a
narrow black line across the lores and continued behind the eye; sides of head and sides
510 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
and back of neck clear asli, more or less streaked with black on the hind-ne(;k; middle of
ba(;k and scapulars rusty brown, streaked with black; rump and upper tail-coverts plain
gray; under parts plain light gray, darkest on breast and sides, nearly white on throat
and belly; wings and tail brownish-gray, the wings with two narrow bars of white or buffy
white, the tail unmarked; bill entirely black; iris brown. In winter or late autiunn the
colors become duller, tlie reddish crown often streaked with blackish, the under parts washed
with brownish, and the bill brown. Young: At first the crown is light brown, narrowly
striped with blackish, and the entire under parts are streaked with whitish and dusky;
later the streaks beneath disappear, but the streaked crown is retained, together with a
broad whitish stripe over and behind the eye. Length 5. to 5.85 inches; wing 2.55 to 2.90;
tail 2.20 to 2.60.
232. Clay-colored Sparrow. Spizella pallida (Swains.). (561)
Synonyms: Emberiza paUida, Swainson, 1831.— Emberiza shattuckii, Aud., 1843. —
Spizella pusio, Sharpe. — Spizella pallida of most authors.
In coloration somewhat resembling an immature Chipping Sparrow
with unstreaked under parts, but in proportions of wing and tail much
like the Field Sparrow, that is, with the wing about the same length as the
tail or even shorter. Only to be identified by the expert.
Distribution. — Interior of North America, from Ilhnois and Iowa west
to the Rocky Mountains, Arizona, etc., and north to the Saskatchewan
Plains. Breeds from Iowa and Nebraska northward.
This is a western sparrow which appears to enter Michigan merely as a
straggler during migrations. It has been reported several times from
different parts of the state, but on investigation most of these records have
proved to be incorrect. The only Michigan specimens known to us at
present are one taken by P. A. Taverner, at Port Huron, St. Clair county,
May 2, 1901, and now in the collection of J. H. Fleming of Toronto, and one
taken on Isle Royale, Lake Superior, August 25, 1904, by W. A. Maclean,
and now in the University Museum at Ann Arbor. This latter specimen
was identified by H. C. Oberholzer, Washington, and the writer also has
examined it. Mr. Norman A. Wood who was in charge of the party when
this bird was taken, states that another was seen on the following day,
and one each on August 28 and 31.
In general appearance and habits this species shows an odd mixture
of the peculiarities of the Chipping Sparrow and Field Sparrow, nesting
very near the ground and usually away from human habitations, but re-
sembling the Chipping Sparrow somewhat in coloration, and its song lacking
entirely the musical qualities of the Field Sparrow's. Seton Thompson
describes its song as "A sound like a fly in a newspaper, 'scree-scree-scree,'
sometimes giving but one note and at other times in the height of the
season repeating the dulcet five or six times." Mr. Currier, describing its
habits at Leach Lake, Minn., speaks of its song as "A buzzing, rasping
noise, a httle like the song of the cicada, but not so musical and given
with more vigor. A friend * * * would call the bird nothing but the
'Rasper. '"
The nest is placed in low bushes, often within a few inches of the ground.
The eggs are three to six, light greenish blue, speckled with brown, mostly
at the larger end, and averaging .66 by .49 inches.
Since this species occurs regularly, though not very abundantly, in parts
of Wisconsin, and plentifully in northern Minnesota, it is not impossible
that it may prove to be a regular migrant, or possibly even a summer
resident, in the western half of the Upper Peninsula, but as yet we have
nothing to warrant such a belief.
LAND BIRDS. 511
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult in summer (sexes alike): "Wing and tail about the same length, the tail usually,
a little longer; upper parts without any rusty; top of head pale raw-umber brown, broadly
streaked witli black and divided by a distinct median stripe of light brownish-gi-ay; light
brown ear-coverts bordered above by a very distinct postocular streak of dark brown or
dusky, and along lower edge by a rictal streak of the same; whitish malar streak usually
bordered below by a more or less distinct grayish or brownish streak along each side of
throat; hind neck and sides of neck ashy, in more or less marked contrast with brown
of ear-coverts and crown; back light brown, broadly streaked with black. In winter the
colors much browner, obscuring gray of neck and strongly tinging chest and sides. Young:
Upper parts more buffy or 'clay-colored,' with blackish streaks broader and less sharply
ilefmed; dusky postocular and rictal streaks less distinct (sometimes nearly obsolete);
chest, sides and flanks, streaked with dusky.
Length about 5 to 5.75 inches; wing 2.20 to 2.50; tail 2.30 to 2.60" (Ridgway).
233. Field Sparrow. Spizella pusilla pusilla (Wils.). (563)
Synonyms: Field Chippy, Bush Sparrow, Ground-bird, Ground Sparrow. — Fringilla
pusilla, Wilson, 1810. — Emljeriza pusilla, Aud. — Fringilla juncorum, Nutt. — Spizella
agrestis, Coues, 1875. — Spizella pusilla, Bonap., 1838, and most recent authors.
Resembles both the Chipping Sparrow and the Tree Sparrow, but the
entire bill is reddish yellow, there are two conspicuous whitish wing-bars,
and the tail is longer than the wing. The head and back are reddish brown,
the latter streaked with blackish, and the under parts are ashy or soiled
white without any dark breast spot.
Distribution. — Eastern United States and southern Canada, west to the
Plains, south to the Gulf States and Texas. Breeds from South Carolina,
southern Illinois and Kansas northward.
The Field Sparrow is a common summer resident of old pastures grown
up to woods, and the edges of woods, throughout the southern half of the
state. It is one of the species very frequently confounded with others,
and in trying to map its exact distribution in the state the utmost difficulty
has been found. We have scattering reports of its presence not only all
over the Lower Peninsula, but from half a dozen points in the Upper
Peninsula, most of which are undoubtedly erroneous. We have perfectly
reliable reports from all the southern part of the Lower Peninsula as far
north as Bay county and Newaygo county, about 43|-°, and it was also foimd
sparingly in Crawford and Oscoda counties, by Wood and Frothingham,
in 1904. Mr. S. E. White states that from 1889 to 1891 it was fairly common
as a summer resident in certain localities on Mackinac Island. Probably
this must be considered one of its northernmost breeding places, for the writer
has searched for it personally in half a dozen places in the Upper Peninsula
without success, and among the thousands of birds killecl on Spectacle
Reef Light in northern Lake Huron, the Field Sparrow has never been
found. Blackwelder lists it from Iron county (Upper Peninsula) with the
remark that it is common only in the more settled regions where there are
open fields and hedges (Auk, XXVI, 369) ; Ruthven and Gaige failed to
find it in Dickinson county in the summer of 1909 (MS. Report). Like
half a dozen other sparrows it is known as "Ground Bird" and "Field
Sparrow," and probably the reports from the Upper Peninsula relate to
the Savanna Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow and Vesper Sparrow.
It arrives from the south in April, the first part of tlie month in the
southern sections of the state, and the latter part farther north. Mr. Swales
gives his earliest spring record near Detroit as March 19, 1903, ^and his
512 MICIIKiAN I^.IRI) LIFE.
latest recoi-(l in the fall, ()ct()l)er l\), 1889. Our s])i-iiig records for about a
score of localities in the southern part of the state are all for the first half
of April, the great majority falling between the 4th and the 14th. It
ordinarily moves southward during September, and few are found in the
state after October first. There is no record of its wintering in Michigan.
While migrating it travels in small companies or loose flocks, but soon
after its ariival in spring the pairs separate and nesting begins.
The first nest is built commonly before the first of June, dates for fresh
eggs ranging from May 8 to June 3, while a second brood is reared late
in June or early in July. Mr. Westnedge took three eggs on July 20,
1890, in Kalamazoo county, and Dr. Wolcott records a nest with eggs
at New Baltimore, St. Clair county, July 23, 1893. The nest is neatly
and compactly built of fine grasses, roots and hair and is usually lined
with horse hair or cow's hair, but sometimes we find only grass. It is
placed either on the ground or in a low bush, rarely more than three or
four feet from the ground, although we have seen the nest twelve feet
from the ground in an old apple tree. The eggs are three to five, whitish,
thickly sprinkled with reddish brown, and average .68 by .51 inches.
The food resembles that of other ground-feecling sparrows, combining
a large amount of weed and grass seed with a consideral)Ie number of
insects, especially while feeding the young.
The bird is somewhat famous for its sweet and plaintive song, which
perhaps has been a little overrated. Mr. Hoffman speaks of it as follows:
"The song is a fine strain, beginning with two or three high, sustained,
piercing notes, then running into a succession of similar, more rapid notes,
all in a minor key, and often running down, or occasionally up, the chromatic
scale. Sometimes the last rapid notes rise, and occasionally one note is
repeated throughout. A beautiful form of the song, often given towards
evening, is made by a repetition of the whole in a different key as soon
as the first part is ended " (Birds of New England and Eastern New York,
p. 160). John Burroughs says its song is like the words "fe-o, fe-o, fe-o,
few-few-few, fee-fee-fee, uttered at first high and leisurely, but running
very rapidly toward the close which is low and soft."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Atlult (sexes alike): Very similar to the Tree Sparrow (No. 230), Init readily separable
by the smaller size, lighter tints (rusty instead of chestnut above), absence of the dusky
spot on the breast, and the wholly reddish-yellow bill. Tail about the length of wing,
usually a little longer; top of head rather pale rusty brown, usually but not always wth an
imperfect median stripe of grayish; a narrow stripe of rusty behind the eye, expanding
into a spot on tlic side of the neck; middle of back and scapulars rusty, like toji of head,
but streaked witli blackish and grayish-white; rump and ujiper tail-coverts plain gray;
under parts shading from grayish on throat and chest to brownisli-gray on sides and flanks,
and pure white on belly and under tail coverts; wings and tail precisely as in the Tree
Sparrow, except perhaps a little paler brown on seconchiries and tertiarics, and the wing-
bars a little narrower; bill wholly reddish-yellow; iris brown. Young: Very similar to
adult, but head markings less distinct, colors duller and more blended, and breast and sides
streaked with blackish.
Length 5.1U to 0 inches; wing 2.45 to 2.70; tail 2.")0 to 2.80.
LAND BIRDS.
513
234. Junco. Junco hyemalis hyemalis (Linn.). (567)
Synonyms: Slate-colored Junco, Snowbird, Common Snowbird, Slate-colored Snowbird,
Blue Snowbird, Black Snowbird, White-bill. — Fringilla hyemalis, Linnajus, 1758, Bonap.,
Sw. & Rich., Aud. — Fringilla nivalis, Wils., Nutt. — Jmico hyemalis of most authors.
Figure 116.
Mainly slate-colored, the under parts from lower breast to tail white;
two outer pairs of tail-feathers pure white and the third pair largely so;
bill pink or nearly white.
Distribution. — North America, chiefly east of the Rocky Mountains,
breeding from the higher parts of the Alleghanies and the mountainous
parts of southern New England northward. South in winter to the Gulf
States.
An abundant migrant throughout the Avhole state, a common summer
resident of the northern half, and a winter resident of the southern half.
In the preceding
sentence the word
half really includes in
both cases much more
than half the state.
The Snowbird nests
commonly in all suit-
able places from lati-
tude 44° northward,
m ore abundantly,
however, in the higher
counties of the Lower
Peninsula and the
whole Upper Penin-
sula. South of 44° it
nests here and there,
probably with some
frequency as far south
at least as 43° and oc-
casionally even far-
ther. It was seen by
Dr. R. H. Wolcott gathering material for nest-building at Grand Rajjids, Kent
county in June, and Dr. Atkins included it among the birds known to
breed at Locke, Ingham county, in 1883. Miss Harriet H. Wright, of
Saginaw writes: "I found two Junco nests at Bay Port, Huron county,
June 1906. One found June 4th contained three birds, the other, found
June 12th, four eggs. There must have been more birds nesting as I
would see a number of birds at a time at the edge of the water where the
flsh flies had washed up." On the other hand, although it is given as a
winter resident by most observers in the state, it is certain that by far
the greater number of Juncos pass entirely out of the state on their south-
ward migration, returning, however, in early spring. During mild winters
large numbers remain in the southern half of the state, but ordinarily
it is found only in small flocks or little parties, or not at all, during Decem-
ber, January and February. Mr. Swales states that in the neighborhood
G5
Fig. 116. .Tunco; Snowbird.
Photograph from mounted specimen.
Courtesy of Wm. T. Shaw.
514 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
of Detroit it generally appears in numbers from the north about the 15th
of October, and he has seen them as late as May 7 (1889) in the spring,
but the middle of April generally sees the departure of the bulk. While
with us it is rarely seen singly, and even when nesting, at least at the
north, several nests are likely to be found in the same vicinity.
It gets almost its whole food from the ground, where it searches for
seeds of various kinds, and scratches among the fallen leaves and grass
in search of seeds and insect larva? and pupoc. While it frequents the
open fields and pastures during migration, it is much more apt to be found
in numbers about the borders and corners of fields, along the edges of
woods, and in brushy or weedy ravines where its favorite food is abundant.
It seems to be very fond of searching the ground in the shade of large trees,
and in the semi darkness of such places the white tail-feathers are quite
conspicuous as it flits back and forth.
Nests are found most often in June, but eggs are laid in May, June and
July, and it seems certain that two broods are reared each season. The
nest is placed on the ground invariably, so far as we know, and is often
more or less hidden beneath a fallen log, a tuft of grass or a heap of brush.
It consists of grasses and various fibrous materials which form a compact,
snug and deeply hollowed receptacle for the eggs. These are three to
five, nearly white, speckled with reddish brown, and average ,76 by .58
inches.
Its ordinary song is a prolonged, clear trill, which apparently is the
repetition of a single note, but which is much more musical than the song
of the Chipping Sparrow which it somewhat resembles. Mr. Bicknell
says it has also a "faint, whispering warble, usually much broken, but not
without sweetness, and sometimes continuing intermittently for many
minutes. It seems to slip into this very readily from a simple chirping,
and is always the song with which the species begins the season. I have
heard both of its songs in October and November."
An impression is current among country people in Michigan, as else-
where, that the Blue Snowbird changes in the summer into a "Ground
Bird" or sparrow, which changes again in the fall into a slate-blue winter
bird. Of course this belief has no foundation in fact. In reality the
seasonal changes of plumage in the Junco are much slighter than in
most other birds of the group. It is perhaps a little browner or grayer
in winter and the slate becomes a little blacker and the white a little purer
during the nesting season.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire upper parts slate-gray, darker on the head, usually almost black
on the forehead, often witla a brownish gloss on the middle of the back; sides of head, throat,
breast and sides slate-colored, like the back but a little lighter, or ash-gray on sides and
flanks; belly and under tail-coverts pure white; wings and tail dark slate-gray, the former
without any trace of bars, tlie latter with the two outer pairs of feathers pure white, and the
next pair partly so; bill light pinkish or flesh-color; iris brown. Adult female: Very
similar to male, but the slate-color of upper i)arts never so dark, and always washed with
brownish on the back and usually with rusty on edges of tertiaries; sides often strongly
tinged with light pinkish brown. Young: At first entirely streakedfabove and below;
above with brownish and black or slate, below with blackish and brown on a whitish ground.
Later, the streaks are lost and the young resemble the females, but are much browner,
the Avings often showing two rusty bars, and the secondaries and tertiaries edged with buff
or brown.
Length 6 to 7 inches; wing 2.98 to 3.25; tair2.60 to 2.90; culmen .46 to .51.
Note. — For accounts of other species of Junco, said to occur in Michigan, see Appendix.
Plate LI. Song Sparrow (upper figure). Swamp Sparrow (lower figure).
Reprinted from Chapman's Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America.
By courtesy of D. Appleton & Co.
LAND BIRDS. 517
235. Song Sparrow. Melospiza melodia melodia (Gmel). (581)
Synonyms: Ground Sparrow, Ground-bird, Hedge Sparrow, Bush Sparrow. — Fringilla
melodia, Wilson, 1810, Bonap., Aud., Nutt., 1832. — Fringilla fasciata, Gmel., 1788. —
Melospiza fasciata, Scott, 1876, A. O. U. Check-lists, 1886, 1895. — Melospiza cinera melodia;
Ridgw., 1901.
Plates LI, LI I, and Figure 117.
Brown or reddish-])rown above, ashy or whitish below, but everywhere
streaked with brownish black, the streaks tending to run together and
form a large patch or spot in the middle of the breast.
Distribution. — Eastern United States to the Plains, breeding from
Virginia and the southern portion of the Lake States northward to the
Fur Countries.
This familiar little bird is well distributed in summer over the entire
state, and under one or another of the above names is well known to almost
every dweller in town or country. It is not
resident in any considerable numbers, even in the
southernmost parts of the state, yet each winter
a few individuals may be found in sheltered
places in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula,
and in exceptionally mild winters scattering flocks
of a dozen individuals are seen. The presence of
these interferes somewhat with the records of spring ... - , „ >5.:«s*=-
migration, since these bii^ds which have wintered W^^^^"^'
begin to sing in February or early March, in fact N'^'mlA?^
may sing in bright weather during any clay in 5fc^
winter. >-
Song Sparrows appear in numbers in the southern Fig ii7. Song sparrow,
part of the state about the middle of March, and bms. Ho'ughton, Mffllii & Co.
from this time until the middle of April they are
moving northward in large numbers. It is one of the species most often
killed at lighthouses and we have records from Spectacle Reef Light,
Lake Huron, for April 12, 17, 23, 1890, also for May 15, 1890 and September
4, 1893. It arrived at Palmer, Marquette county, April 15, 1894, and
April 5, 1895, and at Sault Ste. Marie April 21, 1899.
It is found in almost every conceivable place except open pasture lands,
but shows a decided preference for the neighborhood of water and is most
abundant in the bushes along streams, about the margins of ponds, along
the edges of wet woods, and in bushy meadows. In such situations it is
seen flitting from bush to bush, or more commonly the male is seen perched
on the top of a bush or fencepost chanting his simple little song from
morning till night. Hoffman says of the song "It is subject to endless
variation in the species, and varies to a considerable degree even in the
same individual, but it commonly begins with three brisk notes or pairs
of notes 'whit, whit, whit,' or 'o-lit, o-lit, o-lit,' and in the middle of the
song there is apt to be a harsh burring note, after which the song quickly
runs out to some ending." Bicknell says "It sings with greater constancy
through the seasons, and with less regard to adverse weather, than any
other of our song birds. All through the hottest summer weather it is
songful, though the oppressive days of late August seem sorely to try
its spirit; but it recovers its cheerfulness with advancing autumn and is
518 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
one of the few birds which, in that season, repeat the full chorus of the
spring."
It always rears two broods, and possibly sometimes three, for nests
with eggs are found as early as April 15, in the southern part of the state,
and again in June and even in July. The earlier nests are commonly
placed on the ground, perhaps because the scanty foliage at this time
fails to hide the nest, but in regions where evergreens are abundant the
early nests are frequently placed in these, and the later ones also. As a
matter of fact nests are found on the ground, in bushes or brush heaps,
and occasionally in orchard or shade trees even twenty feet from the ground.
The nest is bulky and consists mainly of grasses and weed-stalks usually
with a thick lining of horse hair. The eggs are three to six, extremely
variable in ground color and markings, but alwaj^s spotted with brown or
black on a bluish, greenish or white background. They average .7i) by
.59 inches.
Probably this species rears more Cowbirds than any other bii'd whicli
we have; it is also one of those which not infrequently rears one or two
of its own young in addition to a young Cowbird, a feat which is impossible
for many of the smaller birds.
The food of the Song Sparrow is very variable, but while it eats many
seeds of weeds and grasses, living mainly on such seeds in winter, it consumes
an immense number of insects, on which the young are almost entirely fed.
It is rather fond of small wild fruits, and we have seen it take a bite from
a cultivated cherry or strawberry, but this is by no means a common habit.
Among the insects consumed are large numbers of span-worms, cut-worms
and other lepidopterous larvse, as well as vast numbers of grasshoppers
and other injurious forms. On the whole, we have no common bird which
is more uniformly beneficial to the agriculturist and which at the same
time is so confiding and sweet-voiced. It is much to be regretted that it
sufficiently resembles the English Sparrow in size and color to be mistaken
by the careless for that bird, and undouljtedly thousands of these valuable
and innocent birds have been killed for the bounty which Michigan has
unwisely offei'ed for so many years on the English Spari'ow.
TFX'HNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes alike) : Top of head brown, streaked witli deeper brown or blackisli, and
divided l)y a median stripe of light grayish which is very narrow on the forehead and nuicli
wider on tlie occiput; a similar ashy stripe over the eye, and most of the ear-coverts of
the same color, the latter usually distinctly bordered with brown or blackish; chin and
throat white or whitish, bordered on either side by a series of dark brown or blackish
streaks, which in turn are separated from the ear-coverts by a light gray or wliitish stripe;
upper parts brownish gray, heavily streaked with dark brown or blackish on the middle
back and scapulars, and elsewhere with light brown; under parts white or buffy white,
the breast and sides streaked and spotted witii dark brown or blackish, the spots usually
arrow-shaped, and commonly thickest in tlie middle of the breast where they form a more
or less distinct spot; wings brownish, with little or no trace of bars, the secondaries reddisli
brown on their outer webs, the tertiaries mainly black, with broad cliestnut or rufoiis
margins whicli become white toward the tips; f ail-feathors reddish-brown, the midtlle pair
usually with blackish shaft-stripes, and in(nstincfly barred with dusky; bill brownish
above, yellowish below; iris brown. Autumn siiecimens are browner or more buffy, especi-
ally on chest and sides. Young birds are similar, but with all the colors more blended,
the dark markings less sharply defined.
Length G to G.75 inches; wing 2.45 to 2.80; tail 2.5S to 3.02; culmen .50 to .54.
Plate LII. Nest and eggs of rioiig iSiiairovv.
From photograph by Thomas L. Hankinson.
LAND BIRDS. 521
236. Lincoln's Sparrow. Melospiza lincolni lincolni (And.). (583)
Synonyms: Lincoln's Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Finch. — Fringilla lincolni, And. 1834.
— Passerculus lincolni, Bonap., 1838. — Peucsea lincolni, Aud., 1839. — Melospiza lincolni,
Baird, 1858, and most authors.
Very similar to the Song Sparrow, but rather smaller, not so reddish
above, no large spot on the breast, but a buffy band across the chest.
It is streaked above and below like the Song Sparrow, but the dark streaks
are finer, sharper and blacker.
Distribution. — North America at large, breeding chiefly north of the
United States and in the higher parts of the Rocky Mountains and Sierra
Nevada; south in winter to Panama.
This bird is probably not uncommon in Michigan, although from its
resemblance to the Song Sparrow it doubtless is often overlooked. There
is no reason why it should not nest within our limits, but so far as we
know its nest has not yet been found here. As a spring migrant it arrives
from the south much later than the Song Sparrow, probably never earlier
than the second week in May, and sometimes not before the end of the
month. Considering the rarity of the bird in collections it is rather re-
markable that it should be so frequently killed at lighthouses. We have
seven records from Spectacle Reef Light, ranging from May 15 to May 23,
with one record for September 24 (1889). Mr. N. A. Eddy also reports
one killed on the electric Hght tower at Bay City, May 15, 1890. Mr.
Wm. Brewster took one at Oden late in May, 1888, Dr. Gilibs reported
it from the neighborhood of Kalamazoo September 28 and October 9,
1879, and Detroit collectors have taken it repeatedly during the first week
in October, while migrating. Mr. N. A. Wood reports one taken on Isle
Roy ale, September 1, 1904, and found it common on the Charity Islands,
Saginaw Bay, during the fall migration, 1910. He writes: "The Lincoln's
Sparrow was seen first September 7 and I noticed two distinct waves of
them. September 16 I found this species common on the first sand-dune
on the west beach and saw probably more than one hundred. On Septem-
ber 29 I saw numbers also and October 1st still common, but not seen
after that date, as all left that night." Among the thousands of small
birds killed during migration on the night of Oct. 10-11, 1906, along the
eastern shore of Lake Huron, were many Lincoln's Sparrows, Mr. W. E.
Saunders finding twelve specimens among the 1845 dead birds counted.
(See page 26 of this volume).
It seems to be much more shy than the Song Sparrow and is most often
seen skulking along the bushes beside a stream, or from one corner to another
of a worm fence in low ground. In its summer home it is said to sing
from the top of a bush, in much the same manner as the common Song
Sparrow. According to .Jonathan Dwight, Jr., in the north it sometimes
"surprises the hearer with a most unsparrow-like song. It is not loud,
and suggests the bubbling, guttural notes of the House Wren, combinecl
with the sweet rippling music of the Purple Finch, and when you think
the song is done there is an unexpected aftermath. The birds sing very
little and at long intervals, and are seldom heard during the later hours
of the day, ceasing at once if anybody approaches."
The food, so far as it has been examined, is very similar to that of the
Song Sparrow. Owing to the scarcity of the bird in this state it is of course
of no economic importance.
522 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The nest is said to be placed ii.siudl}' on the ground and to be quite
similar to that of the Song Sparrow. According to Chamberlain, the
eggs are four or five, pale green or pinkish, sometimes almost white, thickly
spotted and blotched with reddish brown and lilac. According to Ridgway
they resemble those of the Swamp Sparrow, and average .77 by .57 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCKl I'TION.
Second, third and fourth primaries longest and about equal, the first always longer than
the sixth.
• Adult (sexes alike) : Entire upper parts olive-gray to olive-brown, narrowly and sharply
streaked with black, most broadly on the middle back and scapulars; top of head with a
median stripe of olive-gray; sides of head with essentially the same dark stripes as in the
Song Sparrow, but these stripes black rather than brown, and the included light stripes
buff or olive (usually the one over the eye olive-gray like the crown stripe, and the maxillary
stripe buff); throat, lower breast and belly white, buffy white or grayish-white, the chin
and upper throat usually with some narrow black streaks; cliest, sides and flanks distinctly
buff, sharply and narrowly streaked with black, but without any distinct central dark
patch on breast; wings and tail as in the Song Sparrow; bill blackish, only the base of the
lower mandible yellowish; iris brown.
Length 5.25 to 6 inches; wing 2.30 to 2.65; tail 2.30 lo 3.
237. Swamp Sparrow. Melospiza georgiana (LaZ/^.). (584)
Synonyms: Swamp Song Sparrow. — Fringilla georgiana, Latham, 1790, Nutt., 1832. — •
Melospiza georgiana, Ridgw., 1885, A. O. U. Check-list, 188(3.— Fringilla palustris, Wils.,
1811, Aud., 1831, and many others.
PUite LI, Lower Figure.
In perfect plumage the crown is rich chestnut, becoming black on the
forehead, and much of the back and wings is chestnut, with black streaks.
There are no distinct streaks or central dark spot on the breast, which is
ashy gray, becoming browner on the sides, the throat and belly white.
Often the crown is streaked brown and black with a median ashy stripe,
and sometimes there are obscure dusky streaks on breast and sides.
Distribution. — Eastern North America to the Plains, north to the
British Provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador. Breeds from
the northern states northward, and winters from Massachusetts southward
to the Gulf States.
The Swamp Sparrow appears to be a summer resident in suitable places
throughout the entire state, less abundant, however, in the southern
parts. It arrives from the south from the middle to the last of April,
but numbers continue their northward movement until late in IMay. We
have records of Swamp Sparrows killed on Spectacle Reef Light from
April 23 to May 25, and again during the southward migration from Septem-
ber 23 to October 8. About Lansing it is most abundant in migration,
during May and October. Although some linger until late in November,
it has never been reported from the state in winter.
It always prefers the vicinity of water and is seldom abundant except
in places which can be reached only by wading or in a boat. It prefers
the more open marshes, avoiding those grown up to willows and trees,
although during migrations it may be found almost anywhere in wet
places. We have records of its nesting from most of the southern counties,
although it does not seem to nest abundantly in many of them. It is a
characteristic bird of the wet marshes of St. Clair Flats and vicinity, and
LAND BIRDS. 523
is doubtless much more common all over the state than is generally
supposed.
The nest, which is much like that of the Song Sparrow, is placed usually
in a tuft or tussock of grass rising directly from the water. Possibly it
is sometimes placed in a dry situation, but we have never seen one where
the water was not at least ankle-deep. The eggs are three to five, similar
to those of the Song Sparrow, but usually with greener or bluer ground
color, and the markings coarser and scantier. They average .76 by .56
inches.
Descriptions of the song vary much. Hoffmann says "It is simple but
musical, as if a Chipping Sparrow were singing in the marshes an un-
usually sweet song. The call-note is a metallic chink." Bicknell says
"In the spring and summer the song is a simple monotone; in the autumn
this is often varied and extended with accessory notes. A few preliminary
chirps merging into a fine trill introduce the run of notes which constitutes
the usual song, which now terminates with a few slower somewhat liquid
notes." Seton Thompson says "The commonest song is a simple rapid
twet, twet, twet, twet, twet, twet, twet, twet, twet, twet, twet, all in the
same note and so rapidly as to be almost a twitter. This is uttered at
intervals from some dead branch projecting above the rest of the copse.
If not disturbed the singer will sit quietly on this ])ranch for an hour,
repeating his ditty once or twice a minute."
In our own experience the song merely suggests that of the Chipping
Sparrow, but the notes are less rapid, far sweeter, and have a distinct
metallic or bell-Uke tone which suggests the ring of cut glass. When
heard in the dusk of evening it certainly is one of the sweetest sparrow songs
which we can recall.
The food appears to consist largely of seeds of sedges, grasses and weeds,
varied to a consideralile extent with insects; these, however, are probably
of little account to the agriculturist owing to the swampy nature of the
halntat.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Afhili (sexes alike): Crown bright chestnut, the forehead clear l)lack and often a few
black streaks running back into the chestnvit of the crown; most of the rest of upper parts
reddish-brown, boldly streaked with black on the middle back and scapulars, and more
narrowly on the upper tail-coverts and rump; a more or less perfect collar of ash-gray on
the back of neck, sometimes clear but more often streaked with blackish; a conspicuous
ash-gray stripe over the eye, beginning at the nostril, bounded below by a black postocular
stripe; a blackish line from corner of mouth along under margin of ear-coverts, and a
similar line from base of lower mandible along side of throat, tliesc two enclosing a lighter
stripe which is gray or buffy according to season; throat and belly wliitish or pale gray,
the chest and sides darker gray, usually tinged with brown on sides and flanks, but without
spots or streaks; outer webs of most of the primaries, secondaries, and middle and greater
wing-coverts, bright chestnut; the tertiaries mainly deep black, edged externally with
chestnut which whitens toward the tips; bill blackish above, brownish yellow below; iris
brown.
In autumn and in immature birds the crown is commonly streaked with chestnut and
black, with a more or less conspicuous median stripe of gray, and the chest and sides are
distinctly brownish, with some indistinct dusky streaks. Very young birds are similar,
but much more distinctly streaked with blackish below, often on throat and belly as well
as on breast and sides.
Length 5.25 to 6 inches; wing 2..30 to 2.50; tail 2. 10 to 2.70.
524
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
238. Fox Sparrow. Passerella iliaca iliaca (Merrem). (585)
Synonyms: Fox-colored Sparrow, Fox-tail. — Fringilla iliaca, Merrem, 178G, Nutt.,
1832, Aud., 1834.— Fringilla rufa, Wils., 1811.— F. ferruginea, Gmel., 1788, Wilson, 1812.
— Passerella iliaca, Bonap., 1838, and most modern authors.
Figures 118, 119.
The large size (over 7 inches), rust-red back, wings and tail, and heavily
spotted breast and sides, distinguish this sparrow from all others. But
for the short thick bill it might easily be mistaken for a thrush; in fact it
strongly suggests the Hermit Thrush.
Distribution.- — Eastern North America, west to the Plains and Alaska,
and from the Arctic coast south to the Gulf States. Breeds north of the
United States, winters chiefly south of the Potomac and Ohio Rivers.
In Michigan the Fox Sparrow seems to be irregularly distributed during
migrations, but as a rule is not ver}^ common. Near Detroit Mr. Swales
Fig. 118. Fox Sparrow.
From Nuttall's Ornithology. Little, Brown & Co.
says "Not as abundant as it was in the eighties; some seasons pass and I
do not see a single bird." Mr. 0. B. Warren of Palmer, Marquette county,
says "Common, but of rather irregular occurrence; more common in spring
than fall. None observed in 1895; they must have suffered from the severe
storms in the south, in company with the Bluebird and Hermit and Olive-
backed Thrushes."
Ordinarily it arrives from the south in April, early in the southern part,
somewhat later than the middle of the month at the north; but apparently
it enters the state in March, and we have a record of March 5, 1884 for
Saline, Mich., March 21, 1884 at Petersburg, and March 17, 1881 at Battle
Creek. Specimens were killed on Spectacle Reef Light April 23, 1890,
and October 5 and October 8 the same year. At Bay City Mr. Eddy has
LAND BIRDS.
525
noted the species only three times, April 16, 1889, April 18, 1891 and April
19, 1902. At Lansing the bird occurs in small numbers pretty regularly
about the middle of April, and is seen again during October and November,
Mr. Hankinson recorcling the last one in 1896 on November 7.
While with us it frequents the borders of woods and fields, as well as
the deep woods, but it spends almost all its time on the ground, where it
scratches continually
among the leaves and
rubbish, often making
noise enough to be heard
at a long distance. Some-
times it appears in flocks
of fifty or more but more
often in twos and threes,
or little squads of about
a dozen. No't infre-
quently it associates with
Juncos, Tree Sparrows
and other sparrows.
Ordinarily it has only
a sharp chip, but occas-
ionally it gives snatches
of a beautiful song. In
its summer home it
sings magnificently, and
on rare occasions the
greater part of its full
song may be heard dur-
ing the last of its stay
with us. Mr. C. J.
Maynard, describing its habits on the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of the
St. Lawrence, says: "Its magnificent song filled the clear still air with
melody. These fine strains consist at first of three clear rather rapid
notes, given with increasing emphasis, then a short pause ensues, and the
remainder of the lay is poured forth more deliberately, terminating with
a well rounded note giving a finish to a sweet song, which for sweetness
and clearness of tone is seldom surpassed even by our best performers."
There is no nesting record for the United States, but it breeds abundantly
in most of British North America from New Brunswick and Manitoba
northward. The nest is placed in low bushes, or on the ground, is very
bulky, made of grasses, moss, feathers, etc., and the eggs are from three
to five, but usually four. These are pale bluish-green to fight brown,
heavily spotted and blotched with darker brown, and average .91 by .63
inches.
Spending only the colder portion of the year with us, the food of the
Fox Sparrow consists of a largci- proportion of seeds and a smaller amount of
insect matter than in the case of our more familiar sparrows. Doubtless it
confers decided benefits on the farmer through the consumption of weed
seed, and that it occasionally does valuable work as an insect eater is shown
by the fact that a specimen examined by Prof. F. H. King in Wisconsin
had eaten 50 chinch-bugs.
Fig. 119. Fox Sparrow.
Photograph from mounted specimen.
(Original.)
526 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult (sexes alike) : Top of head and back of neck brownish-gray or clear dark gray,
usually more or less mixed with rusty on the tips of the feathers; back and scapulars similar,
but more broadly and heavily streaked with dark reddish-brown or chestnut; upper tail-
covcrts and upper surface of tail bright reddish-brown or chestnut; a whitish line from
nostril to eye, sometimes continued over it to nape; another whitish line from base
of lower mandible along lower edge of ear-coverts, separating these (which are reddish-
brown) from a red-brown stripe which borders the throat; chin, throat and belly usually
white or rusty white and without spots, except sometimes a few small ones on tlie throat;
chest heavily spotted and sides and flanks broadly streaked with bright rufous or chestnut,
the spots usually arrow-shaped and often bunched on the middle of the chest, forming a
conspicuous spot or patch; usually the lower breast shows a belt of smaller and blackish
spots with little or no rufous in them; upper surface of wings and coverts mainly bright
rusty or chestnut, the greater and middle coverts often slightly tipped with white or rusty
white, forming two more or less perfect wing-bars; basal half of lower mandible yellowish,
rest of bill dusky; iris l)rown. Young: Scarcely different from adults. Length ().20 to
7. .50 inches; wing 3.80 to 3.70; tail 2.80 to 3.15; culmen .43 to .47.
239. Chewink. Pipilo erjrthropthalmus erythropthalmus (Linn.). (587)
Synonyms: Towhee, Ground Roliin, Swamp Robin, Towliee Hunting, Jo-ree. — Fringilla
erythropthalma, Linn., 1758, Bonnp., Nutt., Aud. — Pi])ilo erythrophthalnuis, .I.-inUne,
1832, and most recent authors.
Plate LIII and Figure 120.
Male mainly black above, with white patches in wings and tail; throat
and upper breast black, belly white, sides chestnut or rusty-red. Female
similar except that the black is entirely replaced by brown. The outoi'
three or four pairs of tail feathers have large white "thumb-maiks" wliich
are very conspicuous as the bird flits from bush to bush.
Distribution. — Eastern LTnited States and southern Canada, west to the
Plains, breeding from the Lower Mississippi Valley and (ieorgia
noi'thward; in winter from the middle districts southward.
The Chewink is an abundant summer resident over most of the Lower
Peninsula, but less common in the northernmost counties. Thus- it is far
from common about Little Traverse Bay in Emmet county,
and S. Vj. White found a pair one season only on Mackinac
Island. On the other hand it seems to be very abundant
in Kalkaska, Crawford, and Otsego counties, in the highest
parts of the Lower Peninsula. In the Upper Peninsula j^^,, oj-^'he^vrnk
it seems to be generally distributed but not common,
most observers calling it rare, although it has been recorded from nearly
all parts except Keweenaw Point and Isle Royale. Mi-. T. B. Wyman
of Negaunee, Marquette county, calls it "Common everywhere in cutovei'
lands." Boies says it is rare on Neebish Island, l)ut common on the
adjacent mainland (Chipi)ewa county).
In the southern part of the state a few bii'ds occasionally winter. We
have such records from Muskegon (Van Pelt), Ann Arbor (Covert and
Wolcott), Plymouth (Purdy), Grand Rapids (February 22, Cole), (Jenesee
county (November 24, Swales), Lansing {Vj. 1). Sanderson, C. .1. Davis).
Ordinarily it arrives from the south about the end of March, Swales lecord-
ing it first near Detroit March 16, 1894, while his latest record there is
November 3, 1891. At Kalamazoo spring arrivals range from March 9,
1878 to April 12, 189.3, while at Lansing it usually aj^pears between March
25 and April 5, and nearly a month later along the Lake Superior shore.
a-^.
Plate LIII. Chewink. Male.
Reprinted from Chapman's Bird Life. By courtesy of D. Appleton & Co.
LAND BIRDS. 529
The bird is well known everywhere as a constant inhabitant of brush and
open woods, being especially abundant along the margins of woodlands
adjoining recently cleared areas. It is one of the commonest of roadside
birds and one can hardly drive a mile along a country road anywhere in
the Lower Peninsula without seeing several. It spends most of its time
on the ground, searching for food, where it scratches like a chicken and
makes as much noise as a Brown Thrasher or a squirrel.
Its food consists mainly of seeds and insects, though it is fond of wild
fruits and eats almost everything, from strawberries and blackberries to
wild cherries and grapes. It has never been known to damage cultivated
fruits or cause loss of any kind to the farmer. Owing to the nature of its
haunts it perhaps is not actively beneficial, though it probably does its
share in keeping injurious insects in check.
It nests almost invariably on the ground, building an open but usually
well hidden nest, at the foot of a bush or in a brush heap, the nest con-
sisting mainly of fine grasses and fibrous roots and containing four or five
eggs, which are white or pinkish, thickly peppered with reddish brown,
and average .94 by .71 inches. Possibly one nest in fifty is built in a bush
or tangle of vines a foot or two above the ground. Dr. Wolcott records
a nest at Grand Rapids placed eight feet from the ground in a broken
thorn tree, July 26, 1892, and another at Ann Arbor, June 16, 1894,
placed on top of a stump. Two broods are reared almost always,
one in June, the other in late July or August, eggs being found
late in ^May and again in July. The nest seems to be a favorite one
for the Cowbird, and perhaps no other species is more often chosen for
a foster parent. Two, three or even four Cowbird's eggs are frequently
found in a Chewink's nest, and occasionally five or six have been found,
although in such cases the nest is usually deserted. The eggs of the two
species resemble each other somewhat, although the Cowbird's egg is apt
to be smaller and to lack the pinkish tint which is usually characteristic
of the Chewink's.
It owes the names Chewink, Towhee and Jo-ree to its common two-
syllabled call-note, which to our mind is best expressed by the word
chewink. Seton Thompson says its common song is hke "chuck-burr-
pill-a-will-a-will-a; it has also a note like 'twee' (not towhee)." While
singing the male usually selects the top of a tall bush or a low tree and
often repeats the song a score of times without changing his perch.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Head, neck, chest, and entire upper parts clear black; lower breast and
belly pure white in sharp contrast; sides, flanks and under tail-coverts rusty red or chest-
nut; wings mainly black, tlie secondaries unmarked but primaries and tertiarics with
white spots and streaks; tail long, slightly rounded, clear black, the outer three or four
pairs of feathers with broad, pure white tips; bill black; iris red. Adult female: Precisely
like the adult male except that all the black is replaced by plain brown (umber brown);
bill dusky above, brown below; iris reddisli-brown. Young birds resemble adults in wings
and tail, but have the head, back and breast yellowish-brown, strc.ik(>i| with blnrkish.
Length 7.50 to 8.75 inches; Aving 3.30 to 3.75; tail 3.55 to 4.10.
67
530 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
240. Cardinal. Cardinalis cardinalis cardinalis (Linn.). (593)
Synonyms: Cardinal Grosbeak, Virginia Cardinal, Kentucky Cardinal, Ked-bird,
Crested Red-bird. — Loxia cardinalis, Linn., 1758. — Fringilla cardinalis, Bonap., Nutt.,
And. — Cardinalis cardinalis, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most subsequent writers. —
Cardinalis virginianus, Baird, 1858, and most authors until 1886.
Mainly brilliant reel, a small area about the base of the bill, and running
down the throat, black. A high, pointed crest like that of the Blue Jay.
l^ill red. Female similar, but much duller, even ashy, washed with red,
the reddish tint brightest on chest, wings and tail.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, north to the Lower Hudson
Valley and the Great Lakes, casually farther north, and west to the Plains.
In Michigan the Cardinal appears to be a rather rare species, mainly
confined to the southern half of the Lower Peninsula, and probably most
frequently met with in the three lower tiers of counties. Contrary to the
usual impression, this bird is resident wherever found, and since it changes
its plumage but little with season it is much more conspicuous during
winter and so by far the larger number of records are made in winter.
There is some evidence to show that it has extended its range northward
during the last dozen years. At all events, it had never been recorded
from Ingham county until February 1899, since which time it has been
found regularly on the campus of the Agricultural College each year, and
sometimes four or five individuals have wintered there.
Each spring the birds have remained until well into Ma}"" and have been
quite musical; and two nests have been found. On June 6, 1903, a nest con-
taining two fresh eggs was found on the lower branch of a Norway spruce
close to the main road on the south side of the campus. Unfortunately the
nest was upset ])y a student surveying party and although the l)irds probably
nested again we did not locate the family. Another nest was found in June,
1911, which contained onh^ two eggs, one of which did not hatch. In spite
of the fact that this nest was in a slender sapling, only five feet from the
ground, and in plain view from a path along which hundreds of students
passed at all hours, the Cardinals succeeded in getting the single young
bird safely on the wing. Undoubtedly the Cardinal nests regularly in the
vicinity of the College and is attracted to the campus in winter by the
abimdance of evergreens, and especially by the numerous tidip trees
(Liriodeyidron) , on the seeds of which it feeds constantly during cold
weather.
Apparently the species is not common anywhere in the state, but a pair
or two have been reported from St. Clair county (Swales and Taverner),
Jackson county (Mrs. C'ami)l)ell), Kalamazoo (Dr. (Jil)bs, W. Wilkowski),
Olivet (H. L." Clark), Battle Creek, (N. Y. Green), Petersburg, Monroe
county, nesting (Trombley), Hillsdale county (A. H. Boies, T. L. Hank-
inson), Ann Arbor (Covert, Wood, Cole), Bangor, Van Buren county (F.
H. Shuver), Detroit (Swales, Taverner, J. Claire Wood), Grand Rapids
(R. H. Wolcott), Forestville, Sanilac county (Albert Ilirzel), Ikulah, Benzie
county (W. M. Wolfe). Reports from the Upper Peninsula probably
relate to the Scarlet Tanager, yet the l)ird is strong of wing, and perfectly
hardy at any latitude.
The nest is commonly placed in an evergreen tree or in some thick tangle
of vines, and is built of fine twigs, weed stems, grape vine bark, and similar
material, making a basket-like structure which is lined with fine roots,
LAND BIRDS. 531
tendrils, and sometimes pine needles, but rarely if ever with any soft
substances. The eggs are three or four, greenish-white, spotted with brown
and lilac, and average .99 by .73 inches.
Much has been written of the Cardinal's song, but although he has a very
loud, sweet whistle and a considerable variety of notes, these, so far as our
experience goes, are seldom if ever brought near enough together to form
what can properly be called a song. The usual call-note, is a clear flute-
like whistle of two notes, such as is used in calling a dog, and may be written
" wheo-wheo-wheo," sometimes shortened to "cue-cue-cue" and often
repeated twenty or thirty times in succession. At other times the call
suggests the words beauty, beauty, beauty, with strong accent on the first
syllable. Hoffman says: "Its notes are too numerous to transcribe,
but are nearly all loud and clear; the same note is generally repeated with
energy and rapidl}^ Some common forms of the song resemble the sylla-
bles whoit-whoit-whoit, etc., ku-ku-ku, etc. One form ends in a series
of e's so long continued that it apparently ends only when the singer becomes
out of breath." The female also is said to sing, but we have heard her
utter only the usual call-notes.
The Cardinal is a favorite cage bird and in some sections of the south,
particularly about the larger cities, has been nearly exterminated by the
systematic removal of the young from the nests. The bird lives readily
in a cage and whistles fairly well, but seldom keeps the brilliant plumage
for more than a year or two. Nuttall states that an instance is known
of one which survived in confinement for twenty-one years.
The Cardinal eats seeds and fruits of various kinds, as well as buds and
insects. During the winter he takes berries of red cedar, cat-brier {Smilax),
bittersweet, the various sumacs, haws {Crataegus), and almost any small
wild fruit which can be found hanging on tree or vine. His staple food,
however, consists of seeds of various kinds, and of these there seem to be
no lack. If he has any particular value as an insect destroyer, the fact
has escaped observation; we only know that during the nesting season he
consumes insects freely and feeds them to his young, and the presumption
is that he thus helps to prevent the undue increase of insects which might
result disastrously to the agriculturist. In Nebraska Professor Aughey
examined the stomachs of four Cardinals killed in August and September
and found the stomachs to contain an aggregate of eightj'-eight insects,
more than half of which were locusts.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Bill very large, stout, conical, bright red, the feathers all about its base
deep black, as are also the chin and upper throat; rest of the phunage deei) red, brightest
(vermillion) on the under parts, duller or darker on the back, where many of the feathers
are tipped witli grayish; upper surface of wings and tail similar, the wing-featliers dusky
on inner webs; head with a consj)icuous, jjointcd crest, like f liat of the Blue Jay, but wholly
deep red; iris light brown; feet and legs dusky. Adult female: Wings antl'tail about as
in male, and terminal part of crest distinctly red; otherwise quite cUiTcrcnt; bhick of face
entirely replaced by dull gray; under parts brownisli-yellow, anil upper ])ar(s greenish-gray
or brownish-gray; bill and iris about as in male. Young birds are similar to tlie old female,
l)ut duller and with the bill blackish.
Length 7.50 to 9.25 inches; wing 3.55 to 4; tail .'?.9() to 4.('.(); culmen .72 to .82.
532
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
241. Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Zamelodia ludoviciana (Linn.). (595)
Synonyms: Common Grosbeak, Smnmer Grosbeak, Potato-bug Bird. — Loxia ludovi-
ciana, Linn., 1766, Wilson, 1810. — Guiraca ludoviciana. Swains. — Coccoborus ludovicianus,
Aud. — Hedymeles ludovicianus, Sclater and others. — Goniaphea ludoviciana, Coucs, 1873.
— Habia ludoviciana, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886.
Plate LIV and Figure 121.
Male, in spring, black, white and rose-color in large masses, the short
thick bill nearly white. Female brown or gray, heavily streaked with
brown, the wings lined with salmon or yellow, and a distinct whitish line
over and behind the eye.
Distribution. — Eastern United States and southern Canada, west to
Manitoba and the eastern border of the Plains, breeding from Kansas,
and the mountains of the Carolinas northward; south in winter to Cuba,
Central America, and northern South America.
This beautiful bird, one of our most brilliant species and a fine singer
as well, is generally distributed during summer over the entire state, but
apparently in greatest abund-
\
\)^'
\
ance in the Lower Peninsula
although it is reported as not
uncommon at Sault Ste.
Marie, Marquette, and all the
intervening country in the
Upper Peninsula, as well as
from Keweenaw Point. Mr.
Norman A. Wood states also
that several were noted on
Isle Royale, in northwestern
Lake Superior, in September
1904.
Tn the southern part of
the state it arrives from the
south during the last week in
April or the first week in May,
and probably reaches the
northern sections from the
middle to the last of the
month. Mr. Swales' earhest
record at Detroit is April 30, 1896 and his latest in the fall is Oc-
tober 21, 1898. He thinks the greater number leave for the south be-
tween the middle and last of September. Like the Baltimore Oriole and
several other common species the Grosbeak becomes very scarce soon
after nesting, and during August very few are to be found. It becomes
more abundant, however, early in September, after the fall plumage has
been acquired.
It seems probable that this species has greatly increased in numbers
within the last few decades. This is true not only of Michigan, but of a
large part of the eastern United States. The bird does not shun the vicinity
of man, but nests almost as frequently in orchards and parks as in the
forest. It seems to prefer second growth timber, and especially regions
Fig. 121. Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Adult female.
From Hoffman's Guide to the Birds of New England and
Eastern New York. Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
Plate LIV. Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Adult male in spring.
Photographlfromlmounted specimen. (Original.)
LAND BIRDS. 535
which are somewhat wet and swampy where there is much young growth.
The nest, which is usually built late in May, is a somewhat shallow and rather
fragile structure, made of the slenderest of twigs, rootlets and other fibrous
materials, usually with the bottom so thin and open that the eggs can be
seen through it. It is placed ordinarily in a bush or sapUng from five to
ten feet from the ground, and often so ill-concealed as to be readily seen
from a distance. Occasionally nests are built at much greater heights,
in one instance at least forty feet up. The eggs are three to five, greenish
or bluish, spotted with brown, and average .95 by .67 inches. In the south
the bird is said to rear two broods, but we have little evidence that this is
the case in Michigan, although nests with eggs are sometimes found as
late as mid-July. It is a somewhat remarkable fact, well attested l)y
numerous observers, that the male bird not only incubates, but frequently
utters his full song while sitting on the eggs.
The bird is a beautiful singer, its rich sweet warble somewhat resembling
that of the Robin, but softer, fuller and much more varied. Usually he
remains perched while singing, l)ut occasionally one may be heard warbling
as he flies from tree to tree, and two males often burst into full song
while chasing each other.
The food is varied, and combines factors favorable and unfavorable to
the agriculturist. On first arrival it eats buds very freely and shows
a decided preference for the buds and blossoms of fruit trees. One
will sit singing for half an hour in a cherry tree, gorging himself with cherry
blossoms in the pauses between the songs. Later in the summer he feasts
on green peas and helps himself to cherries and strawberries occasionally,
but not to excess. On the other hand we have no bird which shows such
evident fondness for the potato-bug, and the Rose-breasted Grosbeak has
been seen repeatedly carrying potato-bug larva to its young, and later
escorting the whole family to the field and encouraging them to gather
this food for themselves. It also eats other leaf-feeding beetles, and even
shows a decided relish for these Chrysomelids which so many birds carefully
avoid.
On the whole, considering the bird's beauty, his music, and insect-eating,
we have few species which can make stronger claim for universal protection.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male in spring: Entire head, neck, and back as far as the rump, deef) black; chest,
middle line of breast, axillars and under wing-coverts, bright rose-red; rest of under parts
pure white, sometimes with a few blackish streaks on sides and flanks; rump pure white
(in high plumage sometimes tinted with pink); wings mainly black, with two white wing-
bars and a large white bar or patch across the middle of the ])rimaries; tail black, the three
or four outer pairs of feathers largely white on inner webs; bill white or pinkish; iris brown.
Adult female in spring: Entirely different; upper parts brownish or bufTy gray, streaked
with blackish, the crown often with a distinct median stripe of gray; a whitish stripe from
nostril over eye to nape, bordered below by the brown ear-coverts and a dark stripe behind
them; chin and belly whitish; chest and sides more or less buffy, rarely tinged with salmon
across the chest, always narrowly spotted or streaked witli brown; under wing-coverts
lemon yellow to orange; wings and tail grayish brown, tiie tail with little or no white;
tlie wings with two white bars but with little white on tiie primaries; bill grayish brown.
The adult male in late suminer loses all the black body jilumage and retains only a fraction
of the color on the breast and under wing-coverts, where it is salmon rather than rose.
The deep black and piu-e white of wings and tail arc preserved, however, but the general
appearance is that of the adult female or young male. The young male in autumn is nearly
like the adult male except that the wings and tail are brown like those of the female, and
there is always a rosy or salmon wash on the breast and under tail-co\erts. Afgood colored
536 MICHIGAN L51RU LIFE.
plate showing these plumages will be found in the Auk, Vol. XVI, 1899, facing page 305.
Length 7 to 8.50 inches, wing 3.90 to 4.15, tail 3.25 to 3.55.
Note.^ — For accounts of the Black-headed Grosbeak and tlie Blue Grosbeak, species
of doubtful occurrence in Michigan, see Appendix.
242. Indigo Bird. Passerina cyanea {Linn.). (598)
Synonyms: Indigo Bunting, Indigo Painted Buiiting, Indigo Finch, Blue Finch, Blue
Canary. — Tanagra cyanea, Linn., 1766. — Fringilla cyanea, Wils., Bonap., Aud., Nutt. —
Spiza cj^inea, Jardine. — Cyanospiza cyanea, Baird, 1858, and most writers until 1886. —
Passerina cyanea, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most recent authors.
In full plumage the male appears entirely blue, darkest (almost black)
about the head, lightest (cerulean) on the rump; in reality the wings and tail
are black or dark brown, edged with blue. The female is brown above,
soiled white below, usually with obscure dark streaks on the sides, and the
wing and tail-feathers just perceptibly glossed with blue.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to Kansas, north to New
Brunswick, southern Ontario, and Minnesota; south' in winter to Central
America.
The Indigo Bird is one of the later migrants to arrive in the state, coming
to us at Lansing fi'om the 5th to the 15th of May, a little earlier in the
southei-nmost parts of the state, and perhaps a week later in the Upper
Peninsula. It is widely distributed through the state and with the ex-
ception of Isle Royale, Lake Superior, from which it seems to be absent,
we have yet to hear of a place which it does not visit with some regularity
and frequency. It breeds wherever found, and with us almost invariably
rears two broods. It is not an early breeder, however, and the earliest
nest of which we have record was taken at Kalamazoo, ]\Iay 30, 1886.
Other nests in the same county were June 3, 1876, June 8, 1877 and July
22, 1886, the latter probably a second nest. Dr. Wolcott states that at
Charlevoix it nests from June 1 to August 1, but more commonly about
July 1. We have records also for Kalamazoo county on August 3 and
August 8, and Wood and Frothingham found a pair nesting in Oscoda
county August 16.
After nesting is over the bird becomes scarce and shy, and it is difficult
to say when they start on their southward migration; w^e have no record,
however, of any taken after September 30th.
The bird is a constant singer from the time it arrives until the second
brood is out of the nest, and it sings volubly during the hottest part of the
day, usually selecting the top of some tall tree and repeating its song many
times before it seeks another perch. In spite of its brilliant color it is not
at all conspicuous, and it is surprising how abundant the bird can be without
attracting the attention of the average resident.
The nest is usually built among blackberry bushes, hazel thickets, or in
similar bushy situations, and is seldom more than three or four feet from
the ground. It is bulky and substantial, consisting of grasses and fibrous
material of various kinds, but almost always including a considerable
number of dead leaves, which often completely cover the outside of the nest.
It is lined with rootlets, long hairs, and slender grasses, and usually contains
three or four pale bluish-white or pure white eggs, without any spots.
Perhaps one nest in a hundred will contain one or two eggs which have small
specks of brown on the larger ends. The eggs average .73 by .53 inches.
According to Hoffmann the song "consists often of sets of phrases given
LAND BIRDS. 637
in a high key, then repeated in a shghtly lower key, growing feebler as the
song ends. It resembles the syllables swee-swee-swee, swee-swee (slightly
lower), sweet-sweet-sweet, swe-swe (slightly lower), swee, swee, swee."
This does not suggest the song satisfactorily to the writer, but it is a difficult
song to describe. It is not unlike part of the song of the Goldfinch, which
in turn suggests some canary songs, but that of the Indigo Bird has a ringing,
rollicking quality which is entirely its own. When heard at a distance
it might'be mistaken for that of several other songsters, but when close at
hand it is not to be confounded with anything else.
The food consists mainly of seeds and berries, but a liberal quantity of
insects is added and those often of the most injurious kind. In his study
of an orchard infested with canker-worms, Prof. S. A. Forbes, of Champaign,
111., found that the Indigo Birds were eating the canker-worms more freely
than was their usual habit, not less than 78 percent of the food in some
stomachs consisting of these span-worms, and only 3 percent of seeds.
He also found that they ate freely caterpillars, click-beetles, snout-beetles,
chafers, and bugs of various kinds. Since the bird does absolutely no harm
to the farmer or horticulturist, and feeds so largely upon injurious insects,
it must be regarded as one of our most valuable species and should be
carefully protected.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION,
Adult male: Entire plumage, except wings and tail, rich deep blue, darkest (ultramarine)
on head, neck and breast, lighter (sky-blue or turquoise-blue^i on back and sides; wings and
tail mainly blackish, but with outer webs so glossed with blue that when folded they show
no other color; bill blackish above, lighter below, with a sharp black streak along the keel
of the lower mandible; iris brown. Spring males often show whitish patches on the vmder
parts, or buffy feathers scattered here and there, a proof that many individuals do not
attain full plumage until more than a year old. Aclult female : Upper parts nearly uniform
brown, with faint indications of darker streaks, or none; under parts buffy brown, the throat
and belly lightest (sometimes almost white), the breast and sides darkest and more or less
distinctly streaked with dusky; wings and tail grajash brown, with little trace of light wing-
bars, but the tertiaries usually edged with the light brown of tl)e back; primaries and tail-
feathers usually faintly glossed with blue on their outer webs. Young birds resemble the
adult female, but are somewhat darker, more tliickly streaked below, and have no bluish
edgings on wing and tail-feathers.
Length 4.75 to 5.75 inches; wing 2.60 to 2.80; tail 2.20 to 2.50.
Note. — For an account of the Varied Bunting or Western Nonj^ariel, doubtfully accredited
to Michigan, see Appendix.
243. Black-throated Bunting. Spiza americana {Gmel). (604)
Synonyms: Dickcissel, Little Meatlowlark. — Enibcriza americana, Gmelin, 1789, Wils.,
Nutt., Aud. — Euspiza americana, Bonap., 1S.38, and most American writers until 1880.
— Spiza americana, Ridgvv., 1880, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and all recent authors.
I\Iale a little larger than an English Sparrow, with white chin, black throat,
yellow breast, and chestnut shoulders. The female is smaller and lacks
the black throat patch and brown shoulders.
Distribution. — Eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains, breeding
from Texas north to Massachusetts, New York, southern Ontario, Wisconsin,
Minnesota and North Dakota; south in winter through Central America
to northern South America; southwest in migration to Arizona. Now rare
or entirely absent east of the Alleghanies.
The Black-throated Bunting is one of our most interesting birds, not alone
on account of its beauty, l)ut because it varies greatly in numliers in different
638 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
localities, and in the same locality in different years. Probably it has
always been a resident of the state, yet Dr. Morris Gibbs states that it first
appeared in Kalamazoo county in 1873 or 1874 and increased in numbers
for ten years or more. He states that it was exceedingly abundant there
in 1879, grew noticeably scarcer in the late nineties and was not seen at all
in 1903-04. According to A. B. Covert, of Ann Arbor, it reached Washte-
naw county in the spring of 1877, while at Petersburg, Mich., Jerome
Trombley first mentions it in May 1891. Dr. R. H. Wolcott states that it
was never seen at Grand Rapids until June 1899, at one locality, and a few in
two or three locaUties in 1900. Nevertheless, Mr. W. E. Mulliken states
that although he never saw the bird himself, Mr. A. B. Durfee found it
fairly common in meadows near Grand Rapids previous to 1895. At
Plymouth, Mich., James B. Purdy first found it in the spring of 1891, and
took two nests, ])uilt half way up in tall clover, on June first. He states
that they seemed to increase for a few years, but in 1904 were very scarce.
Previous to 1896 the bird seems to have Ijeen unknown in Ingham county,
but in that year it l)ecame fairly common about the Agricultural College
and a set of four eggs was taken from a nest in a clover field on the College
farm, June 18, 1896, by B. 0. Longyear. It continued to be fairly common
in that vicinity until 1898, since which time few have been seen. Our
northernmost records for the state come from Grand Rapids, and the
southern parts of Ionia and Clinton counties. It seems therefore to be
confined thus far to the four lower tiers of counties and to be most abundant
in the two most southern tiers.
The bird has a similar record in other parts of its range. Many years
ago it was abundant in eastern Pennsylvania, and in Maryland and Virginia
near the District of Columbia, but it seems to have disappeared completely
from these regions. Undoubtedly the species fluctuates remarkably in
numbers from year to year, and there are periods when it seems to be
fairly abundant over large areas, while a few years later it may be very
scarce or entirely wanting in tlie same localities. No plausible explanation
of these variations has ever been given. The bird is far from shy, is con-
spicuously colored, and has the habit of sitting in the same spot on the
top of a bush, tree, fence or telephone pole, and repeating its simple song
hundreds of times in succession. Its bright yellow breast and black throat
patch make it very conspicuous and it is not likely to be overlooked by
l)ird lovers in any region where it occurs in considerable numbers.
Its song consists of five or six notes which are supposed to sound like the
word " dickcissel " with the emphasis on the first syllabic. It is not particu-
larly musical, but is perfectly characteristic.
The nest is built of grasses, weed-stalks and leaves, lined with finer
grasses and hair, and is placed usually in rank clover or among weed.'^ and
coarse grasses within a foot or two of the ground. Occasionally it is built
in a rosebush or other small shrub, ])ut always very low. The eggs are
commonly four, pale clear l)lue, without spots, and average .81 by .61
inches.
The food of the Black-throated Bunting has not been carefully in-
vestigated, so far as we know, but it undoul)tedly eats large quantities of
the common insects found in meadows and shrubby pastures, including a
liberal supply of grasshoppers. Professor Aughey examined the stomachs
of five specimens taken in Nebraska in September 1874 and 1875, and found
the food to consist largely of insects, from 20 to 36 in each stomach (most
of them locusts), together with many seeds. Professor S. A. Forbes
examined eleven specimens taken in an orchard overrun with canker-worms
LAND BIRDS. 539
(Tazewell Co., 111.), and compared the food with that found in twelve
specimens taken here and there in other places. In the latter lot cater-
pillars formed about 20 percent of the food, while in the former 72 percent
consisted of caterpillars, 50 percent being cankerworms, 5 percent other
span-worms, 17 percent cutworms, together with 9 percent of beetles, 7
percent of snails, and a few seeds of pigeon grass \Setaria). Of course
being a typical seed-eater its staple food during a large part of the year
consists of the seeds of weeds and grasses.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Top of head, ear-coverts, and back and sides of neck clear gray or brownish-
gray, the forehead and crown often glossed with greenish-yellow; a yellowish stripe over
the eye, becoming whitish posteriorly, and another but shorter yellow stripe below the ear-
coverts; back brownish-gray, sharply streaked with black; rimip and upper tail-coverts
similar, but without streaks; chin white; throat black, the color often extending down the
middle of the breast; breast (and sometimes belly) yellow in the middle, its sides gi-ayish,
as are the sides of the body and tlic Hanks; belly and under tail-coverts white; lesser and
middle wing-coverts rufous or chest mit, and the inner scapulars often washed with the same
color; wings and tail dusky, edged with brownish-gray; bill dusky above, lighter below,
the sides of lower mandible horn-blue at base; iris brown. Adult female: Similar, but
duller; usually lacking the black throat, or with simply a row of dark streaks on each side;
the light streaks on side of head with little or no trace of yellow, and the yellow of the under
parts fainter and less extensive. Young birds are similar to adult females, but are " every-
where tinged with dull buffy or ochraceous" (Ridgway).
Length 5.75 to fi.SO inches, wing 2.80 to 3..30, tail 2.85 to 2.90.
Family 57. TANGARTD.E. Tanagers.
Of the two species common to the eastern states but one, the Scarlet"
Tanager, has been found in Michigan thus far. The other, the Summer
Tanager, Piranga rubra, is readily separable by its decidedly larger bill,
the culmen measuring more than .75 inch, while that of the Scarlet Tanager
measures less than .75 inch. (See Appendix.)
244. Scarlet Tanager. Piranga erythromelas VieiU. (608)
Synonyms: Conmion Tanager, Red-bird, Black-winged Reil-bird, Summer Red-bird
(as distinct from the Winter Red-bird or Cardinal), Fire-birtl. — Piranga erythromelas,
Vieillot, 1819. — Tanagra rubra, Linn., 1766, Wilson, Nuttall, Audubon. — Pyranga rubra
of most authors until 1886.— Piranga erythromelas, A. (). U. Clieck-list, 1886, and most
subsequent autliors.
Figure 122.
The scarlet head and body, with black wings and tail, belong to no bird
but the male Scarlet Tanager in spring and summer; in autumn the same
bird has olive-green or greenish yellow in place of the red, but keeps the
black wings and tail. The female is always olive-green above and yellowish
below, the wings and tail gi'ayish.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to the Plains, and north to
southern Ontario and Manitoba. In winter the West Indies, eastern
Mexico, Central America and northern South Amoi'ica.
This probably is our most brilliant plumagcd bird and a common summer
resident througliout the state, but ai)par(Mitly most abundant in the Lower
540 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Peninsula, although reported from every point in the Upper
Peninsula (except Isle Royale) where full observations have \^
been made. It arrives in the southern part of the state late
in April or early in May, and from one to three weeks later f "^
in the northern parts of the state. It was reported from Fig 122 Bill
Petersburg April 23, 1886, April 27, 1888, May 1, 1887 and of sca^et Tan-
1891, May 2, 1892 and 1894, May 5, 1897, and May 6, 1893 ^ '
and 1898. From Bay City we have one report for April 16, which is the
earliest record for the state and is probably a mistake, other records from
Bay City ranging from May 2 to May 25.* The arrivals at Lansing fall
between April 26, 1902 and May 7, 1901. There is a single record for
Sault Ste. Marie, May 21, 1900.
The Tanager is looked upon generally as a rare bird, but to one who is
familiar with its robin-like song, and especiall}^ with its characteristic
call-note, described b}' Samuels as "chip-churr," the bird is far from rare.
During the height of the spring migration a good observer may find from
twenty to fifty of these birds in a forenoon's walk, while the writer has
occasionally seen several hundreds in the course of a day. In spite of its
brilliant color the male is far from conspicuous, and it is no uncommon
thing for one to sing for several moments, in full sight and at close range,
without being located. Red and green being complementary colors the
eye often fails to note the spot of deep red in the midst of the green.
The nest is rather loosely constructed of twigs, rootlets and similar fibrous
materials, and is usually placed on the horizontal branch of a forest tree
at some httle distance from the trunk, but ordinarily less than twenty
feet from the ground. Occasionally it is placed close against the trunk,
and more rarely still in the upright fork of a small tree. The eggs are three
to five, blue green spotted with brown and purple, and average .94 by .65
inches. They are most often found during the first two weeks of June,
but we have records from Kalamazoo county, by R. B. Westnedge, from
May 29 (1891) to June 21 (1888), and R. H. Wolcott records one nest
(presumably at Grand Rapids) as early as May 12. No doubt a second
brood is reared occasionally, since young just able to fly are frequently
seen late in July or early in August, and occasional males, still in their
scarlet plumage, are found singing until the very last of August.
As soon as the young are able to care for themselves the male moults his
red plumage and assumes very nearly the dress of the female and in this
plumage he moves southward, moulting again during the late winter and
early spring, and returning to us in the familiar red and black plumage.
At all times the bird appears to prefer oak woods in the neighborhood of
swamps, but during migration it may be found in woodlands of any
character. Probably the nest is most often placed in oak trees, but one
correspondent states that he has alwaj^s found the nest in pines, another
has found it in a hemlock and Dr. Wolcott found it in tamaracks.
The Scarlet Tanager lingers with us well into September, 0. B. Warren
recording one at Palmer, ^larciuette county, September 11, 1893, and
Mr. Swales' latest record at Detroit being October 2, 1893. Probably
as a rule most of them have left the state by the 20th of September.
The song at once suggests that of the Robin, but usually has a certain
hoarseness and a nasal character which at once serves to distinguish it.
There is much individual variation among the singers and occasionally
one is heard which far surpasses the rest. Bicknell states that "contrary
*\'ery possibly this rfcord is based on the Cardinal.
LAND BIRDS. 541
to what is true of the Robin and some other birds cool wet weather seems to
discourage singing and often on those sultry summer mornings which
betoken the hottest days its song in full richness may be heard, though
most of the other birds be silenced" (Auk, I, 326).
This bird combines the food habits of flycatcher and finch, for it eats
immense quantities of insects, many of which are captured on the wing,
while it also eats seeds freely and is very fond of wild berries and small
fruits, though we have never heard any complaint of injury to cultivated
fruit. Most of its food is obtained from the trees, and it is rarely seen on
the ground except when getting nesting material. Professor Aughey
records the capture of a Scarlet Tanager, in Nebraska in 1874, ''which had
37 locusts in its craw and nothing else that I could identify."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Cutting edge of upper mandible with a tooth-like projection near middle. Adult male
in sunnner: Entire head and body, above and below, bright blood red, the feathers
whitish beneath the surface; wings and tail clear deep black, without light markings of any-
kind; bill greenish-black; iris brown. Adult female in summer: Upper parts plain olive-
green; under parts greenish yellow, brightest on throat and under tail-coverts, duller on
breast and sides; wings and tail plain dark gray or dusky, most of the feathers shaded on
the exposed edges with olive-green; bill greenish or dusky; iris brown. In autumn the
male resembles the female in the body color, but retains "the black wings and tail of the
breeding season, althougli many of the wing and tail-feathers are narrowly edged with
gray or greenish. The adult female is essentially the same in fall as in summer, and the
young in autumn resemble the adult female, but just after leaving the nest they are streaked
with dusky on the under parts.
Length 6.50 to 7. .50 inches; wing 3.55 to 3.90; tail 2.80 to 3.25; culmen .55 to .60.
Family 58. HIRUNDINID/E. Swallows.
Six s[)ecies occur in Michigan, separable as follows:
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Large, wing over 5^ inches. — Purple Martin. No. 245.
AA. Smaller, wing less than 5 inches. B, BB.
B. Tail deeply forked, some of the tail-feathers with large round white
spots. Barn Swallow. No. 247.
BB. Tail slightly forked or nearly emarginate, its feathers without
white spots. C, CC.
C. Forehead cream-white, rump chestnut or rufous. Cliff Swallow.
No. 246.
CC. Forehead not cream-white, rump not rufous. D, DD.
D. Upper parts metallic blue-green, under parts snow white.
Tree Swallow. No. 248.
DD. Upper parts brownish-gray, not metallic, under parts
not all white. E, EE.
E. Throat and belly pure white, a brownish gray band
across the chest, edge of first primary smooth.
Bank Swallow, No. 249.
EE. Throat and breast uniform light brownish gray, only
belly and under tail-coverts pure white; edge
of first primary rough. Rough-winged Swallow.
No. 250.
(Note.— The so-called Chimney Swallow is not a swallow but a swift.
See page 381.)
542 MICHIGAN I'ARl) J.IFE.
245. Purple Martin. Progne subis subis (Linn.). (611)
Synonyms: Martin, Black Martin, House Martin. — Hirundo subis, Linn., 1758. —
Hirundo puriJurea, Wils., Autl., Nutt. — Progne subis, Baird, Allen, Coues, and most
authors.
Figure 123.
Largest of our swallows; tail moderately forked. Sexes unlike. Male
entirely dark steel-blue except wings and tail which are brownish black
without metallic reflections. Female similar above, but duller; under
parts grayish or brownish white.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, north to Ontario and the
Saskatchewan, south to the higher parts of Mexico, wintering in northern
South America.
This species is too well known to need any extended description, being
a familiar bird in nearly every city and village of the state, nesting about
the cornices of city blocks, in boxes or bird houses
especially provided for it, or less commonly in wood-
peckers' holes or other cavities in dead trees. It has
constant quarrels with the English Sparrow and in
many instances is known to have been driven from its
(piarters by these vandals, although it not infrequently
defends its home successfully against them.
In southern Michigan the Martin arrives from the
south in April, sometimes as early as the first (Peters-
I)urg 1890, Bay City April 2, 1897), more often between
the 10th and 20th of the month, but sometimes not r^.^-^ of ^Purple Martin
until the very last of the month or even the first of
May. Careful study of the migration of this species might settle some
interesting points as to the migration routes in the state. It was
recorded at Palmer, Marquette county. May 28, 1897, and at the
Sault May 23, 1899. It is one of the first of our swallows to move south-
ward in autumn, usually disappearing about the middle of August and rarely
seen as late as September 1. It thus precedes the Bank Swallow, Barn
Swallow and Cliff Swallow by one or two weeks, and the White-bellied
Swallow by a month or more.
Ordinarily Martins migrate Ijy day and Prof. Fruidv Smith obsci'ved
them in August 1905, at Macatawa Park. Ottawa county, moving southward
in immense numljers. He writes "On August 15, 1905 there was a very
extensive movement of Purple Martins southward over a strip of territory
about one-half mile in width along the shore of Lake Michigan. I counted
for three to five minute periods at several different times and found that an
average of nearly forty Martins per minute were passing over. I went to
Holland, seven miles inland, about 11 a. m. and saw almost no Martins,
although watching continuously one and one-half hours (four birds only).
They were as al)undant as ever on my return to the Lake, 237 passing in
five and one-half minutes." There is one record of Martins migrating at
night, when they were heard and seen (against the moon) on the night of
August 8, at Waterville, Me., and from the fact that first ai-rivals in spring
are as often noted early in the morning as toward night it seems probable
that they not infrequently travel at night.
Martins are among our most beneficial birds, their food consisting almost
LAND BIRDS. 543
entirely of insects, which usually are captured on the wing, although we have
frequently seen them alighting on the tops of elms and other high trees
where they were evidently picking small insects from the leaves. In one
case (July, 1906), through a field glass it was easily seen that the leaves
had been eaten by some larva, either caterpillar or beetle, which the birds
evidently were eating, but we were not able to determine the kind. The
Martin is often accused of eating honey bees and Wilson states that its
food differs markedly from that of other swallows in that it consists largely
of wasps, bees and large beetles. Being the largest of our swallows it very
naturally eats larger insects than would a Barn Swallow or a Bank Swallow,
but we know of no reason to suppose that it eats honey bees or other large
hymenoptera. Professor Aughey states that in Nebraska it feeds on
locusts at all stages of growth, and more generally than any other swallow.
In its flight it probably excels all our swallows, if not all other species.
We do not know that exact measurements of its speed have ever been made,
but it often goes several miles from its nest for food and when returning
directly it flies with amazing velocity. The Chimney Swift is credited
with great speed, but in comparison with the Martin it is ridiculously slow.
It is a common belief among country people that the Martin brings
bed-bugs to its nesting places, and that in this way houses and barns become
infested. The only foundation for this belief lies in the fact that a peculiar
bug, belonging to the same family as the bed-bug, does infest Martins'
nests and is doubtless carried from place to place by the birds. This
insect, however, is not the bed-bug and cannot live on other animals than
swallows. There is therefore no danger whatever of its infesting dwelling
houses.
Although this species arrives from the south very early it does not
ordinarily nest before the latter part of May or the first of June. Not
infrequently the young in the earlier nests perish for lack of food during
cold and rainy spells and in such cases second broods are often reared. The
young are seen with the parents through July and remain about the nest-
ing places until within a few days of their departure for the south. The
nest consists of leaves (often of willow), grasses and similar soft materials,
but not infrequently considerable mud is used as a foundation, or in some
cases as a barricade about the opening to the nest. The eggs are three to
five, pure white, unspotted, and average .97 by .72 inches.
In Butler's Birds of Indiana (1897, p. 991) the statement is made that
the Purple Martin ''migrates from tropical America both north and south,
breeding in the Argentine Republic as naturally as it does with us." This
statement we know to be entirely incorrect. Possibly a few of our Purple
Martins may cross the equator during the winter, but if so, they do not
breed in the southern hemisphere. An allied species, Progne eleqans,,
Baird, is found over a considerable part of southern South America, nesting
in Argentina and Patagonia and moving northward toward the equator
for the winter season, but this l)ird is distinct from our Purple Martin,
although it resembles it somewhat closely. So far as we know it has not
yet been proved that any species of American bird which nests in the
United States ever passes south of the equator to nest, or even that any
species of bird nests both in the north temperate and south temperate
zones.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Largest of our swallows; wing nearly six inches; tail decidedly forked, the outer feathers
half an inch or more longer than the middle ones.
544 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Adult male: Glossy blue-black or steel blue above and IjoIow; wings black, witli less
blue gloss; bill and feet plain black; iris brown. Adult female: Similar, but the glossy
blue-black above not so brilliant or continuous; usually a distinct grayish collar on the
hind-neck; under parts grayish or grayish white, darker (almost dusky) on throat, chest
and sides, lighter on belly and under tail-coverts, where many feathers have narrow dusky
shaft-lines; wings brownish-black; bill and feet as in male. The fully adult plumage is
not acquired until the second or tliird year, and many males are found breeding while in
a plumage very much like that of the adult female, but usually with scattering patches
of blue-black feathers.
Length 7.25 to 8.50 inches; wing 5.G5 to G.20; tail 3 to 3.40.
246. Clif¥ Swallow. Petrochelidon lunifrons lunifrons (Say). (612)
Synonyms: Eave Swallow, Jug Swallow, Barn Swallow, Mud Swallow. — Hirundo
lunifrons, Say, 1823. — Hirundo fulva, Bonap., Aud., Nutt. — Petrochelidon Imiifrons of
most autiiors.
Recognizable at a glance by the white or cream colored crescent on the
forehead (whence the specific name Imiifrons) and the cinnamon rump,
the latter a conspicuous mark when flying. Sexes alike. The tail slightly
emarginate, almost square.
Distribution. — North America, north to the limit of trees, breeding south
to the valleys of the Potomac and the Ohio, southern Texas, southern
Arizona, and California; Central and South America in winter.
This beautiful swallow, although not as well known as the true Barn
Swallow, is yet generally distributed throughout the state and nests abund-
antly wherever suitable conditions obtain. In some cases it is known as
the Barn Swallow, being more abundant than the true Barn Swallow,
and placing its globe-shaped or flask-shaped nests in a long row under
the eaves on the outside of the barn. Formerly the bird is known
to have placed its nest on rocky cliffs and in certain parts of the
west it still does so commonly, and we have one record of such nest-
ing for Michigan. Max M. Peet thus describes a nesting colony on
Isle Roy ale: "The Cliff Swallow was only found at one place on the
island, at Scovill Point, on July 19, 1905, where a number of nests were
found placed on the bare face of the rocks. They were above the reach
of the waves and were usually protected above by shelving of rock. The
nests were composed of mucl and lined with feathers but could not be
examined closely. Probably they contained young, as the old birds con-
tinually flew to the nests and then away again, chattering all the time"
(Adams' Rep., Mich. Geol. Surv., 1908, 369). According to Kumlien and
Hollister "in 1845 it was nesting abundantly on the cliffs of Devil's Lake
[Wis.], and twenty years ago was still breeding there in less numbers, and
more about farm houses than on the cliffs. At the present day it has
almost entirely deserted the cliffs in Wisconsin, and has gradually spread
over all the unsettled parts of the State." In 1877 Professor Aughey
counted 2,100 nests of this bird on the sides of a perpendicular chalk rock
on the bank of the ]\Iissouri river near Niobrara, Nebraska.
About the larger cities and towns in Michigan the English SparroAv has
been a potent factor in reducing the numbers of Cliff Swallows. The
mud nests of swallows form convenient receptacles for the eggs of Sparrows
and they often take possession of the nests and drive the swallows away
entirely. In some cases a colony of Cliff Swallows will return year after
year to the same nesting place in undiminished numbers, but more often
they disappear after a few years and then after an absence of several years
LAND BIRDS. 545
niay return again. During prolonged rainy si)ells the mud nests are
likely to become loosened from the boards to which they are attached and
not infrequently a hundred nests fall to the ground within a few days.
After such a catastrophe the owners are very likely to seek a new nesting
place. Ordinarily the nest is nearly globular, the entrance being a round
hole at or a little below the middle, the nest itself consisting mainly of
rounded pellets of mud mixed with very little fibrous material, sometimes
with a few straws and grass roots. The typical nest is flask-shaped or
retort shaped, the entrance being through a cylindrical or tubular neck,
often three or four inches in length. Sometimes these nests are placed
side by side and so close as to adhere firmly together, but often little inter-
vals are left and here little platforms of mud are built where the old birds
or the young may rest if so disposed.
The food of this species does not differ noticeal)ly from that of the other
swallows, although it has not been observed so frequently feeding on bay-
berries as some of the others. Its usual food consists entirely of insects
taken on the wing. These are largely two- winged (dipterous) insects,
but immense quantities of beetles and neuropteroid insects are also taken.
The Cliff Swallow arrives from the south at al^out the same time as the
Barn Swallow, that is from the middle of April to the 10th of May, accord-
ing to latitude, and moves southward again during the latter half of August,
the last usually disappearing soon after the first of September, We have
i-ecords of fresh eggs from Kalamazoo county June 4, 1883 and June 13,
1886, and from Ottawa county May 23 and 24, 1879. The eggs are three
to five, white, rather coarsely speckled with brown and lilac, and average
.81 by .55 inches. They are not with certainty separable from eggs of the
Barn Swallow, but as a rule are more coarsely spotted.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tail with tip emarginate or slightly forked.
Adult (sexes alike): Forehead white or grayish-white; top of head glossy blue-black;
middle and lower back glossy blue-black, more or less streaked with pure white; hind-neck
with a grayish collar; rump cinnamon or reddish-buff; upper tail-coverts brownish-gray;
cliin, sides of head and most of throat rich, dark chestnut, often extending aromid the neck
as a narrow collar (in front of the gray one), and spreading more or less over the chest;
middle of throat with a patch of blue-black, very variable in extent, sometimes covering
most of the throat, sometimes forming only a small spot; breast and sides grayish-brown
or reddish-brown; belly white; under tail coverts mottled dusky and white; wings and tail
plain dusky or brownish-black; bill and feet black; iris brown. Young: Little or no cliest-
nut about the head and throat, and all the glossy blue-black replaced with dull blackisli;
throat mixed with dusky and wliitish; tertiaries and upper tail-coverts edged witii rusty
or buff.
Length 5 to 6 inches; wing 1.05 to 4.55; tail 2 to 2.20.
247. Barn Swallow. Hirundo erythrogastra Badd. (613)
Synonyms: American Barn Swallow, Barn-loft Swallow, Fork-taileil Swallow. —
llirundo erythrogaster, liodctert, 1783. — H. erytlnogastra, Sclater, 1862. — Chelidon
erythrogaster, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886.— Hirundo horreorum, Bart., 1799, Baird, 1858,
and many authors.
Plate LV and Fiffurc 12^.
Sexes nearly alike. The deeply forked tail (whence the common expres-
sion "swallow-tail"), the slender outer feather being about twice as long
546 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
as the middle one, is characteristic. This is also our oidy swallow with
conspicuous white spots in the tail.
Distribution. — North America in general, breeding from the Fur Countries
south into Mexico; visits the West Indies in migration, and winters in
Central America and South America.
The Barn Swallow arrives in the latitude of Lansing from about April
20 to May 5, reaching Petersburg, Monroe county, a week or ten days
earlier, and points in the Upper Peninsula ten days or
two weeks later. Mr. Swales' earliest record near
Detroit is April 10, 1899, and his latest April 29, 1900.
It was last seen there in the fall on September 29, 1893;
this, however, is an unusually late date, most of the
Barn Swallows leaving the state before the middle of
September.
This species on its arrival at once frec^uents its old
nesting places and may be seen gathering insects about
the farm buildings and over the neighboring fields with
characteristic ease and grace. No bird is better known p. ^^^
to the farmer or better loved by the average country TaU of Barn's wallow,
dweller. With absolutely no bad habits, beheved to
subsist entirely upon winged insects, and always graceful, beautiful and
musical, the bird has few rivals in the affections of the real nature lover.
The twitter of swallows is one of the characteristic sounds of the farm, and
nothing can be pleasanter than the sight of a score or more of these graceful
birds passing in and out through the gable window of an old barn while
feeding their young or their mates sitting on the nests plastered against
the rafters within.
The Barn Swallow almost invariably places its nest on the inside of some
weather-proof building, and the great majority of nests are placed inside
barns. Other buildings, however, are frequently used, especially boat-
houses, and in New England the long covered bridges which span some of
the streams, and the rows of horse-sheds which stand near every old country
church, afford suitable places for the nests. Along the lake shores of Mich-
igan the Barn Swallow frequently nests beneath the piers, placing its nests
.against the stringers and cross-beams, or between the timbers and flooring,
often within a couple of feet of the water. This, however, appears to be
a safe place, especially if the space between the timbers and the water is
too low to allow small boats to pass through. Mr. Dawson has recorded
one instance of Barn Swallows nesting on ledges in a small cave of a cliff,
near Lake Chelan, Washington, and Peet cites a similar case at Menagerie
Island, near Isle Royale, Lake Superior.
The nest is made of pellets of mud, mixed with a considerable amount of
grass or straw, and well lined with fine grass and an abundance of feathers.
The eggs are three to five, white, speckled with brown and purplish, the
spots usually finer and more numerous than those on the eggs of the Cliff
Swallow. They average .77 by .54 inches. First nests are built in the
southern part of the state during the second or third week in May, and a
week or two later in the northern counties. Two broods are always reared,
and according to some observers even a third brood is occasionally
attempted.
The food, as already intimated, consists mainly of insects captured on
the wing; in fact during the nesting season no other food appears to be
taken. During August and September, however, when the swallows gather
Plate LV. Barn Swallow.
From Farmers' Bulletin No. 54.
Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Agriculture.
LAND BIRDS. 549
into immense flocks and prepare for their southward journey, they are
very fond of the berries of the wax-berry, bay-berry or wax-myrtle (Myrica
cerifera), and along the Atlantic coast may be seen by thousands, in com-
pany with equal numbers of several other species, alighting on the low
bushes and gorging themselves with the nutritious berries. In Michigan this
berry is confined to the immediate shores of the great lakes and appears
to be abundant only in a few places, so that doubtless most of our swallows
pass southward without any of this food. It is not improbable, however,
that they occasionally eat other seeds and berries. Like most other
swallows this species appears to migrate mainly by day and has the habit
of gathering in immense flocks for several days before taking its final
departure.
Mr. Bicknell gives the following notes on the song of the Barn Sw\allow:
"An almost universal misconception regards the swallows as a tribe of
songless birds. But the Barn Swallow has as true claims to song as many
species of long established recognition as song-birds. Its song is a low
chattering trill, suggestive of that of the Long-billed Marsh Wren, but
often terminating with a clear liquid note with an accent of interrogation,
not unlike one of the notes of the Canary. This song is wholly distinct
from the quick, double-syllabled note which so constrantly escapes the
bird during flight; nor is it, as may be supposed, produced by the com-
mingling of the notes of many individuals in a species highly gregarious.
I have heard it repeated many times from single birds, often when they
were perched alone on telegraph wires. It is also uttered during flight,
and continues into August" (Auk, Vol. I, 325).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tail deeply forked, the outer feathers very narrow toward the tip and 1.50 to 2 inches
longer than the middle feathers.
Adult (sexes nearly alike): Forehead deep rusty or chestnut; rest of upper parts, in-
cluding wing and tail coverts, deep glossy steel-blue; chin and tliroat rusty brown or chest-
nut; sides of neck and breast blue-black or plain black, bounding the chestnut neck at
the sides and often extending across the breast below it in a collar or breast-band; rest of
under joarts buffy or pale rusty brown, deeper in the male, paler in the female; wings black;
without white markings; tail black or greenish-black, each feather with a large pure white
spot on the middle of the inner web ; bill black ; feet brownish ; iris brown. Young : Similar
to adults, but much paler below, especially on chin and throat; the chestnut forehead
wanting or indistinct; the upper parts dull black, with little gloss; the tail nuich less deeply
forked.
Lengtli r^.l'j to 7.7.") iiiclu-s; wing kC.O to 4.90; (nil ;{.7() to 1.10.
248. Tree Swallow. Iridoprocne bicolor {VicilL). (614)
Synonyms: White-breasted Swallow, Blue-backed Swallow, White-bellied Swallow,
Stump Swallow, Eave Swallow.- ITiruudo bicolor, Vieill., 1S07. — Tachycineta bicolor,
iiouap., Allen, A. (). V. Chock-list, ISSO. Iridoprocne l)icoior, Coues, 1SS2.
Figures 125, 126.
Jirilliant metallic blue-gi-een above, snow-white below, with dark wings
and tail, the latter moderately forked. Sexes alike.
Distribution. — North America at large, In-eeding from the Fur Countries
south to New Jersey, the Ohio Valley, Kansas and Colorado, etc. ; wintering
from South Carolina and the Culf" States southward to the West Indies
and Cuatenuila.
'550 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
This probably is our most abundant and uniformily distributed swallow,
although perhaps not as well known as the Barn Swallow. It is the earliest
of our swallows to arrive from
the south and the last to leave
in the fall. Not infrequently
considerable numbers arrive late
in March, and flocks are almost ^e
invariably seen in October, often
quite late in the month. Mr,
Swales recorded a few unusually
early birds near Detroit March
27, 1901, and has seen them in
the same vicinity as late as
October 18, 1890. Mr. L.
Whitney Watkins recorded them ^^
as still present in flocks at
Manchester, Washtenaw county, ^ ^ . , ^ ^*^- ^^s. Tree Swallow
^ , , -V. -,r^r,< /-v 1- M From Baird, Brewer &Ridgways North American Birds,
on October 24, 1904. Ordjnardy Little, Brown & Co.
it appears in the southern tier
of counties from the 1st to the 15th of April and reaches the Upper Peninsula
before the end of the month. Both in spring and fall it moves commonly
in large flocks and especially in the fall these reach an immense size, num-
bering at least several thousand individuals.
The White-bellied Swallow is found all over the state and doubtless
nests in favorable places in every county, but rather less plentifully in the
southern part of the state. Before the settlement of the country it probably
nested altogether in woodpeckers' holes and hollow stumps, and it still
uses such places very freely, this fact giving rise to the names Tree Swallow
and Stump Swallow. But it also nests freely in boxes prepared for it,
and often uses cavities about the eaves and cornices of buildings, which
has given the name Eave Swallow in many localities. The nest rarely
if ever contains mud in its composition, but is built of grasses, leaves, and
similar fibrous materials, and plentifully lined with feathers, and according
to several observers a decided preference for white feathers is shown.
The eggs are three to six, pure white, unspotted, and average .75 by .52
inches. Two broods are often reared in a season, the first eggs being-
laid early in May in the southern part of the state, and the second set late
in June.
As with other swallows the food consists almost entirely of winged insects
and the bird is decidedly beneficial to the farmer. Often on its first arrival
in spring it would seem impossible that it could find suffi-
cient insects to keep it alive, but we have seen it repeat- ' '^^^^k^.
edly catching stone-flies (Perlidoe) when the mercury was -^^^y^
only two or three degrees above freezing, and during these ^^.^ ^^^^
cold spells it is often seen to pick insects from the surface Head of Tree"swaiiow.
of the snow, or from twigs, fences and sides of buildings.
It winters regularly in the south, in immense numbers, and one of its staple
foods there is the berries of the wax-myrtle or bayberry (Myrica), with
which its stomach is often found crammed. In spite of its hardiness it
is frequently overtaken by cold waves and heavy storms and sometimes
perishes in vast numbers. Such a catastrophe overtook the species in
Florida in February 1895, when doubtless hundreds of thousands perished.
This will be remcm]:)erod as the season which destroyed such a largo part
LAND BIRDS. 551
of the orange groves of Florida and caused the death of myriads of birds
Ijelonging to many different species.
According to Bicknell "The song is hardly more than a chatter, and is
heard as late in the year as the bird is with us. Its ordinary notes are less
sharp and rapid than those of the Barn Swallow."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tail emarginate or slightly forked, the outer feather not half an inch longer than the
middle pair.
Adult .(sexes alike) : Entire upper parts (except wings and tail) deep metallic steel- '
blue, varying to blue-green; entire under parts pure white, except that the blue of the back
sometimes encroaches on the sides of the breast just in front of the bend of the wing; wings
and tail clear black, or with faint greenish reflections, without white markings; bill and
feet black; iris brown. Adult female usually just like the male, sometimes duller. Adults
in late autumn and winter have the tertiaries edged with clear white. Young: Slaty
or brownish black above, without metallic gloss; under parts often grayish white.
Length 5 to 6.25 inches; wing 4.50 to 4.80; tail 2.30 to 2.50.
249. Bank Swallow. Riparia riparia (Linn.). (616)
Synonyms: Sand Swallow, Sand Martin, Bank Martin. — Hirundo riparia, Linn., 1758,
Wils., Nutt., Aud. — Cotyle riparia, Bonap., 1838. — Cotile riparia, Boie, 1822, and many
subsequent writers. — Clivicola riparia, Stejn., 1882, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886. — Riparia
riparia, Jordan, 1884.
Figure 127.
Smallest of our swallows; sexes alike. Brownish gray above, without
any metallic luster; below pure white, except for a brownish-gray band
across the chest and often a central spot of the same color just back of this
band. Tail slightly emarginate — hardly forked. (Fig. 127).
Distribution. — Northern Hemisphere; in America, south to the West
Indies, Central America, northern South America; breeding from the
middle districts of the United States northward to about the limit of trees.
This well known little swallow is abundant throughout the state and is
constantly to be seen about its nesting places in sand banks from the time
of its arrival late in April until its departure in Septem-
ber. Apparently it rears but one brood each summer,
l)ut it is subject to many troubles and undoubtedly
many pairs are compelled to make several attempts
before they succeed in rearing a family, so that occupied
burrows may be found frerj[uently as late as the middle
of July, although young are on the wing by the first of
that month. While this species seems to have a ^''^- ^-J
preference for the borders of streams, lakes and other Ta.i of Bank swaiiow.
l)odies of water, yet it often selects for a nesting place a railroad cut or
sand pit a long distance from any water, but in such cases it runs the risk
in dry seasons of being unable to supply its young with a sufficient
amount of food.
Its nests are placed in burrows in sand banks, these burrows being
usually at some distance from the foot of the bank, often only one or two
feet from the top. They may be straight, elbowed to right or left, or curved,
but the entrance is usually lower than the inner end, and although the eggs
are sometimes laid on the bare sand, there is oftener a more or less elaborate
nest of grasses, leaves and feathers. The eggs are three to six, pure
552 MICHIGAN lURD LIKE.
white, unspotted, and average .70 by .49 inches. Occasional!}' the bird
selects a bank of gravel or clay, and one or two instances have been recorded
in which it has nested in banks of sawdust.* On June 6, 1902 the writer
saw from the train large numbers of Bank Swallows about sawdust piles at
Otsego Lake, Otsego county, Mich., and as there were numerous holes in
the vertical sides of these sawdust heaps it seems probable that they were
nesting there, but it was impracticable to stop and investigate. Mr. E. S.
Rolfe found them nesting abundantly in North Dakota in the walls of an
abandoned dry well about fifteen feet deep. He. states that the per-
pendicular clay walls were honeycombed with the nesting holes (Nidiologist,
III, 96).
The food does not differ appreciably from that of the preceding species
with which it often associates.
The Bank Swallow is of particular interest from the fact that it is common
to both the Old and the New World, our common bird being identical
with the Sand Martin of Great Britain, Scandinavia and northern Asia,
and in the latter places it nests almost or quite to the Arctic circle.
Dr. Gibbs and one or two other observers state that in their experience
the Bank Swallow's nesting burrows are not cylindrical, the openings being
more or less flattened ovals instead of true circles, while in the Rough-
winged Swallow the holes are said to be invariably circular. We have
not been able to verify this statement, in fact we have seen burrows of both
species which were perfectly cylindrical, although we have also seen many
of the Bank Swallows' which have oval entrances.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tail emarginate or slightly forked, the outer feather about one-fourth inch longer tlian
the mitklle pair.
Adult (sexes alike) : Upper parts nearly uniform brownish-gray, a little darker on top
of head; a brownish gray band across the chest, and extending along the sides somewhat;
rest of imder parts pure white; wings and tail blackish, without white markings, the
tertiaries brownish-gray like the huck; l>ill and feet dusky; iris l)rown. Young: Similar,
but the wing and tail coverts and most of the secondniics ;iiid tertiaries with buffy or
whitish edgings.
Length 4.75 to 5.50; wing 3.70 to 4.25; tail 2.10 to 2.25.
250. Rough-winged Swallow. Stelgidopteryx serripennis (Aud.). (617)
Synonyms: Bridge Swallow. — Ilinnido serripennis, Audubon, 1838. — Cotyle serri-
pennis, Cassin, Sclater, and others. — Stelgidopteryx serripennis of most authors.
With the adult bird in hand one need only stroke the outer edge of the
wing to feel the rough barbs of the first primary, which gives the bird its
name. In size and color it closely resembles the Bank Swallow, but is
uniform brownish-gray on throat and breast, only becoming white on the
belly and under tail-coverts. There is thus no brownish chest band.
Distribution. — United States at large, north to Connecticut, southern
Ontario, southern Montana and British Columbia, and south through
Mexico and Costa Rica. Breeds throughout its United States range and
south into Mexico.
In Michigan the Rough-winged Swallow appears to be less common
than any other species. That it is really more abundant than it seems is
highly probable, yet the fact remains that it has been noted at very few
^* Franconia, N. H., Auk, XX, p. 4.36.
LAND BIRDS. 553
points outside the southern fourth of the state. It arrives from the south
at about the same time as the Bank Swallow, possibly a little later, and
departs in autumn somewhat earlier, probably between the middle and
last of August.
Its close resemblance to the Bank Swallow has doubtless prevented its
recognition in many places, yet in spite of everything we cannot suppose
that it is abundant anywhere. Mr. Swales stated in 1904 that he knew
of but one breeding resort in southeastern Michigan, where a few pairs
occupied a sand bluff in connection with Bank Swallows. During the
past few years, however, both Swales and Taverner have found this species
fairly common in different places in Wayne and Monroe counties. Mr.
Taverner wrote in 1908: "I have found the Rough-winged Swallow
surprisingly common lately. I suppose that heretofoi'e it has been over-
looked, but now that I can pick it out I am finding it in several places."
Dr. Wolcott found it breeding in small numbers in crevices in a brick block,
in Grand Rapids, by the river. We have one specimen in the college collec-
tion which was taken in Barry county, and we have a set of five eggs taken
at Kalamazoo June 9, 1888. Two pairs were found buildings nests in the
bank of the Red Cedar river on the College campus, Ingham county, May 7,
1905, but they were disturbed by the dumping of rubbish over the bank
and abandoned the place. Swallows had nested regularly in this bank
for several years previously, but no specimens were taken and they may
have been Bank Swallows. Mr. S. E. White found a single specimen dead,
in July 1890, at Mackinac Island, and this appears to be the northernmost
record for the state.
In Wisconsin it appears to l)e abundant, since it is stated to l)e the
common breeding liank swallow which is found scattered over most of the
state. " It is usually found nesting in single pairs, or not more than two to
four pairs in a single bank; whereas the bank Swallow nests in large
colonies."* Aside from the color differences given above several points
are useful in discriminating between the two species. The Rough-wings
often nest in crevices in masonry, for example, in holes in a brick wall
or in the chinks of a bridge pier, and when they nest in a sand bank or clay
bank rarely more than three or four nests are found in the same bank.
Sometimes a few pairs nest with a large colony of Bank Swallows, and in
this case their burrows, according to Butler, f are likely to be placed singly
and a little apart from the others. The Rough-wings are also said to build
much better nests than the Bank Swallows and their flight is slower and
more even, with fewer twists and zigzags, and more gliding and sailing.
The eggs are three to six, pure white, unspotted and average .72 by .51
inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION,
Tiiil cinarginate or sliglitly forked, the outer feather not more than one-fourth incli loniior
than the middle pair; adult always with outer edge of outer primary rougliened by the
recurved and hooked tips of the barbs.
Adult (sexes alike): Upper parts uniform grayish brown; wings and tail a darker shade
of the same, sometimes nearly blackish toward the tips of the feathers; tertiaries often
edged with lighter gray; chin, throat, breast and sides light brownish-gray; belly and under
tail-coverts white; bill and feet blackish; iris brown. Young: Similar to adult, but whole
])liiiu;igc more or less washed with brownish, the tertiaries and seconilarios tipped and
edgcil with pale reddish-brown or ciimamon.
Length 5 to 5.75 inches; wing 4 to 4.70; tail 2.05 to 2.35.
♦Kumlien & Hollister, Birds of Wisconsin, p. 100.
t Birds of Indiana, 1897, p. 999.
554 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Family 59. BOMBYClLLID.'l^:. Waxwings.
Birds of this family may be recognized at a glance
by the prevailing oliVe plumage, the strongly crested
head, and the dark tail, every feather of which is tipped
with bright yellow.
We have but two species, readily separated as follows:
A. Larger, wing over four inches with a conspicuous white
bar; under tail-coverts rich chestnut. Bohemian
Waxwing. No. 251.
A A. Smaller, wing less than four inches and without
any white; under tail-coverts white or yellowish. Fig. 129. Head and
Cedar-bird. No. 252. biiiofCedarbirds.
251. Bohemian Waxwing. Bomby cilia garrula (Linn.). (618)
Synonyms: Northern Waxwing, Big Waxwing, Bohemian Chatterer. — Lanius garrulus,
Linn., 1758. — Ampelis garrulus Linn., 1766, and most authors. — Bombyoilla garrula,
Vieill., 1817, Bonap., Aud., Nuttall.
Resembles a very large Cedar-bird, but in addition to most of the
peculiarities of those birds the Bohemian Waxwing has always two or more
conspicuous white patches on the wings and often also bright 3'ellow tips
on some wing-feathei'S.
Distribution. — Northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. In North
America south in winter irregularly to Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kansas,
southern Colorado and northern California. Breeds north of the United
States.
The Bohemian Waxwing is an irregular winter visitor in Michigan,
coming from the far north in flocks of varying size and most often appearing
in the latter part of the winter. So far as we can learn it has never been
abundant, but small flocks have been recorded here and there at con-
siderable intervals, and single specimens are found in local collections in
various parts of the state. No doubt the common Cedar-bird is often
mistaken for this species, the impression being quite general among careless
observers that the Cedar-bird is not found in Michigan in winter and that
any waxwing seen must be the Bohemian.
We have a specimen in the College collection taken on the College campus
previous to 1894, but the exact date not obtainable. Very likely it was
taken in the winter of 1879-80, when this species appeared in some numbers
in most of the northern states, including New York, Michigan, Illinois
and Indiana. In Illinois a specimen was taken by Prof. S. A. Forbes (Dec.
l-S, 1879) at Villa Ridge, Pulaski county, in about latitude 37 degrees, the
most southern record for the United States. Mr. Hazelwood includes it
in his Port Huron list (manuscript, 1904), but calls it very rare. Major
A. H. Boies found it on Neebish Island, in the St. Mary's River, and we
have a specimen taken there by him, November 15, 1896. Covert records
the capture of two males and a female at Ann Arbor on December 12,
1869. Judge Steere states that it occurs occasionally at Sault Ste. Marie
in winter, the last date given being 1885. It occurs in most of the older
LAND BIRDS. 555
lists and possibly was more abundant formerly than at present, yet this is
not demonstrated.
Twelve birds were seen, with a large flock of Cedar-birds, at Greenville,
Montcalm county, January 16, 1899, by Percy Selous, and a single specimen
was taken from this flock later by Mr. Selous and preserved in his collec-
tion. During the winter of 1908-1909, it was reported from several locaHties
in the Great Lakes region, in company with other northern species, notably
the Evening Grosbeak and Pine Gorsbeak. Mr. E. E. Brewster, of Iron
Mountain Avrote us March 5, 1909, that he had seen one flock of sixteen
and heard of numbers being seen in the city. During the same winter
specimens were taken on Point Pelee, Ontario, about twenty miles east of
Detroit (Taverner).
According to Kumlien & Hollister it was formerly much more comriion in
Wisconsin than at present, and of much more regular occurrence in the
northern part of the state than in the southern counties. G. F. Dippie
states that several flocks appeared in Toronto, Canada in February 1895,
and were seen nearly every day until March 10. They fi-equented the
streets in the very heart of the city in order to feed on berries of the IMoimtain
Ash. "Just nine years since they were taken here last" (Nidiologist, II,
p. 112).
This species nests mainly in the far north, but is said to breed as far
south as the United States border in the Rocky Mountains (Coues). The
nest and eggs are described as very similar to those of the common Cedar-
bird except that the eggs are decidedly larger, averaging about 1.00 by .67
inches (Coues). For a recent account of nest and eggs taken near Fort
Smith on the Slave River, near 60" north, see Auk, XXVI, 1909, p. 10.
During its winter visits this bird feeds mainly on the same berries, seeds
and fruits as the Cedar-I^rd, being partial to the berries of the juniper,
h-aw, dogwood, mountain-ash, sumacs, etc.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Top of head witli a long pointed crest; wings conspicuously marked with wlutc; tail
tipped with bright yellow.
Adult (sexes alike) : Forehead, lores, and streak over and behind the eye, velvet black;
frontal part of crown bright reddish-brown or chestnut, the color usually extending along
the sides of the crown and sometimes tinting the wliole top of head and sides of neck; rest
of upper parts grayish brown to gray, the neck usually brownest, the color changing on the
back to brownish-gray and becoming clear ash-gray on rump and upper-tail coverts; cliin
deep velvet black, shading through dusky and dark gray on throat to brownish-gray on
chest and pure ash gray on breast, sides and belly; a white stripe at base of lower mandible,
changing to brown on cheeks; under tail-coverts rich chestnut, in strong contrast with
the ash of belly; wings slate-colored or black, the primary coverts with white tips, and a
conspicuous white bar across the tips of the secondaries; the inner primaries also spotted
with white or yellow, or both, on the tips of the outer webs; secondaries often with bright
red, sealing-wax-like appendages at the tips of the shafts; tail ash-gray at base, shading
into deep black toward the end, and broadly tipped with bright yellow; bill and feet black;
iris brown. Young: Much duller than adult; streaked below with brownish or dusky
and white; no wax-like tips on wing, but always recognizable by the crest, the yellow-
tipped tail and the size.
Length 7.40 to 8.75 inches; wing 4.40 to 4.60; tail 2.75 to 2.90.
556
MICHIGAN iUKl) LIFE.
252. Cedar-bird. Bombycilla cedrorum \'icill. (619)
Synonyms: Cedar Wiixvving, Carolina Waxwing, Connnon Waxwing, Cherry-bird.
— Anipclis cedrorum of most authors. — Ampelis amcricana, Wils., 1808. — Bombycilla
carolinensis, Steph., 1817.
Figures 128, 129.
The pointed crest and yellow-tipped tail, with the olive wings which show
no white, are characteristic of this bird at all ages and seasons. Adults
may or may not have red "sealing-wax" tips on the inner wing-feathers.
Distribution. — North America at large, from the Fur Countries south-
ward. In winter from the northern border of the United States south to
the West Indies and Costa Rica. Bi-eeds from Virginia, the southern
Alleghanies, Kentucky, Kansas, etc. northward.
The well known Cedar-l^ird or Cherry-bird is abundantly distributed
over the entire state, being most abundant in summer, but a few remaining
through the winter.
Even at Marquette, on
the south shore of Lake
Superior, it frequently
winters and in some
numbers. Apparently
the severity of the
winter has httle to do
with its residence, but
it is more frequently
seen during January and
February than during
December. Undoubt-
edly the great bulk of
the species moves south-
ward entirely out of the
state in the late fall and
returns again in earliest
spring, frequently in the
latter part of February
and always before the
end of March. At this
time it is oftenest seen
in flocks of twenty
to fifty individuals,
although b a n d s of
several hundred are by no means uncommon. A little later, in April and
early May, it often becomes quite scarce, but reappears in large numbers
during June when the small fruits begin to ripen. At this time it is still
in flocks, although some of the birds may be already nesting and it seldom
visits the cherry trees singly or in pairs, but usually in companies of ten to
thirty.
It is erratic in its nesting, the greater part of the birds apparently nesting
in June and many of them again early in August, while nests are occasionally
found late in August or even in September. Dr. Gibbs states that nests
found_^'at Kalamazoo June 12 and 15, 1877 with four eggs each are about
Fig. 128. Cedar-bird.
From photograph of mounted specimen.
(Original.)
LAND BIRDS. 557
as early as any he has known; his collection, however, included one set
of eggs taken in Kalamazoo county May 3, 1877, in an orchard tree twelve
feet from the ground. Mr. Swales, of Grosse Isle, is of the opinion that
certain individual birds may prefer orchards for nesting and that these
breed during June, while others, which prefer uncultivated regions, nest
much later, even into September. According to his notes the Cedar-birds
arrive in the vicinity of Detroit from March 11 (1890) to April 8 (1895),
and leave for the south about the middle of October.
Apparently they do not nest so abundantly in the southern part of the
state as farther north, and about the cedar and tamarack swamps in the
northern part of the state they are one of the most abundant and character-
istic birds during late summer. Here they may be seen in small flocks
perched on the dead branches of isolated trees, from which they make
continual sallies for passing insects, of which the bulk of their food seems
to consist. They, however, eat large quantities of wild fruits, being
particularly fond of raspl^erries, blueberries, service-berries (Amelanchier)
and Buffalo berries (Shepherdia canadensis). They also relish all kinds
of wild cherries, even eating the choke-cherry freely. The attacks on
cultivated cherries are too well known to need extended mention, yet it
should be noted that the bird prefers the earliest cherries and even when
most abundant and destructive is not nearly so serious an enemy as the
common Robin. It also eats cultivated currants, raspberries, blackberries
and mulberries, but not, in our experience, to any injurious extent.
On the other hand, we have no bird which is more valuable to the horti-
culturist as an insect eater, for it not only eats insects freely and at all
seasons when they are obtainable, but it seems to be partial to many of the
forms which are speciall}^ injurious to the farmer and fruit grower. Thus
it eats caterpillars of many kinds, and, as Prof. Forbes and others have
shown, it sometimes almost confines itself to a diet of canker-worms when
these are unusually abundant. In one orchard which Prof. Forbes studied
carefully a flock of about thirty apparently took up their residence and fed
freely on canker-worms. The number in each stomach, determined by
actual count, ranged from 70 to 101, and was usualh^ about 100. These
thirty birds were therefore eating the pests at the rate of at least 3,000 a
day, or 90,000 in the month during which the caterpillar is exposed to their
attacks.* Study of the stomach contents of 152 Cedar-birds by the
Ornithological Division of the U. S. Dci)artmcnt of Agriculture, showed
tiiat 74 percent of the food consisted of wild fruits, 13 percent of cultivated
fruits (only 5 percent being cherries), and the remainder of insects, largely
grasshoppers, bugs, bark-lice and beetles, the elm-leaf beetle appearing
as an important item.f
During spring and early summer the Cedar-bird appears to be very fond
of blossoms, and especially of the stamens, of many trees, particularly
fruit trees. We have seen it frequently eating the stamens of apple, pear,
cherry, oak, maple and ash, and it doubtless eats stamens of many other
varieties, but there is no i-oason to sujiposc that any damage whatever
is done in this way.
This is one of the birds which for fifty years has suffered continually from
the demand for its plumage by milliners, and even today Cedar-birds are
common "hat birds" wherever legislation does not prevent their use.
Their convenient size, beautiful plumage and gregarious habits, pei-mittiug
♦Report Mich. State Ilort. Soc, 1881, p. 20}.
tF. E. L. Be;il, FaniKTs' Hull. No. r,i, p. 32.
558 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. .
many to be killed at a single shot, all favor their use in this way, but thanks
to the growing public sentiment against this barbarity, and especially
to the persistent and energetic work of the Audubon societies, the evil
is now nearly stamped out.
Although the Cedar-bird has nothing which can be called a song it is
far from a silent bird. It has a peculiar, penetrating, sibilant lisp which
can be heard several hundred yards and is often uttered rapidly and in
unison just before the flock takes flight. While feeding on cherries, or
while moving from place to place, individuals continually utter this lisping
cry, but neither so loudly nor continuously.
During the winter time the birds feed very largely on juniper berries
or cedar-berries (whence the name Cedar-bird), as well as on the berries
of the mountain ash, haw, sumac, bittersweet, choke-berry, black alder (Ilex
verticillata) , smilax, and particularly on the sugar-berry or hack-l)erry
(Celtis). Undoubtedly the Cedar-bird is one of nature's
most active agents in the distribution of the seeds of many
of these beautiful shrubs and trees.
The nest is composed largely of grasses, weed-stalks,
leaves, roots and similar fibrous materials, often in great
variety, and is frequently quite bulky. It is placed at
heights varying from six to forty feet, in trees of various
kinds, most often in orchard trees or in evergreens, the
red cedar itself being a favorite nesting tree. The eggs
are peculiarly colored and marked, being bluish or purplish ^.^
white, spotted and dotted rather sharply with dark brown, rsiii of ce.hir-bini.
purplish and black. This is one of the few species whose
eggs can be identified usually at a glance. They average .87 by .61 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Top of head with a long, pointed crest; wings with or without red, wax-Hke tips, but
always without white markings; tail tipped with bright yellow.
Adult (sexes alike) : Forehead, lores, and stripe behind eye, velvet black, usually
bordered above with a narrow white line ; top of head (including crest) , back and scapulars,
an indescribable soft olive-brown or olive-gray, sometimes with a distinct rufous tinge
on cheeks and sides of neck, and shading imperceptibly into clear ash-gray on rump and
upper tail-coverts; a narrow white line backward from base of lower mandible, and a white
spot on lower eye-lid; chin deep black, shading through dusky-olive on the throat into
clear olive or olive-gray on breast and sides, and this into olive-yellow or even clear yellow
on flanks and belly; under tail-coverts pure white or buffy white; wings ash-gray or slate
gray, blackening toward the tips; the secondaries always without white markings but
often with red, sealing-wax -like tips; tail square or a little emarginate, ash-gray at base,
shading into deep black near the end and abruptly tipped with bright yellow. In very
higli plumage a row of red wax-like tips is occasionally found on the tail, but these are never
as large as those on the wings. Their presence on the latter seems to be independent of
sex or season, but is merely a question of age — or perhaps of strength and vigor. Young
birds lack them altogether, but many breeding individuals are also without tliem. Young:
Similar to adult in the crest and the yellow-tipped tail, but colors much duller and the under
parts streaked with dusky or brownish and white.
Length 6.70 to 7.50 inches; wing 3.G0 to 3.90; tail 2.30 to 2.G0.
LAND BIRDS. 559
Family 60. LANIID.E. Shrikes or Butcherbirds.
Birds of about the size and general appearance of a Mockingbird, but
with the strongly hooked bill of a hawk. Oui' species are separable as
follows:
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Larger, wing over 4.25 inches. Northern Shrike. No. 253.
AA. Smaller, wing 4 inches or less. Migrant Shrike. No. 254.
(Note. — The Loggerhead Shrike and the White-rumped Shrike are so
similar to the Migrant Shrike as to be separable only by experts. Both
have been reported in Michigan, but thus far no unquestionable specimen
has been taken. See Appendix.)
253. Northern Shrike. Lanius borealis Vieill. (621)
Synonyms: Great Northern Shrike, Winter Shrike, Butcher Bird, Winter Butcher
Bird. — Lanius excubitor, Forst., 177L — Lanius borealis, Vieill., 1807, and many other
writers.— CoUyrio borealis, Baird, 1858.— Collurio borealis, Baird, 1866, B. B. & R., Coues,
Ridgw. and others.
A bird about the size of a Robin, with bill notched and hooked Uke a
falcon's, must be a shrike and will have clear gray or brownish-gray upper
parts, ashy or white under parts, wings and tail mainly black with large
white patches, and a conspicuous black bar or stripe on the side of the
head. If the wings measure 4J inches or more it will be the Northern
Shrike or Butcher Bird; if the wing is but 4 inches or less it will be the
Loggerhead or one of its varieties. In the Northern Shrike the breast
and belly are ashy, usually marked with fine, dark, wavy cross-lines.
Distribution. — ^Northern North America, south in winter to the middle
portions of the United States. Breeds north of the United States.
This bird is a not uncommon, but rather irregular, winter visitor from the
north, arriving sometimes as early as October, more often not until Novem-
ber, and lingering until March. While with us it is most likely to be seen
in the neighborhood of towns and villages in pursuit of English Sparrows,
or engaged in tearing out the brains of one which it has just caught and the
body of which it will immediately afterward hang up on a sharp twig, the
thorn of a haw, or the point of a barbed-wire fence. Occasionally when
driving we see it perched on the telephone wire, and while watching for its
prey it commonly selects the top of a bare tree, or at least some conspicuous
point which overlooks the neighborhood. It flies with an undulating
motion, somewhat like a woodpecker, generally gliding downward from
its perch and crossing a field quite close to the earth, rising suddenly to
the top of a bush or tree on which it perches.
It feeds largely on meadow-mice and small birds, often following a flock
of Tree Sparrows or Juncos and killing many more than it needs for food.
Of late years it has l)een quite serviceable in destroying English Sparrows,
and in the parks of numy large cities it has been carefully protected on
this account. The habit of impaling its prey upon a sharp point is common
to all members of the family and has never received a satisfactory ex-
560 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
planation. Undoubtedly the Shrike returns sometimes and eats some of
the food thus stored, but this is by no means its invariable custom. When
its prey is abundant it usually contents itself with eating the brain and
perhaps a part of the head, impaling the rest. If food is very scarce, or
perhaps for some other reason, it not infrequently attacks larger birds,
and the writer has seen it making vigorous efforts to capture Blue Jays
and Pine Grosbeaks, and there are many records of its flying against
windows in the effort to get a Canary Bird hanging just inside.
The Northern Shrike is very commonly confounded with the Logger-
head and its varieties which, however, are not found in Michigan during
the winter, although the species may overlap each other a little in spring
and fall. In spite of the numerous "records" there is no reason whatever
to believe that the Northern Shrike has ever nested within our limits; on
the contrary it nests always in the far north and is seldom or never seen
within our boundaries between the first of May and the first of October.
Its nest is quite similar to that of the other shrikes, being very large for the
size of the bird, made of twigs (usually thorny), weed-stalks, grasses,
wool, hair, feathers, etc., and placed usually in a low, thick, thorny bush
where it is comparatively safe. It is deeply hollowed and the eggs are
four to seven, soiled white, spotted with brown, and average 1.05 by .76
inches.
The ordinary call of the Northern Shrike is a rather harsh scream or
shriek, but, as observed repeatedly by competent observers, it has a veritable
though decidedly peculiar song on occasions. Bicknell describes one of
these songs as follows: "The song was a medley of varied and rather
disconnected articulation, an occasional low warble always being quickly
extinguished by harsh notes, even as the bird's gentle demeanor would
soon be interrupted by some deed of cruelty. It has been claimed that the
Butcher Bird attracts birds and small animals by imitating their cries,
thus making them its easy prey. It is true that notes similar to the scream-
ing of small birds and the squealing of mice are interspersed through its
song, but they are uttered without method and sometimes actually in
conjunction with the most harsh and startling sounds of which the bird is
capable" (Auk, Vol. I, 324-325).
TECHNICAL DESCRITTTON.
Adult in winter (sexes alike) : Upper parts clear ash-gray, bleached to white or whitish
on outer edges of scapulars, on upper tail-coverts, and along u]5per edge of the loral and
post-ocular black stripe; a white spot on the lower eye-lid; a broad streak under and behind
the eye deep black, as are also part of the nasal bristles, but the bristly feathers in the
middle, at the base of the culmen, are usually white or whitish, and the lores mixed black
and gray; under parts light grayish, or almost white on throat and belly, the breast and
sides thickly marked with fine wavy cross-lines of dusky; wings mainly black, most of the
primaries ])uie white at base, and most of the secondaries and tertiaries tipped with whitish;
middle tail-feathers entirely black, or with very narrow white tips, the remainder of the
tail-feathers broadly white-tipped; upper mandible blackish, the lower dusky at tip but
yellowish at base; feet black; iris brown. In summer the lores are said to be clear black,
and this is sometimes the case with winter specimens.
Young of the year (and in first winter): Similar to adults, but lores gray; upper and
under parts strongly washed with brownish; wings, tail antl post-ocular stripe brownish
dusky or dull black; greater wing coverts usually edged and tipped with rusty or buff;
the under parts strongly and extensively cross-lined with brownish, only the chin and \w\]y
unmarked.
Length 9.25 to 10.75 inches; wing 4.35 to 4.00; tail 4.50 to 4.70; culmen .70 to .SO.
7L
Plate LVI. Migrant Shrike.
From photograph of mounted specimen.
(Original.)
LAND BIRDS. 563
254. Migrant Shrike. Lanius ludovicianus migrans W. Palmer. (622c)
Synonyms: White-rumped Shrike (in part), Loggerhead Shrike (part), Butcher-bird,
Summer Butcher-bird. — Lanius lud. migrans, Palmer, 1898. — Lanius excubitroides,
Peabody, 1839. — L. excubitoroides, Hoy, 1853. — Lanius ludovicianus, Woodh., 1853,
and most authors from 1875 to 1898. — CoUurio ludoviciamis, Allen, Ridgw., Merriam,
and others.
Plate LVI and Figures 130,' 131.
Known by its close resemblance to the Northern Shrike, but smaller
(wing 4 inches or less) ; under parts grayish-white to pale bluish-ash,
usually without any wavy cross lines. The wings are slightly longer than
the tail.
Distribution. — Eastern Canada and eastern United States, west to
Minnesota, south to the Carolinas, Tennessee and low^er Mississippi Valley.
Breeds chiefly in the northern parts of its range, migrating south in winter.
Reports from observers would indicate that the Migrant Shrike arrives
in Michigan from the south between the middle of March and the middle
of April and retires southward again during
October. Although nowhere abundant it is
widely distributed throughout the state and
probably occurs regularly in every county. It is
a typical roadside bird, and along country roads, „ ~ _^^~
where clumps of hawthorn (Cratcegus) abound, it pj^ ^^q
is sure to be seen at intervals perched on the biii of Migrant shrike.
telephone wire or some tall bush or tree, or winging
its leisurely, looping flight across the adjoining fields. Its plumage
always suggests that of the Mockingbird, but its habits and general
appearance are widely different.
It nests early, often before the middle of April, building its bulky nest
usually in the interior of a thick thorn bush, where it can be reached by
the average small boy only with the utmost diflSculty. Being generally
considered a "Butcher Bird" and destructive of other birds, it is held to be
legitimate prey and is often shot on sight and its nest destroyed whenever
opportunity offers. This may account for the fact that although it rears
two broods, often with six or seven eggs in each nest, it nevertheless remains
a somewhat scarce bird.
As a matter of fact the Migrant Shrike is probably one of our decidedly
beneficial birds. It feeds very largely — almost entirely — on insects,
varying its diet occasionally with field mice or meadow-mice, and still
more rarely with a sparrow, not infrequently an English Sparrow. The
insects which it devours probably are not all injurious, yet many of them
belong to the more injurious groups. Its habit of impaling its surplus
food on the thorns in the vicinity of its nest allows us to judge somewhat
of the character of this food. Most often we find large beetles, such as
May-beetles, goldsmith-beetles and stag-beetles, together with large
grasshoppers, the Carolina locust, and an occasional cicada. Sometimes
it catches a small snake, a frog or a lizard, but the greater part of its food
certainly consists of insects. The late Dr. Judd of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture, Washington, D. C, found by stomach examinations that about
24 per cent of the food of the Loggerhead (and its varieties) consists of
mice and birds, and the remainder of insects, mostly grasshoppers, although
cater[)ilhirs are eaten to some extent (Biol. Survey, P>ull. !), LS98, 15-'2()).
504
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
At Greenville, Montcalm county, the late
Percy Selous recorded a nest with eggs April
23, 1894, the young becoming full-fledged on
May 25, while the same pair (presumably)
brought out a second brood on July 26. Dr.
Gibbs records fresh eggs from Kalamazoo county
April 18, 1878, April 27 and 30, 1879, and
others were obtained on Mav 18, 1880, and June
22, 1878. The late Richard B. Westnedge, of
Kalamazoo, took six eggs from a nest May 26,
1888, and six from another nest June 5, 1892.
In that part of the state the nests seem to be
placed as often in osage orange hedges and
neglected orchard trees as in thorn trees. The
eggs vary in number from five to eight, but
are ordinarily six or seven, and are hardly
separable, except by size, from those of the
Northern Shrike already described. The average given by Ridgway for
the typical Loggerhead, the southern form, is .97 by .73 inches, but speci-
mens of migrans; in the college collection average nearly 1.00 by .75 inches.
Vv
Fig. 131.
Tail of Migrant Shrike.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill .strongly hooked, wing less than four inches, tail shorter than wing, third and fourth
primaries about equal, the third u.sually a little longest.
Adult (sexes essentially alike): Upper parts ash-gray to blue-gray, usually paler
(sometimes wliitish) on rump and upper tail-coverts; forehead commonly paler than the
crown; under parts mainly pale ash-gray, deeper (almost the shade of the back) on chest
and sides; throat and belly nearly or quite white; markings of head, wings and tail, anil
colors of bill, feet and iris, precisely as in the Loggerhead; the young also are similar to those
of that species.
Length 8 to 10 inches; wing of male 3.75 to 3.99, of female 3.80 to 3.88; tail of male
3.60 to 3.90, of female 3.60 to 3.78; culmen about .53 (Wm. Palmer).
Family 61. VIREONID.E. Vireos or Greenlets.
A small family of interesting and valuable ])irds, represented in Mich-
igan by half a dozen species wh'ch are so similar in size, coloi', voice and
habits as to be readily confused liy the beginnei-. Tlu^ following key
will help to separate them:
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. With a spurious (i. e. small, almost rudimentary) first i)i'imary. B, BB.
B. White wing-bars conspicuous, sides and flanks bright yellow. G, VV.
G. Lores white and a white ring around the eye. Blue-headed
Vireo. No. 259.
(,'G. Lores and eye-ring vellow (iris white). White-eved Vireo.
No. 260.
BI?. White wing-bars indistinct or lacking, sides and flanks nearly
white or barely yellowish. Warbling Vireo. No. 257.
LAND BIRDS. 5G5
AA. Without a spurious first ijrimary. D, DD.
D. Two white wing-bars, throat bright yellow. Yellow-throated
Vireo. No. 258.
DD. No white wing-bars. E, EE.
E. Throat pure white, wing over three inches. Red-eved Vireo.
No. 255.
EE. Throat pale vellow, wing less than three inches. Philadelphia
Vireo. No. 256.
255. Red-eyed Vireo. Vireosylva olivacea {Linn.). (624)
Synonyms: Red-eyed (ireenlet, Little Hang-nest, Preacher. — Muscicapa olivacea,
Linn., 1766, Wilson, ISIO, Bonap., 1824. — Vireo olivaceus, Nutt., Aud., A. O. U. Check-
list, 1886, and most authors.
Plate LVII and Figures 132, 133. _
In living or freshly killed birds the red iris is distinctive. Other points
are the absence of wing-bars, lack of spurious first primary, large size,
and pure Avhite under parts.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to Colorado, Utah and British
Columbia; north to the Arctic regions; south in winter from Florida to
northern South America. Breeds nearly throughout its North American
range.
All things considered this is probably our most alnmdant vireo and it
is found as a summer visitor ever^^where throughout the state, being much
more abundant, however, in some sections than others.
In the southern part of the state it arrives from the
south about the first of May (Detroit April 28 to May
7, Swales); in the northern part from two to three weeks
later; and departs in early September. In the southern
part of the state it lingers late in the fall, most individuals
tarrying until after the middle of September and occa- Red-eyed vireo
sionally well into October. Mr. Swales noted one near
Detroit October 16, 1899. This is one of the birds which often meets
death at the lighthouses along the lakes and there are fourteen records
of such disasters at Spectacle Reef, in Lake Huron, the autumn dates
ranging from September 10, 1895 to October 7, 1893.
It nests everywhere in the state and the neat cup-shaped swinging nest
is a famihar object on the bare trees and bushes of midwinter and has
given the bird the common name of "Little Hangnest." It seems probable
that at least two broods are reared in a season, since in the Lower Peninsula
fresh eggs may be found from about May 20 until late in June, while oc-
casional nests are found all through July and sometimes in August. Pcet
found a pair feeding nearly full grown young July 14, 1905, on Isle Royale.
The nest is placed usuall}- within a few feet of the ground, often within
arm's reach, but occasionally twenty or twenty-five feet up. It is always
pensile, usually hung in the lateral fork of a small twig, and commonly
in plain sight. It is built of various flexible materials, largely strips of
bark, fibres from weed stems or various grasses, and is lined with finer
plant fibres and fine leaves and grasses, often with pine needles. The
exterior is often decorated with egg cocoons of spiders, bits of caterpillars'
silk, pieces of birch bark, and even fragments of paper and other con-
5G6
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
spicuoLis materials. The eggs are three to five, most often four, and are
pure white, sparsely spotted with brown and black. They average .81
by .56 inches. Very frequently Cowbirds' eggs are found in the nest and
the Vireo frequently deserts its nest on account of this intruder.
Wilson Flagg speaks of this bird as the "Preacher" and describes his
song as follows: "His style of preaching is not declamation. Though
constantly talking, he takes the part of a deliberative orator who explains
his subject in a few words and then makes a pause for his hearers to reflect
upon it. We might suppose him to be repeating moderately, with a pause
between each sentence 'you see it — you know it — do you hear me? — do you
believe it?' All these strains are delivered with a rising inflection at the
close and with a pause as if waiting for an answer." B cknell calls him
"a most untiring vocalist, maintaining his song almost uninterruptedly
Fig. 133. Red-eyed Vireo on nest.
From Bird Lore. Courtesy of Frank M. Chapman.
through the summer and only relinquishing it in September from the
first to the tenth."
According to Ridgway "It is probable that we have no more beneficial
bird than this species, noxious and destructive insects of numerous kinds
constituting its principal food" (Birds of IlHnois, p. 182). All the vireos
are similar in their feeding habits and spend most of their time gleaning
insects from the foliage of shrubs and trees. Probably they consume
more spanworms and leaf-rollers than any other group of birds, but they
are not slow to avail themselves of any unusual supply of insects and
they eat beetles, bugs, and even grasshoppers apparently with equal
readiness and impartiality. Professor Aughey of Nebraska found that
during years of invasion by the Rocky Mountain locust the Red-eyed
Vireo ate the young hoppers very freely, four-fifths of its food at one time
consisting of this species.
During the late summer and autumn the Red-eye eats seeds and berries
Plate LVII. Red-eyed Vireo.
From photograph of mounted specimen.
(Original.)
LAND BIRDS. 569
of various kinds, being particularly fond of the berries of the spice bush or
benzoin and of sassafras. It also eats raspberries, blackberries, wild
cherries, viburnum, and a great variety of other fruits, but these usually
in small quantities, and so far as we know, never of cultivated varieties.
The bird may be said to have absolutely no bad habits and to confer marked
and continuous benefits on the horticulturist and farmer.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill slightly hooked at tip; rictal bristles evident; no spurious first primary; no wing-bars.
Adult (sexes alike): Top of head ashy-gray; rest of upper parts olive-green, this color
edging all the wing and tail-feathers and coverts; a whitish stripe from nostril over eye,
bordered above by a more or less distinct narrow dark line; lores dark gray or dusky and
this color sometimes continued as a more or less distinct stripe behind the eye; ear-coverts
and sides of head buffy-gray, changing to grayish-olive on sides of neck and along sides
of breast and body; rest of under parts pure white, usually washed with buffy on under
tail-coverts; wings and tail plain dusky, without bars or spots; bill brownish above, yellowish
below; iris red.
Length 5.50 to 6.50 inches; wing ;^.10 to 3.;^0; tail 3.15 to 3.30; culmen .50 to .55.
256. Philadelphia Vireo. Vireosylva philadelphica Cassin. (626)
Synonyms: Philadelphia, (ireenlet, Brotherly-love Vireo. — Vireosylvia philadelphica,
Cassin, 1851.— Vireo i)liihuleli)liicus, Baird, 1858, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most
authors.
The decidedly smaller size and distinct yellowish tinge below serve
perfectly to separate this bird from the Red-eyed Vireo, which it resembles
in the lack of wing bars and the absence of a spurious first primary. The
iris, however, is brown, not red.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, north to Hudson Bay; south
in winter to Costa Rica and Panama. Breeds from Maine, New Hampshire
and Manitoba northward.
This is one of our rarest vireos, though probably more numerous than
our observations would seem to show. It occurs mainly if not entirely
as a migrant, but our records are too few to enable us to do more than
indicate the approximate time of its arrival and departure. We have
records of about twenty-five specimens taken in various parts of the state,
the majority in the fall. Mr. Trombley records one at Petersburg, May
4, 1897, and two specimens were taken at the Agricultural College on May 9,
the same year. Mr. Eddy took a male on the 17th of May, 1897, in Bay
county, and S. E. White took two specimens at Grand Rapids, Mich., on
May 15 and 24, 1890. A specimen was killed on Spectacle Reef Light,
May 25, 1892. Our earliest record in the fall is from Mackinac Island
August 6, 1899, when S. E. White secured a specimen. He obtained
another on August 7, 1890, and saw two more on September 6 of the same
year. Mr. Swales took a specimen at St. Clair August 28, 1896, and J.
('laire Wood took specimens in Wayne county, September 3, 10 and 24,
1905. Specimens were also taken by T. L. Hankinson at Hillsdale May
13, 1896, and in Ingham county September 14, 1895. Dr. Gibbs records a
specimen taken at Kalamazoo May 23, 1882, and another taken in Ottawa
county in May 1879, by W. A. Gunn. This last specimen, identified by
Ridgway, is probably the first record for the state. One was taken at
Ann Arbor May 30, 1907 (Wood), and one near Detroit September 27,
1908 (Taverner); it was recorded also from Isle Royalc, Lake Supeiior
September 1, 1904 aiul September 12. 1905 (Peet).
570 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The Philadelphia Vireo is not certainly known to nest within our limits,
but it is not improbable that it may do so in the northern part of the state.
In general appearance, voice and nesting habits it is so ver}'- similar to the
Red-eyed Vireo that it might be easily overlooked even by the expert.
Mr. William Brewster, who took a nest and three eggs near Umbagog
Lakes, Maine, June 14, 1903, describes the nest as placed in an aspen
{Populus tremuloides) thirty feet or more from the ground; perfectly
pensile and ornamented Uke the nests of the other vireos, especially those
of the White-eye and Solitary. The song of the bird he considers almost
identical with that of the Red-eye.
Jonathan D wight, Jr., describes the song as heard at Tadousac, Quebec,
as follows: "To my ear the song partakes of the liquid sweetness and
leisurely irregularity of that of the Solitary Vireo, the notes being sweeter,
clearer, and a trifle higher pitched than those of the Red-eye. * * *
As the song of the Red-eyed Vireo is well known to many of us, some idea
of that of the Philadelphia Vireo may be gained when I say that while
the former rapidly ripples out his music, the latter reiterates slowly a
series of double or triple notes with marked pauses between. My ex-
perience has been that if one has heard philadelphicus he will seldom
mistake it for olivaceus, while the reverse will not hold " (Auk, XIV, 1897,
266-267).
The eggs are almost precisely like those of the Red-eyed Vireo, but
average slightly smaller, the measurements given bv Brewster being .79
by .54, .81 by .53 and .80 by .54 inches.
The food probably does not differ much from that of the other vireos.
We have found it eating plant-lice in the fall, and Aughey found it eating
locusts in large numbers in Nebraska, one stomach containing twenty-one
locusts and another nineteen.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill slightly hooked at tip; rictal bristles evident; no spurious first primary; no wing-bars.
Adult (sexes alike): Top of head dull ashy-gray; rest of upper parts similar, but the
back decidedly tinged with olive-green like that of the red-eye; a whitish stripe from
nostril over the eye, but no dark line above this stripe; usually a dusky spot in front of
eye; sides of head and neck more or less biiify; under parts distinct pale yellowish, usually
witli a greenish tinge, and the color pretty uniform, perhaps faintest on the belly; wings
and tail plain dark grayish, the outer edges of all feathers and coverts washed with olive-
green, but no bars or spots; bill brownish gray, yellowisli lielow; iris brown.
Length a))0ut 4.80 inches; wing 2.50 to 2.75; tail L90 to 2.20; culmen .38 to .40.
257. Warbling Vireo. Vireosylva gilva gilva {VieilL). (627)
Synonyms: Warbling CJreenlet. — Muscicapa gilva, Vieill., 1807. — Sylvia gilva, VieilL,
1817.— Vireo gilvus, Bona])., 1824, Nutt., Aud., Coues, A. O. U. Clicck-list, 1880, and most
recent authors.
A])Out tlie same size as the preceding (much smaller than the Red-eye),
but with the under parts merely tinged with brownish yellow or creamy
buff, never pale sulphur yellow. The first primary is spurious, the wing-
bars very indistinct or entirely wanting, and the iris plain brown.
Distribution. — North America in general from the Fur Countries to
Oaxaca, Mexico. Breeds throughout the greater part of its range.
This is an abundant bird throughout most of the state, in some places
being more plentiful than the Red-eye, while the reverse is true in other
LAND BIRDS. 571
"sections. It appears to be most abundant in the Lower Peninsula, but
this may be due in part to the fact that it is partial to the well shaded
streets of towns and villages, and so is more frequently met with. It has
been reported from practically all the counties of the state, and doubtless
may be found in all. It arrives from the south the last of April or first
of May, the earliest date at Petersburg being April 21, 1889, and the latest
May 5, 1893. At Battle Creek the first was seen April 19, 1889, at Bay
City May 7, 1890, and Sault Ste. Marie May 6, 1900. Near Detroit Mr.
Swales says it arrives from April 27 to May 7 and is usually gone southward
by September 15, his latest fall record being September 28, 1889.
In its nesting habits it closely resembles the Red-eyed Vireo, but its song
is unlike that of any other. It is a sprightly and musical warble which
resembles closely that of the Purple Finch, although it is weaker and
shorter. Dr. Brewer says "One of the sweetest and most constant of
our singers. Its voice is not powerful, but its melody is flute-like and
tender." To one familiar with the songs of the other vireos the song of
the present species would suggest an entirely different bird, certainly one
of the Fringillidffi.
Its food probably resembles that of its relatives very closely but it
doubtless has certain Hkes and dislikes. It eats a few seeds and berries,
but is mainly an insect eater and one of the farmer's best friends. In
Nebraska Prof. Aughey found it eating the young of the Rocky Mountain
locust in all stages of their growth and saw it bring them constantly to its
nest as food for the young. Prof. Forbes in his study of the birds of an
orchard overrun with canker-worms, found that 35 percent of the food of
the two Warbling Vireos taken one season consisted of canker-worms,
while other caterpillars made 43 percent additional, and other insects,
mainly injurious, formed almost all the remainder. Three other specimens
contained 44 percent of canker-worms, 35 percent of other caterpillars,
and 15 percent of beetles.
Apparently the nest is quite variable in structure and location. On
the average it is more slightly built, and in higher situations, than the
nest of the Red-eye. Shade trees are favorite nesting places and it is
fi'equently seen in elms, maples, and other common shade trees along
the streets and in city parks. Ordinarily it is perfectly pensile like
that of all the other Vireos, yet Dr. Wolcott (MS. list, December, 1904),
states that the nest in his experience is frequently swung l)etween three
or four vertical twigs or even placed in a crotch. He also has found it to
be thicker walled, firmer and better lined. Numerous observers state
that the nest is frequently found in orchards and there can be no doubt
that the bird is partial to such situations.
Kggs are most likely to be found in central Michigan during the last
week in May and the first week in June, but a pair was seen building near
the Agricultural College, May 15, 1903, and doubtless the birds often rear
a second brood in late .hino or -July. Tiie eggs are scarcely separal)le
from those of the other vireos, being white, tliiiily spotted with l)rown
and black, and averaging .75 by .55 inches.
According to Dr. (iibbs this is one of the few species which sings white
incubating.
TECHNICAL DKSCHIPTION.
Bill slightly hooked :it tip; riclal bristles evident; spurious first prini:iiy present; no
wing-bars.
Adult (sexes alike): Toj) of liead dull ashy-gray, sliadiug gradually into olive-gray
672 MICHICAN BIRD LIFE.
on the back and pale olive-green on tlie rump; a whitish stripe from nostril over eye, but
without any dark line above it; side of head and nec-k grayish-buff, this color extending
aloiii; t lie sides of breast ami body, where it becomes slightly more yellowisli, but never really
yellow; rest of under parts jjure white or buffy white; wings and tail plain grayish, the
exposed edges of feathers glossed with olive-green, but no spots or bars; bill pale brownish,
lighter below; iris brown. Young l)irds resemble the adults closely, but are pure white
below, except the under tail-coverts which are yellowish; the greater wing-coverts tipped
with buffy.
Length 5 to 5.50 inches; wing 2.(15 to 2.95; tail 2.10 to 2.40; culinen about .42.
258. Yellow-throated Vireo. Lanivireo flavifrons {VieilL). (628)
Synonyms: Yellow-throated Greenlet. — Vireo flavifrons, VieilL, 1807, A. O. IT. Check-
list, 1886, and most other authors. — Lanivireo flavifrons, Lawr., 1856.
The two white wing-bars and bright yellow throat and lireast are dis-
tinctive. The first primary is not spurious.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, north to Ontario and Manitoba,
south in winter to Colombia. Breeds from Florida and the Gulf States
northward.
This, our most brightly colored vireo, is generally distributed throughout
the state, occurring everywhere during migration and nesting with some fre-
quency in most sections of the state, but apparently more abundantly toward
the north. It shows a decided preference for heavy hardwood timber, and
according to many observers nests in oak woods in wet groimd. According
to the writer's experience it is fully as often found in orchards and along the
edges of second growth woods, and its nest is as often placed in such situa-
tions as in the deep forest. Its clear flute-like song and its loud harsh
scolding notes are characteristic sounds of the summer woods and the
bird is not likely to pass unnoticed wherever it is at all common.
The nest does not differ essentially from that of its relatives, but in
our experience is more lavishly decorated with odd and striking materials
than that of any other. Not infrequently one is found half covered with
bits of birch bark, insect cocoons, spiders' egg-sacs, and tufts of cotton
or bits of paper, making it a decidedly conspicuous nest. We have found
the nest at times within six feet of the ground and again at a height of
forty or fifty feet; ordinarily it is placed from ten to twenty feet uj). We
have never seen one which was not distinctly pensile and if ovei- built
otherwise it must be a rare exception.
The eggs are similar to those of the vireos already described, but aside
from their somewhat larger size the spots are likely to be rather larger
and browner. The eggs are commonly three or foui-, and average .79
by .58 inches.
Like all the other meml)ers of the family this bird is a voracious insect
eater and its work is entirely beneficial to the agricidturist. It does eat
a few wild fruits, but so far as we are aware no case of injury to any culti-
vated fruit has been recorded.
By many the song of this liird is considered finer than that of the other
vireos. ProlnU)ly there is much individual variation, for the writer has
heard Solitary Vireos which he could not distinguish from the Yellow-
throat by the song, while occasional Yellow-throats have clearer, louder
and sweeter songs than any other species of his acquaintance, liicknell
says this is the only vireo which he has known to sing while on the wing.
The Yellow-throated Vireo is a little late in ari'iving from the south,
seldom being heard, even in the southern pai't of tlio state, before the first
LAND BIRDS. 573
■of May, while the hirger iijiuiher do not arrive in the niichlle counties before
the lOth of the month. It often lingers well into September, and Wood
and Frothingham record one killed in Alcona county September 20, 1903.
Nests with fresh eggs were taken by Trombley, IMonroe county, May 22,
1887; by Dr. Gibbs, at Kalamazoo, June 18, 1879; by Westnedge in
Kalamazoo county June 5, 1892, by Spicer in Genesee county j\Iay 17,
1888, and by Miss H. H. Wright at Saginaw, several times during the last
week in May, and on June 9, 1907.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill hooked at tip; rictal bristles evident; no spurious first i)rini:iry; two wliite wing-bars.
Advilt (sexes alike) : Upper parts, from forehead to middle of back, bright olive-green;
scapulars, lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts ashy-gray more or less tinged with
olive-green; a conspicuous yellow stripe from nostril to eye, and a yellow ring about the
eye interruj)ted in front by a dusky loral spot; sides of head and neck otherwise olive-green;
entire chin, throat and t)reast liright yellow, tl)e remainder of under parts abruptly white, the
flanks sometimes washed witli grayisli; winus dark grayish, with two conspicuous white
wing-bars, the tertiaries l)roadly edged with wliite; tail dark gray, most of the feathers
edged with white, narrowly on the outer edges, more widely on inner edges; bill blackish
above, horn-blue below; iris brown. Young similar to adults, but colors not so bright
and markings not so sharply defined.
Length 5 to 5.85 inches; wing 3 to 3.20; tail 2 to 2.30; culmen .40 to .50.
259. Blue-headed Vireo. Lanivireo solitarius solitarius (Wilson). (629)
Synonyms: Solitary Vireo, Blue-headed Greenlet. — Muscicapa solitaria, Wilson, 1810.
-^Vireo solitarius, Vieill., 1819, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most authors. — Lanivireo
solitarius, Allen, 1869.
Figure 134.
Two white wing-bars, white throat and breast, yellow sides and flanks
and spurious first primary are common to the Blue-headed Vireo and the
White-eyed Vireo, but the latter has yellow lores and eye-ring, while these
are white in the Blue-headed Vireo.
Distribution. — Eastern North America to the Plains, north to Hudson
Bay 'and Fort Simpson. South in winter to Guatemala; breeds from
northern New England and northern part of the lake states northward.
This beautiful vireo is a not very common spring migrant throughout
the state, but is rather more abundant in the autumn. It is not known
to nest in the southern half of the state, unless we
accept Covert's statement that he found a nest
and eggs of this species at Ann Arbor July 4, 1871.
The builders of this nest, however, were not
preserved, and we are not aware that the nest has
ever been reported from any other place in the
state, although the birds undoubtedly breed in
the higher portions of the Lower Peninsula, as Fie. 134. solitary vireo. From
,, . X r J.U TT T» • I Tvr r\ li Hoffman's Guide. Hough-
well as m parts of the Upper Peninsula. Mr. O. B. ton, Mifflin & Co.
Warren states that they are seen all summer about
Palmer, Marquette county, and the ITnivei'sity of Michigan Expedition
found the species in Ontonagon county July 27, 1904, where, however,
it may have been migrating at that time. On Isle Royale it was noted
only during migration, but of course is a summer resident.
It arrives from the south about the first of May, the earliest record which
we have being that by Mr. Swales, who found it abundant at Detroit April 29,
1905. The average date of arrival at Ann ArJjor is given by N, A. Wood as
574 MICHIGAN IMRD LIFE.
May 11, but at the Agricultural College, Ingham county, it usiuilly arrives
before the 10th of the month, dates ranging from May 2 to 10. On the
return trip it has been taken at Kalamazoo Septe-mber 3, 1878, ami at
points in the middle of the state from September 10 to 30. Individuals
were killed on Spectacle Reef Lighthouse, Lake Huron, Se])tember 24,
1889 and October 3, 1893. N. A. Wood found it on the Charity Islands,
Saginaw Bay, after September 25, 1910. Mr. J. Claire Wood gives his
latest record for Wayne county as October 8, 1905. Although seldom
an abundant bird it can almost always be found at the proper season, and
sometimes is fairly numerous for a few days during migration.
In general habits, nesting and food, this species very closely resembles
the Yellow-throated Vireo, and the song, at least in many instances, is
also very similar. It is usually described, however, as a feebler and shorter
song, but the notes are equally sweet and clear. Dr. Brewer states that
the song "bears no resemblance to that of any other vireo. It is a pro-
longed and very peculiar ditty, repeated at frequent intervals and always
identical. It begins with a lively and pleasant warble of a gradually
ascending scale which at a certain pitch breaks down into a falsetto note.
The song then rises again in a single high note and ceases." After reading
this description one cannot but believe that Dr. Brewer has described the
song of an individual Blue-headed Vireo, whose performance was decidedly
unusual.
The nest is similar to that of the Yellow-throated Vireo and is commonly
placed at heights varying from two to twenty feet from the ground. Like
most vireo nests the exterior is often ornamented with bits of bark, moss,
cocoons and other conspicuous materials. The eggs are practically indis-
tinguishable from those of the Red-eye and Yellow-throat and average
.79 by .57 inches. According to Bicknell it is one of the few migrants
which are regularly in song while passing in the fall.
Prof. Aughey, of Nebraska, examined a stomach of this bird in June
1865, which contained about an equal quantity of Rocky Mountain locusts
and other insects.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill slightly hooked at tip; rictal bristles evident; spurious first primary present; two
white wing-bars.
Adult (sexes alike): Top and sides of head ash-gray with a bluish east; rest of upper
parts rather bright olive-green, brightest on rump and upper tail-coverts, grayer on hind "
neck and back; a broad white streak from nostril to eye, and a white ring surrounding the
eye; lores mostly dusky; sides and flanks oHve-green, more or less streaked with yellow;
wings dusky or dark gray, with two white or yellowish bars, and the tertiaries margined
with the same; tail dusky, the outer feathers with outer web mostly pure white, the inner
web narrowly white-edged; bill bluish-black; iris brown.
Length 5 to 6 inches; wing 2.90 to 3; tail 2.10 to 2.20; culmen .40 to .45.
260. White-eyed Vireo. Vireo griseus griseus (Bodd.). (631)
Synonyms: White-eyed Greenlet. — Tanagra grisea, Boddaert, 1783. — Muscicapa
noveboracensis, Gmel., 1788.— Vireo noveboracensis, Bonap., 1824, and most other writers.
— Muscicapa cantatrix, Wils., 1810.
Very similar in appearance to the Blue-headed Vireo, but decidedly
smaller and with yellow lores and eye-ring instead of white. The iris,
however, in the adult bird is always white, whence the name.
Distribution.— Eastern United States, west to the Rocky Mountains;
LAND BIRDS. 575
north to southern New Enghmd and Minnesota; south in winter from
Florida to Guatemala and Honduras. Breeds from Florida and the Gulf
States northward.
This active and noisy Uttle bird is almost unknown in Michigan, being
restricted to the southernmost counties and found there so seldom as to
be little more than accidental. It has been frequently confused with the
Yellow-throated and Blue-headed Vireos, and to this fact we must attribute
several of the records in the older Hsts. For example, it occurs in Knee-
land's list of the birds of Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior (1856), and also
in Miles' list of 1860, and two of our correspondents in the Upper Peninsula
mention it as a common nesting species. Probably the bird referred to
in all these cases was either the Yellow-throated or the Blue-headed Vireo,
most likely the latter, since that has a distinct white eye-ring and might
naturally be mistaken for the White-eye.
We are not aware of the existence of a Michigan specimen of this bird
in any collection, but it has been recorded a few times on such good authority
that it cannot be refused a place in the list. Jerome Trombley noted it
at Petersburg, IMonroe county on May 10, 11, and 12, 1885. He did not
find it at any other time and thinks it possible that these records all relate
to the same individual bird. Mr. Covert in his manuscript list of 1894-95
states that it was not uncommon in the neighborhood of Ann Arbor from
1868 to 1873, but that he obtained no specimens after 1876, and the only
record since that time is by Mr. N. A. Wood, who recorded it as seen at
Ann Arbor in May 1881. It has not been found in the neighborhood of
Detroit nor has Dr. Gibbs found it in Kalamazoo county. Dr. Gil;)bs,
however, states that D. D. Hughes, in his manuscript Ornithology of Mich-
igan, states that he once found a nest of this bird containing one of its
own eggs and three of the Cowbird's, but he gives no locahty or date.
The White-eyed Vireo loves thickets and swampy briar patches, and
is seldom found in places which would be favorable for any of our other
species. Places suitable for the Yellow-breasted Chat would be likely
to harbor this species and indeed the two birds are not unfrequently found
within hearing of each other.
The song is decidedly unlike that of any of the other vireos of our ac-
quaintance, more nearly resembling that of the Alder Flycatcher. Its
ordinary call-note rcscmliles the words ''chi('kt3^-beaver,'' and Ridgway
says that it is popularly known by this name or as the "Little Green Hang-
bird" in IlHnois, and he has also heard its call interpreted by boys as
" ginger-beer-quick."
The nest is commonly placed in the fork of a twig in some dense thicket
or at the edge of a clearing, and is similar to that of the other vireos, being
often ornamented externally with spiders' webs, mosses and similar
materials. The eggs are four or five, pure white, thinly dotted with brown,
purpHsh or black. They average .75 by .55 inches.
This is another of the species which was seen to feed its young on locusts
in Nebraska, as recorded by Prof. Aughey. Its usual food consists entirely
of insects, but it also eats berries and seeds sparingly.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill slightly hooked at tip; rictal bristles evident; spurious primary present; two white
wing-bars.
Adult (sexes alike): Upper parts olive-green, brightest on forehead, rump and upper
tail-coverts, grayer (olive-gray) on nape and hind neck; a dusky spot on the lores, above
576 MICIIKIAN lURI) LIFE.
wliicli is ;i l)n)ii(l streak of l)right yellow ruiiiiing from nostril over the (!ye, and, as a narrow
line around it ; checks washed with (ili\e-ureeii; tliroat, chest and sides of neck grayish white
or pale oray; >i<lcs of l.rcast and l.cily, and tlaiiks hriglit sulpiiur yellow; middle of belly
pure white; wings and tail dusky, the exposed edges glossed with olixe-green, the wing witli
two eonsjiieuous whitish or yellowish bars, and tertiaries broadly edged with the same;
bill blackish above, horn-blue below; iris bluish-white. Young: Similar to adult, but
duller; stripe from nostril over eye white anteriorly, yellowish only over the eye; sides and
flanks pale buffy yellow; wing markings broader and yellower.
Length 4.50 to 5 inches; wing 2.35 to 2.50; tail L90 to 2.10; cuhnen about .40.
P^amily 63. MNlOTlLTlDJv Wood Wuihlers.
Nearly forty species of Wood Warl)lers have been found in xMichigan
and more than thirty of them occur regularly and in some numbers. In
spite of the family name most of the members are not conspicuous as
singers, their voices being thin and weak or shrill and insect-like. Notable
exceptions are the Ovenbird and Waterthrushes, while a dozen other
species have sweet and musical songs, though commonly short and simple.
In this family the sexes as a rule are noticeably different in plumage,
and young birds frequently are quite unlike their parents. Add to this
the seasonal variations and it becomes apparent that the identification
of species is often a difficult matter. The following purely artificial key
should prove satisfactory for all adult male specimens in spring, and for
a smaller number of females at the same season. It is practically im-
possible to construct an artificial key for beginners which will answer for
immature birds. When one knows the adults fairly well he will begin
to see resemblances in the young.
As with other families this key is intended for use so/e/y ■with specimens
in hand. Except under extraordinaiy conditions it would be entirely
useless for living birds.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Tail with white or colored patches. B, BB.
B. Tail patches white. C, CC.
C. Light patches or bars on the wings. I), DD.
D. Wing bars yellow. E, EE.
E. Throat black or slate colored, sides gray. Golden-
winged Warbler, male and female. No. 265.
EE. Throat pure white, sides with more or less rich
brown. Chestnut-sided Warbler, male and female.
No. 276.
DD. Wing-bars white. F, FF.
F. Birds without any yellow. CI, (l(i.
G. Streaked with black and white onlv. II, HH.
H. Top of head clear black. B!ackpoll Warliler.
No. 278.
HH. Top of head black with a median white
stripe. Black and White Warbler. No.
261.
LAND BIRDS. 577
GG. Not simply black and white. I, II.
I. Breast and sides rich brown. Bay-breasted
Warbler. No. 277.
II. Breast and sides not brown. J, JJ, JJJ.
J. Back dark blue, throat clear black.
Black-throated Blue Warbler, male.
No. 272.
JJ. Back light blue, throat pure white.
Cerulean Warbler. No. 275.
JJJ. Back black and white, throat orange
or scarlet. Blackburnian W^arbler,
male and female. No. 279.
FF. Birds with some yellow. K, KK.
K. Rump or upper tail-coverts yellow. L, LL.
L. Some chestnut about the head. M, MM.
M. Top of head chestnut. Palm Warbler.
No. 284.
MM. Top of head mainly black, sides of
head chestnut. Caj^e May Warbler.
No. 270.
LL. No chestnut about the head. N, NN.
N. Throat white or gray. Myrtle Warl)ler.
No. 273.
NN. Throat bright yellow. Magnolia
Warbler. No. 274.
KK. Rump and upper tail-coverts without yellow.
O, 00.
O. Throat and chest clear yellow. P, PP.
P. Sides with blackish spots or streaks.
Q,.QQ.
Q. Middle of back with patch of chest-
nut spots. Prairie Warbler.
No. 285.
(^C^. Middle of back without patch of
chestnut spots. R, RR.
R. Top of head and most of back
streaked with blackish.
Kirtland's Warbler. No.
282.
RR. Top of head and all of back
without streaks. Sycamore
Warbler. No. 280.
PP. Sides without spots or streaks. S, SS.
S. Forehead and crown bright yellow,
rest of upper parts l)riglit olive
green. Blue-winged Warbler.
No. 264.
SS. Forehead and crown without yel-
low; olive green like the rest of
the upper parts. Pine Warbler.
No. 283.
73
578 MICIIKIAN BIRD LIFE.
00. Throat and chest not t-leai- yellow. T, TT.
T. Thi'oat and breast yellow, but a dark
band of brown or black across the
chest. Northern Pariila Warbler.
No. 269.
TT. Throat and breast clear black, sides
of head yellow. Black-throated
Green Warbler. No. 281.
CC. Wings without light patches or bars. U, UU.
U. A conspicuous black hood covering the occiput and hind
neck in both sexes, and the throat as well in the male.
Hooded Warbler. No. 295.
UU. Head and neck rich golden yellow without trace of black.
Prothonotary Warbler. No. 262r.
BB. Tail patches colored. V, VV.
V. Tail patches red. Redstart, male. No. 298.
VV. Tail patches yellow. W, WW.
W. Basal half of tail mostly yellow, terminal thii-d black.
Redstart, female and young. No. 298.
WW. All the tail feathers (except middle pair) yellow on
inner web the entire length. Yellow Warbler, male
and female. No. 271.
A A. Tail without white or colored markings (also the wings), b, bb, bbl).
b. Under parts whitish or buffy thickly streaked or spotted with brown
or black, c, cc.
c. Top of head with a broad median stripe of red-brown between
two narrow black stripes. Ovenbird. No. 286.
cc. Top of head without median stripe, d, dd.
d. Culmen .43 to .50 inch, under parts thickly and narrowly
streaked on a yellowish ground color. Small-billetl
Water-thrush and Grinnell's Water-thrush. Nos. 287,
288.
dd. Culmen .50 to .55 inch, under parts more thinly and
broadly streaked on a buffy or brownish-white ground
color. Large-billed Water-thrush. No. 289.
bb. Under parts bright yellow with a band or necklace of black spots
across the chest. Canadian W^arbler. No. 297.
bbb. Under parts without streaks or spots, e, ee.
e. Under parts mostly clear yellow, f, ff.
f. Entire throat and chest black or slate-color, sharply marked
off from the yellow breast and belly, g, gg.
g. A narrow ring of white feathers about the eye. Con-
necticut Warbler. No. 291.
gg. White eye-ring wanting. IMourning Warbler. No.
292.
ff. Throat and chest without black (except sometimes at
sides), h, hh.
h. More or less clear black on forehead or crown, i, ii.
i. Crown glossy black, forehead yellow. \\'ilson's
Black-capped Warbler. No. 296.
ii. Forehead and sides of head and neck deep l)lack.
LAND BIRDS.
579
j. A bright yellow stripe from bill over and
behind the eye, interrupting the black
" mask. " Kentucky Warbler. No. 290.
jj. No yellow about the eye, black mask con-
tinuous. Maryland Yellowthroat. No.
293.
hh. No black on forehead or crown, k, kk.
k. Large; entire upper parts olive, no rust-brown on
head. Yellow-breasted Chat. No. 294.
kk. Small; back olive, head ash-gray, crown with a
patch of rust-brown feathers. Nashville
Warbler. No. 266.
ee. Under parts not clear yellow. 1, 11.
1; Under parts somewhat yellow, m, mm.
m. Under parts yellowish white, upper parts yellowish
green, no orange-brown on crown. Tennessee
Warbler. No. 268.
mm. Under parts and upper parts yellowish green, an
orange-brown patch on the crown. Orange-
crowned Warbler. No. 267.
11. Under parts yellowish brown or buff, top of head with four
sharp black stripes and three buffy stripes. Worm-
eating Warbler. No. 263.
261. Black and White Warbler. Mniotilta varia (Linn.). (636)
Synonyms: Black and White Creeper, ]51ack and White Creeping Warbler, Creeping
Warbler, Striped Warbler. — Motacilla varia, Linn., 1766. — Sylvia varia, Bonap., Nutt.
— Certhia varia, Vieill., 1807, And., 1831.— Mniotilta varia, Vieill., 1818, Aud., 1839, Nutt.,
1840, and most recent authors. — Certhia maculata, W^ils., 1811.
Figure 135.
Size of a Canaiy and streaked and spotted everywhere with black and
white; a white stripe through the middle of the crown.
Distribution. — Eastern United States to the Plains, north to Fort
Simpson, south, in winter, through Central America and the West Indies
to Venezuela and Colombia. Breeds from Virginia and southern Kansas
northward, and winters from Florida and the Gulf States southward.
The Black and White Creeper, as we prefer to call it, is a common migrant
throughout the entire state and a summer resident in most sections, but
nuich more commonly in the northern part of the
state. It arrives from the south with great regularity
during the last days of April and the first week in
May. During twelve years of o])servation at Peters-
burg, Monroe county, the earliest spring arrival was
April 22, 1885 and the latest May 9, 1898. At Bay
City the range was from April 28, 1897 to May 8,
1898, while at Sault Ste. Marie it was recorded May 13,
1899, and at Palmer, Marquette county. May 20,
1894 and May 7, 1895. The southward migration
is not as well recorded, l)Ut the greater ])art of the movement takes place
in September, specimens having been killed at Prcsque Isle Light, Lake
Fij;. i;{5. Black and White
Warliler. From Hoff-
man's Guide. Iloiiehton,
Mifflin & Co.
580 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Huron, September 15. 1890, and on Spectacle Reef Light, Septeml)er 16,
1888, September 26, 1886, September 21, 1890, and October 3, 1893. On
the Charity Ishmds, Saginaw J3ay, the first southward migrants were noted
by Norman A. Wood, on August 26, 1910.
The species does not seem to be so abundant anywhere in Michigan as
in the New England states and its nest has not been found very frequently.
We have records of its nesting, however, in Kalamazoo county (Gibbs) ;
Ann Arbor (Covert) ; Oscoda county (Wood and Frothingham) ; Petersburg,
Monroe county (Trombley) ; Port Huron (Hazelwood) ; Marquette county
(Mowbray, Warren, Wyman); St. Clair county (Swales); Wayne county
(J. Claire Wood); Emmett county (Widmann); and Grand Rapids (Cole).
It has also been recorded in summer from numerous other counties, where,
however, neither the nest nor young have actually been seen.
The bird is one of the most interesting of our insectivorous friends,
combining the habits of woodpecker, nuthatch, chickadee and warbler.
It is usually seen running rapidly over the trunks and larger limbs of the
trees, very much in the manner of the nuthatch, but occasionally stopping
and prying deeply into some crevice in the manner of a woodpecker.
At other times it may be seen following a leafy branch to its tip, traveling
sideways by little leaps and hops, or running rapidly like any other warbler.
Its song, if such it can be called, is an unpretentious twitter which Seton
Thompson describes as "a thin twitter like a Cedar-bird in a hurry, which
may be suggested by the syllables ' chipiti, chipiti, chipiti, chipiti,' uttered
faster and faster until it becomes a mere twitter" (Birds of Manitoba, p.
616). Although not loud or striking this call is perfectly characteristic,
and when once the observer becomes familiar with it he will find the bird
frequently when otherwise it would be overlooked.
The nest is placed on the ground, invariably, so far as our experience
goes. It seems to be characteristic of the bird to place the nest close to
or under some protecting shelter, sometimes a log, again the I'oot of a tree,
more rarely the side of a grassy bank, but most commonly of all the
edge of a projecting rock. Among a score of nests examined, at least
half were under or close to stones of varying size. The nest is sunken
in the ground, deeply hollowed, and sometimes partially closed over at
the top. It is built of various fine fibrous materials in which long hairs
of horse or cow are always prominent.
The eggs are four to six, white, with reddish brown dots, thickest about
the larger ends, and average .67 by .57 inches.
This species is frequently imposed upon by the Cowbird, and we have
seen five young Creepers and two young Cowbirds, all nearly grown, in
the same nest, the Creepers, however, being emaciated and hardly likely
to survive.
The food is much like that of other warblers, l)ut a larger proportion
of it is taken from the trunks and lim})s of trees and a smaller proportion
from the foliage itself, while some is gathered fi'om the ground. Insects
in various stages form by far the greater part, but the bird also eats a
few berries and seeds. It seems to be particularly fond of plant-lice and
may often be seen gorging itself on these insects during early spring and
again in the fall.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Upper parts streaked with black and white, black predominating; under parts
similarly streaked but white predominating; two white wing-bars; two outer pairs of tail
feathers with white spots on inner web near tip. The young male is similar, but the throat
LAND BIRDS. SSI
IS white, and without streaks. The adult female is similar to the young male, but the
markings not so sharp or strong, and the sides are usually washed with brownish.
Length 4.55 to 5.50 inches; wing 2.60 to 2.90; tail L95 to 2.25.
262. Prothonotary Warbler. Protonotaria citrea (Bodd.). (637)
Synonyms: Golden Warbler, Golden Swamp Warbler, Willow Warbler. — Motacilla
citrea, Boddaert, 1783. — Helmintliophaga citrea, Cab., 186L — Sylvia protonotarius,
Vieill., Wils., Bonap., Nutt., Aud.^ — Protonotaria citrea, Baird, 1859, and most subsequent
authors.
Entire head, neck and under parts rich yellow or orange without streaks;
tail with big white patches, no wing-bars.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to Nebraska and Kansas,
north to Virginia, southern Michigan and Iowa, casually to New England,
Ontario, and Minnesota; in winter, Cuba and Northern South America.
Breeds throughout its United States range.
This bird reaches the northern limit of its range in IMichigan antl appears
to be confined almost or cjuite to the southern portions of the state. Ordi-
narily it is a rare bird and is met with singly or in small colonies here and
there in the overflowed swamps which are its peculiar habitat. In only
two localities in the state, so far as we are aware, has it been recorded as
abundant. Mr. H. W. McBride states that it was found abundantly
along the St. Joseph River in Motville township, St. Joseph county, Mich-
igan, and for a distance of three and one-half to four miles along the river
from White Pigeon was to be seen or heard all the time. This was in ]\Iay
LS91 (Butler, Birds of Indiana, LS97, pp. 1022-1023). During the summer
of 1907, E. R. Kalml)ach and H. A. Moorman, while on a canoe trijD down
the Grand River, found this beautiful warbler in numbers at certain favor-
able places in Jackson and Ingham counties, and in lesser numbers as far
as Dimondale, Eaton county. This was between June 17 and July 1,
and nests containing eggs were not uncommon, although others contained
young.
A. B. Covert and N. A. Wood of Ann Arbor found a pair breeding in
the dense swamp in Lyons township, Oakland county. May 8,1896, and
the nest and female are now in the Museum of the University of Michigan
at Ann Arbor. A single specimen was noted at Grosse Pointe Farms,
Wayne county. May 9, 1903, Ijy A. B. Covert and A. W. lilain, and a female
was found dead under an electric light tower in Grand Rapids, Kent county.
May 13, 1905, the skin being now in the possession of H. A. Moornum.
In the summer of 1905 a pair of these birds occupied a mailbox or letterbox
fastened to a veranda post of residence No. 35 Cold water St., Kalamazoo.
They began nesting in the box on May 19 and five young were reared.
The occupant of the house, Mrs. C. A. Pierre, furnished Mr. P. A. Taverner
with a full account of the nesting and he also examined the nest. The
Kalamazoo River, bordered by a fringe of willows, flows within a few rods
of the l)ack of the house.
During the summer of 1906 a pair nested in a woodpecker's hole in a
small tree standing in water caused by an overflow of the Grand River
al)out four miles north of Jackson, Jackson county. Mrs. Robert Campbell,
of Jackson, first saw them on May 29, and again occasionally until tlie
young left the nest. She says: "The song is loud and well sustainetl,
but not long or rythmically well marked enough for one to want to i)ut
words to it. The Yellow Warbler, Northern Yellowthroat anil Warbling
r,82 MTCHICAN BIRD IJFE.
Virco were singing at the same time, ])ut the ]'j-othonotary's song was
louder than any of these. It reminded me more of the Louisiana Water-
thrush than any other song and was of a very sweet quality." Mrs. Camp-
bell also noted that the female gathered some sort of food from the surface
of the water or the bog, going only a short distance from the nest for it,
l)ut she was unable to tell just what the food was.
The northernmost of these records (Grand Rapids) is approximately in
latitude 43 degrees, and we have but one report of the occurrence of this
warbler at any more northerly point in the state. A specimen was picked
up dead on the morning of JNlay 26, 1907, at Saginaw, by Miss Harriet H.
Wright, who states that it was after a night of sleet and snow, and several
daj's of bad weather, which proved fatal to many other warblers.
As already indicated this bird is remarkable for the regions which it
frequents and particularly for the manner of its nesting. It seems to
select invariably the wettest swamps, being partial to regions of overflow,
where the water stands for weeks or perhaps months among the trees
alongside the river. In such situations it selects a decayed stump in
which a deserted woodpecker's hole or some natural cavity exists, and
in this, usually not more than five or six feet above the surface of the
water, the nest is built. This is made of various soft substances, but
according to Brewster "fresh green moss enters largely into its composition,
and although this substance is readily obtained, a week is sometimes
consumed in building the simple little affair. * * * The shape and
size vary with that of the cavity in which it is placed. When the hole
is deep it is usually built up to within four or five inches of the entrance.
* * * When the cavity is shallow it is often only scantily lined with
moss and a few fine roots." Dry leaves, fine twigs and a few feathers
are often added to the nest materials.
The eggs vary in number from four to seven, although occasionally the
female appears to sit on only one or two eggs. These are clear white,
highly polished, and spotted with pale lavender and reddish-l)i'()wn. They
average .68 by .55 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Head, neck and entire under parts, with the exception of the under tail-
coverts, rich bright yellow; under tail-coverts white; interscopular region greenish-yellow,
usually in rather marked contrast witli the head; lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts
l)luish ash; wings and tail slate-color margined with ash,, the wings mnnarked, the tail-
fcatliers, except the middle pair, with large white blotches on the inner web; bill black.
I'cmalc similar but duller, tiie top of tlie head usually olive-green and the ash of the wings
and back h^ss pure.
Lengtli f) to 5.50 inches; wing 2.90 to 3; tail about 2.25. Sexes alike in size.
263. Worm-eating Warbler, Helmitheros vermivorus (GmeL). (639)
Synonyms: Worm-eating Swump Warbler, Worm-cater. — Motacilla vermivora,
Gmelin, 1789. — Sylvia vermivora, Wils., Nutt., Aud. — Helinaia vermivora, Aud., 1839.
— Helmitheros vermivorus, Baird, 1858, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most subsequent
authors. — Vermivora pennsylvanica. Swains., Jard., and a few others.
Top of the head striped with three buff and four black lines; under parts
buffy, without streaks or spots; no wing-bars; tail without spots.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, north to southern New York
and southern New England, west to eastern Nebraska and Texas; south
LAND BIRDS. 583
irl winter to Cuba and northern South America. Breeds throughout its
United States range.
The right of the Worm-eating Warbler to a place in the Michigan list
seems to rest largely on the record of A. B. Covert, who states that he took
a male at Ann Arbor, Washtenaw county, May 21, 1878. The specimen,
however, has been lost sight of. The species is mentioned in Stockwell's
list in Forest & Stream as a rare visitant to the southern counties (F. and
S., VIII, 261), and it occurs in Cook's list of 1893 on the authority of
Major Boies, of Hudson, Lenawee county. Major Boies, however, appears
never to have taken a specimen and possibly was mistaken in recording
it for Lenawee county. Dr. Gibbs has never found it in Kalamazoo county,
but notes D. D. Hughes' statement that one was taken in June 1868, by
a Mr. Hurd. That most careful observer, Jerome Trombley, has failed
to note it at Petersburg, Monroe county.
Butler states that he does not know of its occurrence in northeastern
Indiana beyond the Wabash river, but says that it has been taken on the
shore of Lake Michigan at Waukegan, Illinois, above Chicago, May 21,
1876 (Birds of Indiana, 1897, p. 1027). Kumlien and Hollister also record
a single specimen taken at Lake Koshkonong, southern Wisconsin, in May
1873, and another in ]\Iay 1877.
The Worm-eating Warbler has been reported from time to time from
various parts of Michigan, even from the Upper Peninsula, by observers
who were unquestionably honest, but mistaken. The bird is a southern
form which enters the state, if at all, only at long intervals and in small
numbers. Undoubtedly females and immature specimens of the Black
and White Warbler have been occasionally mistaken for the Worm-eating
Warbler, l^ut this mistake would never occur had the observer evei- handled
an actual specimen of the latter bird.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Color mainly dull buff below and olive-green above, but the top of the head
witii two broad black stripes running from bill to nape, enclosing a large area of buff, and
l)ordered on the outside by another buff stripe, and this in turn bounded by a narrow
black line wliich starts at the eye and runs backward to tlie nape. Buff of the under jiarts
strongest on the breast, lightest on the throat and belly; wings and tail drab, margineil
above with olive-green, the outer-tail feathers with narrow white margins on the iimer
web near the tip; bill l)ro\viusli-black. Sexes alike.
Length 5 to 5.7r) inches; wing 2.6") to 2.90; tail 1.90 to 2.20. Female slightly smaller.
264. Blue-winged Warbler. Vermivora pinus (Linn.). (641)
Synonyms: Blue-winged Yellow Warbler, Blue-winged Swamp Warbler. — C'erthia
pinus, Linn., 1766. — Helmintliophaga pinus, Baird, 1858, and many others.^ — Helmintho-
])hila pinus, Ridgw., 1882, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most subsequent authors. —
Sylvia solitaria, Wils., Nutt., Aud. — Helmitheros solitarius, Sclater. (Tiiis must not be
confounded with tiie Pine Warbler, No. 283.)
Crown and under parts rich yellow; a l)la('k strii)e thi-ough the eye;
two white or yellowish wing-bai's; three or four paii's of tail-feathers with
white blotches.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, from southern New York, southern
New England, and southern Minnesota southward, and west to Nebraska
and Texas. In winter, south to Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
This is another rare warbler which appears to have been taken less than
a dozen times within our limits. It is a southern species, pai-tial to swamps
584 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFK.
and rich moist woodlands, where it appears to have essentially the same
habits as its near relative the Golden-winged Warbler. Trombley records
a single specimen seen at Petersburg May 10, 1897, and Dr. Gibbs states
that A. E. Chambers of Kalamazoo secured a specimen there May 5, 1879.
There are two records for Wayne county, a pair seen by J. Claire Wood,
May 29, 1902, and a male taken by the same collector, in Ecorse tow^nship,
May 9, 1906. Mrs. Robt. Campbell also reports seeing one at Jackson
May 18, 1906. Mr. S. E. White furnishes the northernmost record, as
follows: "On Sunday July 1, 1889 [on Mackinac Island] I saw a fine male
of this species in an evergreen tree. He permitted the closest scrutiny,
sometimes approaching within a few feet of my head in a search for food.
I could not find him again the next day" (Birds of Mackinac Island, Auk,
X, 1893, 227). There are also two records for Ann Arbor, Washtenaw
county, one a female taken May 1, 1896, and now in the University collec-
tion, the other a male in Mr. Norman A. Wood's collection, taken May 6,
1904. The Blue- winged Warbler occurs in Stockwell's Forest and Stream
list (Vol. VIII, p. 261) where it is stated that it is a "frequent visitor in
southern Michigan and has been seen as far north as Genesee county," a
statement which hardly seems warranted by the facts.
The nest is placed on the ground and is similar to that of the Golden-
winged Warbler. The eggs are three to five, white, finely dotted with
brown, and average .60 by .48 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire under parts from chin to vent rich golden yellow; under tail-
coverts white; forehead and crown yellow like the breast, but often somewhat obscured
by olive tips; remainder of tlie head, back and rump, rich olive-green; wings and tail
slate-gray margined witli bluish-ash, the outer tail-feathers (three pairs) with large white
spots on the inner webs; two white or yellowish-white wing bars of variable width; lores
and line behind the eye black or blackish. Female similar, but somewhat duller, the
wing-bars and black markings of the head less conspicuous.
Length 4 to 5 inches; wing 2.40 to 2.50; tail about 2.
White-throated Warbler. Vermivora leucobronchialis {Brewst.).
Synonyms: Brewster's Warbler. — Helminthophaga leucobrochialis, Brewster, 1874,
and others. — Helminthophila leucobronchialis, Palmer, 1885, A. (). U. Check -list, 1880.
• — Helminthophaga gunnii, Gibbs.
Similar to the Blue-winged Warbler, the throat silky white and breast more or less
tinged with yellow; wing-bars often bright yellow. Distribution probably identical
with that of the Blue-winged Warbler, of which this probably should be considered only
a variant.
Apparently there are but two records of this bird for the state, one taken by W. A.
Gunn, May 25, 1879, near Grand Rapids, but in Ottawa county (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club,
IV, 1879, 125), and the other taken by N. A. Wood, at Ann Arbor, May 18, 1902 (Auk,
XIX, 1902, 401).
This is a doubtful form which has been the occasion of much speculation for the last
twenty years. For a time it was believed to be a hybrid between the Blue-winged and
Golden-winged Warblers, but the latest verdict seems to be as given by Dr. Bisliop (Auk,
XX, 1905, 24). "Tiie conclusion seems to me to be irresistable that H. leucohronchialis
is merely a leucochroic phase of //. pinus, which from its appearing frequently only
within a very limited area, may in time become a si^ecies."
In general habits and song this species docs not differ noticeably from the Blue-winged
Warbler.
TECHNICAL DESCKIPTION.
"Adult male: Forehead, and fore part of the crown yellow, a black line from the bill
through the eye; rest of the upper parts bluish gray; wing-bars broadly yellow; tail like
the back, tlirce to four outer featliers marked with wiiite; under parts pure wliite, faintly
LAND BIRDS. 585
washed with yellow on the breast. Fall specimens are more heavily washed with yellow,
and the ujiper parts are margined with olive-green. Adult female: Similar, but wing-
bars white, and crown not so bright" (Chapman).
265. Golden-winged Warbler. Vermivora chrysoptera (Lmn.). (642)
Synonyms: Golden-winged Swamp Warbler, Blue ( ioldcn-winged Warbler. — Motacilla
chrysoptera, Linn., 1766. — Sylvia chrysoptera, Vieill., Wils., Nutt., Aud. — Helminthophaga
chrysoptera, Baird, 1858. — Helminthophila chrysoptera, Ridgw., 1882, A. O. U. Check-
list, 1886, and most subsequent writers.
Crown and patch on wing bright yellow; throat and band through the
eye black, with white line between; three or four pairs of tail-feathers
white blotched.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, north to southern New England,
southwestern Ontario and southern Mirniesota ; breeding from northern
New Jersey and northern Indiana northward, and southward along the
Alleghanies to South Carolina. Central America and northern South
America in winter.
This l)eautiful warbler is irregularly distributed over the southern half
of the Lower Peninsula during summer, arriving from the south about
the first to the twelfth of May, and retreating southward in August or
early September. Probably it nests wherever found, although it is re-
ported at several points in the Lower Peninsula as a migrant only. This
is one of the warblers which have varied in numbers remarkably in late
years. Fifteen or twenty years ago it was very abundant in Monroe
county, where Mr. Trombley found it nesting commonly; at present it
has almost disappeared from that region. In the neighborhood of Lansing,
from 1895 to about 1898, it was also fairly abundant, probably exceeding
in numbers the common Yellow Warbler, although that species was far
from abundant. Since 1900, however, the Golden-wing has not been
noticed frequently, and although a few nest here every season it is far
from common. It is reported as a common breeder near JDetroit by Swales,
J. C. Wood and Taverner; as common and breeding at Manchester
(Watkins); Grand Rapids (Cole); Ann Arbor (N. A. Wood, R. H. Wolcott,
A. B. Covert.) At Kalamazoo it was formerly a regular migrant and
breeder, but never very abundant, and the same appears to be the case
at Port Huron where Mr. Hazelwood notes it as a migrant, but thinks
it does not nest. The most northern record for the state is Mackinac
Island, where Mr. S. E. White states that in 1891 a number were constantly
observed up to July 26, although none had been seen in the two previous
years. It was not found by Wood and Frothingham in Otsego, Crawford,
Oscoda or Alcona counties, nor has the writer found it at any of the points
visited in the upper part of the Lower Peninsula. So far as our present
information goes the bird is practically restricted to the region south of
the forty-fourth parallel and its occurrence north of that point must be
considered as purely accidental.
The nest is placed invariably on the ground, usually in the edge of woods
or in bushy pastures, often at the foot of a shrub or tree, and usually well
hidden. It is built of various fibrous materials and often lined with fine
roots and hair. The eggs are four or five, white, speckled with brown,
chiefly at the larger end, and average .64 by .53 inches.
The song of the Golden-wing is hardly more than a lisi)iiig twitter,
consisting of a repetition of the syllables see, see, sec or tsee]), tsccp, tseep.
586 MICHICIAN BIRD LIFE.
The food like that of the other members of the genus, consists mainly
of insects, and so far as we know has no marked iDeculiarities.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Forehead and crown bright yellow, the rest of the xipper parts bluish
gray, and this color shading the sides below; lores, cheeks and most of the throat and upper
breast velvet black; a white stripe above the eye, another and broader one running back-
ward from the base of the lower mandible to the side of the neck, separating the black
of the cheeks from that of the throat; middle of the breast and belly white, sometimes in
full plumage tinged with yellow; two conspicuous yellow wing-bars, often so broad as
to run together into a single large patch; three outer pairs of tail-feathers with large white
blotches on the inner webs; bill black. Adult female similar, but the black areas all re-
placed by light slate, and the yellow of the crown mostly replaced by bright olive-green.
Length 4 to 5 inches; wing 2.40 to 2.50; tail about 2.
266. Nashville Warbler. Vermivora rubricapilla rubricapilla (ir?7so/i). (645)
Synonyms: Nashville Swamp Warbler. — Sylvia rubricapilla, Wilson, 1812. — Sylvia
ruficapilla, Aud., 1831. — Helminthophaga ruficapilla, Baird, 1 858.^Helminthophila
ruficapilla, Ridgw., 1882, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886. — Vermivora rubricapilla, Sw. and
Rich., 1831.
Mainly olive above and bright yellow below, without spots or streaks;
crown bluish-gray with a partly concealed reddish-brown or chestnut
patch; no wdng bars or white tail spots.
Distribution. — Eastern North America to the Plains, north to the Fur
Countries, breeding from northern United States northward. Mexico
and Guatemala in winter.
This little warbler is a rather common migrant throughout the state
and a frequent summer resident throughout the northern half of the Lower
Peninsula and most of the Upper Peninsula. It seems to have a preference
in summer for tamarack swamps and low lying tracts of evergreens, especi-
ally about the margins and openings, but during migration it is found in
all sorts of situations, perhaps as often in orchards as elsewhere. In spite
of the fact that it invariably nests on the ground, the bird keeps well up
in the tops of trees during its migration and apparently gets the larger
part of its food from such places. We do not recall ever having seen one
on the ground, or searching for food within a foot or two of the ground.
The food consists mainly if not entirely of insects, and the 1)ir(l would be
decidedly beneficial w^ere it more abundant.
The nest is usually well hidden in the thick herbage, or among the moss,
in comparatively low ground, and it has been repeatedly found embedded
in the peat moss (Sphagnu7n) so common in tamarack swamps. It is
neatly made, deeply hollowed, and consists of fine grasses, roots and
similar materials, often lined with long hairs. The eggs are three to six,
most often four or five, creamy white, thickly and minutely spotted with
reddish brown. They average .61 by .47 inches.
The distribution in the breeding season is not well made out in Michigan,
since the bird is 'apparently not abundant anywhere during the nesting
season. So far as we are aware no nest has been found in any of the four
southern tiers of counties, and the bird is reported as a migrant only at
Plymouth, Petersburg, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor. On
the other hand. Dr. Gibbs found it a summer resident in Montcalm county;
Dr. Dunham in Kalkaska county; Widmann in Emmet county, and several
observers in various parts of the Upper Peninsula. It usually arrives
LAND BIRDS. 587
from the south rather late, and an average date for Lansing would be
about May 10. Mr. Swales, however, states that it arrives in the neighl)or-
hood of Detroit from April 26 to May 3, remaining through the middle
of May; and that it returns again in early September, remaining through
the month. Specimens were killed on Spectacle Reef Light, northern
Lake Huron, May 10 and 11, 1888, and September 26, 1886, September
24, 1889, and September 21, 1890. In the southern part of the state
it not infrequently lingers until the first week in October, being thus one
of the latest of our migrants to move south.
The song in Manitoba, is described by Seton Thompson as a warble
"something like that of the Summer Warbler, and may be rendered, 'toit
toit toit toit chip-it-e-ip-it-e ipitiipitipitipiti,' the last part being a con-
tinuous twitter."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Crown with a chestnut patch, often more or less hidden; rest of the head
and neck above, bluish-ash; back, rump and upper tail-coverts olive-green, the wings
and tail dusky, edged with olive-green; entire under parts, including under tail-coverts,
bright golden yellow, sometimes washed with olive on the sides of the breast and belly;
a white ring around the eye; tail-feathers sometimes narrowly edged on inner webs with
whitish, but without white patches. Female similar, but somewhat duller, the chestnut
cro^\Tl patch often nearly invisible. In autumn the ash of the upper parts is browner,
the yellow below is duller, and the eye-ring is buffy instead of white.
Length 4.20 to 5 inches; wing 2.25 to 2.45; tail 1.80 to 1.90. Female slightly smaller.
267. Orange-crowned Warbler. Vermivora celata celata (Say). (646)
Synonyms: Orange-crown. — Sylvia celatus, Say, 1823, Bonap., Nutt., Aud. — Helmin-
thophaga celata, Baird, 1858. — Helminthophila celata, Ridgw., 1882, and most subsequent
authors.
Very similar to the Nashville Warbler, but more greenish-yellow below;
the crown patch orange or reddish-yellow instead of chestnut.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding as far northward as
the Yukon and Mackenzie River districts and southward through the
Rocky Mountains, and wintering in the South Atlantic and Gulf States
and Mexico.
The Orange-crown probably is the least common of its genus found in
the state. In fact it should not be spoken of as common at all, being a
decidedly rare Inrd. Presumably it is a migrant only, arriving from the
south at about the same time as the Nashville and departing also at about
the same time. This species was not mentioned by Dr. Sager in 1839,
or by Cabot in 1850. Boies included it in his list of 1875, Covert in his
lists of 1878 and 1881, and Dr. Atkins took thi-ee specimens at Locke,
Ingham county, between September 11 and October 1, 1880. Dr. Gibbs
never met with a specimen alive near Kalamazoo, but states that Mr.
F. H. Chapin secured one in that county. Covert took one at Ann Arbor
April 23, 1879 and another on May 7 the same year. Norman A. Wood
has a specimen taken at Ann Arbor, and another collected on Charity
Island, Saginaw Bay, September 29, 1910. Swales and Taverner took
a specimen in St. Clair county Septeml)er 25, 1904, and J. Claire A\'ood
took a single specimen in Wayne county ^lay 9, 1906, and three more
May 16, 1909. There are four records of the Orange-crowned Wai'bler
for Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, viz., Mav 24 and 25, 1894, "August
30, 1894, and September 20, 1887.
588 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The bird is equally rare in the territory adjoining Michigan. In Indiana
Butler states that it is the rarest bird of its genus, known only as a migrant,
often entirely wanting for years together, and rarely seen in any numbers.
In nineteen years in Franklin county he has found it but four times (Birds
of Indiana, 1897, 1035). In Wisconsin, according to Kumlien and HolUster,
it is nowhere abundant, but seems considerably more common in the
western part of the state. In Ontario it is also far from common;
Mcllwraith (1894) records five specimens, and a few more have been seen
since.
As already stated it is not known to nest in Michigan and its summer
home is in the far north, even well into the Arctic Circle. The nest and
eggs are almost precisely Hke those of the other members of the genus,
and the eggs average .63 by .49 inches.
Seton Thompson states that the song is much like that of the Chipping
Sparrow, but more musical and in a higher key. So far as we are aware
it has not been heard to sing while with us during migration, its only note
being the sharp "tsip" common to a majority of the warblers.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Similar to the Naslnille AVarblcr, but the crown patch brownish orange instead of chest-
nut, and the remainder of tlic ui)i)("r ])arts olive-green without any bluish-ash; under parts
from chin to under tail-coverts yellowish-olive, more dusky on the sides; no evident eye-
ring. Young similar, but duller and without any crown patch or with only a trace. Of
the same size as the Nashville.
268. Tennessee Warbler. Vermivora peregrina {Wilmn). (647)
Synonyms: Tennessee Swamp Warbler. — Sylvia peregrina, Wilson, 1811, Bonap.,
Nutt., Aud. — Vermivora peregrina, Sw. & Rich., 1831. — Helminthophaga peregrina,
Baird, 1858, and most other writers until 1882. — Helminthophila peregrina, Ridgw.,
1882, and most subsequent authors.
Very similar to the Nashville, but the crown without any colored patch,
the back and rump bright olive-green, and the under parts white or Avhitish,
without spots or streaks, and at most with only a tinge of yellow.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding from northern New
York and northern New England northward to Hudson Bay Territory;
in winter, south through eastern Mexico to Costa Rica and Colombia.
This is a warbler which occurs in variable numbers in different years
and which must be considered a migrant only, at least for the greater
part of the state. Occasionally it appears in considerable numbers, especi-
ally in the fall, when it is seen in small flocks of a dozen or more individuals,
and these are met with frequently and for several days in succession,
ordinarily in late August or early September. Again for a year or two
few will be seen either in spring or fall, and apparently it is always much less
common in spring. It has been reported in the fall from all parts of the
state.
It is rather late in its arrival from the south, coming from the 10th to
the 15th of May, in the neighl^orhood of Detroit, and from the 20th to the
30th in the northern part of the state. The records of specimens killed
on Spectacle Reef Light, are May 23, 1897, May 28, 1892, September 5
and September 29, 1889, September 29, 1887 and October 3, 1893. Mr.
J. Claire Wood states that in Wayne county "not even a straggler was
seen in 1904, but it was the most common species in 1905 from August
LAND BIRDS. 589
24 to September 10, and was last seen October 12." As a rule he con-
siders it "the most common woodland migrant in autumn." In Wisconsin,
according to Kumlien and Hollister "It is usually an extraordinarily-
abundant migrant, especially in the fall, at some seasons far outnumbering
any other species. * * * No authentic record of it as a summer
resident, although it is at times common, even in the southern counties,
by August 15th."
From three independent sets of observations it seems fairly certain
that this species occasionally nests in the higher or more northern parts
of the state. Mr. Walter M. Wolfe found young just able to fly, near
Beulah, Benzie county, August 4, 1906. He writes: "I secured one
adult, then a young bird too Ijadly mutilated for identification, and finally
another young bird that clearly settled the case." Mr. Gerard A. Abbott,
of Chicago, writes us under date of October 2, 1906: "The Tennessee
Warbler was seen in Oscoda county, Mich., late in June 1906, l)ut no nests
were discovered, though they were certainly breeding." Mr. Norman
A. Wood, of Ann Arbor, writes: "None of our party saw this warbler
[the Tennessee] at the Porcupine Mountains (Ontonagon Co.) during
the month we were there, July 13 to August 15, 1904. Our earliest
record at Isle Royale was on August 2, 1905, at Siskowit Bay. We did
not see any at the northeast end of the island in July, but it was not a
favorable place for them to breed, so I am sure a few bred on the island,
as the migrants did not seem to come until about August 15, and the
greatest number on August 30."
The bulk of the species is believed to nest far north, even within the
Arctic Circle. Several nests were taken in June 1901 in Cariboo, British
Columbia, by Mr. Allan Brooks, and are described by J. Parker Norris in
the Auk, Vol. XIX, pp. 88-89. The eggs are there described as somewhat
different from the other members of the genus in being spotted with a few
larger red brown spots in addition to the usual fine markings, and also
with a number of spots of light lilac. The eggs averaged about .60 by
.46 inches. The nests were placed on the ground at the ft)ot of small
bushes and arched over by dry grass.
The food of this species is of peculiar interest because it is one of the
few warblers which have proved to be destructive to fruits in a peculiar
way. The Tennessee Warbler is known to puncture ripe or ripening
grapes and to suck the juice, thereby causing the decay of the ])erries so
punctured and attracting yellow-jackets, bees and other nectar-loving
insects so that whole clusters are sometimes ruined. This work was long
attributed to orioles, catbirds and various other species, but has now been
definitely fixed on the present species and cannot be denied. Doul)tless
in some cases the damage so done is considerable, but usually the birds
are so scarce that the amount of fruit damaged is absolutely insignificant.
Like numerous other warblers this species eats the ])erries of sumac and
poison ivy, and, disgorging the seeds afterwai'd, of course spi'eads these
poisonous plants. Except for these two habits the bird is undoubtedly
beneficial, since its food consists mainly of insects, among which are immense
numbers of leaf-destroying forms, and in particular, plant-lice and the minute
leaf-rollers and other forms which few but the warblers capture. Prof.
Forbes examined a single stomach of this species taken in 1882 in an
orchard overrun with canker worms and found that four-fifths of its food
consisted of canker worms and the i-emaindei- of a single siiocies of beetle,
Telephorus hilinealus.
590 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Top and sides of head gray, the back, rump and upper tail-coverts bright
olive-green; wing and tail feathers dusky, edged with olive and often margined at the
tips with white; a yellowish white streak from the forehead over the eye; under parts
white or grayish white, purest on the belly and under tail-coverts, grayer and often yellowish
on throat and breast; no wing-bars or conspicuous tail-markings. Adult female similar
to male, but with some olive-gi'een on the top of the head and the under parts usually
washed with yellowish. Rather larger than the Nashville.
Length 4.50 to 5 inches; wing 2.75; tail L60 to 2.
269. Northern Parula Warbler. Compsothlypis americana usneae Brewst.
(648a)
Synonyms: Blue Yellow-backed Warbler, Blue Yellow-back, Northern Blue Yellow-
back.— Sylvia americana, Bonap., 1826. — Parula americana, Bonaj)., 1838, and most
authors until 1884. — Compsothlypis americana, Stejn., 1884, part, A. O. U., Check-list,
1886, part, and most recent authors. — Compsothlypis americana usneae, Brewster, 1896.
Smallest of our warblers. Gray-blue above, with a conspicuous patch
of greenish-yellow in the middle of the back; throat and breast mainl}^
yellow, the latter with a broad girdle of mottled chestnut and black; two
white wing-bars, and half the tail-feathers white spotted.
Distribution. — New England, New York and westward along the northei'n
tier of states, and northward into the Maritime Provinces and Ontario,
migrating southward beyond the United States in winter.
This beautiful little warbler is not uncommon during migration in
most parts of the state, although it seems to be irregularly distributed.
It is rather late in arriving from the south, although S. E. White reported
it at Grand Rapids in 1890 as early as April 22, and again on April 30
and May 2. In Ingham county it usually comes between the 5th and
15th of May, and specimens have been killed on Spectacle Reef Light,
Lake Huron, as early as May 5 and 7, 1889 and May 11, 1888,'while others
struck that light on May 17, 1885, May 19, 1893 and May 21," 1891. The
species also remains rather late in the fall, since specimens were killed
on Presque Isle Light, Lake Huron, September 15, 1890, Spectacle Reef
Light, September 17. 1893, and one was taken on Charity Island, September
26, 1910 (N. A. Wood). Undoubtedly a good many linger until the latter
part of September, and Mr. Swales records one in the neighborhood of
Detroit October 14, 1905, and J. C. Wood took one October 16, 1909.
In its habits it combines the actions of warbler, chickadee and kinglet,
as it often hangs head downward from a terminal bud or a bunch of leaves,
and frequently hovers Hke a kinglet before a leaf or flower. It also creeps
up and down branches, and in fact takes any position possible to any one
of oui- small birds.
Its food seems to consist entirely of insects, and it must be very useful
to the horticulturist in its destruction of plant-lice, leaf-rollers and span-
worms. During its migration it is perhaps rather more likely to be found
among hardwood growths than among the evergreens, but its presence
seems mainly determined by the abundance of its insect food and it
frequents alike willow thickets, orchards and the tops of the higher forest
trees.
Undoubtedly it nests throughout a large part of the state, but owing
to the character of the places frequented it is seldom noted dui'ing the
nesting season, and the nest appears to have l)een found only n, few times.
LAND BIRDS. 591
Mr. Covert informed Dr. R. H. Wolcott that he found it nesting at South
Lyons, Washtenaw county, in 1895, and Mr. Covert states in his manuscript
list of 1894-95 that D. C. Worcester found a nest in a tamarack swamp
near Ann Arbor, May 17, 1893. Mr. L. J. Cole tells us that he suspects
that the bird breeds in the low places among the sand dunes near Grand
Haven, Ottawa county, and the writer has found it during the nesting
season near Petoskey, Emmet county, although no nests were actually
found.
The subspecies was named usnece by Mr. Brewster from the fact that
so far as observed it nests invariably in masses (usually pensile) of the
so-called "Beard-moss," belonging to the genus Usnea which so frequently
festoons the trees in swampy places and overflowed woodlands. The
bird selects a swinging mass of this moss and in its interior builds a neat
nest, mainly of pieces of the moss itself, but sometimes with a few rootlets
and hairs interwoven, the nest being usually arched over or completely
closed at the top, with the entrance through a hole in the side. Not in-
frequently the nest is within two or three feet of the water, and instances
are recorded where many of these nests have been destroyed by the rising
of the water in heavy freshets. Ordinarily, however, they are placed
from five to twenty feet above the water (or ground) and are so skilfully
concealed as to be found only by patient watching of the birds. The
eggs are three to five, white, speckled with I'eddish lirown, and aveiage
.64 by .46 inches.
According to Bicknell it has two different songs. In one the notes
coalesce into a fine insect-like trill; in the other four similar notes are
followed by four others, weaker and more cpiickly given.
TIOCHNIOAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Upper j)arts, from forehead to tail, bright grayish blue, witli a patch
of greenish yellow in the middle of the back; sides of head and neck blue like the back,
this color extending along the sides of the breast and belly; lores black; a white spot
on the lower eyelid; two conspicuous white wing-bars; chin and middle of breast clear
bright yellow; throat and upper breast mixed black, brown and yellow; belly and imder
tail-coverts white; most of the tail feathers with white spots which are large and squarish
on the outer two pairs. Female similar, but less brown and black on throat and breast,
these parts often being entirely yellow; upper parts duller blue, and white wing-bars
narrower.
Lengtli 4.10 to 4.90 inches; wing 2.20 to 2.40; tail 1.00 to 1.85.
592 MICIHGAN BIRD LIFE.
270. Cape May Warbler, Dendroica tigrina {G?nelin). (650)
Synonyms: Motacilla tigrina, Gmelin, 1789. — Sylvia tigrina, Vieill. — Dendroica
tigrina, Baird, 1858. — Dendroeca tigrina, Newton, 1859. — Perissoglossa tigrina, Baird,
1865.— Sylvia maritinia, Wils., 1812.
Plate LVIII.
The sooty-brown crown, yellow rump, and conspicuous chestnut or
orange-brown patch on the side of the head, are sufficient to identify
this bird in spring. In addition it has much white on the wings and in
the tail, while the under parts are rich yellow, streaked with black.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, north to Lake Winnipeg and
the Hudson Bay Territory, west to the Plains. Breeds from northern
New England northward; winters in the West Indies.
This, one of our most beautiful warblers, has been regarded by most ob-
servers as decidedly rare. It is, however, less uncommon than is generally
supposed and doubtless occurs in some numbers during the migrations
in all places where warblers are at all numerous. It arrives from the
south from the first to the middle of May, more often later than earlier.
Specimens were killed on Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, May 11,
1888 and May 22, 1890, while on the southward migration they struck
the same light September 7, 1888 and Septemlier 25, 1889, and one was
killed on Ft. Oneida Light, September 27, 1886.
Usually the Cape May Warbler appears with the opening of the apple
blossoms, and it seems to have a preference for blossoming trees, possibly
because it feeds largely upon the hymenoptera and diptera which are
attracted by the nectar. It seems at all times to prefer rather open woods,
and we have seen it more often in the shade trees of city streets and parks
than any other warbler which is at all rare. Usually it is very tame and
unsuspecting, and especially in the fall, when it is fairly common, it moves
in the most leisurely manner and often spends half an hour or more in
the same tree.
Its nesting habits are but imperfectly known. No instance of its nesting
in Michigan has come to our notice, yet the northern counties of the state
are certainly within its nesting range, and it is by no means impossible that
it breeds there regularly. The nest is said to be placed usually in an
evergreen tree, quite close to the ground, and to be made of twigs, grasses,
strawberry vines and similar materials, lined with horse-hair, rootlets, etc.
The eggs are dull white, marked with lilac and reddish brown, and
average .70 by .52 inches.
The single point of economic interest which we recall, in connection
with this species, is the fact that, in company with the Tennessee Warbler
and perhaps a few other species, it has l)een known to puncture rii)e grapes
and suck their juices. Were the birds numerous and the hal)it general
some damage might be done, but under the circumstances no fruit-grower
will be likely to complain.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male in spring: Entire top of head black or brownish-black; back olive-green,
slightly streaked or spotted with black; rump and upper tail-coverts yellow; a yellow
line over the eye, a black streak through the eye, a chestnut patcli below and behind
the eye; throat and upper parts generally rich yellow, thickly streaked with clear black,
J
Plat.' LVIII. Capo May Warbler. Adult Male.
From IJird Lore. Courtesy of Frank M. Chapman.
75
Plat.' LIX. Yellow Warbler.
From an original drawing by 1'. A. 'J'averner.
LAND BIRDS. 597
but with few streaks on the chin and none on the sides of the neck where the yellow forms
a broad collar almost encircling the neck; the middle of the belly and under tail-coverts
are usually white, as is also the lining of the wings; wings brownish-black, glossed with
green, and with a conspicuous white jjatch on the greater and middle coverts; tail-feathers
black, the outer three pairs with large white spots on the inner web, the tips black. Female
similar, but lacks the chestnut patch on the ear-coverts, and much less brightly colored
otherwise; may usually be known, however, by the numerous dark streaks below, coupled
with the yellow upper tail-coverts. Young birds of either sex in the autumn are usually
confused with the young of other species and only the experienced student can separate
them.
Length 4.70 to 5.65 inches; wing 2.85; tail 2.15. Female rather smaller than male.
271. Yellow Warbler. Dendroica aestiva aestiva (GmcL). (652)
Synonyms: Summer Warbler, Golden Warbler, Summer Yellowbird, Yellowbird,
Blossom-eater, Wild Canary (incorrect). — Motacilla a>stiva, Gmehn, 1789.^Motacilla
canadensis, Bodd., 1783. — Sylvia sestiva, Vieill., 1807. — Sylvicola sestiva, Sw. and Rich.,
1831. — Dendroica aestiva, Baird, 1858, and many others. — Dendroeca JEstiva, Sclat.,
1859, and many subsequent writers. — Sylvia citrinella, Wils., 1810. — Sylvia childrenii,
Aud., 1831.
Plate LIX.
The yellowest of all our warblers, except perhaps the Prothonotary,
and the only one whose tail is mostly yellow; neither wings nor tail show
any white markings. The female has the under parts clear yellow; in
the male they are yellow, streaked with reddish brown or chestnut.
Distribution. — North America at large, except southwestern part,
south in winter to Central America and northern south America. Breeds
nearly throughout its North American range.
This beautiful little bird is probably the best known of all our warblers,
and during spring and summer is universally distributed, being apparently
just as abundant along the south shore of Lake Superior as in the southern
parts of the state. It arrives from the south about the first of May in
the southern counties and from ten to fourteen days later in the Upper
Peninsula. It is very uniform in its time of arrival, the extremes observed
by Mr. Swales at Detroit being April 25, 1899 and May 3, 1890. Up to
the last week in July Yellow Warblers are seen commonly, but about
that time they stop singing and mostly disappear. Doubtless a large
part of them at once move southward, but stragglers remain until the
first of September or even later, and one was killed on Spectacle Reef Light,
Lake Huron, September 16, 1888.
This is one of our very familiar warblers, frequenting hedgerows,
orchards, gardens and the shrubbery in city parks, as well as the willow
thickets along the streams and the depths of the most lonesome swamps.
At the time of its arrival many of the willows arc in bloom and the fact
that it is so frequently seen gathering food among their blossoms has
given it the name "Blossom-eater," according to Dr. Gibbs. As a matter
of fact the bird does not seem to eat any part of the willow l)lossoms,
or for that matter any other flowers, but is undoubtedly catching the
insects attracted by the nectar and pollen.
Its song is constant and emphatic, and as Chainnan says, "though
simple, it has a pleasing, ha])i)y ring." lie describes it as " wec-che,
chee-chee, chcr-wee."
Tiie nest is built very soon after arrival, often by the lOtli or 12th of
May. almost invariably by the hrst of June in the Lower Peninsula. It
598 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
is commonly placed in some low bush or shrub, often within two or three
feet of the ground, rarely ten or fifteen feet up in a fruit tree or shade tree.
It almost always consists largely of light-colored flaxen or hempen ma-
terials, gathered from various weed-stalks, and is very })ulky, with
thick walls and a deep hollow. It is lined with similar but finer fibrous
materials, to which is added a large amount of plant-down which is often
compactly felted so that the interior is very smooth and warm. The eggs
are four or five, bluish or greenish white, rather coarsely spotted with
lilac, brown and black. They average .66 by .48 inches.
The Yellow Warbler is constantly victimized by the Cowbird, and in
places where this parasite is abundant many deserted nests are found
containing from one to four eggs of the Cowbird, with or without some
of the warbler. This frequent desertion of the nest and the building
of a new one apparently explains the late date at which fresh eggs are
often found, the first to the middle of June; we have no conclusive evidence
that the bird ever rears two broods. As is well known, this warbler not
infrequently covers a Cowbird's egg with a new layer of material in the
bottom of the nest, raising the rim of the nest correspondingly, and instances
have been known where this has been done a second time, making a three-
storied nest.
The food consists mainly of insects and spiders, although small fruits
are taken sparingly; we have never heard a complaint of damage to garden
fruits by this bird. Forbes has shown that, like most other birds, it makes
use of the food which is most easily obtained, and in an orchard overrun
with canker-worms he found that these larvse formed two-thirds of the
whole food of the Yellow Warbler; the other insects were mainly beetles,
but there was 6 percent of spiders.
This bird is frequently confounded with the Goldfinch, which is also
called Yellow-bird, but the two species have really little resemblance in
song or habits. A comparison of the description of the Yellow Warbler
with that of the Goldfinch wdll show how unlike the two birds really are,
in spite of the fact that both show a large amoiuit of yellow.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Male ill spring: Forehead, crown, and entire under parts clear canary-yellow; throat
unspotted; breast and sides thickly streaked with reddisli Imowii; liack and ui)per lail-
coverts greenish yellow; wing-feathers dusky, the tertials niargined externally with yellow;
tail-feathers brownish black on outer webs, the inner wel)s yellow. Female: Similar
but forehead and crown greenisli-yellow like the rest of the back, and the yellow under
])arts faintly or not at all streaked with l)rown; wings and tail as in the male; size but
slightly less. Young birds ar(> duller and browner, but may be recognized in any plumage
by the yellow tail-markings as above.
■ Length 4.50 to 5 inches; wing 2.35 to 2.05; tail l.StJ to 2.10.
272. Black-throated Blue Warbler. Dendroica caerulescens caerulescens
(Gmel). (654)
Synonyms: Motacilla cierulescens, Gmelin, 1789. — -Sylvia canadensis, Wils., Nutt.,
Aud. — Sylvicola canadensis, Rich. — Dendroica canadensis, Baird, 1858. — Sylvia pusilla,
Wils., 1912. — Sylvia sphagnosa, Boiiap., 1824.
The male has dark blue upper parts, clear black throat, breast and sides,
and white belly. Several of the outer tail-feathers have white marks, ancl
there is a very constant and characteristic white spot in the wing at the
base of the primaries. The female has olive (sometimes glossed with
LAND BIRDS. 599
blue) in place of the blue, and plain gray or pale buff in place of the black.
Distribution. — Eastern North America to the Plains, breeding from
northern New England and northern New York northward to Labrador,
and in the Alleghanies south to northern Georgia; West Indies and Guate-
mala in winter.
This dainty little warbler is one of our most abundant migrants and is
a summer resident in larger or smaller numbers over by far the greater
part of the state. While many doubtless pass far north of Michigan to
nest, large numbers remain in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula
and all over the Upper Peninsula, and probably a few pairs nest in favorable
localities everywhere in the state, except possibly in the two or three
southernmost tiers of counties. It arrives from the south with the great
wave of warblers early in May, or occasionally during the last week in
April, and continues to move along in a rather leisurely manner until
the very last of the month. We have records of specimens killed ■ on
Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, May 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, and 24, in as
many different years, while out of just a dozen fall records all but three are
during the last week of September or the first week in October, the ex-
ceptions being September 17, 1893, August 19, 1889, and September
1, 1894. The latest lighthouse records are October 1, 1890 and October 3,
1893, on Spectacle Reef Light, and October 10 on Waugoshance Light,
near the western entrance of the Straits of Mackinac.
Nesting records are somewhat numerous. C. W. Gunn took a set of
four fresh eggs in Ottawa county June 6, 1878, from a nest in a raspberry
bush in the edge of a pinery, the nest placed only about two feet from the
ground. The late R. B. Westnedge, of Kalamazoo, took a nest in Kala-
mazoo county May 29, 1891, containing four fresh eggs. This nest was
but eleven inches from the ground, in a small maple bush. Dr. Gibbs
has also found the bird in Kalamazoo county during summer. J. Claire
Wood states that in June 1899 his brother found this warbler nesting near
Detroit, Wayne county, and Dr. R. H. Wolcott found it at Charlevoix, Char-
levoix county, where he took the nest and young. The writer also took a
nest and three eggs near Petoskey, Emmet county, July IS, PJ04. In ]\Iack-
inac county, August 2 and 3, 1901, several pairs were found by the writer
which evidentlj'- were feeding young, although neither these nor the nests
weie located, and* Mr. Norman A. Wood and other members of the
LTniversity of Michigan party, had a similar experience in the Porcupine
Mountains, Ontonagon county, where a pair, evidently nesting, were
found July 17, 1904, and young unable to fly were taken July 20. Miss
Harriet H. Wright reports the finding of two nests in Iosco county, the last
week in June, 1907. The nests were in small bushes at the edge of a swamp
and l)oth contained eggs.
The nest is very compactly and prettily built of leaves, fil)rous bark of
various kinds, and roots, and often ornamented externally with cater-
l)illars' silk, ])irch bark and similar materials, like the nests of many vireos.
The nest above mentioned, found near Petoskey, was built very largely
of fibrous bark of the hemlock, mixed with fine twigs of the same tree,
and lined almost entirely with threadlike black loots. The outside was
largely covered with strips and lolls of the white outer bai'k of the ])irch,
and the nest was j)laccd in a small hemlock only about two feet from the
ground and dii-ectly against the white trunk of a lai'ge bii'ch, so that it
was by no means (•()ns])icu()us.
The eggs ar(> three or four in iiiiniber, white or cieani}- white, spottetl
600 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
mainly with brown and lavendei', with a few dots of very dark brown and
black. They average .68 by .49 inches. The late date at which eggs are
found, and the fact that many observers have found the birds accompanied
by scarcely fledged young in August, makes it fairly certain that this
warbler often rears two broods.
The song is quite characteristic but difficult to describe. It consists
usually of four or five rather wheezy or nasal notes, given in quick succession
and with a rising inflection, and suggesting in quality the song of the Black-
throated Green Warbler, although perfectly distinct. At all times the
bird seems fond of evergreen woods, yet during migrations it is found
as often in the hardwoods as elsewhere, and during the nesting season
is perhaps most abundant in mixed woods where there is a sprinkling of
evergreens.
The food consists mainly of insects, and we know of nothing in its food
habits which merits special notice; it certainly is not injurious in any way
and is dou])tless one of those species which is always useful in keeping
down the numbers of noxious insects.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male in spring: Above clear grayish-blue, bluest on forehead and crown; chin,
throat, and sides of head and neck, velvet black, this color exteniling in a stripe along
each side of the breast; middle of breast, belly and imder tail-coverts, jjure white; wings
black, glossed with blue, the coverts without any bars, but a conspicuous white patch
at the base of the primaries; tail-feathers black, the outer tliree pairs with large white
patches on the inner webs near the end; bill black. Female entirely different: Upper
parts olive-green, visually with a blue tinge on the crown and upper tail-coverts; chin,
throat, and breast soiled or yellowish-white, becoming buffy on the belly and under tail-
coverts; a conspicuous whitish line from the bill over and beliind the eye; white spot at
base of primaries small, but always visible; tail markings of the same size and shape as
in the males, but dull ashy instead of white. In any plumage the white spot at base of
primaries is diagnostic. Length 4.70 to 5.50 inches; wing 2.50 to 2.65; tail 2.05 to 2.25.
Female rather smaller.
273. Myrtle Warbler. Dendroica coronata {Linn.). (655).
Syn(jnyms: Yellow-rumped Warbler, Golden-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rump. —
Motacilla coronata, Linn., 1766.— Sylvia coronata, Lath., 1790, Vieill., Wils., Nutt.,
Bonap., Aud. — Dendroica coronata or Dendroeca coronata of most later authors.
Plate LX.*
Streaked with black and white below, with black and bluish-gray above;
crown and rump each with a bright yellow patch, and usually a yellow
spot on each side of the breast. Two white wing-bars; the outer tail-
feathers with white spots.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, chiefly, straggling more or less
commonly westward to the Pacific; breeds from the northern Ihiitcd States
northward, and winters from southern New England and the Ohio valley
southward to the West Indies and through Mexico to Panama.
The Myrtle or Yellow-rump is a common migrant throughout the state
and an irregular and somewhat scarce summer resident in its northern
*This plate, taken from North American Fauna, No. 16, in reality represents Audubon's Warbler,
a Rocky Mountain species which very closely resembles our Myrtle Warbler, the principal difference
beinf? thatfthe latter has the throat white instead of yellow. Since this does not show in an wneolored
plate, and the cut is otherwise an excellent likeness of the Myrtle Warbler wc have taken the liberty
of using it as such.
I'lato LX. Myrtle Warbler. Adult Male.
From North American Fauna, No. IG.
Courtesy of Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Agriculture.
LAND BIRDS. 603
parts. Unlike many of our warblers it is seen during migration in flocks
of considerable size, often frequenting open grounds, even stubble fields
and pastures, although it prefers bushy fields and the margins of woods.
It is one of the earlier warblers to arrive from the south, entering the state
as early as April 17, 1886 (Petersburg, Trombley), although ordinarily
it is somwehat later, reaching the southern counties about the last week
in April and arriving in the Upper Peninsula the first or second week in
May (Big Sable Light, Lake Superior, May 9, 1891). There are numerous
records of the Yellow-rump killed on Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron,
from May 7 to May 22, and again from September 25 to October 10. Doubt-
less birds reared in the state move southward earlier than this, since migrants
appear in the southern part of the state late in August, sometimes even
by the middle of the month. It is one of the latest of our warblers to
depart, usually remaining through most of October and occasionally into
November. Mr. Swales records several seen near Detroit Noveml)er 25,
1893.
In central and northern Indiana Myrtle Warblers are known to winter
irregularly in some numbers according to Butler, who says: ''Their
winter range does not seem to be limited by the degree of cold, for some
of our colder winters, when the thermometer registers below zero, they
remain, and warmer winters are not observed. * * * Late in March and
early in April they frequent the thickets fringing our streams. * * *
They do not really occur outside their winter home until a number of
other warblers have arrived in southern Indiana, but every year they
occur about the same time and they usually move forward and possess the
land at once; two or at most a few days suffice to cover the state" (Birds
of Indiana, 1897, p. 1050).
In their summer home in northern Michigan they seem to prefer the
vicinity of evergreens, and are oftenest seen among dwarf spruces, balsams
and tamaracks, about the edges of swamps or along the margins of streams
and lakes. In such situations they nest, building a rather compact
structure of twigs, grasses, etc., lined with finer materials of the same
kind, and perhaps a few feathers, the nest being placed in an evergreen
often only three or four feet from the ground, although sometimes at an
elevation of ten or twelve feet. Max M. Peet gives his experience with
this bird on Isle Royale, Lake Superior, in 1905, as follows: "Fairly
common in the balsam and spruce forest, but was often found feeding
along the rocky shores. A nest containing four well feathered young
was found July 7. It was in a Jack pine at the end of a horizontal limb
about ten feet from the ground. It was composed of balsam twigs and
needles and lined with feathers of the Sharp-tailed Grouse and Canada
Jay. July 27, 1905, another nest was found on an island at the north side
of Rock Harbor. It was placed on a horizontal limb of a white spruce
about six feet from the ground. It was composed of small twigs and
grasses, lined with feathers and contained three young about three days
old. Four nests were found on two small islands near the end of Rock
Harbor, one of which contained small young, another nearly full-fledged
young July 21, and the other two were empty. On July 28 a young Myrtle
Warbler just out of the nest was found on a small island" (Adams' Rej).,
Mich. Geol. Surv., 1908, pp. 374-375).
The eggs arc four or five, cream-colored or white, with spots of brown
and purplish, and ])oihaps a few black specks. They average .70 by .53
inches.
('.04 MICHIGAN niRD LIFE.
Dr. 11. H. Wolcott found it resident, and apparently breeding, at Charle-
voix, and the writer found several pairs, evidently nesting, on Beave-
Island, Lake Michigan, in the summer of 1904. The University expedition
to Northern Michigan found a few specimens in the Porcupine Mountains
during July, and adults accompanied by young were seen there on July
16, 1904. Mr. T. B, Wyman states that it is a summer resident and breeds
at Negaunee, Marquette county, and Mr. S. E. White found it a not un-
common summer resident on Mackinac Island in 1890 and 1891. There
is little doubt that it nests regularly, but in small numbers, over a con-
siderable area in Crawford, Otsego and Oscoda counties, and probably
in other counties in the northeastern part of the Lower Peninsula. So
far as we can learn; however, no one has ever taken the eggs in the state.
In the light of our present knowledge we should say that the breeding area
lies entirely north of the Saginaw-Grand Valley, yet it is very likely that
isolated pairs may nest in favorable situations much farther south.
The food of the bird in many respects resembles that of the other warblers,
but this species appears to take a much larger proportion of vegetable
matter, at least during migration. It gets its name of Myrtle Warbler
from its fondness for the berries of the wax-myrtle or bay-berry {Myrica
cerifera), on which it feeds greedily during its migration along the Atlantic
Coast. It is also one of the birds which eats freely the berries of the poison
sumac and poison ivy (Rhus venenata and R. toxicodendron), and by
so doing distributes these pests more widely. It also eats numerous
other berries and seeds, prol.ably taking almost any small fruits which
come in its way.
Its song is in no way remarkable, and is not easily described so as to be
recognized. It is a rather pleasant war])le, consisting of a repetition of
a few syllables, which Seton Thompson describes as "pheo pheo pheo,
phew-phee, phew-phee, the first part being uttered very rapidly and the
last with more deliberation" (Birds of Manitol)a, p. 618).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Always recognizable by its four yellow patches, namely, one on the crown,
one on the rump, one on each side of the breast; in addition, the upper parts are bluish-
ash, streaked with black; the throat and middle of belly white and unstreaked; breast
and sides heavily streaked and spotted with black; two white wing-bars; two or three
outer pairs of tail-feathers spotted with white on inner webs near the end. The female is
similar, but browner above and less extensively streaked with black below; the four yellow
l)atches are always to be found. In fall and winter the yellow and black are more or less
concealed by the broad white or ashy edges and tips of the feathers, ami in young of the
year little or no yellow may be visible.
Length 5 to G inches; wing 2.75 to 2.85; tail 2.20 to 2.30; female somewhat smaller.
274. Magnolia Warbler. Dendroica magnolia (Wilso7i). (657)
Synonyms: Black and Yellow Warbler, Spotted Warbler. — Sylvia magnolia, Wils.,
ISU. — Motacilla maculosa, Gmel., 17iS8. — Sylvia maculosa, Vieill, Bonap., Aud., Nutt. —
Dendroica maculosa and Dendrcrca maculosa of most recent authors.
Figure 136.
Known by its rich yellow rump and under parts, the latter thickly
streaked with black. Especially characteristic is the dark tail with a
broad zone of pure white across its middle, each feather (except the middle
pair) being dark at base and tip with middle third white.
Fig. 136. Magnolia Warbler. From
LAND BIRDS. 605
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to the base of the Rocky-
Mountains, and casually to British Columbia, breeding from northern
New England, northern New York, and northern Michigan, to Hudson
Bay Territory and southward in the Alleghanies to Pennsylvania. In
winter, Bahamas, Cuba, and south through eastern Mexico to Panama.
This exquisite little bird comes to us from the south about the first
week in May and passes slowly northward, some lingering in middle Mich-
igan until the very last of the month. We
have no record of its arrival in the state
before the first of May and it rarely appears
as early as the second or third of the month.
The average time of arrival at Ann Arbor
for twenty-five years is given by N. A. Wood
as May 9, and it reaches Lansing a few days
later, and the northern counties of the state
between the 20th and 30th of the month.
Returning in autumn it is most abundant ''"ijoffmaniT's" Guide."* "iiouglitoii;
about the middle of September, but numbers *^'"^'" * ^'''■
begin to move southward late in August and some Unger, even in the
middle counties, until about the first of October. We have records of its
striking Michigan lighthouses on thirty-two different dates, and it has fig-
ured regularly in the reports from Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron.
By far the greater number of these dates fall in the last half of Sep-
tember, the latest being October 2, 1893.
The Magnolia or Black and Yellow Warbler is always an abundant
migrant, and is a somewhat scarce summer resident over the northern
half of the state. Apparently very few nests have been found, yet the
birds have been noted here and there by a dozen different observers during
the nesting season, and several observers speak of it as nesting regularly
and abunclantly in their vicinity. This is the report of 0. B. Warren
in Marquette county, and Ed Van Winkle in Delta county, while the
writer found it fairly common about Little Traverse Bay during the summer
of 1904, and also on the Beaver Lslands the same season. Mr. S. E. White
found it a characteristic summer bird of Mackinac Island, and Dr. Wolcott
found it in summer at Charlevoix, where it doubtless breeds. It probably
is most abundant along the Lake Superior shore, from IMarquette to the
Sault, and the writer fovnid it in the summer of 1903, at IMarquette, Munis-
ing, Grand Marais, and near Sault Ste. Marie. In July 1906 Mr. E. A.
Doolittle found several nests of young on Grand Island, Munising Harbor.
We have no nesting records for the southern half of the state, and if it
ever spends the summer south of the Saginaw-Grand Valley it must be
rarely. About the head waters of the Manistee. ]\Iuskegon and Au Sable
rivers, in Roscommon, Crawford, Oscoda and Otsego counties, the ])ird
has been o])served frequently in summer and must nest regularly, l)ut
apparently not in large numbers.
The nest is placed usually in an evergreen l)ush or tree at no great height
from the ground, in most cases less than ten feet, but occasionally some-
what higher, and more rarely still on a horizontal branch at a considerable
height. Nests are frequently found only two or three feet from the ground
in spruces and hemlocks and usually well hidden in the thick foliage.
The nest is built of grasses, twigs, and various plant fibres and strips of
bark, and is usually lined with fine roots which are almost always black.
GOG MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The eggs are three or four, white, spotted with brown and lihac, and average
.63 by .48 inches.
No two writers agree as to the song of this bird. Evidently there is
much individual variation and if some of our writers are not mistaken
in their identification this warbler must have a greater variety of notes
than any other of the genus. Mr. White states that on IMackinac Island
he "detected seven distinct songs, no one of which was even a variation
of the other." Brewster, writing of northern New England, speaks of its
commonest song as resembling the words "she knew she was right; yes,
she knew she was right." Nehrling says: "The song is a simple but
pleasing chant, vividl}^ recalling the lay of the Myrtle Bird and at other
times that of the Yellow Warbler." According to Mr. Minot, "unfortu-
natel^y, of all these numerous songs not one is distinctively characteristic
of this warbler."
The food does not seem to differ materially from that of the other wood
warblers. During migration (as well as at other times) it feeds extensively
upon plant-lice and is a common bird in orchards and gardens, but during
the nesting season it shows a decided preference for forests, and especially
the edges of evergreen woods, and its consumption of insects at this time
has therefore little direct value for the agriculturist.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire top of head bluish-ash; back and iipj)er tail-coverts velvet black;
rump yellow; chin and throat rich yellow, vmspotted; breast and belly yellow, heavily
spotted and streaked with velvet black in front and along sides; middle of belly unspotted,
the yellow paler behind, becoming pure white on under tail-coverts; lores, space below
eye, and cheeks black; lower eyelid and short line above and behind eye pure white; two
broad white wing-bars, commonly fused into a single large patch; wing and tail-feathers
l)n)wnish-black, the middle pair of tail feathers unspotted, each of the others with a long
white spot on the inner vane near the middle, so that the tail when spread looks like a
white tail with a broad black terminal band; bill and feet black. Adult female: Similar,
but duller and smaller, the back only spotted with black, the ground color olive-green
to l)r()wnish ash; black strc:iks below smaller and shorter; the two wing-bars separate,
yellow rump and tail-feathers the same as in male.
Length of male 4.35 to 5 inches; wing 2.25 to 2.45; tail 1.85 to 2.05.
275. Cerulean Warbler. Dendroica cerulea (Wihon). (658)
Synonyms: Blue Warbler, Azure Warbler. — Sylvia cerulea, Wils., 1810. — Sylvicola
caerulea, Rich., Aud. — Dendroica ca^rulea or Dendroeca cerulea of most recent authors.
— Sylvia rara, Wils., 1911. — Sylvia azurea, Steph., Nutt., Aud., 1831.
Mainly clear light blue with some blackish streaks above; the under
parts white, with dusky blue streaks ; the wings with two white bars. This
is our only warbler which shows a decided light blue color.
Distribution. — Eastern United States and southern Ontario, west to
the Plains. Rare or casual east of central New York and the Alleghanies.
In winter, south to Cuba, southeastern Mexico, Central America, Colombia,
Peru and Bolivia. Breeds from West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, and
Kansas northwaitl to Minnesota.
The Cerulean Warbler is a regular and rather abundant visitor to the
southern, and especially the southeastern, part of the state and occurs
sparingly as far north as Port Huron and Grand Rapids. Mr. O. B. Warren
records it as a rare migrant at Palmer, Marquette county, but this is the
only record for the Upper Peninsula, and among the thousands of warblers
LAND BIRDS. 607
killed on jMichigun lighthouses, this species has never been found. Even
in the neighborhood of Lansing it is never common, having been observed
of late years only half a dozen times, and then singly. Dr. Atkins first
took it at Locke, Ingham county. May 16, 1876 and again in June 1881.
He called it an irregular migrant and scarce (Dr. Morris Gibbs). On
the other hand it was formerly very abundant at Petersburg, Monroe
county, according to Trombley, although it has now almost entirely dis-
appeared.
It is an abundant summer resident, however, in Wayne county and St.
Clair county, according to Swales, Taverner, Davidson, and J. Claire Wood,
and its nest has been repeatedly found in that neighborhood, as well as
in Washtenaw county. James B. Purdy records it as not uncommon at
Plymouth, Wayne county, but states that he has found the nest but once.
L. Whitney Watkins finds it a common summer resident near Manchester,
Washtenaw county, and across the line in Jackson county; Mr. Edward
Arnold states that its nest has been found near Battle Creek, and Dr.
Gibbs says there are several records for Kalamazoo. It is, however, much
less common on the western side of the state and grows rapidly scarce as
we pass northward.
It is an inhabitant of heavy timber and appears to prefer bottom lands,
where it confines itself almost entirely to the upper branches of the tall
trees. When migrating it frequently descends to the lower growth, and
may sometimes resort to the ground for food, and of course for nesting
material, but it certainly prefers the higher parts of the forest. It arrives
from the south at about the same time as the last species, Mr. Norman A.
Wood giving the average date for twenty-five years at Ann Arbor as May
12, and the earhest record there as April 30, 1888.
The nest is built invariably at a considerable height, in the great majority
of cases about forty feet, and often as high as eighty feet above the ground.
It is small, and compactly built of various fibrous materials, and is some-
times saddled on a horizontal limb, but more often in an upright or oblique
fork. The eggs are usually four and are bluish or greenish-white, spotted
with brown and lilac, and average .69 by .53 inches. Largely on account
of the habits of the bird the nest w^as imperfectly known for a long time,
and up to the summer of 1878, Audubon's description of a nest found near
Niagara Falls was practically the only account known. In June 1878, a
collector at East Penfield, New York, brought the writer a nest of four
eggs which was found in the fork of a small ash tree about twenty-five
feet from the ground and was built of fine grasses bound firmly together
with spiders' silk and lined with strips of bark and fine grasses. This nest
is now in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The same spring a nest was found at Mt. Carmel, 111., which was similar,
but more bulky and more firmly built. During recent years several
INlichigan collectors have found numbers of the nests, especially in Wayne
county, where W. L. Davidson took a nest and four eggs, near Detroit,
June 6, 1897, and Mr. J. Claire Wood found many nests in 1904 and 1905,
most of them early in June. Two nests taken June 20, 1909, contained
eggs far advanced in incubation. At Grand Ledge, Eaton county, adults
with nearly full-fledged young were found July 13 and 14, 1907, by E. K.
Kalmbach and H. A. Moorman.
According to ]\lcllwraith the Cerulean Warbler is a legular summer
resident in southern Ontario, but somewhat local in its distiibution. "Its
song is almost identical with that of the Parula Warblei-, but in the latter
608 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
species it rises to a slij2;litly higher key at the close, while the Cerulean's
ditty is uniform throughout." Langille says: "Its song may be imitated
by the syllables 'pheet, pheet, pheet, pheet, ridi, idi, e-e-e-e-e-e-e;' be-
ginning with several soft warbling notes and ending in a rather pi-olonged
but quite musical squeak."
Its food does not seem to differ materially from that of other arboreal
warblers; it is probably beneficial, certainly not injurious to the agri-
culturist.
TECHNICAL DESCKII'TION.
Adult mule: Al)()vc 1)rii;iit !ir:iyisli-l)luf, dftcii ck-ar blue on foreliead and crown, more
or less streaked with lil;i(k (in llic hack; cliiii, thmat, and sides of neck pure white, as is
also tlic middle of (he hrcast ainl lu'lly; an iniiierfcct hand of bluish or black streaks across
the upper l)roast, and sides streaked with the same; wings brownish-hhick, the tertials
often edi;od with white, and two white bars across the coverts; tail-feat licrs black, niarj^ined
externally with blue, all the feathers except tiic central pair witli rounded wliite patches
on the inner webs. Female showing very little blue; the upper parts olive-green, merely
glossed with blue; the lower parts soiled whitish, often yellowish or even buffy. Length
4 to 5 inches; wing 2.40 to 2.70; tail 1.70 to 1.90; female decidedly sinaller.
276. Chestnut-sided Warbler. Dendroica pensylvanica (Linn.). (659)
Synonyms: Yelkjw-crowned Warbler, Quebec Warbler. — Motacilla jDcnsylvanica,
Linn., 1706. — Sylvia pensylvanica, Wils., 1810. — Sylvia icterocephala, Lath., 1790. —
Dendroica (or Dcndroeca) pennsylvanica of most recent authors.
Figure 137.
The whole top of head is yellow, the under parts clear white, except
for a broad stripe of chestnut which runs along each side from neck to tail.
Distribution. — Eastern United States and Southern Ontario, west to
Manitoba and the Plains, breeding southward to central Illinois and
northern New Jersey, and in the Appalachian highlands probably to
northern Georgia. Visits the Bahamas, eastern INIexico, Central America
and Panama in winter.
An abundant migrant throughout the entire state, and in all but the
southern half of the Lower Peninsula an abundant summer resident.
In the latter region it nests regularly, but less com-
monly, so that it is reported as not breeding by
several observers in the southern counties. Never-
theless a few doidjtlcss breed in every county in the
state, and in the higher parts of the Lower Peninsula
and in the Upper J'eninsula it is one of the most
abundant warblers diuing the summer, frequenting
open hardwood and second growth regions and
shovNdng a decided preference for shrubby fields , . , ,
1,111 '■■ en . Tj-ii EiR. 137. Chestnut-sided
and the bushy margms of forests. It is seldom warbier. From Hoflfmann's
found in the evergreen swamps or the dense woods, ^I'^'l^]^- Houshton, Mifflin
but on the contrary is often found in thickets along
the roadsides and in briar patches and tangles along the borders of the
smaller swamps.
It arrives from the south from about the first of May in the southern
counties to the 15th or 20th of the month in the northern parts of the
state. Mr. Norman A. Wood gives the average date for twenty-five
years at Ann Arbor as May 11, but it has been seen there as early as April
LAND BIRDS. 609
7, 1896, and in 18S8 it did not arrive until May 20. At ]\Ucrsl)iirg Mr.
Trombley noted the first arrival on May 28, 1889 and April 30, 1894, while
other dates range from May 1, 1887 to May 14, 1890. At Palmer, Marquette
county, Mr. O. B. Warren recorded it on ]\Iay 17, 1894 and May 4, 1895,
while specimens were killed on Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, May
15 and 19, 1891, and May 28, 1892.
The nest is built between the middle of May and first of June, and is in-
variably placed in a bush or thicket, seldom more than three or four feet
from the ground. It is composed of various soft vegetable fibres and lined
with rootlets and hairs. The eggs are three or four, white, with brown and
lilac specks about the larger end and sometimes a few black dots. They
average .65 by .49 inches.
According to Mcll wraith, this species rears two broods in a season,
but we have not been able to verify this statement for Michigan. The
bird is regularly imposed upon by the Cowbird and undoubtedly is often
obliged to make several attempts before it succeeds in rearing a brood.
It seems likely therefore that these later nests may have been mistaken
for second broods. Certainly the majority of these warblers do not rear
second broods, and the species is far from common in the late summer,
although it is occasionally a rather abundant migrant during the last
half of August and the first half of September. Probably all leave the
state before the first of October.
In regard to its song Seton Thompson says: "It is somewhat like that
of the Orange-crowned Warbler. I can recall it to mind by the aid of the
syllables chip-e, chip-e, chip-e, chip-e, wai-chip, the single emphatic syllable
near the end being the most tangible difference" (Birds of Manitoba, p. 619).
Apparently its food does not differ widely from that of the other members
of the genus. In Forbes' historic study of the cankerworm infested orchard,
two-thirds of the food of this species was found to consist of cankerworms,
in addition to which there was 10 percent of caterpillars, a few ants, 5
percent of plant-lice and 11 percent of beetles. Like all our warblers
this species is a hearty feeder on plant-lice during its migrations.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Upper parts mainly black, streaked with white or greenish-white, the
entire top of head yellow of varying intensity; lores and half of cheek black, remainder
of cheek and part of the side of neck white; c-hin, throat, breast, belly and under tail-
coverts, pure white; a conspicuous stripe of rich chestniit. running along eachsidc from
lower neck to flanks; two white or yellowish-white wing-bars; three outer pairs of tail-
feathers largely white on inner webs. Female similar, but the crown greenish-yellow
or even clear green, and the back olive-green, streaked witli black; loss black on the checks,
and the chestnut stripes reduced to spots and streaks, or sometimes almost wanting.
Length 4.60 to 5.25 inches; wing 2.40 to 2.65; tail L95 to 2.10; female slightly smaller.
277. Bay-breasted Warbler. Dendroica castanea (11' //no/0- (660)
Synonyms: Bay-breast.— Sylvia castanea, Wilson, 1810.— Dendroica (or Dcndroeca)
castanea of most authors. — Sylvia autumnalis, Wils., Bonap., Aud., and others (for speci-
mens in fall plumage).
Figure 188.
Distinguished by the dark chestnut or "bay" crown and the throat and
sides of the breast a lighter shade of the same color. Perhaps the most
77
FiR. i:SS. B.i\-li
r(ds((
(i Wcublir
From Coues' Ktn , It 1
ltd ,
I'lO! Ddiu
Estes & Co.
610 MICIlKiAN J5IR1) LIFE.
conspicuous fiekl-nuirk, however, is a large ijaich of cream white on each
side of the neck.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, north to Hudson Bay. Breeds
from northern New England and northern Michigan northward; in winter,
south through eastern Mexico (rare) and Guatemala to Colombia.
The Bay-breasted Warbler is one of the later migrants, seldom arriving
from the south before the second week in May, even in the southern counties,
and not infrequently delaying its appear-
ance until the 15th or 20th of the month.
At Ann Arbor Mr. N. A. Wood gives the
average date of arrival for twenty-five
years as May 13, and the records from
the various lighthouses indicate that the
principal movement occurs between the
15th and 30th of the month. We have
records from Spectacle Reef Light, Lake
Huron, on May 11, 1888, May 15 and 19,
1891, May 17," 1885, May 19, 1887, May
22, 1890 and again in 1893, and May 23,
1897. The southward movement begins
early in September and is mainly comple-
ted during the month, although specimens
are frequently taken well into October.
In Michigan, as in New England and Wisconsin, the Bay-breast is much
more abundant in some seasons than in others. Occasionally it is a com-
mon spring migrant, and then for several years it may hardly be seen at
all. In our experience the adults are decidedly scarce during the fall
migration, but the young are fairly al)undant. The birds during migration
frequent forests, groves and orchards, with apparently little preference for
any particular kind of grow^th, but it is said to prefer the neighborhood
of evergreens in the regions where it nests.
Much uncertainty exists with regard to its joresence in Michigan in
summer. The distribution given above by the A. O. U. list includes
Michigan in its breeding range, and Professor A. J. Cook, in his 1893 list,
speaks of it as breeding in the northern part of the state and cites Davie
and Nehrling as authorities. Mr. S. E. White states that it is a rare summer
resident on Mackinac Island, where he found it also an abundant migrant;
but he did not find it nesting. After thorough search of the literature,
and careful inquiries in every available quarter, we have failed to find any
authentic record of its nesting in Michigan, and while it is by no means
impossible that it may do so, we believe that it yet remains to be proved
to be a summer resident of the state. It is well known to nest in some of
the northernmost parts of the United States, and w' as found by Mr. Brewster
to be a fairly common nester in the neighborhood of the I^mbagog Lakes
in Maine. He states that there the nest w^as usually placed on a horizontal
branch of hemlock or spruce from fifteen to twenty feet from the ground,
the nest being large in comparison with the size of the bird. The materials
of the nest were small tamarack twigs, mixed with a little tree moss, very
neatly and smoothly lined with black fibrous rootlets, seed-stalks of grouncl-
moss, a little rabbit fur, and^some sphagnum moss. The eggs are usually
four, bluish-white, more or less speckled with brown, and average .71
by .51 inches.
According to Dr. (libbs the bird has a beautiful song, but we have found
LAND BIRDS. 611
no detailed description of this and must confess that although familiar
with the bird in migration for twenty-five years, we have never yet heard
it utter more than a few disconnected notes, aside from the characteristic
chip wdiich so many of our warblers use at that season. See however,
Thayer's description in Chapman's Warblers of North America, page 194.
The food of this species does not differ, so far as we know, from that of
other members of the genus.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Forehead and entire region about the eye, bhxck; top of head, chin, throat,
sides of breast and flanks, rich chestnut; a Uirge patch of creamy white on each side of
neck, and middle of breast and lielly same color, becoming more buffy on under tail-
coverts; back, rump and upper tail-coverts, gray, streaked with black; two white wing-
bars; two outer pairs of tail-feathers broadly spotted with white on inner webs near tips.
Female similar, but crown never clear chestnut, usually streaked with olive, black and
brown; under parts mainly buffy, with traces of chestnut on upper breast and sides; bill
black. Young of the year are totally unlike the parents and no description will enable
the beginner to identify them with certainty.
Length 5 to 6 inches; wing 2.75 to 3; tail 2.15J,o 2.25; female slightly smaller.
278. Black-poll Warbler. Dendroica striata (,/. R. Forstcr). (661)
Synonyms: Black-poll, Autumnal Warbler. — Muscicapa striata, Forst., 1772. — ■
Sylvia and Sylvicola striata of the older writers, Dendroica and DendrcBca striata of the
more recent.
Streaked black and white, the entire top of head deep black. ]\light
be mistaken for the Black and White Warbler, but the latter has a white
stripe through the middle of the crown.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to the Rocky .Mountains,
north to Greenland, the Barren Grounds, and Alaska, breeding from
northern New England antl the Catskills northward. South in winter
to northern South America, l)ut not recorded from Mexico or Central
America.
This is another very late migrant, probably the latest of its genus. At
Ann Arbor, during twenty-five years of observation, the earliest arrival
noted by Mr. N. A. Wood was May 13 and the average May 15. We have
records of specimens killed on Spectacle Reef Light, I^ake Huron, on May
23, 1897, May 28, 1888 and 1892 and June 1, 1892, while there are two
records from Big Sal)lc Light, Lake Superior, May 19, 1887, and June 6,
1894. The spring records from several observers in the northern parts of
the state give much earlier dates than these, some even in April, but these
undoubtedly are based on errors in observations, in all probability the
Black and White Warbler being mistaken for this species. In autumn
the Black-poll begins to move southward in August and the movement
continues all through September and until the middle of October, single
individuals being taken in the latter part of this month in the southern
part of the state.
As with the Bay-bi-east there is some uncertainty about the breeding
area, and we have no unquestionable record of its nesting in Michigan.
It does nest occasionally in northern New England and Ncav York, but
it is not known to nest in northern Wisconsin, and it is very doubtful
if it ever nests in northein ]\Iichigan. Single birds have been recorded
in summer from northern Wisconsin (Kundicn & Hollistcr), and Mr.
S. E. White gives it as a rare summer resident on IMackinac Island, ^^'e
612 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
are informed by Mr. G. A. Abbott of Chicago that a friend of his observed
the Bhicl<-poll Warbler on Macldnac Island on about half a dozen occasions
between June 28 and July 15, 1906, but that no nests were found.
The food consists mainly of insects and the bird eats immense numbers
of span-worms and plant-lice at all times of year. In the fall they also
eat some seeds and berries, but they are mainly insectivorous and are
expert flycatchers, taking much of their food on the wing. Forbes found
that two-thirds of the food of those taken in an orchard overrun with
cankerworms consisted of those worms, while 19 percent consisted of
beetles, 4 percent of ants, and 5 percent of gnats.
The usual nesting grounds of this species are the evergreen forests of
the far north, where they frequent the edges of the coniferous swamps
and place the nests usually on the horizontal branches of the thick ever-
greens at five to ten feet from the ground. The nest is similar to that of
the Bay-breast just described, but perhaps contains more grass and weed
stems. The eggs are four or five, white or buffy white, speckled with
brown and lilac, occasionally with black specks. They average .72 by .53
inches.
The song of the Black-poll is not noteworthy. While migrating its
common call sounds like " sit-sit-sit " or "seet-seet-seet," repeated rather
rapidly, and the notes rising in regular gradation.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire top of head coal-black, sometimes with a few ashy streaks; rest
of upper parts gray or olive-gray, streaked with black; sides of head and neck white or
nearly so, separated from the white throat by a chain of black spots and streaks which
begins on the chin and extends along either side to the flanks; breast and belly white,
unspotted; two white wing-bars; two or three outer tail-feathers Avith rather small white
patches on inner webs near tip; upper mandible black, lower mandible much ligliter.
Female similar, but witliout the black cap, the upper parts olive-gray streaked with black;
under parts less sharply streaked than in male. Young of the year entirely unlike tlie
adult; upper parts olive or olive-gray more or less streaked with dusky; under parts soiled
or yellowish-white, with indistinct gray streaks; under tail-coverts white; wing and tail
markings as in adult, but tertials margined with white, and inner primaries often tippetl
with the same.
Length 5 to 5.75 inches; wing 2.80 to 2.90; tail 2.05 to 2.25; female slightly smaller.
Note. — The young of this sj^ecies in autumn is separable with difficulty from the Bay-
breasted Warbler of the same age, but the present species always has white under tail-
coverts while those of the Bay-breast arc always distinctly yellowish or Ijuffy.
279. Blackburnian Warbler. Dendroica fusca (Mull). (662)
Synonyms: Hemlock Warbler, Torch-bird, Fire-ljrand. — Motacilla fusca, Midler,
1776. — Sylvia or Sylvicola blackbrnniia;, of the older ornithologists, Dendroica or DendriTca
blackburnise, of the more recent writers. — Sylvia or Sylvicola parus of Bonaparte, Nuttall
and Aubudon.
Mainly black and white, the throat and a spot on top of head, bright
yellow, orange or flame-color. A large white patch on the wing and nearly
all the tail-feathers white marked.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to eastern Kansas and
IManitoba, breeding from .the southern Alleghanies, Massachusetts, and
Michigan, northward to Labrador. In winter, south to the Bahamas,
eastern Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
This perhaps is our most brilliant warbler, and although frequently
seen during migration does not appear to be abundant anywhere. Occa-
LAND BIRDS. CA^
sionally two or three may be seen feeding lazily among the opening buds
of chestnut, oak, and other forest trees, in company with numerous other
warblers, but it is rarely seen in large numbers and sometimes an entire
spring migration will pass without a glimpse of its flame-colored throat.
In the spring of 1909, however, it was unusually abundant during migration,
especially in the southeastern part of the state. Mr. J. Claire Wood found
it common in Wayne county from May 16 to 23, and on the 16th counted
260 Blackburnians among hosts of other migrants (Auk, XXVIII, 1911,
23). The species appears to be a summer resident, in very small numbers,
in most parts of the state, and at the north it unquestionably nests regu-
larly in the hemlock forests and probably also in most large mixed forests
of hardwoods and evergreens.
It arrives from the south from the 1st to the 15th of May, rarely in
the last few days of April, usually during the second week in May. Mr.
N. A. Wood gives the average date of arrival, for twenty-five years, at
Ann Arbor as May 8. We have records of specimens killed on Spectacle
Reef Lighthouse, Lake Huron, May 11, 1888, May 17 and May 21, 1885,
May 19, 1893, May 22, 1890, May 23, 1897, and May 28, 1892. There is
a single record of one killed on Big Sable Light, Lake Superior, June 6,
1894. After nesting it begins to move southward early in August and
the movement continues, as shown by the records at lighthouses, all through
September and the early part of October, a specimen being recorded from
Spectacle Reef Light October 3, 1893 and others on September 24, 1892
and September 27, 1886. Unlike many of our warblers this species seems
to be rather less abundant in fall than in spring, but the young are quite
inconspicuous and doubtless many slip past without being recognized.
The Blackburnian Warbler has been found in the nesting season at
various points in Michigan, but so far as we can learn the eggs have been
taken but twice. Near Kalamazoo J\Ir. B. F. Syke found two nests, one,
June 2, 1882, containing three eggs, placed thirty-five feet from the ground
in a tamarack, the other, June 5, 1881, placed on a small upward-angling
limb of a tamarack, four feet from the trunk and forty feet from the ground,
and containing four eggs and one of the Cowbird. The outside of this
nest consisted of tamarack twigs, held together with milkweed bark, and
it was lined with horse hair, fine roots and woody fibres. Both nests were
in tamarack swamps, but the usual location is said to be in hemlock trees,
at considerable heights, and the nest is said to be quite bulky and to consist
very largely of the down of the cattail. "The eggs are three to five,
greenish-white or very pale bluish-green, speckled or spotted, chiefly on
or round the larger end, with brown or reddish brown and lilac gray. They
average .68 by .50 inches" (Ridgway). The latest note on the nesting
of this species in Michigan comes from Alex. G. Ruthven, and forms part
of the manuscript report of Ruthven and Gaige on the Brown Lake region
of Dickinson county in the summer of 1909. It is as follows: "This
species was first noted July 17 in the hardwood forest. On this date a
small flock of males, eight in number, were observed feeding in the hem-
locks. They were all in the brilliant breeding plumage, but none were
heard singing. An hour later a nest of this species was located by seeing
a female carry food to her yoimg. The nest was about thirty feet from
the ground in a small hemlock in the hemlock and beech forest. It was
a loosely constructed affair made of small twigs and a few needles, and
fastened insecurely to the branch six feet or more from the trunk. It
614 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
contained three young ])ii'(ls with the feathei's just beginning to appear
on the wings. "
Dr. Dunham found it in Kalkaslca county in the nesting season and
states that on June 22, 1899 he took a male near East Lake, Kallvaska
county and saw about a dozen more in the evergreens. It is a not un-
common summer resident in Emmet county, where Widmann found it
feeding grown young in the tree tops in July 1901. S. E. White found it
a rather common summer resident among the evergreens on Mackinac
Island, in 1890 and 1891, and Dr. Wolcott found it at Charlevoix in summer
and was confident that it nested there. Mr. 0. B. Warren thought it
might possibly breed in Marquette county in 1898, and Mr. T. B. Wyman
in 1905 was positive that it bred near Negaunee in the same county. It
was found at various times in the late summer in the Porcupine Mountains,
Ontonagon county, by the University of Michigan expedition, and a pair
with two young were seen in the tops of the birches July 14, and one adult
female was taken while feeding young not able to fly. These facts show-
that the Blacklnirnian Warbler certainly nests rather commonly throughout
northern Michigan and occasionally in favorable localities throughout the
southern half of the state.
So far as we are aware there is nothing peculiar about its food habits,
but it consumes immense numbers of insects and ]'»r()l)al)ly is just as valuable
to the agriculturist as many of its congeners.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Upper parts, from bill to tail, mainly clear black, middle of crown with
a spot of pale orange; middle of back streaked with pure white; chin, throat, sides of neck,
and line from bill over eye, rich orange; rest of under parts pale yellow, bleaching to white
on the under tail-coverts, the sides and flanks streaked with black; lores, cheeks, and one
or two spots on side of neck, black; two white wing-bars, often connected; most of the
tail-feathers with white spots, the three outer pairs mainly white on their inner webs,
merely black-tipped. Female similar, but smaller, the orange replaced with pale yellow
or yellowish white, the black replaced mostly with brownish-gray; upi)er parts streaked
with dusky; no pure white anywhere, except two narrow wing-bars and the characteristic
tail markings.
Length of male 5 to 5.50 inclies; wing 2.50 to 2. SO; tail 1.90 to 2.10; female somewhat
smaller.
280. Sycamore Warbler. Dendroica dominica albilora Ri(J(/ir. (663a)
Synonyms: White-crowned Yellow-thi-oated Warbler, White-browed Warbler, White-
cheeked Warbler. — Sylvia and Syhicdhi ]>L'nsilis, Aud. — Dendroica superciliosa, Baird
(part). — D. d. albilora of most recent autliors.
The rich yellow chin and throat, bordered by clear black at the sides
and fading into white on breast and belly, is nearly distinctive. Add
to this the white line over the eye, the black forehead, two white wing-lxars,
and the white-blotched outer tail-feathers, and there can be no mistake.
Only the expert can separate it from the Yellow-throated Warbler,
Dendroica dominica, but this does not occur in Michigan (see Appendix).
Distribution. — ^Mississippi Valley, west to the Plains, north to Lake
Erie and southern Michigan, and east to Western North Carolina; in
winter south to southern Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
This beautiful but little known warbler appears to be a somewhat regular
visitor to certain regions in the southern and southeastern parts of the
state. It has been repoitod fi'om the Raisin River valley in Moni'oe
LAND BIRDS. 615
county, by Jerome Trombley, of Petersburg; from the neighborhood of
Detroit by Walter C. Wood; from Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Washtenaw
county, by A. B. Covert, Norman A. Wood, Robert H. Wolcott, and Dr.
Van Fossen of Ypsilanti, and from Kalamazoo by Dr. Morris Gibbs and
several of his friends. It undoubtedly breeds wherever it is found in
Michigan, but, inhabiting as it does the upper branches of the tallest trees
of the ])ottoni lands, mainly sycamores, its nest is not easily found, and
although the birds have been seen several times constructing nests (twice
in Monroe county and once in Kalamazoo coimty), the eggs, so far as we
can learn, have never yet been taken. Mr. Trombley reported the birds
as common near Petersburg, Monroe county, in the Raisin River valley,
in 1884, when they first appeared on April 20 and became common on
April 30. The following year they were first noted on April 20 and again
on the 29th and on May first. In 1886 two were seen April 17 and another
April 18, and they became common April 25. The following year they
were observed in about .the same numbers and at about the same time,
))ut in 1888, although oi:)served April 20, 21 and 25, Mr. Trombley says
they were not common. In 1890 he was sure that two or three pairs
bred along the Raisin River near there, but during succeeding years they
grew less abundant, until in 1897 he called them rare, and since that time
but few have been seen. In 1905 Mr. Trombley told us personally that
he had never taken the nest of this species, but that he once saw a pair
])uilding a nest and watched them for several days in succession, but the
nest was on one of the highest branches of a very tall tree and was absolutely
inaccessible. He finally shot the male in order to positively identify
the subspecies and the nest was never finished. The trees in that vicinity
have all l)een cut now.
Dr. Gibbs informed us (1905) that one nest was found, probably in the
year 1876, near Kalamazoo, in a sycamore, near the tip of a small branch
at least seventy feet from the ground. It was impossible to reach the
nest, and no eggs have ever been taken in that vicinity. He took a male
at Kalamazoo May 10, 1877, and other specimens were taken by Geoi'ge
B. Sudworth, May 6, 1876 and May 3, 1877. Another specimen was
received from a friend who captured it in a grocery store in Kalamazoo,
September 21, 1878. Dr. Gibbs also informed us that W. H. Collins of
Detroit wrote him that he had one specimen, taken there [Detroit] May
10, 1879, and another taken September 15, 1880. Mr. Walter C. Wood
secured a pair near Detroit in July 1899 and feels sure that they were
breeding there (B. H. Swales). Mr. Norman A. Wood of Ann Arbor tells
us that there is a mounted specimen of this subspecies in the collection
of Dr. Van Fossen of Ypsilanti which was taken near that place, and
writes, under date of May 29, 1906, "I have found a small colony of the
Sycamore Warljler along the Huron River within four miles of Ann Arbor.
I secured a fine pair to mount for the Museum. The first one was seen
Apiil 22 and a male was taken on the 25th. On May 4 a female was taken
and others seen, and still others were oliserved on May 6. These birds
were feeding in a grove of trees, one-half of which were sycamores, and
they seemed to avoid the other trees and feed only in the tops of the tallest
sycamores, where I saw them gleaning food from all the limbs, going over
them very carefully, especially on the under side. In action the}' resembled
the IMack and White Creeper, and the song as well reminds one of this
bird only it is much louder and in a higher key."
All observei's agree that this species is partial to sycamores and in Mich-
(516 MICIIIGAIM BIRD LIFE.
igan it has been found tluis far only in the valleys of streams where these
trees abound. Nevertheless, it has been sought for carefully in many
regions in middle Michigan where sycamores are abundant, but thus far
without success.
The closely related Yellow-throated Warbler, D. dominica, does not
occur in Michigan, although the name occurs in Stockwell's list of Michigan
birds (Forest and Stream, VIII, 17, 261), and the species was erroneously
included in the second edition of Professor Cook's list of 1893. This bird
nests at the south among the upper branches of high trees (often pines),
where it builds a bulky nest and lays four eggs, with a grayish white ground
color, dotted with pale hlac. ProLably the nest and eggs of the Sycamore
Warbler resemble those of its near relative.
According to Ridgway the song of the Sycamore Warbler "is somewhat
like that of the Indigo-bird, and it requires a practiced ear to distin-
guish them; the tone is remarkably similar, but there is a difference in
the modulation, which, after one becomes thoroughly acquainted with it
renders it distinguishable. In its motions this warbler partakes much of
the character of a creeper, often ascending or descending trunks of trees
or following their branches much in the manner of Mniotilta." According
to Dr. Gibbs " The song is a very characteristic one and bears no resemblance
to anything I have ever heard. It may be expressed by the syllables
'tee-o-tee-o-tee-o, tow-tee,' accented on the second tee and with a rising
inflection on the final syllable. This song is repeated at intervals of 15
seconds, and kept up for an hour or more" (Forest and Stream, July 30,
1885).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Upper iiarts clear gray with the exception of the forehead, wliicii is black;
a narrow white line from base of upper mandible to and over the eye, becoming broader
behind the eye, where it often blends with a large white patch on the side of the neck;
a white spot on the lower eyelid; lores, cheeks, and a line along the side of the neck deep
black, continued into a series of black spots and streaks along the sides of breast and
belly; chin, and throat golden yellow, sharply bounded on the sides by black and below
by the pure white of the upper breast; rest of under j^arts white; two white wing-bars;
two outer tail-feathers with terminal half of inner webs white.
Length 4.50 to 5.50 inches; wing 2.50 to 2.70; tail 2 to 2.20. Sexes alike in color and
281. Black-throated Green Warbler. Dendroica virens (Gmrl.). (667)
Synonyms: Evergreen Warbler, (Ireen Black-throat. — Motacilla virens, (Imcl., 17S1).
Sylvia or Sylvicola virens of the older writers, Dendroica virens of tlie more recent.
Fig. 139.
The velvet-black throat, breast and sides, and bright yellow cheeks
and face, are sufficiently characteristic in the adult male. In addition,
the upper parts are rich olive green and there are two ))road white wing-bars
and conspicuous white tail markings.
Distribution. — Eastern North America to the Plains, north to Hudson
Bay Territory ; breeding from Connecticut and northern Illinois northward,
and south along the Alleghanies to South Carolina. In winter south to
Cuba and Panama.
This is one of our most abundant war])lers during migration and is
resident in considei-able numl)ei's dui-ing summer in a huge ])art of the
LAND BIRDS. 617
state. It is known to nest practically everywhere
north of the Saginaw-Grand Valley, and probably
nests here and there in favorable localities throughout
all the southern counties as well. It is decidedly
fond of evergreens, and although during migration
it may occur almost anywhere, it is seldom seen
during the nesting season at any great distance from
groves of coniferous trees. It abounds in pine,
spruce and hemlock regions, and not infrecpiently
a belt of red cedar or Virginia juniper will be found ^'f;rppn^v^bier"'^'From
to harbor several pairs, although the surrounding Hoffmann's Guide.—
territory may yield none. _ _ «°"^^*°"' ^'^^^^ * ^«-
It arrives from the south with considerable regularity during the first
week in May, the earliest record at Ann Arbor in twenty-five years, accord-
ing to Mr. Norman A. Wood, being April 24, 1905, and the average for
the same period. May 3. Owing, however, to its great abundance, and
the fact that its breeding area extends far northward of our state, migrants
continue to troop northward all through May and doubtless some are still
traveling toward their northern breeding grounds while nesting has already
begun in the middle parts of the state. Records of specimens killed on
Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, range from May 7, 1889 and 1894 to
May 18, 1891, and even to June 2 in the same 3"ear. It begins to move
southward again the latter part of August and is often abundant all through
September, while stragglers linger until the middle of October.
Dr. Gibbs tells us that in 1879 C. W. Gunn took a female in Ottawa
county with nesting material in her bill, and both Mr. Gunn and Dr. Gibbs
are confident that this species nests in Kent county as well as in Ottawa
county. It was found nesting on Mackinac Island by S. E. White, and
also by Dr. Gibbs, and Otto Widmann found fully grown young being fed
l)y the parents in Emmet county, July 11, 1901. The writer also found
it abundant in Emmet county in June and July 1904, and on Big Beaver
Island in Lake Michigan the same season it was the most abundant and
characteristic breeding warbler. Everywhere throughout the higher
grounds in the Lower Peninsula, and in the Upper Peninsula, this species
is a characteristic summer bird, and its somewhat monotonous and often
listless song is heard at all times from earliest morning until late afternoon.
It is one of the species which sings freely through the heat of the day,
and its wheezy notes, which may be written "zee, zee, zee-zee-zee" come
down to the traveler through the pine foi'csts during the hottest days of
midsummer.
Whether the bird rears more than one brood in a season is doubtful,
but it is often heard singing well into August, and it seems not unlikely
that, like its near relative, the Black-throated Blue, it may frequently
rear a second family in July and August.
The nest is built almost invariably in an evergreen, sometimes on an
oblique branch well out from the trunk, more often close to the main stem
of a small evergreen and only ten to twenty feet from the ground. In New
J<]ngland it is often placed in red cedars and small white pines, and in
Michigan it may be looked for in these trees as well as in balsams, spruces,
hemlocks and tamaracks. The nest is comj^act and decj)ly hollowed,
well built of various fil)rous matciials, including shreds of ])ark, slender
roots and pine needles, and is often lined with hair and occasionally with
GIS MICHIGAN BIRD LII-E.
feathci\s. The eggs are three to five, creamy white, spotted with brown and
lilac, often with a few black specks, and average .67 by .49 inches.
This species is mainly insectivorous, and, owing to its abundance and
the considerable period over which its visits extend during migration, it
is one of the most valuable warblers in holding orchard insects in check.
I^oth spring and fall it may be found gorging itself with plant lice and
searching the twigs and leaves for span-worms, leaf-rollers and harmful
insects of every kind. It also eats berries and possibly a few seeds, being
l)articularly fond of the berries of the poison-ivy, and to a less extent of
those of the junipers.
TECHNICAL DP^SCRIPTION.
Advilt male: Entire iijiper parts bright olive-green, iLsiially without spots or streaks;
tliroat and upper breast clear black, this continued as a series of streaks aiid spots along
either side; remainder of breast and belly white or yellowish-white; sides of head and
neck mainly bright yellow, with a dusky streak through the eye and a similar shade on
the ear-coverts; wings and tail dusky, the former with two white bars across the coverts,
the latter with the inner webs of the two outer pairs of feathers entirely white. Female
similar, but with the black and yellow areas more or less obscured by gray or whitish tips
of the feathers, and throat and breast often washed with yellowish. Young of the year
resemble the female, but the markings are still more obsciu'c. Miiii
Lengtli of adult male 4.35 to 5.40 inches; wing 2.40 to 2.55;^tail 1.90~to 2.05; female
somewhat smaller.
282. Kirtland's Warbler. Dendroica kirtlandi (Baml). (670)
Synonyms: Jack-pine Warbler, Jack-pine Bird. — Sylvicola Kirtlan<lii, Baird, 1852.
— Dendroica, or Dendrceca, kirtlandi of other authors.
Plate LXI.
Our only warbler which combines black-streaked pale yellow under
parts, black-streaked bluish-gray upper parts, and white-marked outer
tail-feathers. In addition, it has white on both eyelids, forming practically
a wdiite eye-ring, and the whitish wing-bars, if present at all, are narrow,
dull and inconspicuous.
Distribution. — Eastern United States from Florida to northern Michigan
during migration, and west to Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota; breeding,
so far as known, only on the jack-pine plains of Michigan north of 44°.
Winters in the Bahamas.
This has been considered the rarest warbler of the United States, and
although described in 1852, from a specimen collected by Chas. Pease near
Cleveland, Ohio, May 18, 1851, its summer home remained a mystery
until 1903, when it was shown to be a not uncommon bird on the jack-jjine
plains of northern Michigan, where nests, eggs and young were taken by
Mr. Norman A. Wood of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The bird was named
Kirtland's Warbler in honor of J. P. Kirtland of Cleveland, in acknow-
ledgment of his great services in the promotion of knowledge of the natural
history of the Mississippi Valley. Although the specimen above alluded
to is the type specimen, a bird of the same kind had been taken at sea,
near the Bahama Islands, by S. Cabot, Jr., probably in 1840. From this
time until 1898 single specimens were taken at rare intervals in the eastern
Ignited States to the number of nineteen or twenty in all, while it was
discovered that the bird wintered in the Bahama Islands, where a total
of about fifty specimens (j)robably just 55) have been taken.
Pliite LXIT'Kirtland's Warbler.
From Tones' Key to North American Birds, 5th Edition, liio;}.
Dana Estes & Company.
LAND BIRDS. G21
The specimens taken in the United States were collected in widely separate
localities, but by far the larger number in Ohio and Michigan. The follow-
ing is the list of specimens taken in Michigan, as given by Mr. Norman A.
Wood in March 1904:* Two females, collected at Ann Arbor by A. B.
Covert, May 15, 1875 and May 16, 1879; 1 male, collected by N. Y. Green
at Battle Creek, Michigan, May 11, 1883; 1 male, found dead at foot of
Spectacle Reef Lighthouse, Lake Huron, by the keeper, William Marshall,
May 21, 1885; 1 male, collected by L. Knapp, at Ann Arbor May 18, 1888;
1 specimen, collected by F. H. Chapin, Kalamazoo county, Mich., in 1898;
1 female, collected by Norman A. Wood, at Ann Arbor May 14, 1902;
1 male, collected by T. G. Gale, near Luzerne, Oscoda county, Mich., June
15, 1903, and 7 adults and 7 nestlings, collected in Oscoda and Crawford
counties, Michigan, by Norman A. Wood, between July 2 and July 15,
1903.
During the years which have since elapsed the taking of this w'arbler,
or its nest and eggs, has been contrary to the law of the state and few speci-
mens have been recorded. Doubtless, however, several have been taken,
and competent observers have reported the bird as seen in various parts
of the jack-pine plains north of 44°. During the past summer (1911) the
writer visited various parts of the jack-pine plains, outside of the known
nesting range of Kirtland's Warbler, in the hope of extending this area
and perhaps adding something to the knowledge of the species. Eight
days (July 1 to 8) were spent in the search, but the season was so far ad-
vanced and the heat so intense (exceeding 100° on all but two days) that
the conditions were very unfavorable and the trip was entirely fruitless
so far as this species was concerned. The areas examined included large
and promising stretches of pine lands in Lake, Manistee, Wexford, Grand
Traverse, Kalkaska and Crawford counties, as well as some of the better
hardwood lands of Antrim and Otsego counties. No trace of the warbler
was found, however; either it did not inhabit the localities visited or had
ceased to sing, owing to the late date and the intense heat. The latter
explanation is at least possible and it must not be assumed that the species
does not occur in some of these places, at least occasionally.
Comparatively little is known of the habits of this rare warbler. An
excellent resume of our knowledge of the species up to 1898 is given by
Mr. F. M. Chapman in the Auk, Vol. 15, 1898, pages 289-293, accompanied
by a good colored plate (two figures) by Fuertes. A full account by
Norman A. Wood of the discovery of the breeding area, with description
of the nest and eggs, will be found in the Bulletin of the Michigan Ornitho-
logical Club, V, 1904, pages 1-13; following which, on pages 14 to 21, is an
article by Dr. Chas. C. Adams on the migration route of Kirtland's Warbler.
From these sources the following brief account is condensed:
During the winter Kirtland's Warbler ai)i)arently ranges through the
Bahama Islands, and begins its northward migiation in April, reaching
South Carolina about the end of that month, it has been reported from
Illinois May 7, from Indiana May 4 and 7, from Ohio IMay 12 and 13, from
Battle Creek, Mich., May 11, from Ann Arbor May 15, 16 and 18, and from
Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, May 21. The records, few as they are,
show that the birds ai-e widely scattered during the northward migration,
and although a consideral)lc proportion would indicate that they were on
their way to the known nesting i-egion in northern Michigan, it seems
extremely likely that the breeding area covers a much larger territory
♦Bull. Mich. Cm. Club, V. I'JOI, pp. 12-1.'?.
G22 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
than we now know of, very possibly extending into northern Wisconsin
and Minnesota, as well as over much of the area between Lake Superior
and Hudson Bay, and possibly stretching eastward toward Labrador
and westward to or into Manitoba.
During migration the bird is known to frequent low growths, but has
not been noticed to spend much time upon the ground, or to show any
marked fondness for evergreens. On its nesting grounds it frequents
regions characterized by the presence of jack-pines, larger Norway pines,
and, where these have been cut off, "more or less thick growths of small
jack-pines, yellow oak and poplar." The ground is covered with a mat of
wintergreen (Gautheria), sweetfern and trailing arbutus. Burnt stubs
give evidence of forest fires and there is a variety of small shrubs and
young trees which varies with the locality. In this region Kirtland's
Warbler may be found anywhere, the males perched on the branches or
tops of low trees, rendering their clear loud song at frequent intervals,
while the nest is placed on the ground and completely hidden among
the vines and herbage. Mr. Wood describes the nest as about two inches
in diameter inside, and the same in depth, very neat and compact, and
composed of strips of soft bark and vegetable fibre, thickly lined with fine
dead grass, pine needles and a few horse hairs. The single egg, taken from
a nest in which were two young birds about ten days old, is described as
"a delicate pinkish white (since the contents are removed it has faded to
dull white), thinly sprinkled with several shades of brown spots, forming
a sort of wreath at the larger end." This egg is .72 bv .56 inches.
In the Oologist, Vol. 21, 1904, No. 10, Mr. E. Arnolddescribes two nests
and eggs, taken in Oscoda county, Michigan in 1904, as follows: "On
June 15th I took a male and female and beautiful nest and four fresh eggs.
These, so far as I know, are the first full sets of this bird known to science.
The nests were on the ground, in dead vegetation of deer- vines, winter-
green and various vines. The female is a very close sitter and the nests
very hard to find. Dendroica kirtlandi is confined during the breeding
season to the jack-pine plains. The nest is sunk in the ground and always
well concealed by surrounding vines and vegetation. The female on the
eggs allowed me to stand within six inches of the nest and to almost touch
her; I could have put my hat over her on the nest. The male is a beautiful
singer and very noticeable."
Prof. Lynds Jones, who studied two migrant Kirtland's Warblers near
Oberlin, Ohio on May 7 and 9, 1900 says: "The song was loud and clear,
given with all the vigor of a wren or kinglet, and the body being straightened
to almost a perpendicular direction and beak pointed sti-aight up. * * *
The song is a doubly phrased one, the first part slightly longer and a little
less rapidly uttered. I have written it thus; ter ter ter tee; tswee te chu. "
(Wilson Bulletin, No. 32, July 1900).
Mr. Wood, in his description of the bird's habits on its nesting ground,
speaks of its song as "loud, clear, joyous and full of sweet melody. This
song may be described as follows: 'weche chee-chee-chee-r-r-r.' The
r-sound is quite prolonged and loud. The first two notes are low, then the
notes gradually increase in volume to the end. I heard this song repeated
at intervals of about thirty seconds and from different directions. * * *
Finally I saw the singer flit from a bush to a yellow oak scrub and light
but three feet above the ground. As I watched him he sat ciuite erect,
threw forward his head and the wonderful song rang out. This song was
remarkable because of its volume and rich melody." Another male which
LAND BIRDS. 623
Mr. Wood watched "went to the top of an old burnt stub (about twenty-
feet high) nearby and sang 'wichi chee-chee-cher-r-r.' The song of this
male was not so loud and ringing, and was not so full of melody as the
first, but was very sweet and clear. It made me think of the song of the
Maryland Yellowthroat, only the notes were shorter. * * * * often
saw these birds ahght on the ground, and think them to be as terrestial
as Dendroica palmarum. The food of this warbler seemed to be span-
worms Uving upon jack-pines, and a small light-colored span-worm moth
(Diastictis). I saw the warbler capture these moths during flight. I
also shot a male Kirtland that came to a nest with a deer- fly in his mouth,
so that flies and other insects, as well as span-worms, may compose their
food. On describing the bird, its food and its habits, to a young man who
lives a few miles northwest, on the North Branch, he said the birds were
there and were called "the jack-pine bird." I consider this a very appro-
jji'iate name, as most of their time is spent on these trees and the bulk
of their food is gleaned from them. It is not, however, every jack-pine
plain that is the home of a colony, as I examined hundreds of acres where
the conditions seemed all right and found none."
Several observers speak of the resemblance of this bird in action to
the Palm Warbler, particularly in the wagging motion of the tail. The
somewhat stiff and erect attitude of the bird in singing has also been noted,
and the figure given by C. J. Maynard (Birds of Eastern North America,
plate 17) represents correctly, according to Mr. N. A. Wood this "very
characteristic upright singing attitude." In size and general appearance
Kirtland's Warbler suggests a young autumn specimen of the Myrtle
Warbler (Dendroica coronata), but lacks the yellow rump and crown
patch, has no black patches on the sides of the breast, and the wing-bars
are very narrow, dull and inconspicuous. The black-streaked yellow
under parts remind one of the Prairie Warbler, but that is a much smaller
bird, the yellow of the under parts is much brighter, and it also has bright
yellow on the sides of the head, where Kirtland's Warbler is blackest.
The upper parts are entirely unlike in the two birds.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
A<liilt male: Gray or slaty-gray above, bluer on head, browner on back, which is
strongly streaked with black; lores, cheeks, and sides of tlu-oat black; eye-lids white;
chin and under tail-coverts white, rest of under parts yellow, the breast with small spots
of black, the sides heavily black-streaked; wing bars very indistinct or altogether lacking;
outer pair of tail-feathers with white patcii on inner web near tip. Female, similar, but
duller, the sides of head gray, imder parts paler yellow, spots and streaks lighter and less
distinct.
Length 5..*^0 to 0 inches; wing 2.60 to 2.90; tail 2.25 to 2.50.
283. Pine Warbler. Dendroica vigorsi (.1/^/.). (671)
Synonyms: Pine-creeping Warbler, I'ine Creeper. — Sylvia vigorsii. And., 1828. —
Sylvia pinus, Wils., 1811, Bonap., 1824, Nutt., 1832, And., 1834.— Dendroica and Dcndroeca
pinus of many of tlie older naturalists, Dendroica vigorsii, Ridgw., 1885, and most sub-
sequent authors.
The adult male may be known by the olive-green upper parts; clear
yellow throat and ))reast, without streaks; two narrow white \ving-bars,
and long o])lique white patches on the outer tail-feathers. Females and
immature l)irds will ])e likely to puzzle any but the expert.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to the Plains, north to
024 MICIIKiAN P.IUT) LIFE.
Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick; wintering in the Stnitli Atlantic
and Gulf States, and the Bahamas.
This appears to be one of our less common warblers in most parts of
the state, although a few are met with in migration almost ever}^ spring,
and it is one of the characteristic summer residents of the pine regions of
the north.
It is one of the earlier w^arblers to come north, probably entering the
state by the first of May in average seasons and not infrequently earlier.
At Ann Arbor Mr. Norman A. Wood's earliest record is Ai^ril 21, 1888,
and it was observed on April 28, 1898. May 6, 1904, and April 26 and 27,
1907. While it shows a marked preference in its summer home for ever-
green trees, it mingles freely with other warblers during its migration
and then may be found almost anywhere. It is by no means a conspicuous
warbler, and since it prefers to sing from the higher parts of the pine trees,
is doubtless often overlooked by those who are not familiar with its notes.
The full song is a mellow trill, suggesting in length and rapidity that
of the Chipping Sparrow, but the notes are clearer, sweeter and moi'e
musical.
It builds a compact and deeply hollowed nest, usually on the branch
of a pine or other evergreen, at a considerable height from the ground,
often fifty feet or more. The eggs are white or grayish-white, spotted
with brown and gray, and average .69 by .53 inches. It has been found
nesting in northern Illinois and probably it nests in favorable localities
throughout Michigan, but most abundantly in the northern part of the
state. Actual records of nests however are not numerous. Miss Harriet
H. Wright, of Saginaw writes that in the northw^est corner of Iosco county
she found two nests where the parents were feeding young, in pines, on a
sandy knoll a little distance from the Au Sable River, during the last
week of June, 1907; and there is a record of a nest in IMason count}- con-
taining nearly full grown young on July 12 (Chaney, Auk, XXVII, 1910,
277).
Dr. Gibbs states that in Ottawa county, in 1879, the species was more
or less common in summer, but was seldom found out of the tops of the
tallest pines. He says "All day the simple notes can be heard issuing
from the lofty pines, but few guns would bring the specimen from such
a height." He states further that in Wexford county, about Cadillac,
it was common and well distributed in 1882, and could always be found
in the proper localities, while on May 6, 1883 he found a pinery in Montcalm
county full of them, and in that region he considered it the commonest
warbler of the pine sections. He also found it abundant in June in Newaygo
county, and in Lake county as late as October 12, 1883.
It is perhaps somewhat more addicted to a creeping habit than most of
its congeners, but the name "Pine Creeper" is hardly warranted, since
it is a typical warbler, feeding much on insects of all kinds, in the foliage
as well as on trunks and branches, and not infrequently taking insects
on the Aving.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Above, uniform rather dull olive-green, including the sides of the head
and neck; under parts yellow, often greenish, brightest on throat and breast, fading to
(hill white on belly and luider tnil-coAcrts; two white or grayish white wing-bars; two or
tin-ee pairs of outer tail-feathers mostly white (both webs) near tips; eyelids and a streak
over the eye usually yellow. I'lMiialc similar, but with much less color; above grayish-
LAND BIRDS. 625
olive, below grayish-white, the breast and throat often merely tinged with yellow; wmgs
and tail as in male except that the wing-bars are narrower and grayer.
Length 4.9o to 5.60 inches; wing 2.70 to 3; tail 2.10 to 2.45. Female rather smaller.
284. Palm Warbler, Dendroica palmarum palmarum (Gmel.). (672)
Synonyms: Western Palm Warbler, Western Eed-poll Warbler, Western Yellow
Red-poll Warbler, Wagtail Warbler. — Motacilla palmarum, Gmel., 1789. — Sylvicola
petechia, Sw. & Rich., 1831. — Dendroica palmarum, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886.
Yellow below from chin to under tail-coverts, streaked on breast and
sides with reddish-brown and dusky. Crown chestnut; wing-bars in-
distinct or wanting; outer tail-feathers white-tipped on inner webs.
Distribution — Northern interior to Great Slave Lake; in winter South
Atlantic and Gulf States, the West Indies and Mexico. Of rare but regu'ar
occurrence in the Atlantic States in migration.
This is another of our hardy warblers, arriving early in the spring and
lingering late in the fall. It enters the state from the south about the
first of May, sometimes as early as the 20th of April, and passes northward
in a leisurely manner, some lingering until after the middle of May. At
Ann Ar]:)or Mr. Wood gives the earliest date in twenty-five years as April
26, 1886, and it is seldom seen at Lansing before the 6th or 7th of May.
However, a specimen was killed on Spectacle Reef Light, northern Lake
Huron, May 5, 1889, and others on May 11, 1888, May 15, 1891 and May
19, 1893. Fall records for the same lighthouse are September 25 and 29,
1889, October 3, 1893 and October 5, 1890.
Although entirely unhke the Yellow-rumped Warbler in appearance,
the two species have many points in common, and the present bird is
equally fond of the ground, where it alights constantly for food, hopping
about in search of seeds and insects, very much like a sparrow. It is
usually found in flocks, sometimes as many as fifty together, though more
often in small squads of six to ten. It frequents the edges of fields, the
borders of woods and the sides of hedges and roads, but is also seen fre-
quently in open fields, particularly in the wetter parts of cattle pastures,
where it perches on weed-stalks or on the ground, and Avhen alarmed
flies to the nearest fence, where it sits, wagging the tail up and down in
a manner entirely unlike that of any other warbler.
Apparently it is not very abundant in Michigan, most of our reports
stating that it is rare, rather uncommon, or at least irregularly common.
It is not known to nest within our limits, nor has it been recorded from
any part of the state in summer, so far as we are aware. Usually by the
20th of May it has passed northward beyond out borders, and it returns
again in September. It is the only warbler of its genus (except Kirtland's)
which regularly nests on the ground, a fact entirely in keeping with its
terrestrial habits. In New England, where it (or its equivalent subspecies,
hypochrysea) is abundant, it has been known to nest occasionally, both
fresh eggs and newly hatched young being found near Bangor, Me., June
1, 1892, and another nest at Pittsfield, Me., with five fresh eggs June 13,
1894.
The usual nesting ground of the western form is in the Hudson Bay
region and Alaska, where it is said to nest at the foot of a small tree or
at the edge of a hummock, sinking its nest among the grasses and mosses.
The nest itself consists of these materials, together with bark strips, down
and feathers, and the eggs are creamy white, spotted with purple and
79
626 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
reddish brown. The eggs probably are of about the same size as those
of the eastern form which measure .67 by .52 inches.
While with us during migration this species has only a sharp "chip"
or ''chuck" which is, however, quite characteristic. In its summer home
it is said to have a pleasant but rather weak trill.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Forehead and crown clear chestnut, sharply separated from the color of the
hack, which is grayish-olive, indistinctly streaked with brownish; rump and upper tail-
coverts usually distinct greenish-yellow; a yellow line from nostril over and behind the
eye; sides of head and neck like back; under parts yellow, brightest on throat and breast,
fading to yellowish-white on belly, the chin and throat usually unspotted, the breast and
sides spotted and streaked with chestnut; under tail-coverts bright yellow; two indistinct
grayish wing-bars; two outer pairs of tail-feathers with inner webs white at tips. Sexes
alike.
Length 4.50 to f).")!) inches; wing 2:AF, to 2.65; tail 2.05 to 2.45.
285. Prairie Warbler. Dendroica discolor {Vieill.). (673)
Synonyms: Sylvia discolor, Vieill., 1807. — Sylvicola discolor, Jardine, 1832, Aud.,
1S39. — Dendroica and Dendroeca discolor of most recent authors. — Sylvia minuta, Wilson,
1811.
Fig. 140.
The male is readily known by the patch of chestnut or l)rick red spots
in the middle of the back, and a trace of this is commonly visible in the
female. The under parts are rich yellow, the sides with dark streaks.
Distribution. — Eastern United States to the Plains, breeding from
Florida north to Michigan and southern New England. Winters in southern
Florida and the West Indies.
This dainty little warbler appears to be by no means common in Mich-
igan, yet it has been found here and there in some numboi's, j)ai'ti('ulai'ly
in Ottawa and Montcalm counties by Dr.
Morris (libbs, and on Mackinac Island by S. E.
White. This latter point would seem to be
its northern limit in the state, and it is a singular
fact that, although Mr. White states that it
was common there in bushy country and that
he took many specimens between August 10
and September 6 in 1889, 1890 and 1891, it
did not appear to be nesting there, and it has
not been found there since by any one else.
.\h)reover, among the thousands of warblers
killed on Spectacle Reef Light, within eighteen '^'
or twenty miles of Mackinac Island, not a single rig. i40. Prairie Wurijier. From
f ,1 ,, • • -.^T , 1 1 1 ('oues' Key, .5th (■(!., 190:J. Dana
specimen ot the ri'aine vVai'hler has ever been Estes & co.
found.
The name "Prairie Warbler" is simply a misnomer, since the bird is
rarely seen on the open prairie, and is not known to nest anywhere in
the prairie regions of Indiana, Illinois or southern Michigan. On the
contrary the bird appears to prefer bushy pastures, recently cleared lands,
and sciaibby woods. For this reason the name Red-backed Wai'bicr or
even Pasture Warbler would be j)referal)le.
LAND BIRDS. 627
Our records are not numerous enough to give much idea of its migration,
but Mr. Norman A. Wood has noted it at Ann Arbor seven times during
the last thirty years, the earhest record being May 2, 1905, and the other
records May 11, 1880, May 18, 1900, May 10, 1902, May 9, 1903, and May
13 and 14, 1907. There is one record for Port Huron, St. Clair county,
a specimen taken by P. A. Taverner, May 20, 1900; N. A. Wood found a
few migrants on Charity Island August 22 and 24, 1910; a single specimen
was seen at the Agricultural College May 11, 1900; Mr. Swales states that
it was found nesting near Detroit by W. A. Davidson May 27, 1894, but
the bird was not secured; Taverner took three specimens near the same
city. May 10, 1907. Other collectors in the vicinity of Detroit have failed
to find the species, either as a migrant or a resident, and, with the ex-
ceptions already noted, observers in other parts of the state have been
equally unfortunate. The nest found by Dr. Gibbs in Ottawa county
was taken May 26, 1879. It was about two feet from the ground, in a
small bush, and was made of dandelion down, bark of weeds and fibres
of milkweed, and Hned with woodchuck hair. It contained two eggs,
and the ovary of the parent taken contained another egg almost ready to
be laid.
Dr. Gibbs states that he found this a rather common warbler near Howard
City, Montcalm county, in 1881 and 1882. He heard the first there (at
least a dozen) on May 9, 1881, and on the same date the following year
they were already numerous. May 14, 1882 he found them common and
unsuspicious, but later, during the nesting season, they were so shy that
it was difficult to secure a specimen.
The eggs are white or buffy-white, speckled with burnt-umber or vandyke-
bi'own and lilac gray, and average .63 by .47 inches (Ridgway).
The song of this warbler is neither loud nor striking, but is sufficiently
characteristic for recognition after one becomes famiUar with it. Butler
describes it as "beginning low and gradually growing louder, resembling
the sylla])les ' wee-wee-chee-chee-chee-chee '" (Bii-ds of Indiana, 1897, p.
1077).
The food appears to be similai- to that of other wai'blers frequenting
like situations.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Upper parts uniform olive-green, tlie middle of the baek spotted con-
spicuously with brick-red or chestnut; a briglit yellow streak from bill oyer and bi\yond
the eye; entire under parts clear rich yellow, unspotted along the median lin(\ l)ul liea\ily
streaked with deep black on sides of neck and breast and on flanks; a small l)hick sj)ot in
front of eye, and a larger one bounding the cheek below, and se])arat('d from tlie eye by a
narrow area of yelk)w; two wliite wing-bars; three outer jiairs of tail-featluMs mostly wiiite
on inner webs, the fourth feather witli a small wiiite sjoot. Female similai-, but with less
chestmit or none on tlie back, and other markings somewhat duller.
i.engtli of male 4.2.5 to 5 inches; wing 2.10 to 2.:i(); tail l.i)() to 2.10. Fcm.ilc slightly
286. Ovenbird. Seiurus aurocapillus (Linn.). (674)
Synonyms: (iolden-crowiied 'riirusli. Teacher, Nightingale.— Mot acill.i auroca|)illa.
Linii., iVtit).— Turdus aun.capilla, Wils., P.ona))., And., Nutt.
Figure 141.
The broad golden-brown stripe through the middle of the crown with
the narrow stripe of black on either side, together with the absence of
628 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
white spots on the tail-feathers, is diagnostic. The olive back and the
heavily spotted breast and sides give it the appearance of a small thrush,
but in reality it is a large warbler.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, north to Hudson Bay Territory
and Alaska, breeding from Kansas, the Ohio Valley and Virginia north-
ward. In winter Florida, the West Indies, southern Mexico and Central
America to Panama.
The Ovenbird is a common summer resident of our woodlands throughout
the state. It may be absent from certain restricted regions, but we have
never visited a place in the state where
it was not found, and it is reported as - Si=~ --- ^^g^
common by almost all our corre- . ^^^ ; £^^=5?- =.:v; ~ - ^^^
spondents. According to Peet it is a ^^-~-V
rather scarce resident on Isle Royale. ^ "^ '
It arrives from the south rather early,
Mr. Trombley of Petersburg, ]\Ionroe ^ssr^"^"*"-'"
county, recording the earliest on April ,^^ ' ^
"2:2, 1891, while in 1888 the first was seen ' ^'"^ ~ .. . .
on May 9. At Ann Arbor Mr. Norman
A. Wood gives the average date of first
arrival for twenty-five years as the first
week in May, the earliest being April 28,
1 900 and the latest May 1 1 , 1 90 1 . Most
of the bh-ds move southward in Septem- ^\^^rS^ :,S^S^^^^'^^^
ber, mainly during the latter halt, but Biowu & co.
a few linger into October.
Its ringing song of "teacher, teacher, teacher" so well described by
Burroughs, is not always given immediately on arrival, but within a few
days if the weather be fair the woods are echoing with it. The bird often
sings from the ground or from a stick, stump or stone, but usually from
a jjranch of a tree at some little height above the surface, though seldom
from the top of a tree or from any lofty perch. It spends most of its time
running about on the ground, where it gathers almost all its food, and it
has a habit when moderately disturbed of walking lengthwise along a
branch with a deliberate slow step, like a chicken, often jetting the tail
in the manner of the Hermit Thrush, but with less energy than its near
relative the Water-thrush.
The nest is built late iri May or early in June, in the middle counties,
and is a beautiful structure, being sunken somewhat in the ground and
carefully roofed over with leaves and grasses, in the manner of an old-
fashioned oven, whence the bird gets the name of Ovenbird. So cleverly
is the nest concealed that it is rarely found except by flushing the bird,
and in order to do this one must step very close to the nest. Even then
the owner usually attempts to lead the enemy away by feigning injury,
and often succeeds. In spite of its good concealment the Cowbird appears
to find the nest easily, and in many localities it is a rare thing to find a
nest free from one or more eggs of this parasite. The Ovenbird suffers
much from sc^uirrels, skunks, weasels, snakes and other prowlers, so that
the first nest is often broken up and the bird compelled to lay a second
or even a third time. Doubtless this accounts for the fact that young,
or even eggs, may frequently be found late in July or occasionally in August,
for we do not think the l)ird rears two broods as a rule.
Aside from the so-called song of "teacher, teacher, teacher" this l)ii(l
LAND BIRDS. 629
has a delightful carol which it utters from a considerable height in the
air while it floats slowly down on motionless wings, eventually dropping hke
a stone into the w^oods as it finishes the last notes. Occasionally it utters
a few notes as it rises swiftly to the height at which the song proper begins,
but more often it wings its way upward silently and bursts into song
suddenly as it reaches the highest point of its flight. This song somewhat
resembles the air song of the Indigo-bird, but is sweeter and longer con-
tinued; it must not be confounded, however, with the still more beautiful
song which the Ovenbird sometimes utters at nightfall while coursing
rapidly through the trees of the forest, either alone or while pursuing its
mate or being pursued by some rival male. Under such circumstances
it gives vent to its emotions in a prolonged and varied song of remarkable
sweetness and power which is unlike that of any other bird of our ac-
quaintance. Doubtless it is this song, occasionally uttered in the night,
which has given it the name of nightingale in some localities.
The eggs are four to six, white or pinkish white, spotted with reddish
brown and lilac, and average .80 by .61 inches.
This bird is rarely seen seen outside the woods except during migrations,
but it often visits parks and gardens in spring and fall and occasionally
may be heard singing in such places. It appears to have no bad food
habits, or indeed, bad habits of any kind, but consumes immense numbers
of insects, spiders, myriapods and small snails and slugs, together with
a few seeds and berries. It is thus likely to be decidedly beneficial in the
regions which it selects for its home.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Crown with a broad median stripe of hrownisli-orange, extending from forehead
to nape and bordered on each side by a narrow lilack stripe; rest of vipjicr parts, incliuUng
wings and tail, clear greenisli-olive; a distinct wliitisli ring about the eye; Ijelow pure white,
heavily spotted on breast and streaked on sides with black, the chin, upper throat ancl
belly unspotted. No white markings on wings and tail; a black line on each side of the
white throat from base of lower mandible. Sexes alike.
Length 5.40 to G.50 inches; wing 2.75 to 3; tail 2 to 2.25.
287. Small-billed Water-thrush. Seiurus noveboracensis noveboracensis
{Gmel). (675)
Synonyms: Common Water-thrush, Northern Water-thrush, Wag-tail, Water Wag-
tail, Water-thrush. — Motacilla noveboracensis, Gmcl., 1789. — Siurus na?vius, Coucs,
1877. — Seiurus, noveboracensis of most recent authors.
A large thrush-like warbler, plain olive-brown above, with a yellowish
stripe over the eye; the under parts white, tinged with sulphur yellow,
and everywhere sharply streaked with brown and black. Wings and tail
like the back and without l)ars or spots.
Distribution. — Eastern United States to Illinois, and northward to
Arctic America, breeding from the northern United States northward.
South in winter to the West Indies, Central America and northern South
America.
The Water-thrushes will usually be recognized at once from their close
resemblance in size and general appearance to the Ovenbird, but all have
the habit of wagging the tail much more strongly pronounced than in the
Ovenbird, in fact the motion is even more continuous and characteristic
630 MlCllKiAN UIRI) LIFE.
than that of the Sptjtted Sandpiper or Tip-iip, and, exce})t wlien singing,
the Water-thrushes seem to be always balancing or tilting.
The Small-billed Water-thrush is by no means rare in any part of Mich-
igan during the migrations and very likely it may breed in the northern
parts of the state, but it is for the most part a migrant, and in spite of the
numerous reports of its nesting in the southern counties we know of but
one instance which has been verified by the capture and examination of
the bii'd. Mr. Edwin G. Mummery took a nest and five eggs, together
with the female parent, at Chestnut Ridge, Wayne county, Michigan,
May 14, 1898. The nest was close to and partly under the trunk of a
fallen tree. The eggs were heavily incubated (liull. Mich. Orn. Club, IV,
1903, 56). We have not personally examined the above specimen, but
have l)een informed that its identity is not open to question. The early
date would be about right for the Large-billed Water-thrush. The earlier
observers in the state almost universally confounded this species with
the Large-billed Water-thrush, which is the common form in southern
Michigan, and except where specimens have been taken and preserved it
is well nigh impossible now to say to which species any given observation
relates. Since 1890 these two biixls have been disci'iminated more care-
fully by most observers, but the attempt to recognize Grinnell's Water-
thrush, S. n. notabilis, has complicated the matter again.
The Small-bill seems to arrive from the south much later than its near rel-
ative the Large-bill, the records from Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron,
being May 11, 1888, May 12, 1890, May 15, 17 and 19, 1891, and, on the
southward migration, August 22, 1889. Other unquestional)le records are:
One specimen taken at Agricultural College September 11, 1896, by T. L.
Hankinson, one taken May 13, 1875 in Kalamazoo county by James H.
Doming, and others by Dr. Gibbs on May 16 and 20, 1883, in Montcalm
county. Dr. Gibbs also took one May 12, 1885 in Van Buren county,
and the writer found several within the city limits of Lansing, August 19,
1897. We have examined also a skin in the Eddy Collection taken on
Heisterman's Island, Saginaw Bay, August 29, 1888. At Detroit, according
to Mr. Swales, it is not a common bird except on its first appearance in
the spring about the first week in May. It is seen again there in the fall
until late September and was found once, in 1889, as late as October 8.
As already stated we have but one probable record of its nesting in
the state, but it may nest here frequently nevertheless. In Wisconsin
it is said to nest sparingly even in the southern counties and more com-
monly and regularly farther north. "We are almost exactly on the divid-
ing line between novehoracensis and notabilis, but the former is by far
the most abundant. They occur together in southeastern Wisconsin
(kiring the migrations. Mr. William Brewster has kindly examined our
specimens and finds very typical examples of both races." — (Kumlien and
Hollister, Birds of Wisconsin, p. 116).
In nesting habits this bird is quite similar to the Large-billed Water-
thrush, building a bulky, but somewhat loosely constructed nest, which
is placed sometimes in the roots of an upturned tree, sometimes in the
bank of a brook or stream, and occasionally perhaps on the level ground
in a swamj), though in the latter case it is almost always partially roofed
over or protected above 1^}' fallen branches or other rubbish. The eggs
are four to six, creamy white, speckled with brown and lilac, and average
.75 by .57 inches.
The sons; during the nesting season is described as clear, loud and ringing;
LAND BIRDS. 631
audible at a distance of several hundred yards, and one of the most striking
and characteristic of bird songs. Opinions differ somewhat as to its
similarity to the songs of the other Water-thrushes, some observers stating
that the songs of this and the Large-billed Water-thrush are nearly identical,
while others claim that they are perfectly distinct. ]n view of the con-
fusion of the two species by even fairly good observers it seems likely
that the song of one has not unfrec{uently been mistaken for that of the
other.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Entire U23per parts, including wings and tail, uniform olive-brown; a whitish
or yellowish-white stripe from nostril over eye toward nape; ear-coverts brown like back;
under i)arts whitisli, usually with a distinct yellow tint which is likely to be strongest on
the l)clly, the throat f liinly speckled, and the breast and sides thickly spotted and streaked
with thirk bi-own; wings "and tail unmarked; iris brown. Sexes alike.
Length 5 to 6 inches; wing 2.80 to 3.10; tail 2 to 2.25; cuhnen .43 to .50.
288. Grinnell's Water-thrush. Seiurus noveboracensis notabilis. Ridyiv.
(675a)
Synonyms: Western Water-thrush. — Seiurus nu'vius notabilis, Ridgw., 1880, and
most recent writers.
Very similar to the Small-billed Water-thrush, Init slightly larger,
darker brown above and whiter below, the yellowish tinge often barely
perceptible.
Distribution. — Western United States, from Indiana and Illinois west-
ward to California, and north into British America. Casual in migrations
eastward to the Atlantic coast. Winters from the southern border of the
United States southward to Lower California, Mexico and northern South
America.
Probably the majority of the Water-thrushes that pass through ]\Iichigan
during the migrations belong to the Small-billed subspecies, the larger
form becoming abundant farther west. Nevertheless, Grinnell's Water-
thrush has been taken several times within our limits and it seems likely
that it occurs somewhat frequently. Naturally, as this is merely a
geographical race of the Small-billed Water-thrush and Michigan is not far
from the dividing line between the two, the forms must overlap more or
less and specimens completely intermediate are likely to occur. In Butler's
Birds of Indiana (1897, page 1382) we read: "Mr. Ridgway writes me
that Water-thrushes from the Mississippi Valley are very puzzling, but
a large majority appear to be referable to notabilis. Mr. F. M. Woodruff
informs me that Dr. J. A. Allen, to whom he submitted some specimens
fi-om the vicinity of Chicago for examination, considers them typical
notahilis." Mr. Woodruff adds: "All the specimens I have from northern
Indiana arc of this form." A specimen of Crinnell's Water-thrush was
killed on Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, May 7, 1889 and another
May 22, 1890. Both these were identified by Dr. A. K. Fisher, of the
V. S. Department of Agriculture at Washington. The University of
Michigan Expedition obtained an adult female on Isle Royale August
24, 1904 and an adult male on August 26. According to Mr. Norman A.
Wood others were seen there on August 18, 22, 28, 31 and September 1.
On the latter date Mr. Wood states that he heard one in a cedar swamp
singing a low sweet song.
So far as we know tliis form does not dilTer in general habits from its
632 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
near relative novehoracensis, but our observations on the bird in Michigan
are so few that we can add nothing definite on this point.
TECHNICAL DESCKII'TION.
Very similar to the Suiall-billed Water-thrush, but somewhat larger, the upper parts
darker brown, the line over the eye whiter, and the lower parts less distinctly yellow.
Sexes alike.
Length 5.50 tu 6.50 inches; wing 2.90 to 3.25; tail 2.10 to 2.50; culnicn .44 to .50.
289. Large-billed Water-thrush. Seiurus motacilla (VicilL). (676)
Synonyms: Louisiana Water-thrush, Southern Water-thrush, Wag-tail, Water Wag-
tail.— T Urdus motacilla, Vieill., 1807.^ — Seiurus ludovicianus of the older ornithologists,
1838-1880.— Siurus motacilla, Coues, 1877.
Similar to the two preceding, but larger than either; lighter brown above
and buffy white below with no sulphur yellow tinge; the streaks on breast
and sides broad and brown; throat without spots or streaks; stripe over
the eye pure white.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, north to southern New England
and southern ]\Iichigan, casually north to Lake George, northeastern
New York, west to the Plains. In winter West Indies, southern Mexico,
and Central America to Panama.
This is the common Water-thrush of southern Michigan and the only
one thus far positively known to nest in the state. It is a summer resident
of at least the southern third of the state, but so far as we can learn there
is no record of its occurrence north of Montcalm county. As explained
in connection with the Small-billed Water-thrush these two species have
been badly confused by observers and there is much incertainty about
some of the notes, but we have never seen a specimen from any point
north of the Saginaw Grand Valley, and it is significant that no specimens
of this species have ever been received from Spectacle Reef Light, where
so many thousands of migrants have been killed, and from which place
specimens were sent to Washington for more than a dozen years.
It is fairly common at Port Huron, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and all
territory south of these points, arriving from the south almost invariably
in April, not infrequently before the middle of the month. At Agri-
cultural College, Ingham county, Mr. Hankinson recorded the first on
April 12, 1896 and April 22, 1897, while at Detroit Mr. Swales gives its
time of arrival as April 20 and May 1. At Ann Arbor Mr. Norman A.
Wood gives the earliest arrival in spring as April 22, 1883, and the average
as May 7, but we feel sure that the species as a rule arrives much earlier
than these records would indicate, especially as the average date of arrival
for the Small-billed Water-thrush is given as May 10. In our own ex-
perience in Ingham county, covering seventeen years, we have found
the Large-billed Water-thrush to precede the Small-bill by at least ten
days on the average.
This bird frequents very wet ground always, but is by no means confined
to running streams, since it is a regular inhabitant of more or less stagnant
swamps, and is not infrequently found in bushy marshes at some httle
distance from large woods. It usually nests among the upturned roots
of a prostrate tree, but also hides its nest under the edge of a fallen log
or in the sloping bank of a small stream, or even among the tangled roots
LAND BIRDS. 633
at the edge of a cut, where a stream has washed awaj^ the soil at a bend,
In other cases it nests on the ground in an ordinary swamp, placing the
nest under the roots of a tree or otherwise hiding it from view. Mr.
Trombley records a nest found in Summerfield township, Monroe county,
which was nearly complete on May 8, 1891 and which contained six eggs
with two Cowbirds' eggs in addition on May 19. This nest was placed
beneath the roots of a tree which had been blown over, and was close
to the edge of a creek. Another nest in the same vicinity was found with
fresh eggs on May 5, 1890. Mr. Taverner records a nest found near Flint,
Genesee county. May 30, 1905, and T. L. Hankinson found a nest with
young June 2, 1895, in Ingham county.
The eggs are similar to those of the other Water-thrushes, creamy white,
spotted with brown and lilac, the size, number and disposition of the
markings being somewhat variable, but the eggs usually distinguishable
from those of the Oven-bird, which they nevertheless resemble. They
average .73 by .59 inches.
Much has been written about the song of this bird and it is difficult
to exaggerate its power and beauty; nevertheless there is undoubtedly
much individual variation. Mr. Chapman writes: "As a songster the
Water-thrush is without a rival. His song is not to be compared with the
clear-voiced carol of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, the plaintive chant of
the Field Sparrow, or the hymnlike melody of the true thrushes; it is of
a different kind. It is the untameable spirit of the bird rendered in music.
There is an almost fierce wildness in its ringing notes" (Handbook, p. 368).
In general habits all the water-thrushes are much alike. They spend
most of the time on the ground in wet places and are most often seen
running nimbly about the edges of pools, balancing for an instant on a
stick or pebble, or walking deliberately along a slender branch or root,
now disappearing in the dark cavity beneath a stump or log and again
wading a few steps into the water to pick up some tempting morsel of
aquatic life. All the time the body is swaying up and down with the
characteristic wagging motion which suggests the sandpiper. During
migration water-thrushes are often found about the edges of muddy pools
in open fields and pastures, even associating with sandpipers and plover,
but ordinarily they prefer water fringed with willows or other bushes,
and during the nesting season are seldom seen in the open. The food
consists mainly of aquatic insect larvae, but insects and spiders of various
kinds are eaten, as well as worms, crustaceans, snails an(l other mollusks,
and to a lesser extent various seeds and small fruits.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Very similar to tlie Small-billed Water-thriish, hut u])i)er jiarts lighter olive-
brown; the line over the eye pure white, the under i)arts always distinctly buiTj' or brownish
white rather than yellowish-white, and the spots and streaks broader and lighter colored
(never darker) than tiie color of the upper parts; the huffy color most pronounced on the
flanks, l)elly anil under tail-coverts; chin and throat nearly white and often without any
sj)ots. Sexes alike.
i.cngth .5.75 to 0.40 indies; wing .3 to :].'2'y; tail 2.10 to 2. :',(); culnuMi ..")0 to ..")(;.
290. Kentucky Warbler. Oporornis formosus (ir?7.s:.). (677)
Synonyms: Sylvia formo.sa, Wils., 1811. — Myiodioctes formosus, And., lS.'iO. —
Geothlypis formosa, A. O. V. Check-list, 188G, and most subsequent authors.
The olive green back and bright j'ellow under parts, coupled witli tlie
black l)ar on the side of the heatl and neck and the jcllow stripe ovoi' ujid
6^4 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
behind the eye, mark this species clcarh'. Tliere ai-e no white marks
on tail or wings.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to the Plains, breeding from
the Ciulf States north to southern New England and southern Michigan.
In winter, West Indies, eastern Mexico, and Central America to Panama.
This beautiful warbler occurs in Michigan only as a rare straggler from
the south. The northernmost record is by Dr. Atkins, who wrote Dr.
Gib])s that he took a male at Locke, Ingham county, July 24, 1877, stating
that at the time he shot it it kept in the top of a tamarack tree repeating
its curious note "whit-ishee, whit-ishee. "* So far as we can learn this
specimen was never examined by any other ornithologist, and Dr. Atkin's
statement that it was in the top of a tamarack tree throws at least a shadow
of doubt on the record, since the bird is a ground warbler, frequenting
rich damp woods where it runs about or walks much in the manner of
the Ovenbird. According to Ridgway: "It lives altogether near the
ground, making its artfully concealed nest among the low herbage and
feeding in the undergrowth, the male uttering his pretty song from some
old log or low bush. His song recalls that of the Cardinal, but is much
weaker; its ordinary note is a soft pchip, somewhat like the common call
of the Phoebe." Ridgway adds that "in its manners it is almost a counter-
part of the Golden-crowned Thrush, but is altogether a more conspicuous
bird, both on account of its brilliant plumage and the fact that it is more
active."
So far as we can learn the only warrant for the statement that this species
breeds in Michigan is the above I'ecord l)y Dr. Atkins on July 24. It
seems at least very doubtful whether the bird is anything more than a
straggler to the southern part of the state, and if it breeds the fact is yet
to be proved. Aside from the Atkins specimen there appear to be but
three positive records for the state. Jerome Trombley identified a
Kentucky Warbler positively at Petersburg, May 4, 1886; J. Claire Wood
took a male in high plumage in Gratiot township, Wayne county. May 6,
1906,1 and kindly sent it to the writer for examination; and there is a speci-
men in a collection of mounted birds in Saline, Wayne county, which in all
probability was taken in that immediate vicinity b}^ a Mr. Van Duzer,
now deceased. His wife writes under date of April 3, 1906: "In regard
to the Kentucky Warbler which I have in my collection, I can positively
say that it was not obtained by exchange or purchase, but my late husband
collected it close to home." Dr. Gibbs of Kalamazoo was quite sure that
in 1875 he secured a specimen of this rare warbler in immature plumage,
but it spoiled before he had time to prepare it. This is doubtless the
source of the record in Cook's Bulletin (Birds of Mich., 2d ed., 1893,
page 136).
The Kentucky Warbler has been reported by one or two observers
from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but no specimens have been taken
and the reports are doubtless founded on mistaken identifications. The
bird is very rare in southern Wisconsin, where, according to Kumlien and
Hollister there are but seven records for sixty years (Birds of Wisconsin,
p. 117.) Butler states that the most northei-n point which the Kentucky
Warbler is known to have reached in Indiana is Gibson Station, where
Mr. C. E. Aiken is said to have taken several specimens in May 1871 (Birds
of Ind., 1897, 1086).
*Forest and Stream, May 13, 188.3.
tAuk, XXITI, 190(1, 314.
LAND BIRDS. G35
The nest resembles that of the Maryland Yellowthroat, but is very
carefully hidden, so that it is seldom found. It is placed invariably upon
the ground, and the eggs are white or creamy white, speckled with brown.
They average .72 by .56 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Forehead and sides of head black, with a bright yellow stripe over and
behind the eye; rest of upper parts, including wings and tail, olive-green; entire under parts
clear bright yellow. Wings and tail unmarked with lighter patches. Female very similar,
but the black head markings sometimes more or less obscured by gray edgings.
Leuiith T) to ,").8."> inches; wing 2.55 to 2.80; tail 1.90 to 2.20.
291. Connecticut Warbler. Oporornis agilis (Wils.). (678)
Synonyms: Sylvia agilis, Wils., 1812. — Trichas agilis, Nutt., 1840. — Oporornis agilis,
Raird, 1858.— Geothlypis agilis, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886.
The olive green back, wings and tail, without spots, ash-gray or blue-
gray head and neck, and yellow belly, are common to this species and the
Mourning Warbler, but the latter, when adult, always shows some black
on the breast and has no white about the eye, while the Connecticut Warbler
has no black on the breast and always has a white ring around the eye.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding north of the United
States (Manitoba and Ontario). Northern South America in winter.
This is one of our rarer warblers, seldom met with except during migra-
tion and then only by accident or after thorough and intelligent search.
It appears to prefer tangled growths of weeds, briars and grasses on low
ground, and in spring is seldom found far from such locations.
In its habits it is somewhat like the Maryland Yellow-throat, but is
far less common and much more shy, so that it is seldom seen. Specimens
have been taken in many parts of the state, from Wayne county, in the
southeast, to Ontonagon county, in the extreme western part of the Upper
Peninsula. At the latter place it is not unlikely that the species nests,
for a female was taken in the Porcupine Mountains July 27, 1904, by ]\Ir.
Maclean, of the University of Michigan expedition, and this bird had the
large bare space and thickened skin on the abdomen which is so character-
istic of birds which have recently incubated. This female, moreover, was
accompanied by young of the year. On August 1, in the same vicinity, a
family of four was seen in a clearing by Mr. McCreary.
liike may of the warblers, this species seems to be much more common
in autumn than in spring, and most of our records are for September
and October. However, Mr. Covert states that in the spring of 1888 it
was very common about Ann Arbor, where he secured about fifteen speci-
mens. He calls it a very late arrival and says it seems to delight in wet
days, singing most w^hen the woods are drip))ing. In the spring of 1907
it again seemed to be quite common and N. A. Wood took two specimens
on May 18, and two more on May 30.
Mr. Seton Thompson describes its song in Manitoba as suggested ])y
the syllables "beecher-beecher-beecher-beecher-beecher-beecher. He
states that it is somewhat like the song of the Ovenbird, but different in
being of the same pitch throughout, instead of beginning in a whisper,
and increasing the em})hasis and strength with each ])air of notes to the
last (liirds of Manitoba, page 622). This writer found the nest at Duck
Mountain, Maiiit()l)a, and describes it in the Auk, Vol. I, 1884, pp. 192-19;-{.
63G MICHIGAN P.IRD LIFE.
It was composed of dry grass and sunken level with the surface of the
ground. The eggs were four, creamy white, with a few spots of lilac-
purple, brown, and black, and measured .75 by .56 inches.
There is little doubt that the Connecticut Warbler nests regularly in
parts of Northern Michigan, but it is usually confused with the Mourning
Warbler, which is far more plentiful. Thus records unsupported by
specimens must be received with the greatest caution. Recent captures
in the southeastern part of the state indicate that the bird is to be found
more frequently than is generally supposed. Mr. P. A. Taverner, in his
manuscript list of the birds of St. Clair county, says: ''I do not think
this bird as rare as is generally supposed, as I have taken one every year
for the last six years wherever I have been. The finding of them seems
to be more in knowing where to look and looking." Mr. N. A. Eddy, of Bay
City, has two skins in his collection taken on Heisterman's Island, Saginaw
Bay, September 2, 1889, and Mr. N. A. Wood found it common on Charity
Island, Saginaw Bay, September 1, 1910. He says ''I saw more in one
day than in all my hfe before." Mr. S. E. White took two specimens
on Mackinac Island, one August 30, 1889, and the other August 30, 1890.
Mr. J. Claire Wood has secured one or more specimens near Detroit,
and Mr. B. H. Swales gives a list of six or seven specimens taken in that
vicinity in recent years (Wilson Bulletin, No. 53, 1905, p. 109). Peet
records several seen on Isle Royale September 12, 1905. Apparently
the first specimens taken in the state were one secured by Dr. H. A. Atkins
at Locke, Ingham county, May 30, 1879, and one taken by C. W. Gunn in
Ottawa county May 22, 1879. Others were taken near Kalamazoo on
May 17, 1880, May 27, 1881 and May 28, 1883. A specimen was killed
on Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, October 3, 1893.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Head, neck, and chest ash-gray, darkest on the chest and top of head; a
narrow white ring completely surrounding the eye; rest of upper parts, inchiding wings
and tail, olive-green; lower breast and belly pale yellow, sides shaded witli olive-green.
Adult female: Similar to the male, but top of head grayer, chin and tlu-oat soiled white
or buffy, and breast pale grayish-brown; eye-ring brownish-white.
Length 5.20 to G inches; wing 2.65 to 3; tail L90 to 2.20.
292. Mourning Warbler. Oporornis Philadelphia (Wils.). (679)
Synonyms: Black-throated Ground Warbler, Cra])e Warbler. — Sylvia i)liiladolphia,
Wilson, 1810. — Trichas Philadelphia, Jardine, 1832. — Geothlypis i)hiladi'lpliia, Baird,
1858, and most subsequent writers.
Very similar to the Connecticut Warbler, but lacks the white eye-ring
and has more or less black on the breast. See notes under Connecticut
Warbler.
Distribution. — Eastern North America to the Plains, breeding from the
mountainous portions of Pennsylvania, New England, New Yoi'k, and
noi'thern Michigan northward. Central America and northern South
America in winter.
A beautiful and not generally well known migrant throughout the whole
state, and a not uncommon summer resident in its northern half. Many
observers call it rare, but a good collector will have little difficulty in
finding it in some numbers during the latter half of May and again in
Sei)tember and early Octobei-. Jt is one of the latest warblers to ari'ive
LAND BIRDS. 637
in spring, Mr. Wood's earliest record in twenty-five years at Ann Arbor
being May 3, 1883, and the average May 15, while in three years the arrivals
were May 19, May 20 and May 27. Dr. Gibbs gives the first record for
Kalamazoo county, a specimen taken by Mr. Syke, May 21, 1882, but his
first records for Howard City, Montcalm county, are May 13, 1880, May
11, 1882 and May 20, 1883. He found them common if not abundant in
Montcalm and Wexford counties. Specimens were killed on Michigan
lighthouses as follows: Detroit River Light, May 15, 1886; Pt. Aux
Barques Light, Lake Huron, May 12 and 13, 1883; Spectacle Reef Light,
Lake Huron, May 31, 1892, May 22, 1893, August 23, 1887.
The Mourning Warbler is a clecicledly rare bird east of the Alleghanies
but seems to be fairly abundant as a nesting bird in parts of northern
Michigan if not throughout. It is by no means confined to wet ground,
but frequents thickets and brushy clearings. In such situations it may
be found among the bushes, or singing from the top of a low tree, reminding
one both in habits and song of the Maryland Yellowthroat, but being
much more conspicuous. Dr. W. H. Dunham states that in Kalkaska
county he has found it a common breeder. Under date of August 1,
1906, he writes "I have seen from one to four pairs in every old chopping
I have visited all summer up to date. They were almost as common here
this summer as in Marquette county, where I spent from June 25 to July
21 this year." It was found frequently in the Porcupine Mountains,
Ontonagon county, by the University of Michigan expedition in 1904,
and was evidently nesting, females accompanied by young barely able
to fly being seen several times. Peet also records it at Isle Royale, Lake
Superior, in July 1905. The writer found it nesting in some numbers at
Munising, Alger county, July 6, 1903, and observed a female feeding young
at Grand Marais, in the same county, a few days later. Mr. E. A. Doolittle
states that in the summer of 1906 he found it a common breeder on Grand
Island, Lake Superior, and came across three nests (between June 19
and July 12) containing eggs. Dr. W. H. Dunham found a nest in Kalkaska
county June 7, 1902, "which was located at the edge of an old chopping,
on the ground, and was shaded by vines commonly known as wild buck-
wheat. There were four fresh eggs."
Dr. Gibbs found the Mourning Warbler an abundant summer resident
in Montcalm county from 1880 to 1884, and speaks of it as perhaps the
most abundant species of the family in that county. Our southernmost
summer record for the state was obtained by E. R. Kalmbach, who found
two males in a swamp near Lansing, Ingham county, July 7, 1907. Both
were in full song and undoubtedly had nests in the vicinity. One specimen
was collected and its identification confirmed by the writer.
According to Ridgway: "The eggs are not separable from those of
the Connecticut and Kentucky Warblers," that is, they are white or creamy
white, speckled and spotted with brown, reddish brown and lilac gray.
They average .71 by .54 inches.
The song is variously described by different writers as suggesting that
of the Maryland Yellowthroat, the Kentucky Warbler, the Ovenbird
and the Water-thrush. Mr. Walter Faxon describing the song in western
Massachusetts says: "The song that I most often heard resembles the
syllables thur-ree, thur-ree, thur-ree. A refrain consisting of three notes,
with the accent upon the last, or of two notes with a strong accent on
the first, the voice falling on the second, was sometimes appended. At
other times the form of the song was quite different, consisting of but five
638 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
notes, the jjenultiiiuite note stron<2;ly accented, the last pitclicd on a lower
key. The last two notes together are equal in time to one of the first
three." Kumlien and Hollister (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 118) are of the
opinion that "this species never jjreeds in Wisconsin, although the other
[the Connecticut Warbler] does, quite the opposite of the case as usually
given." This is contrary to the facts so far as observed in ]\lichigan,
where the Mourning Warbler is a common breeder in many localities,
and the Connecticut a comparatively rare one.
TECPINICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Head, neck and chest ash-gray, more or less mixed with black on the
l)rcasf, where it often becomes pure black; upper parts, including wings and tail, olive-
green; lower breast and belly rich bright yellow, shaded with green on sides; no white eye-
ring, and no light wing or tail markings. Female similar, but grayer on the head and
breast, whiter on throat.
Length 4.90 to 5.75 inches; wing of male 2.30 to 2.55; tail 2 to 2.25.
293. Maryland Yellowthroat. Geothlypis trichas trichas (Lin v.). (681)
Synonyjiis: Northern Maryland Yellowthroat, Northern Yellowthroat, Western
Yellowthroat, Common Yellowthroat, Yellowthroat. — Turdiis trichas, Linn., 1766. —
Sylvia trichas, Vieill., 1807. — Geothlypis trichas, Baird, and most recent writers. — ^Sylvia
marilandica, Wils., 1808.^ — Trichas marylandica, Nutt., 1840. — Trichas marilandica,
Bonap., 1838, Aud., 1839 (part).— Geothlypis trichas brachidactyla, W. Palmer, 1900.
Plate LXII.
The })i'ight yellow throat and breast and l)hick mask or "domino,"
l)ordered behind by white or ashy white, arc characteiistic. The olive
back, wings and tail, without spots, and the yellow under tail-coverts
will make assurance doubly sure.
Distribution. — Eastern North America. Breeds in Canadian, Transition
and Upper Austral Zones from North Dakota, northern Minnesota, northern
Ontario and southern Labrador south to central Texas, northern parts of
the Gulf States, and Virginia; winters from North Carolina and Louisiana
to Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Guatemala and Costa Rica (A.
O. U. Check-list, 1910).
Our common Yellow-throat is widely disti'ibuted over the state, and
in most places fairly abundant as a summer resident. It nests commonly
in IMonroe, Wayne and St. Clair counties in the southeastern ])art of the
state, was found during the nesting season on Neebish Island, St. Mary's
River by Major Boies, was not uncommon in Ontonagon county during
July and August, as recorded by the University of IMichigan expedition
in 1904, and it has been found in practically all the intervening territory
wherever conditions are favorable. It is partial to wet ground, but it
is not necessary that this should be of great extent. While it is found
on the borders of the large marshes, and particularly on little islands
in marshes and swamps, it is frequently met with near springs and
brooklets on hillsides, and often in "cat-holes" in open fields, wherever
a little water has made the ground too soft for cultivation. It is almost
confined to the low growths next to the grovmd, being rarely seen amid
the branches of trees, even during migration.
The Yellow-throat arrives from the south at about the same time as
the majority of the warblers, the average date at Ann Arbor being given
Plate LXII. Maryland YuUowf Inuat .
Fronraii original draw infjihy^P/A .'TavcrniT.
LAND BIRDS. 641
by Mr. Wood as May 10, and the earliest arrival as April 24, 1904. The
migratory movement continues all through May, and specimens were
killed on Ft. Aux Barques Light, Lake Huron, May 11, 1893, on Spectacle
Reef Light May 19, 1893, May 22, 1890, May 23, 1897 and June 2, 1889.
The southward migration occurs mostly in September, but there is doubtless
considerable movement in August, while a few linger into October. A
specimen was killed on Spectacle Reef Light October 3, 1893.
This is one of our most inquisitive w^arblers and so soon as its haunts
are invaded it begins to utter its querulous or scolding note, which consists
of a nasal or wiry chip, and it continues to call in this manner, coming
closer and closer to the intruder, but often keeping entirely hidden, until
very near, when it is likely to climb to the top of a low bush, or at least
far enough up to get a view of its enemy, when it suddenly dives^again
into the grass and bushes.
The nest is a decidedly bulky structure, as a rule, and is most often
placed in a tussock of grass or a tangle of vines and low shrubs, seldom
more than a few inches above the ground, not infrequently directly upon
it. Some writers state that the nest is occasionally roofed over, being
globular, with the entrance through a hole in the side, but we have never
seen such a nest in Michigan or elsewhere. It is built usually of grasses
and various fibrous materials and lined with finer grasses and hairs. In
central Michigan it is built the last of May or first of June; probably June
5 to 10 would cover the period when fresh eggs are most commonly found.
Second sets are occasionally found in July, but we have been unable to
prove that this species normally rears a second brood, the evidence seeming
to show that it does not. The eggs are three to five, white, finely speckled
with dark brown and black, occasionally marked with fine pen-scratches,
and average .70 by .52 inches.
The song of the Yellow-throat is perfectly characteristic, yet no two
writers describe it in the same wa3^ Seton Thompson, in his Birds of
Manitoba, speaks of it as like " rap-pi ttit3^ rap-pittity, rap-pittity, rap,"
and says that to the bramble-scratchecl follower it often seems to be
calling loudly and plainly "what a pity, what a pity, what a pity, pit,"
or again "what's the matter, wdiat's the matter, what's the matter, mat."
Chapman writes it: "I beseech you, I beseech j^ou, I beseech you, I be-
seech you" and others have used the words "wichity-wichity-wichity-
wichity." Hoffmann says: "Three common forms are (a) wee-see-see,
wee-see-see, wee-see-see, (b) wee-see-ser, wee-se^-ser, wee-see-ser, (c)
wee-see-see-see, wee-see-see-see, wee-see-see-see, wee-see-see-see " (Guide,
1904, 104). Many observers testify to the fact that the Yellow-throat
often rises to some little height in the air and sings a short warbling song
unlike any of the notes already described. This song is sometimes uttered
at a height of forty or fifty feet, but more often the bird only rises twelve
or fifteen feet and hovers while singing, somewhat in the manner of the
Chat. We have also heard this song repeatedly at night.
The Yellow-throat is entirely innocent of any harm to the agriculturist,
and its insect-eating must confer a direct benefit, although from the
character of the places frequented this cannot be considered very important.
Prof. Forbes examined stomachs of two Yellow-throats killed in an Illinois
orchard, where canker-worms were strip])ing the trees, and found that
caterpillars made up four-fifths of their food, about half of them being
canker-worms, while there was eight percent of beetles, five percent of
small hemiptera and four percent of gnats.
81
612 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
TKCHNMCAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: A broad "mask" of deep black covering the forehead and sides of liead
and neck, includinji; the eye, and bounded posteriorly by a narrow edging of bluish-white
or gray; rest of upper parts, including wings and tail, olive-green, grayer in front, greenish
on rump and upper tail-coverts; chin, throat, and breast bright yellow, fading to yellowish
white on the belly, and l>ecoining brownish on sides and flanks; under tail-coverts bright
yellow. l'\Mnale without any black or white on head; olive green above; grayish on side
of head; thi-oat and breast pale yellow; belly and sides brownish white; under tail-coverts,
buffy.
Length of male 4.40 to 5.75 inches; wing 2.05 to 2.20; tail 1.90 to 2. Female somewhat
smaller.
294. Yellow-breasted Chat. Icteria virens virens {Linn.). (683)
Synonyms: Chat, Common Chat, Yellow Chat. — Tiuilus virens, Linn., 1758. — Icteria
viridis, Bonap., 1825, Nutt., 1832, Aud., 1834.
Plate LXIII.
Largest of the warblei\s, almost as large as the Catbird, and recognizal)le
at a glance by the olive-green or olive-gray back, black stripe from l)ill
to eye, bordered above and below by white, and especially 1)}' the rich
golden yellow throat and breast and al)ruptly white belly. Wings and
tail are like the back and unspotted.
Distribution. — Eastern United States to the Plains, breeding north to
Ontario and southern New England; south in winter to eastern Mexico,
Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
Making all due allowance for the peculiar habits of the Chat and the
character of the country frequented, it is nevertheless certain that it
is not a common bird anywhere in the state. It seems to be entirely
confined to that part of Michigan south of 43°, and practically to the
three lower tiers of counties. The reports seem to show that it is a regular
but by no means a common visitor to Monroe, Washtenaw and Wayne
counties, and probably also to Hillsdale, Branch and St. Joseph counties,
and it has been taken, or at least satisfactorily seen, in half a dozen other
counties.
The northernmost record seems to be that of Dr. Atkins, who states
that at Locke, Ingham county, it was first taken August 11, 1876 and
was common until October 2. This record is decideclly puzzling, since
the period indicated is precisely that during which the Chat is practically
silent, and aside from this statement of Dr. Atkins we have no record
of the bird in the state in the fall. Careful search for this species in the
vicinity of Lansing, Ingham county, was unrewarded for nearly a dozen
years, but on May 21, 1905, at Chandler's Marsh, about two miles north
of the Agi'icultural College, the writer an B. H. Swales heard one of these
birds several times, and later in the day about a mile west of Park Lake,
Clinton county a second one was heard. Neither of these was obtained
or even seen, but as both observers are perfectly familiar with the notes
of the birds there can hardly have been any mistake.
P. A. Taverner states that in June 1894, Mr. A. B. Covert, Dr. Wolcott
and himself collected half a dozen Chats in a limited locality near Ann
Arbor, and he was informed that Mr. Covert and Professor Worcester
took the eggs of the Chat in the same locality a year or two later. At
Pearl Beach, St. Clair county, June 5, 1904, Mr. Taverner caught a glimpse
Plat<- LXIII. Yellow bri-astid Chat.
Courtesy of P. A. Taverner.
LAND BIRDS. 645
of a Chat, and on September 18, near Detroit, he heard several times a
bird which he identified pretty certainly as a Chat. Mr. Norman A.
Wood writes that on May 16, 1906, he found at least one pair of Chats in
Steere's swamp near Ann Arbor. This swamp is in the old Huron River
drainage channel and also connects with the Wabash and other drainage
systems. Mr. Wood states that this was the first Chat he had ever seen
alive, although he had been on the watch for them for the last ten years
in this same swamp. On June 28, 1909, Mr. Wood found two pairs of
Chats in the same swamp, and has no doubt they bred there. Mr. Covert
took a male at Ann Arbor May 21, 1879, and there is a specimen in the
Agricultural College museum collected by A. H. Boies in Hillsdale county
in June 1890.
The first eggs taken in the state, so far as we know, are a set of four
taken by Jerome Trombley in Summerfield, Monroe county, May 26, 1877.
These are now in the Agricultural College collection. Subsequently
Mr. Trombley took at least three more sets in one year, and found nests
during two other seasons, but he always considered the bird decidedly
rare in that vicinity, and of late years has not found it at all. On the
other hand, Mr. W. A. Davidson found a pair breeding near Detroit, May
29, 1898, and Mr. Chas. E. Wisner secured a set of eggs at Grosse Point
Farms, Wayne county, May 30, 1903. Mr. Swales, who furnishes these
notes, states that the bird was not secured in either instance. More
recently still (June 1905) Swales and Taverner found several Chats near
Detroit and heard others, but did not secure specimens, and J. Claire
Wood also found them near Detroit on May 16 and 20 and June 6 and 17,
all in 1906. The chat has also been found nesting on the north shore of
Lake Erie near Point Pelee, Ontario, about twenty miles east of Detroit.
These facts show that the bird is quite erratic in its choice of a home and
may be fairly common in a region one season and almost absent at another.
It has been claimed that the species has become more abundant, or at
least has pushed fai'ther north, during the last decade or two, but we find
no records which tend to establish this fact.
Our data are too meager to give us much information as to time of
migration, but the Chat doubtless arrives in Michigan in the middle of
May or somewhat earlier, and ordinarily remains well into September.
Its favorite haunts are thickets, briar patches and cut-over lands on wet
ground, and it is rarely found far from such places. It does frequent
dry hillsides at some seasons, if these furnish abundant thickets of dense
underbrush, but these usually are at no great distance from swamps,
spring or streams.
The Chat is noted for its remarkable success in evading observation,
so that it may be fairly abundant in a locality, and one may be constantly
within hearing of its varied and remarkal^le notes, and j-et almost never
catch a glimpse of the bird. Nevertheless at times it rises recklessly
into the air to a height of many yards and then hovers, flutters and drops
back into the under]:)rush, at the same time uttering a medley of jerky
notes accompanied l)y singuhir contortions of the body, the legs dangling
in an ungainly manner and the bird apparently utterly oblivious to its
surroundings. IMore rarely still, if an observer remains well hidden, he
may see an inquisitive Chat climb to the top of a small bush, or even into
the branches of a low tree, in the manner of the IMaryland Yellow-throat,
and from a distance it may be seen singing from such an open" perch.
Usually, however, its song, or the peculiar collection of notes which does
646 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
duty for such, is uttered only from the recesses of some thicket where the
bird is entirely invisible. ^Ir. Eugene Bicknell says "This eccentric bird
is perhaps our only species which regularly sings at night. They sing
both when the moon is bi'ight and when the night is clear and dark; their
odd notes interrupting the midnight stillness with peculiar effect."
The song is very difficult to describe. Dr. Wheaton says of it "If he
discovers the approach of a human being, even at a considerable distance,
he prepares to resent the intrusion; and giving three short, loud whistles,
very low in tone as a warning, he advances toward him, all the while
careful that he should be heard and not seen. Then follows a medley of
sputtering, cackling, whispering and scolding notes, frequently interspersed
with loud whistles, and continued as the bird runs, hops, or flies for the
deepest thicket, with a pertinacity which knows no fatigue. * * *
Sometimes he may be surprised as he sings in the upper branches of a tree.
He then sits motionless, continuing his song as if unaware of any intrusion
upon his privacy, and so resonant and varying are his notes that they
confuse the ear as to the spot from wdiich they come. It is to these
rapid and sonorous notes, quick motions or perfect quiet, and harmonious
surroundings, that he owes the reputation for ventrilociuism which he
has obtained; and it may be said of his reputation for mimicry that he
has no need to borrow notes from any other bird and does not knowingly
do so."
The nest is placed invarialjly in a low Inish or mass of bi'iers and vines
and consists mainly of grasses and leaves, lined with fine grass, roots and
sometimes with hair. The eggs are three to five, pure white or pinkish-
white, spotted with })rown and gra,y, and average .89 l)y .67 inches. Prob-
ably in Michigan but one bi'ood is reared in the season.
TECHNICAL DKSCRIPTIOX.
Adult male: Upper parts, including wings and tail, olive-green, somewhat grayer on
crown, brownish on wings and tail; chin, throat, and breast golden yellow of varying
intensity; belly and under tail-coverts white; flanks brownish; streak from nostril to eye,
another from base of lower mandible along side of throat, and eye-ring, white; lores and
small space below eye black; wings and tail without spots or bars. Sexes almost alike,
female a little duller.
Lengtli (5.75 to 7.50 inches; wing 2.90 to 3.20; tail 2.90 to 3.35.
295. Hooded Warbler. Wilsonia citrina {Bodd.). (684)
Synonyms: Hooded Flycatching Warbler, Black-headed Warbler, Mitred Warbler. —
Muscicapa citrina, Bodd. — Sylvia mitrata, Nutt., 1832, Aud., 1834. — Sylvania mitrata,
Nutt., 1840, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886.— Myiodioctes mitrata, Aud., 1841.— Myiodioctes
mitratus of most other authors.
The adult male is one of our most striking warblers, the entire head and
neck being rich velvet black except for a broad band of Ijrilliant yellow
which covers the foroheatl, encloses the eyes, and extends downward over
the cheeks. The black ends abruptly on the chest, the remaining lower
parts being brilliant gamboge yellow; the back, wings and tail are bright
olive-green, the wings without Ixars but the two outer ])airs of tail-feathers
are largely white.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to the Plains, north and east
to southern Michigan, southern Ontario, western and southwestern New
York, and southern New England. Breeds from the (lulf of Mexico
LAND BIRDS. 647
northward. In winter, West Indies, eastern Mexico, and Central America
to Panama.
This is one of the Michigan warblers about which we know comparatively
little, yet it certainly occurs as a migrant over the southern half of the
state and very possibly nests wherever found. It seems to be nowhere
abundant, yet its habits are such that unless carefully searched for it
seldom would be found. During migration it is perhaps less careful to
keep itself concealed and thus it is captured occasionally, but for its summer
residence it prefers the thick undergrowth of heavy moist woodlands where
the shade is so deep and the growth so dense that one unfamiliar with
the bird's song might never suspect its presence. In such locations the
nest is placed, and according to Dr. Gibbs the bird formerly nested in
considerable numbers in Kalamazoo county and probably still nests there.
He states that he found at least a dozen nests, but only by the utmost
patience and the hardest kind of work.
A nest of three eggs taken in Kalamazoo county in June 1878 was in a
beech bush in high woods, the nest being only two and one-half feet above
the ground. Another set of two eggs in the same locality was taken June
10, 1876 from a nest in a small bush three feet above the ground. Dr.
Gibbs also found the bird in Kent and Ottawa counties on June 5, 6 and
10, 1878, and states that it is common there and undoubtedly breeds;
he also observed it in some numbers in Montcalm and Newaygo counties
in 1881, 1882 and 1883. In Ingham county this appears to be one of our
rare warblers and we have met with it but once in the past ten 3'ears.
Mr. Purdy states that he has often seen it in spring at Plymouth, Wayne
county, but Battle Creek, Manchester and Detroit observers consider it
a rare species, and according to B. H. Swales it has neVer been recorded
from St. Clair county. In Monroe county, Mr. Trombley of Petersburg
states that it was plentiful fort}^ years ago, but appears to be entirely
absent now. At Macatawa, Ottawa county. Prof. Frank Smith found a
Hooded Warbler feeding a Cowbird, August 12, 1905, and a few days later
and a half mile distant he found another bird of the same species caring
for two young Cowbirds. Undoubtedly the bird is very local and further
investigation may show that it has a much wider distribution in the
state than the foregoing records seem to indicate.
Nehrling describes the nest of this species in southwestern Missouri
as follows: "It is usually placed in a snowberry bush only one or two
feet above the ground. It is well hidden among the dense foliage and
branches of these peculiar bushes and is built of fine bark-strips, skeleton
leaves, catkins from hickory and oak trees, and fine grasses, all compactly
woven together with spider webs. The lining consists of grapevine bark;
occasionally it is lined with hoi'se or cattle hair throughout. These nests
are not so l^eautifid as those found in tlie kalmia and swam[) lioneysuckle
thickets of the east."
Langille describes the song as follows: "The common and familiar
song of the Hooded Warbler is 'che-reek, che-reek, che-i'cck, chi-tli-ee,'
the first thi-ee notes with a loud bell-like ring, and the rest in very mucli
accelerated time, and with a falling inflection. * * * In juldition
to its alarm note, a sharp whistling or metallic chij) whicli is veiy clearly
characterized, the Hooded Wai'])ler has two distinct songs as different as
if coming from different species" (Bull. Nutt. ();n. CMub, Vll, 1882, 119).
The eggs are three or four, white or l)ufTy white, s|)eckled oi' spotted
648 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
at the larger end with reddish-brown, Hlac-gray, and usually a few pen-
scratches of black. They average .70 by .53 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Forehead and sides of head, including eye-region and ear-coverts, bright
yellow; rest of head and neck deep black; rest of uijper parts bright olive-green; rest of
under parts bright yellow, paler on under tail-coverts; wings unmarked; outer three pairs
of tail-feathers with most of inner webs white. Female similar, but with mucli less black,
the throat often entirely yellow, the black "hood" usually obscured more or less above
by greenish tips of the feathers, sometimes lacking altogether.
Length 5 to 5.70 inches; wing 2.50 to 2.75; tail 2.20 to 2.40.
296. Wilson's Black-cap. Wilsonia pusilla pusilla (Wilson). (685)
Synonyms: Wilson's Flycatcher, Wilson's Flycatcliing Warbler, Wilson's Black-
capped Flycatching Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Black-capped Flycatcliing Warbler,
Black-capped Warbler, Blackcap. — Muscicapa pusilla, Wils., 1811. — Wilsonia pusilla,
Bonap., 1838, A. O. U. Committee, 1899. — Sylvania pusilla, Nutt., 1840. — Myiodioctes
pusillus, Baird, 1845, and many other writers.
Mainly yellow, brightest and clearest below, more greenish or decidedly
olive-green above, the crown with a satiny l^lack patch which is always
present in the adult male, but of which there may be only traces in the female
and young. There are stiff bristles about the "base of the bill as in typical
flycatchers.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to and including the Rocky
Mountains, north to Labrador, Hudson Bay Territory and Alaska. Breeds
chiefly north of the United States, migrating south to eastern Mexico
and Central America.
Wilson's Blackcap seems to be a rare warbler over most of Michigan,
but occurs during migration in small numliers everywhere. It would
seem to be least common in the southeastern part of the state, where
several good observers have failed to find it at all and few have ever found
it abundant. In the central part of the state and along the Lake IMichigan
border it is less uncommon, yet it is eveiywhere regarded as "one of the
rarer warblers.
It is one of the latest species to arrive from the south, reaching our
southern counties from the 10th to the 20th of May, in average seasons,
and passing rapidly northward to its nesting grounds beyond our limits.
While with us it frequents shrubbery and the lower branches of trees,
being rarely seen at any height and most often among blossoming shrubs
within five or six feet of the ground. It is by no means shy and usually
permits a close approach, so that identification is possible without shooting.
Occasionally it is seen in little parties of three to six, but is more often
found singly or in pairs, or perhaps most often associated with the Canadian
Warbler, Blackpoll, Mourning Warbler, and other late migrants. A
specimen was killed on Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, June 2, 1889,
and another August 23, 1887, while one struck Big Sable Light, Lake
Superior June 6, 1894. Dr. Gibbs records one taken in Kalamazoo county,
May 16, 1875, and another September 9, 1877, and Leon J. Cole took
specimens at Spring Lake, Ottawa county, August 24, 1896. Other
records are Grand Rapids, May 19 and 22, 1890 (S. E. White); W^ayne
county May 20, 1905 (P. A. Taverner) ; Mackinac Island, August 26 and
30, 1889 (S. E. White); Ingham county, May 18, 1900 (W. T. Shaw). At
Ann Arbor N. A. Wood saw fifteen or more on May 28, 1907, and in Wayne
LAND BIRDS. 649
county, J. Claire Wood found it tolerably common from May 15 to 29, 1909.
It is not impossible that the bird nests in the northernmost parts of
the state, but we have no record of such nesting and it is not probable.
It was found only as a migrant on Isle Royale, Lake Superior, where a
single specimen was taken August 31, and a second on September 5, 1905.
The nest and eggs are still rarities in collections. The nest is placed
invariably on the ground, usually in wet woods, and often sunken deeply
in the moss and even more or less roofed over, so as to be difficult to find.
The eggs are usually four, white or creamy white, speckled with brown
and lavender or gray, and average .60 by .48 inches.
In its habits this bird somewhat resembles the flycatchers and the
warblers, but on the whole does not seem to be so expert in catching winged
insects as one might infer from its structure.
We find no satisfactory description of its song, which is said to resemble
that of the Yellow Warbler carelessly and imperfectly rendered.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Top of head satiny black; rest of upper parts, iiicUiding wings and tail,
olive-green; forehead and entire under parts bright yellow, this color blending gradually
with the color of the upper parts and the sides of the neck; wings and l;iil without mark-
ings. Female similar, but with the black esq) often obscure, sometimes entirely wanting.
Length 4.25 to 5.10 inches; wing 2.15 to 2.35; tail 2.05 to 2.25.
297. Canada Warbler. Wilsonia canadensis (Linn.). (686)
Synonyms: Canadian Flycatching Warbler, Canadian Warbler, Canada Flycatcher,
Speckled Canada Warbler, Necklaced AVarbler. — Muscicapa canadensis, Linn., 1766. —
Myiodioctes canadensis, Aud., 1839. — Sylvania canadensis, Ridgw., 1885, and many others.
Upper parts, including wings and tail, bluish gray and without spots or
bars except that the crown and forehead are streaked with black; the
under parts bright yellow except for a broad band or necklace of black
spots across the chest, extending on either side to the eye. The female
is similar but shows no clear black, the necklace being of ashy spots and
less extensive.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to the Plains, and north
to Newfoundland, southern Labrador, and Lake Winnipeg; south in
winter to Central America and northern South America. Breeds from
the higher parts of the Alleghanies and the more elevated parts of southern
New York and southern New England northward.
This beautiful warbler is a common migrant, both spring and fall, over
the entire state and a not uncommon summer resident in favorable localities
in its northern half.
It arrives from the south from ]\Iay 10 to 20 in the southern counties,
and a week or ten days later at the north. At Petersburg Mr. Trombley's
earliest record is May 10, 1894, while O. B. Warren recorded it the same
season at Palmer, Marquette coimty, June 3. At Ann Arbor the earliest
record for twenty-five years, is ]\Iay 1, 1888, the average being May 11
(Norman A. Wood). Specimens were killed on Spectacle Reef Light,
Lake Huron, May 15, 1891 and May 28, 1892. The southward movement
appears to begin early in August, l)ut the species is fairly common from
August 20 to the last of Sei)tombcr, although the larger numljcr move
southward before the middle of September. During migration it may be
650 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
found almost anywhere, but is rather more partial to tlie lower growths
than the heavy woodlands, and is not often seen at any great height.
Its song is loud, clear and characteristic, but not readily described so
as to be recognizable. Seton Thompson writes it "rup-it-che, rup-it-che,
rup-it-chitt-it-lit." It is a very active bird, constantly catching insects,
sometimes from twigs and leaves, but often also on the wing.
Throughout the northern half of the state it is by no means uncommon
during the summer, and it breeds abundantly in suitable places. O. B.
Warren states that it is a common nester in Marquette county, and S. E.
White found it a common resident on Mackinac Island in 1890 and 1891,
where "its loud song was heard in every patch of evergreens, and the
young birds left the nest from July 2 to July 8." Widmann found it near
Petoskey in Emmet county, feeding young July 20, 1901, and Mr. Newell
A. Eddy took a nest and four eggs near Bay City, Bay county, June 2,
1885. Members of the University of jMichigan expedition to Ontonagon
county noted the bird frequently in July, and on Juh^ 13 one with an
insect in its bill, apparently feeding young, was noted. On Isle Royale,
the following summer, similar evidence of nesting was obtained. The
writer found it fairly common on Beaver Island, Charlevoix county, and
at Marquette, Munising and Grand IMarais, in July 1903. It is also one
of the abundant breeding warblers on Grand Island, Lake Superior, ac-
cording to Mr. E. A. Doolittle.
The nest is said to be placed on the ground usually, and to be similar
to that of the preceding species, Wilson's Blackca]). Near Listowel, Ontario,
Mr. Kells found the Canadian Warbler breeding in low damp woodlands
and the nest placed ''in cavities of upturned roots of trees, and in the
depressions in banks near streams of water" (Mcllwraith, Birds of Ontario,
1894, 383). Mr. E. S. Currier, however, near Leach Lake, Minnesota,
found nests differently placed. He says: "In 1902 I saw only two nests,
but in 1903 I saw several. The nest seen in 1902 was placed in a clump
of long dead grass, and almost on the ground after the manner of a Yellow-
throat. It was composed entirely of long dry grass without any dead
leaves, while those seen in 1903 were built principally of long dead leaves.
The other nests varied considerably in situations, most of them being
several inches above the ground, in low growths — one at least ten inches
up. One nest seen in 1903 was placed on the ground at the side of a stock
path in a dense growth of wild currants, and was the only one completely
hidden. The number of eggs laid was usually four, and in only one case
did I see five" (Auk, XXI, 1904, 43). Riclgway descril)es the eggs as
colored like those of the Hooded Warbler, that is, white or buffy white,
speckled with reddish l)rown and lilac-gray, and averaging .68 by .51
inches.
TKCHNICAL DIOSCRIPTION.
Adult luale: Upper ])arts mostly bluish-ash, the feathers of tlii' forehead and crown
with black centers, the forehead often entirely black; lores, incomplete ring aromul the
the eye, and most of the under parts, bright yellow; a black line running from the base of
the bill along the sides of the tlirf)at and joining a broad belt of black spots and streaks
which encircles llie breast like a iiecklac(>; wings and tail uinnarked; under tail-coverts
white. Female similar, l)ut with little or no l)lack, tlie forehead being brownisii or grayish,
but slightly spotted, and the s])()ts forming the necklace across the breast s])arse and ashy.
Length 5 to 5.75 inciies; wing 2.50 to '2.65; tail 2.20 to 2.40.
LAND BIRDS. 651
298. Redstart. Setophaga ruticilla (Linn.). (687)
Synonyms: American Redstart, Redstart Warbler, Redstart Flycatcher, Fire-tail. — •
Motacilla ruticilla, Linn., 1758. — Muscicapa ruticilla, Bodd., 1783. — Septohaga ruticilla
of most authors.
Figures U2, US.
The male in full plumage is unmistakable, the l)ack, head, neck and upper
breast being glossy blue-black, and the sides of the breast, a large patch
in each wing, and the basal half of the tail, brilliant orange-red or flame
color, while the lower breast and belly are white. The female is entirely
different, the black being replaced by grayish-olive above and by white
below, and the flame color replaced by lemon-yellow.
Distribution. — North America, north to Ft. Simpson, west regularly
to the Great Basin, breeding from the middle portions of the United States
northward. In winter, the West Indies, southern Mexico, Central America
and northern South America.
This handsome httle warbler is an abundant migrant throughout the
state and occurs also as a summer resident in suitable places everywhere.
Possibly it nests rather more freely in the central and southern
parts of the state than at the north, yet Mr. S. E. White
states that it occurred in amazing numbers on Mackinac
Island during summer, and the writer found it in large
numbers on Beaver Island, Lake Michigan, as well as every-
where along the south shore of Lake Superior from Marquette pj^, ^^r, ovcn-
to the Sault. In many parts of the state it exceeds the ^"5'^/'',^; ^^''''"
Yellow Warbler in numbers, and perhaps has equal claim to ^^'^'^^ "^
be considered on the whole the most abundant species of warbler
throughout the state.
It arrives from the south rather early, ]\Ir. Trombley recording it as
early as April 23 and April 24 in different seasons, although ordinarily
it does not reach Monroe county until about the first of May. At Ann
Arbor Mr. Wood gives the earliest arrival in twenty-five years as April
5, 1903, the average being May 6. Among more than a score of specimens
from Michigan lighthouses the majority of spring recoi'ds fall between
May 11 and ^lay 28, with a single record at Spectacle Reef Light, Lake
Huron, June 2, 1891. One was killed on Big Sable Light, Lake Superior,
May 19, 1887 and another June 6, 1894. The autumn records at Spectacle
Reef Light range from September 16 to October 3, but the southward
migration cei'tainly begins long l^cfore the middle of September, often
in August.
Nesting begins in the southern counties from the midtlle to the end of
May, and nests with eggs appear to be most aLundant during the first
week in June, yet many eggs ai-e found late in June and occasionally even
early in July, though the evidence of two broods is not complete.
The nests vary much in location, but are very rarely more than twenty
feet from the ground, the great majority not even ten feet up. They are
built of grasses, strips of bark, and various hemp-like threads, thoroughly
interwoven, often held together by spidei's' webs and caterpillars' silk,
and commonly lined with fine grass and sometimes a few horse hairs.
The nest is seldom bulky, but is usually compact and well nuide, dee|)ly
hollowed and quite durable. It is sometimes found in the fork of a
horizontal l)ranch, but usually in the upright crotch of a small tree or
large bush, where it is firndy seated but seldom well concealed. As a
result the bird is very fi-ecpicntly victimized by the Cowbird, and an immense
052 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
number of nests must be deserted each year on this account. This fact
alone is probably sufficient to account for the large number of nests found
late in June and early in July.
The eggs are three to five, but most often four, white, greenish-white
or grayish-white, speckled with brown and lilac, and average .63 by 48
inches. There is much variation in the ground color and the size of the
spots, so that in a dozen sets of eggs no two may resemble each other
closely.
This is one of the most restless and active of our warblers, seldom quiet
for a moment, but always flitting about, snapping at insects on the wing,
opening and closing the tail, spreading the wings and generally making
itself conspicuous.
According to Audubon: "Its pleasing notes resemble the sounds
' teetee-whee, teetee-whee,' with sometimes a different note equally clear
which may be expressed by the syllables
' wizz-wizz-wizz.' " Chapman writes the
song "clung, clung, chee; ser-wee-swee,
swee-e-e." Like the song of most other
warblers the Redstart's is perfectly
characteristic, but unless one has an
unusual ear he will often mistake it for
the song of some other warbler, at least ^ ■-s>^tr'"
at the beginning of each season, before * ^" ^ ^**''" -^'^-
he has refreshed his memory with new
songs.
The food of the Redstart resembles . .^--^
that of the other warblers of this group, -^ . \ ^"^
consisting mainly of insects, with only
an occasional berry or seed. That it is Fig. 143. Re^dstart. From Baird Brewer &
,1 , r- • 1 ^ £ Ridgway's North American Birds. Little,
emmently benenciai cannot lor a Brown & Co.
moment be doubted by any one who
has watched the bird for any length of time in an orchard or grove. The
number of insects taken is simply astonishing, and since the bird is one
of our very common species its work in behalf of the fruit grower is of the
utmost importance.
The Redstart is by no means confined to any one kind of woodland,
but seems to be more common among deciduous growths than among
evergreens, although by no means rare in mixed woods with a heavy
sprinkling of spruce and pine. It more often nests, however, in somewhat
heavy woods, where oaks, poplars, maples and similar trees are scattered
here and there, with an abundance of horn-beam, flowering dogwood and
other small trees. It neither seeks nor avoids swampy ground, but is
rarely found in mere thickets in open country, or on the bushy islands in
marshes, at least during the nesting season. During migration the bird
may be found almost anywhere.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Head and neck all around, upper breast, and entire upper parts, deep
black; breast and sides orange red, the rest of the under parts white, more or less streaked
with black; basal half of most of the wing and tail-feathers orange, remainder black;
bill and feet black. Female entirely different; the black of the male replaced above by
grayish-olive, and below by white; the red of the male replaced by yellow, usually pale.
Young males resemble the females, but are variously intermediate, the yellow often tinged
with orange; probably they do not acquire the full i)lumage until the second or tiiird year
Length 4.75 to 5.75 inches; wing 2.40 to 2.55; tail 2.30 to 2.45.
H ^'
■^
Plate LXIV. Titlark.
From an original (Irawinj; by P. A. Tavcrncr.
LAND BIRDS. 655
Family 64. MOTACILLID.E. Wagtails.
Represented in Michigan by a single species, the Titlark.
299. Titlark. Anthus rubescens (Timstall). (697)
Synonyms: Tipit, American Pipit, American Titlark, Prairie Titlark, Hudsonian
Wagtail. — Alauda rubescens, Tunstall, 1771. — Alauda pensilvanica, Lath., 1787. — Anthus
pensylvanicus, Thien., 1849, and many others. — Anthus ludovicianus, Licht., 1828, and
most subsequent authors until 1884. — Anthus pensilvanicus, Stejn., 1884, A. O. V. C'lieck-
list, 1886, and later authors.
Plate LXIV.
A slender, active antl inconspicuous little bird, commonly found in
scattered flocks on the ground in open wet places in spring and fall; brownish
gray above and creamy or l)uffy-white below, streaked with brownish
black on breast and sides, and with two outer pairs of tail-feathers showing
much white. The bill is slender like a warbler's, but the claw of the hind
too is longer than any Warbler's — as long at least as the toe itself.
Distrilmtion. — North America at large, breeding in the highei' parts of
the Rocky Mountains and in sub-arctic districts, and wintering in the
Gulf States, Mexico and Central America.
The Titlark is a common migrant, spring and fall, in most parts of the
state, but appears to be but little known to the average observer. Doubt-
less every snipe hunter and most duck hunters are perfectly familiar with
the bird itself without knowing its name.
It arrives from the south earl}^ in May, the earliest record given l)y
Mr. Wood at Ann Arbor being May 4, 1893, and its period of gi-eatest
abundance in the spring is from that time until about May L5, when it
passes northward beyond our limits. It reappears in the fall about the
middle of September and remains until the ground freezes in November.
Mr. Swales states that near Detroit it sometimes appears in large flocks
in April and October, but is seldom noted later than November first.
A single specimen was killed on Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, Sep-
tember 23, 1889.
It confines itself to open country entirely, slu)\ving a marked preference
for wet fields and bogs, especially such as are frequentetl l)y Wilson's
Snipe. In autumn it is often seen, however, on comparatively dry plowed
ground as well as in upland pastures and stubble fields. T^sually it occui's
in scattered flocks, from a dozen to fifty individuals being distributed
over a space of a dozen acres, and when one is started several take flight,
but even when fifty are on the wing they never collect into a solid flock,
but fly in extended order. When feeding the birds run about rapidly
on the ground, very much like sandpipers, and tilt and flirt the tail much
like the water-thrushes and some shore birds. When flushed they lise
very quickly to a considerable height, mounting by great leai)s with their
powerful wings, and constantly utteiing their sharp double-.syllabled
call which gives the bird its name of " l^i])it." We do not I'ccall ever
seeing one alight, on a bush or \vvo and they schlom make use of a wire or
fence-post.
The food appears to consist mainly of worms, insects and such other
656 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
animal food as can be found in damp places, freely mixed with seeds of
various kinds. The bird certainly does no harm and presumably does
much good to the agriculturist, but its stay is so short and its numbers
in any one locality so small that it probably is not an economic factor of
an}^ great importance.
The Titlark nests only in the far north or on the elevated meadows of
high mountains. It is one of the abundant nesting birds of Labrador
and part of the Hudson Bay region. The nest is always placed on the
ground, built of grasses, weed-stalks and similar materials, and the eggs
are four to six, so thickly speckled with l)rown as to show almost no ground
color. They average .78 by .57 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Brownish-gray above, sometimes with darker streaks which are most distinct
on the back; wings and tail brownish-black with light gray edgings, the wings with two
brownish-gray bars; outer tail-feathers with terminal half white, next pair white-tipped;
a white or buffy line over the eye; under parts dull grayish-buff in autumn, sometimes
clear light cinnamon in late spring, usually with indistinct dark streaks on sides and upper
Length 0 to 7 inches; wing 3.20 to 3.50; tail 2.05 to 2.85.
Family 66. MIMID^.. Thrashers, Mocking])irds, etc.
The three species occurring in Michigan may be separated as follows:
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. With much pure white in wings and tail. ]\lockingi)ird. No. 300.
AA. With little or no white in wings or tail. B, l^B.
B. Uioper parts rust browai; breast thickly streaked with ])la('kish.
Brown Thrasher. No. 302.
BB. Upper parts mainly slate color (crown black) ; breast not streaked.
Catbird. No. 301.
300. Mockingbird. Mimus polyglottos polyglottos {Linn.). (703)
Synonyms: Mocking Thrush, Mimic Thrush. — Turdus polyglottos, Linn., 1758. —
Turdus polyglottus, Wils., 1810, Aud., 1831, Nutt., 1832.— Mimus polyglottus or poly-
glottos of most authors.
Larger than a Catbird (which it resembles in shape), and smaller than a
Robin, it may be known by the ashy-gray upper parts and soiled white
lower parts, the wing black, with a large white patch, and the tail similar,
the outer feathers mostly white and the others white-tipped. Could be
confounded only with a shrike, but the shrikes have the bill hooked like
a hawk's and a broad black bar on the side of the head.
Distribution. — United States, south into Mexico. Rare, and of irregular
distribution from IMaryland northward to Massachusetts, and north of
southern Ohio, Colorado, and southern California. Bahamas.
The Mockingbird is a rare summer visitor to southern Michigan, having
been reported perhaps a dozen times in the last twenty years. Several
of these records are undoubtedly based on escaped cage birds, but there
is no question that wild birds have l)een taken occasionally. Dr. CJibbs
LAND BIRDS. G57
states that D. D. Hughes records the taking of a male in Marshall, Calhoun
county, June 2, 1870 by Sid Van Horn. It had been observed for two
or three days and may have been an escaped bird. Stockwell's Forest
and Stream list (Vol. VIII, p. 241), states that the Mockingbird is very
common in the southern part of Michigan and is occasionally seen as far
north as Sanilac county. The first part of this statement is certainly
not true at present, and we have been unable to verify the record for
Sanilac county. Covert records the capture of a male at Ann Arbor,
Washtenaw county. May 7, 1888, but believes it to have been an escaped
cage bird. It is included in Fox's manuscript list of birds found about
Detroit (about 1853), and in Bela Hubbard's " Memorials of a Half Century "
(1888, p. 310), it is said to be "seen, though but rarely." The most recent
report of this species comes from Mr. Walter M. Wolfe of Parkville, Missouri,
who states that while spending the summer (of 1906) near Beulah, Benzie
county, Michigan, he saw and heard a Mockingbird on August 15. He
further states that Mr. Hollenbeck told him that a pair of Mockingbirds
built near his house the previous year (1905), but that he had seen nothing
of them since. Mr. Wolfe, being perfectly familiar with the bird in Missouri,
could hardly be mistaken in the bird which he saw. The Mockingbird
has been recorded several times from Ontario, Mcllwraith recording a
pair which spent the summer of 1883 near Hamilton, and quoting the
record of one taken by Mr. Sandis, at Chatham in 1860. Mr. James H. Flem-
ing also records taking a male at Point Pelee, Essex county, Ontario, May 20,
1906 (Auk, XXIII, 1906, 344), and P. A. Taverner writes that a second
specimen was taken later. Major A. H. Boies also writes under date of
August 6, 1906 from Amherstburg, Ontario, that a man there took a nest
of the Mockingbird (presumably during that year). This point is on the
Detroit River a httle south of Detroit.
In its general habits the Mockingbird is much like the Catbird, and
combines in some respects the habits of this bird and the Brown Thrasher.
It is well known, however, to far excel both these birds in the power and
beauty of its song.
The nest is built in a shrul) or low tree and is made of sticks, bark and
various fibrous materials, lined with rootlets and fine grasses. The eggs
are bluish or greenish, spotted with reddish brown, and average .97 by
.73 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Upper parts olive-gray or ash-gray, each feather sometimes with a darker
center; wings brownish-black, with two white wing-bars, and bases of primaries white;
tail brownish-black, all the feathers except middle pair with large patches of white, the
outer pair often entirely white; under parts grayish or brownish white, sometimes almost
pure white on throat and belly; bill black. Female similar in color, but usually with
ratlier less white in plumage, and not quite as large. Young similar, but brown above
and spotted with dusky below.
Jjcngth of adult male 9 to 11 inches; wing 4.10 to 4.00; tail 4..')0 to ij.Tf); culmcn .03
to .7F).
83
MICIirOAN BIRD LIF]'].
301. Catbird. Dumetella carolinensis (Linn.). (704)
Synonyms: Cat Flycatcher, Slatc-colorcd Mockingbird. — Miiscicapa carolinensis,
Linn., 1766. — Tardus carolinensis, Licht., 1823. — Miniiis carolinensis, Jardine and most
of the older writers. — Gale;)scoj)tes carolinensis. Cab., 1<S5(), P>aird, 1S64, A. (). U. Check-
list, 1886, and most snbseiiuent authors. — Orpheus carolinensis. And., 1839.
Figure 144-
General color slate, darker above, lighter below, the whole top of the
head black, as is also the tail; under tail-coverts deep chestnut.
Distribution. — Eastern United States and British Provinces, west to
and including the Rocky Mountains; occasional on the Pacific coast from
British Columbia south to central California. Breeds from the Gulf
Fig. 144. (':
From Yearbook of Department of AKriculturc, 18'.)5.
Courtesy of Biological Survey.
States northward to the Saskatchewan. Winters in the southern states,
Cuba, and Central America to Panama.
The Catbird is too well known to need careful description, being one
of our most familiar birds throughout the greater part of the state. It
enters our borders from the south usually in April, occasionally as early
as the 10th, but more often between the 20th and the 30th, and has been
recorded a few times as early as April 4 (Wood, Ann Arbor). It soon
spreads over the whole of the Lower Peninsula and extends sparingly
into the Upper Peninsula, where the writer found it here and there along
the south shore of Lake Superior in the summer of 1903. It has also
been recorded fi-om ^larquette, Mackinac, Chippewa, Iron, Dickinson,
Delta and Ontonagon counties, though not reported alnmdant in any of
these. A single specimen was taken on Isle Royale, September 12, 1905,
by the University of Michigan Expedition (Peet, Adams' Rep., Mich.
LAND BIRDS. 659
Geol. Surv., 1908, 380). It lingers rather late in the fall, passing southward
in September and October, occasionally lingering in the southern counties
until about November first.
It is partial to swampy thickets and brushy woods and coppices in
low ground everywhere, but is also a constant frequenter of gardens, parks
and orchards, and in fact seems to have a predilection for the vicinity of
man.
The nest is a conspicuous structure of twigs, grapevine-bark, rootlets,
grasses, leaves and similar materials, lined almost always with black
rootlets, and placed usually in thick bushes, shrubs or vines, often close
to the house, but also very commonly in the depths of swamps or the
edges of deep woods. Frequently in parks and cemeteries the birds select
thick evergreens, especially arbor vita? and Norway spruce, but by far
the larger number of nests are placed in lilacs, syringas, honeysuckles,
rosel^ushes, grapevines and other convenient places in the shrubbery
about gardens and lawns.
The Catbird is a remarkable singer and is regarded by many as second
only to its near relative the Mockingbird. The song possesses great sweet-
ness and variety, but lacks the force of its famous relative. Often the
Catbird will sing steadily for half an hour or more from the same perch,
or at least from the same bush, with almost no intermission, but at other
times it introduces the most incongruous notes, especially the mewing
notes which have given it the name of Catbird and those harsher notes
which Bicknell descril:)es as a "short, sharp crackling sound, like the
snapping of small faggots." It sings early and late, and with added zest
during rain}^ weather. It has also l)een known to sing at night, though
not regularly.
The eggs are three to five, of a deep bluish-green color, without spots,
and average .93 by .69 inches. The first nest in middle Michigan is built
toward the last of May, and fresh eggs are most commonly found during
the first week in June, but a second brood is almost invariably reared,
and eggs may be found late in June or during the first half of July.
The food of the Catbird has caused a vast amount of discussion, the
opinions expressed being almost as numerous and diverse as those in
regard to the Robin. It eats immense numbers of insects, but also consumes
large quantities of fruit, but not all the insects eaten are injurious, nor
are all the fruits valuable. The bird seems partial to wild fruits, devouring
blackberries, raspberries, elderberries, sassafras berries, and those of the
spice-bush, as well as various species of cornel, viburnum and other shrubs,
together with the bei'ries of the Virginia creeper and grape, as well as
occasionally all other cultivated fruits.
Long ago (1879) Professor S. A. Forl)es reported on the stomachs of
twenty-eight Catbirds which he examined carefully, showing that those
collected in May had eaten nothing but insects, those in June Init 64 percent
of insects, while in July small fruits formed 63 percent of the food and
injurious insects only about 15 percent. In summing up his results he
said: "If all Catbirds ate like this at all seasons of the year we should
certainly class them with curculios and potato beetles as most grievous
pests. As far as the ten birds taken in July indicate anything they seem
to me to indicate that the Catbird is, to say the best t)f him, a blessing
pretty thoroughly disguised." In 1881 and 1882, twenty-five Catbirds
were examined by Forbes, which had been taken in various parts of Illinois.
Cankerwoi'ms had been eaten l)y only eight ])irds and formetl but 15 percent
060 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
of the food of the species. A few cutworms and many other caterpillars
brought the lepidoptera up to one-fourth of the food and there was 14
percent of ants, while about one-half the food consisted of beetles. Three
Catbirds taken in a canker-worm orchard in Tazewell county, Illinois,
and reported on by Forbes had not eaten canker-worms at all. Their
preference for ants was clearly shown, these forming 17 percent of their
food, predaceous beetles 16 percent, scavenger beetles and thousandlegs
each 5 percent, and undetermined caterpillars made more than one-fourth
of the food, while a cutworm or two were distinguished. Twenty percent
was vine chafers {Anomala) and 5 percent consisted of the common spring
beetle (Melanotus) (Trans. 111. State Hort. Soc. Vol. 15, 1881, p. 124).
In another report on the food of this bird (Ibid, Vol. 14, pp. 112-113),
Prof. Forbes says "The ratios of insects for the five months May to Septem-
ber were 83, 49, 18, 46 and 21. Chinch-bugs were found in the food of
one bird only. Orthoptera seemed to be most abundant in the late and
early months, diminishing in June and July. Raspberries and black-
berries are the most prominent elements of June, July and August. Wild
cherries take the place of these fruits in September, and grapes are then
eaten to some extent. The credit I have given it must be still further
reduced because of its serious depredations on the apple orchards. I have
often seen it busily scooping out the fairest side of the ripest, earliest apples,
unsurpassed in skill and industry in this employment by the Red-headed
Woodpecker or Blue Jay." The Catbird has often been named as a foe
to the chinch-bug, but Prof. Forbes says "Among the birds shot in 1880
during midsummer, when the chinch-bug was abundant enough in central
IlUnois to cause some alarm, the Catbird was found to have eaten these
insects in barely sufficient numbers to show that it has no unconquerable
prejudice against them" (Ibid, p. 130). Prof. Aughey, of Nebraska, found
that the Catbird fed regularly upon the Rocky Mountain locust, birds
taken in June of four different years showing from 20 to 40 locusts in each
stomach.
The most exhaustive study of the Catbird's food 5'et made was-that
carried out by the late Dr. Sylvester Judd, of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture, who in 1895 reported upon the food of the Catbird as shown
by the examination of 213 stomachs, and various field studies. His
conclusions show that beetles and ants form the most important part
of the animal food of the Catbird, though smooth caterpillars play no
insignificant part. Crickets and grasshoppers come next in importance,
and constant but less important parts of the fare are thousandlegs, centi-
pedes, spiders and bugs. It subsists largely upon fruit, of which one-third
is taken from cultivated crops. The value of its insect-eating is much
lessened by the fact that it eats many predaceous ground-beetles, but
on the other hand it eats some of the strong-scented leaf-eating beetles
which are decidedly harmful (Yearbook, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1895,
406-411).
Experiments with caged Catbirds gave some interesting results. "After
several unsuccessful attempts one Catbird was induced to eat a honey bee.
Small slugs, though eaten by one bird, seemed to be regarded as unsavory.
Weevils and bad-smelling Ijugs were eaten with relish, as were also sow-
bugs. Plant-lice were refused, though ants which attended them were
greedily devoured. Maggots were eaten, and a hideous black spider was
torn to pieces by all four Catbirds and then eaten with relish" (Ibid,
LAND BIRDS. 661
410-411). Only one out of 213 Catbirds [stomachs] contained an earth-
worm.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Most of the plumage clear slate-color or slate gray, darker above, lighter below;
top of head and upper surface of tail glossy black; under tail-coverts rich chestnut; bill
black; iris dark. Young similar, but head and tail not so black, and under tail-coverts
lighter brown.
Length of male 8 to 9.35 inches; wing 3.45 to 3.75; tail 3.70 to 4.25; culmen .65 to .75.
Female sliglitly smaller but otherwise like the male.
302. Brown Thrasher. Toxostoma rufum (Linn.). (705)
Synonyms: Thrasher, Brown Thrush, Red Thrush, Sandy Mockingbird, French Mock-
ingbird, Brown Mocker.— Turdus rufus, Linn., 1758, Vieill., 1807, Wilson, 1810, Aud.,
1834.— Orpheus rufus. Swains., 1831, Nutt., 1832.— Harporhynchus rufus, Baird, 1858,
A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most subsequent authors.
Plates LXV and LXVI, and Figure 145.
The large size (nearly a foot long), rust-red back, and heavily brown-
spotted breast on a buffy white background are sufficient to discriminate
this bird from any other. It may be confused by the beginner with some
of the true thrushes, but its larger size, much longer tail, and bright yellow
eyes should prevent this.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to the Rocky Mountains,
north to southern Maine, Ontario and Manitoba. Breeds from the Gulf
States, including eastern Texas, northward.
The Brown Thrasher is a summer resident of all parts of the state, but
like the Catbird, is most abundant in the southern half, becoming less
common over a large part of the Upper
Peninsula and even rare in some sections. ^^.._ _,
Its large size, conspicuous color and /^""'^^^ ^■^•'' >^, "v
striking song seldom fail to attract at- ^ f ''_^''^}^ ^?^^
tention and it therefore seems to be :,S^^
more abundant than really is the case. p-jg. 145. wing of Bmun Th^a,>ll,■l,^howing
Probably in most sections there are short first primary, (oiigiuai.)
from three to six times as many Catbirds
as Thrashers, yet the two birds are almost equally well known.
This species arrives from the south somewhat earlier than the Catbird,
the average date of arrival at Ann Arbor for twenty-five years being the
third week in April, although twice it has been recorded in March, on
the 16th in 1894, and on the 18th in 1903 (N. A. Wood). In Ingham
county we do not expect to hear its song before the last week in April,
and the first nests are not built until about the middle of May. From
that time, however, until the first of June fresh eggs may be looked for
and second sets are often found late in June or early in July, which makes
it probable that as a rule two broods are reared each season.
The nest is a bulky affair built of twigs, weed-stalks and many roots,
and almost invariably lined with a profusion of fine roots. It is placed
sometimes on the ground, sometimes in a l)rush heap, and sometimes in a
thicket or a low tree, but rarely more than six or eight feet from the ground.
It is claimed that tlie earlier nests, built ])efore the foliage has appeared,
are invariably placed ujion the ground, while second nests are always in
shrubs or trees, but this is by no means true, early nests being fre-
6G2 MICHIGAN lURD LIFE.
qucntly found in trees and the June and July nests often on the ground.
The eggs are four to six, dull white, heavily sprinkled with reddish brown
over the entire surface, and average 1.06 by .78 inches. The parents
defend the nest with much spirit and often beat off any less dangerous
foe than man.
The song of the Thrasher is difficult of description, but is one of our
most remarkable bird performances. Nehrling says "I regard the Thrasher
as the finest of our American songsters. It would take the palm even
from the Hermit and the Mockingbird if only its period of singing were
longer. It is unfortunately a prominent singer for a few weeks only;
later in the season its voice is rarely heard. The lay is rich in quality, being
full of feeling — at first soft, whispering, delicately plaintive, then loud,
powerful and sonorous, wonderful in the variety of its notes and the manner
in which the strophes melt into one another. It flows along like a clear,
powerful stream, occasionally sinking into soft complaint as of longing,
then changing suddenly and becoming louder, fuller, livelier, until the
air fairly resounds with the bird's exultant joy. It consists entirely of
original notes, those of other birds never entering into the composition.
* * * Besides the song one often hears a melodious call-note like
' Yen ' or 'Tshee-uh,' and also a sharp smacking or hissing 'Tshat,' especi-
ally when the nest is approached" (Our Native Birds, Vol. I, 1893, 60-61).
The Thrasher prefers a very different territory from that selected by
the Catbird, for it is most often found on dry land, in sandy or gravelly
regions, especially along the margins of woods, and much less often in
swamps or about the borders of ponds and streams. It is a common bird
of the barren jack-pine plains and is often found in the thickets and shrubs
of the sand-dunes along the lake shores. Nevei'theless, it is a common
bird on most farms, and is perhaps as often seen while driving along country
roads as the really much more common Catbird. In singing it almost
always selects a prominent perch, most often the top of a high bush or a
low tree.
It begins its southward journey in Septeml^er, but many individuals
linger until the first or even the second week in October, at least in Ingham
county.
The food of the Thrasher, like that of the Catbird, has been thoroughly
investigated, but certainly does not carry so much economic interest.
Careful study of the diet was made by S. A. Forbes of Illinois and by
Sylvester Judd of the U. 8. Dejiartment of Agriculture. The former in
1879 reported as follows on the examination of 28 stomachs, 8 of which
were taken in April, 4 in May, 9 in June and 7 in July: "The most re-
markable fact brought out is that the bird takes a great deal of matter
from the excrement of other animals, not only scavenger and carrion
beetles of various kinds, but particles of undigested grain, largely corn.
In all 36 percent of its food was obtained from these disgusting sources.
In Ai)ril it ate, in addition to the elements just mentioned, 6 percent of
ants, 4 percent of caterpillars, 4 percent of carabida\ 5 percent of curculios,
8 percent of thousandlegs and 15 percent of cetonian beetles (Euphoria
inda). In May the food was similar, but with larger percentages of
scavenger beetles and carabids. In June 17 percent of ants, 9 percent of
grasshoppers, 1 percent boring ])eetles (Buprestida^), 1 percent cater-
pillars, and 18 percent of strawberries ancl raspberries. In July ants fell
to 1 percent, caterpillars increased to 13 percent, carabida' remained at
5 percent, and there was 3 percent of spring beetles and 5 percent of soldier
Plate LXV. Brown Thrasher, licprinted from Chapiiiati's Hird Life
By courtt-Hy of 1). Applefon & Co.
'^•^
Plate LXVI. Nest and eggs of Brown Thrasher.
From photograph by Thos. L. Hankinson.
LAND BIRDS. 667
bugs. Subject therefore to many reservations I should sa}^ that the
ordinary services do not entitle it to special protection" (Trans. 111. State
Hort. Soc, Vol 13, 1879, 135, 136).
In 1880 Prof. Forbes, after further study of the food of the Thrasher,
states: "It takes ants more freely than the Robin, but eats comparatively
few caterpillars; 7 percent of each were found in the food of the year.
Diptera are taken in very trivial quantity, and hemiptera in moderate
numl)er only. In the garden it plays a part very similar to that of the
other thrushes, but is less mischievous on the whole. It relishes the whole
list of garden fruits and later in the season resorts to the wild fruit of the
woods and thickets. Compared with the Robin this bird is seen to be
especially peculiar in the filth-eating habit already mentioned as dis-
tinguishing it from all other thrushes. It takes about half as many
lepidoptera, about half as many again coleoptera, nearly twice as many
carabidffi and three times as many leaf-chafers, but eats comparatively
few grapes and cherries" (Ibid, Vol. 14, 1880, 113-114). Reporting in
1881 on two Brown Thrashers killed in a canker-worm orchard in Tazewell
county. 111., Prof. Forbes says: "Nearly one-fourth of their food consisted
of canker-worms and 10 percent of cut worms. Ground beetles (harpalids)
lirought the average of predaceous beetles up to 24 percent. Twelve
])ercent of spring beetles and 5 percent of snout beetles were the most
interesting items remaining." In regard to the chinch bug Prof. Forbes
writes as follows: "Among the birds shot in 1880 during midsummer,
when the chinch-bug was abundant enough in central Illinois to cause some
alarm, three Brown Thrashers were found to have eaten these insects in
barelv sufficient number to show that they have no unconquerable prejudice
against them" (Ibid, Vol. 15, 1881, 130).
Dr. Judd, in his report on the food of the Brown Thrasher, says: "The
proportion of the different elements of food of the Brown Thrasher, as
determined by an examination of 121 stomachs collected from Maine to
Florida and as far west as Kansas, is as follows: Animal matter 63 percent;
vegetable 35; mineral 2. Beetles form one-half of the animal food, grass-
hoppers and crickets one-fifth, caterpillars somewhat less than one-fifth,
bugs, spiders and thousandlegs about one-tenth. The percentage of
food taken from cultivated crops by the Thrasher amounts to only 11
percent; of this 8 percent is fruit and the rest grain. * * * The Thrasher
cats 8 percent of ground beetles supposed to be beneficial, but to offset
this he destroj-s an equal volume of caterpillars, to say nothing of grass-
hoppers, crickets, weevils, click and leaf beetles. Two-thirds of the bird's
food is animal; the vegetable food is mostly fruit, but the quantity taken
fi'om cultivated crops is offset by three times that volume of insect pests.
In destroying insects the Thrasher is helping to keep in check organisms
the undue increase of which disturbs the balance of nature and threatens
our welfare. * * * Although the Thrasher takes its maximum of
17 i)ercent of cultivated fruits, mainly red and black ]'aspl)erries, with a
few currants, in July, the horticulturist at this time does not mind the loss,
because there is plenty; on the contrary, when cherries and berries first
commence to ripen they bring good prices antl the loss is keenlv felt"
(Yearl)ook, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1895, 412-413).
In Michigan the Brown Thrasher is nowhere too abundant, on tiie
whole is decidedly useful, and should be rigidly protected. Cherries
and other fruits can be protected in the same way as recommended for
■other birds, and the Thrashei' can be preserved lo desti'o\- the thousands
r.r,8 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
of injurious insects which are attaclcing the crops and to delight us with
his wonderful song.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Entire upper parts, including wings and tail, bright rusty brown; greater and
middle wing-coverts tipped with whitish, forming two white bars; under parts white,
tliickly marked with s})ots, dashes and streaks of black, except on the chin, throat and
middle of belly, which are imspotted; bill mostly black, the base of lower mandible yellow;
iris yellow. In autumn all tlie white is likely to be l)uffy. Sexes alike.
Lengtli 10.50 to 12 inches; wing 4.10 to 4. GO; tail 5 to 5.75; culmen .90 to 1.10.
Family 67. TROGLODYTID^. Wrens.
Our six species may be separated by the following key:
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Upper parts with white or whitish streaks. B, BB.
B. Both top of head and back with whitish streaks; culmen not over
f inch. Short-billed Marsh Wren. No. 307.
BB. Back alone with whitish streaks; culmen over f inch. Long-
billed Marsh Wren. No. 308.
AA. Upper parts without whitish streaks. C, CC.
C. A conspicuous white stripe over and behind the eye; culmen over
1 inch. D, DD.
D. Outer tail-feathers conspicuously marked with white toward
tips. Bewick's Wren, No. 304.
DD. Outer tail-feathers without white. Carolina Wren. No. 303.
CC. Light line behind eye inconspicuous or wanting; culmen under ^
inch. E, EE.
E. Under parts whitish with few or no bars except on flanks; tail
over 1^ inch. House Wren. No. 305.
EE. Under parts brownish, thickly barred with black; tail H
inch or less. Winter Wren. No. 306.
303. Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus ludovicianus {Lath.). (718)
Synonyms: Mocking Wren, Great Carolina Wren, Louisiana Wren.— Sylvia ludoviciana,
Lath., 1790.— Troglodytes ludovicianus, Bonap., 1824, Nutt., 1832, Aud., 1841.— Certhia
ludoviciana, Wils., 1810. — Thryothorus ludovicianus, Bonap., 1838, A. O. U. Check-list,
188G, and most subsequent writers.
Largest of our wrens, about twice as heavy as the House Wren, which
it closely resembles in color, proportions and action; the Carohna Wren,
however, in addition to its much greater size, has a conspicuous white line
over and behind the eye and is decidedly more reddish or rusty on the
back and rump than any of our other wrens.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, north to southern New York,
southern Michigan and southern Nebraska; west to the Plains. Rare
or casual in southern New England and southern Ontario. Resident
nearly throughout its range.
This doubtless is the least common of all the wrens found in the state;
indeed it is doubtful if it should be considered more than a straggler.
Apparently it has been taken al^iut a dozen times within our limits. Mr.
LAND BIRDS. 669
Trombley took a specimen at Petersburg in tlie spring of 1879, and saw
a second one on ]\Iay 7, 8 and 9, 1889. The following year (1890) he
noted three specimens on April 16, a single one on the 18th, and the same
or another individual on the 20th, but he reported these as stragglers
and does not think that they nested. In May 1892 a pair was seen re-
peatedly near Petersburg, and as late as June 30, and Mr. Trombley is
confident that they nested there. Since this time he has not seen the
species, nor has it been reported by any other observer in the county.
It was included in Dr. Miles' list of 1860 on the authority of Professor
Fox who is said to have taken a specimen at Grosse Isle, Wayne county,
many years before. It occurs in Stockwell's list (Forest and Stream, Vol.
VIII, No. 17, p. 261), and Covert in his Forest and Stream list reported
one as taken at Ann Arbor, Washtenaw county, June 4, 1872. The more
recent records are as follows: One taken at Ann Arbor, December 14,
1890, one by P. A. Taverner, near Detroit, August 11, 1906 (Auk, XXIV,
1907, 147), a nest and five young found by A. D. Tinker, near Ann Arbor,
June 20, 1909 (Auk, XXVI, 1909, 434), and five individuals, probably
belonging to one family, found by Norman A. Wood, on Sand Point,
Huron county, August 13-26, 1908. Mr. Samuel Spicer of Goodrich,
Genesee county has in his collection a mounted specimen of an adult in
perfect plumage, killed at Goodrich, in spring, about 1897; and states that
another was heard singing at about the same time and place.
The species is included in several Canadian lists, but is certainly not
common even in southern Ontario. Mcllwraith records one shot in the
town of Mt. Forest in February 1891, and Mr. N. B. Klugh took a young
male on Pt. Pelee, Essex county, Ontario, September 5, 1905, and on the
following day Mr. P. A. Taverner of Detroit took another and Mr. Klugh
secured two fledglings, both males. Besides these an adult bird was seen
but not taken (Auk, XXIII, 1906, 105).
In. its habits the Carolina Wren much resembles our other wrens, being
noisy, musical, nervous, and extremely active. It is seldom quiet for a
moment, but flits from place to place, diving into the thickets or piles
of brush or dodging about among stumps and fallen trees, all the while
uttering its peculiar call-notes and occasionally giving a snatch of song.
On occasions it sings beautifully and repeatedly from some conspicuous
perch, but is very suspicious and easily disturbed, after which it is not
likely to sing again for a long time. According to Chapman: "In addi-
tion to his peculiar calls he possesses a variety of loud ringing whistles
somewhat similar in tone to those of the Tufted Titmouse and Cardinal,
and fully as loud if not louder than the notes of the latter. The more
common ones resemble the syllables whee-adel, whee-adel, whee-adcl tea-
kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle."
The nest is built usually in a hollow fence-post, a decayed stump, a
woodpecker's hole, or occasionally a bird-box or some cavity about a
I)arn or shed, but the bird is not often familiar enough to nest about build-
ings. The nest is very bulky and consists of a great variety of materials
in which are mingled not only twigs and straws, but moss, feathers, leaves,
hair, etc. The eggs are four to six, creamy or pinkish-white, thinly
sprinkled with reddish brown clots, and average .75 by .58 inches.
The food of this wren is similar to that of the other meml)ers of the
family, but consists almost entirely of insects, many of them doubtless
harmful.
670 MICHIGAN JUKI) IJFE.
TKCHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult : Above rusty-brown, darkest on head, brightest on rump; below soiled whitish,
more oi' k'ss tinged with rusty on the hinder belly; under tail-coverts whitish, crossed by
four or five heavy black bars; a distinct white stripe over and behind the eye, often bordered
with an imj)erfect line of dusky spots; a broad brown streak running backward from eye
between the white streak and the whitish throat; wings and tail brown like back, narrowly
barred witli brownish-black; middle wing-coverts with a few white lines and spots. Sexes
alike; little or no seasonal change.
Length 5.25 to 6 inches; wing 2.20 to 2.50; tail 1.80 to 2.35.
304. Bewick's Wren. Thryomanes bewicki bewicki (And.). (719)
Synonyms: Long-tailed House Wren, Song Wren. — Troglodytes bewickii. And.,
1827, Nutt., 1832. — Thryothorus bewicki, Bonap., 1838. — Thryothorus bewickii, Baird,
1859, A. O. U. Check-list, 188(5, and most subsequent authors. — Tliryomanes bewicki,
Ridgw., 1877, A. O. U. Committee, 1899.
Only a little smaller than the Carolina Wren, which it resembles closely
in general appearance, though decidedly grayer and paler in color. More-
over, the outer tail-feathers are mainly clear black, conspicuously spotted
and tipped with white. In habits the bird closely resembles the House
Wren and frequently nests in the same localities, in fact, sometimes re-
placing the House Wren in towns and villages.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to the eastern border of
the Plains and eastern Texas : rare east of the Alleghanies north of Maryland
and Delaware; north irregularly in the Mississippi Valley to southern
Minnesota. Migratory only along the northern border of its range.
This is another rare wren which has been taken at only three or four
points in the state and apparently is never common. It is possible that,
as some observers believe, it is extending its range northward, but there
seems to have been little or no change in the last dozen years. The species
is included in Stockwell's Forest and Stream list on the authority of a
specimen said to have been taken at Niles, INIichigan (perhaps by BaiTon).
Dr. Gibbs took a fine male at Kalamazoo May 5, 1877, which was identified
by Ridgway, and is now in the Agricultural College collection (catalog
No. 5798). Dr. Gibbs states that a few others, perhaps as many as five,
had been seen or shot in Kalamazoo during the four years previous. Covert
records one as taken at Ann Arbor, June 3, 1878, and Trombley reports
one seen April 15 and 16, 1894, and one May 8, 1897, both at Petersburg,
Michigan.
The most recent record for the species is that by Leon J. Cole, who found
it nesting at Grand Rapids and gives the following facts with regard to
its occurrence:
"In the spring of 1894 I had an excellent opportunity to observe a pair
of Bewick's Wrens at Grand Rapids. I was not then acquainted with the
bird, and no specimen was secured; but my description, written at the
time, leaves no doul)t of its identity. My first notes were written on May
5 of that year, Avhen a single bird was observed carrying nesting materials
to a cigar box which had been nailed to the inside wall of a shed in my
yard, with a small hole leading to the exterior. The nest building was
carried on in a rather desultory way until the 16th, and never in this
interval did I see more than the one bird, which I took to be a male. ]\Iuch
of his time w^as spent in singing and in flitting about in a small pile of
lum])er near by. For the nest he appeared to gather grass, bark from
neighboring grapevines, and also employed to a small extent some strings
LAND BIRDS. 671
and pieces of cotton that I laid out for that purpose. I have no good
record of the song, but I talve the following from my notes: "His usual
song is short, but very pretty; and although it is not much like that of
our common wren (House Wren) it resembles it in being slow at first,
and more rapid near the close. He has many other songs (variations,
it might perhaps better have been said), one of which is hke the one
described, only more slow throughout."
"On May 16 two birds were seen, and it appeared to me from their actions
that the one that had built the nest was attempting to coax the other bird
to it. They were much annoyed during the day by a male Bluebird whose
mate was sitting on five eggs in a bird house but a short distance away,
and were frequently forced to retire into the lumber pile to avoid his
attacks. Whether for this reason, or whether for some other less apparent
1 do not know, but greatly to my disappointment both birds disappeared
on that day, and I did not see either of them again.
The nest I saved in its box, and it is now deposited in the Museum of
the University of Michigan. I had made no description of the nest, and
at my request Mr. Norman A. Wood has kindly sent me the following:
'The nest is in a box 6^^ x 4^ inches, 3\ inches high, and occupies about
one-half of the space in the box. The foundation, or base, of the nest, is
composed of roots of bushes and weeds, a few sticks, and a string about
a foot long. The rest of the nest is made of fine rootlets, and with them
is a little wool or cotton [cotton, see above]; this is built up to form a rim,
making a cup-shaped interior 2 inches in clepth and diameter. The nest
is at the end opposite the entrance, which is IJ inches sciuare, and a few
of the roots extend to this entrance.'
"During the same spring, 1894, I heard l)ir(ls which I took to be Bewick's
Wrens singing at one or two other places in the city, but did not see any
of them. Whether my birds returned in 1895 I am unable to say, as I
was away that year; but I am certain that they were not in the same
neighborhood, at any rate, in the seasons of 1896 and 1897." (Bull. Mich.
Orn. Club, Vol. VI, Nos. 1 and 2 Mar.-June, 1905).
The nest of Bewick's Wren is similar to that of the House Wren, but
is likely to include more soft material such as bark, strings, feathers, wool,
paper, etc., and its location is nearly as variable as that of the House Wren
itself. In Illinois and Indiana it often nearly replaces the House Wren
and in some cases builds in nesting boxes, holes in trees or cavities about
buildings, making the nest large or small according to the cavity occupied.
The eggs are five to seven, sometimes eight or even nine, and are white or
pinkish-white, finely sprinkled around the larger end with l)rown and gray.
They average .67 by .50 inches.
Ridgway states that its song is "not a voluble gabble like the House
Wren's merry roundelay, but a fine, clear, bold song, uttered as the singer
sits with head thrown back and long tail pendent — a song which may 1)C
heard a quarter of a mile or more and in comi)arison with which the faint
song of the Song S{)ari'()W sinks into insignificance. The ortlinary note
is a soft low 'plit,' uttered as the bird hops about, its long tail carried
erect or even leaning forward and jerked to one side at short intervals."
Its food is similar to that of the House Wren and wherever the bird is
abundant it is decidedly beneficial to the gardener and fiuit grower.
'j'KciiMc \i, i)i;s(i{ii"ri(i\.
Very siiiiilar (o liu' ( 'amliiKi Wren l.ut <lcc'i.lc-.lly sinnlliT, aiul (-..lors of l.ark and tail
quite different.
Adult: Upper part.s ilvv\) uiiilirr-lirowu; ceiitj-al tail-feat Ihts Ijaired, otiiers mainly
672
MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE
black, the outer ones with white lips and white spots on inner webs; under (ail-coverts
strongly barred with black and white; a white line over the eye from nostril to nape;
under parts grayish-white; flanks brownish. Sexes alike; seasonal changes slight.
Length 5 to 5.50 inches; wing 2 to 2.25; tail 2.10 to 2.40
305. House Wren. Troglodytes aedon aedon Vicill. (721)
Synonyms: Brown Wren, Conunon Wren, Wood Wren, Stump Wren, Short-tailed
House Wren, Jenny Wren. — Troglodytes ffdon, Vieill., 1807. — Sylvia domestica, Wils.,
180S. — Troglodytes americanus, Aud., 1834. — Troglodytes aedon, llidgw., 1887, and most
subsequent writers
Figure HO.
Known readily by the small size, jerky movements, and tail carried
erect over the back, in connection with the brown color of the upper parts,
brighter rusty on rump and tail, and the soiled whitish under parts; the
wings, tail and sides usually showing fine blackish bars.
Distribution. — Eastern United States and southern Ontario, west to
Indiana and Louisiana. Resident from the middle districts southward.
The House Wren is an abundant summer resident over the greater part
of Michigan, but is somewhat local in its distribution, being entirely un-
known in small areas
here and there, but
abundant in other dis-
tricts but a few miles
away. We have seen it
personally, or had it
reported by reliable
observers, from all parts
of the state, including
the entire south shore
of Lake Superior. Ordi-
narily it is found in close
association with man, at
least during the nesting
season, but it is one of
the characteristic birds
of the waste lands of the
north, where the timber
has been cut off and fire
has swept over the face
of the land, leaving
numerous dead trees and
charred stumps in which
the Wren delights to nest
Fig. 146. House Wren. Courtesy of Biological Survey, U. S.
Department of Agriculture, Yearbook, 1895.
In such places it is often abundant at a distance
of many miles from any human habitation and its sprightly and incessant
song is one of the cheering features amid the desolate surroundings.
It arrives in the southern part of the state from the middle of April to
the first of May, the earliest date given by ]\Ir. Tromliley at Petersburg,
Monroe county, being April 15, 1894, and the earhest date given by Mr.
Wood at Ann Arbor, lAlarch 13, 1887. This, however, is an unusually
early date, and Mr. Wood gives the average as the second week in April,
which is much earlier than the records for the rest of the state would seem
to warrant. In Ingham county the bird rarely appears before the 20th
LAND BIRDS. 673
of April, frequently not before the first of jMay. It is recorded, however,
from Bay City as early as April 24, 1894 and April 21, 1896, although
the average is about May 4. At Palmer, Marquette county, Mr. Warren
reported it May 5, 1894 and May 6, 1895, and it was reported at Sault Ste.
Marie May 21, 1900. Dates of departure in the fall are difficult to get,
since the bird withdraws from the settled districts after the nesting season
and is seldom noticed except by the careful collector, and its disappearance
from these wild regions goes unrecorded. Mr. Swales states that it leaves
the vicinity of Detroit usually about September 20, but that he saw several
as late as October 9, 1889.
Its habits are too well known to need more than a passing mention.
It is one of the most familiar birds of our dooryards, coming even into the
heart of the larger cities wherever it is assured of protection against the
English Sparrow. It occupies boxes prepared for its use, but seems always
to have a preference for nooks and crannies about houses and outbuildings,
and often puts its nest in most unexpected places. A fish basket, a coffee
pot, the sleeve of an unu.sed coat, a half-filled box of clothes pins, a cigar
box, are among the places occasionally occupied, and Leon J. Cole states
that he has found the nest in tin cans, once in a bathing hat hung up against
the wall, and again in the interior of a partially used ball of binder-twine,
while another nest was placed in the folds of a horse blanket hung in a
corn crib. The usual nesting place is a natural cavity in a tree, either a
hollow formed by decay, or the deserted hole of a woodpecker, and in
unsettled regions doubtless the great majority of nests are placed in such
situations. The material of the nest is as varied as the nesting sites,
consisting largely of short twigs, with which the cavity is largely filled,
and within this is built the nest proper, consisting of grasses, straws, roots,
hairs, etc., often more or less warmly lined with cotton, wool and feathers,
although all these soft materials are sometimes absent from completed
nests. The first nests are built in May, early or late according to latitude,
and a second brood is usually reared in July.
The eggs vary in number from six to ten and are commonly pinkish-
white or cream color, thickly and finely speckled with reddish brown,
the markings covering the entire egg, and often being so dense at the larger
end as to entirely obscure the ground color. Sometimes the eggs' seem
to be uniform mahogany color. The}^ average .65 by .50 inches.
The House Wren is one of the species which can be greatly increased
in numbers by providing it with suitable nesting places. This fact has
been shown repeatedly, and we have had a good illustration at the
Agricultural College, where in 1896 there were but one or two pairs
nesting on the campus. About thirty nesting boxes w^ere prepared and
distributed about the grounds, and although the English Sparrow took
possession of many of them, the Wrens at once occupied several
and each year they have increased in numbers until during the
summer of 1906 there were at least twelve pairs nesting upon the
campus. It is often recommended that nesting boxes for Wrens be
])i"ovided with a hole so small that the Sparrows cannot enter, and un-
doubtedly in some cases Wrens occu])y such boxes and avoid much persecu-
tion from the Sparrows. We have found, however, by repeated experi-
ments, that when two boxes equally suitable in other respects have circular
openings of different sizes, the smaller one just large enough to admit a
Wren, this bird almost invaria])l3^ selects the box with the lan/cr opening,
and in two instances careful observation showed that the Wrens had great
85
674 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
difficulty in taking nesting material into the box with the smaller hole,
most of the twigs and grass being dropped on the ground in the effort
to get them in. In order to avoid this trouble it is suggested that boxes
for wrens be made with the entrance in the form of a slit at least three or
four inches in length, but not more than seven-eighths of an inch in width,
which will allow the bird to take in any nesting material it pleases, but
will still exclude the Sparrow.
But one serious charge has been made against the Wren, if we except the
fact that it is notoriously pugnacious and often attempts to drive other
l)irds away from its premises even when they do not seem to be in the
least harmful. The fact referred to is that the Wren has been detected
several times in the act of destroying the eggs of other birds, puncturing
them with its bill, either for the sake of eating the contents, or, as seems
more probable, simply out of mischief. A few observers, notably Otto
Widmann, of St. Louis, ]\Io., claim that this habit is quite general, but
in Michigan our observations do not confirm this view. Although we
have had numbers of Wrens nesting about the College campus for the
])ast ten years, in no single instance have we discovered eggs of other
birds which had been punctured in this manner. True, eggs of the Robin,
Song Sparrow and Blue Jay have been found upon the ground with large
holes in them, but there was nothing in any of these cases to indicate that
the Wren was concerned in their injury. In one case a Cowbird was seen
eating the eggs of a Chipping Sparrow upon the ground, and it seems
likely that the Cowbird, the Blue Jay or the Bronzed Grackle, all of which
are superabundant in the vicinity, were the real miscreants.
The food of the Wren consists almost entirely of insects and arachnids,
and the species is certainly of great use to the orchardist and gardener in
destroying noxious insects. Fifty-two stomachs examined in the Division
of Biological Survey, United States Department of Agriculture, and re-
ported on by Dr. Judd, contained 4 percent of ants, 16 percent of cater-
pillars, 22 percent of beetles, 25 percent of locusts, crickets and grass-
hoppers, 12 percent of bugs of various kinds, and 14 percent of spiders
and thousandlegs. The total amount of animal food was 98 percent, the
remaining 2 percent being vegetable rubbish. "Half the food consists
of grasshoppers and beetles; the other half is made up of approximately
equal quantities of caterpillars, bugs, and spiders. Several of the most
important families of beetles were represented, and among them the
omnipresent little ground beetle formed 6 percent; weevils, which amounted
to 11 percent of the food in June, ranked next in importance. Wrens eat
about half as many little dung beetles as weevils. The former amount to
10 percent of the food in May, but are not eaten later in the season. * * *
Common grasshoppers, green grasshoppers and crickets form the most
important part of the House Wren's food, reaching a maximum of about
60 percent in August, and practically excluding many heretofore con-
spicuous elements. The Catbird and Thrasher stop eating grasshoppers
when fruits ripen, but the Wren keeps right on with the good work."*
Prof. Aughey states that he has ''watched parents [Wrens] feed their
young in a great number of instances in northern and southern Nebraska
and in western Iowa during locust years and always found them bringing
a great number of small locusts" (1st Rep. U. S. Entom. Com. Appendix
2, p. 18).
Professor Forbes, reporting on Wrens taken in an orchard overrun
♦Yearbook, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1895, p. 417.
LAND BIRDS. 675
with canker-worms in Illinois, saj's: "Nearly half their food was canker-
worms, with al)Oiit 10 percent additional of other lepidoptera, 13 percent
was beetles and 10 percent bugs, the latter including a few chinch-bugs.
Two of the birds had eaten Psenocerus supernotatus, making 4 percent"
(Bull. No. 6, State Lab. Nat. Hist., pp. 8-9).
The song is a delightful little warble given with great rapidity and some-
times continued much longer than at others. Usually it is repeated twenty
or thirty times with only a few seconds intermission, and during the nesting
season the bird sings from morning till night with the utmost energy,
apparently fairly bubbling over with exuberance of joy. Bicknell says:
"From its arrival late in April until after midsummer the full song is
heard, and though sometimes ending in July is often continued through
the first week of August. August 15 is my latest date for the song. * * *
With the change of the song (usually in July) a change of habits begins
and likewise gradually progresses. The birds forsake the vicinity of
dwellings and their accessory buildings. To the la}^ observer they have
disappeared, but the experienced eye will detect them inhabiting the
rocks and shrubber}^ of wild and unfrequented localities often remote
from human habitation. In such places the autumn song is to be heard,
though to one familiar only with the characteristic song of the earlier
season its authorship would hardly be suspected. It has none of the
spontaneity and vigor of the spring song, but is a low rambling warble"
(Auk, I, 1884, 137-138).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Olive-brown above, sometimes more rusty, sometimes more grayish, always
more reddish on rump and upper tail-coverts; the wings and tail always distinctly barred
with brown and black, and the same pattern often shomng more or less distinctly on
head and back; below grayish or brownish-white, lighter on throat and belly, darkest
on breast and flanks; under tail-coverts brown, heavily barred with dusky. Sexes aUke;
seasonal changes slight.
Length 4.25 to 5.25 inches; wing 1.90 to 2.15; tail 1.70 to 2.10.
306. Winter Wren. Nannus hiemalis hiemalis (Vieill). (722)
Synonyms: Wood Wren, Mouse Wren, Spruce Wren, Short-tailed Wren.^ — Troglodytes
hiemalis, Vieill., 1819, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and others. — Anorthura hyemahs, Coues
and Prentiss, 1861. — Anorthura troglodytes hyemalis, Coues, 1872. — Olbiorchilus hiemalis
hiemalis, Oberh., 1902.
Similar in a general way to the House Wren, but with the tail much
shorter in proportion and the feet decidedly larger. The upper parts,
wings and tail are brown or rufous like those of the House Wren, Init the
under parts are much darker than in that species, being brownish-white
or light brown from the chin to the middle of the breast, back of which
the color deepens and the whole of the breast, belly and sides are barred
with black.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding from the northern
parts of the United States northward, and in the Alleghanies south to
North Carolina, wintering fi'om about its southern breeding limit southward.
This tiny wren is a summer resident of by far the larger pait of the
state, but its habits are such that it is commonly overlooked in the summer
and thus in the southern half of the state is known mainly as a spring
and fall migrant. Possibly a few winter in the southern part of the Lower
Peninsula, but we have been unable to find an actual record. It reappears
676 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
early in March and continues to be fairly alnmdant in the southern part
of the state until late in April, at which time it gives snatches of its summer
song, but seldom the complete strain. In the fall it returns to southern
Michigan in September, but ordinarily not until the middle or last of the
month, though occasionally one is seen during the first week. Individuals
linger until the last of November regularly, but the greater numljer move
southward l^eyond our limits during October and November. The light-
liouse records show no fatalities for this species during the spring, but on
Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, si^ecimens were killed September 21, 23
and 25, 1889, and October 6, 1890.
During migration the bird frequents timber of almost any kind, but
seems to prefer wind-falls, brush heaps, and the darker and more tangled
recesses of the swamps and woods. It makes its summer home almost
invariably among evergreens, and is an abundant nester only among the
forests of pine, spruce, balsam and hemlock in the northern half of the
Lower Peninsula and in the Upper Peninsula. Nevertheless, wherever
groves of these trees are found the bird may be looked for in summer, and
there is little doubt that it will be found nesting in favorable localities
in all but the southernmost counties of the state. It is rarely seen far
from the ground and is most often found creeping about brush heaps,
old logs and dense thickets of evergreens, particularly in shady ravines
where springs or brooks furnish abundant moisture. In such situations
its voice may be heard constantly during the nesting season, and it is
not likely to be mistaken for that of any other bird.
Opinions differ widely as to the quality of the song; all agree that it is a
very striking performance, but while many call it musical, others think
it entirely devoid of any such quality. It consists of a series of perhaps
a dozen notes, all uttered in a very high key, but a few of the notes nearly
an octave higher than the rest. Different observers speak of it as weird,
uncanny, unmusical, squeaky and shrill, but there is much individual
variation, and the writer has frequently heard Winter Wrens singing
when the notes were entirely devoid of any unpleasant tones, and some-
times even decidedly musical. Ruthven and Gaige made the following
notes on this species in Dickinson county in the summer of 1909: "It was
heard almost daily during July and the first week in August, but after August
6 it rapidly decreased in abundance and was not recorded after the 12th.
It frequented the denser thickets along the river, the depths of the tamarack
and spruce 'swamps, and the lower, thicker, hardwood forest. It was
commoner in the two former habitats than anywhere else. Were it not
for the loud clear song the species could be very easily overlooked on account
of its exceedingly shyness, its small size and the nature of its retreats.
As it is the song may be heard at quite a distance and is inexpressibly
beautiful when heard in the woods. The birds seem to sing very frequently.
No breeding record was obtained for the species." (Manuscript Report.)
When singing the bird most often perches on some dead twig or root close
to the ground, and we have never seen it singing from the top of a bush
or from a height of more than four or five feet above the surface. Fre-
quently it sings from the hidden depths of a brush heap or the thick tangle
of a mass of fallen trees where the performer is entirely invisible. It
flits, jumps and glides about in such situations with the utmost celerity
and skill, reminding one constantly of a mouse and being almost as difficult
to keep in sight. Peet's observations of the bird on Isle Royale in the
summer of 1905 are widely at variance with those of most writers. He
LAND BIRDS. G77
says: "Very partial to the tamarack and cedar swamps where they
would be heard singing from the tops of the tallest trees. It was often
heard singing along the shores of the lakes and bays, preferring places
where there was a rank growth of ground hemlock" (Adams' Rep., Mich.
Geol. Surv., 1908, 380).
The nest is placed on or near the ground, but usually in some recess
among the roots of trees, in a brush heap, under a log, or even in a burrow
in a mossy bank, so that the eggs are rarely if ever visil:)le. It is composed
largely of fine dead twigs and green moss, hned with fur, feathers, and
sometimes other soft materials. The eggs are white, thinly and finely
speckled with reddish brown, mostly about the larger end, but not in-
frequently these spots are almost wanting and the eggs at first glance
appear to be entirely white or creamy white. They average .69 by .50
inches. The usual number in a set is five or six, although seven and even
eight have been recorded.
The food presumably is similar to that of the House Wren, Init owing
to the habitat it has not the economic importance of that species.
Dr. Gibbs found the Winter Wren numerous, and doubtless breeding,
in the eastern part of Ottawa county June 10, 1878, and he saw one carry-
ing nesting material near Howard City, Montcalm county, May 13, 1885.
L. J. Cole states that about Grand Rapids he has seen the bird during the
In-eeding season, and that E. W. Durfee once found the nest there. At
Port Huron ]\Ir. Hazel wood has failed to find the nest and considers the
])ird rare. The writer found it abundant and still in song in the west-
ern part of Mackinac county the first week in August 1901, and since
Ruthven Deane found the nest with eggs at Houlton, Maine, on August
8, it seems certain that the species often, if not regularly, rears two bioods
in a season.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Known at once by the very short tail (nmcli shorter than wing) and the tlisproi)or-
tionately large feet and legs.
Adult: Upper i)arts, including wings and tail, dark brown, darkest on head, brightest
on rump; usually barred with black everywhere except on head, but the barring most
conspicuous on wings and tail, sometimes entirely lacking on the back; outer webs of
primaries cliecked with whitish; wing-coverts with terminal dots of buffy wliite; chin,
lliroat and breast brownish gray (sometimes only soiled white on tlie chin), mispotted;
belly and sides dark brown, thickly mottled and barred with black; sides of head and
neck mottled or streaked with light and dark brown; a but'fy white stri]io .ibovc^ and liehind
the eye. Sexes alike; seasonal changes slight.
Length 'A.m to 4.10 inclies; wing 1.75 to 2; tail LI") to 1.10.
307. Short-billed Marsh Wren. Cistothorus stellaris {Naum.). (724)
Synonyms: Fresli-water IVIarsli Wren, Meadow Wren, (Irass A\'ren. — Troglodytes
steliaris, Naumann, 1823. — Thryothorus stellaris, Turnbull, ISdi). — Troglodytes
l)revir()stris, Nutt., 1X32, And., 1S34. — Cistothorus stellaris, Baird, 1S5S, and most sul)-
-:('((uent autiiors.
Mottled Ijlack am] l)iown a])ove, with white streaks on l)ack and on
toj) of head; under parts mainly white, but sides and a l)ar aci'oss tlic chest
3'ell()\vish-brown.
Distribution. — Eastern llnited States, north to southern New Hampshire,
soutliern Ontario, southern Michigan, and southern IManitoba, and west
to the IMains. Wiutei-s in the South Atlantic and Gulf States.
The Shorl-billcd .Marsh Wwn is generally considered a rai-e bird through-
678 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE
out the state. As a matter of fact it is very irregularly distributed over
the southern half of the Lower Peninsula, probably not occurring north
of the Saginaw-Grand Valley, and south of that region being found here
and there in moderate numbers, though absent entirely from a large part
of the territory.
It seems to prefer the neighborhood of water, yet to avoid ground which
is regularly overflowed, and nearly all observers agree that its nest is
seldom placed over the water, while the Long-billed Marsh Wren is partial
to cattails, reeds and bulrushes, and almost invariably hangs its nest over
standing water. The nest of the Short-bill is globular and neatly woven
of fine grasses, the growing blades in which it is hung being neatly incor-
porated so that it is firmly held on all sides. The entrance is through a
small hole on the side and this hole is often nearly invisible. It is Hned in-
ternally with soft vegetable materials, mostly plant down, with sometimes
a few hairs and feathers. The eggs are four to six, rarely more, and are
usually pure white, without spots. According to Ridgway there are rarely
a few lavender spots on some of the eggs, but we have never seen such
specimens.
This bird seems to be a rather late comer in spring and probably should
not be looked for until the last of May, while nesting probably begins
about the first of June. It is known to so few observers, however, and
frequents localities so seldom visited, that our migration records are ex-
tremely imperfect. N. A. Wood took a single specimen on Charity Lsland,
Saginaw Bay, September 16, 1910.
It is far less noisy and demonstrative than its near relative the Large-
bill, and it has few or no rattling, scolding notes to attract or give notice
to the observer. Its song is very peculiar; a typical wren song, yet less
musical perhaps than that of the other members of the family. According
to Seton Thompson "Its ordinary note is like two stones being struck
together about a dozen times in succession; the first strokes with a shght
pause between, those following with a rapidly reduced interval until the
last are all run into each other." He writes the song "chap-chap-chap-
chap, chap, chap, chap, p-p-p-r-r-r." Our own notation would be rather
sit-sit, sit, sit, t-t-t-r-r-r-sit. This song is uttered at short intervals, some-
times for an hour at a time, while the bird perches on the tops of the grass
or on a convenient willow bush or fence post not far from its nest.
Like most wrens this species builds numerous false nests, most of them
however, not being linecl, although occasionally the birds make several
nests which appear to be equally complete. In localities where a dozen
pairs or more have located, scores of such nests may be found and
it is extremely difficult to locate those which contain the eggs. Un-
doubtedly two broods are often reared in a season. Dr. Gibbs took two
eggs June 2, 1882, from a nest in a marsh at Gunn Lake, Barry county,
and Mr. Leon J. Cole took a nest and two eggs at Chandler's Marsh, Ingham
county, May 31, 1897. The writer found a fresh nest, apparently ready
for the eggs, near Walnut Lake, Oakland county, August 2, 1906, and the
male bird was singing constantly nearby. Mr. James B. Purdy states
that he has known of but two nesting colonies at Plymouth, Wayne county,
and Mr. Swales has found it but rarely near Detroit, although other
observers report it not uncommon in certain limited areas. Leon J.
Cole found nests of this species May 27, 1896 at Fisk Lake, near Grand
Rapids, but none of the nests contained eggs and the builders were not
seen. Major Boies includes the species in his list of the birds of Neel)ish
LAND BIRDS. 679
Island, St. Mary's River, but it seems probable that the Long-billed Marsh
Wren was the species found there. We have no other record of the bird so
far north, except in the Manitoba region, where however, it is abundant.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill .40 inch or less.
Adult: Upper parts streaked with black, white and buff; wings and tail barred with
the same colors; under parts soiled white, unspotted, shaded with pale brown across the
breast, the sides, flanks and under tail-coverts a deeper shade of the same. Sexes alike.
Length 3.75 to 3.50 inches; wing 1.70 to 1.90; tail 1.60 to 1.70.
308. Long-billed Marsh Wren. Telmatodytes palustris palustris (Wils.).
(725)
Synonyms: Marsh Wren, Reed Wren, Cat- tail Wren, Salt-water Marsh Wren. —
Certhia palustris, Wilson, 1810. — -Troglodytes palustris, Bonap., 1824, Aud., 1831, Nutt.,
1832. — -Thryothorus palustris, Bonap., 1838. — Cistothorus palustris, Baird, 1859, A. O.
U. Check-list, 1886, part.— Telmatodytes palustris, Coues, 1868.
Mainly brown and black above, the back alone with white streaks,
the crown black with a median stripe of brown. Under parts white along
the middle line from chin to belly, the sides buff or brown.
Distribution. — Eastern United States, north to Massachusetts, Ontario
and southern Manitoba, wintering from the Gulf States south to eastern
Mexico and locally as far north as southern New England. Breeds through-
out its United States and British American range.
The Long-billed Marsh Wren is a common summer inhabitant of all
parts of the state where suitable conditions are found. It delights in
extensive marshes like those at St. Clair Flats and Saginaw Bay, and
about the mouths of large rivers, particularly where reeds, rushes and
cattail flags abound. In such locations it is found often in great numbers,
and although most abundant in the middle and southern parts of the state,
is by no means rare in suitable places along the south shore of Lake
Superior. It much prefers large areas of marsh, but is occasionally found
in small cattail swamps of an acre or even less, and here and there a pair
may be found in the narrow fringe of rushes bordering a small pond; such
instances, however, are unusual and not likely to occur except in regions
where many similar spots exist in rather close proximity.
This is a hardy bird and lingers with us until late in the fall, at least
until the latter part of October, and in the eastern states is known to winter
as far north as southern Massachusetts and the lower Connecticut Valley.
In Michigan, however, it has not been recorded in winter so far as we can
learn, moreover, it is not one of the earliest birds to return in the spring.
At Ann Arbor Mr. N. A. Wood gives the earliest arrival for twenty- five
years as May 6, 1904, but Mr. Eddy recorded it at Bay City as early as
April 29, 1891. Dr. Gibbs noted it at Battle Creek April 26, 1889, and
Mr. Swales recorded it at Detroit April 18, 1903. It is by no means un-
likely that numerous individuals come north earlier than this, but the in-
accessible character of the places they frequent makes it extremel}' un-
likely that their presence will be noted until they begin to sing.
The species is remarkable for the number and character of the nests
which it builds. These are globular or ovoid, and built mainly of dead
flags, reeds and rushes, woven into a compact mass and the cracks filled
with decayed vegetabh> niatlor which in some cases gives the impression
680 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
that mud has ])cen used; we have found, however, no mud in any which
we have examined. The interior is rather neatly hned with fine grasses
and other soft materials, often with down from the cattails. The entrance
is through a small hole in one side which is usually inconspicuous. This
nest is swung among the reeds, grass, or cattails, usually over standing
water, but occasionally second nests are built in nearly dry situations
after the spring floods have subsided. In addition to the nest which
contains the eggs the birds build numbers of similar nests which apparently
are never occupied, or are occupied only for roosting purposes. It is a
common thing to find twenty to fifty such nests in an area of a few acres,
and the male is commonly believed to have constructed all these super-
numerary nests in order to mislead its enemies and prevent the discovery
of the occupied nests. However this may be, not one nest in twenty is
found to contain eggs or young, and the birds seem to continue building
as long as young remain in any of the nests.
In the southern part of the state eggs are commonly laid about the first
week in June and a second set may be found in mid-July or occasionally as
late as the last of that month. They are five to eight in number and are so
heavily spotted with brown as to give them a dark mahogany or chocolate
color, entirely obscuring the ground color. They average .66 by .46 inches.
The habits of this bird are familiar to everyone who has traversed dense
cattail swamps through which a boat has to be dragged or poled, the bird
and its song being characteristic features of these flooded lands. The
bird is continually rambling about among the grass stems, climbing to
the tops of the reeds and cattails, and occasionally fluttering a few yards
upward into the air, uttering his peculiar sputtering song and then dropping
back out of sight in the reeds.
The song is very difficult of description, but is a mixture of scraping,
squeaking, bubbling and chattering notes, with a few more musical bars
which are certainly wren-like, but also mostly characteristic of this par-
ticular species. The bird probably excels all other members of the family
in the grotesque attitudes which it takes, frequently, throwing the tail
so far over the back, and the head so far toward the tail, that the tips
of the bill and tail almost meet.
The food consists very largely of aquatic insects which creep up the
marshy vegetation as they transform from their larval condition, and are
easily secured by the bird. It also eats small Crustacea, as well as spiders,
caterpillars, and such other forms of minute animal life as abound in wet
places. It cannot be said that the consumption of such forms confers
any great benefit upon the agriculturist, but the bird undoubtedly does
its part toward restricting the undue increase of insects injurious to water
plants.
The only injury which we have ever heard attributed to this bird is
the wilful destruction of the eggs of some swamp birds. Mr. Harold
Stewart and Mr. T. L. Hankinson have recorded the destruction of the
eggs of the Least Bittern, presumably by the Marsh Wren, which was
seen hovering around the nests, the eggs in those nests being found
punctured immediately afterward (Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, II, 1898, 18).
No explanation of this peculiar habit has been made. It seems possible
that the wren may pierce the eggs in order to take the contents as food;
but this is liardly likely.
LAND BIRDS. 681
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill more than .50 inch in length.
Adult: Crown witli a median stripe of rich brown, bordered on each side with brownish
black; back brownish black, streaked with white, the rump and upper tail-coverts cinnamon;
under parts pure white along the middle line, the sides, from neck to tail, pale brown,
unspotted; wings and tail brown, with numerous narrow dark cross-bars; lores and a line
over the eye white. Sexes alike.
Length 4.25 to 5.50 inches; wing 1.80 to 2.10; tail 1.60 to 1.90; culmen .54.
Family 08. CERTHIID/E. Creepers.
Only one Michigan species, the Bi'own Creeper.
309. Brown Creeper. Certhia familiaris americana Buna/p. (726)
Synonyms: Common Creeper, American Creeper, American Brown Creeper, Tree
Creeper. — Certhia americana, Bonap., 1838.^ — Certhia familiaris, Vieill., 1807, Nutt.,
1832, Wilson, 1808, Aud., 1839.— Certhia familiaris fusca, A. O. U. Conunittce, 1899.—
Certhia familiaris americana, Brewst., 1879, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886.
Streaked with brown and black above, except on the rump, which is
bright reddish brown; below dull white or ashy, unstreaked; wing-feathers
marbled with whitish or buffy. The curved, awl-like bill and long, sharp,
woodpecker-like tail-feathers, combined with the very long, sharp, curvecl
claws, are distinctive.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding from the northern
and more elevated parts of the United States northward, and casually
farther south, migrating southward in winter.
This little bird, although known to comparatively few, is nevertheless
an al)undant migrant throughout the state and a common summer resident
in all forested parts, especially where evergreens arc found. It is also
by no means a rare winter resident in most of the Lower Peninsula, very
possibly everywhere in the state. Like most other species, however, the
bird is distinctly migratory, and it seems reasonably certain that those
individuals which linger through the winter at any point are not the ones
which are there in summer, but have come from farther north. Owing
to this shifting of the whole species, and the fact that in many places some
individuals arc pi'csent the year around, the exact times of migration are
somewhat difficult to determine. The greatest movement, however,
seems to take place between April 15 ancl ]\Iay 15, and again l^ctwcen
September 15 and October 15, when the bird is much more common than
at other seasons and appears in groves, parks and orchai'ds, often in con-
siderable numbers. There are no records of specimens killed on IMichigan
lighthouses except in the fall, the records for Spectacle llccf Light being
September 14, 1894, Septcml)er 26, 1886 and October 5, 1889, 1890 and
1895. From its habit of crcci)ing up the sides of buildings, as well as of
trees, it not infi-ecpiently enters open windows and is one of the small
birds most fref[uently entrapped in this way.
The habits of the Brown Creeper are very definite and characteristic.
It alights sudilenly at the ])ottom of a tree and clim])s spirally up
the trunk, travelling by little jumps or "hitches," pausing every few
inches to probe some crevice in the bark for food and then pursu'ng its
upward course. Often it makes one or more complete circuits of the truid'C
682 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
before it reaches the main limbs and it may then continue its course upward,
but more often it takes flight and passes directly to the foot of some neigh-
boring tree to repeat the performance. More rarely still it may be seen
creeping along a large branch of some forest tree, or stationary for several
seconds at some productive spot on a dead branch. It is so like the brown
bark on which it spends most of its life that it is not likely to be seen unless
specially looked for.
Its usual call-note is a high-pitched "seet, seet, seet, seet," occasionally
uttered singly, but more often repeated two, three, or more times.
During migration the bird moves in little squads of three to a dozen,
sometimes associated with warblers, vireos and other birds, but in winter
it is almost invariably with a troup of Chickadees, Nuthatches, Kinglets,
and Downy Woodpeckers, and these apparently keep together nearly all
day. The food gleaned from the crevices of bark consists very largely
of insect eggs and the dormant larvse and pupse of insects, and so far as
we know the bird takes no vegetable food whatever. That it is decidedly
beneficial is usually assumed and probably with safety, since the awl-like
beak enables it to reach into crevices which are inaccessible to any other
bird except possibly to the woodpeckers after some digging.
The Creeper doubtless nests occasionally in every county in the state,
but in such small numbers in the southern counties that it has quite generally
escaped detection. According to Dr. Gibbs Mr. W. A. Gunn observed
a pair of these birds building a nest in Ottawa county May 19, 1879. "It
was placed about forty feet from the ground, under the bark of a dead
pine at the edge of a pinery. I went to the spot and found the nest quite
inaccessible." Leon J. Cole states that a nest was found near Grand
Rapids by Mr. Owen Durfee, but was broken up. Several other observers
record the presence of the bird in summer in the lower counties of the
state, but we know of no other nest being found. North of the Saginaw-
Grand Valley the bird is resident through the summer in considerable
numbers, and is reported as nesting commonly in all suitable places. Miss
Flora L. Mowbray states that it is common and nests at Marquette, and
it is also reported as breeding at Ludington, Mason county, by Miss Ida
McClatchie. The writer found it fairly common on Beaver Island, Lake
Michigan, in July 1904, and he also found it in Mackinac, Alger and
Chippewa counties in 1903.
The nest seems to be placed invariably beneath a partly loosened sheet
of bark which is still attached firmly to the tree, and which shelters it
from the w^eather as well as from observation. In the narrow space be-
tween the bark and the tree the bird constructs a substantial but somewhat
irregular nest of twigs and shreds of bark of various kinds, and lays four
to six eggs, which are white or creamy white, speckled chiefly at the larger
end with reddish brown. They average .60 by .48 inches.
Few have heard the Creeper's song, the call-notes already described
being the only ones usually heard. Mr. Brewster, however, states that
during the nesting season it is a frequent singer and its voice "though
one of the sweetest that ever rises in the thickets of northern forests,
is never a very conspicuous song. This is due to the fact that the song
is short and by no means powerful, but its tones are so exquisitely pure
and tender that I have never heard it without a desire to linger in the
vicinity until it has been many times repeated. It consists of a bar of
four notes, the first of moderate pitch, the second lower and less emphatic,
the third rising again, and the last abruptly falhng, but dying away in an
LAND BIRDS. G83
indescribably plaintive cadence like the soft sigh of the wind among the
pine boughs. I can compare it to no other bird voice that I have ever
heard" (Bull. N. O. C. IV, 1879, 206).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill very slender, awl-shaped, strongly curved downward, and almost needle pointed;
the tail-feathers long, slender and stiff, resembling those of a woodpecker, and used as
a support in the same way.
Adult: Upper parts, from bill to lower back, dark brown, streaked with white, each
white streak more or less margined with black; lower back and rump bright rusty-red,
obscurely streaked with brown; tail-feathers brown, unmarked; wings brown, crossed by
two broad bars of buffy white; under parts from bill to tail pure white, or lightly margined
with rusty on the under tail-coverts; sides of the head and neck mottled brown, black,
and white, like the top of the head. The female is like the male in color but slightly
smaller; there are no marked seasonal changes.
Length 5 to 5.75 inches; wing 2.40 to 2.70; tail 2.30 to 2.90; bill .60 to .80.
Family 09. SITTID.E. Nuthatches.
Two species occur regularly in the state, and a third, the Brown-headed
Nuthatch, accidentally if at all.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Underparts mainly white or whitish. B, BB.
B. Large, wing 3'. inches or over. White-breasted Nuthatch. No.
310.
BB. Small, wing less than 3 inches. Brown-headed Nuthatch. (Ap-
pendix.)
A A. Under parts mainly I'ust red or buffy brown; wing less than 3 inches.
Red-breasted Nuthatch. No. 311.
310. White-breasted Nuthatch. Sitta carolinensis carolinensis Lath. (727)
Synonyms: White-bellied Nuthatch, Carolina Nuthatch, Common Nuthatch, Sap-
sucker. — Sitta carolinensis. Lath., 1790, and most other writers. — Sitta melanocephala,
Vicill., ISH).
Plate LXVII and Figure 147.
The bluisii-gray upper i)arts with darker crown, pure white under parts
and sides of head, and soft, dark tail, broadly marked with white, are
characteristic. Add to this the straight, strong, slender bill and powerful
feet, and the bird cannot be mistaken. Jn life its action is equally charac-
teristic; only a nuthatch scraml)les continually up and down tree trunks,
sidles rapidly along the main branches or runs nimbly under and over
Ihcm, as often head downward as otherwise. Its smaller relative, the
Red-breasted Nuthatch, has a color pattern so different as to make any
confusion unlikely.
Distribution. — Eastern United States from Georgia north to the southern
British Provinces and west to the Rocky Mountains.
It is somewhat remarkable that a bird so alnmdant as the ^^■llile-bcllied
Nuthatch should be so imperfectly known to the average resident of town
684 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
or country. In the Lower Peninsula there
probably is not a town or village in which /-
this bird is not frequently to be seen if looked ^
for, and in most localities it is a regular in- y;^_ 147. ^ing of White-breasted
habitant of parks and shade trees, not only Nuthatch, showing very short first
in the suburbs, but even in the cities them- i^im-iry. ngma .
selves. Where this is not the case it is usually because the English Sparrow
has occupied all the possible nesting places, and so the Nuthatch is found
only during migration, or in winter.
Its habits are too well known to need extended description. It is one
of the most restless and energetic birds known, seldom c^uiet for a dozen
seconds at a time, but usually running up and down the trunks and larger
branches of trees, often with a beech-nut or acorn in its bill, and occasionally
seen hammering (that is, "hatching") that bit of food with its sharp bill,
having previously wedged the nut into some crevice of the bark. At
other times it may be seen carrying bits of acorn meat or the kernels of
seeds which it has shelled, and if watched it will be seen to crowd these
into crevices of the bark or hide them in natural or artifical holes in the
trunks of trees or the cracks of fence posts, whence undoubtedly it some-
times extracts them again in time of need.
, "^Although abundant throughout the year in most places, there is never-
theless a migration of the species as a whole, a swinging of all the in-
dividuals southward in winter and northward in summer, so that we are
not sure that the individuals which nest with us are the same which we
see in midwinter. Even in summer this species does not seem to be very
abundant in the Upper Peninsula, at all events, not equally abundant
in all parts. Most of our reports from north of 45° speak of the bird as
rare, or at least not very common, but here and there observers find
it abundant and nesting. In the southern part of the state it is fully
as abundant in winter as in summer, but for a time in March and again
in October it seems to be more abundant than at any other period.
' .This bird is known sometimes to nest very early in the season; the writer
saw one carrying nesting material into a hole in a brick wall at the Agricult-
ural College on March 9, 1896, and another was seen taldng food into a hole
in a tree in the neighboring woods on April 11, 1896, which would seem
to show that it was then feeding young. At the present writing (April 12,
1912) we have a pair under observation on the College campus which are
feeding young in a knot-hole in an oak. On the other hand, we have
records of nearly a dozen sets of eggs, all, with one exception, taken in
May, the exception being a set of nine taken in Kalamazoo county April
27, 1889 by the late Richard B. Westnedge. Other nests taken by the
same collector are as follows: Four eggs May 25, 1887, four eggs May 5,
1888, eight eggs May 2, 1890, and three sets of eight, eight and seven
respectively on May 2, 1890. Mr. Samuel Spicer of Goodrich, Genesee
count3^ took a set of four eggs May 6, 1888, and Leon J. Cole took a nest
of eight eggs at Grand Rapids May 4, 1897. These facts suggest the
possibility of two broods, one hatched in April and the other late in May,
although this is contrary to the statements of most authors, from Audubon
down.
A nest taken by Mr. Trombley, at Peterslnirg, is described as follows:
"The nest was in a dry basswood stub about twenty-five feet from the
ground. The hole was only about six inches deep, but was quite large,
at least eight or ten inches in diameter, not a knot-hole but aj^parently
Plato I.X\ II. Wliite-breasted Nuthatch.
From Couf's" Key to North Amorican Birds. 5th edition. Dana, Estes & Co.
LAND BIRDS. 687
a crevice or rotten place which had been cleaned out by the birds, making
a capital nesting place. The nest was composed of fine strips of inner
bark of basswood, forming the base, and on top of the bark a large mass of
rabbits' fur to the thickness of nearly an inch. The nest measured about
eight inches in diameter and was saucer-shaped, the greatest depth of
the cavity not being over an inch." Other nests are similar, and almost
without exception they are placed in the natural cavities of trees, rarely
if ever in a deserted woodpecker's hole, and probably never in holes entirely
excavated by the birds themselves. Most often the cavities are in living
trees and in many cases the entrance is through an old knot-hole just large
enough to give the bird admission.
The eggs vary in number from five to eight, or occasionally to nine or
possibly ten. They are white or creamy white, speckled with reddish
brown, and average .72 by .55 inches.
The food of this bird is said to consist chiefly of insects together with
their eggs or larvae, these being dragged from crevices in the bark, and it
lias also been noticed that the birds feed upon beech-nuts, pine seeds,
acorns and similar food. A careful study of the food of this species was
made under the author's direction, in 1898, by Mr. E. Dwight Sanderson,
who studied the food habits both of Nuthatches and Chickadees and pre-
sented the results as a thesis for graduation at' the Michigan Agricultural
College. He examined the stomachs of twenty-three White-breasted Nut-
hatches taken in winter and eleven in early spring, all from Ingham county,
Michigan, and his conclusions as to the food are as follows: "During the
winter the larger proportion of the food was composed of seeds, which grad-
ually decreased as insect life became more abundant. Some of the seeds
eaten were Indian corn, bitter-weed and sunflower. Most of the seeds were
so badly broken as to be undeterminable. The insect food formed about 26
percent of the whole during the winter, but almost 80 percent of the food in
spring, the remainder being vegetable matter except for 6 or 7 per cent of
sand or gravel. * * * The insect food is taken more or less indiscrim-
inately and the beneficial forms eaten fully equal those which are more
or less injurious, while none of the Nuthatches were found feeding upon any
insect pest. In view of these facts I should desire to experiment somewhat
with them in an infested orchard before declaring them to be merely
neutral, yet from all the data secured there would seem to be little doubt
that the Nuthatch, both from its food and habits, is either absolutely
neutral or of comparatively small economic importance" (Auk, XV,
1898, 145-150).
Nuthatches are by no means musical, and nothing which can properly
be called a song is ever heard from this species. The usual note is a loud,
nasal "hank," commonly repeated three or four times in quick succession.
In early spring, however, it has a clear rolling call somewhat resembling
the "look-look-look" of the Flicker.
TKCHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire upper surface of head, from bill to nape, glossy black, this color
extending backward over the forepart of the back; most of the remaining upper parts
clear bhiish-gray; tlie inner wing-feathers and greater coverts boUUy marked witii black;
the two middle tail-feathers gray like the back, the others black with large white blotches,
so tliat tlic tail appears to be nearly half white; under parts uniformly white or grayish
white, with more or less bright chestnut on the hinder belly and under tail-coverts, sides
of head and neck white, this color extending more or less above the eye. The female is
very similar except that the glossy black of the head is replaced by dark gray. There
are no marked seasonal changes.
Length .5.20 to G.15 inches; wing 3.50 to 3.7r); tail 2 (o 2.2.").
688 MICHIGAN BUW LIFE.
311. Red-breasted Nuthatch. Sitta canadensis Lmw. (728)
Synonyms: llcd-bellied Nuthatch, Canada Nutliatch, Sapsuckcr. — Sitta varia, Wils.,
ISOS. — Sitta stulta, Vieill., 1819.- — Sitta canadensis of most other authors.
Plate LXVIIL
A smaller edition of its white-breasted relative, but usually known by
the light rusty-brown breast and belly and the sharp black stripe (slate
color in the female) across the side of the head, with a white stripe above it.
Distribution. — North America at large, breeding from northern New
England, northern New York, and northern Michigan northward, and
southward in the Alleghanies, Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevadas;
in winter, south to about the southern border of the United States.
Nearly all observers agree that this species is decidedly less common in
Michigan than the White-bellied Nuthatch, the exceptions being those
located in the higher parts of the Lower Peninsula and in a part of the
Upper Peninsula. Like the preceding species, the Red-belly is found
throughout the year in all parts of the state, but in greatly reduced numbers
during the winter. A marked migration takes place, the birds passing
southward, sometimes in large numbers, during the latter part of August
and the first half of September, and a similar but less marked northward
migration occurs late in April or early in May.
Everywhere in the northern part of the state the bird is a common
summer resident in suitable locahties, namely in evergreen (particularly
hemlock) forests or tamarack swamps, while in the southern half of the
Lower Peninsula the bird is entirely absent in summer, or at most occurs
only in scattered pairs in the most favored localities.
According to Jason E. Nichols of Lansing the bird formerly nested in
this vicinity, but, although it is common now during autumn, winter and
spring, it has not been noted here in summer during the past seventeen
years. Mr. B. H. Swales states that it appears at Detroit usually in early
September, sometimes during the latter part of August, remaining until
November, and becomes abundant again in early March, remaining until
about the 10th of May. He also says that it is occasionally seen in winter.
Dr. Gibbs states that it is a species which "wanders about after its nesting
duties are over, and may be found from September to December, and again
from March 15 to May 1, in any part of the state, but in no case with
certainty."
The fact that its numbers vary greatly in different years has been noted
by numerous observers, and the species appears to be one of the most vari-
able in numbers of any bird which we have. Occasionally it is really num-
erous for a short time in the fall, while in other years scarcely an individual
will be seen, and an entire winter may pass without a single one being
noted. On the other hand, a few linger all winter even at the far north.
Mr. F. H. Chapin reports it a common winter resident in Mackinac, Alger
and Luce counties, and Mr. Wilbur H. Grant recorded it at Houghton,
Mich., in November 1904, and again the last week of January, and on Feb-
ruary 26, 1905, at the same place. Dr. Gibbs found it only a migrant in
Kalamazoo and Ottawa counties, but a summer resident in Montcalm
and Wexfoi'd counties. The records from the lighthouses include no
spring specimens, but Red-bellied Nuthatches were killed on Spectacle
Plate. LXVIII. Red-breasted Nuthatch.
Photographed from life by Lawrence J. Webster.
Courtesy of Bird Lore.
LAND BIRDS. 691
Reef Light, Lake Huron, August 19, 1889, August 28, 1895, September 16,
1888 and September 29, 1889.
During the southward migration, in September and October, this Httle
bird is often abundant among red cedars and the various pines and spruces,
from which it gathers the seeds in large numbers and stores them beneath
scales of bark, in crevices in tree trunks, and, as the writer has repeatedly
noticed, in the punctures made by the Sapsucker in various species of
trees. In several cases we have known one of these Nuthatches to spend
apparently his entire time for several days in succession in collecting seeds
from the cones of a pine tree and storing them in various hiding places in
the vicinity. During the winter one or more can usually be found on the
College campus visiting the bones and other food supplies put out for the
purpose of attracting birds.
Apparently much remains to be learned of the nesting habits of the
Red-breasted Nuthatch. It is reported as breeding commonly in all
the northern sections of the state wherever pine or other evergreens are
abundant, l)ut very few observers have actually seen, or at least recorded,
the nest. It does not seem to restrict itself so closely as does the White-
breast to the natural cavities of trees, but often, perhaps most often, makes
use of a deserted woodpecker's hole, in which it Iniilds a nest of soft
materials, much like that of the White-bellied Nuthatch, laying from
four to six or more eggs which are creamy white, speckled sparsely with
reddish brown, and average .59 by .46 inches.
Dr. W. H. Dunham reports finding a nest in Kalkaska county on Ma}'
17, 1899, placed in a hole in a maple stub, about thirty feet up and con-
taining four fresh eggs. He says that the opening to the nest was smeared
with pitch, especially on the lower side, and this appeal's to be a very
general habit of the species, and so far as we know is unique, no other
bird using pitch about its nest. No explanation of the presence of the
pitch is offered and the use, if it has one, is quite problematical. Since
the bird gets a very large part of its food from resinous trees, and especiall}'
from cones, its feet and beak might often be smeared with pitch, yet this
certainly would not account for its presence in such large quantities about
the nesting hole. Mr. Clias. E. Engles records the finding of a nest of
this species at Templeton, Mass., June 10, 1894, which contained three
fresh eggs of the Nuthatch and two young bii'ds, which in all probability
were White-bellied Swallows. No good explanation for this mingling
of families is given, but it is at least possible that the Nuthatch had ousted
the Swallow, added some eggs of her own and incidentally hatched some
of the Swallow's eggs. The date is unusually late, for this species is supposed
to nest c^uite early in the spring. Nests found June 2, on an island in
Penobscot Bay, Me., and another June 20, at Holden, Me., contained
eggs, and the openings to both nests were liberall)' coated with pitch. One
of these was in a white birch stub, and the other in a poplar stul) some t welve
feet from the ground. The hole in the latter case had "fir balsam one-
fourth of an inch thick for two inches below the hole, and then thinner,
and running down in long drops for twenty-one inches l)elow the hole.
The pitch extended one inch on either side and more than three inches
above the hole, in all more than could be heaped ujion a large tablespoon."
The food of this bird is presumably much like that of the White-bellied
Nuthatch, yet it seems to be much more fond of the seetls of cones, and
possibly does not consume as many insects. It is said to visit the ground
much less frequently, l)ut so far as otii- own observMlion goes there is little
002 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
difference; either species goes to the ground freely and hunts for food,
sometimes for several minutes at a time. The idea advanced by Sanderson
that the VVhite-belHed Nuthatch opens acorns, and perhaps other seeds,
mainly or entirely for the worms contained, is certainly not tenable in
regard to the present species and does not commend itself for either species
so far as our observation goes.
The note of the Red-bellied Nuthatch is often written "hank, hank,
hank," as for the White-bellied species, but in reality the notes are widely
different in pitch and in resonance; those of the Red-bellied Nuthatch
have been aptly likened to "a tiny tin trumpet," and the syllables "teng,
teng, teng" perhaps give some slight idea of the sound.
While the feeding habits of the two birds are quite similar, and l)oth
get a large amount of food from the boles and branches of large trees, the
present species is much oftener seen on the slender branches and among
the tufts of dead leaves which cling to the twigs through the winter, where
it undoubtedly collects many a choice morsel in the shape of hibernating
insects, ]iup?p and eggs.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Head above, from bill to nape, black; remainder of the upper parts clear
Ijluish gray, the wing-feathers more brownish; a white stripe from bill to nape over the
eye and a l^lack stripe through the eye from bill to side of neck; cliin white, shading into
pale reddish-brown, which becomes deeper on the breast, belly and particularly on the
sides, which it covers completely; middle tail-feathers bluish gray like the back, others
black, with white blotches, much as in the White-bellied Nuthatch. Tlie female is similar,
except that the black of the crown and nape is reijlaced by dark gray. The seasonal
changes are slight.
Length 4.10 to 4.7f> inches; wing 2.60 to 2.85; tail 1..W.
Family 70. PARID/E. Titmice, Chickadees.
The four Michigan species may be separated as follows:
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. With a conspicuous crest (Fig. 148). Tufted Titmouse. No. 312.
AA. Not crested. B, BB.
B. Top of head glossy black. C, CC.
C. Outer web of wing and tail feathers white edged. Black-capped
Chickadee. No. 313.
CC. Outer web of wing and tail feathers not white edged. Carolina
Chickadee. No. 314.
BB. Top of head clear brown. Hudsonian Chickadee. No. 315.
312. Tufted Titmouse. Baeolophus bicolor (Linn.). (731)
Synonyms: Tufted Tit, Tufted Chickadee, Crested Titmouse, Peto Bird. — Parus bicolor,
Linn., 1700, Wils., 1808, Aud., 1831. — Lophophanes bicolor, Bonap., IS.W, and many
others.
Figure 148.
The conspicuous crest (Hke the Blue Jay's), the gray upper parts, soiled
white underparts and rusty sides, combine to mark this species beyond
question.
LAND BIRDS.
693
Fig. 148.
Tufted Titmouse,
mounted specimen.
From photograpli of
(Original.)
Distribution.- — Eastern United States to the Plains, north to southern
New Jersey and southern Iowa; casual in southern New England. Resident
throughout its breeding range.
This interesting bird is confined to the southern part of the Lower
Peninsula and appears to be nowhere common even there. By far the
greater number of reports are
of winter specimens, and some
observers contend that the bird
is a migrant and occurs only in
spiing and fall, while the great
majority of observers have failed
to find the species at all. Con-
sidering all the facts that we have
been able to gather there would
seem to be no reason to suppose
that the bird migrates, but rather
that it occurs here and there,
singly or in pairs, and is resident
wherever found, but that it is very
irregularly distributed and by no
means always to be found in the
same place.
•«• Mr. Trombley of Petersburg has
found it in different seasons from
February 25 through the whole of
March and April and a large part of Ma}^ He also states that he found
it nesting at Petersburg in one instance. About Detroit Mr. Swales
has found it only in certain sections, as on Belle Isle in the Detroit River.
He says: "I firmly believe that the species breeds in limited numbers
on the Island, although I personally have not observed the bird there
later than the middle of May. June 24, 1905 Mr. Taverner heard one
whistling in a woods just north of Detroit, and on August 6 we heard the
bird in the same place and it was secured; another was seen August 27.
This pair without doubt bred in this locality." Dr. Atkins recorded it
but twice at Locke, a pair April 30, 1871, and a single specimen April 12,
1881. Jason E. Nichols of Lansing, has a specimen in his collection taken
in that vicinity, and the species has been observed repeatedly about the
Agricultural College, but not in any numbers. It is most often seen
during winter when occasionally one or two may be found with a troup
of Chickadees, Nuthatches and Kinglets as they come close about the
houses searching for food. The writer has also taken it once in August,
and T. L. Hankinson recorded one on the College campus September 20,
1896. During the past winter (1912), it was reported from Eaton Rapids,
Eaton county. It is recorded from Van Buren county by Dr. Gibbs who
states that a specimen was collected there by Mr. B. F. Syke.
A specimen was taken at Ann Arbor September 15, 1877, and three
specimens October 5, 1886 (Covert). "During the fall and winter of 1903,
the species appeared to be fairly common, as J. J. Ricks noted a flock at
Portage Lake, and it has been noted several times in the vicinitv of Ann
Arbor, on Dec. 13, 1900, Feb. 7 and 21, and March 13, 1904" (Wood ami
Tinker, Auk, XXVIT, 1910, 141). According to G. A. Stockwoll (Forest and
Stream, Vol. 8, page 261) it was plentiful in 1870 in Eaton and Barry counties.
G«JJ MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
The late Percy Selous observed a male at Greenville, Montcalm county,
February 23, 1900, but this was the only one recorded for that locality.
Mrs. Robert Campbell, of Jackson, noted two May 19, 1906. The species
is reported by one observer in Marquette county, 1901 to 1904, but it
seems probable that this record is based on a wrong identification; we
have no other record for the Upper Peninsula, and it is not known to occur
in Wisconsin except in the southern part of the state, and that very rarely.
In its habits it is much hke the common Chickadee, but shows many
l)cculiarities of its own. According to Nehrhng, in Missouri, "They
scramble about among the limbs with great agility and restlessness and
may be often seen hanging head downward on horizontal branches and
trunks of trees, whilst exploring with great thoroughness every crevice
of the bark for insects, their eggs and larva^. They also show a liking
for oily seeds, particularly those of hemp and the different species of small
wild sunflowers. At times they will not despise berries, though they eat
their seeds only. They also make occasional visits to meat which has
been hung out in the air to dry. * * * All its notes are very loud and
clear, ancl uttered with whistling reverberation. During the sunny winter
days it shouts with all its might: 'hee-dle-dee-dle-dee-dle-dee-dle,' and
this is particularly the case as the mating season approaches. * * *
Among other notes is a loud and querulous ' pe-to-pe-to-pe-to-pe-to-
day-tee-day-tee,' which is especially pleasing. * * * They are ex-
traordinarily inquisitive, even daring to come close to the observer."
The nest is always placed in a cavity of some kind, usually the natural
hollow of a tree or fence post, or a deserted woodpecker's hole. Occasion-
ally it nests in boxes provided for the purpose or for wrens and sw^allows.
The nest is built largely of w^ool, fur, hair, feathers and various soft cottony
substances and the eggs vary in number from five to eight, and average
.71 by .55 inches. They are similar to those of the other members of
the genus, being white, "sparingly speckled with reddish-brown. In the
southern states the bird rears two broods, but in Michigan it may rear
but one.
Mr. A. D. Tinker found a nest in an ash, elm and maple swamp near Ann
Arbor, May 24, 1908. It w^as located "in the dead, broken limb of a
stately elm some fifty or sixty feet from the ground. An old, abandoned
woodpecker's cavity had been appropriated and filled, as far as could be
ascertained by means of a glass, with dead grasses, etc." It was found by
watching a female which was collecting food (various insects) and taking
it to the young. The nest itself was inaccessible (Auk, XXV, 1908, 323).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Forehead black, entire remainder of upper i)ar(s, including wings and tail,
clear ash; a small white patch between the base of the upper mandible and the eye (lores);
tliroat, breast and belly grayish-white, often with a yellowish or brownish tinge; sides
chestnut; a noticeable "crest much as in the Blue Jay; bill and feet black.
Length 5.00 to G.50 inches; wing 3 to 3.50; tail 2.80 to 3.15. Sexes alike and seasonal
changes slight.
LAND BIRDS. 695
313. Black-capped Chickadee. Penthestes atricapillus atricapillus {Linn )
(735)
Synonyms: Common Chickadee, Eastern Chickadee, Bhick-capped Titmouse. —
Parus atricai)illus, Linn., 176G, and of most authors. — Poecile atricapillus, Coues 1868
— Parus palustris, Nutt., 1832. ' '
Top of head from bill to nape lustrous black, as are also the chin and
throat; sides of head and neck clear white; breast and belly whitish, the
sides and flanks buffy; back, wings and tail gray.
Distribution. — Eastern North America north of the Potomac and Ohio
Valleys.
Perhaps this is the best known arboreal bird of the entire state. Com-
mon summer and winter ahke, and particularly noticeable while the trees
are leafless and other birds are scarce, the fluffy little Chickadee comes
freely about dwellings even in towns and cities and is almost universally
recognized and protected. While it Avanders more or less after the nesting
season and very possibly migrates southward to some extent every winter,
yet it is one of those species commonly called resident through the year
and in any locality may always be found if looked for.
It is one of the species which does absolutely no harm so far as we know,
never attacking fruit or grain nor injuring any vegetable growth whatever.
It is possible, and even probable, that among the millions of insects and
insect eggs which it eats it does not always discriminate between useful
and harmful forms, but in the main its work as an insect eater is decidedly
beneficial, and, all things considered, the agriculturist has no better friend
among the birds.
Its habits are too well known to need extended notice. Every one is
familiar with its actions; hopping from twig to twig, clinging to the bark
of the trunk and large limbs of a tree, hanging head downward beneath a
branch or swinging on the end of a pine cone, always prying into the cracks
and crevices of bark, bud and leaf and extracting the tiny insects or the
tinier eggs which are a constant threat to the welfare of orchard, park and
grove.
Numerous critical studies of its food have been made, some of them
involving the destruction of many Chickadee lives in order that the
stomach contents might be carefully determined. The results of these
studies are surprisingly uniform. Even during winter at least half the
Chickadee's food consists of insects and their eggs, and we have no bird
which eats so many insect eggs summer or winter as this bird. In studies
made a,t the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station during
winter it was found that the eggs of plant-lice made up more than one-
fifth of the food, and apparently the only possible harm done was the
consumption of a compai'atively small number of spiders and their eggs,
these forming perhaps 5 percent of the entire stomach contents. It was
shown that often more than 450 eggs of plant-lice were eaten by a single
Cliickadee in the course of a day. Among other eggs found were those of
the tent-caterpillar and the fall canker-worm, while larvae of the codling
moth and bark beetles of the family scolytida? were eaten freely.
Under the author's direction, Mr. E. D. Sanderson examined the stomachs
of twenty-eight Michigan Chickadees, nineteen in winter and nine in spi-ing.
oyo MICHIGAN IJIRD LIFE.
and has recorded among tlie results some very interesting facts (Auk,
XV, 145-155). He found that less than 40 percent of the food was vege-
table, the remainder consisting of insects, while the stomachs of nine birds
taken in spring contained nothing but insects. Among the seeds seaten
were a few bits of oats, a single seed of the bitter-weed (Ambrosia) and
a few other bits of vegetable matter. Eggs of bugs (hemiptera), together
with some' adults, formed by far the greater part of the winter food, with
beetles and lepidoptera next. In the spring adult beetles and adult lepid-
optera were more important. The number of plant-louse eggs was not
so noticeable as we should have expected, but in four stomachs the scales
of the oyster-shell bark-louse were found, the total number of scales being
77, each of which had probably covered fifty or seventy-five eggs.
In this connection we might add that twice during the spring of 1906
the writer observed the Chickadee eating scale insects, once the elm scale
(Chionaspis americanus) and again a species of Lecanium which is common
on the basswood. In both cases the Chickadee was so intent upon his
work that he refused to leave until approached within arm's length, and
then returned to finish his meal as soon as the intruder withdrew. It is
more than prol)able that it eats to a greater or less extent all the common
scale insects which occur on our forest trees and fruit trees, and Mr. E.
H. Forbush, State Ornithologist of Massachusetts, has demonstrated by
actual experiments that fruit trees to which the Chickadees are baited in
winter are never attacked to any serious extent by the canker-worm,
tent caterpillar, or other fruit tree pests which may ravage orchards in
the immediate vicinity. By hanging up bones to which a little meat
adheres, and here and there a bit of suet or fat fresh pork, these little l)irds
may be attracted to any orchard during the cold weather and will come
day after day for months, not only feasting upon the food so provided,
l)ut in the intervals gleaning from the branches and twigs of surrounding
trees every insect and egg hidden there.
Normally the Chickadee nests in deserted woodpecker holes, cavities
in decayed limbs or rails, or similar hollows in fence posts, but in many
cases it has been induced to accept artificial nesting places, and occasionally
it occu2)ies bird boxes intended for wa-ens or Bluebirds. With a little
forethought and care anyone might persuade the Chickadee to nest in
his own orchard or garden, and by judicious feeding in winter might do
much to protect his trees and shrubbery from some of the more serious
insect pests. Frequently it digs the hole for its own nest, choosing a
partly decayed stub or branch and pecking out the hole much as a wood-
pecker does, but with infinitely more pains and patience. It is not able
to excavate sound wood, but in wood which is just beginning to decay it
often makes a very neat hole, which serves for a year or two. In the bot-
tom of the hole it builds a very compact and nicely felted nest of fur of
various kinds, feathers, moss, and cottony plant fibres, and lays from six
to ton nearly white, brown-spotted eggs, which average .60 by .47 inches.
The eggs are usually laid, in the southern part of the state, during the
first half of May, and from one to three weeks later in the northern sections.
The Chickadee is often said to rear two broods, but we have no data which
warrant such an assertion. The bird escapes many of the enemies which
pillage the nests of other species, but it must meet with misfortune occasion-
ally and in such cases a second nest may ])e prepared and another attempt
be made to raise a brood.
LAND BIRDS. 697
The ordinary call-note of the Chickadee is well expressed by the syllables
composing its name, the song being commonly written chickadee-dee-
dee-clee, dee-dee-dee, the number of syllables being very variable. Occa-
sionally it utters a series of twittering or almost warbhng notes, but these
are seldom loud, and hardly long enough continued to constitute a song. A
more characteristic song, if it may be called such, is a clear, liquid, pene-
trating whistle, consisting of but two notes which suggest the syllables
pee-wee, the. second note being a tone or a half tone lower than the first.
This peculiar note is uttered more or less at all times of the year, but much
more often between January first and June first. It is often spoken of
as the "pewee call" of the Chickadee, and has been regarded by many
as its nesting song or the note pecuhar to the breeding season. As a matter
of fact it is uttered most freely and persistently on clear cold mornings in
earliest spring, in February and March, long before the birds have begun
preparing their nests, and so far as can be observed, before they have
even chosen their mates. This call is often mistaken by the beginner for
the note of the Phncbe or Pewee, and many observers have recorded the
arrival of the Pewee at northern stations earlj^ in March or even in February,
when in reality the note heard belonged to the Chickadee.
Except during the nesting season Chickadees are almost always found
in little family parties of eight or ten, these occasionally uniting with
similar parties so that thirty or forty may be found scattered through
the woods within hearing of each other. With such a party are often
found one or two Downy Woodpeckers, a pair or two of White-breasted
Nuthatches, from two to six Golden-crowned Kinglets (particularly if there
are many evergreens in the vicinity) , and occasionally a Brown Creeper, a
Red-bellied Nuthatch and a Hairy Woodpecker. Such a troup of winter
birds roam leisurely through the woods and orchards in search of food,
prol)ably keeping together almost the entire day and undoubtedly deriving
much satisfaction from each other's company.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Entire upper surface of head, from bill to nape, black; sides of head and neck
white; chin and throat black; back, wings and tail clear gray or ash, the wings with an
indistinct whitish bar, and most of the wing and tail-feathers white-margined on tlie
outer web; breast and belly white or grayish-white, the sides more or less tinged with
brown or buff. Sexes alike, and no great difference between winter and summer plumages.
Length 4.75 to 5.75 inches; wing 2.50 to 2.75; tail 2.50 to 2.70.
314. Carolina Chickadee. Penthestes carolinensis carolinensis (And.).
(736)
Synonyms: Southern Chickadee. — Parus carolinensis, Aud., 1S.'54, and of most other
authors. — Parus atricapillus var. carolinensis, Coues, 187:^, and others.
According to Ridgway this species may he readily distinguished from
the common Black-capped Chickadee "1)}' the moi'e solitl and extensive
bhick on the throat; by the absence of distinct white edgings on the wing
and tail-feathers, and by the tail being decidedly shorter than the wing.
]3istribution. — Southeastern states, north to New Jersey, Illinois, and
west to Missoui'i.
698 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
In summer this is the common Chickadee of southern Ilhnois and Indiana,
and even in the northern parts of these states it is found occasionally
mingled with the northern form, atricapillus. It doubtless occurs in
Michigan with more or less regularity, but mainly or entirely along the
southern border of the state. According to Dr. Gibbs, Dr. Atkins of
Locke, Ingham county, met with this species in that vicinity at least
once, but no specimen appears to have been preserved, and we do not
know who was the authority for its identification. Mr. B. H. Swales
took a specimen July 17, 1899, in a small woodland in Ecorse township,
Wayne county, Mich., which he believes to be the first bird of the species
taken in the state (Auk, XXIII, 1906, 342). G. A. Stockwell's Forest
and Stream list includes this species, but we do not know on what authority.
Dr. Miles also included it in his hst (1860).
Probably this species will be found at rare intervals in summer through-
out the southern tier of counties, but in its general habits, note, nesting
and food it is so nearly identical with the common Chickadee that it is
almost sure to escape recognition except by the trained observer who is
familiar with the bird in the south, or by the collector who kills every
specimen about which he has any doubt.
Nehrling states that in the south (Texas), where he has studied this
species, "The bird seems to prefer (for nesting places) hollow horizontal
boughs, with the orifice on one side or beneath; but if these cannot be
found the bird is satisfied with any cavity, provided its opening is not too
large. The nest always consists of a mass of very soft substances, such
as moss, fine bark strips, cotton, and especially hair and pieces of rabbits'
fur." The eggs average .57 by .45 inches, and except in size are not dis-
tinguishable from those of the Black-capped Chickadee.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Head without crest, its top and the throat black; no white superciliary streak; sides
and flanks light brownish.
"Adult: Wing .20 inch longer than tail; tertials and greater wing-coverts without
distinct whitish edgings; black of throat with an abruptly defined posterior border. Above
uniform grayish; beneath white medially, light buffy brownish laterally (paler in summer);
length 4.2r) to 4.60 inches; wing 2.40 to 2.60; tail 2.10 to 2.50" (Ridgw^ay).
315. Hudsonian Chickadee. Penthestes hudsonicus hudsonicus (Foes/.).
(740)
Synonyms: Hudsonian Titmouse, Hudson Bay Chickadee, Hudson Bay Titmouse. —
Parus hudsonicus, Forst., 1772, and most authors. — Parus hudsonicus stoneyi, A. O. U.
Committee. 1889.
Figure 14<9.
Similar in size and general coloration to the common Chickadee, but
the top of the head clear brown instead of black, and the stripe on the
side of the head pure white only in front, decidedly ash-gray on the neck.
Distribution. — Northern North America, from the more elevated parts
of the northern United States (northern New England, northern New
York, northern Michigan, etc.) northward.
The Hudsonian Chickadee must be counted as a rare bird in Michigan,
The older writers reported it as common in the Upper Peninsula, but
LAND BIRDS.
699
1^'
Fi" 149. Hudsonian Chickadee. From Coues' Key to North
"' American Birds, 5th Edition, 1903. Dana Estes & Co.
more recent observers
have failed to verify this
statement. Cabot's hst
of 1850 includes it, and
G. A. Stock well, in his
Forest and Stream notes
on Michigan birds, says:
"Found abundantly in
the Upper Peninsula
and around Mackinac;
rarer in the Lower
Peninsula; occasionally
seen in St. Clair and
Lapeer counties; possi-
bly further south" (F.
& S., Vol. 8, No. 17, p.
261). This is entirely
contrary to our own
experience, and very few
of our observers or cor-
respondents have reported it in recent years. Mr. O. B. Warren of Palmer,
Marquette county, in 1898 wrote "Am doubtful of any authentic record
of this bird's capture, as the ground has been worked over where this
bird was formerly reported, and since it is a resident where generally
found, I think it highly improbable that it ever wandered to Michigan.
Kumlien and Hollister state that it is a rare winter visitant in southern
Wisconsin, and that Dr. H. V. Ogden of Milwaukee "saw several and shot
one in Iron county (Michigan), but unfortunately did not preserve the
skins" (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 125). In response to a request for further
information Mr. N. Hollister wrote, February 7, 1905: "Regarding this
species there can be no doubt of its occurrence in Michigan. I have seen
it myself in Vilas county. Wis., near the Michigan line, and Dr. Ogden
of Milwaukee has taken it since, he tells me, in the northern tier of counties
(Wis.), and now has a specimen or specimens."
More positive testimony comes from Mr. E. A. Doolittle of Painesville,
Ohio, who states that he found a pair in a tamarack swamp near Negaunce,
Marquette county, Michigan, in June 1905, and is positive that the birds
had a nest or young in the immediate vicinity. In 1906 Mr. Walter C.
Wood, of Detroit, spent the time from November 10 to December 5 on
the Cheneaux Islands in northern Lake Huron, off the shore of Mackinac
county, and during this time took several specimens of the Hudsonian
Chickadee, which were preserved for his collection. He says: "They
appeared with the first heavy snowfall, November 25, when a
seen. They became very common by the 28th, and Captain
forms me that they arc the most abundant winter ])ird and very tame,
in fact more so than atricapilUis, ami more ojften^come about Jhe hoii_sc
specimen or tnis oirci irom mv. rj. r..jMt-uster,
of Iron Mountain, Dickinson county, which was taken in the immediate
vicinity. This gives us three positive records for as many different counties,
all in the Upper Peninsula.
Apparently there is no reason why this species should not occur regularly
in the spruce and hemlock forests of the northern parts of the state, since
few were
Pollock in-
III llll b IIIDIU »U lliail U,LI IVUlJllllV-^, dim iiiwiv^ lyiiv^Ax vv^.^.vy . ^"~
and feed from the door-step (Wilson Bulletin, No. 58, March,^ 1907, p. 2
In March 1909 we received a specimen of this bird from INIr. E. E.Brewst
700 MICHIGAN PJRD LIFR.
it certainly occurs in similar latitudes in Ontario, Maine and New Brunswick,
but the fact that numerous good observers have failed to find it at all
in such situations or elsewhere in Michigan seems to i^rove conclusively
that it is not generally distributed. The writer has spent some time in
two different years in the Upper Peninsula, near Marquette, about Munising,
at Grand Marais, Alger county, at Sault Ste. Marie and in Mackinac
county, but in spite of careful search for the bird was unable to find a
single specimen. These visits, however, were both in late summer. Mr.
T. L. Hankinson, who spent several weeks in Houghton county in August
1905 says: "I looked constantly for the Hudsonian Chickadee, but did
not fincl any, although I was near enough to a good many Chickadees
to see the color of the crown, which in all cases was black." This species
is not mentioned in the manuscript report of Mr. E. A. Doolittle, who
spent several weeks on Grand Island, Lake Superior, in the summer of
1906.
Mr. Outran! Bangs, writing of this bird at Digby, Nova Scotia says:
"Here the Hudsonian Chickadee is rather hard to shoot * * * keep-
ing almost exclusively in the thick second growth spruce and fir woods,
but in a day's walk through their favorite haunts I never failed to see less
than 25 or 50, and often many times that number. In October and Novem-
ber they are in large loose flocks in company with the Common Chickadee
and the Golden-crowned Kinglet, and often the spruce woods seem fairly
alive with these birds, always in motion, always passing on and on through
the spruces so fast that it is impossible to keep up with them. Often
while walking through these dense forests of evergreens, suddenly as if by
magic the trees about one become alive with these three species, their cheer-
ful notes sounding from every branch, and the next moment as suddenly as
they came, thej^ will disappear again and leave the forest still and gloomy
as before. * * * jn August and September 1880 my brother, E. H.
Bangs, was camped on the Restigouche River, N. B., and found the
Hudsonian Chickadee quite abundant all along the river. He got a good
series of them without difficulty."
Dr. C. W. Townsend, who studied this species somewhat carefully on
Cape Breton Island in August and September, 1905, speaks as follows of
the song: ''It is as easy to distinguish this bird by its notes from the
familiar Black-capped Chickadee, as by its plumage. * * * Both
chickadees have a variety of faint notes that are very much alike, but
there is one characteristic in most of the notes of the Hudsonian which
at once distinguishes it from the Black-cap, and that is the z quality, de-
livered in a lower pitch. In a word, the Hudsonian uses z while the Black-
cap uses s or d. The former says pst zee-zee or less often pst zee-zee-zee,
while the latter repeats more frequently, and rattles off, psik, a dee-dee-
dee-dee-dee, and his notes are higher pitched. Several times in different
places I was treated to a pleasant little warble from the Hudsonian
Chickadee, which appeared to my companion and myself to easily merit
the name of song. It was a low, bubbling, war1)ling song, which I vainly
tried to describe in my notes. It began with a jiHtt or tsee, followed by
a sweet but short wai'ble * * * quite different from the irregular
rolling notes that the lilack-cap occasionallv emits" (Auk, XXIII, 1906,
178).
The nesting habits of this bird appear to be quite similar to those of
the Black-capped Chickadee, the nest being placed in a deserted wood-
jiecker hole, or a hollow dug out of the decayed wood by the l)ird itself.
LAND BIRDS. 701
and the nest built mainly of fur of various quadrupeds, particularly rabbits
and mice. The eggs are six to eight, similar to those of the common
Chickadee and average .58 by .50 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Very similar in size and color to the Common Chickadee but with the upper
surface of the head, from l)ill to nape, dark brown, or brownish gray instead of black;
the feathers of wings and tail slightly, if at all, edged with white; sides of the belly also
more distinctly brown or rufous.
Length 5 to 5.75 inches; wing 2.35 to 2.70; tail 2.30 to 2.80.
Family 72. SYLVllD.E. Kinglets and Gnatcatchers.
The three species of this family which are found in Michigan are, next
to the hummingl)ird, our smallest and daintiest examples of feathered life.
The two species of kinglet and the single gnatcatcher may be separated
as follows:
A. Middle tail-feathers l)lack, lateral tail-feathers largely pure white.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. No. 318.
AA. Tail without any clear black or white. B, BB.
B. Crown with bright yellow, or orange, or both. C, CC.
C. Crown with a central patch of yellow or yellow and orange,
with a clear black border on each side. Golden-crowned
Kinglet (adult). No. 316.
CC. Crown with a central patch of scarlet, but with no black.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (adult male). No. 317.
BB. Crown without any bright patch. U, DD.
D. Each nostril overhung by a single small bristly feather. Golden-
crowned Kinglet (young). No. 316.
DD. Each nostril overhung by a tuft of small, bristly feathers.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (adult female and young). No. 317.
316. Golden-crowned Kinglet. Regulus satrapa satrapa Lichl. (748)
Synonyms: (iolden-crested Kinglet, Golden-crowned Wren, Flame-crest. — Remilus
cristatus, Vieill., 1807, Nutt., 1832, Aud., 1834.— Sylvia regulus, Wils., 1808.— Regulus
satrapa, Licht., 1823, and most subsequent authors.
Figure 150.
One of our tiniest birds, only about four inches in length, and the adult
known at once by the general olive-green upper parts and whitish under
parts, the crown mainly yellow, in the center of which, in the male, is
a stripe or patch of flame-color (orange red). The female lacks this orange,
the crown being clear yellow, and in both sexes the yellow is bordered by
bhick lines. Young birds lack the bright crown, Init may be identified
by the small size and the other points already noted.
Distribution. — North America generally, breeding in the northern and
elevated parts of the United States and northward, migrating south in
winter to Guatemala.
702 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
This is one of the most restless of our birds, tis well as one of the smallest,
and is sure to attract attention from its manner of flitting (piickly about
among the foliage, often hovering suspended in the air ^,h--=^
at the tip of a branch or beneath a pine cone, from Zi*ipL^\
which it picks out some minute insect and then darts -«^, „,,@|^ \^^C
away to devour it. It is rarely seen during midsummer, VX-.^C^^^^'
in most parts of the state, but is abundant during the f, o>\^-^^*^^^^"^"'
spring and fall migrations and a considerable number 1
commonly linger through the entire winter in regions Fjfr. 150. ooi den-
where evergreens are fairly abundant. We have never From" HoSinn^s
known a winter when this species was not present on Gu^e. Houghton,
the campus of the Agricultural College, and sometimes ^' '" ^-^^'
a half dozen or more may be found in company with chickadees, nut-
hatches and w^oodpeckers.
We have never heard it sing, but it has a high, almost piercing call of
four or five notes which it utters very frequently, and which is characteristic,
but difficult to describe. Owing to its presence all winter in favorable
localities the exact date of spring arrival is difficult to determine, but
there is a marked increase in numbers about the first of April, and some-
times for a few days the birds are present in companies of twenty or thirty,
though never in compact flocks. Mr. B. H. Swales says: "March and
April are the months of its greatest abundance near Detroit and it seldom
remains later than May third." He also states that it arrives from the
north late in September, remaining until November first, and that it is
a irregular winter resident. A specimen was killed on Spectacle Reef
Light, Lake Huron, April 12, 1890, and specimens were killed on the same
light October 1, 1890, October 2, 1887, October 5, 1889 and October 5
and 6, 1890; one was killed on Big Sable Light, Lake Superior, October
1, 1894.
The Golden-crowned Kinglet is a summer resident in a considerable
part of northern Michigan, but apparently is nowhere abundant at that
season. S. E. White states that at Mackinac Island it was "a common
summer resident among the evergreens" in 1889, 1890 and 1891; and the
University of Michigan expedition found it common in the forests of the
Porcupine Mountains, Ontonagon county, in the summer of 1904. Accord-
ing to Mr. N. A. Wood "young in the down were taken July 2, 1904, and
it was abundant among the hemlocks in flocks, both young and adults,
from July 13 to August 12. It has been reported as not uncommon during
the nesting season in several places in the Upper Peninsula, and there can
be little doubt that it nests in favorable places not only in the Upper
Peninsula but in the higher parts of the Lower Peninsula, wherever pines,
spruces and hemlocks are abundant.
Our only actual records of nesting however are those secured by the
University of Michigan Expedition to Isle Royale, in 1905. Mr. Max
M. Peet records the observations as follows: "Very common throughout
the island, usually in small flocks of 15 to 20. They were never shy and
their song was one of the most common sounds of the forest. July 6 a
pair was seen with food in their mouths and gave every indication that
they had young near. July 7 a pair Avas seen building a nest in a tall
spruce. The birds were gathering the moss from the ground for nesting
material. The nest was placed about twenty-five feet from the ground
and was composed of green mosses partially lined with a white down-like
substance. The site chosen was near the top of a small rocky hill where
LAND BIRDS. 703
the forest was not very dense. The nest was nearly finished and was
suspended from two hmbs near the trunk of the tree. When next ex-
amined, July 21, it contained eight eggs. It was now composed of green
ground moss, together with the long gray strands of the tree lichen, and
was lined with fur from the Northern Hare. Its dimensions were four
inches deep, and four inches in diameter, with a circular opening one and
one-half inches in diameter. In the balsam-spruce forest near camp we
found a nest containing six young August 10. The structure was placed
about thirty feet from the ground and five feet from the top of a tall,
slender spruce. Both parents were carr3dng small moths and other insects
to the young. This was a late nest, as young Kinglets had been seen early
in July. The nest was suspended from a couple of small limbs, was com-
posed of gray lichen and green moss, lined with Northern Hare fur, and
was considerably larger than the nest previously described, the outside
depth being about six inches" (Adams, Rep. Mich. Geol. Surv., 1908, p.
383).
Kumlien and Hollister state that "The Golden-crowned Kinglet breeds
along the south shore of Lake Superior in Ontonagon county, Michigan"
(Birds of Wisconsin, p. 125), but we are informed by Mr. Hollister that
this statement is based solely on the statements of the late Professor
Kumlien, and no specific instance is recorded. Mr. William Brewster
found the species nesting in Worcester county, Mass., in June 1888, and
secured three nests, two of which contained nine eggs each. These nests
were placed on or in the horizontal branches of spruces, 50 or 60 feet from
the ground, and not far from the tops of the trees. They were composed
of green mosses and grayish lichens, lined with delicate strips of inner
bark and fine black rootlets, to which were added numerous feathers of
the Ruffed Grouse, Hermit Thrush, Oven-bird and others. The nests
were open at the top, but deeply hollowed and so over-arched by feathers
about the rim of the nest as to almost conceal the eggs.
These were cream-colored, thinly sprinkled, or speckled with markings of
pale brown and lavender, over the entire surface but most thickly at the
larger ends of the eggs, the markings so pale, however, that some of the eggs
appeared to be unspotted. They average about .56 by .45 inches. Mr.
Brewster states that "in both nests the eggs, too numerous to find sufficient
space for their accommodation in the bottom of the nest, were piled in
two layers one above the other. In the second nest there were five eggs
in the lower and four in the upper layer. In the first nest the number
of eggs in the two layers was not noted" (Auk, Vol. V, 1888, p. 341). Mr.
Brewster describes the song as follows: "The song begins with a succes-
sion of five or six fine, shrill, high-pitched, somewhat faltering notes,
and ends with a short, rapid, rather explosive warble. The opening notes
are given in a rising key, but the song falls rapidly at the end. The whole
may be expressed as follows: tzee, tzee, tzee, tzee, ti, ti, ter, ti, ti, ti, ti"
(Auk, V, 1888, 343).
The food of this bird consists almost entirely of insects and their eggs,
and it cannot be doubted that it is decidedly beneficial to the farmer and
fruit grower. It is often seen eating plant-lice and is a common bird
in the orchards during migration, on such occasions spending much time
about the opening buds and among the terminal twigs where it collects
large quantities of harmful insects.
704 MICIIIC.AN BIRD LIFE.
TECH NICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Most of the upper parts olive or grayish olive, brighter on the rump;
ci-owu with a central patch or stripe of brilliant flame-color, or orange, on either side of
wliich is a stripe of dear bright yellow, bounded on the outside by a stripe of black; a
white line over the eye; two white wing bars, and most of the wing and tail-feathers edged
with yellowish white; imder ])arts vmiform grayish white. The adult female is almost
precisely similar, excei)t that the bright crown patch is yellow witliout the central orange
stripe. The young of the year show neither yellow nor red on the crown, and often little
or no trace of the black strijjes.
Length 3.15 to -1.50 niches; wing 2.10 to 2.25; tail, l.tiO to 2.
317. Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Regulus calendula calendula (Liini.). (749)
Synonyms: Ruby-crowned Wren, Ruby-crown. — Motacilla calendula, Linn., 1700,
and most authors. — Sylvia calendula, Wils., 1808.
Similar to the Golden-crowned Kinglet except for the crown, which in
the adult male is plain olive-green with a dash of ruby-red or scarlet vermil-
ion, without any stripes of black or white. Young birds and adult females
have the crown plain and can be separated from young Golden-crowns
only by the expert.
Distribution. — North America, south to Guatemala, north to the Arctic
coast, breeding chiefly north of the United States, and in the Rocky
Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and the mountains of Arizona.
This beautiful little Kinglet is universally distributed throughout the
state as a spring and autumn migrant, but probably is not found within
our limits during the nesting season. It differs from the Golden-crowned
Kinglet in that it appears to be strictly a migrant, not even a single in-
dividual lingering here through the winter. It arrives from the south
in April and may linger for several weeks, departing for the north by the
middle of May and returning in September and October. Before the
first of November the last seem to have moved south. The only spring
record from a lighthouse is that of an individual killed on Spectacle Reef
Light May 5, 1889. One struck Big Sable Light, Lake Superior, October
7, 1893 and one Ft. Aux Barques Light, Lake Huron, October 17, 1890.
It appears to be much more common in spring than in fall, yet this is
probably due to the fact that it is much more musical in spring and its
movements cover a shorter time so that the birds are concentrated and
more conspicuous.
The ordinary note while migrating is a high pitched ''tsee" repeated
two or three times, but frequently the bird utters snatches of its summer
song, which is a rich, varied warble, interspersed with clear whistles, the
whole being remarkably loud for so small a bird. It frequently appears
in considerable numbers late in April, and not infrequently twenty or
thirty individuals may be found in company flitting restlessly about among
the bare twigs, calling loudly to each other and moving rapidly from tree
to tree. At this time, as always, they are feeding exclusively on insects
and their eggs and thus doing an immense amount of good.
The species is not readily distinguished from the other Kinglet unless
it happens to hang head downward or expose the ruby color of the crown.
In the autumn the two species sometimes occur together and then birds
of the year are practically indistinguishable.
The nest and eggs of the Rul)y-crowned Kinglet are not separable with
certainty from those of the Golden-crown, but while the latter bird in all
LAND BIRDS. 705
probability nests frequently in northern Michigan, the present species
usually passes north of our limits and we have little reason to believe that
it ever nests in this state. Several observers report it as a summer resident,
and Mr. S. E. White states that he found a nest with four newly fledged
young on Mackinac Island July 20, 1889; it seems quite probable however,
that the nest found was that of the Golden-crown. The nests found in
Colorado and Montana are described as very bulky, half pendant, and
composed of mosses, bark strips, feathers, fur and similar soft materials,
and placed near the ends of pine or spruce branches at some little height
from the ground. The eggs are said to be eight or ten in number, of a
dirty cream color, more or less spotted, but the spots quite faint, as in the
case of the Golden-crowned Kinglet. The eggs average .55 by .43 inches.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: TT{)per parts grayish olive, with a yellowish tinge on the rump; crown with
a small patch of bright red; under parts yellowish or grayish wiiite; two light (yellowish
white) wing-bars and wing and tail-feathers usually edged with yellowish. The adult
female and the young of the year are similar except that they lack the red patch on the
crown.
Length 3.75 to 4.60 inches: wing 2.20 to 2.30; tail 1.85 to 1.90.
318. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Polioptila caerulea caerulea {Linn.). (751)
Synonyms: Gnatcatcher, Common Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray Flycatcher. — Motacilla
cierulea, Linn., 1766. — Muscicapa caerulea, Wils., 1810. — Culicivora ca?rulea, Jardine,
1832. — Polioptila caerulea of most authors.
Another tiny species, rivaling the kinglets in daintiness. The upper
parts are clear bluish-gray, deepest on the head, lightest on the rump,
the under parts almost white, merely tinted with bluish. IMiddle tail-
feathers black, outer two pairs mostly white. The male has a narrow
black line across the forehead and over each eye, which the female lacks.
Distribution. — Middle and southern portions of eastern United States,
south in winter to Guatemala, Cuba and the Bahamas; rarely north to
the Great Lakes, southern New York and southern New England, acci-
dentally north to Massachusetts and Maine. Breeds throughout its
United States range, and winters from the South Atlantic and Gulf States
southward.
This bird is a summer resident of southern Michigan, and, during some
years and in some places, is fairly abundant; during other years hardly
seen at all. As a rule it seems to be confined to the three southernmost
tiers of countxbs, yet it is not uncommon about Grand Rapids, has been
reported from the neighl)orhood of Port Huron, St. Clair county, and there
are several records from points still farther north. Wood .& Frothingham
record it seen in Crawford county, August 10, 1003, and Mr. S. E. White
shot one and saw another on Mackinac Island September 22, 1889. This
species appears never to have been killed at any Michigan Lighthouse.
In Ontario, according to McTlwraith, the Gnatcatcher is limited to the
southwest border, north of which it has never been observed ; and in Wiscon-
sin, according to Kumlien k Hollister, it is common only in the southern
tier of counties, except "along Lake Michigan, where it is found in few
numbers as far north as Mani^towoc county" (about 44°).
It arrives from the south late in April, the earliest date at Ann Arbor
in twenty-five years being given as April 4, 1895, and the average time
89
706 MICHIC.AN lURI) LIFE.
of ai-riviil us the fourth week in April (N. A. Wood). At Petersburg,
Monroe county, Mr. Trombley's earliest record was April 15, 1898, and
the average time of arrival about April 24. In Ingham county it is rarely
seen before the last two or three days of April and many times has not
been noticed before the 6th or 7th of May. The southward migration
doubtless begins in August and is completed in 8epteml;)er, few being seen
after the middle of that month.
While with us it shows a decided preference for the higher parts of large
trees, and is especially partial to white oaks, in which the nest is most
often built; however, it frequently descends to the lower branches of
the trees and may sometimes be found in shrubbery, but rarely on the
ground. It is extremely restless and active, moving from branch to branch
with a quick jerky flight, keeping the wings half spread, the tail often
elevated and in motion, while it utters a variety of high-pitched, squeaky
and wheezy, notes which are highly characteristic, but not loud enough to
be heard at any great distance. IDuring the nesting season, and occasion-
ally at other times, the bird utters a very sweet warble which Coues de-
scribes as, "a sweet and tender song, so low as to be inaudible at any
considerable distance, yet so faultlessly executed and well sustained that
the tiny musician may claim no mean rank in the feathered choir."
Nehrling says "The song bears some resemblance to the Catbird's but
is of course much lower and softer, not perceptible at a distance."
The nest is begun very soon after the birds arrive on the nesting grounds.
In one instance we found a pair building a nest near the Agricultural
College, Ingham county, on May 8 (1897), but this is unusually early,
although Dr. Gibbs took a set of four eggs in Kalamazoo county May 5,
1877. As a rule nests with eggs are most often found during the last week
in May and the first w^eek in June, and there seems to be no reason to
suppose that a second brood is reared.
The nest is one of the most beautiful built by any bird, being composed
of various soft vegetable downs, largely from the milkweed and thistle
but bound together by spiders' webs and i)ossibly l)y the birds' saliva,
and the outside completely covered with bits of moss and lichens in the
manner of the Hummingbird. It is almost invariably built on a horizontal
branch and at a considerable height from the ground, often forty or fifty
feet, but is occasionally placed in the fork of a branch, or more rarely
still in an upright fork near the top of the tree itself. It has an external
diameter of about two inches and usually a height of more than three,
and is so deeply hollowed that the female is able to conceal herself almost
completely, only the tip of the tail being visible when she is sitting.
The eggs are four to six, bluish or greenish-white, speckled with reddish
brown, and average .56 by .43 inches.
The food of this species appears to be much like that of the kinglets,
consisting entirely of insects and their larva?, pupa and eggs. Were it
an abundant bird it would be invaluable to the fruit grower, but its small
numbers, and the fact that it is never numerous in the orchards, somewhat
detract from its economic value. Dr. Gibbs says: "This is one of those
species which have seasons of special abundance and again are very rare.
It was very abundant from 1876 to 1881 and again from 1889 to 1893 in
Kalamazoo count^^ but it is now (1904) scarce here, and two of us have
only recorded three specimens in the last two seasons."
LAND BIRDS. 707
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adulf malu: lipper parts bluish-gniy, the top of the head lead-bhie, with a bhick
line in fi-ont and along both sides; under jiarts mainly white, sliaded with gray on the sides;
outer tail-feathers white. The adult female is similar, except that it lacks the black line
on the head.
Length 4 to 5.50 inches; wing 2 to 2.120; tail 2 to 2.20.
Family 73. TURDID/E. Thrushes, Bluebirds, etc.
A family of beautiful birds, including some of the most familiar biixls
of garden and orchard, as well as several delightful songsters not so well
known. The seven species which occur regularly in Michigan, together
with an eighth for which there is a single doid)tful recoi'd, may be separated
by means of the following artificial key. It should be remembered that
every member of the family has the first primary very short, never more
than one-fourth as long as the longest.
KEY TO SPECIES.
A. Under parts, at least the breast, with spots. B, BB,
B. Back with narrow whitish streaks or spots. C, CC.
C. Upper stirface of wings and tail tinged with blue. Bluebird
(young). No. 325.
CC. Upper surface of wings and tail without trace of blue. Robin
(yotmg). No. 324.
BB. Back without any whitish streaks or spots. 1), 1)1).
D. Color of upper surface uniform (I)rown) from head to tail.
E, EE.
E. Upper parts light (tawny) brown; chest tinged with
the same color and hghtly spotted. Wilson's Thrush.
Veery. No. 20.
EE. Upper parts dark (olive) brown; cliest heavilv si)otted.
F, FF.
F. Cheeks brown or bufTv. Olive-backed Thrush. No.
322.
FF. Checks gray. (Iray-cheeked Thi'ush. No. 321.
DD. Color of upper surface not uniform, (i, (J(i.
G. Head and ])ack uniform olive; tail deep rufous. Hermit
Thrush. No. 323.
(!G. Rump and tail olive, head bright ruft)us. Wood Thi'ush.
No. 319.
AA. Under parts not si)otted. H, 1111.
H. J^reast red-brown. 1, II.
I. Upper i)arts with moie oi- less blue. l>luebii'd (adult). No.
;;25.
II. rpper pai'ts without any trace of blue. .1, .1.1.
.J. Tail lai'gely white with a broad black band across its tij).
Wheatear. (Appendix.)
.1.1. Tail lai'gely blackish, only the two outer paii-s of feathers
with white near tip. Holiin (adult). No. 324.
1111. Breast white or merely tingeil with yellowish-biowu. Wheatear.
(Appendi.x.)
708 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
319. Wood Thrush. Hylocichla mustelina {Gmcl). (755)
Synonyms: Song Thrusli, Wood Robin, Bell Bird. — Turdus niustclinus, Gmel., 1789,
and most authors until 1880. — Hylocichla mustelina, Ridgw., 1880, and most recent
authors. — Turdus melodus, Wils., 1808.
Plate LXIX.
Largest of the small thrushes and the only one which is heavily spotted
on the sides as well as the breast with large round dark spots. In addition
the upper parts are reddish brown, brightest on the head and back, the
tail paler.
Distribution. — Eastern United States to the Plains, north to southern
Michigan, Ontario, and Massachusetts, south in winter to Guatemala
and Cuba. Breeds from Virginia, Kentucky and Kansas northward.
The Wood Thrush is an abundant summer resident of southern and
middle Michigan, but appears to be somewhat local in its distribution;
in some places it is entirely unknown, while half a dozen miles away it
may be abundant. As a rule it seems to prefer an uneven country, with
abrupt ridges and valleys, and it shows a decided preference for hardwoods
and the vicinity of small streams, being rarely found in the evergreen
forests and seldom in level regions. In spite of the fact that the bird is
generally considered a southern species, there is some evidence to show
that it occurs, at least occasionally, in nearly the whole of Michigan, being
absent entirely only from the northernmost parts of the Upper Peninsula.
Up to the parallel of 44° it may be considered a fairly common summer
resident in suitable locations, yet Mr. Newell A. Eddy, after many years
of careful observation in various parts of the Upper Peninsula, states
that he has never found it in that region. On the other hand. Dr. Gibbs
found it abundant in beech and maple woods about Howard City, Montcalm
county, in 1882 and 1883, Chanev records it from Mason county in 1909
(Auk,^ XXVII, 1910, 278), and Dr. R. H. Wolcott found it in summer
in Charlevoix county, though not in numbers. Wood & Frothingham
found it common in Oscoda county July 4 and 15, and a single one was
seen in Crawford county September 9. Mr. Stewart E. White states that
it was not present on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1889, but was a
common summer resident there in 1890 and 1891. Miss H. H. Wright
reports parent birds feeding young in Iosco county the last of June, 1907.
Mr. F. H. Chapin has seen it in Emmet, Cheboygan and Charlevoix counties
in August and September, while on the other hand Mr. Otto Widmann,
during a two week's residence in Emmet county in July, failed to find the
bird, and the writer, who spent June, July and August 1904 in Emmet
and Charlevoix counties, did not obtain the slightest evidence of its presence.
There is a single lighthouse record, a specimen having been killed on
Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, ]\Iay 21, 1885, and Brewster and Dwight
took specimens near Cadillac, Wexford county, and Oden, Emmet county,
in May 1888. Dr. W. H. Dunham states that in Kalkaska county he
has found several nests of this species every year, and says: "In fact, I
believe they breed here as abundantly as in Wayne county, Oakland
county or Ottawa county" (August 1906).
The records from the Upper Peninsula are less satisfactory, 3^et it seems
hardly possible that all observers who report this species can be entirely
PhitelLXIX. Wood Thrush.
Reprinted from Chapman's Bird Life.
By courtesy of D. Appleton & Co.
LAND BIRDS. 711
mistaken. Major Boies states that on Neebish Island, St. Mary's River,
it is occasionally seen during the summer and probably breeds. Kneeland
includes it in his list of the birds of Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior
(1856-57), and Miss Flora L. Mowbray of Marquette states that it is quite
common there and nests; she also states that Dr. Elliott R. Downing of
the State Normal School has found the bird in that vicinity. Mr. Thomas
B. Wyman of Negaunee, also states that it is a common summer resident
in hardwood lands in that vicinity. On the other hand, Mr. 0. B. Warren
of Palmer, Marquette county, who formerly recorded the species from
that region, states that it should not be included in his list. The writer
has spent considerable time on two different trips to various parts of the
Upper Peninsula east of Marquette, and in spite of most careful search
has failed to find this species. The Olive-back and Hermit Thrush were
heard and seen repeatedly, but the Wood Thrush never.
The bird usually reaches the southern border of Michigan during the
last week of April, Mr. Trombley's dates at Petersburg ranging from April
25, 1886 and April 22, 1891 to May 2, 1893 and May 5, 1897. At Ann
Arbor Norman A. W^ood gives the average for twenty-five years as the first
week in May, the earliest date being March 21, 1889, wdiich must be con-
sidered an exceptional date, if not actually a mistaken identification.
Farther north the W^ood Thrush appears during the first two weeks in
May, according to latitude, and probably by the 15th of May has reached
all parts of the state where it commonly nests. It does not always begin
to sing immediately upon arrival, but much depends upon the weather.
The song once heard is not likely to be mistaken for that of any other
bird except the Hermit Thrush, but according to the writer's experience
it is usuall}^ confounded with the song of that bird. Descriptions of the
song vary widely and are far from satisfactory. Most writers consider
it inferior to that of the Hermit Thrush, but there is room for a difference
of opinion on this point. Chapman says " W' hen excited his usual call-
note, pit-pit, is regularly repeated until it resembles the sound produced
by striking large pebbles together, quite unlike the whistled wheeu of the
V'eeiy. * * * -phe songs of the Wood and Hermit Thrushes are of
the same character, but while the Hermit is the more gifted performer
the Wood Thrush does not suffer by the comparison. His calm, restful
song rings through the woods like a hymn of praise, rising pure and clear
from a thankful heart." Nehrling says: "It loves the deep half-darkness
of the forest solitude with its peace and quietness. Here we can hear the
wonderful, harmonious, flute-like song from early dawn till evening twilight.
Were it not for hearing repeatedly the far-sounding, delightful colie hallalee
one would hardly know that this famous vocalist had returned home again.
Besides this common song-like call it utters a low tuck or tack and a quickly
reiterated tuck-tuck-tuck-tuck." According to Bicknell it has no second
song period, but sings well until near the end of July, then less often and
witli less vigor until August 6 to 15th, when the song ceases abruptly "
(Auk, I, 128).
The Wood Thrush moves southward during September, and although
a few may be found in October, the majority have left the state consider-
ably before the middle of that month.
Professor Forljes, summing up the results of his examination of the
stomachs of this bird in Illinois, says: "Eating nearly as many ants as
the Catbird, as many cateipillars as the Robin and Hermit Thrush, it
falls Ix'low all the other species in the I'atio of predaceous beetles, iiins
712 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
above them all in wire-worms and thousandlegs, but eats scarcely any
scavenger beetles. Only 19 percent of its food was fruit, and all but 7
percent of this was wild. It would apparently well repay generous en-
couragement."
We have no more beautiful songster or more lovable bird than this
in the state. Its song should commend it to the nature lover and its
food habits' to the agriculturist. It is not likely ever to become super-
abundant and there is reason to believe that it has been steadily decreasing
in numbers for the last two decades.
The nest of the Wood Thrush is placed commonly in the triple fork of
a small sapling, on the horizontal branch of a low tree, or in a tangled
mass of bushes and vines, usually four to twelve feet from the ground,
more rarely at a height of fifteen or twenty. It is built of sticks, leaves,
bark and mud, and almost invariably Hned more or less completely with
fine roots. Most writers state that the nest is held together with mud,
but in many cases this certainly is not true, the mud being merely an
inner shell or lining upon which the incomplete lining of roots is laid.
Many nests contain very few roots and we have frequently found the eggs
laid directly upon the mud or upon a little mat of roots at the bottom of
nest, the surrounding mud walls being entirely naked. Mr. James B.
Purdy of Plymouth has called our attention to the fact that in his vicinity
the "mud" used is entirely of vegetable origin, being in reality a pulp
made of partly decomposed forest leaves which are molded into shape
much as paper pulp is worked.
The eggs are almost invariably three or four, one about as often as
the other. They are of the same shade as the Robin's, greenish-blue,
unspotted, and not with certainty distinguishable from those of the Robin,
although they average somewhat smaller. Ridgwaj^ gives the average
as 1.04 by .72 inches. The nest is rarely hidden, and owing to its size
and lack of concealment is often robbed by Crows, Jays and boys, so that
the bird is sometimes compelled to build several nests, but there is no
reason to suppose that more than a single brood is reared in a season.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Tipper parts, including wings and tail, clear reddish-brown, reddest on
the head, most olive on the tail; under parts white, heavily spotted with black, the
throat and belly alone lacking spots. Sexes alike.
Length 7.5U to 8.25 inches; wing 4 to 4.50; tail 3 to 3.30.
320. Veery. Hylocichla fucescens fucescens (-S/cp/i.). (756)
Synonyms: Tawny Thrush, Wilson's Thrush, Niglitingale. — Turdus fucescens, Steph.,
1817, and most subsequent authors until 1880. — Hylocichia fucescens, Ridgw., 1880,
and most recent authors. — ^Turdus wilsonii, Bonap., 1824, and some others.
All the thrushes are commonly recognizable from their general re-
semblance in form to the common Robin, while their colors are soft olives
and browns above and whitish below, the throat and breast more or less
spotted with brown or black. The largest of our thrushes, the Wood
Thrush, is decidedly smaller than the Robin, and the present species, the
Veery, is still smaller. The beginner will experience great difficulty in
separating the smaller thrushes, but the Veery may be characterized as
the palest of them all, both above and ))olow, with a distinct buffy tint
LAND BIRDS. 713
on the throat and upper breast, while the spots on the breast arc paler and
more scanty than in any other species.
Distribution. — Eastern United States to the Plains, north to Manitoba,
Ontario, Anticosti, and Newfoundland. Breeds from northern New
Jersey and the northern part of the Lake States northward: winters
sparingly in Florida, but chiefly south of the United States..
A delightful songster, common as a migrant throughout the entire
state, and a common summer resident of all except the southernmost
counties. Even in these counties it can hardly be called a rare summer
resident, since its nest has been found repeatedly in Wayne, Washtenaw,
Monroe, Lenawee and Hillsdale counties, and it doubtless nests sparingly
in the remaining counties of the southernmost tier. On the other hand
it is a characteristic summer bird of our northern forests, and is found
everywhere along the south shore of Lake Superior, as well as on Isle
Royale.
It enters the state from the south about the first of May, in early seasons
a week earlier, occasionally considerably later. Mr. Swales gives his
earhest spring record at Detroit as April 22, 1900, and his latest. May 4,
1902. At Ann Arbor Norman A. Wood gives April 16, 1889 as the earliest
record for twenty-five years, and its average appearance the first week in
May. It nests from the middle of May to the middle of June, according
to latitude, and commonly places the nest upon the ground or very close
to it, usually in low or at least damp situations. The nest is frequently
found at the base of a clump of alders or willows, not infrequently among
the "water sprouts" which start from the side of a stump, occasionally
on a log, or even on the top of a stump, while instances are recorded of its
location at a height of four or five feet from the ground, in a bush or tree.
Ordinarily the nest is very bulky, built of leaves, moss and rubbish,
which forms a solid foundation, the nest proper being formed of leaves
and grasses, with a few roots, but without any mud. It is deeply hollowed
and often more or less hidden from above, but in many cases the eggs would
be decidedly conspicuous when not covered by the parent. The eggs vary
from three to five, but are usually four, and are pale blue and unspotted,
averaging .85 by .67 inches. Very rarely a few specks of brown may be
found on them, and there are a few records of eggs which were fairly well
sprinkled with brown dots; as a rule, however, they are entirely immaculate.
This bird gets most of its food from the ground, and since it frequents
woodlands almost exclusively during the nesting season, its work is not
of any great value to the farmer or fruit grower. Like all thrushes it
feeds largely upon beetles, snails, myriapods and a great variety of insects,
eating small fruits freely whenever obtainable. In the case of the present
species, however, the fruit eaten is almost all wild fruit, and the bird
cannot be considered in any way injurious.
The song of the Veery is one of the sweetest and most remarkable to be
heard in our summer woods. Seton Thompson sa5'S: "The song is a
high-pitched whistle, yet rich and clear, with a rippling cadence like a
little brook. It seems almost profane to represent this faint, soft, silvery
tinkling by uncouth syllables, yet I think the best idea of the mere articu-
lation may be suggested by the syllables veero, veery, veery. veery, from
which no doubt the singer got his name" (Birds of IManitoba, p. 633).
Ridgway describes the song as "An inexpressil)ly delicate metallic utterance
of the syllables ta-weel-ah, twil-ah, twil-ah, accompanied by a fine trill."
The metallic quality of the song is usually very noticeable, and the fact
714 MICHKiAN JilJil) Llli:.
that it is heard oftenest at twilight, and often has a distant effect even when
Ihe bird is quite near, renders it particularly attractive. There is little
likelihood of confounding this song with that of other thrushes; the nearest
a{)proach to it is seen in the imperfect spring song (during migration) of
the Olive-back, but this latter is an inferior performance as compared
with the nuptial song of the Veery. liicknell says: "Often it does not
sing for several da3's after arrival from the south, sometimes not until
two wrecks after the Wood Thrush is heard. It stops singing early in
July, 10th to 15th, being rarely heard later."
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Upper parts, iiicludiitii \vin,<is and tail, uniform ])ale nHldish-brovvn; below
mainly whitjc, the throat and lucast slightly huff-tinted; middle of throat, helly, and sides,
white; the sides of the throat and most of the upper l)reast spotted sparingly with pale
l)r()wn. 'I'he sexes alike.
Lengtli ().r)() to 7.75 inches; wing 3.75 to 4.15; tail 2.75 to 3.25.
321. Gray-cheeked Thrush. Hylocichla aliciae aliciae (Baird). (757)
Synonyms: Alice's Thrush. — Tunlus alicia', Baird, 1858, and most authors until
1880. — Hylocichla alicise, Ridgw., 1880, A. O. U. Committee, 1899, and most recent writers.
The Gray-cheeked Thrush resembles the Olive-back, and differs from
other members of the genus, in having the entire upper i)arts, head, back,
wings and tail, of the same shade of olive-brown; it differs from the Olive-
back in having the cheeks clear gray and in lacking a distinct light ring
about the eye; it is also slightly larger.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, west to the Plains. Alaska and
eastern Siberia, noi'th to the Arctic coast, south in winter, to Costa Rica.
Breeds chiefly north of the United States.
The Gray-cheeked Thrush is one of our less common thrushes, and
indeed was hardly known to the earlier observers. It occurs during
migration only, not being known to nest within our limits. In habits
it does not differ noticeably from the Olive-back, with which it is most
often associated, and with which it is frequently confounded.
It arrives from the south from the last of April to the middle of May,
but the reports from observers throughout the state ai'e neither sufficiently
;d)umlant nor accurate to determine the time of arrival with much certainty.
The identiflcation of this bird by the unaided eye, by the field glass, by
note, or by action, is entirely unsatisfactory; records based on anything
less than the actual capture of specimens must be disregarded. The
few unquestionable records which we have w'ould seem to indicate that
it arrives somewhat later than the Olive-back and moves southw'ard in
the fall a little earlier. Mr Swales states that near Detroit it is "a not
uncommon migrant. Arrives April 27 — May 21, again in September.
First taken here in 1898 by J. Claire Wood." Mr. S. E. White records
one specimen taken on i\Iackinac Island August 23, 1891, and W. Wilkowski
took one at Kalamazoo May 13, 1904. Perhaps the most satisfactory
records are those afforded by the lighthouses, as follows: Killed on
Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron, May 22 and May 24, 1890, May 23,
1897, June 1, 1892, September 21, 1890, September 25, 1899 (2 specimens);
on Presque Isle Light, Lake Huron, September 15, 1890; Port Oneida
Light, September 25, 1886; Big Sable Light, Lake Superior, October 7,
LAND BIRDS. 715
1893. These records are all based on specimens forwarded by the hght
keepers and identified by the Division of Biological Survey, Washington,
D. C. It was found on Isle Royale as a migrant only in 1905, on September
5, and again Septeml;)er 12 and later. Norman A. Wood found it abundant
on the Charity Islands, Saginaw Bay, September 14 to October 10, 1910.
It is by no means rare about the College (Ingham Co.), where specimens
are taken almost every May and September.
According to Bicknell "the song of the Gray-cheeked Thrush commences
low and reaches its loudest, and I think its highest, part a little beyond
half its continuance. It is throughout much fainter and of less forcible
delivery than the song of the Olive-backed species" (Auk, I, 1884, 130).
The nest and eggs of the Gray-cheeked Thrush (not likely to be found
in Michigan) are not distinguishable with certainty from those of the
Olive-back. The nest is placed in low bushes or trees (rarely on the ground) ,
and the eggs are greenish-blue, spotted with rusty brown, and average
.92 by .67 inches. The ground color is said to be of a decidedly deeper
blue than in the Olive-back.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Allah: tapper parts unifunn olive-broAvn from top of head to ti]) of tail; sides of head
grayish, and without any well marked eye-ring; throat and belly white, the former often
tinged with biiff; sides of throat and entire breast with arrow-shaped spots of brown
and black. Sexes alike in size and color.
Length 7 to 7.75 inches; wing 3.7o to 4.40; tail 2.9.5 to 3.40.
322. Olive-backed Thrush. Hylocichla ustulata swainsonii {Tschadi).
(758a)
Synonyms: Swainson's Thrush, Swamp Robin. — Turdus swainsoni, Tschudi, 1X45
and most authors vmtil 1877. — Turdus ustulatus swainsoni, Ridgw., 1877. — Hylocichla
ustulata swainsoni, Ridgw., 1880, and most recent authors.
Entire upper surface clear olive, as in the Graj^-cheeked Thrush, but
a distinct buffy eye-ring and the cheeks not gray but buff. The throat
and chest are also much more buffy than in the Graj'-cheeked Thrush.
Distribution. — Eastern North America and westward to the Upper
Columbia River and East Humboldt Mountains, straggling to the Pacific
coast. Southward in winter to Cuba, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Columbia,
Ecuador and Peru. Breeds in the northern Alleghanies, the Cat skills,
the mountainous parts of southern New England, southern Sierra Nevada
and northward.
The Olive-backed Thrush is a much more common migrant in IMichigan
than the preceding species. It arrives from the south about the first
week in May, somewhat earlier in the southern jjart of the state in favoral)lc
seas(jns, and much later, even the last week of May, in the I'pper Peninsula.
Thrushes ai'e among the Ijirds most frequently killed at lighthouses and
there are scores of I'ecords for the present species from the Michigan lights.
Tlie earliest spring record is from Spectacle Reef Light, May 10, 1888, and
the only record from Detroit River Light is May 15, 1886. The numerous
spring records from Spectacle Reef are mostly included between IMay 20
and .Tune 1, but there is a single record of j\hiy 17, 1885, and one of June
2, 1889. Fall records from the same Light range from September 9,
1894 to October 20 of the same year, but the majority of records fall l)e-
tween September 20 and October 10. The records at Big Sable Light,
716 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Lake Superior, are June G, 1894, September 3 and 5, 1889 and September
13, 1890. There is also a record from Marquette Light, Lake Superior,
May 22, 1886, and another from Grand Lsland Light, Lake Superior,
September 16, 1890.
Occasionally the Olive-back appears in large numbers in spring and
lingers for two or three weeks, frequenting the edges of woods, parks, and
gardens, and being very familiar and unsuspicious. At such times its
song is frequently heard, especially toward the latter part of its stay, but
apparently it never reaches the perfection shown on its breeding grounds.
The species has been confounded so frequently with the other small thrushes
that many of our reports of its nesting are likely to be incorrect, yet it is
certain that the bird nests not infrequently in the higher parts of the
Lower Peninsula and more regularly in many parts of the Upper Peninsula.
We have a nest and four eggs in the College collection taken in Wexford
county, in July 1875, by J. H. Deming, and Dr. W. H. Dunham reports
finding a nest with three fresh eggs June 5, 1899, on the north branch of
the ]\Ianistee River, in Kalkaska county. Dr. Gibbs reports a nest of
three eggs taken May 25, 1887, at Groverton, Houghton county, and the
University of Michigan expedition found a nest of two eggs in Ontonagon
county July 26, 1904. Mr. T. B. Wyman reports a nest of three fresh
eggs taken at Negaunee, Marquette county, July 10, 1905, and E. A.
Doolittle found it nesting freely on Grand Island, Alger county in 1906.
Tn Dickinson county during the summer of 1895, Mr. E. E. Brewster, of
Iron Mountain, found four or five nests, but failed to secure eggs, as they
were invariably destroyed before the completion of the sets. Mr. Stewart
Edward White states that the species was a common summer resident
on Mackinac Island in the summers of 1889, 1890 and 1891, and nested.
Max M. Peet gives the following account of its nesting on Isle Roj^ale
in the summer of 1905: "July 8 a nest was found at Rock Harbor on
a horizontal spruce limb about five feet from the ground. It was about
four feet from the tree trunk and was quite conspicuous. The tree stood
at the edge of a small rock opening. The nest was composed principally
of dead grasses with moss and the long thread-like tree lichens woven in.
Rootlets and leaves formed the lining. It contained three very young
birds" (Adams Rep. Mich. Geol. Surv., 1908, p. 334).
These records show that the species has a wide distribution in the northern
half of the state during the nesting season, but the southern limit of this
nesting range has not been properly defined. We have records of the
nest near Ann Arbor and also in Kalamazoo county, but in both cases
there was possibility of mistake, since the parent birds were not taken.
This species lays spotted eggs and invariably nests in bushes or trees,
while it is assumed that neither the AVilson's nor Hermit Thrush nests
in trees nor lays spotted eggs. Instances are recorded, however, in which
both the last named species have nested in bushes and trees, and occasion-
ally spotted eggs are laid. It seems, therefore, not improbable that
abnormal nests of some other species may have been mistaken in these
two instances for those of the Olive-back.
According to Spencer Trotter: "The song of the Olive-backed Thrush
seemed to me [in Nova'^Scotia] to be inferior to that of the Hermit Thrush;
it starts out well, but is finished in a series of squeaky notes. * * *
When disturbed it utters a metallic note, short, sharp, often ending in a
curious, rolling, querulous call. * * * j have several times mistaken
these short, pucking notes for the alarm calls of the Ruffed Grouse to
LAND BIRDS. 717
her scattering brood" (Auk, XXI, 1904, 63). According to Bicknell,
the song of the OHve-back as compared with that of the Gray-cheeked
Thrush is "louder, more spontaneous and lyrical. Almost the first note
is the loudest and most hquid, after which the melody becomes rapidly
finer, seeming to dissolve upon the air like the spent vibration of a stringed
instrument."
Mr. Stewart Edward White gives a minute description of the singing
of this bird as observed on Mackinac Island, Lake Huron, in the summers
of 1889, 1890 and 1891. He says "The song begins low and ascends
by two regular steps of two notes each and ends with several sharp notes.
The first note of each step is higher than the second and the second of the
next is about the same as the first note of the first step. Occasionally
the whole is preceded by a sharp chuck. The notes have the swelling
beauty of all thrush songs, while the metallic ending rings like a little belL
The song always says to me, gurgle gurgle ting, che che che. As far as
my experience goes this thrush never sings steadily except in his chosen
tree, * * * jje sings on an average nine and a half times a minute
with extreme regularity." From observations during the summer of
1891 Mr. White found that one Olive-back began on an average at 3:15
a. m. and sang steadily about ten times a minute until about 9 a. m. ;
then he was nearly silent until noon, after which he sang occasionally for
a minute or so. About 4:30 he began again and only ceased, to retire
for the night, about 7:30 p. m. "Allowing but eight times a minute for
his songs, we have for one day, the time consumed in song periods, about
eight hours and forty-five minutes, and in occasional song, at least twenty
minutes, according to which there would be a total of 4,360 songs per day.
His song ceased entirely about July 25, although for five days before that
but half the time was employed. Certainly it would not be unfair to
allow him at the very least six weeks of song, 42 days at 4,000 per day,
in all 168,000 songs in a season. The above facts have been many times
verified" (Auk, X, 1893, 230).
The nest is said to vary much in character according to location,
but is placed at a height of six to twenty feet from the ground, and in
Michigan is usually in an evergreen tree and not infrequently on a horizontal
branch. It is built largely of twigs, moss, and strips of bark, but leaves
sometimes enter into the construction and fine rootlets are used almost
invariably for the lining. Mud has never been reported and probably
is not used. The eggs are commonly three or four and are light greenish-
blue, spotted with rusty brown, and average .90 by .65 inches. They are
of a lighter blue than those of the Gray-cheeked Thrush and the spots
are usually rather numerous and perfectly distinct. But one brood appears
to be reared in the season.
The food is simihir to that of the other small thrushes and the larger
part of the animal food at least, comes from the ground, where the birds
search l)usily for it, turning over fallen leaves, proljing the moss and de-
cayed vegetation and picking up worms, snails and insects of various kinds,
paiticularly beetles and ants. Six specimens, taken in Illinois in April
and May, were examined by Prof. S. A. Forbes, who found 22 percent of
crane-flies, 28 percent of ants, 5 percent of predaceous beetles, several
curculios, and in one stomach a mass of short-horned borers, Scolytufi
muticm, (Trans. 111. State Hort. Soc. Vol. 13, 1879, p. 138). The Olive-
back is fond of wild fi'uits of all kinds and eats large quantities of bei'ries
in their season. Being an inhabitant of woodlands rather than orchards
71 S MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
or gardens, it does no damage to the horticulturist, but on the other hand
I'enders httle service to him except during its transient visits on the trip
north or south.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Entire iipi)er parts, inchidinf;- wiii<;s and tail, rather dark olive; lores and ring
around the eye buff; throat and breast tiiiucd witli buff; sides of tliroat with wedge-shaped
black spots, the breast with rounded black s])ots; middle of tiie belly white; sides brownish-
gray or brownish-a.shy. Sexes alike in size and color.
Length, 6.50 to 7.50 inches; wing 3.75 to 4; tail about 3.
323. Hermit Thrush. Hylocichla guttata pallasi (Cab.). (759b)
Synonyms: Rufous-tailed Thrush, Solitary Thrush, Swamp Robin. — Turdus pallasii,
Cabanis, 1847, Baird, 1858, Allen, 1871, B. B. & R., 1874.— Turdus solitarivis, Wils., 1812,
Auil., 1839, and others.— Turdus minor, Vieill., 1807.— Turdus nanus, And., 1839 (part).
■ — ^Hylociciila guttata pallasii, Howe, 1901. — Turdus aonalaschkse j^allasii, A. (). U. Clicck-
list, bSSf).
Plate LXX and Figures 151, 152.
Simihir to the Ohve-back and Gray-cheeked Thrushes, l)ut the upper
])arts not uniform ohve, except on head and back, the rump and tail being
deep reddish-brown. The breast also is more heavily spotted than in
any of the other thrushes except the Wood Thrush.
Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding from the northern
Alleghanies, the mountainous parts of southern New England, southern
New York, northern Michigan, etc., northward, and wintering from the
noi-thern states southward.
The Hermit Thrush is by far the most abundant of the small thrushes
during migration, sometimes appearing in great numbers and always to
l)e found commonly in early spring, and
again in the fall. It is the earliest of the
small thrushes to arrive from the south,
usually appearing during the first or second
week in April, almost always before the Fig i5i. wing-tip of Hermit Thrush,
. , ,, p ,, , ,1 • ji ii J. showing spurious first primary.
middle of that month m the southern part (original.)
of the state. Mr. Trombley's dates at
Petersburgh, Monroe county, range from April 7, 1893 to April 18, 1886,
the average l)eing about April 10. At Ann Arbor Mr. Wood's earliest
record in twenty-five years is April 2, 1904, the average being the second
week of April. At Bay City and at (irand Rapids the species arrives at
about the same time, April 7 to April 15, and even at Palmer, Marquette
county, it was recorded by Mr. 0. B. Warren April 10, 1893 and April
29, 1895. Specimens were killed on Spectacle Reef Light, Lake Huron,
May 5, 1889 and June 1, 1892, and a single one October 3, 1893. One
was killed on Big Sable Light, Lake Superior, May 18, 1891. The south-
ward movement in autumn doubtless begins in September, but is most
marked during Octol)er, and the last do not leave the state until the first
of Novem])er or even later.
Althougli an al)undant migrant throughout the entire state it does not
nest in the southern counties nor, with rare exceptions, in any counties
south of the Saginaw-Grand Valley. There are several reports of nests
found in the southern part of the state, but in most cases these doubtless
were nests of the Veerv- Dr. Gibbs and Mr. W. A. Gunn secui'od a nest
Plate LXX. Hcriiiit Thrush.
From an original drawing hy W. F. Jackson.
LAND BIRDS. 721
of three fresh eggs in Ottawa county May 20, 1879, taking the female for
positive identification. There is a nest and three eggs in the Agricultural
College collection taken by Gunn and Gibbs, marked Ottawa county,
May 31, 1879, possibly the same nest. Dr. Gibbs found the species in
Montcalm county, near Howard City, where he took a nest June 10, 1882
and was satisfied that they nested in abundance. Dr. R. H. Wolcott
found it common at Charlevoix in dense pine woods where it was un-
doubtedly breeding. The writer found it nesting in Emmet county in
the summer of 1904, and it was abundant and in full song on the Beaver
Islands, Lake Michigan, in July of the same year. S. E. White states that
it is an abundant summer resident on Mackinac Island, Lake Huron,
and Dr. W. H. Dunham took a nest and three eggs near Spencer, Kalkaska
county June 5, 1906, but does not consider it common in that vicinity.
Throughout the Upper Peninsula it appears to be a common nester,
although Mr. E. E. Brewster of Iron Mountain, Dickinson county, states
that he has never found it nesting there, and does not think it is a summer
resident. Mr. Ed Van Winkle of Vans Harbor, Delta county, states that
it breeds there, and we have numerous reports of its nesting in Marquette
county, Alger county, Chippewa county, and Mackinac county. Mr.
T. B. Wyman found a nest and four fresh eggs at Negaunee, Marquette
county, July 7, 1905, and Mr. E. O. DooHttle found nests with eggs from
June 13 to 24, 1905 in Baraga and Marquette counties. The occurrence
of fresh eggs on July 7 makes it likely that the species occasionally rears
a second brood.
In habits the Hermit Thrush is much Hke the Ohve-back, and although
during migration they are by no means shy, during the nesting season
they are extremely wary and suspicious, and it is difficult to approach
within gun shot while they are singing. The Hermit Thrush obtains
most of its food from the ground and its nest is invariably placed upon
the ground or close to it, but when singing it often selects a perch thirty
to fifty feet high and sings for an hour at a time from this point. In
common with several of its relatives the Hermit has the habit of hfting
the tail suddenly and allowing it to sink slowly down again, to be quickly
lifted an instant later, this being repeated over and over again, while the
bird utters a low chuck from time to time, which is rather characteristic
although not widely different from that used by the Olive-back.
The song has been so often described that most readers are familiar
with it. Mr. Burroughs says: "It is to me the finest sound in nature."
Spencer Trotter says: "The Hermit's song appealed to me as a sustained
melody throughout; as though the musician had the ear to appreciate
as well as the power to express. * * * The alarm note has a catbird
c[uality about it, lower pitched and less metallic than that of the Olive-
backed Thrush" (Auk. XXI, 63-64). Bicknell says: "The call-note
of the Hermit Thrush is very different from that of any other species of
its group which occurs with us. It is a low chuck, suggestive of the note
of a distant blackbird (Auk, 1, 131). Dr. Coues says of the song "The
weird associations of the spot where the Hermit triumphs, the mystery
inseparable from the voice of an unseen musician, conspire to heighten
the effect of the sweet, silvery, bell-like notes, which, beginning soft, low
and tinkling, rise higher and higher to end abiuptly with a clear, ringing
intonation. It is the i-everse of the lay of the Wood Thrush, which swells
at once into powerful and sustained effort, then gratlually dies away,
as though the bird were receding from us."
91
722 MICIirriAN BIRD LIFE.
In spite of all that has been said and written about the song of the Her-
mit Thrush the writer fails to discover any superiority over that regularly
given by the Wood Thrush. We have heard the Hermit Thrush hundreds
of times and. in scores of places, and, making due allowance for time
and place, the song in our opinion is neither clearer, purer, sweeter, more
powerful or longer continued than that of the Wood Thrush. Individuals
of either species sometimes excel the average musician of the other species,
but we doubt that as a whole one can be said to be superior to the other.
As already stated the nest is almost always placed on the ground and
is not ordinarily distinguishable from that of the Veejy or Wilson's Thrush.
It is built largely of leaves, but grasses, weed-stems, bark
and roots are also used freely and occasionally pine needles ^^j— -.
and other evergreen leaves are added. The eggs are three ^ ^=;;z::^
to five, greenish-blue, unspotted, and average .88 by .66
inches.
The food does not differ particularly from that of its neai-
relatives, but consists very largely of insects, together with Fig. i52. Hermit
some spiders and myriapods, and with a considerable amount BiuebircL^b)"^
of small-fruits in their season. Prof. Forbes found that 87
percent of its food in Illinois, as ascertained by the dissection of 16 speci-
mens taken in April and May, consisted of insects, and the only unfortunate
feature of its f(jod was that it included 12 percent of ground beetles
(Carabidai).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult: Entire upper surface (except tail) uniform olive-brown; tail and upper coverts
l)ri,i;;hter reddish-brown (rvifous), in strong contrast; sides of throat and entire breast
spotted with brown or lilack, tlie .spots smallest and sharpest on the sides of the throat,
growing larger, rounder and paler on the lower breast; tluoat and middle of belly white;
sides olive, luispotted. Sexes alike in color and size.
Length, 6.50 to 7.50 inches; wing 3.40 to 3.90; tail 2.50 to 3.
324. Robin. Planesticus migratorius migratorius {Linn.). (761)
Synonyms: Common Rol)in, Rol)in Redbreast, Red-l)reast, Migratory Thrush, Canada
Robin, Northern R()l)in, American Hobiii. -'i"urdusJmigralori>is, Limi., 17()(), anil most
American writers until about bSSO. Meruia migratoria, Sw. iV' Ricli., \K\\. Kidgw., ISSO,
A. (). U. Check-list, ISSd, and most subsecpient autiiors.- I'iauesticus migratorius, Gund-
lach, 1X7 L
Above gray; dai'ker, often nearly black, on the head; luulei' jiarts mainly
i-eddish-brown except the throat, which is white, streaked with black,
and the bell}', which is white and unspotted; outer tail-feathers white-
tipped.
The Jlobin, being our most familiar bird, should be careftdly studied
by the beginner. It serves as a convenient standard of size for com-
l)ai'ison with other species, and measures from nine to ten inches from tip
of l)ill to tip of tail, being thus much larger than it looks.
Distril)ution. — Eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains, in-
cluding eastern Mexico and Alaska. Breeds from Virginia and Kansas
northward to the Arctic coast; winters from southern Canada and the
northern states (irregularly) southward.
Probably our most abundant, best known and generally best loved
native bird. It stays with us the larger part of the year, being common
during summer throughout the entire state and some individuals commonly
LAND BIRDS. 723
spend the winter in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula. Such
individuals commonly retire to swamps or evergreen thickets, or make
their homes in parks and private grounds, where good shelter and a fair
supply of food may be found, and undoubtedly the birds noted earliest
in spring are often these which have wintered in the vicinity, or possibly
a little farther south. On the first approach of warm weather they be-
come conspicuous and often begin to sing, so that reports of spring Robins
are frequent in February and occasionally in January. While such in-
stances are of most frequent occurrence in the southern half of the Lower
Peninsula they are by no means confined to that section, and we have
trustworthy accounts of the wintering of individual Robins in many of
the northern counties, even a few from the Upper Peninsula. As an
instance of this we may quote part of a letter dated March 5, 1909, from
Mr. E. E. Brewster, of Iron Mountain, Dickinson county. He says:
"I have been interested in watching a pair of robins, evidently young of
this year, which have made their home with us the past winter. When
my attention was first drawn to them there were three, but about Christmas
one disappeared. The other two, apparently male and female, judging
from the different coloration, were seen almost daily until February 1st
when the food supply failed in my immediate neighborhood, and they
were no longer regular visitants. One or both were seen at intervals,
however, until Fel^ruary 14. Later I saw two feeding on sumac berries
near the Pewabic Mine, about three-fourths of a mile east from my house.
The last I saw of either was February 23d, when I saw one in the sumac
bushes. This speaks pretty well for our winter climate when Robins
can winter here (45° 50' north). The early part of the winter they fed
on mountain ash berries, but Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings
finally cleared out the supply."
During mild winters considerable numbers of robins sometimes remain
in the state, but ordinarily the van-guard of the migrating host reaches
southern Michigan between March 1st and 15th, although in some seasons
they are abundant in the latter half of February and numbers keep coming
from tlie south until the first of April. Even in the Upper Peninsula
Robins appear in considerable numbers early in April, often several weeks
before the ground is free from snow. It is a matter of common remark
that they become much more abundant with the clearing and settling
of a region, yet the species is by no means unknown in the wildest parts
of the state, and in open grounds, for example, the pine barrens in the
northern half of the Lower Peninsula, or the bare spaces left by forest
fii'cs, Robins are almost if not quite as plentiful during the summer as in
the more thickly settled regions to the south. During migration the}'
travel in flocks of considei'able size, and they often pass the winter in such
companies. The southward migration ])egins in September, but the
greater number linger until Oct<)l)er, and lai'ge (locks may be seen every
year until late in November.
Nesting begins very early, always in April in the southern part of the
state, and occasionally during the last week in March. In the vicinity
of Lansing, Ingham county, the first nests with eggs nuiy usually be found
about the middle of A])ril, and the first voung leave the nests about the
middle of May (May 14, 1901, May 15, 1897).' A second brood is almost
invariably reared, the young leaving the nest al)out the first of July, but
nests with eggs ai-e of (en found late in July, or even in August, iiidicatiug
(liinl broods, in I9()() n biMod of young lef(. a. nest on (he ('olloge cninpus.
724 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Ingham county on August 7, and man}^ nests still had young in them
during the last week in July. Since the nests are almost always con-
spicuous and are frequently robbed by Blue Jays, Crows and human
enemies, the birds are often compelled to make several attempts before
a single brood is reared, and this postponement of the normal second
brood undoubtedly accounts in most cases for these late nests.
The nest is built largely of grass, roots and mud, but an immense variety
of substances may be used, and materials of all sorts are occasionally
found in the same nest. Ordinarily, however, few twigs are used, and
the nest is almost invariably well Hned with fine grasses, which completely
cover the mud which forms so large a part of the structure. Normally nests
are placed in trees at heights varying from three or four feet to fifty or
sixty feet from the ground, but they are frequently placed upon buildings,
bridges, fence-posts, rails, as Avell as in sheds, barns, outbuildings, and
occasionally on ledges of rocks or even on roots or stones jutting out of
banks of sand or clay. More rarely nests are found on brush heaps, or
low stones in open fields or along the borders of woods, and instances are
recorded in which the nest has been placed directly upon the ground.
The eggs vary in number from three to five, the commoner number being
four, and they are of the well known "robin's-egg-blue," without spots,
and average 1.15 by .78 inches.
Before the young of the last brood are out of the nest, in fact, usually
before the first of August, Robins begin to congregate in large flocks,
and these commonly select some safe place in which they roost regularly
at night until their departure for the south. Such roosts have not been
commonly noted in Michigan, but in other states they have frequently
been described and the place selected may be a group of evergreens, a
dense bed of reeds in a marsh, or more commonly the thick growth of
small willows or poplars in low ground. Two roosts of the latter character
have been noted for the past ten years within a couple of miles of the
Agricultural College in Ingham county. In all cases the places selected
were dense growths of willows and poplars which had sprung up in a marsh
which had been burned a year or two previously. Here the Robins gather
to the number of several thousand each evening from early August \mtil
after the first of November, beginning to congregate about an hour before
sunset, but a few birds arriving even after it is too dark to count them.
They come singly or in scattered flocks, rarely more than forty or fifty
at a time, but from all directions and evidently often from considerable
distances. Blackbirds, grackles, and chewinks also frequent the same
roost, but in smaller numbers than the Robins. During the day these
Robins scatter over a wide area, but are commonly abundant on the
college campus during most of the day, and particulai'ly during llie latter
part of the afternoon.
The song of the Robin is too well known to need description, It is
perhaps suflficient to say that there is very great variation in the song,
not only with season, but with the individual, some birds having sweeter
voices and more extended songs than others. The birds begin to sing
very early in the morning, often before the first streak of dawn is visible
to the human eye (in June between 3 and 3:30 a. m.), and after the first
bird begins it is usually only a few moments before hundreds are singing.
Singing continues all through the nest-building period, at least until the
very last of July, after which there is a silent interval of a month or more
and singing is again resumed in September and October, although by
LAND BIRDS. 725
no means generally. The song is a strong, clear, liquid warble, with
perhaps no claim to very great beauty or remarkable purity of tone, yet
it is after all one of the most satisfactory songs of the summer, and in spite
of all criticism the bird has fully earned the place which it has in popular
affection. That its call-notes, and particularlj- its cries of distress and
alarm, are harsh and disagreeable cannot be denied, but the bird can
hardly be blamed for this fact.
The main criticism and dislike which the bird provokes come from the
fact that it is a voracious fruit eater and under some circumstances does
a large amount of injury to small fruits. It is particularly fond of cherries,
strawberries, raspberries and grapes, but it attacks (at least occasionally)
every small-fruit which grows, either wild or cultivated, and is much
addicted to pecking into ripening orchard fruits, particularly apples and
pears of the earlier varieties. For this reason the fruit-grower comes
to detest the bird and can hardly be blamed if he overlooks the benefit
which he undoubtedly receives from the good work done in the consumption
of insects. However, there is plenty of evidence that the good work of
the Robin in this respect is commonly overrated and that where very
abundant the mischief done to the fruit grower is by no means atoned
for by the injurious insects eaten.
Probably no American bird (with the possible exception of the Crow)
has been the cause of so much difference of opinion as the Robin, and at
various times its food has been investigated with more or less care by
observers of fair ability, after plans not always the most scientific. It.
is impossible in this place to give even a brief resume of such work, but
those interested should consult the writings of Treadwell, Jenks, Slade,
Lyle, Wilcox, King. Aughey, Forbes and Beal, references to which are
given in the appendix to this volume.
Prof. S. A. Forbes, in his investigations in Illinois, examined the stomachs
of 114 Robins collected in various places during the spring and summer
months. He examined first the stomachs of 41 Robins collected in March,
April, May, June, July and August, and found that 28 percent of the food
was fruit while 2 percent of the remainder consisted of spiders and myria-
pods, and all the rest (presumably 70 percent) was insects. Of these,
20 percent were caterpillars and 7 percent ground beetles (harpalinae).
In addition there were 6^ percent of injurious beetles, including 2^ percent
of curculios, 8 percent of orthoptera, and H percent of injurious mja-ia-
pods, 16 percent in all, to offset 28 percent of fruit, the other elements
about balancing each other. "I therefore conclude," he says, "that these
41 Robins taken together had certainly done, just previous to the time
of their demise, fully as much harm as good, as far as we can judge from
the contents of the stomachs" (Trans. 111. State Hort. Soc. Vol. 13, 1879,
p. 132). The subsequent examination by Prof. Forbes of 73 more Robins'
stomachs did not materially change his conclusions, although further
investigation convinced him that the ground beetles eaten were not as
valuable as had been supposed, and that therefore the Robin was doing
comparatively little harm in eating these insects. He concludes: "We
can reduce the question finally to about this form: Will the destruction
of 17 quarts of average caterpillars, including at least eight quarts of
cutworms, pay for 24 quarts of cherries, ])lackbcri'ics, currants and grapes?
For my own part I do not believe that the horticulturist can sell his small-
fruit anywhere in the ordinary markets of the world at so high a price
as to the Robin; provided of course that he uses due diligence that the
726 MICllKiAN JUKI) LIKJO.
little luu'ksiei' doetsii't cheat him in the btii'gain. Thut is to say, that while
the l)ird is not so precious that we need make it an act of sacrilege to show
him the muzzle of a gun in a cherry orchard. * * * qj^ ^^^q other hand
it would be an enormous blunder to wage ourselves, or to permit others
to wage, any general or indiscriminate war against him " (Trans. 111. State
Hort. Soc. Vol. 14, 1880, pp. 111-112).
Study of the food of nine Robins killed in an orchard ovenun with
cankei-worms showed that only three had eaten canker-worms, these
forming about one-fifth of their food. Insects formed 93 per(;ent of the
food of the nine robins, myriapods 5 percent, earthworms and mollusks
the remainder. Cutworms were extraordinarily i)rominent, forming 28
percent. Half of them were the bronzy cutworm (Nephelodes violans).
Coleoptera formed 36 percent, of which 11 percent were click lieetles,
elateridae (Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist. No. 6, pp. 5-6).
Prof. F. E. L. Beal, of the United States Department of Agriculture,
has reported upon the food contained in the stomachs of 330 Robins taken
at various times and places, and he states that 42 percent of the entire
food was animal matter, chiefly insects, while vegetable matter formed
58 percent of the stomach contents, over 47 percent being wild fruits
and only a little more than 4 percent cultivated varieties. During June
and July cultivated fruits amounted to upwards of 25 percent. Mr. E.
V. Wilcox, of the Ohio Experiment Station, reported in 1891 upon the
stomach contents of about 200 Robins taken in Ohio during April, May,
.June, July and August. He found that the beneficial species of plants
and animals eaten JDy these Robins amounted to 52.4 percent, while tlie
injurious species formed 18.6 percent, and neutral species 28.9 percent.
There is no question that the Robin sometimes does a large amount of
good in its consumption of insects, especially by eating cutworms and .
grasshoppers; it must be remembered, however, that the major part of
its insect food is taken from the ground and that lience the Robin is a
factor of little importance in limiting the activity of tlie spanworms and
other caterpillars which defoliate our fruit and shade trees. It also eats
large numbers of insects which at best are not harmful, and which possibly
may be beneficial.
It is a remarkable fact that no extended investigation of tlie Robin's
food, ])ascd upon stomach contents, has indicated more than a very sinall
proportion of earthworms, less than 2 percent being the maximum record
so far as we can find. On the other hand, it is a matter of common, almost
universal, observation that the Robin during spring and early summer,
and again for a considerable time in autunm, feeds very largely upon
earthworms. The writer has seen a Robin extract from the ground and
eat or carry away for its young ten or a dozen worms in as many minutes,
and observations made continuously for many seasons here in Michigan
have convinced us that the first brood of young under ordinary conditions
is reared very largely upon this diet. This is not due to the entire absence
of other food, but merely to the fact that the earthworms are a])undant,
easily obtainable, and in no Avay objectionable as food for the young or
old. This disparity between the results of observation in the field and
stomach examination in the laboratory suggests the i)robability that there
is yet much to be learned in regard to the food of the Robin.
It should l)e noted particularly that in Michigan at the present time it
is unlawful to kill Robins at any season; furthermore, it is impossible
to shoot Robins which are taking fruit of any kind without serious injury
LAND BIRDS. 727
to the trees and vines from which the fruit is taken; and, finally, that the
killing of any number of Robins in fruit growing regions will not materially
lessen their numbers or protect the fruits from destruction unless the kilHng
is persisted in season after season and is participated in by a great majority
of the fruit growers. Complete immunity from the attacks of fruit eating
birds can be secured ))y the use of the net to cover trees and vines. This
method is expensive, and in many cases the expense would not be war-
ranted, yet the experiment has been tried profitably in some places and
further experiment in this direction is very desirable.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Male in summer: Mainly slate-colored above and brownish-red (cinnamon-rufous)
below; top and sides of head black; throat white, with narrow Ijlack streaks; a white spot
over the eye; wiii,<;-fca11icis (hirk slate, almost black, and tail-feathers quite black, except
the outer feather mi each side, wliicli has a small white patch near the tip. The female is
so similar as t.> l)c s(]):ir;itf<l with difficulty; ordinarily the head is not quite so black and
the liack is rather sprayer. The bill in both sexes is yellow, with black tip; iris dark brown.
In fall and winter alftlie colors are duller and most of the feathers above and below have
ashy margins. The young are spotted with black on back and breast, most thickly and
heavily below.
Length 10 inches or a little less, wing about 5.25, tail 4.25 to 4.50. The sexes are of
the same size.
325. Bluebird. Sialia sialis sialis (Linn.). (766)
Synonyms: Common Bluebinl, Eastern Bluebird, Blue Robin, Blue Red-breast,
American Bluebird. — Motacilla sialis, Linn., 1758. — Sylvia sialis, Vieill., 1807, Wils.,
1808, Aud., 1834.— Saxicola sialis, Bonaparte, 1826.— Ampelis sialis, Nutt., 1832.—
Sialia wilsonii, Swains, 1839. — Sialia wilsoni, Bonap., 1838. — Sialia sialis, Haldeman,
1843, and most subsequent authors.
Known at a glance by the bright blue of the upper parts, including the
wings and tail, and the deep cinnamon-brown breast and sides, only the
belly and under tail-coverts being white.
Distribution. — Eastern United States to the eastern base of the Rocky
Mountains, north to Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia, south, in winter,
from the Middle States to the Gulf States and Cuba.
The Bluebird is universally distributed throughout Michigan as a summer
resident, and indeed is common during the larger part of the year, since
it arrives and departs at about the same time as the Robin, that is, arriving
in March and leaving in November, while a few remain in the southern
parts of the state during mild winters. Twenty-five years ago this ])ird
was one of the most familiar dooryard birds of the state, nesting in hollow
stumps, deserted woodpeckers' holes, or bird-boxes provided for its use,
and frequenting almost every orchard and grove in the settled districts,
often nesting in the shade trees of city streets and parks. With the advance
and abnormal increase of the English Sparrow the Bluebird was driven
from its nesting places and compelled to take refuge at a distance from the
settlements, where, although compelled to contend with numerous other
enemies, it was at least fi-ee from the harrassing attacks of the introduced
^]nglish Sparrow. Fortunately the waste lands which had l)een abandoned
by their owners after the timber was cut off fuinishcd amj^le accommoda-
tions for the nesting of Bluebirds, and throughout these desolate tracts
in the northern ])ait of the state the Bluebird has become one of the
prominent and enlivening features.
728 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Tlic winter of 1894-95 will be remembered at the south for its deep snows
and unparalleled cold weather, and that winter proved fatal to thousands,
perhaps miUions, of Bluebirds, Robins, and a few other species which
normally winter in the southern parts of the United States. The Bluebird
gets the larger part of its food from the ground, and although it can subsist
for a time upon seeds and berries, is unable to survive indefinitely upon
such fare. Hence, when it was overtaken by the severe weather of
January, February and March, 1895, the birds perished by the thousand,
and for a year or two ornithologists feared that the species might have
received a blow which ^vould result in its complete extinction. Fortunately,
however, the Bluebirds multiphed rapidly and have again occupied a
large part of their previous nesting territory, so that at the present time
they are almost as numerous as ever.
The beauty of the Bluebird's plumage, its simple but pleasing warble,
and the fact that it returns to us in earhest spring, while the snow still
covers the face of the earth and other birds are extremely rare, has endeared
it to dwellers in town and country alike, and has rendered it a favorite
with all nature lovers. It has no objectionable traits, eats no cultivated
fruits (although partial to many wild berries) and is a voracious consumer
of insects, of which it eats an immense variety, although perhaps not always
with such discrimination as the agriculturist could wish. Undoubtedly,
as shown by numerous investigations, it eats an undue proportion of
ground-beetles, which are believed to be more or less beneficial; but, on
the other hand, it consumes large quantities of caterpillars, cut-worms,
injurious beetles, grasshoppers, and other insect foes, the destruction
of which is certainly of inestimable value to the farmer.
Prof. S. A. Forbes has recorded the food found in the stomachs of 108
Bluebirds from various parts of Illinois and gives as his conclusions the
following: "The injurious insects destroyed 'include 26 percent of lepi-
doptera, nearly two-thirds of which were recognized as noctuidse, 3 percent
of leaf chafers, and 21 percent of orthoptera, a total of 50 percent on this
side of the account. On the other hand, ichneumons amount to 3 percent,
the carabidae to 7 percent, soldier-beetles to 1 percent, soldier-bugs to 3
percent and spiders to 8 percent, a total of 22 percent of predaceous and
parasitic forms." From what we now know of the food habits of any of
these insects it seems certain that even this showing, which was considered
unfavorable to the Bluebird, is in reality a very creditable one. The
ground-beetles are now known to be much less valuable than was formerly
supposed, while the spiders may probably be disregarded altogether.
A single Bluebird shot in a canker-worm orchard in Tazwell count5^ 111.,
and examined by Prof. Forbes, had made 60 percent of its meal of canker-
worms; the remainder consisted of 4 percent of spiders, one of scavenger
Ijeetles, and the rest of predaceous beetles. Prof. Forbes has shown that
in March 38 percent of the food of Illinois Bluebirds consists of cut-worms
and related caterpillars, while in May moths, caterpillars, Junebeetles
and grasshoppers form 55 percent of the stomach contents. Later in
the summer, in July and August, locusts, crickets, grasshoppers, moths and
caterpillars form its insect food, and little else is eaten except a few wild
berries.
On the whole there is no doubt whatever that the Blue])ird is a decidedly
beneficial species and it should be protected and encouraged whenever
possible. Under some circumstances it responds quickly to protection,
but when it has once been driven away by English Sparrows or red squirrels
LAND BIRDS. 729
it is difficult to reinstate it. Although it may continue to nest in distant
orchards and about the edges of woodlands, it still avoids the farm dwellings
and village gardens where it was formerly an abundant bird.
The nest, wdiich is generally placed in a cavity of some kind and usually
at no great height from the ground, consists of grasses, feathers, and other
soft and fibrous materials, and is often built as early as the first week in
April, although more often about the middle of the month in the southern
half of the state. A second brood is usually reared in June or July and
many observers believe that a third brood is occasionally raised. The
eggs are four to six, of a clear pale blue, without spots, and average .82
by .64 inches. Occasionally the eggs laid are pure white without any
tint of blue, and this seems to be an individual mark, second and thirtl
sets from the same birds showing the same peculiarity, and this fact has
been used sometimes as proof that the same pair of birds return year after
year to the old nesting place.
About midsummer the young of the first brood, with perhaps some of
the old birds, collect in loose flocks and remain together until their de-
parture for the south in September and October, being joined 'before
beginning their journe}' by the old birds and the young of the second
broods. At this time they frequent open fields and the borders of w^oods,
where thej' feed freely upon grasshoppers and other terrestrial insects
and also eat considerable quantities of the berries of the various sumacs,
as well as wild cherries, elderberries, poke-berries, huckleberries and
doubtless many other species.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Entire upper surface, including wings and tail, bright blue; under parts
ciiestnut or cinnamon-brown, except the belly, which is white. Adult female similar,
but the blue above and brown below duller and grayer. In autumn and winter all the
blue feathers are tipped with rusty and the brown feathers with gray or white. Young
birds at first show blue only on the wing and tail-feathers; the back is marked with dots
of silvery or grayish white, and the under parts are whitish, each feather bordered with
gray or brown.
Length of male, r»..')0 to 7 inches; wing about 4; tail about 2.75. The female is deci^ledly
smaller.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX 1.
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.
107-2. Western Willet. Catoptrophorus semipalmatus inornatus (Brcwsl.).
(258a)
(Omitted from the body of the work by mistake; belongs between Nos.
107 and 108.)
Synonyms: Pill-willct, Rill-willie. — Symphemia semipalniata inornata Brewster,
1887, A. O. U. Check-list, 1895, and most recent authors.
Similar in general appearance to the Greater Yellowlegs, but larger,
lacks the yellow legs, has a much heavier bill, and has a conspicuous white
patch on the wing at the base of the primaries, most conspicuous in flight,
but visible when the wing is closed.
Distribution. — ^Western North America. Breeds from central Oregon,
southern Alberta, and southern Manitoba south to northern Cahfornia,
central Colorado, southern south Dakota and northern Iowa.
The Western Willet is a decidedly rare species in Michigan, but there
are several well attested records of occurrence. At the "overflow" near
Ann Arbor, Prof. Jacob Reighard took several "Willets" (at least five)
in May, 1889. Unfortunately no entire specimen was preserved, but
wings and heads were identified as Willets by Norman A. Wood and others.
That these, or the other Michigan specimens referred to, belonged to the
western rather than the eastern subspecies is merely an assumption,
based on the supposed range of the two forms, which would seem to make
the occurrence of the western form most Ukely. It is perfectly possible,
however, that both forms may occur. Dr. Gibbs states that "Two speci-
mens are, or were, in the collection of the Kent Scientific Institute at
Grand Rapids, which both Gunn and Hughes aver were killed close to
Grand Rapids. I am perfectly satisfied that this was the fact" (Manu-
script notes). A careful examination of the above collection, by the
writer, in 1905, failed to reveal any specimens whatever of Willet. An
egg in the Agricultural College collection (No. 4972) is recorded as taken
at Saginaw Bay, by Professor A. J. Cook, but no other data are entered.
This egg measures 2.23 by 1.54 inches, and is doubtless genuine, but con-
siderable uncertainty attaches to its origin.
The bird occurs in small numbers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
and Ontario, but appears to be decreasing in numbers, like many other
waders, and is likely to become extinct in the Great Lake region before
many years.
It formerly nested throughout most of the southern Great Lake region.
On its nesting grounds it is described as one of the noisiest of the waders,
constantly hovering about the intruder and uttering its loud cries of "pill-
willet, piil-willet," from which its common name is derived. It nests on
734 MICHIGAN JilKI) LIFE.
the ground and lay.s three or four eggs, which ai'e ])ah; buff, si)otted with
various shades of hi-own and gray, and average 2.13 by 1.53 inches.
TKCHNICAL DESCRIPTION,
Eastern form, C. s. .scinipalmatus (for comparison).
"Primaries blackish, with nearly the basal lialf white, i)roducing a very consi)icuous
]iatch on the spread wing. Summer adult: Above l>rownisli gray, irreguhirly varied
with dusky; lower parts white, tinged with grayisli on foreneck and buff along sides, the
former with chest streaked or spotted with dusky, the latter barred with the same. Winter
plumage: Above plain ash-gray; beneath immaculate white, the foreneck shaded with
grayish. Young: Above brownish gray, the feathers margined with buff or jjale ochra-
ceous; sides much tinged with the same, and finely mottled transversely with grayish.
Length 15 to 17 inches; wing 7.50 to 9; culmen 1.90 to 2.60; tarsus 1.95 to 2.85" (Ridgway).
Western form, C. s. inornatus. Male and female, breeding plumage: —
" Differing from S. semipalmatus in being larger, with a longer, slenderer bill; the dark
markings above fewer, finer, and fainter, on a much paler (grayish-drab) ground; those
beneath duller, more confused or broken, and bordered by pinkish-salmon, whi<"h often
spreads over or suffuses the entire underparts, excei^ting the abdomen. Middle tail-
feathers either quite immaculate or very faintly barred. Measurements: Wing, 7.88
to 8.26 inch.; tail, 3.10—3.50; tarsus, 2.45—2.95; culmen, 2.28—2.70" (Brewster,
Auk, IV, 1887, 145-146).
ADDITIONAL NOTES ON A FEW SPECIES.
1. HolbcElIs Grebe. Colymbus holboelli.
Mr. A. (1. Baumgartel, of Grand Rapids, informs us that he mounted
a specimen for the museum of Hope College, Holland, IMich., which was
killed in that vicinity in 1S94. "'
6. Brunnich's Murre. Uria lomvia lomvia.
A specimen was shot near Kalamazoo on Thanksgiving Day, 1907,
and mounted by E. H. Crane of that city, who has the specimen.
7. Little Auk. Alle alle.
A Lake Michigan record of this interesting bird is furnished by a
specimen killed .January 11, 1908, along the ice fringe of Lake Michigan
near Port Washington, Wis., and now preserved in the Public ]\Iuseuin
of the City of Milwaukee. It appeared to be an adult in ordiiuiry winter
plumage (Henry L. Ward, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc, VI, April 1908).
15. Ring-billed Gull. Larus delawarensis.
Mr. W. E. Saunders of London, Out., found this species nesting in large
numbers on an island off the Canadian shore of Lake Huron, near the
Bruce Peninsula, in June 1905; again, in 1906, he visited another island,
about fifty miles southwest of the one just mentioned, and found the
Ring-l)ills nesting there in equal numbers (Wilson Bulletin No. 59, June,
1907, 73-74).
16. Franklin's Gull. Larus franklini.
Mr. A. G. Baumgartel, of Grand Rapids, writes us that he mounted
a specimen of this gull for a farmer, who took it on the "Big INIarsh,"
ADDITIONS. 735
near Holland, on April 28, 1897. He does not know what became of the
specimen.
21. Forster's Tern. Sterna forsteri.
We are informed l^y Norman A. Wood that a fine adult male Forster's
Tern was taken in Lodi township, Washtenaw county, in April, 1908,
and is now in the Universit}' Museum at Ann Arbor.
22. Double-crested Cormorant. Phalacrocorax dilophus.
Additional records are: One taken at Oden, Emmet count}' in May
1888, and now in the collection of William Brewster, Cambridge, Mass.;
three specimens taken at St. Clair Flats in April, October and November,
1906; two immature birds shot on Holton Lake, near Jackson, on Octol)er
20, 1911, by C. AV. Phelps and Dr. Schrivers, of Jackson, and given to the
University Museum at Ann Arbor (Norman A. Wood).
28. White Pelican. Pelecanus erythrorhynchos.
A specimen was taken. May 29, 1908, at Strawberry Island, St. Clair
Flats, and sent to Borck's shop in Detroit (B. H. Swales).
29. Brown Pelican. Pelecanus fuscus.
Mr. Albert Hirzel, of Forestville, Sanilac county, writes that he mounted
a brown pelican which was killed on the lake near that place. The specimen
was sent to the Harbor Beach High School, and we have not been able
to verif}^ the identification. It is not impossible that it may prove to
be an immature White Pelican.
104. Hudsonian Godwit. Limosa haemastica.
There is a mounted specimen, No. 20309, in the Kent Scientific .Museum,
marked "Grand Rapids," but without other data.
149. Barn Owl. Aluco pratincola.
A si)ecimen was taken at Lansing in October 1869, and was for a time
in the Agricultural College collection (Cat. No. 602), but was e.xchanged or
lost ti'ack of. It was collected by James Satterlee. Mr. Samuel Spicer,
of Goodrich, Genesee county has a mounted specimen which he collected
near that place alwut 1897.
214. Greater Redpoll. Acanthis linaria rostrata.
A si)ecimeu was taken by \V. H. Grant, at Houghton. Mich., NovembcM'
20, 1904, and is now in the University Museum at Ann Arbor (No. 32262).
The determination was verified by Norman A. Wood and the writer.
736 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
APPENDIX 2.
HYPOTHETICAL LIST.
This list includes species which have been iittribvitcd to Michigan but whose status, for
one I'eason or anotlier, is doubtful.
Western Grebe. ^Echmophorus occidentalis (Lawr.). (1)
A western species, breeding from Britisli Columbia to northern California,
and from Saskatchewan to North Dakota, and stragghng eastward ac-
cidentally as far as Minnesota and Wisconsin. In spite of numerous
references to this species we have failed to find a single good record for
Michigan. Holboclls Grebe seems to have been mistaken for this species
quite generally, but with little excuse. The fact that the neck of the
Western Grebe is nearly or quite as long as the body, and the culmen
always more than 2h inches long separates it sharply from any other grebe.
Eared Grebe. Colymbus nigricollis calif ornicus {Ilecrmann). (4)
This is another western species which sometimes strays eastward as
far as the Mississippi, and casually even farther. It has been reported
several times from Michigan, but we have been unable to verify a single
instance. There is a genuine specimen in the University of Michigan
Museum at Ann Arbor, said to have been taken in the vicinity, but the
data are open to so much cj[uestion that the specimen must be ignored.
Mr. Norman A. Wood writes that another specimen was taken at Saline,
Washtenaw county, January 10, 1879, by WiUiam Minett. We have not
been able to verify the determination of this specimen, or even to make
sure that it is still in existence. Butler records two specimens for Indiana
and there are sevei'al others from eastern points. In winter plumage,
our common Horned Grebe might be mistaken easily for this species,
but the shape of the bill is diagnostic. See key to species of grebes, page
36 of this volume.
Black-throated Loon. Gavia arctica {Linn.). (9)
Synonyms: Black-throated Diver; Arctic Loon.
Smaller than the common Loon and larger than the Red-throated Loon,
this bird is most likely to be confounded with the latter species. Its
tarsus, however, measures less than the middle toe without the claw,
while in the Red-throat the tarsus measures more than the middle toe
and claw. The winter plumage of the three species is so nearly identical
that only a careful comparison of proportions and measurements will
separate them satisfactorily.
The present species is a rare winter visitor to the northernmost waters
of the United States and probably occurs once in a while on Lakes Superior,
Michigan, and Huron. Kneeland includes it in his list of Keweenaw Point
birds (1857), and it figures in several of the old hsts. Possibly some
of these "records" were based on specimens actually taken, but apparently
HYPOTHETICAL LIST. 737
none have been preserved. We have been unable to find a Michigan
specimen in any collection, and have been equally unsuccessful in finding
an unquestionable record of its occurrence. Until something more definite
can be shown it seems best to exclude it from the regular list.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
"Adult in winter: Above, blackish or slaty without white markings, the throat, fore-
neck and entire under parts white. Tarsus shorter than middle toe without claw. Dis-
tance from base of culraen to anterior point of loral feathej-s not greater than distance
from latter point to anterior extremity of nostril. Length, 26 to 29 inches; wing, 12.15
to 13.20; culmen 2.50 to 2.85; depth of bill at base .75 to .80" (Ridgway).
Puffin. Fratercula arctica arctica (Linn.). (13)
Included erroneously in some of the older lists, but there seems to be
no reason whatever for its retention. It is an arctic or subarctic species
common only along the seaboard and never found at any great distance
from salt water. It is unsafe to say that its occurrence in Michigan waters
is impossible but it is entirely improbable.
Ancient Murrelet. Synthliboramphus antiquus (Gmcl.). (21)
Another bird for whose presence in Michigan lists there is no warrant.
A single straggler has been recorded from Wisconsin, and according to
Cook, another was reported as taken on the Wisconsin shore of Lake
Michigan, but we are unable to verif}^ this statement. Certainly there
is no Michigan record, and its capture is about as unlikely as that of the
Puffin. Its home is along the shores and islands of the north Pacific.
Black Guillemot. Cepphus grylle (Linn.). (27)
Practically the same remarks apply to this s])ecies as to the preceding,
except that so far as we can learn no specimen has ever been taken in
any of the territory immediately adjoining Michigan. The "Black Guille-
mots" recorded by Davidson from St. Clair Flats were Brunnich's Murres
(Bidl. M. 0. C. I, 8, 24).
Murre. Uria troille (Li int.). (30)
One or more sii])|)()sed records of this species in all i)i'ol)aI)ilily lest ujton
captures of the Thick-billed Murre (Brunnich's Murre), Vr'nx lomvia.
There seems to he no good reason why one of these species should occur
in some numbers and the other not at all, but such appears to be the fact.
There is no valid Michigan record.
Razor-billed Auk. Alca torda Linn. (32)
Still another member of the family of Auks, Alcida>, which has been
credited to Michigan, but evidently upon insufficient grounds. We know
of no captuie anywhere in the vicinity of .Alichigan. It is a sea bird strictly,
and as unlikely to occur on the Great Lakes as the Puffin.
93
738 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Laughing Gull. Larus atricilla Linn. (58)
Synonyms: Black-headed (!vill. — Larus ridil)undiis, \\ils()ii.
This is a southern species which is abundant along the South Atlantic
coast but is very rarely found in the inteiior, and there are no satisfactory
records for Michigan. Those cited by Cook (Birds of Michigan, 2d ed.,
1893, 33) are not supported in any case by specimens, and L. W. Watkins
informs us that the report attributed to him is erroneous. Major Boies
includes it in his list of the Birds of Neebish Island (1897), but took no
specimens.
It is more than ])ro])able that some one of the smaller black-headed
gulls has been mistaken for it in every case. It should be borne in mind
that this bird is about twice the weight of Bonaparte's Ciull, and little
inferior in measurements to the Ring-billed Gull.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Tarsus much longer than middle toe and claw. Adult in summer with the head and
mantle dark slate color; five outer primaries entirely black or with small white tij)s, the
rest always white-tipped. Rest of plumage pure white, or rose-tinted in the breeding
season. Bill and feet dark red. Length, 15 to 17 inches; wing, 13; tail, 5; culmen, 1.75.
Gull-billed Tern. Gelochelidon nilotica (Linn.). (63)
Synonym: Marsh Tern.
A species which has figured frequently in lists of Michigan l)irds, but
without satisfactory evidence. After careful examination of all the
so-called records we are convinced that there is not a shadow of excuse
for including it in the list. It is a bird of almost w^orld-wide distribution
on the salt waters of tropical and warm temperate regions. In the United
States it occurs rarely as far north as New England and is extremely rare
in the interior. Apparently there is no good record for Ohio, Indiana
or Wisconsin, and if it has ever occurred in any part of the Great Lake
region its presence must have been entirely accidental. We attribute the
frequent reference to this species to the unfortunate name "Marsh Tern"
which has led collectors who have found Forster's Tern or the Black Tern
nesting in marshes to assume that they had found the Gull-billed Tern.
As a matter of fact this bird is twice as heavy as the Black Tern and fully
as large as the Common Tern or as Forster's Tern, but as its name implies,
the bill is much stouter and thicker than in the genus Sterna, much more
closely resembling that of a gull than a tern. Moreover, the bill is entirely
black.
Roseate Tern. Sterna dougalli Montagu. (72)
A southern species ranging northward along the Atlantic coast to Mass-
achusetts and occasionally to Maine, l)ut apparently confined to the sea-
board. There is no authentic record for the state. There is a monnted
specimen in the University IMuseum at Ann Arbor bearing "INIich. " on
tlie label, but the record shows that it was obtained from a collector or
dealer who" did not specify any locality. A skin in the Kent Scientific
Museum at Grand Rapids (mentioned in Moseley's list, and referred to
by Cook) has no locality label whatever.
HYPOTHETICAL LIST. 739
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
In this sjjecies we have another bird so closely resembling three related species as to be
readily confounded with them by any except the most careful observers. It may be
known in summer from any Michigan tern by the combination of three peculiarities:
The breast and belly are either pure white or rose-tinted; the entire tail is white, the outer
and inner webs of the outer tail-feathers being precisely alike; the bill is mainly black,
being reddish only at or near the base. The tail is about as long as in the Arctic Tern,
being at least an "inch longer tlian in Forster's, and nearly two inches longer than in the
Common Tern. Winter adulls and young of the year are similar to those of the sjaecies
already mentioned and can l)c separated only by the expert. Length, 14 to 17 inches;
wing, 9.25 to 9.75; tail, 7.25 to 7.75 (forked for 3.50 to 4.50 inches); culmen, 1.50.
Sooty Tern. Sterna fuscata {Linn.) (75)
This is another tropical or suh-tropical species of wide distribution which
has been credited to Michigan. Its normal habitat in America is from
Chili to western Mexico and the Carolinas, casually to New England.
It is barely possible that one might be caught in a tropical hurricane and
swept northward into the Great Lake region, but we know of no instance.
The record for DeWitt, Ingham county (Cook, Birds of Michigan, 2d ed.,
1893, 35) unquestionably relates to the Black Tern, which occurs not
iufrecpiently on the ponds and marshes of Ingham county, but probably
was unknown to the recorder. Dr. Topping, who found the name "Sooty
Tern" appropriate to the specimen he took. The Sooty Tern is larger
than either the Common Tern or Forster's Tern, mainly sooty black above,
but pure white below, the outer pair of tail feathers mainly white, the
others blackish.
Anhinga. Anhinga anhinga {Linn.). (118)
Synonyms: Snake Bird, Water Turkey.
This is a tropical form restricted to the southern portions of the United
States and not likely ever to occur within om- limits. Its appearance in for-
mer Hsts seems to be due to the statement that Mr. Chas. Dury of Cincin-
nati, Ohio, had a specimen in his collection which was brought from Sault
Ste. Marie, Mich., by a gentleman who is said to have obtained it from the
])crson who shot it, the implication ])eing that it was killed at Sault Ste.
Marie. It is extremely improbable that this was the case, there being only
the barest possibiUty that a bird of this kind, accustomed only to tropical
waters, could have survived more than a few hours in the icy current of
St. Mary's River, even had it in some mysterious manner reached that
northern point. It is far more probable that this was a Florida specimen
included among the wares of some curio dealer who was willing to ascribe
any locality to the bird which would secure its sale. So far as we can
learn there is no record of the occurrence of this species north of South
('arolina and the southernmost point of Illinois.
Cormorant. Phalacrocorax carbo {Linn.). (119)
Another species which has appeared pretty regularly in previous lists
of the liirds of the state, but a]:)parently without wan-ant.^ It is practically
certain that all the so-called records of this Inrd are based in reality on
the ])oul)lc-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritns which is doul)tloss
the onl}^ species which occurs in Michigan. The Common Cormorant
740 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
is restricted very closely to the coasts of the north Atlantic and has rarely
or never been taken at any distance inland. To the average observer
the two species look precisely alike, but there are numerous points of
difference, the simplest being the number of tail-feathers, carho having
fourteen and auritus but twelve.
Harlequin Duck. Histrionicus histrionicus {Linn.). (155)
Synonyms: Painted Duck, Mountain Duck, Rock Duck.
The male, readily known by the remarkable pattern of coloration, which
has given it the name Harlequin, is slaty blue, black, and mahogany-red,
with spots, rings and patches of pure white.
We know of no specimen of this duck taken within the limits of the
state. Covert in his manuscript list of 1894-95 states that a specimen
was taken at Tawas Bay (Lake Huron), in January 1893 by John Symes;
we have been unable, however, to verify this statement. Dr. Gibbs states
that a specimen was shot on Lake Michigan near Chicago, and is now
in the collection of the Chicago Academy of science. Kumlien & Hollister
say ''Rare winter straggler to Lake Michigan. Dr. Hoy obtained at
least four specimens at Racine, and there is an old record, specimen not
extant however, for Milwaukee" (Birds of Wisconsin, p. 25). The bird
is fairly common and perfectly well known along the coast of Maine'and
New Brunswick, and also occurs in numbers in parts of the Hudson Bay
region and in the high lakes of the northern Rocky Mountains and the
Sierra Nevadas. The Harlequin loves cold weather and ice, and if it
occurs at all within our limits it would be only during the winter season
and in very small numbers. In the Fur Countries it is said by Sir John
Richardson to frequent the eddies below waterfalls and similar localities
in rapid streams.
Labrador Duck. Camptorhynchus labradorius (GnirJ.). (156)
Distribution. — Formerly northern Atlantic Coast, from New Jersey
(in winter) northward, breeding from Labrador northward. Now extinct.
The claim of this duck to a place in the Michigan fauna rests mainly if
not entirely on the statement of Mr. A. B. Covert of Ann Arbor, who, in
company with Mr. Joshua Jones of the same place, took a specimen which
Mr. Covert believes was a Labrador Duck, near Delhi Mills, Washtenaw
county, iMichigan, April 17, 1872. No other naturalist appears to have
examined this specimen, which was mounted and in IMr. Jones' collection
for many years. Subsequently Mr. Jones died, his collection was scattered,
and the specimen has never been located. The bird was a young bird
and may easily have been something else than the Labrador Duck.
Reference to this specimen is made in Forest and Stream of May 4, 1876.
Stockwell in his list of Michigan birds (F. & S. VIII, 23, 380) says "An
accidental visitor to Michigan; one or two specimens have been seen in
Georgian Bay." Other writers fail to mention the species, and while it
is possible it does not seem probable that the bird was ever found in numbers
on the Great Lakes. No doubt whatever exists that it is entirely extinct
at the present time. The last specimen seen alive was a female shot by
Mr. Cheney near the Island of Grand IMenan, N. B. (near Eastport, Me.)
in April 1871.
HYPOTHETICAL LIST. 741
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: "Head, neck, chest, scapulars, and wings (except quills) white; rest of
plumage, including stripe on top of head and broad ring around neck, deep black; stiffened
feathers of cheeks brownish white. Adult female: Uniform brownish gray, the wmgs
more plumbeous; tertials silvery gray, edged with blackish; secondaries white, primaries
dusky. Young male: Similar to adult female, but chin and throat white, and white
chest of adult male strongly indicated; greater wing-coverts white. Length 18 to 23.73,
wing 8.50 to 8.90, culmen 1.60 to 1.70 inches" (Ridgway).
Greater Snow Goose. Chen hyperboreus nivalis (Forst). (169a)
Similar to the Lesser Snow Goose, but averaging decidedly larger.
If this bird occurs at all in Michigan it must be merely as a straggler.
While it is stated that the range during winter is from the Atlantic coast
to the Mississippi Valley, we have no unquestionable record for Michigan,
or in fact for neighboring parts of the Great Lake region. It is believed
to nest in the far north, east of the Mackenzie Basin, but its nest and egg
appear to be unknown, and the nesting grounds as stated above seem to
be rather an inference than a known fact.
There seem to be slight differences in shape of the bill in the two forms,
but they are most readily discriminated by their measurements, the present
form being decidedly larger than the Lesser Snow Goose.
White-cheeked Goose. Branta canadensis occidentalis (Baird). (172b)
This is a variety or geographical race of the Canada Goose, belonging
properly on the Pacific coast from Sitka to California, and its presence in
Michigan is extremely inprobable. It rests solely on the statement of
the late W. H. Collins of Detroit, that he had seen specimens which were
taken at St. Clair Flats. He was very likely mistaken, at all events there
are no specimens or other evidence to confirm his statement.
Cackling Goose. Branta canadensis minima Ridgw. (172c)
This is another northwestern coast subspecies whose breeding ground
is in Alaska, but which during migration sometimes straggles into the
Mississippi Valley. Like the preceding its place in the Michigan list
rests only on the word of the late W. H. Colhns, who was probably mistaken
in his identification. According to Dr. Gib]3S, and some other writers,
the name Cackling Goose is commonly used for the Snow Goose, and it is
not impossible that Collins merely intended to record the capture of the
Snow Goose under this name.
Black Brant. Branta nigricans {Lawrence). (174)
Similar to the common l']astcrn lirant, {B. h. glaucogasira) Init has white
streaks or flecks on the front as well as sides of neck, forming a white
collar in the adult; also much darker below than the Eastern foi-m.
This is a bird of the western shore of the continent, breeding in Alaska
and western Arctic America and ranging south in winter along the entire
California coast. Its presence anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains
is entirely accidental, and it is extremely unlikely that it ever has been
seen in Michigan.
The occasional roforoncos to Black Brant by contril^itoi-s to sporting
742 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
magazines are based usually on the young of the Snow Goose and the
Blue- winged Goose, which are very dark compared with the adult Snow
Geese. The latter are commonly called "Wliite Brant" in the Great
Lake region.
Louisiana Heron. Hydranassa tricolor ruficoUis (Gosse). (199)
])istribution. — Gulf States, Mexico (both coasts), Central America,
and West Indies; casually northward to New Jersey and Indiana.
This species was included in Cook's "Birds of Michigan" probably on
the strength of Moseley's statement that there was a specimen in the
collection of the Kent Scientific Institute at Grand Rapids. "This speci-
men bore no locality label and probably was secured by Gunn in the South."
(R. H. Wolcott, Dec. 1904). Apparently this specimen has been lost
or destroyed, as the writer has been una])le to find it in the Kent collection.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Nyctanassa violacea (Linn.). (203)
The adult is similar in size and proportions to the Black-crowned Night
Heron, but the culmen is shorter than the tarsus, the crown is white or
yellowish white, often stained with rusty, the rest of the head and throat
black, and most of the remaining plumage bluish-gray. The young of
the two species are very much alike and careful examination and comparison
are necessary in order to separate them; the relative length of culmen
and tarsus is the most certain test.
This is a southern bird which would not be expected to occur in Michigan
even as a straggler. The only excuse for noting it here is the statement
in Cook's "Birds of Michigan" (2d edition, 1893, p. 52) that "a specimen
was taken by a taxidermist at Forestville, Sanilac county, and is now in
his collection (W. A. Oldfield)". We have not been able to verify this
record and feel sure it is a mistake. Mr. Albert Hirzel, a well-known
taxidermist and collector of Forestville, has no knowledge of such a capture,
but has mounted several Black-crowned Night Herons. There is, however,
an immature specimen of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron in the Provincial
Museum of Toronto, taken close to that city August 15, 1898 (Auk XXIII,
1906, 220).
Little Brown Crane. Grus canadensis {Linn.). (205)
Similar to the Sandhill Crane, but decidedly smaller, its length only
about 35 inches and wing 17.50 to 20 inches; while the Sandhill Crane
is 40 to 48 inches in length and the wing from 21 inches upward. The bill of
the latter always exceeds 5 inches, while that of the Little Brown Crane
never reaches 4.50 and averages hardly more than 3.50 inches.
This is a bird of the far north and northwest and it is extremely doubtful
if it ever occurs within our limits. No Michigan specimen exists in any
collection so far as we can learn, and the few reported occurrences in all
prol)ability relate to the common Sandhill Crane.
Clapper Rail. Rallus crepitans crepitans Gmd. (211)
Synonym: Salt Water Marsh Hen.
Similar in size and general pattern of coloration to the King Rail, and
the young of the two species reseml)le each other somewhat closely.
HYPOTHETICAL LIST. 743
Although the name has appeared in various lists, particularly those of
Covert, Hughes, Atkins, and Stockwell, we are satisfied that specimens
of the King Rail were mistaken for the other species. The Clapper Rail
is a bird of the salt marshes of the Atlantic coast and probably never
occurs within our limits.
Black Rail. Creciscus jamaicensis (Gincl). (216)
Synonyms: Little Black Rail. — Rallus jamaicensis, Gm. — Porzana jamaicensis of
most authors.
A tiny rail whose dark slate plumage, flecked with white, is distinctive.
Distribution. — Temperate North America, north to Massachusetts,
northern Ilhnois, and Oregon; south to the West Indies and Guatemala.
This diminutive rail, the smallest of the genus found in the United
States, if not anywhere, is extremely rare in Michigan if it occur at all.
So far as we are aware no Michigan specimen exists in any museum or
private collection, and it has been recorded from the state but once, and
the identification in that case was hardly conclusive. In his list of the
birds of Washtenaw county (1881), Mr. Covert says "One specimen only
has fallen under my notice from this county; this specimen was brought
to me June 4, 1880." In his manuscript list for 1894-95 he states that
this bird was killed near Ann Arbor by C. Stoll, and was brought to him
on the morning of June 4 just as he was starting for Albion where he was
employed. He took the bird with him in his hand-bag, but had no oppor-
tunity to skin it until night, when he found that it had spoiled from the
heat, and it was thrown away.
So far as we can find, this species is not mentioned in any other Michigan
list, but there are records from southern Ontario, northern Illinois, Ohio,
Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska (See J. A. Allen, Auk, XVII,
5). The single Wisconsin record is as follows: "August 20, 1877 a Marsh
Hawk was killed by F. Kumlien from a muskrat house on the border of
Lake Koshkonong. When noted first it was eating something, and this
proved to be a Little Black Rail" (Kumlien and HolHster, Birds of Wiscon-
sin, p. 39). There are two records for Ohio, and Mr. E. W. Nelson found
the species nesting near Chicago in 1875. He states that "The nest was
found June 19, 1875, and contained ten fresh eggs. The eggs are creamy
white, nearly perfectly oval, thinly sprinkled with fine reddish-brown
dots which become larger and more numerous at one end. They average
1 by .85 inches" (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, I, 43). Mr. Nelson considens
the species a regular summer resident in noi'theastcrn Illinois, and not
very rare.
This bird is almost mouse-like in its habit of running through the thick
grass making it practically impossible to flush it except with a dog. Con-
sidei'ing all the facts, it is not improba]:)le that the Black Rail visits southern
Michigan occasionally in very small numbers, but thus far has escaped
detection.
TECH NICAL DESCRIPTION.
"Dusky above, tlic back si)eckle(l with white. Adult: Head, neck, and lower jiarts
plain dark phunbcous, or slate color, ilarker (sometimes nearly black) on top of head;
belly and imdcr tail-coverts brownisli Ijlack, liarred witli wliitefliind neck and back dark
chestnut brown, marked with small dots and irrci^ular bars of white. Youiis^: Similar
to adult, but In-east, etc. dull jirayisii, tlie Ihroat whilisli, and to]) of head tinged with
reddisli-brown. Downv voung: iMitircly l)hiish-black. Length 5 to (> inches; wing 2 50
to ;'..•_'(); culincn .r>() to ".()(); tarsus ..S.^") to .90" (Hidgway).
t44 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
European Woodcock. Scolopax rusticola Linn. (227)
Similar to the common Woodcock, but decidedly larger and with the
under parts conspicuously barred with dark brown.
A bird of the Old World, occurring only by accident in eastern North
America.
According to A. B. Covert, a single specimen was taken at Ann Arbor,
Mich., May 9, 1870, by Dr. William E. Lewitt (Forest and Stream, VI,
402). We have been unable to verify this record, and the specimen has
been lost sight of. There are several unquestionable records for the
eastern states, and it is supposed that these were wanderers which had
reached Greenland, and instead of returning south by way of Europe had
crossed to Labrador and moved southward with the hosts of American
waders on their autumnal migration.
Western Red-breasted Snipe. Macrorhamphus griseus scolopaceus (Say).
(232)
Synonyms: Long-billed Dowitcher, Western Brown-bark, Gray-back.
Similar in all but size to the Red-breasted Snipe, but decidedly larger.
Summer adults may be separated by color of plumage, but in winter dress,
in which alone they may be seen in Michigan, they are almost identical.
Distribution. — Western North America, breeding in Alaska to the
Arctic Coast, migrating south in winter through the western United States
(including the Mississippi Valley) to Mexico, and, less commonly, along
the Atlantic Coast.
We have no satisfactory record of this species in Michigan, but its re-
semblance to the preceding species is so close, and so few of either form
are taken, that it is not at all unlikely that stragglers may occur. Mr.
B. H. Swales took a specimen near Detroit, August 26, 1905, which was
referred to Ridgway and identified somewhat doubtfully as belonging
to this western form. Mr. Ridgway remarked that "identification in
this plumage is very difficult." As already noted, both forms occur in
northern Illinois and both have been taken in Wisconsin, although ap-
parently not in any numbers. Kumlien and Hollister say of this species
"They are known only during migrations and then sparingly. A few
appear in May and June, and a very few at that, and again in August
and September, but so irregularly that they may pass as rare. We have
here a good illustration of what continual spring shooting can accomplish "
(Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, p. 43).
In habits this species is the counteri)art of the Red-l)reastcd Snipe.
Its nest and eggs are also similar, but the latter are decidedly lai'gor, averag-
ing 1.74 by 1.21 inches.
Purple Sandpiper. Arquatella maritima maritima (Bninn.). (235)
Synonyms: Rock Snipe, Winter Snijie.
The general dark color, with ashy breast and entire absence of sti'eaks,
spots, or bars, serve to separate this species sharply from any other of
similar size. For proportions and other characteristics consult the artificial
kej^ on pages 171, 172 of this volume.
Distribution. — Northern portion!? of Northern Hemisphere; in North
America chiefly the northeastern portions; lireeding in the high north,
HYPOTHETICAL LIST. 745
migrating in winter to tlie Eastern and Middle States, the Great Lakes,
and the shores of the hirger streams in the upper Mississippi Valle}^
This bird is partial to rocky shores and cold weather; a late migrant
and likely to remain on the lake shore until ice forms. While we have
no actual records for the state, it seems almost certain that the species
must occur in suitable places, at least occasionally. E. W. Nelson found
it on the shore of Lake Michigan in northeastern IlHnois (Bull. Nutt.
Orn. Club, II, 1877, 68). One was obtained near Chicago, on the lake
shore, November 7, 1871 (Baird, Brewer and Ridgway, Water Birds I,
218). "Dr. Hoy states, in his list of 1852, that this species was abundant
at Racine from April 15 to May 20" (Kumlien and Hollister, Birds of
Wisconsin, 1903, p. 45). There are also several records for Ontario
(Mcllwraith, Birds of Ontario, 1894, 138).
Length 8 to 9.50 inches; wing'4.85 to 5.40; culmen 1.10 to 1.45; tarsus
.90 to 1.
Curlew Sandpiper. Erolia ferruginea (Brunn.). (244)
Scarcely distinguishable from the Red-backed Sandpiper except by
the expert, but averaging a little larger, with the bill proportionally shorter,
but of the same shape.
Distribution. — The Old World in general; occasional in eastern North
America and Alaska.
This is an extremely rare bird anywhere in America, and its presence
in Michigan can be regarded only as accidental. There is said to be a
specimen in the Museum of the University of Michigan labeled ''Michigan,"
but there is no evidence of its origin upon the books. Dr. Gibbs states
that D. D. Hughes records it as taken in 1870 (Manuscript Ornithology
of Mich.). According to Dr. R. H. Wolcott there should be a specimen
in the collection of the Kent Scientific Institute at Grand Rapids labeled
"Detroit, 1869," but the writer found no specimen whatever of the Curlew
Sandpiper in the Kent Scientific Museum, after a careful examination
in November, 1905. It is not improbable that all these records are based
on immature examples of the Red-backed Sandpiper.
Western Semipalmated Sandpiper. Ereunetes mauri Cahmiis. (247)
Synonyms: Peei^, Western Sandpiper. — Ereunetes occidentalis, I^awr.
In plumage so Hke the ordinary Semipalmated Sandpiper as to be separ-
able only by the expert; but the bill of the western bird averages decidedly
longer, measuring .88 of an inch in the male and 1.05 in the female, so that
if specimens are carefully sexed there should be no trouble in separating
them.
Distribution. — Chiefly western United States, frequent eastward to
the Atlantic coast; breeding far north and migrating in winter to Central
and South America.
So far as we can find, this species, or subspecies, has not been recorded from
Michigan; but, since it occurs in some numbers to the eastward, and has
been taken regularly on Lake Koskkonong, Wisconsin (Kumlien and
Hollister, Birds of Wisconsin 1903, 48), there is some pro])ability that it
might be found in Micliigan during migration if carefully sought.
746 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Ruff. Machetes pugnax {Linn.). (260)
Syiiouyins: Reeve (for the female). — Triuga pugnax, Linn., 1758. — Pavoncella pugiuix
of some authors.
In breeding plumage the male is unmistakable from the extraordinary
development of the feathers of the neck, which form a collar or ruff which
has given the bird its name. The male at other seasons, and the female
and young at all times, lack this ruff and would be recognized only by the
expert.
Distribution. — Northern parts of the Old World, straying occasionally
to eastern North America.
The only record for this species in Michigan, so far as we know, is the
statement of G. A. Stockwell which reads: "Two specimens taken by
myself, and have heard of three or four others, all taken in Sanilac county,
Michigan" (Forest and Stream, VIII, 22, 361). In view of the fact that
no specimens have been preserved, and that this writer included several
species erroneously, it seems best not to give the RufT a place in the Mich-
igan list until some new record is forthcoming. Of course there is no
question as to the possibility of its occurrence, since it has been taken often
enough in the Eastern United States to show that it probal^ly comes south
from Greenland with some frequency in company with other shore birds
on their fall migration. Mcllwraith records the capture of a specimen
near Toronto, Ontario, in the spring of 1882 (Birds of Ontario, 1894, 154).
The Ruff is of about the same size as the Bartramian Sandpiper, and
reseml)les that bird more nearly than any other of our shore birds.
Rock Ptarmigan. Lagopus rupestris rupestris {Gmel.). (302)
It is not likely that this bird ever enters Michigan, but Mcllwraith says:
"This is another northern species reported by Mr. Bampton as being
occasionally exposed in the winter time in the market at Sault Ste. Marie
(Canada). It resembles the preceding in general appearance, but is
rather less in size, and in winter plumage the black band through the eye
of the male serves at once to decide its identity" (Birds of Ontario, 1894,
177-178).
Ground Dove. Chaemepelia passerina terrestris (Chapyn.). (320)
The only record for the state is that published l)y Dr. H. A. Atkins of
Locke, who stated, in July 1884, that in 1843, he met with a pair of these
birds in the township of Brighton, Livingston county, Michigan (O. & O.
Vol. IX, p. 81). Doubtless the good Doctor was mistaken, for, although
perfectly honest and fairly reliable, a record first published forty-one
years after the observation is certainly open to some question. The
normal habitat of this species is in the South Atlantic and Gulf States,
and it is extremel}^ probable that the birds which Dr. Atkins saw were
merely short-tailed young Mourning Doves.
Black Vulture. Catharista urubu (Vieill). (326)
Black Vultures have been reported from time to time b}^ correspondents
in different parts of the state and the name occurs in several of the lists.
There is little reason, however, to suppose that this species has even been
taken within our limits. The Turkey Buzzard looks perfectly black under
HYPOTHETICAL LIST. 747
ordinary circumstances and doubtless is the species which has given rise
to the reports mentioned. The Black Vulture is more southern in its
distribution and is much less common in most parts of the south.
Of course it is by no means impossible that wanderers may occur in Mich-
igan, but we have yet to learn of a record. The specimen reported, as
shot near Goodrich, Genesee county by Dr. Green, October 10, 1888, and
preserved in Mr. Spicer's collection, proves on examination to be a Turkey
Buzzard.
European Buzzard. Buteo buteo (Linn.). (336)
A native of Europe and western Asia which closely resembles several
of our buzzard hawks, especially Swainson's Hawk and the Red-tailed
Hawk in certain plumages. It occurs in Kneeland's hst of the birds of
Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior, under the name of Buteo vulgaris, Bechst.,
but probably was based on Swainson's Hawk, which Kneeland did not
record and which he probably mistook for the European Buzzard. There
are several other records, especially one of a specimen said to have been
taken at Paw Paw, Van Buren county, Michigan, about October 1, 1873,
by J. D. Allen; identified by Ridgway, and now in the National Museum.
The species was included by Coues in the 5th edition of his "Key," 1903,
also in Ridgway's Manual and in the A. O. U. Check-hst (2d ed., 1905),
number 336, all largely on the strength of this single specimen.
More or less doubt has always attached to the Michigan specimen above
cited; not as to the specimen itself, which was correctly identified, but
as to its origin in Michigan. It is now believed that through an unin-
tentional interchange of specimens a European skin was included with
others collected in America and that there is no actual record of the
European Buzzard for this countrv. Hence it is omitted entirely from
the latest edition (1910) of the A. 0. U. Check-hst.
Western Red-tail. Buteo borealis calurus Cass. (337b)
Very similar to the common Red-tail, but decidedly darker, some speci-
mens almost black everywhere except on the tail. The tail is like that
of the ordinary Red-tail, but always with a black subterminal band and
sometimes with several narrower dark bands.
Distribution. — Western North America, from the Rocky ]Mountains to
the Pacific, south into Mexico; casually east to Illinois.
It is supposable that the Western Red-tail should occur accidentally
in Michigan, but we do not know of a Michigan specimen in any collection.
The late Dr. J. W. Velie, of St. Joseph, told the writer that while at
Petoskey, Emmet county, in September 1893, he saw a perfectly black
Red-tailed Hawk at very close range. He was riding on an open car at
the time and the bird was fiightened by the engine and flew up and alighted
on a jjranch close to the ti-ack and sat there with wings spread and mouth
wide open while the train passed. Dr. Velie was so close that he "could
see every feather on the bird" and is positive that it was a black Buteo.
This is a good example of a questionable record. The observer probably
was as well qualified to identify the bird in question as anyone could be,
and the view of the bird left little to be desired. Nevertheless it may have
been Buteo borealis harlani, and there is even a possibility that it was a
748 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
would settle absolutely these points and while the question is open Ave
must relegate the species to the hypothetical list.
In general habits the Western Red-tail does not differ noticeably from
its eastern relative, but in the more or less treeless regions of the west the
nest is sometimes built in smaller trees and much nearer the ground than
is usual in the east, occasionally even on a cactus or the shelf of a cliff.
Harlan's Hawk. Buteo borealis harlani (Aud.). (337(1)
Synonyms: Harlan's Hen Hawk, Black Hawk, Black Warrior.
Similar to the Western Red-tail, and often equally black; in fact some
specimens show little other color, although commonly the tail of the adult
is mottled and barred with black, gray, and rusty.
Distribution. — Gulf States and lower Mississippi Valley, north casually
to Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Kansas; south to Central America.
We have no record of this hawk for Michigan unless the specimen seen
by Dr. Velie at Petoskey, and described under the last number, should
be one. There are several records, however, for Indiana and Illinois and
it is possible that wanderers may sometimes reach southern Michigan.
As noted by Mr. Amos Butler in his Birds of Indiana this is the bird for
which in all probability the well known Indian chief "Black Hawk" was
named.
Gyrfalcon. Falco rusticolus gyrfalco Liim. (354a)
Synonyms: Gerfalcon, Brown Gyrfalcon, Jerfalcon.
The peculiar notched bill characterizes the falcons, and the large species
(Peregrine and Gyrfalcon) have only the first primary emarginate on the
inner web. The wing of the male Gyrfalcon measures about 14 inches,
that of the female 15 to 16 inches.
Distribution. — Northern Europe, Greenland and Arctic America, from
northern Labrador and Hudson Bay to Alaska; rarely south in winter to
New England.
At least four subspecies of gyrfalcon are found occasionally (usually in
winter) along the northern border of the United States, but they are so
seldom taken, and the distinctions between them are so slight, that the
notes on Michigan occurrences are inextricably confused. We do not
know of a single Michigan specimen in any collection. Under the name
''Greenland Gyrfalcon, Falco sacer candicans" Stockwell says "A single
specimen taken in Michigan, on the authority of the late Dr. G. B. Wilson"
(Forest and Stream, VIII, 224).
Kneeland wrote: "I have heard of a white falcon of large size (measur-
ing about five feet in the spread of his wings) wdiich was shot on the'^point;
this, I think, must have been the gyrfalcon" (Birds of Keweenaw" Point,
Lake Superior, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. VI, 1857, p. 232.)
All the Gyrfalcons are birds of the far north, most of them nesting within
the Arctic Circle and feeding on ptarmigan, waterfowl, and hares, and
only appearing wdthin the limits of the United States in winter.
Richardson's Hawk. Falco columbarius richardsoni Ridgw. (357b)
Synonyms: Richardson's Merlin, Richardson's Falcon.
Known by its general resemblance to the Pigeon Hawk, and like that
species having the two outer primaries emarginate on their inner webs;
HYPOTHETICAL LIST. 749
the middle tail-feathers, however, are crossed by five darker and six lighter
bands, and it averages slightly larger than the Pigeon Hawk and fighter
above.
This is a bird of the western plains of North America from Texas to
the Saskatchewan and from the Mississippi to the Pacific, but it seems to
be nowhere very common and has been recorded but rarely east of the
Mississippi River. It has been included in several Michigan fists, but
there is much dovibt as to its actual occurrence within our limits. It was
originally included in the maiuiscript list of the Rev. Chas. Fox, and Mr.
Covert says that a specimen was taken at Ann Arbor in the fall of 1859,
by Dr. Sager, but no such specimen can be found, and it seems likely that
the identification was incorrect.
Carolina Paroquet. Conuropsis carolinensis (Linn.). (382)
Synonyms: Parrakoct, Carolina Parrakeet, Carolina Parrot, Illinois Parrot, Orange-
headed Parrot. — Psittacus carolinensis, Linn., 1758, Wils., And. — Conmnis carolinensis,
Kuhl., 1830, and most recent authors.
The general bright green color, with orange forehead, bright yellow
head and neck, and blue-tipped wings, readily distinguish this bird.
Distribution. — Formerly Florida and the Gulf States north to Maryland
the Great Lakes, Iowa and Nebraska, west to Colorado, Indian Territory
and Texas, and straggling northeastward to Pennsylvania and New York.
Now restricted to Florida, Arkansas and Indian Territory, where it is
of only local occurrence.
This interesting bird, the only representative of the family found in
the United States, has been long extinct in JNIichigan if indeed it ever
occurred here. So far as we can learn no Michigan specimen exists today.
Mr. Ridgway, in his "Birds of Illinois" (1889), says "The National Museum
possesses a fine adult example from Illinois, another from Michigan and
several from the Platte River in Nebraska" (Vol. I, p. 397). The specimen
alluded to (No. 1228) is without date or exact locality, and it has been
shown recently that it did not come from Michigan, but from the "Southern
States" (Swales, Auk, XXVII, 1910, 209). There is a single specimen
in the Kumlien collection taken in Waukesha county, Wisconsin in 1844,
and probably the only Wisconsin specimen extant (Birds of Wisconsin,
p. 73).
It was formerly a regular visitor to Ohio, Indiana and Ifiinois, and
doubtless bred in all those states. Audubon states that the}^ were plentiful
in Ohio about 1807, and could be procured as far north as Lake Erie,
and Amos Butler, who has collected much interesting matter relating to
this species in Indiana, gives a record of their nesting at one time within
a few miles of Indianai)olis.
Ladder-backed Three-toed Woodpecker. Picoides americanus americanus
Brchm. (401)
Synonyms: American Hlack-hackcd Woodpecker.
Very similar to the Iilack-])acked Three-toed Woodi:)ccker, Init some-
what smaller and the middle line of back not uniform black, but more or
less crossl)arred with white. Length, about 9 inches, wing, 4.40 to 4.60;
tail, 3.10 to 3.75; culmen, 1.10 to 1.25.
This species has l)een repeatedly listed from IMichigan, but we are unable
TfiO MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
to find any record which cun be authenticated. It is possible that it
may occur in winter, but it seems very improbable that it is a summer
resident or even a regular winter visitor in any numbers. In general
habits it closely resembles its nearest relative.
Fork-tailed Flycatcher. Muscivora tyrannus (Linn.). (442)
Readily recognized ])y its general resemlilance to the common Kingbird,
but the tail remarkably long and deeply forked, the outer feathers often
9 or 10 inches in length.
This can be regarded, only as an accidental visitor, if indeed it has actually
occurred at all in Michigan. At present its claim to a place in our fauna
rests on the fact that in June 1882, Dr. Morris Gibbs was shown a specimen
of this bird in the collection of A. B. Covert which was said to have been
taken at Lake Ridge, Lenawee county, Mich., in July 1879. We have
been unable to trace this specimen and are of the opinion that the species
has no right to a place in the Michigan list.
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Muscivora forficata (Gind.). (443)
There seems to bo no record of this species for Michigan.
Traill's Flycatcher. Empidonax trailli trailli (Aud.). (466)
Not separable from the Alder Flycatcher, or even from the Acadian,
except by an expert.
Distribution. — Western North America from the Mississippi Valley
south of latitude 42° to the Pacific, and from the Fur Countries south
into Mexico.
It is not impossible that this species may occur during migration in
the half dozen southwestern counties of the state, but we do not know
of a record of its capture. It is so similar to the Alder Flycatcher, with
which it was confounded previous to 1895, that records of specimens
seen are entirely valueless. In general habits, nest and eggs, this species
seems to be identical with its sub-species alnorum.
Fish Crow. Corvus ossifragus WiU. (490)
Very similar in appearance to the common Crow, but averaging much
smaller, large specimens of the latter being nearly or quite twice as heavy
as small Fish Crows, but only an expert can separate large Fish Crows from
small specimens of the Common Crow.
Distribution. — Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, from southern Connecticut
to Louisiana. Common in the lower Hudson Valle}^; casual in Mass-
achusetts. '
It is extremely impi'ol^ablc that the Fish Crow has any right to a place
in our Michigan list. No Michigan specimen exists in any museum so
far as can be learned, and apparently all the references but one are based
upon the statement of ''Archer" (G. A. Stockwell), who says "Frequently
seen in the neighborhood of the Great Lakes of Michigan" (Forest and
Stream, Vol. VIII, No. 19, p. 300). There is a specimen of genuine
ofisifragu.'i in the University Museum at Ann Arbor bearing the label "Fish
Crow. State (geological Survey, Michigan" iMit since similar labels were
HYPOTHETICAL LIST. 751
placed upon specimens known to have been taken outside the state, it
seems altogether probable that this is a southern specimen.
Purple Grackle. Quiscalus quiscula quiscula (Linn.). (511)
This is the common Crow Blackbird of the Atlantic states south of
Massachusetts and east of the Alleghanies. We have no record of its
occurrence in Michigan. It is very similar to the Bronzed Grackle in
size, coloration and habits, but typical examples may be readily dis-
criminated by having the feathers of back, rump and belly marked with
beautiful iridescent V)ars which are wanting in the Bronzed Grackle.
Holboell's Redpoll. Acanthis Itnaria holboelli (Brehm). (528a)
In color precisely like the Common Redpoll, l^ut larger and with the l:)ill
relatively longer.
Distribution. — Extreme northern parts of the continent (also Europe-
Asia), especially the islands of the Arctic. South in winter rarely to the
northern United States.
No record for Michigan, but said to have been taken in Wisconsin and
identified by Dr. A. K. Fisher and Robt. Ridgway (Kumlien and Hollister,
Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, p. 93).
Painted Longspur. Calcarius pictus (Sirainf^). (537)
Synonyms: Smith's Longspur.
The Painted Longspur in winter plumage is quite similar to the Lapland
Longspur, but the male has the entire under parts yellowish brown or
buffy, and the throat and fore-breast streaked with dusky. The young
and females, however, are separable with difficulty from similar stages
of the Lapland Longspur and must be identified by experts.
This species is a northwestern one, ranging from the Arctic Coast to
Texas, but rarely passing east of Wisconsin and Illinois during migrations.
It is attributed to Michigan by "Archer" (G. A. Stockwell) in his list of
Michigan birds (Forest and Stream, VIII, 18, p. 281), but we have no
other warrant for its insertion as a bird of our state.
Mr. E. W. Nelson found a flock of about 75 painted Longspurs near
Calumet Lake, in northeastern Illinois, in March, 1875, and Amos Butler
states that the species' is sometimes a common migrant in northwestern
Indiana, in the vicinity of Lake Michigan. It has also been recorded
from various places in northeastern Illinois, and about Chicago, and there
is a record for Greencastle, Ind. Since the bird is a very strong flyer,
and an abundant migrant a little farther west, it seems by no means im-
probable that it occasionally wanders into Michigan, especially into the
southwest corner of the state. The Wisconsin records for this species
seem to be confined to the southern part of the state, and as Kumlien and
Hollister say: "Presumably the migration is from the northwest and
they merely cross the southern counties of Wisconsin in the fall, as they
arc not at all rare on the prairies of Illinois in wintei'" (Hii'ds of Wisconsin,
1903, p. 95).
TKfllNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Wing more tlian :^.'>() inclios; all (lie tail-feathers wiOi iimer wehs dusky at base, the
inner web of the outer feat Ik r chiclly wliite; umler wiiig-covc'rts aiul axillars wliolly pure
white; entire lower parts ImiH y.
752 MICHIGAN lURD LIFE.
Adult male in summer: Top and sides of head deei) black, relieved by'^a broad white
stripe behind eye, a narrow white stripe along middle portion of ear-coverts, and a white
malar.'stripe, much widest posteriorly; hind neck and entire lower parts deep ochraceous-
buff, the first streaked with dusky; anterior lesser wing-coverts deep black, posterior
ones pure white, forming a conspicuous bar, widest above. Adult male in winter: Black
of head entirely replaced by streaked brownish, the tliroat and chest also more or less
streaked with dusky; otherwise much as in summer, but middle and greater wing-coverts
distinctly tipped with white. Adult female in summer: Much like winter male, but
smaller, paler, grayer, without deep black or pure white on lesser wing-coverts; in winter
similar but more buffy.
Male: Length 6.40 to 6.50 inches; wing 3.60 to 3.70. Female: Length about 5.50
to 6 inches; wing 3.45 to 3.60 (Ridgway).
Montana Junco. Junco hyemalis montanus Ridgw. (567f)
Similar to the common Junco {hyemalis), but with the sides more or
less pinkish brown. Not to be identified, however, by any but the expert
with abundance of material for comparison.
Distribution. — Northern Rocky Mountains. Breeds in Canadian Zone
from southern Alberta south to northern Idaho and northwestern Montana;
in winter south to Arizona, Texas and northern Mexico. East casually
to Kansas, IlUnois, Indiana, Massachusetts and Maryland.
In Dr. Miles' list of Michigan birds (1860) the "Oregon Snowbird"
was included on the authority of Prof. Fox who, according to Miles, took
two at Grosse Isle, Wayne county, Mich. In the autumn of 1878, Dr.
H. A. Atkins of Locke, Ingham county, says he shot two Oregon Juncos
and saw perhaps twelve or fifteen in all. He says they were first noticed
October 11 and last seen October 30. Neither Prof. Fox's specimens nor
Dr. Atkins' specimens are to be found now, and so far as can be learned
not one of them was ever examined by a critical ornithologist. It is not
improbable that they were merely rather unusual specimens of the common
Junco (hyemalis), yet it is possible that they belonged to one of the forms
now recognized as subspecies and variously named, oregomis, annectens,
shufeldti, and montanus. In the absence of actual specimens it is a waste
of time to speculate on the matter. In Ridgway's "Birds of North and
Middle America" (Bull. 50 U. S. Narional Museum, Part I, p. 290) the
specimens mentioned above by Dr. Atkins are recorded under Junco
montanus, Ridgw.
Gray-headed Junco. Junco phaeonotus caniceps (Woodh.). (570b)
November 19, 1878, Dr. H. A. Atkins of Locke, Ingham County, Mich.,
wrote Dr. J. A. Allen "I took alive October 22, a fine specimen of the
Chestnut-backed Snowbird, found in a flock of common Snowbirds."
In the Ornithologist and Oologist, Vol. IX, p. 81, July 1884, Dr. Atkins
gives the following particulars of this capture: "It was taken alive from
weeds in which it had become entangled * * * placed under a sieve
in the barn until I could give it better quarters, but while feeding it the
next morning it succeeded in getting away from me." It seems altogether
probable that this record is based on a mistaken identification. Since
it was examined under circumstances which did not admit of careful
measurement and comparison with other specimens it is not likely that
a correct identification could be made. This species according to Ridgway
belongs to the "Rocky Mountain district, breeding from Fort I^i-idger
southward." In his "lairds of North and Middle America" Part 1, 1901,
HYPOTHETICAL LIST. TfiS
p. 296, Ridgway records this specimen with an interrogation mark, and
apparently it is the only record east of the Rocky Mountains.
Black-headed Grosbeak. Zamelodia melanocephala (Swains). (596)
The main difference between this and the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is
that the male has most of the under parts and the rump brownish yellow
("cinnamon ochraceous") instead of rose-pink and white as in our common
bird.
This species was included in Dr. Males' Hst of Michigan birds (1860)
on the authority of Fox, who is said to have taken it at Grosse Isle, Wayne
county. On account of this record it was included by Gibbs in his list
(1879) and has been frequently mentioned by other writers. It seems
perfectly possible that Fox mistook the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak in
fall plumage for this western species, whose normal range is from the
Pacific coast to middle Kansas, and which otherwise has never been recorded
east of South Dakota and Nebraska. This is the more likel}^ from the fact
that until very recently (1899) the fact was not generally known that the
fall plumage of our male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was entirely unlike its
breeding dress.
Blue Grosbeak. Guiraca caerulea caenilea (Linn.). (597)
A strikingly beautiful bird, the size of a Scarlet Tanager, but the male
a rich dark blue with two distinct chestnut wing-bands.
Neither of the two Michigan records is satisfactory. ''Archer" (G. A.
Stockwell) states that it is a rare visitant to the most southern part of
Michigan but gives no instance (Forest and Stream, VIII, p. 281). There
is (or was) in the collection of Dr. J. B. Steere, at Ann Arlaor, the- skin of
a male Blue Grosbeak said to have been killed by Albert E. Jenkins, at
Ann Arbor, and A. B. Covert on the margin of his copy of Coues Key has
noted opposite this species "male, Ann Arbor May 24, 1884." Mr. Covert,
however, himself states that there is much doubt about this specimen,
and it seems extremely probable that it came from the south. The species
is a southern one and has not been recorded in this part of the country
north of southern Indiana and southern Illinois, except for several more
or less doubtful Wisconsin cases.
Varied Bunting. Passerina versicolor versicolor (Bonap.). (600)
Synonym. — Western Nonpariel.
A single specimen of this bird was killed at Locke, Ingham county,
Mich., May 18, 1874, by Dr. H. A. Atkins and was identified by Robt.
Ridgway to whom it was sent at the request of S. F. Baird. It was a male
in full plumage (Orn. & Ool. IX, 1884, p. 81).
The normal habitat of this species is given as vallej^ of lower Rio Grande
in Texas southward to Guatemala. Its presence in Michigan can hardly
be explained except on the ground that it was an escaped cage-bird, yet
there seemed to be nothing about the specimen to indicate this strongly.
Mr. A. B. Covert, however, who examined the specimen states that he
thought it to be such. The specimen was for a time in the collection of
J. M. B. Sill in Detroit, and probably afterwards went to the collection of
the Detroit Scientific Association, but it caiiTiot now be located. Ap-
95
754 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
parently there is no other record of this species in any of the northern
states.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Adult male: Forehead, superciliary region, lesser wing-coverts, and rump lavender
blue or purplish; crown and occiput wine red, varying to vermilion; back and scapulars
maroon-purplish; sides of head and neck, and lower parts, generally plum-purplish, chang-
ing to nniicula-purple or maroon on the chest, the throat usually more reddish, lores
black (Kidgwny).
Summer Tanager. Piranga rubra rubra (Linn.). (610)
Synonyms: Summer Red-bird; Soutliern Tanager.
Entirely rose-red, more or less brownish on wings and tail, but no black
anywhere. About the size of the Scarlet Tanager, but the bill much
larger and the tail nearly an inch longer. The female is olive-green above
and yellowish below, but usually with a wash of orange everywhere, giving
it a very different appearance from the female Scarlet Tanager.
There are two doubtful records of this species for Michigan. One occurs
in Stockwell's Hst of Michigan birds (Forest and Stream, Vol. VIII, 281),
the other in the margin of A. B. Covert's copy of Coues' Key, where there
is a note which reads: ''Male, Ann Arbor, July 13, 1879." Mr. Covert
can give us no further information with regard to this specimen, and we
have therefore no absolute record for the state. Several correspondents
have assured us positively that they have seen a bird answering this de-
scription, but knowing how easily one may mistake a Scarlet Tanager or
a Cardinal for this bird, we do not feel warranted in including it on such
evidence. It is normally a southern bird, ranging north to southern New
Jersey and southern Illinois, casually to Massachusetts, Ontario (tw'o
records), and accidentally to Nova Scotia. According to Kumlien and
Hollister it is a rare but regular summer visitor in. southern Wisconsin,
having been reported half a dozen times or more and specimens taken
near Janesville, Milton, Johnstown, Racine and Milwaukee.
In general habits, song, nesting and eggs it is very similar to the Scarlet
Tanager.
Loggerhead Shrike. Lanius ludovicianus ludovicianus Tyinn. (622)
Synonyms: Loggerhead, Summer Butclier Bird.
Smaller than the Northern Shrike (wing 4 inches or less), and without
wavy cross-lines below, or with very faint ones. The lower parts are
almost pure white and the tail not shorter than the wings — usually longer.
Distribution. — " Austroriparian Zone of the Atlantic and Oulf States
from southern North Carolina to southern Florida and west to Louisiana "
(A. 0. U. Check-hst, 1910).
The notes relating to the Michigan shrikes are badly mixed, owing to
the assumption for many years that our commonest shrike was the Logger-
head, but that the western form, the White-rumped Shrike (L. I. excuh-
itoroides), was occasionally found here. Recently it has l)een shown
that our commonest shrike in summer is a form intermediate })etween the
White-rumped Shrike and the true Loggerhead and this form has been
named the Migrant Shrike. The true or southern Loggerhead may possibly
occur, however, in the southern part of the state, but thus far we have been
unable to find an actual specimen in any collection. The distinctions
between these subspecies ai'e very slight and their I'ccognition unlikely
HYPOTHETICAL LIST. 755
except by the expert. In all essential respects the Loggerhead has the
habits and characteristics of the Migrant Shrike and the White-rump.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
Bill strongly hooked, wing less than 4 inches, tail averaging longer than wing, third
and fourth primaries about equal, the foiu-th usually a little the longest.
Adult (sexes essentially alike) : Upper 2Jarts slate-gray to ash-gray, very little if at all
paler on the rump and upper tail-coverts; nasal bristles, lores, and broad stripe around and
behind the eye, clear black, the black continuous across the front of forehead; a faint
white or grayish line between this black area and the gray of the top of head; under parts
nearly pure white, sometimes faintly shaded with grayish on sides of breast and body or
(in immature birds) shghtly tinged with reddish; wings black, with -a conspicuous white
patch near the middle of the primaries, and most of the secondaries and tertiarics tipped
with white; scapulars mostly pure white; central tail-feathers black, outer tail-fcatluMs
pure white or with a small black area near base, other tail feathers black broadly tip])e(l
with white; bill and feet entirely black; iris brown. Young: Similar to adults, but all the
gray and white areas strongly washed with brownish; back and under |)arts with numerous
wa\'y cross-lines of brown or dusky; greater wing-coverts tipped with rusty or buffy.
Length 8.50 to 9.50 inches; wing of male 3.75 to 3.90, of female 3.66 to 3.78; tail of male
3.89 to 4.15, of female 3.87 to 3.97; culmen about .59 (Wm. Palmer).
White-rumped Shrike. Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides Sumns. (622a)
Separable from the Loggerhead and Migrant Shrike only by the expert,
and with difficulty; often not separable at all. The Migrant Shrike is
said to have "darker, duller plumage, especially beneath, to be stouter and
longer, and to have larger bill, tarsi and feet." (Palmer, Auk, XV, p. 251).
It seems doubtful whether the true White-rumped Shrike, as distinct
from the Migrant Shrike, ever occurs in Michigan. For the present at
least we may relegate this species to the doubtful list.
Its natural habitat is from the eastern border of the Plains to the Pacific,
and from jNlanitolia and the Plains of the Saskatchewan south over the
tablelands of Mexico.
Panila Warbler. Compsothlypis americana americana (Linn.). (648)
The typical form of the Parula or Blue Yellow-backed Warbler does
not seem, to be found in Michigan, being replaced by the northern form,
C. americana usnece Specimens intermediate between the two forms
occur in northern Indiana according to Butler (Birds of Indiana, 1897,
p. 1040), and possibly some of these occur in southern IMichigan, but all
the specimens we have seen appear to belong to the northei'n subspecies.
Yellow-throated Warbler. Dendroica dominica dominica (Linn.). (663)
Very similar to tiic Sycamore Wai'bler (No. 2S0) which has been mistaken
for it several times. The latter is readily disci-iminated with specimen
in hand, since the stripe over the eye is almost or quite pmv white, while
it is distinctly yellow anteriorly in the Yellow-throated Warbler. The
latter is a bird of the Southern Atlantic States, and there is no authentic
record of its occurrence in Michignn.
Brown-headed Nuthatch. Sitta pusilla Lafli. (729)
Sinallci- than llic Kod-lx'llicd Nullialch, with tlie top and back of head
grayish-brown; no wliite over the eye. but a wliitisli patcli on the nape.
750 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Distribution. — South Atlantic and Gulf States, north to southern Mary-
land and (casually) Ohio, Missouri, etc.
This bird must be considered as purely accidental in Michigan. The
only actual record (and that not free from question) is that published by
Dr. H. A. Atkins (Ornithologist and Oologist, Vol. 9, 1884, p. 81), which
reads: "Taken May 12, 1875 [at Locke, Ingham county, Mich.] This
bird was sent in the flesh to W. H. Colhns of Detroit to be mounted, but
on account of the warm weather it spoiled before reaching him." This
record doubtless forms the basis for Ridgway's statement (Manual of
N. Am. Birds, 1887, p. 560). "North regularly to lower ]\Iaryland and
Virginia, casually to Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, etc."
Without questioning the general accuracy of Dr. Atkins' observations,
it may still be said that there is a large amount of individual variation in
the Red-bellied Nuthatch, and immature birds, particularly females,
often show irregular patches of white here and there about the head, while
the tj^Dical glossy black cap, with the sharp superciliary white line, is
found only in old and full-plumaged males. A slightly abnormal young
specimen of Sitta canadensis might have been mistaken for Sitta pusilla
by even so good a naturalist as Dr. Atkins. Nevertheless it must be
remembered that several other species which normally are found only
in the south have been taken occasionally in northern Indiana and Ohio,
southern Michigan, and western Ontario. The recent capture of the
Chuck-wills-widow at Point Pelee, Ontario, less than 30 miles southeast
of Detroit is a case in point (Fleming, Auk, XXIII, 1906, 343).
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION.
" Above plain bluish-gray, the top of head (down to eyes and ear-coverts) brown, bordered
below l)y a darker loral and postocular stripe; no superciliaiy stripe.
"Adult: f Nape with a conspicuous white spot; tail-feathers (except middle pair) tipped
with white, the subterminal portion black; the middle tail-feathers without distinct basal
spot of white. Sexes alike. Young; Top of head grayish, the wing-coverts and tertials
edged with light fulvous" (Ridgway).
Length 3.8c to 4.40 inches; wing about 2.60; culmen .50 to .60.
Long-tailed Chickadee. Penthestes atricapillus septentrionalis (Harris).
(735a)
Synonym: Western Chickadee.
The Long-tailed Chickadee belongs to the Rocky Mountain region of
North America, extending eastward nearly across the Plains, but not
recorded (officially) cast of Iowa and western Minnesota.
According to Ridgway it is similar to the common Chickadee "but larger,
with wings and tail averaging decidedl}^ longer; coloration paler, with the
whitish edgings of the greater wing-coverts, secondaries and lateral rectrices
broader and more conspicuous."
This bird has been recorded for Michigan only by Dr. H. A. Atkins
of Locke, Ingham county, who states that he took a specimen at Locke
May 29, LS74, and another specimen a little later. He says: "The tail
was a trifle less than three inches, the size of the tarsus and foot excessively
large for so small a bird" (0. & 0., Vol. 19, 1884, p. 81). Apparently
the specimens taken by Dr. Atkins were not preserved, and in their absence
wc do not feel justified in giving this bird a place in our fauna. Kumlien
and Hollister include this sub-species in their list of Wisconsin birds,
stating that "in late fall and winter typical specimens are taken in
HYruTHETICAL LIST. 757
Wisconsin, even in the southern part of the state, but more often in the
northwestern portion" (Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc. Ill, 1903, 124). No
statement is made as to the authority for the identification of these speci-
mens. If this form occurs in Michigan at all we should look for it in the
extreme western part of the Upper Peninsula in fall and winter; the fact
that Dr. Atkins' specimens were taken in southern Michigan and in late
spring increases our doubt as to the identification.
Willow Thrush. Hylocichla fuscescens salicicola Ridgw. (756a)
Synonyms: Western Tawny Thrush; Western Wilson's Thrush.
This is the western form of the Veery, differing but slightly from the
typical form, but often decidedly larger and with the spots of the breast
somewhat darker. It belongs to the Rocky Mountain region, ranging
eastward regular to Dakota and more rarely to Illinois, Wisconsin, and
probably to Minnesota. Specimens have been taken at Chicago, 111.,
Grand Crossing, 111., Liverpool, Ind. (Butler, Birds of Indiana, p. 1151),
and a single specimen was taken at Delevan, Wis., May 6, 1899 and identified
by Wilham Brewster (Birds of Wisconsin, 1903, p. 126). Mr. P. A.
Taverner of Detroit writes "I believe that Saunders has taken it at London,
Ont. and Fleming at Totonto, Ontario. * * * j beheve that all
specimens taken after September 15 or 20 can usually be referred to this
form." We have not had opportunity to examine any suspected specimens,
but collectors should be on the lookout for this subspecies.
Greenland Wheatear. Saxicola oenanthe leucorhoa (Gmel.). (765a)
This is a bird of striking plumage, and about the size of a common Blue
Bird, native to Greenland, adjacent portions of North America, and Ice-
land, but has been recorded also from Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick,
New York, and once or twice from New England, probably while wandering
southward on its autumnal migration.
There are no satisfactory records of the Wheatear in Michigan.
"Archer" (G. A. Stockwell) says: "An occasional autumnal visitor to
Sanilac and St. Clair counties" (Forest and Stream, Vol. 8, No. 16, p. 241),
but cites no specimens. It is not improbable that it may occur at rare
intervals, but we have no proof of its presence as yet.
758 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
APPENDIX 3.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
List of books, papers and short notes relating mainly or entirely to
Michigan birds. For a short list of useful books of reference, not re-
stricted to Michigan l)irds, see pages 29-31 of this volume.
Abl)ott, Gerard Alan. — 1. Nesting of the Woodcock. Bull. Mich. Orn.
Club, VI, 1905, 10-15, with 4 ills, from photos by Robert Hegner.
Adams, Charles C. — 1. The Migration Route of Kirtland's Warbler.
Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, V, 1904, 14-21. 2. A Natural History Expedition
to Northern Michigan. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, V, 1904, 82-83. 3. The
Postglacial Dispersal of the North American Biota. Biol. Bull. IX, 1905,
53-71. 4. An Ecological Survey in Northern Michigan. Rep. State
Board Geol. Survey (Mich.) for 1905, (Lansing, 1906), 133 pp. and 21 ills.
Contains two articles on birds, one by Otto McCreary and the other by
Norman A. Wood and others, as listed under their names. 5. The Ecolo-
gical Succession of Birds. Auk, XXV, 1908, 108-153. A large part of
the material for this essay is supplied by observations of Michigan birds
by Michigan naturalists. 6. The Ecological Succession of Birds. Adams,
Isle Royale Report, Rep. Mich. Geol. Surv., 1908, 121-136. A reprint of
the previous paper, with the addition of Chap. VI.
Allen, Herbert. — 1. Bird Notes from Michigan. Oologist, V, 1880,
79. Refers to Bohemian Waxwing, Rough-legged Hawk, Broad-winged
Hawk, Wild Turkey, etc.
Allen, J. A.— 1. Rare Birds of Michigan. Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, IV,
1878, 123. Record of Western Meadowlark and Oregon Snow Bird in
Michigan on the authority of Dr. H. A. Atkins. 2. Gibbs' List of Birds
of Michigan (Review). Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, V, 1879, 110. 3. Steere's
Birds of Ann Arbor (Review). Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, VI, 1880, 46.
Arnold, Edward. — 1. Breeding of the Henslow's Sparrow in Calhoun
County. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, IV, 1903, 27. Nest and 4 eggs taken
at Hart's Lake, May 31, 1896. 2. Bubo virginianus in Michigan. Ibid,
45-47. Description of about a dozen nests. 3. Merganser americanus
nesting at Saginaw Bay, Michigan, 1902 and 1903. Ibid, 71-73. 4.
Nesting of the Piping Plover on Big Charity Island, Mich., 1903. Ibid,
74-75. 5. Nesting of the Sandhill Crane in Michigan. Ibid, 86-87. Eggs
taken May 8, 1901, and May 5, 1902. 6. Another nest of Kirtland's
Warbler. Auk, XXI, 1904, 487-488. Both parents, nest and 4 fresh
eggs taken in Oscoda county, Mich., June 15, 1904. Said to be the "first
perfect set of this bird's eggs known to Science." 7. The Opening of the
Season. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, V, 1904, 29. Nest and 3 eggs of Great
Horned Owl. 8. Nesting of Kirtland's Warbler in Northern Michigan,
1904. Ibid, 67-68. Relates to same nest as No. 6, above.
Atkins, Dr. H. A.^ — 1. Rare Birds at Locke. Lansing RepubHcan,
Nov. 8, 1878. Two species of the Junco reported. 2. First Capture of
Connecticut Waibler. Ibid, June 6, 1879. 3. Rare Birds in Michigan.
Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, IV, 1879, 123. 4. The Snowbird, Junco hyemalis.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 759
in Southern Michigan in Summer. Ibid, 258. 5. Orange-crowned Warbler
Taken at Locke. Oologist, V, 1880, 72. 6. Birds of Locke. Ibid, 93.
7. Bird Notes from Michigan. Ornithologist and Oologist, VI, 1881.
8. Small Green-crested Flycatcher. Ibid. Dates of arrival are given
for twenty-five consecutive years. 9. The Whip-poor-will. Ibid, No. 6.
10. Date of Arrival of Scarlet Tanager and Baltimore Oriole for Twenty-
five Years. Ibid, No. 2. 11. Capture of Chipping Sparrow in Locke in
Winter (Dec. 19, 1881). Ingham County Democrat (Mason, Mich.), Jan.
5, 1882. 12. Our two Cuckoos Breeding in one Nest. Ornithologist and
Oologist, VII, 1882, 189. 13. Tufted Titmouse. Ibid. 14. American
Redstart. Ornithologist and Oologist, VIII, 1883, 31. Gives date of
its arrival at Locke, Michigan, for twenty-six consecutive years. 15.
Carolina Chickadee taken at Locke. Williamston Enterprise, Nov. 14,
1883. 16. A Small Flock of Western Meadowlarks, Sturnella neglecta,
at Locke in October. Ibid, Oct. 3, 1883. 17. Winter Birds of Locke,
Michigan, Ornithologist and Oologist, IX, 1884, 31. 18. Summer Birds
of Locke, Michigan. Ibid, 43. 19. Five Additions to the Avi-fauna of
Michigan. Ibid, 81. 20. Sandhill Crane. Ornithologist and Oologist,
Ibid, 6. Nest described and dates of spring arrival for twenty-seven
years. 21. List of Winter (Dec.) Birds of Locke. Lansing Republican,
Jan., 1884. 22. List of Birds in January. Ibid, Feb. 14, 1884. 23.
Winter Birds of Locke, February. Ibid, March 6, 1884. 24. Summer
Birds of Locke, Michigan. Ornithologist and Oologist, X, 1885, 3. In-
cludes eighty-two species. 25. The Bay-breasted Warbler at Locke,
Michigan. Ibid, 55. 26. Obituary of Dr. Atkins. Auk, II, 1885, 391.
Bailey, L. H., Jr. — 1. Birds. Third Annual Report Secretary State
Pomological Society of Michigan for 1873 (1874), 127-128.
Ballou, W. H. — 1. Ornithological Notes along Detroit River. Oologist,
III, 1879, 57.
Barlow, Claude H.— 1. iMallard and Red-tailed Hawk. Bull. Mich. Orn.
Club, I, 1897, 64. Attempt of the Hawk to kill the Duck. 2. Bitterns.
Ibid, 13-14. Good observations on habits of old and young as observed
near Greenville. 3. Nest of the Prairie Horned Lark, and the Supposed
Summer Tanager in Montcalm County. Ibid, 18. Notes relate to the
vicinity of Greenville.
Barrows, Walter B. — 1. A Parasitic Jaeger in Michigan. Bull. Mich.
Orn. Club, I, 1897, 47. Specimen killed at Otter Lake, Lapeer county,
Sept. 28, 1897. First record for the state. 2. Obituary Notice of Dr.
Manly Miles. Ibid, II, 13-14. 3. Geographical Distiibution of Life in
Michigan. Ibid, III, 1-3. Some problems of distribution considered.
4. Cardinal at Lansing. Ibid, 8. 5. Some Hints for Bird Study. Ibid,
IV, 1903, 10-12. 6. Nesting of the Cardinal Grosbeak in Inghani County,
Mich., 94-95. 7. Michigan Agricultural College Museum. Ibid, V, 53-54.
One cut. 8. Birds of the Beaver Islands, I\Iich. Il)id, 63-66, 78-81.
Notes on 53 species, covering the period July 8-13, 1904. 9. Additional
Records for the Barn Owl in Michigan. Ibid, 88. 10. Fact and Fancv
in Bird Migration. Eighth Rep. Mich. Acad. Sci., 1906, 13-25. (Address
of the Retiring President of the Academv.) 11. Obituarv Notice of Dr. R.
M. Gibbs. Auk, XXVI, 1909, 105-106. 12. Common IMichigan Birds,
with Some Notes on their Hal>its. Bull. 37 [Mich.] Department of Public
Instruction. Lansing, May, 1911. 35 ])agcs, 7 cuts. Ti'cats of 75 species.
Re{)ul)lishe(l in ^lichiaan Special Davs, p)). 140-172, 1)V snm(> (h^paitment ,
1911.
700 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Bessmer, (Jottlieb. — 1. Notes from Hastings. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club,
1, 1897, 46. Notes abundance of Cedar Waxwing and Bluebird nests in
1897.
Blackwelder, Eliot. — 1. Summer Birds of Iron County, Mich. Auk,
XXVI, 1909, 363-370. Annotated list of 82 species observed during June,
July. August, and September, 1908. An interesting list but loses nuich
from failure to disciiminate clearly between the migrants and summer
residents.
Blain, Alexander W., Jr.— 1. Michigan Bird Notes, 1901. Auk, XIX,
1902, 209-210. 2. Botaurus lentiginosus in Oakland County in Winter.
Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, IV, 1903, 27. 3. Announcement of Discovery of
Nests of Kirtland's Warbler by Norman A. Wood in Oscoda County.
Ibid, 63. 4. Breeding of the Swamp Sparrow at the St. Clair Flats. Ibid,
82. Nest of 4 eggs found June 16, 1903. 5. Another Parasitic Jaeger
from Michigan. Ibid. 94. Shot at Point Moville, Mich., Nov. 27, 1903.
6. A Slate-colored Junco at Detroit during the Summer. Ibid, 95. 7.
Three Rare Michigan Birds. Ibid, V, 1904, 54. Holboell's Grebe, Night
Heron, Duck Hawk. 8. Recent Michigan Records. Ibid, 91. Notes on
13 of the less common species.
Boies, A. H. — 1. Catalog of Birds Ascertained to Occur in Southern
Michigan Together with the Game and Fish Laws of Michigan, and Miscel-
laneous Articles for Sportsmen. W. T. B. Schermerhorn, Hudson, Mich.,
1875. Two hundred eleven species, with brief notes. 2. Additions to
a Catalog of Michigan Birds. Rod and Gun, VII, 1876, 248. 3. Stray
Notes. Auk, II, 1884, 285-291. 4. Cowbird Living with Enghsh Sparrow.
Ornithologist and Oologist, IX, 1889, 128. 5. Cardinal Grosbeak and
King Rail in Winter. Bull. ]\Iich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 8. 6. The Birds
of Neebish Island, St. Mary's River, Michigan. Ibid, 17-20, 27-29. Obser-
vations made in 1892, 1893 and 1894.
Brewster, E. E. — 1. A Device for Blowing Eggs. The Nidiologist, II,
1895, 125, with one illustration.
Brewster, William. — -1. The Present Status of the Wild Pigeon, Ectopistes
migratorius, as a Bird of the United States, with some Notes on its Habits.
Auk, VI, 1889, 285-291. Details of a search for a pigeon nesting in northern
Michigan in the spring of 1888.
Brotherton, Wilfred A. — 1. An Unexpected Fall. Ornithologist and
Oologist, XVI, 1891, 28. Refers to Shrike, Cuckoo, Mourning Dove, etc.
2. The Great Blue Heron. Ibid, 90, 91. 3. A pair of Pugnacious Jays.
Ibid, 101. 4. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak in Oakland County, Mich.
Ibid, 131. 5. Bohemian Waxwing in Oakland County. Bull. Mich.
Orn. Club, V, 1904, 29. A large fiock observed near Rochester, in Nov.,
1903.
Brown, R. A., M. D.— 1. A Study of the Birds of the Overflow, East
of Ann Arbor, Mich. Eighth Rep. Mich. Acad. Sci., 1906, 162-174. An
ecological study, with notes on 151 species.
Brownell, W. C, M. D.— 1. The Haunts of the Water Thrush. Orni-
thologist and Oologist, XV, 1890, 153, 154. 2. The Least Bittern and
Long-billed Marsh Wren at Mud Lake. Ibid, XVI, 1891, 21, 22. 3.
Sandhill Crane in Michigan. Ibid, XVII, 156. Reported from Shiawassee
County. 4. The Color Phenomena of the Little Screech Owl. Ibid, 105.
Butler, Amos. W. — 1. Notes on Indiana Birds. Proceedings Indiana
Academy of Science, 1891 (Brookville, Indiana, 1892). Notes the
occurrence of the Prothonotary Warbler in St. Joseph County, Michigan.
IBIBLIOGRAPHY. 761
2. Notes on the Range and Habits of the CaroUna Parakeet. Auk, IX,
1892, 49, 56. Mentions a specimen in the National Museum said to be
from Michigan. 3. Some Notes Concerning the Evening Grosbeak. Ibid.,
238-247. A considerable part of this paper relates to Michigan observa-
tions.
Cabot, J. E. — 1. Lake Superior, its Physical Character, Vegetation,
and Animals * * * by Louis Agassiz * * * and Contributions
by other Scientific Gentlemen. Boston, 1850. Chapter VIII of this
work is entitled: Report of the Birds Collected and Observed at Lake
Superior. By J. E. Cabot, 383-385. A list of 69 species.
Cass, Charles. — 1. Eggs of Red-breasted Merganser, Herring Gull, and
Caspian and Common Terns, near Cross Village, Emmet Countv, Michigan,
in 1897. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 32. 2. American Bittern in
Winter. Ibid, II, 1898, 24. One taken near Hillsdale, Dec. 11, 1897.
3. Pileated Woodpecker at Ann Arbor, March 1, 1899. Ibid, III, 1899, 7.
Chaney, Ralph Works. — 1. Summer and Fall Birds of the Hamlin Lake
Region, Mason Co., Mich. Auk, XXVII, 1910, 271-279. One hundred
nineteen species noted; several records of special interest.
I Cole, Leon J.— 1. Albino ^Kingbird. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897,
47. 2. Two Days of Marsh: Collecting. Ibid., 36-40. 3. Albino Grackle.
Ibid, II, 1898, 19. 4. Further Notes on the Dickcissel. Ibid, III, 1899,
6. 5. Suggestions for a ]\Iethod of Studying the Migrations of Birds.
Third An. Rep. Mich. Acad. Sci., 1901 (1902), 67-70. Also reprint in
Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, IV, 1903, 19-22. 6. The Occurrence of Bewicks
Wren, Thryomanes bewickii (Aud.), at Grand Rapids. Bull. Mich. Orn.
Club, VI, 1905, 8-10. 7. The Crow a Menace to Poultry Raising. Twenty-
first An. Rep. Rhode Island Agr. Expt. Station, 1909, 312-316.
Collins, W. H. — 1. Notes on the Breeding Habits of Some of the Water
Birds of St. Clair Flats, Michigan. Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, V, 1875, 61, 62.
2. Notes on the Nesting of the Black Tern. Oologist, IV, 1878. Nest
reported from St. Clair Flats. 3. Breeding of Podiiymbus podiceps.
Ibid, V, 1879, 19. Nest reported from St. Clair Flats and the eggs and
young described. 4. Pomarine Jager in Detroit. Ibid. 24. 5. Nesting
of the Brant, Foster's and Wilson's Terns, and Canvasbacked Duck.
Ornithologist and Oologist, V, 1880. 6. Those Brants, a correction.
Ibid, VI, 1881. 7. Sea Dove. Ibid, VII, 1882, 111.
Cook, A. J. — 1. The l^ird Friends of the Horticulturist. Report of
Mich. State Pomological Society, 1872, 631. 2. Birds destroying the
Codhng Moth. Ibid, 1874, 159. Special mention is made of the Downy
Woodpecker. 3. Robins and Blackbirds. Report Mich. State Board of
Agr., 1875, 61, 275. A report of their value in destroying insects, especi-
ally white grubs and cut worms, is given. 4. Relation of Birds and Insects.
Rep. Mich. State Pomological Society, 1875, 428. 5. Birds of INIichigan.
First Ed. This forms Bull. 94 of Mich. Agr. Exp. Station, April, 1893.
Contains 148 pages and many cuts. 6. Birds of Michigan. Second Ed.,
Sept., 1893. Has 168 pages.
Cook, C. B. — 1. The ]<]nglish Sparrow. Mich. Agr. Expt. Station,
Bull. 62, May, 1890. General Notes on ]*higlish Sparrow; description;
native l)ir(ls likely to be mistaken for it, and moans of destruction.
Cooley, Judge T. M.^ — 1. A Plea for the liirds. Transactions of the
State Agricultural Society, 1855, 17.
Cooper, William. — 1. Description of a New Species of Grosl)eak (Fiingilla
vesportina) inhabiting the Nortliwoslorn Toiritory of the United States.
'762 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Ann. N. Y. Lye. Nat. Hist., I, Pt. 2, 1825, 219-222. This is the
original description of the Evening Grosbeak, from the specimen taken
by Sclioolcraft at Sault Ste. Marie in April, 1823.
Cones, Dr. E. — 1. Comments on Notes by B. Walker, Detroit, Mich.
American Naturalist, 1871, 437, 438. Refers to Evening Grosbeak and
Shore Lark.
Covert, Adolph B. — 1. Albino Specimens of Robin and Song Sparrow.
Forest and Stream, VI, 52. 2. A Letter of Promise. Ibid, 52. 3. Birds
of Lower Michigan. Ibid, 99, 132, 163, 214, 266, 318, 354, 402; VII,
147, 164. An annotated list from observations made at Ann Arbor. Two
hundred forty-four species mentioned. 4. The Labrador Duck. Ibid,
VI, 13, 197. Said to have been taken at Delhi Mills, Mich., April 17,
1872. 5. Additions to the List of Birds of Lower Michigan. Ibid, VII,
18, 276. Ten species added. 6. Short-eared and Snowy Owls. Ibid,
22, 342. 7. Nesting of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Ibid, VIII, 10,
145. 8. Albino Specimens of Bluejay and White-bellied Nuthatch.
Ibid, IX, 19, 366. 9. Nesting of the Solitary or Wood Tattler. Oologist,
II, 1876. 10. That Hybrid Owl. Oologist, III, 1877, 97. Bubo virgin-
ianus and Bubo virginianus arcticus, both from Michigan, the latter from
"North woods." 11. Nesting of the Large-billed Water Thrush. The
Oologist, IV, 1878, 10, 11. 12. Natural History. History of W\ashtenaw
Co., Mich., 173-194. Chicago, 1881. An annotated list of the Birds
and Mammals of Washtenaw Co. 13. The Enemies of Game Birds.
Chicago Field, XVII, Dec. 8, 1881. 14. Capture of the Wheatear in
Michigan. The Nidiologist, II, 1894, 42. Specimen said to have been
taken near Ann Arbor, Oct. 4, 1894. 15. Recent Occurrence of the
Wild Pigeon and Cardinal at Ann Arbor. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, II,
1898, 37. A flock estimated at two hundred pigeons reported as feed-
ing in a buckwheat field at Salem, Washtenaw Co., in October, 1898.
(Subsequently determined to be Mourning Doves). 16. A Remarkable
Plumage of our Common Quail. Ibid, 37. 17. Whistling Swan in Wash-
tenaw Co. Il)id, IV, 1903, 27. 18. Remarks on the. Recent Capture of
a Kirtland s Warbler in Mich. Ibid, 47-49. Virtual discovery of nest-
ing grounds indicated by capture of male in Oscoda Co., June 15, 1903.
19. The Prothonotary Warbler in Michigan. Ibid, 60. 20. Our present
Knowledge of the Distribution of the Yellow-breasted Chat in Mich.
Il)id, 60.
Craven, Jesse T.— 1. Cory's Least Bittern at the St. Clair Flats. Bull.
Mich. Orn. Club, V, 1904, 68. The second Michigan specimen known.
Daggett, Frank S.^ — 1. Birds' Eggs on Isle Roy ale, I^ake Superior.
Ornithologist and Oologist, XV, 1890, 99, 100.
Davidson, W. A. — 1. Nesting of the Cardinal Grosbeak and Cerulean
Warbler, Near Detroit. Ornithologist and Oologist, XVII, 1892, 11, 137.
2. Vireonidae of Wayne County, Mich. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 6.
Nesting habits of the Red-eyed, Yellow-throated and Warbhng Vireos.
3. Swainson's Hawks and Black Guillemots. Ibid, 8. Notes several of
the hawks killed in Wayne Co. and two "Black Guillemots" at St. Clair
Flats. (The latter proved to be Brunnich's Murres.) 4. Large Sets of
Red-shouldered Hawk. Ibid, 24. 5. Notes from Wayne County. Ibid,
45. Records nesting of Cerulean Warbler near Detroit; eggs June 6th.
6. Notes from Detroit. Ibid, III, 1899, 8/ Nesting of Yellow-ln-easted
Chat. 7. Pied-billed Grebe in Michigan. Ibid, 9. Nesting habits and
experiments with the young.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 763
t)avis, Charles A. — 1. The Evening Grosbeak in Central Michigan.
First Rep. Mich. Acad. Sci., 1897 (1900), 106.
Deane, Ruthven. — 1. Unusual Abundance of the Snow}' Owl. Auk,
XXIII, 1906, 283-298. Notes a large invasion of the Northern States,
including Michigan (pp. 293-294). 2. Unusual Abundance of the American
Goshawk. Ibid, 1907, 182-186. Some Michigan records on p. 185. 3.
The Snowy Owl not generally abundant in the Winter of 1906-1907.
Ibid, 217-219. Includes Michigan records by P. A. Taverner.
Dewey, L. H. — 1. Birds of the Pine Wood in Northern Michigan. Rep.
of Mich. State Board of Agr., 1888, 187. Mention is made of birds seen
in a trip across the state through the pine forests.
Dunham, W^m. H. — 1. Further Notes on the Nesting of the Chimney
Swift. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, V, 1904. 55. Nesting in open wells in
Kalkaska Co., Mich. 2. Nesting of the Pine Siskin and the Red-breasted
Nuthatch in Kalkaska Co., Mich. Ibid, 69.
Durfee, E. W. — 1. Nesting of the Short-billed Marsh Wren. Ornitholo-
gist and Oologist, XV, 1890, 156.
Dutcher, William. — 1. Some Work for Michigan Ornithologists to do.
Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, IV, 1903, 6-8.
Dwight, Jonathan, Jr. — 1. The Horned Larks of North America. Auk,
VII, 1890, 138-158, with map. Notes specimens from Ann Ar])or and
Cadillac; breeding at Cadillac (p. 145).
Eddy, Newell A. — 1. Black-backed Woodpecker in Michigan. Orni-
thologist and Oologist, VII, 1882, 143. 2. Michigan Notes. Ibid, IX,
1884, 4-5. 3. Michigan Notes. Nidiologist, IV, 1897, 47-48. 4. An
Ideal Spot. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, II, 1898, 17. Shores of Saginaw Bay,
near Bay City.
Eppinger, Louis J. — 1. King Rail at (sic) St. Clair Co. in Winter. Bull.
:\Iich. Orn. Club, IV, 1903, 56. 2. Records of the Saw-whet Owl. Ibid, 96.
Ewing, H. E. — 1. The English Sparrow as an Agent in the Dissemination
of Chicken and Bird Mites. Auk, XXVIII, 1911, 335-340. Conclusive
proof is given that this species harbors and spreads one of the worst poultry
pests, the Chicken Mite, as well as a very impoi'tant parasite of wild birds
and cage birds, the bird mite.
Fleming, James H. — 1. The Unusual Migration of Brunnich's Murre
(Uria lomvia) in Eastern North America. Proc. IVth International Orn.
Congress, 1905 (1908) 528-543, with 2 maps. Contains records of Mich,
specimens. 2. Record of Wild Pigeon Killed near Detroit, Mich., Sept. 14,
1898. Auk, XX, 1903, 66. 3. The Disajipearance of the Passenger
Pigeon. Ottawa Naturalist, XX, 1907, 236, 237. Contains references to
Michigan specimens, etc. 4. Ontario Bird Notes, Auk, XXV, 1908,
486-487. Notes presence of J^runnich's Murie on the Detroit River,
Dec. 4, 1907.
Fluher, Rev. Charles. — 1. Ruthless Destruction of Birds. Rep. Mich.
State Horticultural Society, 1886, 355.
Forbes, Prof. S. A. — 1. Birds and Canker-worms. Rep. Mich. State
Horticultural Society, 1881, 203. Records investigations of many of our
most common birds which were found feeding upon the Canker worm.
Percent of insect food given in each case.
Fox, Rev. Charles.— 1. Art. VI. The lairds of Michigan, 1853 (?).
By Charles Fox, Lecturer on Agriculture in the State University, and
Senior Editor of the Farmers' ('ompanion and Horticultural Gazette.
764 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Published between 1853 and 1855, but the date, place and medium of
publication unknown. Said to mention 212 species.
Freiburger, C. F., Jr.— 1. A Lone Fisher. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, IV,
1903, 28. A winter Kingfisher at the Detroit Water Works.
Frothingham, E. H. — 1. First Capture of Kirtland's Warbler in Oscoda
Co., Mich., in June, 1903. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, IV, 1903, 47. 2. Another
Kirtland's Warbler from Mich. Ibid, 61. 3. Notes on the Birds of the
Michigan Forest Reserve. Eighth Rep. Mich. Acad. Sci., 1906, 157-161.
The notes relate to 74 species observed during two seasons (1904, 1905)
on the north Reserve, adjacent to the north end of Higgins Lake, in Ros-
common and Crawford counties.
Gibbs, Dr. Robert Morris. — 1. Voyage on the Kalamazoo River from
Kalamazoo to the Mouth. Kalamazoo Telegraph, August 24 and 26,
1877. A record of the birds and mammals was kept by Gibbs and Tuthill.
2. Breeding Habits of Myiodioctes mitratus. Naturalist and Fancier,
I, 31. 3. A List of Warblers taken in the State. Ibid, II, 1878, No. 2.
This gives 28 species with notes. 4. Breeding Habits of the Golden-
winged Warbler, Helminthophaga chrysoptera. Ibid, II, No. 3. . 5.
Annotated List of Birds of Michigan. Bull. U. S. Geographical and Geolo-
gical Survey of the Territories, V, 1879, No. 3, 481-459. Embraces 309
species. 6. Breeding habits of the Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
Linn. Naturahst and Fancier, III, 1879, No. 1. 7. The Evening Gros-
beak. Ibid. Feb., 1879. 8. A New Bird. Grand Rapids Democrat,
June, 1879. This article treated of a supposed new bird, Helminthophaga
gunii Gibbs; it proved to be Helminthophaga leucobronchialis. 9. Rambles
of a Naturalist. Kalamazoo Telegraph, May, 1879. Describes Connec-
ticut Warbler and Olive-sided Flycatcher, and gives the breeding habits
of several rare species. 10. Ornithology of Michigan. Michigan School
Moderator, 1883-84. 11. Michigan Notes. Ornithologist and Oologist,
IX, 1884, 66-68. 12. Song of the Golden-crowned Thrush. Ibid, 191.
13. The Genus Empidonax. The American Field, XXI, 1884, 232. A
description of the four small Flycatchers of Michigan. 14. A Catalog of
the Birds of Kalamazoo County. Ornithologist and Oologist, X, 1885,
54-68, 86, 118, 133, 149, 166, 189. 15. The Birds of Michigan. Forest
and Stream, XXIV, 1885, 5, 26, 44, 65, 104, 125, 184, 267, 288, 307, 387.
16. The Genus Helminthophaga. American Field, XXIII, 1885, 8.
Describes six Michigan species. 17. Kalamazoo County Notes. Ornith-
ologist and Oologist, XII, 1886, 22. 18. Foot Movements in Birds.
Hawkeye Ornithologist and Oologist, July, 1888. 19. Family Rallidae
in Michigan. Oologist, IV, 1888, 85-88. 20. The Great Northern Diver.
Ibid, July, 1888. 21. Caprimulgidae of Michigan. Geological Gazette,
July, 1888. 22. The Crossbills of Michigan. Old Curiosity Shop, Feb.,
1889. 23. The Mourning Warbler in Michigan. Ibid, Feb. and March,
1889. 24. The American Bittern. Ornithologist and Oologist, XIV,
1889, 120. 25. Raptores of Michigan. Oologist, VI, 1889, 67-69. 26.
Winter Birds of Kalamazoo County. Ibid, 187-189. Includes 68 species.
27. A Very Peculiar Bird. Ornithologist and Oologist, VII, Jan., 1890.
The habits and character of the Cowbird. 28. The Yellow Rail, Porzana
noveboracensis (Gmel.) in Mich. Oologist, VII, 1890, 230-231. 29. Snipe
and SnijDe Shooting. Shooting and Fishing (Boston), Sept. 11, 1890.
Discusses the nesting and feeding of Snipe. 30. A Wild Pigeon Hunt.
Ibid, Nov. 20, 1890. The extinction of the Pigeon is discussed. 31. The
White Pelican Taken in Michigan. Forest and Stream, XXXVII, 1890,
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 765
296. 32. Game Birds of Michigan, Fish and Game Warden, August
to Nov., 1890. 33. The American Cuckoos. Nature's Realm, April, 1891.
34. The Kingfisher, the Angler's Companion. American Angler, July,
1892. 35. A Flight of Hawks. American Field, Oct. 8, 1892. 36. The
Night Hawk. Ibid, Oct. 15, 1892. 37. Bird Life in a City Yard. Forest
and Stream, Oct. 28, 1892. 38. A Habit of the Robin. Ibid, Oct. 20,
1892. 39. The Bird in its nest. Science, XX, 1892, 99. 40. Acorn
Eating Birds. Ibid, 133. 41. The Effects of Civihzation on our Birds.
Ibid, 183. 42. The Arrangement and Number of Eggs in the Nest. Ibid,
XXI, 1893, 148. 43. Singing of Birds. Ibid, 245. 44. The Visitors to
One Oak Tree. Ibid, XXII, 225. A list of 64 species of birds observed
in one tree in a city. Notes and observations covering a quarter of a
century. 45. Birds ^Vhich Sing on the Nest. Ibid, 282. A list of 10
INIichigan species. 46. Bird Notes. Ibid, 317. 47. Birds Which Nest
in Cavities and Burrows. Scientific American, IV, 1893, 8. 48. The
Pine Grosbeak in Michigan. Ornithologist and Oologist, XVIII. 1893,
39-41. 49. Malformation in Birds. Ibid, 91. 50. The American Osprey.
Oologist, X, 1893, 39. 51. The Herons of Michigan. Ibid, 73. Notes
on seven species. 52. Raptores of Michigan. Ibid, 107. 53. The Blossom
Eater. Nidiologist, II, 1894, 48. Refers to the Yellow Warbler. 54.
The Small Waders of the Great Lakes. American Field, Chicago, Nov. 10,
1894. An annotated list of the so-called "Bay Birds" of the Great Lake
system, embracing 36 species of Snipe, Plover, Phalarope, etc., etc. 55.
("Scolopox") Hints for Egg Collectors. Nidiologist, II, 1895, 119-120.
56. The Crows, Jays, and Pies of Mich. Ibid, 136-137. 57. Notes from
Mich. Ibid, III, 1895, 49, 65. 58. Notes from the Great Lakes. Ibid,
86-87. 59. Michigan Notes. Ibid, 94. 60. Birds Which Sing on the
Wing. Oologist, 1896, 55. A list of 7 species that give regular songs in
flight. 61. The Game Birds of the Great Lakes. American Field, Chicago,
Dec. 27, 1896, to Feb. 11, 1899. About 58 columns. A series of 59
articles on the Snipe, Plover, Rails, and all other shot as game birds by
gunners in the Great Lake Region, embracing 92 species, with notes and
observations on many. 62. The White-throated Sparrow. Bull. Mich.
Orn. Club, I, 1897, 34-36, 41. Nesting habits and song. 63. Additions
to the Avifauna of Kalamazoo County, Mich. Ibid, II, 1898, 7. List of
9 species (all migrants) added to the fauna of the state since his list of
1885. They are: Double Crested Cormorant, Turkey Vulture, Golden
Eagle, Yellow Rail, Black-crowned Night Heron, Barn Owl, Swallow-
tailed Kite, Kirtland's Warbler, and Orange-crowned Warbler. 64. Bird
Songs. Ibid, 25-3L Different ways of writing the songs of common birds.
Also notes on birds which sing on the wing; another on night singers,
and some which sing from the nest. 65. The Dickcissel in Michigan.
Ibid, III, 1899, 6. A compilation of records, old and new. 66. May
have been Brunnich's Murre. Ibid, 8. 67. Moulting. American Orni-
thology, in, 1903, 278. 68. An Addition to the Avifauna of Kalamazoo
County. Bull. Mich. Orn. Cluli, IV, 1903, 27. Black Tern nesting at
Long Lake, Mav 27, 1898. 69. The Grackles Change in Nesting Habit.
Ibid, 57-58. 70. Birds vs. Wildflowers. Il^d, V. 1904, 55. 71. Obituarv
Notice of (by W. B. B.). Auk, XXVI, 1909, 105-106.
Gunn, Charles W. — 1. The Wikl Pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius. Oolo-
gist, II, 1876. 2. The Red-poll, .'Vegiothus linaria Cab., and Snow Bunting,
Plectrophanes nivahs Meyer. Naturalist and Fancier, I, No. 1, 1877.
3. The Evening Grosbeak, Hespcriphona vespertina Bp. Ibid, I, 1877.
760 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
4. The Pine Grosbeak, Pinicohi eniicleator Cab. Ibid, I, No. 3, 1877.
5. Winter Notes on the Birds of Kent County, Michigan. Ibid, I, 1877.
Thirty-six species with annotations. 6. Arrival of Birds at Grand Rapids.
Ibid, I, 1877. 7. Nesting Habits of the Shore Lark, Eremophila alpestris
Boie. Ibid, I, 1877. 8. Bird in Winter. Ibid, I, 1877. 9. The Canada
Goose. Ibid, I, 1877. 10. Items from Michigan. Western Oologist
(Wis.), I, No. 5, 1878. 11. Nesting Habits of Warblers. Ibid. Describes
the nests and eggs of Black-throated Blue and Golden-winged Warblers.
12. Notes on the Wild Pigeon. Ibid. 13. The Western Logger-head,
White-rumped Shrike, Collyrio excubitorides. Naturalist and Fancier,
II, 1878. 14. The Evening Grosbeak, Hesperiphona vespertina Bp.
Ibid, II. 15. Rare Birds of Michigan. Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, IV, 186.
16. Woodpeckers of Michigan. Agricultural World (Grand Rapids),
IV, 1881. 17. Notes on the Winter Birds of Kent County, Michigan.
Ibid. 18. Additional Notes on the Winter Birds of Kent County, Mich.
Ibid. 19. Arrivals. Ornithologist and Oologist, VI, 1881. 20. Obituary
Notice of. Ornithologist and Oologist, XI, 1886, 73.
Hankinson, T. L. — 1. Progress of Ornithology in Michigan. Bull.
Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 1-4. A list of the principal wiiters on Michigan
Birds, beginning with Sager, 1839, and bringing the record down to date,
1897. 2. Eggs of Marsh Hawk, Coot, and Prairie Chicken in Ingham
County, May 15, 1897. Ibid, 27. 3. A New Bird for Michigan. Ilnd, 46.
Harris' Sparrow. 4. An Albino Red-headed Woodpecker. Ibid, 46.
5. Nest of the Savanna Sparrow in Ingham County. Ibid, 47. Nest
with three young found June 21, 1897, near Chandler's Marsh. 6. A
Belated Heron. Ibid, II, 1898, 8. Great Blue Heron killed in a Lansing
street by a policeman Dec. 23, 1897. 7. The Marsh Wren a Destroyer
of Other Birds' Eggs. Ibid, 18.
Hazelwood, John. — 1. Evening Grosbeak in Michigan. Ornithologist
and Oologist, XV, 1890, 96. Records its capture at Fort Gratiot, May
17, 1890. '
Herrick, Harold.— 1. Ducks at Monroe, Mich. Auk, XXVII, 1910,
76-77. Notes increase in number of all ducks "of late years," and special
increase of Black Ducks and Canvasbacks.
Hewett, Alexander. — 1. Birds Should be Fostered. Report State
Pomological Society, 1880, 4.
Hodge, C. F. — 1. A Last Word on the Passenger Pigeon. Auk, XXIX,
1912, 169-175. Refers to several erroneous reports of the recent occurrence
of the species in Michigan, and notes the continuation of $1,000 reward
for the discovery of a nesting pair or colony anywhere in America.
Hollister, George C. — 1. Albino Robin at Grand Rapids. Ornithologist
and Oologist, XI, 1886, 118.
Hubbard, Bela. — 1. Memorials of a Half Century. G. B. Putnam's
Sons, New York, 1888. Pages 279-320 give a popular account of some of
our most common birds.
Hubel, Frederick C. — 1. A Set of Four Eggs of the Mourning Dove.
Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, IV, 1903, 58. 2. With the Loons of Oakland
County, Mich. Il)id, 72-74. 3. Breeding of the Grasshopper Sparrow
in St. Clair Countv. Ibid, 75. 4. Chimney Swifts Nesting in Barns.
Ibid, 82.
Hughes, D. Darwin. — 1. Birds of Calhoun County. Marshall Democrat
Expounder, 1869. A list of 179 species. 2. The" Bobohnk. Ibid, May
5, 1870. 3. The Wild Turkev. Detroit Free Press, Jan. 24, 1870. 4.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 767
The Sora Rail. Il)ia, March 16, 1870. 5. The Different Species of the
Plover Family. Ibid, April 3, 1870. 6. The Ruffed Grouse. Ibid,
Oct. 7, 1870. ' 7. Song Birds of Michigan. Ibid, Feb. 12, 1871. 8. The
Robin, Bluebird and Catbird. Ibid, Feb. 19, 1871. 9. The Pinnated
Grouse or Prairie Chicken, Cupidonia cupido. Ibid, March 24, 1871.
10. The Wild Turkey, Its Origin and Habits. The Moderator, Grand
Rapids, IV, 1870, 373'^, A reprint of article in Free Press for Jan. 24, 1870.
11. Michigan Birds, Their Relation to Agriculture. Report of the Mich.
Pomological Society, 1872, 442.
Hughes, Walter H. — 1. Arrival and Departure of the Snow Bunting,
Plectrophanes nivalis, from 1867 to 1871. Naturalist and Fancier (Grand
Rapids), I, No. 11, 1877. Extract from the notes of his father, Hon.
D. D. Hughes. 2. Chrysomitris tristis. Ibid, II, No. 1, 1878. 3. The
Michigan Plover. Ibid,' II, No. 3, 1878. A reprint of an article by Hon.
D. D. Hughes. 4. Birds of Michigan. Valley Naturalist (St. Louis, Mo.)
I, 1878, 11, 14, 15, 34, 35. An annotated Hst.
Jewett, ]\IcCormick. — 1. Recent Albinos from Illinois and Michigan.
Auk, XXVIII, 1810, 91-92. Partial albino of Red-winged Blackbird from
Long Lake, near Traverse City.
Jones, H. F.— 1. The Prairie Horned Lark. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club,
II, 1898, 31-32. A popular account.
Judson, R. F.— 1. Brief Notes. Ornithologist and Oologist, XVII,
1892, 9. Notes Golden Eagle taken in Kalamazoo, ]\Iichigan, Jan. 1,
1892.
Kalmbach, Edwin R. — 1. Notes on Three Michigan Birds. Auk, XXV,
1908, 230. Prothonotary and Mourning Warbleis and Henslow's Sparrow.
Kay, J. Wilbur. — 1. Curious Death of Some Tree Swallows. Bull.
Mich. Orn. Club, V, 1904, 68. 2. Some Notes on the Cowbird. Ibid, 88.
Kennicott, R. — 1. A Catalog of the Trowbridge Collection of Natural
History in Michigan University Museum. Pamphlet of 32 pages published
by University at Ann Arbor, 1861.
Kneeland, Dr. S., Jr. — 1. Biids of Keweenaw Point. Boston Society
of Natural History, VI, 1857, 231-241. It includes 147 species.
Langille, Rev. J. H. — 1. Nidification of Birds on the St. Clair Flats.
liull. Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, V, 1886, 33-39. 2. Our Birds
in their Haunts. S. E. Cassino, Boston, Mass., 1889. Contains many ref-
erences to Michigan birds.
Lawrence, Robt. B. — 1. Brant in IMichigan. Forest and Stream,
XXXII, 316.
Lockwood, E. A. — 1. Snowy Owls and Swans Taken at So\ith Haven.
American Field, XXVII, 189L Ten owls and two swans taken in De-
cember.
Lewis, D. J. — 1. Notes on Prairie Horned Lark. lUdl. ^lich. Orn. Clul),
I, 1897, 25.
McBride, Herbert W. — 1. Notes on Pine Grosbeak in Southwestern
Michigan. Ornithologist and Oologist, XVIII, 1893, 47.
McClintock, Norman.— 1. A Hermit Thrush Study. Auk, XX\'II,
1910, 409-418. Almost daily observations on a nest in the Huron Mts.,
Marcpiette Co., Mich., from the hatching of the eggs, July 27, 1907, to
the forsaking of the nest on August 6.
McConnell, Harrv B. — 1. Conceining Passenger I'igeons. AN'ilsoii Bull.,
XX, 1908, 214.
McCreary, Otto. — L The Ecological Distribution of Birds in the Porcu-
768 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
pine Mts. of Mich. Rep. Mich. Geol. Surv., 1905, 56-G7. 2. The Ecolog-
ical Distribution of the Birds of Isle Royale, Lake Superior. Adams,
Report on Isle Royale, Rep. Mich. Geol. Surv., 1908, 81-95.
Maris, Willard L.^ — 1. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak in Washtenaw
County. Oologist, XVI, 1891, 106.
Melville, W. P.— 1. Notes on the Great Horned Owl. Bull. Mich. Orn.
Club, I, 1897, 15-16. 2. Uria lomvia again. Ibid, 23.
Merriam, Dr. C. Hart. — 1. Kirtland's Warbler from the Straits of
Mackinac. Auk, II, 1885, 376. Specimen killed on Spectacle Reef Light,
Lake Huron, May 21, 1883.
Mershon, W. B.— 1. The Passenger Pigeon. New York, 1907. The
Outing Company, 8 vo. pp. XII-225, 3 colored and 6 half-tone plates.
Miles, Dr. Manly. — 1. Catalog of Birds of Michigan. Geological Surv.
of Michigan, 1861, 222-232. Two hundred three species listed.
Mills, M. B.— 1. Set of Ten Eggs from White-breasted Nuthatch, taken
at Macon, Michigan. Ornithologist and Oologist, XVI, 1891, 157. 2.
Nesting of the Lark Sparrow at Macon, Lenawee Co. Bull. Mich. Orn.
Club, I, 1897, 9. 3. Nest of Turkey Vulture. Ibid, 24. Records the
finding of two young near Britton, Lenawee County. 4. Belted Kingfisher
in Winter. Ibid, II, 1898, 8. At Adrian, Jan. 14th.
Moody, Phihp E., M. D. — 1. A Recent Record of the Wild Pigeon.
Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, IV, 1903, 81. One shot Sept. 14, 1898 at Chestnut
Ridge a few miles from Detroit, by Frank Clements. Mounted by
Campion, now in the collection of J. H. Fleming, Toronto. 2. Stray
Notes. Ibid, 97. Notes on Lark Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Chat and
Grasshopper Sparrow.
Morden, John A. — 1. Notes from Isabella County, Mich. Oologist, X,
1893, 24. Notes on Saw-whet Owl, Marsh Hawk, etc. 2. A Collector's
Gun. Ibid. X, No. 4, April, 1893.
Moseley, E. L. — 1. Notes on Winter Birds of Michigan. Forest and
Stream, XXVIII, 1881, 4. Six species are mentioned. 2. Winter Wood-
peckers of Michigan. Ibid, XXXII, 1885, 63. 3. List of Michigan Birds
in the Museum of the Kent Scientific Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Democrat Company, Grand Rapids, 1887. Embraces 231 species, not all
from Mich.
Mulliken, W. E.— 1. Nesting of a Chimney Swift in a Freight Car.
Ornithologist and Oologist, XVII, 1892, 159. 2. The Rose-breasted
Grosbeak in Michigan. Ibid, 152. 3. A few Michigan Notes. Nidiol-
ogist, III, 1896, 77. 4. Capture of Song Sparrow, Jan. 19, 1897, at Grand
Rapids. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 23. 5. Large Numbers of Cow-
bird's Eggs in Nests of Vireo and Towhee. Ibid, 27. 6. Birds Killed on
p]lcctric Light Towers at Grand Rapids. Ibid, 45. Ten species noted.
7. Ameiican Goshawk in Kent County. Ibid, II, 1898, 7. 8. Notes on
Kent County, Michigan, Birds. Ibid, III, 1899, 8. Among them are
Lincoln's Sparrow, Herring Gull, Old-squaw, Pied-bill Grebe. 9. A
Peculiar Set of Eggs of the Scarlet Tanager. Ibid, 18.
Mummerv, Edwin G. — 1. Small-billed Waterthrush in Wayne Co.
Bull. Mich."' Orn. Club, IV, 1903, 56. Nest and 5 eggs, with parent bird,
taken May 14, 1898. 2. Nesting of the White-breasted Nuthatch. Ibid,
85-86.
Nichols, Jason E. — 1. Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker in ]\lich.
Ornithologist and Oologist, VI, 1882.
Oldfield, W. A. — 1. Breeding of Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Red-
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 769
backed Sandpiper in Sanilac County, Michigan. Ornithologist and Oolo-
gist, XVI, 1891, 144.
Osborn, Chase S.— 1. The Northern Raven. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club,
II, 1898, 1-2. Nesting habits of the species in the Upper Peninsula, with
notes on poisoning.
Peet, Max Minor. — 1. Observations on the Nesting Habits of a Pair
of House Wrens. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, VI, 1905, 15-16. 2. The Ecolog-
ical Study of the Birds of the Ypsilanti Bayou. Tenth Report Mich.
Acad. Sci., 1908, 162-196. One hundred fifty-four species noted and an
attempt made to group them according to environmental conditions.
3. The Fall Migration of Birds at Washington Harbor, Isle Royale, in
1905. Adams, Report on Isle Royale, Rep. Mich. Geo!. Surv., 1908,
97-116.
Phillips, Frank J. — 1. The Dissemination of Junipers by Birds. Forestrv
Quarterly, VIII, No. 1, pp. 1-16.
Pokagon, Chief Simon. — 1. To the INlichigan Ornithological Club. Bull.
Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 14-15. A characteristic letter, mainly on the
Robin, from this old Indian.
Purdie, H. A.— Another Kirtland's Warbler. Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club,
IV, 1879, 185. 2. Record of Additional Specimens of the White-throated
Warbler. Ibid, 184-185.
Purdy, Jas. B.— 1. The Traill's Flycatcher. The Hawkeye Orn. and
Ool., I, 1888, 41-42. 2. Nesting of the Barred Owl and Great Horned
Owl at Plymouth, Mich. Ornithologist and Oologist, XIV, 1889, 54.
3. Curious Nesting Traits of Birds. Ibid, 92. 4. Nests that Perished
in the Storm. Ibid, 110. 5. Horned or Prairie Horned Lark, Which is
it? Ibid, XV, 1890, 138, 139. 6. Late Nesting of the Wood Pewee.
Ibid, XVI, 1891, 28. 7. Nesting of the Bobwhite, August 30, 1891.
8. Nesting of the Great Horned Owl. Ibid, XVII, 1892, 57. Nest found
March 20, 1892. 9. Domestication of the Canada Goose. Ibid, XVIII,
1893, 4-5. 10. Nesting Habits of Great Horned Owl at Plymouth, Mich.
Ibid, 92. 11. Dickcissel at Plymouth, Mich. Nidiologist, III, 1895,
37. 12. Some Unusual Occurrences. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, II, 1898,
38. Reports Goshawk, Kingfisher, Golden Eagle and Barn Owl. 13.
Nesting Place of Maryland Yellowthroat. Ibid, III, 1899, 7. 14. Bona-
l)arte's Gull, and Brown Thrasher at Plymouth. Ibid, 8. 15. A Scarcity
of Winter Bii-ds. Ibid, 8. 16. A few Notes on our Winter Birds, 1902-3.
Ibid, IV, 1903, 57. 17. The Passenger Pigeon in the Early Davs of Mich-
igan. Ibid, 69-71. 18. An Albino Crackle at Plymouth. Ibid, 82.
Harden, C. B.— 1. A Word about a Great Horned Owl's Nest. Bull.
Mich. Orn. Club, II, 1898, 38.
Reed, Leon. — 1. Supposed Breeding of the Barred Owl at White Pigeon,
Michigan. Ornithologist and Oologist, XI, 1886, 100.
Ridgway, Robert. — 1. Note on Helminthophaga gunnii Gibbs. Bull.
Nutt. Orn. Club, IV, 1879, 233-234. 2. Another Kirtland's Warbler from
Michigan. Auk, I, 1884, 389. Specimen taken at Battle Creek, May
11, 1883, by N. Y. Green. 3. Helminthoi)hila leucobronchialis. Auk, 11,
1885, 359-363. Argument that this is a valid species and not a hybrid.
Ruthvcn, Alexander (J. — 1. An Fcological Survey of the Porcujjine
Mountains and Isle Royale, Mich. Rep. Gool. Surv. Mich., 1905, 17-55.
2. The Faunal Affinities of the Prairie Region of Central North America.
Am. Naturalist, XLII, 1908, 388.
97
770 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Sager, Abraham. — 1. Report of Dr. Abraham Sager, Zoologist of Geolog-
ical Survey. House Documents of the State of Mich., An. Sess., 1839,
410-421.
Sanderson, E. Dwight.- — 1. The Economic Value of the White-bellied
Nuthatch and Black-capped Chickadee. Auk, XV, 1898, 144-155. Record
of food of twenty-three nuthatches in winter and eleven in early spring,
and of nineteen chickadees in winter and nine in spring.
Satterlee, James.- — 1. The Cherry Bird Condemned. Rep. State Horti-
cultural Society, 1886, 97. 2. Our Friends, the Birds. Report of Mich.
Pomological Society, 1887, 115.
Saunders, WilUam. — 1. Condemns the Robin, Cherry Bird and English
Sparrow. Report of Mich. Horticultural Society, 1883, 164.
Schoolcraft, Henry R.- — 1. A Supposed New Bird. Historical and
Scientific Sketches of Michigan, 1834. The Evening Grosbeak.
Selous, Percy. — 1. Occasional Bird Notes in and Around Greenville.
Bull Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 13. Notes on Pine Grosbeak, Northern
Shrike, and Bittern. 2. The Evening Grosbeak Again. Ibid, 25.
Records Evening Grosbeaks and Pine Grosbeaks March 21 and 24, at
Greenville, Mich. 3. Greenville Notes. Ibid, 45. Records Pine Siskins
at Greenville, May 25th; also capture of Black-belUed Plover, August
16, with notes on other species. 4. Occasional Bird Notes. Ibid, II,
1898, 20. Records White-winged Scoter on the river at Greenville, March
14, 1898, with other notes. 5. The Rapid Disappearance of our Birds of
Prey and the Result which must follow. Ibid, 32-33. 6. Greenville
Notes. Ibid, 37. Relate to Rough-legged Hawk, Hummingbird, Snow
Geese, Carolina Rail, Nighthawk, etc. 7. Long-tailed Duck at Greenville
Ibid, 40. One taken January 31. 8. Greenville Notes. Ibid, III, 1899,
7. Mentions Quail, Northern Shrike, Bohemian Waxwing, Old-squaw,
Great Blue Heron, Snow Goose, and others.
Shuver, F. S.— 1. Van Buren County Notes. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club,
II, 1898, 15-17. Valuable notes on the Raven, Cardinal, Wild Turkey,
Pileated Woodpecker, and more common birds. 2. Dickcissel in Van
Buren County. Ibid, III, 1899, 18. Said to be very common in suitable
localities.
Slayton, C. M.— 1. Heronry in Kent County. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club,
III, 1899, p. 18.
Smith, Frank. — 1. An Unusual Flight of Sparrow Hawks in Michigan
in 1904. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, V, 1904, 77-78. At Macatawa, Ottawa
Co., August 30, 1904. 2. A Migration Fhght of Purple Martins in Mich-
igan in the Summer of 1905. Wilson Bull., XX, 1908, 41-43.
Smith, W. A.— 1. The Birds Our Friends. Report Mich. State Horti-
cultural Society, 1885, 249.
Spicer, Samuel. Notes from Goodrich, Genesee County, Michigan.
Ornithologist and Oologist, XIV, 1889, 43.
Steere, Dr. J. B. — 1. Migration of Birds. Report of State Pomological
Society, 1880, 115-124. Seven pages given to migration and habits,
followed by Hsts of birds of the state grouped under five heads, as follows:
List A, Birds Resident in Michigan— 33 species. List B, Birds nesting
in Michigan and Wintering to the South — 110 species. List C, Birds
Wintering to the South of Michigan and Nesting to the North, being only
known in the state as migrants — 68 species. List D, Winter Visitors
but not Summer Residents in Michigan — 18 species. List E — Probably
on the Great Lakes in Winter— 36 species. The total number of species
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 771
listed is 265, but several are included erroneously and each list has mistakes,
list C in particular being replete with them.
Stockwell, G. A. ("Archer"). — 1. Game of Michigan, Wild Turkey.
Rod and Gun, IX, 1876, 65. 2. The Fauna of Michigan (Birds). Forest
and Stream, VIII, 1877, 224, 241, 261, 281, 300, 360, 380. Merely a Hst
of birds attributed to the state, but in most cases without any records or
authorities cited.
Stowell, Bert. — 1. A Red-winged Blackbird at Drayton Plains during
the Winter of 1901-2. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, IV, 1903, 26. 2. A Twice-
used Nest. Ibid, 56. Bluebird eggs in an old robin's nest.
Strang, J. J. — 1. Natural History of Beaver Islands, Michigan. Ninth
Annual Report Smithsonian Institution (1854), 1855, 282-288. Three
lines are given to birds.
Sudworth, George B. — 1. PoUoptila caerulea (Gnatcatcher). Natur-
alist and Fancier (Grand Rapids), II, No. 3, 1878.
Swales, Bradshaw H., Jr. — 1. Late Nesting of Woodcock. Ornitholo-
gist and Oologist, XVI, 1891, 144. 2. Nesting Notes. Ibid, 1890, 148.
3. Notes on Migration. Ibid, 159. 4. Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Long-
eared Owl. Ibid, XVII, 1892, 75. 5. Nesting of the Virginia Rail. Ibid,
103. 6. Nest of Phoebe. Ibid, III. 7. Albino Eggs of Long-billed
Marsh Wren. Ibid, 121. 8. Field Sparrow in Michigan, Ibid, 159. 9.
American Woodcock at Detroit. Ibid, XVIII, 1893, 79. 10. The Least
Bittern. Nidiologist, II, 1895, 108. 11. Michigan Notes. Ibid, 139. 12
Wood Thrush. Ibid, III, 1896, 115. 13. Dickcissel Breeding at Detroit.
Ibid, III, 1895, 19. 14. A Trip to Grassy Island. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club,
I, 1897, 30-32. Notes on a dozen or more species and the nests of the
Black Tern, Gallinule, Coot, Least Bittern, Pied-bill Grebe, and several
Rails. 15. Bird Notes from Grassy Island. Ibid, III, 1899, 20." Notes
on various species, summer and winter. 16. A Few Wayne County,
Mich., Notes. Wilson Bull., XIV, 1902, 139. Notes on 14 species.
Records capture of White-winged Scoter and Hudsonian Curlew at St.
Clair Flats; also 3 specimens of Pigeon Hawk near Detroit. 17. A list
of the Land Birds of Southeastern Michigan. Ibid, IV, 1903, 14-17,
35-40; Ibid, V, 1904, 37-43. 18. Notes on the Winter Birds of Wayne
County, Mich. Wilson Bull,. XV, 1903, 20-24. Notes on 61 species.
A Rusty Blackbird killed by J. C. Wood, Jan. 25, 1891. Several Cowbirds
in Detroit in Jan., 1890. Rough-leg called "Old Feather Boots." 19.
Additions to Winter Birds of Wayne County, Mich. Ibid, XVI, 1904,
82-83. Larus marinus shot on Detroit River in March, 1904. 20. Breed-
ing of the Broad-winged Hawk in Wayne County. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club,
V, 1904, 69. Nest and 3 eggs, with" parent bird, taken April 29, 1903.
21. Evening Grosbeak in Presque Isle Co., Mich. Auk, XXI, 1904, 82.
22. A Few Southern Mich. Notes. Ibid, 84-85. Notes on 8 species,
including Phila. Vireo, Saw-whet Owl and Caspian Tern. The Phila. Vireo
taken in St. Clair Co., August 28, 1896. 23. White- winged Crossbill. A
Correction. Ibid, 281. Not breeding in Genesee county, Mich., as re-
ported in Cook's Birds of Mich. The note originally related to the Gold-
finch. 24. Wintering of the Red-headed Woodpecker at Detroit, Mich.
Ibid, XX, 1905, 80. "In large numbers, at Belle Isle Park, Detroit."
25. Henslow's Sparrow in St. Clair Co., ]\Iich. Ibid, 83-84. 26. Northern
Parula Warbler in Southern Michigan. Ibid, 84. 27. Turkey Vulture
in Michigan. Ibid, 413. One killed in Genesee county. Aprir27, 1905.
28. Additions and Additional Data to a Preliminary List of the Land
772 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Birds of Southeastern Michigan. Wilson Bull. XVII, 1905, 108-114.
29. Late Canada Goose. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, VI, 1905, 20. A flock
of 21 seen near Lake St. Clair, April 30, 1905. 30. Hermit Thrush in
Winter. Wilson Bull., XVIII, 1906, 26. 31. Three Michigan Records.
Auk, XXIII, 1906, 100. Goshawk, Barn Owl, Saw-whet Owl. 32. The
Carolina Chickadee in Southern Mich. Ibid, 342. Probably first specimen
of the species taken in Mich. Collected July 17, 1899, in Wayne
County. 33. Winter Notes from Detroit, Mich, and Vicinity. Wilson
Bull., XX, 1908, 152-155. 34. Bubo virginianus occidentaHs in Michigan.
Auk, XXVII, 1910, 208. A specimen recorded from Ontonagon county,
1906, and now in the U. S. Nat. Museum. 35. Yellow Rail. Auk, XXIX,
1912, 100-101. One taken April 22, 1911, in Wayne county. 36. Duck
Hawk. Ibid, p. 102. Four Mich, records of the species, the latest, at
Grosse Point, July 15, 1911. 37. Carohna Wren. Ibid, p. 10.7. Several
records for Grosse Isle and other points in W^ayne County. 38. The Turn-
stone at Grosse Isle, Mich. Auk, XXVII, 1910, 452. 39. Nesting of
Hensh)w's Sparrow on Grosse Isle, Mich. Auk, XXVII, 1910, 458. Nest
with 4 eggs. May 31, 1909.
Swales, B. H. and Taverner, P. A. — 1. Notes on several rare Southeast
Mich. Birds. Auk, XXII, 1905, 88-89. White-winged Scoter, Surf
Scoter and Short-billed Marsh Wren noted. 2. Recent Ornithological
Developments in Southeastern Michigan. Ibid, XXIV, 1907, 135-148.
Critical notes on 32 species, many of them rare.
Taverner, P. A.— 1. The Tagging of Birds. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club,
V, 1904, 50-51. 2. A discussion of the Origin of Migration. Auk, XXI,
1904, 322-333. 3. Description of Second Mich. Specimen of Cory's Least
Bittern. Ibid, XXII, 1905, 77-78. 4. Additional Records for South-
eastern' Michigan. Ibid, 89. Clay-colored Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow,
Prairie and Connecticut Warblers. 5. A Hvperlaken Migration Route.
Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, VI, 1905, 1-7. 6. An Interesting Junco. Ibid,
20. A late specimen (April 30) at Pearl Beach, St. Clair Co.,- Mich., ap-
parently sexless. 7. Rough- winged Swallows. Ibid, 21. A colony of
six found in W^ayne Co. 8. Bird Casualties. Wilson Bull., XVII, 1905,
131. 9. The Yellow-breasted Chat in Michigan. Ibid, XVIII, 1906,
17-21. 10. A Purple Martin Roost. Ibid, 87-92. (Roost in Trees in
Washington Park, Chicago). 11. Some More Michigan Records. Auk,
XXIII, 1906, 106-108. Notes on 3 species: Prothonotary Warbler
(nesting). Hawk Owl at Port Huron, St. Clair Co., Great Blue Heron.
12. Southeastern Michigan Records. Ibid, 335. One Wilson's Phalarope
and 3 White-rumped Sandpipers taken in Wavne Co. 13. The Year
1908 in Southeastern Mich. Wilson Bull. XX, 1908, 199-208. 14. Four
Rare Birds in Southeastern Mich. Auk, XXV, 1908, 327-328. The
species were: Yellow Rail, Caspian Tern, Bartramian Sandpiper and
White Pelican. 15. Wilson's Phalarope and White-rumped Sandpiper
in Wayne Co., i\lich. Ibid, 328. 16. Two Michigan Records. Ibid,
XXVI, 1909, 83. Specmens of Ardea caerulea and Buteo swainsoni, the
former taken near Detroit, the latter near INIackinaw. 17. A Wood Ibis
record for Michigan. Auk, XXVIII, 1911, 256. A young bird taken
June 19, 1910, near Monroe, Mich. The first actual specimen recorded
for the state.
Taverner, P. A. and Swales, B. H. — 1. Lesser Snow Geese in jNIichigan
and Ontario. Auk, XXIII, 1906, 219-220. One specimen of Chen hyper-
borea taken at St. Clair Flats, Nov. 5, 1905. 2. Notes on the Migration
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 773
of the Saw-whet Owl. Auk, XXVIII, 1911, 329-334. Relates mainly
to evidence found at Pt. Pelee, Ont., where 12 Saw- whets where found,
Oct. 15, 1910. Two instances of migration in numbers over Lake Huron
are also given.
Tinker, A. D. — -1. The Black-crowned Night Heron in Washtenaw Co.,
Mich. Auk, XXV, 1908, 314, 315. A single specimen taken, the fourth
record for the county. 2. Breeding of the Tufted Titmouse in Washtenaw
Co., Mich. Ibid, 322-323. An adult seen taking food (insects) into a
cavity in a dead branch 50 or 60 feet from the ground, May 24, 1908.
Presumably this was the male taking food to his mate in the nesting hole.
3. The Carohna Wren in Washtenaw Co., Mich. Ibid, XXVI, 1909, 434.
Nest with 5 young and 1 egg found June 20, 1909, near Ann Arbor. 4.
Observations on the Spring jNIigration (1910) at Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Wilson Bull. No. 74, March, 1911, 28-34. A compilation of records by
Tinker, N. A. Wood and F. 0. Novy. 5. The Birds of School Girl's Glen,
Ann Arbor, Mich. Mich. Geol. & Biol. Surv., Pub. 1, Biol. Ser. 1, 1910, 35-66.
Trombley, Jerome. — 1. Swallow-tailed Kite taken in Southern Mich.
Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, VII, 1882, 250.
Van Pelt, A. W. — 1. Towhee Wintering in Muskegon County, Mich.
Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 45.
Van Winkle, E.— 1. The Caspian or Imperial Tern. Oologist, X, 1893
114. 2. The American Herring Gull. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 33.
Account of the nesting of this species and the Caspian Tern on certain
islands of Delta county on the west side of Lake Michigan.
Wade, Joseph M. — 1. Orange-crowned Warbler. Oologist, V, 1880.
Note of capture in Michigan.
Walker, George H. — 1. A Belated Meadowlark. Bull. Mich. Orn.
Club, I, 1897, 24.
Warren, Harry S. — 1. Ventriloquism in the Genus Spizella. Bull.
Mich. Orn. Club, III, 1899, 7.
Washburn, F. L. — 1. Recent Captures of Kirtland's Warbler in Mich.,
and Other Notes. Auk, VI, 279-280.
Watkins, L. Whitney. — 1. And Perchers Swim Also. Nidiologist, II,
1894, 40. A wounded catbird taking to the water. 2. Notes on the
Dickcissel. Ibid, III, 1895, 49-50. 3. Capture of Song Sparrow, Jan.
17, 1894, at Manchester. Also adult Goshawk taken at Norvell, Jackson
Co., in January, 1897. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 23. 4. Mich.
Birds that Nest in Open Meadows. First Rep. Mich. Acad. Sci., 1895
(1900), 66-75.
Weed, Clarence M. — 1. Food Habits of Young Birds. Report of the
State Board of Agriculture, 1883, 439-448. Part of thesis for M. S. degree.
2. The Food Relations of Birds, Frogs and Toads. Report of Mich Horti-
cultural Society, 1884, 98. Part of thesis for M. S. degree.
White, Stewart Edward. — 1. Brown Creeper at Grand Rapids, Mich.
Ornithologist and Oologist, XV, 1890, 101-102. 2. Favors the Old Names,
Ibid, 137. 3. Two days in the Field. Ibid, 173-174. Notes on the
birds of Mackinac Island. 4. The Olive-backed Thrush. Ibid, XVII,
1892, 114-115. Notes from Kent County and Mackinac Island. 5. Birds
Observed on Mackinac Island, Michigan, During the Summers of 1889,
1890 and 1891. Auk, X, 1893, 221-230. Includes notes by T. Gilbert
White (brother) and .Morris Gil)bs. One hundred forty-four species listed,
ant! four from neighboring mainland.
Widmann, Otto. — 1. List of Birds Observed in the Neighborhood of
774 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Wequetonsing, Emmet Co., Mich., July 9-23, 1901. Auk, XIX, 1902,
232-237. Notes on 73 species.
Wisner, Charles E. — 1. Breeding of the Yellow-breasted Chat in Wayne
Co. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, IV, 1903, 57.
Wolcott, Eobt. H. — 1. Notes from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Orni-
thologist and Oologist, IX, 1884, 62. Refers to early spring birds. 2.
Red-winged Blackbird and Cowbird. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, III, 1899, 18.
Cowbird eggs seldom or never found in nests of Red- winged Blackbird.
3. A Home Built on the Sands. Ibid, 20. Nest of Phoebe in a sand pit.
Wood, A. H. — 1. The Black-backed Woodpecker. Ornithologist and
Oologist, IX, 1884, 62. Species noted 30 miles north of Mackinaw.
Wood, J. Claire. — 1. Local Heronies (sic). Bull. Mich. Orn. Club,
IV, 1903, 40-44. Relates to the Great Blue Heron only. 2. A Bittern
Episode. Ibid, 58-59. 3. 1903 Randoms. Ibid, 81. Records Wilson's
Warbler, Baird's Sandpiper, and others. 4. Large Sets of Red-shouldered
Hawk. Ibid, 83. 5. Another Note on the Chimney Swift. Ibid, 95-96.
A Surf Scoter on the Detroit River. Ibid, 96. Some Irregularities in
Notes. Ibid, 97. 6. Some Notes on the Life History of the American
Redstart. Ibid, V. 1904, 33-35. 7. Another Nest of the Philadelphia
Vireo. Auk, XXI, 1904, 282. Supposed nest of this species found in a
poplar on shore of Traverse Bay in Leelanau Co., Mich., between August
12 and 21, 1890. Two young flew from nest. 8. Some Notes on Michigan
Warblers. Wilson Bull., XVII, 1905, 20-22. 9. Nesting of the Yellow-
bellied Sapsucker. Ibid, 57-58. Records two nests in Wayne Co., Mich.
10. Extracts from my .^ Notebook, 1905. Ibid, 129-130. 11. Parula
Warbler and Short-billed' Marsh Wren (in Mich.). Auk, XXII, 1905, 212.
12. Michigan Randoms. Ibid, 216-217. Notes on a dozen species or
more. 13. Nesting of Henslow's Sparrow in St. Clair Co., Mich. Ibid,
416. Some Wayne County, Mich., Notes, 1905. Ibid, 423-424. Notes
on 4 species. 14. Autumn Warbler Hunting. Ibid, XXIII, 1906, 20-25.
Twenty-one species noted from August 19 to October 26, 1905, in Wayne
Co., Mich. 15. Wayne County, Mich., Notes. Ibid, 344. Kentucky,
Blue-winged, and Orange-crowned Warbler taken, and pair of Wilson
Phalaropes seen in Wayne Co., in May, 1906. 16. The White-rumped
Sandpiper in Wayne Co., Michigan. Ibid, 458. Seven specimens taken
June 3, 1906, in Waj^ne Co. Said to be always abundant in autumn at
Port Austin, Huron Co. 17. The Dickcissel in Wayne Co., Mich. Wilson
Bull., XIX, 1907, 33. 18. Dickcissel in Wayne Co., Mich. Ibid, 71.
19. Redpoll in Ecorse Township, Wayne Co., Mich. Ibid, 72. 20. The
Short-eared Owl and Savanna Sparrow Breeding in Wayne County, Mich.
Auk, XXIV, 1907, 97-99. Nest and two young owls found at Grosse
Pointe Farms, June 10, 1906, and young Savanna Sparrow learning to
fly at same time and place. 21. The Pigeon Hawk in Wayne Co., Mich.
Ibid, 214. Single female taken Sept. 15, 1906. 22. Autumn Records of
Golden Plover and Lapland Longspur in Wayne Co., Mich. Ibid, 223-224.
23. Autumn Warbler Migration, Ibid, 322-331. Observations on 24
species of warblers and on a few other birds, mainly in Wayne Co., Mich,
24. The White-rumped Sandpiper in Mich. Ibid, 339-340. 25. The
Savanna Sparrow Breeding in Detroit and Hamtramck Village, Mich.
Ibid, XXV, 1908, 223. 26. Corrections to a List of the Land Birds of
Southeastern Michigan. Ibid, 230-232. 27. Bird Notes from South-'
eastern Mich. Ibid, 324-327. Copious notes on a dozen species, the more
interesting being Trumpeter Swan, Caspian Tern and Gadwall. 28.
Bibliography. ?75
l^artramian Sandpiper in Wayne Co., Mich. Ibid, 473-474. Some details
of nesting habits by James B. Purdy. 29. The Kirtland and Pine Warblers
in Wayne Co., Mich. Ibid, 480. Records a single individual of each
species, spring migrants. 30. Pine Siskins and Winter Bobolinks (near
Detroit, Mich.). Ibid, XXVI, 1909, 192-193. 31. First Appearance of
the Sanderling in the Vicinity of Detroit. Ibid, 427. 32. Warbler Notes
from Wayne Co., Mich. Wilson Bull., XXI, 1909, 45, 46. 33. Baird's
Sandpiper and Dickcissel in Wayne Co., Mich. Ibid, 107. 34. Rough-
winged Swallow and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Breeding in Wayne Co., Mich,
Ibid, 108. 35. Some Winter Birds of the Season of 1908-1909 in Wayne
Co., Mich. Auk, XXVII, 1910, 36-41. Thirty species noted, the Vesper
Sparrow for the first time in winter in the county. 36. The Last Passenger
Pigeons in Wayne Co., Mich. Ibid, 208. Three seen and one taken
Sept. 14, 1898. (This is the specimen already several times recorded and
now in the collection of J. H. Fleming, Toronto). 37. The Warblers in
Wayne County, Mich., in 1909. Auk, XXVIII, 1911, 19-25. Notes on
26 species. 38. A New Breeding Record for Wayne Co., Michigan. Auk,
XXVIII, 1911, 269-270. A nest of Mockingbird with three young found
August 13, 1910.
Wood, Norman A. — 1. Capture of Uria troile (Murre) at Gibralter,
Mich. Bull. Mich. Orn. Club, I, 1897, 10. This proved to be a Thick-
billed Murre. Capture is also noted of Snowy Owls at St. Clair Flats,
Old-squaws at East Tawas, Short-eared Owls from Lenawee Co., and Acadian
Owl and Redpoll from Ann Arbor. 2. Acadian Owl in Mich. Ibid, 45.
3. Notes from Ann Arbor. Ibid, II, 1898, 19. Relate to Cardinal, Tufted
Titmouse, Golden Eagle, Double-crested Cormorant, Rough-legged Hawk,
Great Horned Owl, Baltimore Oriole and Bluebird. 4. Ann Arbor Notes.
Ibid, III, 1899, 7. Records Barn Owl and Rough-legged Hawk from
Washtenaw County and Snowy Owls at St. Clair Flats. 5. Notes on the
Warblers at Ann Arbor. Ibid, IV, 1903, 59-60. 6. Some Rare Washtenaw
County Warblers. Ibid, 81. Notes capture of Prairie, Kirtland's, Orange-
crowned, Mourning and Brewster's Warblers. 7. A Flock of Cardinals
near Ann Arbor and Other Notes. Ibid, 96-97. 8. Discovery of the
Breeding Area of Kirtland's Warbler. Ibid, V, 1904, 3-13. Most im-
portant paper yet published on this species. Covers song, nesting, habits,
etc., with half-tones of nests and nesting sites from photos. Also half-
tone of single egg found. 9. Birds Noted En Route to Northern Michigan.
Ibid. VI, 1905, 17-20. List of 51 species. 10. Kirtland's Warbler. Ibid,
21. A migrant identified at Ann Arbor, May 6, 1905. 11. Some New
and Rare Bird Records for Michigan. Auk, XXII, 1905, 175-178. Notes
on 20 species observed during summer and fall of 1904 in Ontonagon Co.
and on Isle Royale. 12. Twenty-five years of Bird Migration at Ann
Arbor, Mich. Eighth Rep. Mich. Acad, Sci., 1906, 151-156, and large table.
Data given for 267 species. 13. Some Records of the Fall Migration of
1906. Ninth Rep. Mich. Acad. Sci., 1907, 166-171. Observations made
at Portage Lake, Washtenaw Co., Mich., Sept. 8-Oct. 16, 1906. 14. The
Breeding of the Short-eared Owl (Asio accipitrinus) near Ann Arbor, Mich.
Auk, XXIV, 1907, 439. Three young just beginning to fly taken June
26, 1907. 15. Notes on the Spring Migration (1907) at Ann Arbor, Mich.
Ibid, XXV, 1908, 10-15. Notes on 26 species of warblers and 107 other
species. 16. Notes on the Occurrence of the Yellow Rail in Michigan.
Ibid, XXVI, 1909, 1-5. Gives about 15 records, but several not supported
by definite data. 17. Results of the Mer.shon Expedition to the Charity
776 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Islands, Lake Huron, lairds. The Wilson Bulletin, No. 75, June, 1011, i)p.
78-112. An annotated list of 162 specdes. 18. A Michigan Record for
the Gannet, Sula bassana. Wilson Bulletin No. 78, March 1912, pp. 43-44.
First record for the state, Oct. 19, 1911, Walker Lake, Livingston Co., Mich.
Wood, Norman A. and Frothingham, Earl H. — 1. Notes on the Birds of
the Au Sable Valley, Mich. Auk, XXII, 1905, 39-54. An important
annotated list of 103 species observed during 2 separate trips and cover-
ing the time from June 13 to Sept. 22, 1903, with a single note (on Kirtland's
Warbler) in 1904.
Wood, Norman A. and Gaige, Frederick. — 1. Birds of the Sand Dune
Region of the South Shore of Saginaw Bay. Mich. Geol. Surv., Pub. 4,
Biol. Ser. 2, 1910, pp. 273-307.
Wood, Norman A. and McCrearj^ Otto. — 1. An Unusual Biid Wave.
Bull. Mich. Orn. Glub, VI, 1905, 22-23.
Wood, Norman A. and Tinker, A. D. — 1. Notes on some of the Rarer
Birds of Washtenaw Co., Mich. Auk, XXVII, 1910, 129-141. Full
notes on 34 species.
Wood, Walter C— 1. A Large Set of Grebe Eggs. Bull. Mich. Orn.
Club, IV, 1903, 98. Nest of Pied-billed Grebe with ten eggs. 2. Notes
on the Black Tern. Ibid, 28. Two females probably laying in same nest,
several sets of 6 eggs each being found at St. Clair Flats. 3. Autumn
Birds of Les Cheneaux Islands (Mich.). Wilson Bull., XVII, 1905, 48-50.
Notes on 48 species. Period covered is Oct. 15 to Nov. 15, 1903. Log-
cock and Black-backed Woodpecker common, also Canada Ja}^ Raven
nested regularly until 1900 in a big pine. 4. Additions to the Autumn
Birds of the Les Cheneaux Islands (Mich.). Ibid, XIX, 1907, 27. Hud-
sonian Chickadee common.
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS. 777
APPENDIX 4.
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS.
Used in the Keys and Descriptions.
Many of the terms will be best understood by reference to the frontispiece, which shows
the various parts of a bird and their names. The definitions quoted from Ridgway are
from his Nomenclature of Colors (1886).
Abdomen. The belly.
Acuminate. Tapering gradually to a point.
Acute. Sharp-pointed.
Adult. Of breeding age, usually with the fully mature plumage.
Albinism. An abnormal condition of plumage, in which white replaces
the ordinary colors.
Albino. A bird or other animal affected with albinism.
Albinistic. Affected with albinism.
Anal region. The feathers immediately surrounding the anus or vent.
Anterior. Forward; in front of.
Apex, Apical. The tip or point.
Aquatic. Living in, on or about water.
Ash-color. A shade of gray, ash-gray, bluish-gray.
Attenuate. Growing gradually narrower toward the tip, but not sharply
pointed.
Auriculars. The feathers which cover the ears in birds; the ear-coverts.
Avi-fauna. The bird-life of a definite area.
Axillaries, Axillars. The elongated feathers growing from the axilla
or armpit. (Fig. 52.)
Back. The dorsal region of the body, excluding neck and rump. It
usually includes the scapulars and interscapulars, but should be restricted
to the latter.
Band. A transverse mark or bar with nearly parallel edges. (A broad
band is usually called a zone.)
Bar. A transverse mark. Narrower than a band, but wider than a line.
Bay. A very rich dark reddish chestnut (Ridgway).
Belly. The posterior ventral surface of the body, excluding the anal
region.
Belt. A broad band of color across the breast or belly.
Belted. Marked with a broad band or belt.
Bend of the Wing. The carpal or wrist joint; the anterior point in the
folded wing.
Boreal. Northern.
]5rcast. In birds, that part of the ventral surface which lies between
the root of the neck and the abdomen.
Bristle. A small hair-like feather, most often seen near the angle of
the mouth, or rictus.
liuff. A light brownish yellow, like "chamois skin."
Calcareous. Chalky; limy.
Carmine. A very pure and intense crimson. The purest of the cochineal
colors (Ridgway).
778 MICHIGAN BIRD J.ll'J^.
Carpal. Pertaining to the wrist, or carpus.
Carpal joint. The wrist-joint, or carpus; the "bend of the wing."
Caudal. Relating to the tail.
Cere. The naked skin or membrane in which the nostrils are situated,
found in most birds of prey. (Fig. 72.)
Cervical. Pertaining to the cervix or hind neck.
Cheek. A rather indefinite term applied to that part of the side of the
head below eye and ear-coverts.
Chest. The upper breast; a somewhat indefinite area, part breast,
part neck.
Chestnut. A rich dark reddish brown, of a slightly purplish cast
(Ridgway).
Chin. The anterior point of the throat, often included between the
branches of the lower jaw.
Cinereous. Ash-gray; a clear bluish gray color, lighter than plumbeous
(Ridgway).
Cinnamon. The light reddish brown color of cinnamon bark.
Claw. The horny nail in which a toe ends.
Clay-color. A dull hght brownish yellow color (Ridgway).
Clove Brown. The color of cloves.
Collar. A ring of color encircling the neck. (Fig. 58.)
Commissure. The line formed by the edges of tlie closed mouth (upper
and lower jaw).
Compressed. Flattened from side to side; higher than broad. (Fig.
130.) The reverse of depressed.
Contour Feathers. The common feathers of the head, neck, and body
which give shape to the bird; usually includes all but the flight feathers
and down.
Crescentic. Crescent-shaped; new moon shaped.
Crest. A more or less lengthened tuft of feathers on to}) of the head,
which usually can be raised or depressed at pleasure. (Fig. 98.)
Crested. Furnished with a crest (on the head, of course).
Crimson. Blood-red; the color of the cruder sorts of carmine (Ridgway).
Crown. The vertex; that part of the top of the head between the fore-
head and the occiput.
Culmen. The profile or upper outline of the upper mandible.
Cuneate. Wedge-shaped. (Fig. 66.)
Depressed. Expanded from side to side; broader tlian liigh. (Fig. 93.)
Opposed to compressed.
Distal. Toward or at the extremity. Opposed to proximal.
Diurnal. Pertaining to the daytime.
Dorsal. Relating to the back.
Drab. A brownish gray color.
Dusky. A dark color of more or less indefinite or neutral tint (Ridgway).
Ear-coverts. The feathers overlying the ears of most birds; the auri-
culars.
Ear-tufts. Erectile tufts of elongated feathers springing from each
side of the crown or forehead; plumicorns. (Plate 29.)
Elevated. Said of the hind toe, when it aiises fi-om the shank above
the level of the front toes. (Fig. 61.)
Emarginate. With the margin cut away. (Fig. 73.) An emarginate
tail has the middle pair of feathers shortest, the rest successively a little
longer.
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS. 779
Falcate, Falciform. Shaped like a sickle or scythe.
Fauna. The sum total of the animal life of a country or region.
Fawn-color. A light warm brown color (Ridgway).
Filiform. Thread-like.
Flanks. The hindmost feathers of the sides.
Forehead, Front. The forepart of the top of the head, from the base
of the bill to the crown.
Fore-neck. Usually refers to the throat but sometimes includes the
chin, throat and chest.
Frontal. Pertaining to the forehead.
Fulvous. Like tanned leather; tawny.
Fuscous. Dark brown; smoky brown.
Gape. The opening of the mouth.
Glaucous. A whitish blue or whitish green color, like the "bloom"
of a cabbage-leaf.
Gonys. The keel or outline of the lower mandible, from the tip to the
point where the branches fork.
Gray. A mixture of black and white.
Greater Coverts. The hindmost series of wing-coverts, which im-
mediately overlap the bases of the secondaries.
Ground-color. The main color of the general surface.
Gular. Pertaining to the throat.
Hair Brown. A clear, somewhat grayish tint of brown, resembling
the "brown" hair of human beings; the typical brown color, composed
of equal proportions of red and green (Ridgway).
Hazel. An orange-brown color, like the shell of a hazel-nut or filbert
(Ridgway).
Heel. The tibio-tarsal joint; often mis-called the knee.
Hooded. Having the head conspicuously different in color from the
rest of the plumage.
Immaculate. Unspotted, unmarked.
Immature. Not adult, though full grown.
Incubation. Brooding; the act of sitting on eggs.
Indigo Blue. A dark dull blue color, like indigo.
Inner Toe. The toe on the inner side of the foot, usually directed for-
wards.
Interscapulars. The feathers in the middle line of the back, between
the scapulars.
Iridescent. With changeable colors or tints in different lights.
Iris. The colored circle of the eye surrounding the black center or pupil.
Jugulum. The lower throat or foreneck, immediately above the breast;
the "chest" of some authors.
Knee. Properly the tibio-femoral joint, entirely hidden by the body
feathers in most birds. Often improperly used for the heel joint.
I^amella. A thin plate or scale.
Lamellate. With numerous lamella? or thin plates (leave.s) as along
the sides of a duck's bill. (Fig. 14.)
Lateral. Towards or at the side.
Lead-color. See plumbeous.
Leg. As generally used the same as tarsus or shaid-c.
Lesser wing-coverts. The smaller wing-coverts, those covering most
of the shoulder, or area in front of the middle coverts.
Linear. Line-like.
780 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Lining of the wing. The under wing-coveiis tiiken collectively.
Longitudinal. Running lengthwise of the body, or any part of it.
Loral. Relating to the lores.
Lores. The space between the eye and bill. (Fig. 36.) (Used only in
the plural.)
Lower-parts, Under-parts. The entire under surface of a bird, from
chin to vent.
Lower Tail-coverts. The feathers overlapi)ing the base of the tail-
feathers beneath.
Malar Region. The side of the lower jaw behind the horny covering
of the mandible, usually feathered (Ridgway).
Mandible. The movable lower part of the ])ill; the lower jaw.
Mantle. Usually includes simply the back, scapulars, and upper sur-
face of wings.
Marine. Relating to the sea.
Maroon. A rich brownish crimson; claret color.
Maxilla. The jaw; but properly the upper jaw only.
Superior and inferior maxillary refer respectivel}^ to upper and lower jaw
(Ridgway).
Median, Medial. Along the middle line.
Melanism. A color condition resulting from excess of black or dark
pigment.
Melanistic. Affected with melanism.
Middle Toe. The middle one of the three front toes.
Middle Wing-coverts. The coverts situated between the greater and
lesser coverts.
Mirror. A name sometimes used for the speculum or metallic wing-bar
of ducks.
Nape. That part of the hind-neck Ijack of the occiput.
Nidification. Nest-building, or nesting habits.
Nuchal. Relating to the nucha or nape.
Nuptial plumes. Ornamental feathers accpiired at the approach of the
breeding season, and molted at its close.
Obscure. Indistinct, ill-defined.
Occipital. Relating to the hind-head, oi' occiput. (Fig- 36.)
Occiput. The back part of the head, directly in front of the nape.
Olivaceous, Olive. A greenish bi'own color, like that of olives.
Olive-green. A peculiar color, between oHve and dull yellowish green
(Ridgway).
Oological. Pertaining to oology, or the study of eggs.
Oology. The science of eggs.
Opaque. Dull, or without gloss.
Orbit. The region immediately around the eye.
Orbital Ring. A ring or circle of color immediately surrounding the
eye. It may or may not be feathered.
Outer Web. That part of the vane or web of a feather which is farthest
from the central line of the body. Usually it is narrower than the inner
web.
Ovate, Ovoid. Shaped like a typical egg, one end larger than the
other.
Pearl Gray. A very pale, delicate blue-gray color, like the mantle of
certain gulls (Ridgway.)
Pectinate, Pectinated. Having tooth-like projections hke the teeth
GLORRARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS. 781
of a comb, as the toes of the grouse (Fig. 62), and the middle claw in
herons. (Fig. 37.)
Pectoral. Relating to the breast (pectus).
Perforate. Pierced through; said 'of nostrils which communicate with
one another by reason of the absence of a septum. (Fig. 67.)
Pigment. Coloring-matter.
Piscivorous. Feeding upon fish.
Plumbeous. A deep bluish-gray color, like tarnished lead; lead-color.
Postocular, Postorbital. Back of, or behind the eye. Postocular is
most used.
Powder-down Feathers. Peculiar, imperfect feathers, which grow in
matted patches, usually on the spaces between the true feather-tracts;
characterized by a greasy texture and scurfy exfoliation.
Primary. Any one of the quill feathers of the "hand-wing," or pinion,
usually nine to eleven in number.
Primary coverts. The series of stiff coverts which overlie the bases of
the primaries.
Pteryla. An area or tract of the skin on which feathers grow. A
"feather tract."
Pterylosis. The plumage, considered with reference to its distribution
on the skin.
Punctate. Dotted.
Pupil. The central black (or dark blue) spot or disk of the eye, enclosed
within the iris.
Quill. Sometimes applied to one of the primary feathers; strictly, the
hollow part of the shaft of a feather.
Ramus. A branch or fork, as the ramus of the lower mandil:)le.
Rectrix. One of the tail-feathers. (Used chiefly in the plural, rectrices).
Remex. Any one of the longer flight feathers, (l^sed mainly in the
plural, remiges).
Reticulate. Netted. Said of a tarsus covered with small, irregular
plates, giving a netted effect. (Fig. 56.)
Rictal. Pertaining to the rictus.
Rictus. The gape; the edges and corner of the mouth.
Rounded. A rounded tail has the central pair of feathers longest, each
successive pair a little shorter.
Rufous. A brownish red color; rust red.
Rump. That part of the l)ack lying directly in front of the upper tail-
coverts.
Russet. A bright tawii^-brown color, with a tinge of rusty. (Ridgway.)
Scapular Region. The longitudinal area of feathers, usually well defined,
overlying the shoulder blade on each side of the back.
Scapulars. The feathers of the scapular region.
Scutellate. Coveted regularly and more or less completely with horny
plates or shields known as scutella, or scutes. (Fig. 54.)
Scutellum. A scute or plate. The singular of scutella.
Secondary Coverts. The greater wing-coverts.
Secondaries. The fliglit feathers of the foreai'm, which are borne on the
ulna.
Semilunar. Shaj^ed like a half-moon.
Semipalmate. Half-wel)l)e(l; the welis ])etween the front toes reaching
not more than half-way to their ends.
Serrate. Saw-toothod.
782 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Setaceous. Bristly, bristled.
Shaft. The mid-rib or horny axis of a feather, especially the solid part.
Sides. The lateral areas of the lower surface of a bird's body, extending
from the axilla to, and including, the flanks.
Sinuate. Applied to a feather whose edge is cut away less aljruptly
than when emarginate.
Slate-color. A dark gray, or blackish gray color, less bluish in tint
than plumbeous or lead-color (Ridgway).
Speculum. A mirror-like, metallic, or brightl}- colored area on the wing
of certain ducks. (Fig. 13, p. 78.)
Spurious. Rudimentary.
Spurious Primary. The first primary, when very small. Usually also
misplaced, that is ])laced on the inner side of the wing, under the next
primary.
Streak. A narrow color-mark, running lengthwise of the bird or feather.
Stripe. A broad color mark running lengthwise of Ijird or feather.
Sub-caudal. Under the tail.
Sub-orbital. Below the eye.
Sub-species. Usually a geographical race, or form ; perhaps an incipient
species.
Sulphur Yellow. A very pale pure yellow color, less orange in tint than
dilute gamboge or lemon-yellow (Ridgway).
Superciliary. Above the eye. A superciliar}- streak usually extends
from the base of the upper mandible over the eye, and backward above
the ear-coverts to the sides of the occiput.
Superior. Upper; topmost or uppermost.
Supraloral. Above the lores.
Supra-orbital. Above the eye.
Tail-coverts. The hindmost body feathers; those which cover the
base of the tail, above and below.
Tarsus. The leg of a bird, from the toes to the hoel joint; the shank.
Tawny. The color of tanned leather.
Terminal. At the end or tip.
Tertials, tertiaries. The inner secondaries, especially when of different
color, size, or shape, from the rest.
Throat. The upper part of the foreneck, not including the chin.
Tibia. The section of the leg next above the tarsus; the "drumstick"
of a fowl.
Tibial. Belonging to the tibia.
Tomia. The cutting-edges of the mandibles.
Transverse. Crosswise, or at right angles to the axis of the body or
feather.
Truncate. Cut squarely off.
Under-parts. The entire lower surface of a bird, from chin to vent.
(Same as lower-parts.)
Under Tail-coverts. The feathers covering the base of the tail below.
Under Wing-coverts. The coverts of the under surface of the wing;
the wing-lining.
Upper-parts. The entire upper surface, from forehead to tail.
Upper tail-coverts. The feathers overlying the base of the tail above.
Vane. The whole of a feather excepting the shaft and quill; the web.
Vent. The anus.
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS. 783
Vermiculate. Marked with fine wavy lines, like worm-tracks.
Vernal. Pertaining to spring.
Vertex. The crown, or central portion of the top of the head.
Vinaceous. A brownish pink, or delicate brownish purple color
(Ridgway).
Washed. Thinly overlaid with a different color.
Web. The vane of a feather, exclusive of the shaft. The outer web
is commonly narrower than the inner web.
Zone. A broad band of color, completely encirchng the body of a bird.
784 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
APPENDIX 5.
OUTLINE OF CLASSIFICATION OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS.
From the second edition of the Check List of North American Birds prepared for
the American Ornithologists' Union.
Older I. PYGOPODES, Diving Birds.
Family 1. Colymbidae, Grebes.
Family 2. Gaviidae, T.oons.
Family 3. Alcidae, Auks and Murres.
Order 11. LONGIPENNES, Long-winged Swimmers.
Family 4. Stercorariidae, Gull-chasers.
Family 5. Laridae, Gulls and Terns.
Family 6. Rynchopidae, Skimmers (not found in Michigan).
Order III. TUBINARES, Tube-nosed Swimmei-s (not found in Michigan).
Family 7. Diomedeidae, All:)atrosses (not found in Michigan).
Family 8. Procellariidae, Fulmars, Shearwaters, and Petrels (not
found in Michigan).
Order IV. STEGANOPODES, Totipalmate Swimmers.
Family 9. Phaethontidae, Tropic-birds (not found in Michigan).
Family 10. Sulidae, (iannets.
Family IL Anhingidae, Darters (not found in Michigan).
Family 12. Phalacrocoracidae, C'ormorants.
Family 13. Pelecanidae, Pelicans.
Family 14. Fregatidae, Man-o'-War-Birds (not found in Michigan).
Order V. ANSERES, Swans, Ducks and Geese.
Family 15. Anatidae, Sw\ans, Ducks and Geese.
Order VI. ODONTOGLOSS.E, Lamellirostral Grallatores (not found
in Michigan).
Famil}' 10. Phoenicopteridae, Flamingoes (not found in IMichigan).
Order VIT. HERODIONES, Herons, Ibises, Storks.
Family 17. Plataleidae, Spoonbills (not found in Michigan).
Family 18. Ibididae, Ibises.
Family 19. Ciconiidae, Storks and Wood Ibises.
Family 20. Ardeidae, Herons, Bitterns, etc.
OUTLINE OF CLASSIFICATION.
785
Order VIII. PALUDIC0LJ5, Marsh-dwellers.
Family 21. Gruidse, Cianes.
Family 22. Aramidae, Courlans (not found in Michigan).
Family 23. Rallidae, Rails.
Order IX. LIMICOL^, Shore Birds.
Family 24. Phalaropodidae, Phalaropes.
Family 25. Recurvirostridae, Stilts and Avocets.
Family 26. Scolopacidae, Snipe, Sandpipers, etc.
Family 27. Charadriidae, Plover.
Family 28. Aphrizidae, Surf Birds and Turnstones.
Family 29. Haematopodidae, Oyster-catchers (not found in Michigan).
Family 30. Jacanidae, Jacanas (not found in Michigan).
Order X. GALLING, Fowl-like Birds.
Family 31. Odontophoridae, Bob- whites, Quails, etc.
Family 32. Tetraonidae, (1 rouse, Spruce Partridges, Ptarmigans, etc.
Family 33. Meleagridae, Turkeys.
Family 34. Cracidae, C'urassows and Guans (not found in Michigan).
Order XI. COLUMBiE, Pigeons and Doves.
Family 35. Columbidae, Pigeons and Doves.
Order XIT. RAPTORES, Birds of Prey.
Cathartidae, American Vultures.
Family 36.
Family 37.
Family 38.
Family 39.
Family -40.
Family 41.
Order XIII.
Family 42.
Family 43.
Family 44.
Famih' 45.
Buteonidae, Hawks, Eagles, Kites, etc.
Falconidae, Falcons, Caracaras, etc.
Pandionidae, Ospreys.
Aluconidae, Barn Owls.
Strigidae, Horned Owls, etc.
PSITTACI, Parrots, J\Iacaws, Paroquets, etc. (not found in
.Michigan).
Psittacidae, Paiiots, Macaws, and Parociuets.
Order XIV. COCCYGES, Cuckoos, etc.
Cuculidae, Cuckoos, Anis, etc.
Trogonidae, Tiogons (not found in Michigan).
Alcedinidae, Kingfishers.
Order XV. PICI, Woodjieckers, Wrynecks, etc.
Family 46. Picidae, Woodpeckers.
Order XVI. MACROCHIPlv^, GoatsucktMs, Swifts, etc.
Family 47. Caprimulgidae, Goatsuckers, etc.
Family 4S. Micropodidae, Swifts.
Family 49. Trochilidae, llummingl)irds.
99
786 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
Order XVII. PASSERES, Perching Birds.
Family 50. Cotingidse, Contingas (not found in Michigan).
Family 51. Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers.
Family 52. Alaudidae, Larks.
Family 53. Corvidae, Crows, Jays, Magpies, etc.
Family 54. Sturnidae, Starlings (not found in Michigan).
Family 55. Icteridae, Blackbirds, Orioles, etc.
Family 56. Fringillidae, Finches, Sparrows, etc.
Family 57. Tangaridae, Tanagers.
Family 58. Hirundinidae, Swallows.
Family 59. Bombycillidae, Waxwings.
Family 60. Laniidae, Shrikes.
Family 61. Vireonidae, Vireos.
Family 62. Coerebidae, Honey Creepers (not found in Michigan).
Family 63. Mniotiltidae, Wood Warblers.
Family 64. Motacillidae, Wagtails.
Family 65. Cinclidae, Dippers (not found in Michigan).
Family 66. Mimidae, Thrashers, Mockingbirds, etc.
Family 67. Troglodytidae, Wrens.
Family 68. Certhiidae, Creepers.
Family 69. Sittid«, Nuthatches.
Family 70. Paridae, Titmice.
Family 71. Chamaeidae, Wren- tits (not found in Michigan).
Family 72. Sylviidae, Warblers.
Family 73. Turdidae, Thrushes, Bluebirds, etc.
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS. 787
APPENDIX 6.
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.
With the exception of light-house keepers and names marked "migra-
tion," the addresses given are present addresses, so far as known. Many
of the observers have sent notes from several different parts of the state.
Gerard A. Abbot, Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Charles C. Adams, Urbana, Illinois.
Carl C. Akeley, Chicago, Illinois.
R. C. Allen, Lansing, Michigan.
The American Field, Chicago, Illinois.
D. Appleton & Company, New York, N. Y.
Edward Arnold, Montreal, Quebec.
Dr. H. A. Atkins (Migration), Locke, Michigan. (Deceased)
Audubon Societies, National Committee, New York, N. Y.
(Mrs.) Florence Merriam Bailey, Washington, D. C.
Charles E. Barnes, Battle Creek, Michigan.
Prof. W. Morton Barrows, Columbus, Ohio.
Arthur G. Baumgartel, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Prof. Foster E. L. Beal, Washington. D. C.
Charles W. Beebe, N. Y. Zoological Park, New York, N. Y.
R. H. Beebe, Arcadia, New York.
F. Beland (Light Keeper), Gogarnville, Michigan.
Dr. C. T. Bennett, Detroit, Michigan.
Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
Dr. A. W. Blain, Jr., Detroit, Michigan.
Maj. A. H. Boies, Hudson, Michigan.
Ira Boughton, Pentoga, Michigan.
E. E. Brewster, Iron Mountain, Michigan.
William Brewster, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
I). S. Bullock, Lapeer, Michigan.
Amos W. Butler, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Dr. Charles M. Butler, Morenci, Michigan.
T. Jefferson Butler, Detroit, Michigan.
I. H. Butterfield, Hartford, Connecticut.
(Mrs.) John K. Campbell (Migration), Ypsilanti, Michigan.
(Mrs.) Robert Campbell, Jackson, Michigan.
T. V. Canright, Coldwater, Michigan.
(Charles L. Cass, Hillsdale, Michigan.
F. H. Chapin, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
O. P. Chapin, Bay Port, Michigan.
Charles H. Chapman, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Dr. Frank M. Chapman, New York, N. Y.
Dr. Hubert L. Clark, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Myron A. Colib, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.
Dr. Leon J. Cole, Madison, Wisconsin.
Prof, A. J. Cook, Claremont, California.
Wells W. Cooke, Washington, D. C.
78S MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
W. F. Cooper, Lansing, Michigan.
D. I. Corwin, Vicksbuig, Michigan.
Charles B. Cory, Chicago, Ilhnois.
Adolphe B. Covert, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Dr. Joseph H. Cowell (Migration), Saginaw, Michigan.
E. H. Crane, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
(Mrs.) Ella E. J. Crawford, FHnt, Michigan.
Dana Estes & Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
H. A. Danville, Jr., Copemish, Michigan.
Prof. Charles A. Davis, Washington, D. C.
Chai'les J. Davis, Lansing, Michigan.
Riithven Deane, Chicago, Illinois.
Waltei- Deane, Camlmdge, Massachusetts.
Ned Dearborn, Linden, Maryland.
Dr. W. DeClarenze (Migration), Saginaw, I\Iichigan.
Vj. a. Doolittle, Painesville, Ohio.
G. E. Douglas, Belleville, J\iichigan.
Dr. Elliot R. Downing, ('hicago, Illinois.
Dr. W. H. Dunham, Shaftsburg, Michigan.
William Dutcher, Plainfield, N. J.
Jonathan D wight, Jr., New York, N. Y.
Newell A. Eddy, Bay City, Michigan.
Louis J. Eppinger, Detroit, Michigan.
Dr. A. K. Fisher, Washington, D. C.
(Mrs.) C. R. Flannigan, Norway, Michigan.
James H. Fleming, Toronto, Ontario, ('anada.
Prof. S. W. Fletcher, Blacksburg, Va.
E. H. Forbush, Wareham, Massachusetts.
Julius Friesser, Chicago, Illinois.
Frederick Gaige, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Patrick Garraty (Light Keeper), Presquc Isle, ^Michigan.
Leo M. Geismar, Chatham, Mich.
Dr. Morris Gibbs, Kalamazoo, Michigan. (Deceased)
Gus Gigandet (Light Keeper), Grand Marais, Michigan.
Wilbur H. Grant, Houghton, Mich.
Nathaniel Y. Green (Migration), Battle Creek, Michigan.
(Mrs.) George Gundrum, Ionia, Michigan.
James Gunsolus, Monroe, Mich.
Prof. Thomas L. Hankinson, Charleston, Illinois.
John Hazelwood, Port Huron, Michigan.
Prof. U. P. Ilediick, Geneva, N. Y.
F. O. Hellier (Migration), Grass Lake, Michigan.
Adolph Hempel, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Dr. H. W. Henshaw, Washington, D. C.
Samuel Henshaw, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Prof. James S. Hine, Colum))Us, Ohio.
Albert Hirzel, Sr., Forestville, Michigan.
W. F. Hoffman, Copemish, Michigan.
Ned Hollister, Washington, D. C."
H. N. Hoinljeck, Travei-se City, Michigan.
Houghton Mifflin & Companv, Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. L. O. Howard, Washington, D. C.
Frederick C. Hubcl, Detroit, Michigan.
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS. 789
Dr. T. H. Jackson, West Chester, Pennsylvania.
W. F. Jackson, IMayfield, Michigan.
Harry D. Jewell, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Edwin R. Kalmbach, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
J. Wilbur Kay, Detroit, Michigan.
Robert C. Kirker, Lansing, Mich.
Dr. Alfred C. Lane, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Robert Lawrence, New York, N. Y.
Peter Lepp, Saginaw, Michigan.
Frank Leverett, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
C. S. Linkletter, Frankfort, Michigan.
Elihu Linkletter, Benzonia, Michigan.
Little, Brown & Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
Prof. B. O. Long-year, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Dr. Frederic A. Lucas, New York, N. Y.
(Miss) Ida McClatchie (Migration), Ludington, Michigan.
Otto McCreary, Geneva, N. Y.
Capt. Charles McDonald, Caseville, Michigan.
P. W. McGuire (Light Keeper), INIackinac, Michigan.
James B. McKay, Detroit, Michigan.
Prof. C. D. McLouth, Muskegon, Michigan.
George W. Marshall (Light Keeper), Cross Village, Michigan.
William Marshall (Light Keeper), Mackinac Island, Michigan.
W. P. Melville, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Washington, D. C.
W. B. Mershon, Saginaw, Michigan.
Arthur D. Milliken, Boston, Massachusetts.
Mark B. Mills, Macon, Michigan.
Harry A. Moorman, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
J. L. Morrice, Harbor Springs, Michigan.
W. M. Morton, Chicago, Illinois.
Prof. E. L. Moseley, Sandusky, Ohio.
(Miss) Flora L. Mowl)ray, Marquette, Michigan.
W. Earle Mulliken, Berkeley, Califoinia.
Prof. W. H. Munson (Migration), Winona, Minn.
Prof. Jesse J. Myers, East Lansing, Michigan.
H. Nehrling, Gotha, Florida.
E. W. Nelson, Washington, D. C.
Jason E. Nichols, Lansing, Michigan.
Dr. F. G. Novy, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Harry C. Oberholser, Washington, 1). C.
W. A. Oldfield, Port Sanilac, 'iMichigan.
Richard Oldrey (Light Keeper), South Rockwouil, Mich.
Henry Oldys, Silver Springs, Maryland.
Hon. Chase S. Osborn, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
H. K. Palmer, Kalajnazoo, Michigan.
Dr. Thomas S. Palmer, Washington, D. C.
William Palmer, Washington, D. C.
P. B. Peabody, Newcastle, Wyoming.
Max M. Peet, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Dr. Raymond Pearl, Orono, Maine.
T. Gilbert Pearson, New York, N. V.
Prof. A. S. Pearse, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
790 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE.
(Mrs.) Luella Penn, Litchfield, Michigan.
Prof. R. H. Pettit, E. Lansing, Mich.
Charles S. Pierce, Lansing, Michigan.
H. K. Pomeroy, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
N. C. Potts, Forestville, Michigan.
James B. Purely, Plymouth, Michigan.
Richard Rathbun, Washington, D. C.
Prof. Jacob Reighard, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Dr. G. F. Richardson, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.
Dr. Charles W. Richmond, Washington, D. C.
Robert Ridgvvay, Washington, D. C.
J)r. Thomas S. Roberts, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Samuel F. Rogers (Light Keeper), Cheboygan, Michigan.
James T. Russell, Unionville, Michigan.
Dr. Alex. G. Ruthven, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Prof. E. Dwight Sanderson, Blacksburg, Va.
Herbert E. Sargent, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Wm. E. Saunders, London, Ontario, Canada.
Aug. J. Schoenebeck, Kelley Brook, Wisconsin.
E. B. Schrage (Migration), Pontiac, Michigan.
Percy Selous, Greenville, Mich. (Deceased.)
Andrew Shaw (Light Keeper), Huron, Michigan.
Prof. William T. Shaw, Pullman, Washington.
J. W. Simmons, Owosso, Michigan.
John Sinclair, Jr. (Light Keeper), Alpena, Michigan.
Prof. Frank Smith, Urbana, Illinois.
Samuel Spicer, Goodrich, Michigan.
W. C. Spratt, Ada, Minnesota.
Robert P. Stark, Otter Lake, Mich.
Judge Joseph H. Steere, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
W. C. Sterling, Sr., Monroe, Michigan.
(Mrs.) Gene Stratton-Porter, Geneva, Ind.
Bradshaw H. Swales, Grosse Isle, Michigan.
P. A. Taverner, Ottawa, Canada.
F. H. Thurston (Migration), Central Lake, Michigan.
A. D. Tinker, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Prof. J. D. Towar, East Lansing, Michigan.
C. H. T. Townsend (Migration), Constantine, Michigan.
C. V. R. Townsend, Negaunee, Michigan.
Jerome Trombley, Peteisburg, Michigan.
Edward Van Winkle, Vans Harbor, Michigan.
L. Van Winkle, Vans Harbor, Michigan.
Dr. J. W. Velie, St. Joseph, Michigan. (Deceased.)
Dr. Isaac Voorheis, Frankfort, Mich.
William G. Voorheis (Migration), South Frankfort, Michigan.
Bryant Walker, Detroit, Michigan.
William T. Wallace, Hastings, Michigan.
Henry L. Ward, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Walter Warden, Rushton, Michigan.
George H. Warren, Flint, Michigan.
Oscar B. Warren, Hibbing, Minnesota.
I. R. Waterbury, Detroit, Michigan.
L. Whitney Watkins, Manchester, Michigan.
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS. 791
(Mrs.) Mary B. Westnedge, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Dr. Richard B. Westnedge, Kalamazoo, Mich. (Deceased.)
Barron Wetherby, Niles, Michigan.
Prof. Charles F. Wheeler, Washington, D. C. (Deceased.)
Stewart Edward White, Santa Barbara, California.
Dr. C. 0. Whitman, Chicago, Illinois. (Deceased.)
(Miss) Maria Whitney, New London, New Hampshire.
Otto Widman, St. Louis, Missouri.
Dr. A. M. Wilkinson, St. James, Michigan.
William Wilkowski, Jr., Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Dr. Robert H. Wolcott, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Walter M. Wolfe, Parkville, Missouri.
J. Claire Wood, Detroit, Michigan.
Norman A. Wood, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Walter J. Wood, Detroit, Michigan.
(Miss) Harriet H. Wright, Saginaw, Michigan.
Thomas B. Wyman, Munising, Michigan.
INDEX
INDEX.
Acadian Flycatcher, 403-404.
Acadian Owl, 319-320.
Acanthis hornemanni, 473.
hornemanni hornemanni, 473-474.
hornemanni exilipes, 474.
linaria, 474.
linaria linaria, 474-475.
linaria holboelli, 751.
linaria rostrata, 476, 735.
Accipiter cooperi, 267-209.
fuscus, 263.
piscatorius, 295.
velox, 263-267.
Acorn Duck, 88.
Actitis macularia, 200-203.
Actiturus bartramius, 195.
Actodromas bairdii, 184.
maculata, 182.
minutilla, 185.
^chmophorus occidentalis, 736.
vl'Memia americana, 106.
A']gialitis meloda, 216-217.
melodus circumcinctus, 216.
semipalmata, 215-216.
vociferus, 213.
J<]giothus cancescens, 473.
cancescens var. exilipes, 474.
exilipes, 474.
linaria, 474.
rostratus, 476.
.Esalon columbarius, 290.
I'^ithyia americana, 90.
vallisneria, 92.
Agelaius plioeniceus fortis, 442-443.
phoeniceus phoeniceus, 439-442.
xanthocephalu.s, 438.
Aix sponsa, 88-90.
Alavicla alpestris, 407.
cornuta, 407.
magna, 443.
l)ensilvanica, 655.
rubescens, 655.
Alaudidse, 406.
Alca lomvia, 43.
alle, 44.
torda, 737.
Alcedinidse, 341.
Alccdo alcyon, 341.
Alci.lM', 43.
.\l(U'r Flycatcher, 401-105.
Alice's Thrush, 714.
Alle alle, 44-47, 734.
Altitudes, 1.
Aluco pratincola, 298-300, 735.
Aluconidoe, 298.
Ammodramus australis, 492.
henslowi, 494.
leconteii, 497.
nelsoni, 498.
sandwiclionsis savanna, 491.
savannarum australis, 492-493.
savannarum passerinus, 492.
Ampelis americana, 556.
cedrorum, 556.
garrulus, 554.
sialis, 727.
Anas acuta, 86.
albeola, 101.
americana, 82.
boschas, 77.
cserulescens, 115.
canadensis, 117.
carolinensis, 83.
clangula, 98.
clypeata, 85.
collaris, 97.
columbianus, 121.
discors, 84.
ferina, 90.
fusca, 106.
glacialis, 102.
hyemalis, 102.
hyperboreus, 111.
islandica, 99.
jamaicensis, 108.
inarila, 93.
mollissima, 103.
nigra, 106.
obscura, 78.
obscura rubripes, 78.
pcm'l()])o, SI.
IKTspicillata, 107.
platyrhyiichos, 77-78.
nibida.'lOS.
ruhripi's, 7S-S0.
.spcctabilis, 105.
sponsa, 88.
strepera, 80.
valisineria, 92.
Anatidae, 70-94.
Ancient Murrdot, 737.
Anhinga, 739.
Anliinga aiihinga, 7.30.
Anhingida', 65.
Anortiiura liyeinalis, 675.
troglodytes liyemalis, 675.
796
INDEX.
Antlius ludoviciamis, fi")').
l)onsylvanic'us, 655.
rulx'sceus, 055-()5().
Antrustonius vociferus, 373-377.
Anser albifrons, 116.
albifrons gambeli, 116-117.
bernicla, 119.
canadensis, 117.
coerulescens, 115.
gambclli, 116.
luitchinsii, 1 19.
liypcrboreiis, 111.
Anseres, 70-94.
Aphrizida^, 217.
Aquila canadensis, 2(S4.
chrysaetos, 284-287.
fulva, 284.
leucocepliala, 287.
Archibuteo lagoims sanrti-johannis, 281:
283.
Archiloclnis colubris, 387-3SS.
Arctic Owl, 331.
Arctic Saw-whet Owl, 314.
Arctic Tern, 62-63.
Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker, 350.
Ardea americana, 148.
caerulea, 142.
candidissima, 141.
exilia, 133.
lierodias, 135-137.
U'litigiiiosa, 127.
mexicana, 149.
minor, 127.
naivia, 146.
virescens, 143.
Ardcida;, 127-128.
Ardetta exilis, 133.
neoxena, 134.
Arcnaria interpres morinella, 217-219.
Arqviatella maritima, 744-745.
Asio accipitrinus, 'A()'2.
fiammevis. 3()2-3(M).
wilsoniainis, 300-302.
Astragalinus tristis, 476-478.
Astur coopcri, 267.
palumbarius, 269.
palumbarius var. atricapilhis, 269.
Auk, Little, 44-47, 734.
Razor-billed, 737.
Auks, Key to species, 43.
Autumnal Warbler, 61 1.
Avocet, 169-170.
Aytliya ferina var. americana, 90.
vallisneria, 92.
Azure AVarl)]er, 606.
R.
Ba^olophus bicolor, 692.
Baird's HniKlpijier, 184-18.';
Bald I '.ml.', •-'S7-289.
Bald iH'.-idrd Wvant, 115.
Baldpate, 82-83.
Baltimore Oriole, 450-452.
Bank Martin, 551.
Bank Swallow, 551-552.
Barn-loft Swallow, 545.
Barn Owl. 298-300, 735.
IJani Swallow, 544,545-549.
P>arred Owl, 306-310.
Barrow's Golden-eye, 99-101.
Bartramia longicauda, 195-199.
Bartramian Sandpiper, 195-199.
Bartram's Tattler, 195.
Basket Oriole, 448.
Bay-breast, 609.
Bay-breasted Warbler, 609-()11.
Bay Ibis, 124.
Bay-winged liunting, 488.
Beach Bird, 189, 215. .
Beach Robin, 181.
Beam-birtl, 397.
Bee-bird, 392.
Bee Martin, 392.
Beetle-head, 208.
Bell Bird, 708.
Belted Kingfisher, 341.
Belted Piping Plover, 216.
Bernicla brenta, 119.
canadensis, 117.
glaucogaster, 119.
hutchinsi, 119.
Bewick's Wren, 670-672.
iiil)hogra])hy, 758-776.
P>i-- Uiiicliilf, 93.
P.ii-Cliickon Hawk, 274.
i'.iii-Oniy ( loose, 117.
J^ig Hoot Owl, 324.
Big Sea Duck, 103.
Bill-willie, 733.
Bird Hawk, 263.
Birds of Prey, Key to Suborders, 254.
Bittern, 127-128.
Cory's, 134-135.
Dwarf, 133.
Green, 143.
Least, 133-134.
Little, 133.
Black and White Creeper, 579.
Black and Wliih; Creeping Warbler, 579.
Black and White Warbler, .'.79-581.
Black and Yellow Warbler, (i()4.
P.lack-backed Gull, 52-53.
Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker, 350-
353.
Black-bellied Plover, 208-210.
Black-bellied Sandpiper, 187.
Black-billed Cuckoo, 340-341.
P.lack-billed Loon, 40.
i'.laek-billed Magpie, 411.
Blackbird, Big, 455.
Brown-headed, 434.
Crow, 455.
Cow, 434.
Red-shouldered, 439.
Red-winged, 439-442.
Rusty, 453-454.
Skunk-head, 430.
Swamp, 439.
Thrush, 453.
Western Crow, 455.
White-winged, 430.
INDEX.
797
Blackl)ira. Yellow-headed, 438-439.
Black P.iaiit, 119, 741-742.
Black-breast, 20S. 210.
Blackl.urnian Warbler, 612-614.
Black-ca]). \\ils.))rs, 648-649.
Black-cajiped Chickadee, 695.
Black-capped Titmouse, 695.
Black-ca])i)ed Warbler, 648.
Black (".K)t. 106.
lilack-ciowiicd Night Heron, 146-147.
Hlack Cin-h^w, 124.
I '.lack Duck. 78-80.
I'.lack Ivi-ic, 284, 287.
l",lacktu.>t. 234.
lllack C.uilicinot, 737.
lUack Hawk, 277, 282.
inackhcad, 93, 94.
Little, 94.
Ring-billed, 97.
l^lack-headed Grosbeak, 753.
Black-headed Gull, 56.
Black-headed Warbler. 646.
Black-heart Plover, 187.
Black Mallard, 78.
Black Martin, 542.
Black-necked Stilt, 170.
lilack-poU, 611.
Hlack-iK)ll Warbler, 611-612.
Black Rail, 743.
Black Sea-coot, 106.
lUack Scoter, 106.
Black-shouldered Kite, 260.
Black Sn<.\vl)ird, 513.
Black-tailed Godwit, 191.
Black-tailed Marlin, 191.
lilack Tern, 64-65.
Black-throated Buntintr. 537-539.
I'.lack-tliir.atcd Blue AN'arbler, 598-600.
r.lack-throat, (h'cen, 616.
Black-tlnoated Green Warbler, 616-6 IS.
Black-tinoatcd Ground Warbler, ()3().
IMack-tliroated Loon, 736-737.
Black win-cd Red-bird, 539.
Black Vulture, 746-747.
Bi(.ss..u:-catcr, 597.
Bluc-liackcd Swallow, 549.
Bluebill, Big, 93.
Greater, 93.
Lesser, 94-97.
Marsh, 97.
Bluebird, 727-729.
Common, 727.
Eastern, 727.
Blue Canary, 536.
Blue Crane, 135.
Blue Darter, 267, 269.
Blue Egret, 142.
Blue Finch, 536.
lilue Golden-winged Warljler, 585.
Blue Goose, 1 15.
Blue-gray Flycatcher, 705.
]Mue-gray Chiatcatclier, 705-707.
Blue Gnlsbcak, 753.
Bluc-hcadcd Greenlet, 573.
lUuc-headed Pigeon, 238.
Blue-headed Vireo, 573-574.
Blue Hen Hawk, 269.
Blue Heron, 135.
Blue Jav, 412-415.
Blue Kite, 261.
Blue Peter, 163.
Blue Red-breast, 727.
Blue Robin, 727.
Blue Snowbird, 513.
Blue Snow Goose, 1 15.
Blue Warbler, 606.
Blue Wavey, 115.
Blue-wing, 84.
Blue-winged Goose, 115-116.
Blue-winged Shoveller, 85.
lilue-winucd Swaiup Warbler, 583.
Blue-win-c.l 4Val, S1-S5.
Bluc-wiuiicd Warbler, 583-585.
Blue-winged \v\\uw W^arblcr, 583.
Blue Yeliow-back, 590.
Blue Yellow-backed Warbler, 590.
Boatswain, 48.
Bobolink, 430-434.
Bob-white, 220.
Bog Bull, 127.
Bog-snipe, 177.
Bog-sucker, 172.
Bog-trotter, 262.
Bohemian Chatterer, 554.
Bohemian Waxwing, 554-555.
Bombycilla carolinensis, 556.
cedroriun , 55(5-558.
garrula. 554-555.
Boml.ycilhda-, 554.
Bonaparte's (lull, 56-57.
Bonajjarte's Ro.sy Gull, 56.
Bonajjarte's Sandpiper, 183.
Bonasa umbellus, 224.
umbellus togata, 226-228.
umbellus umbellus, 224-226.
i^ooks of Reference, 29-31.
r>otaurus lentiginosus, 127-129.
minor, 127.
naevius, 146.
Brachyof us j)alustris, 302.
jyalustris amcricanus, 302.
Brant, 119-121.
Bald-headed, 115.
B.lack, 119, 711-742.
Common, 119.
Ilastcrn, 119.
Prairie. 116.
Speckled. 116.
White, 111,
White-bellied. 119.
Brant Bird, 190.
I ^ rant -goose, 1 19.
Branta bernicla, 119.
l)ernicla glaucogastra, 119-121.
canadensis canadensis, 117-119.
canadensis hutchin.sii, 119.
canadensis minima, 741.
canadensis occidentalis, 711.
niiiricans, 711-742.
r.ridgc Bewee, 397.
iiridiic Swallow, 552.
P.roatlbill, 93.
798
INDEX.
Broad-winged Ruzzard, 281.
Broad-wint;(Hl Hawk, 281-282.
Bronzed (iraeklc, 455-460.
Brotherly-love Vireo, 569.
Brown-baek, 179.
Brown Crane, 149.
Brown Crane, Little, 742.
Brown Creeper, 681-683.
Brown Eagle, 284.
Brown Hawk, 277.
Brown-headed Blackbird, 434.
Brown-headed Nuthatcli, 755-756.
Brown Marlin, 190.
Brown Mocker, 661.
Brown Oriole, 448.
Brown Pelican, 69-70, 735.
Brown Thrasher, 661-668.
Brown Thrush, 661.
Brown Wren, 672.
Briinnich's Guillemot, 43.
Briinnich^s Murre, 43-44, 734.
Bubo pinicola, 324.
virginianus pallescens, 330-331.
virginianus virginianus, 324-330.
Bucephala albeola, 101.
clangula, 98.
islandica, 99.
Buff-breasted Sandpiper, 199.
Bufflehead, 101-102.
Bull-bat, 377.
Bullfinch, Pine, 466.
Bullet Hawk, 263, 290.
Bull-head, 210.
BuU-neck, 108.
Bimting, Bay-winged, 488.
Black-throated, 537-539.
Cow, 434.
Henslow's, 494.
Indigo, 536.
Leconte's, 497.
Snow, 485-486.
Towhee, 526.
Varied, 753-754.
Burgomaster, 51.
Burnt-over Lands, 9-10.
Bush Sparrow, 511, 517.
Butcher Bird, 559, 563.
Summer, 563.
Winter, 559.
Buteo borealis, 270.
borealis borealis, 270-274.
borealis calurus, 747-748.
borealis harlani, 748.
buteo, 747.
lagopus, 282.
latissimus, 281.
lineatus, 274-277.
montanus, 277.
pennsylvanicus, 281.
platypterus, 281-282.
sancti-johannis, 282.
swainsoni, 277-281.
Buteonidge, 259.
Butorides virescens, 143-145.
Butter-ball, 101.
Butter Duck, 101.
Buzzard, 254.
Broad-winged, 281.
European, 747.
Red-shouldered, 274.
Red-tailed, 270.
Rough-legged, 282.
Turkey, 254-257.
C.
Cackling Goose, 741.
Calcarius pictus, 751-752.
lapponicus, 486-488.
Calico-back, 217.
Calidris arenaria, 189.
leucoph«a, 189-190.
Camp Robber, 415.
Cani]>torliynchus labradorius, 740-741.
(';iii:ic(" cMiiadensis, 223.
(';m;i(liii(s canadensis canace, 223-224.
Caniula I'.ird, 504.
Canada Flycatcher, 649.
Canadian Flycatching Warbler, 649.
Canada Goose, 117-119.
Canada Grouse, 223.
Canada Jay, 415.
Canada Nuthatch, 688.
Canada Robin, 722.
Canada Ruffed Grouse, 226-228.
aiKula Sparrow, 505.
a IKK la Warbler, 649-650.
aiualiau ( Irosbeak, 466.
aiKulian Owl, 333.
anadian Pine Grosbeak, 466.
anadian Ruffed Grouse, 226.
Canadian Spruce Grouse, 223.
Canadian Warbler, 649.
Canary, Blue, 536.
Wild, 476, 597.
Canvasback, 92-93.
Cape May Warbler, 592-597.
Caprimulgidse, 373.
Caprimulgus popetue, 377.
virginianus, 373, 377.
vociferus, 373.
Cai'bo auritus, 66.
Cardinal, 530-531.
Kentucky, 530.
Virginia, 530.
Cardinal Grosbeak, 530.
Cardinalis cardinalis, 530-531.
virginianus, 530.
Carolina Chickadee, 697-698.
Carolina Dove, 251.
Carolina Grebe, 38.
Carolina Nuthatch, 683.
Carolina Paroquet, 749.
Carolina Rail, 155.
Carolina Waxwing, 556.
Carolina Wren, 668-670.
Carpodacus purpureus, 468-471.
Carrion Crow, 254, 420.
Caspian Tern, 58-59.
Catbird, 658-061.
Cat Flycatcher, 658.
Catharista urubu, 746-747.
INDEX.
799
Cathartes aura, 254.
septentrionalis, 254.
CathartidiP, 254.
Catoptrophorus semipalmatus inornatus,
733-734.
Cat Owl, 324.
Cat-tail Wren, 679.
Cayenne Tern, 59.
Cedar-bird, 556-558.
Cedar Waxwing, 556.
Centrophanes lapponicus, 486.
Centurus carolinensis, 366.
carolinus, 366-368.
Ceophloeus pileatus, 360.
pileatus abieticola, 360.
Cepphus grylle, 737.
Certhia americana, 681.
familiaris, 681.
familiaris americana, 681-683.
familiaris fusca, 681.
ludo\aciana, 668.
maculata, 579.
palustris, 679.
pinus, 583.
varia, 579.
Certhiida;, 681.
Cerulean Warbler, 606-608.
Ceryle alcj^on, 341-344.
Chaetura pelagica, 381-387.
Chaemepelia passerina terrestris, 746.
Charadriidffi, 208-217.
Charadrius apricarius, 208.
dominicus dominicus, 210-213.
fulvus var. virginicus, 210.
helveticus, 208.
melodus, 216.
mexicanus, 170.
plu\aalis, 210.
semipalmatus, 215.
torquatus, 213.
virginicus, 210.
vociferus, 213.
Charitonetta albeola, 101-102.
Chat, 642.
Common, 642.
Yellow, 642.
Yellow-breasted, 642-646.
Chatterer, Bohemian, 554.
Chaulelasmus streperus, 80-81.
Chebec, 405.
Chelidon erythrogaster, 545.
Chen albatus. 111.
coerulescens, 115-116.
hyperboreus, 111.
hyperboreus albatus. 111.
hyperboreus hyperboreus, 111-115.
hyperboreus nivalis, 741.
Cherry-bird, 556.
Chestnut-sided AVarbler, 608-609.
Chewink, 526-529.
Chickadee, Black-capped, 695.
Carolina, 697-698.
Common, 695.
Eastern, 695.
Hudsonian, 698-701.
Hudson Bay, 698.
Chickadee, Long-tailed, 756-757.
Southern, 697.
Tufted, 692.
Western, 756.
Chickadees, Key to species, 692.
Chicken Hawk, 263, 267, 270.
Chicken, Prairie, 229-234.
Chimney Swallow, 381.
Chimney Sweep, 381.
Chimney Swift, 381-387.
Chip-bird, 506.
Chipping Sparrow, 506-510.
Chippy, 506. '
Field, 511.
Winter, 505.
Chondestes grammacus, 498-500.
Chordeiles americanus, 377.
popetue, 377.
virginianus virginianus, 377-381.
Chow-chow, 337.
Chroicocephalus fraiiklini, 55.
Chroecocephaliis })hiladelphia, 56.
Chrysomitris pinus, 478.
tristis, 476.
Ciconiidse, 126-127.
Circus cyaneus var. hudsonius, 262.
hudsonius, 262-263.
Cistothorus palustris, 679.
stellaris, 677-679.
Clamatores, 391.
Clangula albeola, 101.
americana, 98.
Barrovii, 99.
clangula americana, 98-99.
glaucion, 98.
islandica, 99-101.
Clapper Rail, 742-743.
Clay-colored Sparrow, 510-511.
Climate, 1-2.
Cliff Swallow, 544-545.
Clivicola riparia, 551.
Coccoborus ludovicianus, 532.
Coccothraustes vespertina, 464.
Coccyges, 337.
Coccyzus eryhropthalmus, 340-341.
americanus, 337.
Cockawee, 102.
Cock of the Wood.s, 360.
Coffin-carrier, 52.
Colaptes auratus luteus, 368-372.
Colinus virginianus, 220-222.
Collection of specimens, 13-14.
CoUurio borealis, 559.
ludovicianus, 563.
CoUyrio borealis, 559.
Columba americana, 238.
canadensis, 238.
carolinensis, 251.
marginata, 251.
migratoria, 238.
Columbse, 238.
Columbida>, 238.
Colymbida;, 36.
Colymbus auritus, 37-38.
glacialis, 40.
holboelli, 36-37, 734.
800
INDEX.
Colyinbus, iniber, 40.
inimer, 40.
lumme, 4'J.
nigricoUis californicus, 736.
IMKlic-eps, 38.
.sc']itentrionalis, 42.
stellatus, 42.
loniuatus, 40.
('oini)S()tlilypi.s ainericana ainencaiia,
aiiiericana, usneaj, 590-591.
Connecticut Warbler, (i35-{)3l).
Contopus borealis, 399.
vircns, 401.
Conuropwis carolinensis, 749.
(b()i)er's Hawk, 267-2()9.
Coot, 152, 163-164.
Black, 106.
Skunk-head, 107.
Surf, 107.
White-wingCHl, IOC).
('opj)erheail, 4)^8.
Coracias galbula, 450.
Cormorant, 739-740.
Common, 66.
Double-crested, 66-68, 735.
Cormorants, 66-68.
Corvidse, 411.
Corvus americanus, 420.
brachyrliynchos, 420-428.
canadensis, 415.
carnivorus, 417.
corax, 417.
corax principalis, 417-420.
corone, 420.
cristatus, 412.
frugivorus, 420.
luulsonius, 411.
ossif ragus, 750-75 1 .
pica, 411.
Cory's Bittern, 134-135.
Coturniculus henslowi, 494.
lecontii, 497.
passerinus, 492.
Coturnicops noveboracensis, 159-160.
Cotile rijiaria, 551.
Cotyle scnipcnnis, 552.
Cowbird, 434-438.
Cow Blackbird, 434.
Cow Bunting, 434.
Covveen, 102.
Cowheen, 102.
Crane, Blue, 135.
Brown, 149.
Field, 149.
Little Brown, 742.
Sandhill, 149-152.
Upland, 149.
Wiiooping, 148-149.
Cranes. Key to species, 148.
('rai)e Warbler. 636.
Creciscus jamaicensis, 713.
Creeper, lilack and White, 579.
('ommf)n, (581.
Pine, 623.
Tree, 681.
Creeping Warbler, 579.
('rested Flycatcher, 396-397.
Crested Red-bird, .530.
Crested 'lit mouse, 692.
Crex galeata, 161.
Crossbill, Conunon, 470.
Red, 470-472.
White-winged, 472-473.
Crow, 420-428.
Carrion, 420.
Common, 420.
Fish, 750-751.
Crow Blackbird, 455.
('row Duck, 163.
('rown Sparrow, White-throatetl, 504.
Crucirostra leucoptera, 472.
minor, 470.
Crymophilus fulicarius, 165.
Cryptoglaux acadica, 319.
funerea ricliaidsoni, 314-315.
Cuckoo, lUa.k-l.illed, 340-311.
Yellow-l)illcd, 337-340.
Cuculidi3e, 337.
Cuculus americanus, 337.
auratus, 368.
erythrophthalmus, 340.
('ulicivora ca^rulea, 705.
Cupidonia americana, 229-234.
cupido, 229-234.
Curlew, 203.
liig, 203.
Black (Ibis), 124.
Eskimo, 207-208.
Hudsonian, 204-207.
Jack, 204.
Little, 207.
Long-billed, 203.
Red, 190.
Short-billed, 204.
Sickle-billed, 203-204.
Curlew Sandpiper, 745.
Curvirostra americana, 470.
leucoptera, 472.
Cyanocitta cristata, 412-415.
Cyanocorax cristatus, 412.
Cyano})terus diseors, 84.
Cvanospiza evanea, .'y-H\.
Cvanurus ej-istatus, 412.
Cygnus aiiuTi(\inus, 121.
buccinator, 122.
Cypselus pelasgia, 381.
Dabchick, 38.
Dafila acuta, 86-88.
caudacuta, 86.
Dangers of Migration, 25-2';
Day Owl, 333.
Deaf Duck, 108.
Dendroica a^stiva, 597-598.
blackburnitc, 612.
Cicrulescens, 598-600.
canadensis, 598.
ca.stanea, 609-611.
cerulea, 606-608.
coronal a, 600-604.
INDEX.
801
Dendroica discolor, 626-627.
dominica albilora, 614-616.
dominica dominica, 755.
fusca, 612-614.
kirtlandi, 618-623.
maculosa, 604.
magnolia, 604-606.
palmarum, 625-626.
pensylvanica, 608-609.
pinus, 623.
striata, 611-612.
superciliosa, 614.
tigrina, 592-597.
vigorsi, 623-625.
virens, 616-618.
Dickcissel, 537.
Die-dapper, 38.
Die-dipper, 38.
Dipper, 38, 101, 108.
Disasters in Migration, 25-27.
Distribution of Animals, 4-10.
Distribution of Birds, 6-10.
Distribution of Plants, 2-4.
Dive-dapper, 38.
Diver, Red-throated, 42.
Great Northern, 40.
Diving Birds, Key to families,'.35.
Dolichonyx oryzivorus, 430-434.
Double-crested Cormorant, 66-68, 735.
Dove, Carolina, 251.
Ground, 746.
Mourning, 251-253.
Turtle, 251.
Dove Hawk, 269.
Dovekie, 44.
Dowitcher, 179.
Downy Woodpecker, 348-350.
Dryobates pubescens, 348.
pubsecens medianus, 348-350.
villosus leucomelas, 347.
villosus villosus, 345-347.
Dryocopus pileatus, 360.
Duck, Acorn, 88.
Baldpate, 82-83.
Barrow's Goldeneye, 99-101.
Big Sea, 103.
Black, 78-80.
Blackhead, 93.
Broadbill, 93.
Bufflehead, 101-102.
Butter, 101.
Butter-ball, 101.
Bull-neck, 108.
Canvasback, 92-93.
Cockawee, 102.
Cowheen, 102.
Crow, 163.
Deaf, 108.
Dipper, 101, 108.
Dusky, 78.
Eider, 103-104.
Fish, 73, 74.
Fool, 108.
Gadwall, 80-81.
Goosander, 73-74.
Gray, 77, 80.
101
Duck, Greater Bluebill, 93.
Harlequin, 740.
Labrador, 740-741.
Lesser Bluebill, 94-97.
Little Fish, 76.
Little Scaup, 94.
Long-tailed, 102.
Mallard, 77-78.
Mountain, 740.
Old-squaw, 102-103.
Painted, 740.
Pintail, 86-88.
Pochard, 90.
Raft, 90, 93, 94.
Redhead, 90-91.
Red-legged, 78.
Ring-necked, 97-98.
Rock, 740.
Roody, 108.
Rook, 108.
Ruddy, 108-110.
Shoal, 103.
Shot-pouch, 108.
Shoveller, 85-86.
Shuffler, 93.
Sou'southerly, 102.
Spine-tail, 108.
Spirit, 98, 101.
Spoon-bill, 85.
Squealing, 102.
Summer, 88.
Surf, 107.
Velvet, 106.
Whistler, 98-99.
Winter, 102.
Wood, 88-90.
Ducks, Key to Species, 70.
Duck Hawk, 289-290.
Dumetella carolinensis, 658-661.
Dunlin, American, 187.
Red-backed, 187.
Dusky Duck, 78.
Dusky Mallard, 78.
E.
Eagle, American, 287.
Bald, 287-289.
Black, 284, 285.
Brown, 284.
Fishing, 295.
Golden, 284-287.
Gray, 284, 287.
Ring-tailed, 284.
Washington, 287.
Whitc-heatied, 287.
Eagles, Key to Species, 257.
Eared Grebe, 736.
Eastern Bluebird, 727.
Eastern Brant, 119.
Eastern Chickadee, 695.
Eastern Redtail, 270.
Eave Swallow, 544, 549.
Ectopistes carolinensis, 251.
migratoria, 238-251.
marginata, 251.
802
INDEX.
Egret, American, 139.
Blue, 142.
Common, 141.
Great White, 139.
Greater, 139-140.
Lesser, 141-142.
Little, 141.
Snowy, 141.
Wliite, 139.
Egretta candidissima, 141-142.
Eider, Common, 103.
King, 105-108.
Eider Duck, 103-104.
Elauoides forficatus, 259-260.
Elanus leucurus, 260-261.
Emberiza americana, 537.
graminea, 488.
henslowii, 494.
lapponica, 486.
leconteii, 497.
leucophrys, 503.
nivalis, 485.
oryzivora, 430.
pallida, 510.
pecoris, 434.
pusilla, 511.
shattuckii, 510.
Empidonax acadicus, 403.
flaviventris, 402-403.
minimus, 405-408.
trailli alnorum, 404-405.
trailli trailli, 750.
virescens, 403-404.
English Robin, 450.
English Snipe, 177.
English Sparrow, 480-485.
Eremophila alpestris, 407.
cornuta, 407.
Ereunetes mauri, 745.
pusillus, 188.
Erismatura jamaicensis, 108-110.
rubida. 108.
Ermine Owl, 331.
Erolia ferruginea, 745.
Eskimo Curlew, 207-208.
Euphagus carolinus, 453-454.
European liuzzard, 747.
European House Sparrow, 480.
European Widgeon, 81-82.
European Woodcock, 744.
Euspiza americana, 537.
Evening Grosbeak, 464-466.
Evergreen Warbler, 616.
Extinction of Species, 11.
Falco anatum, 289.
atricapillus, 269.
borealis, 270.
buteoides. 274.
canadensis, 284.
carolinensi.s, 295.
chrysaetos, 284.
columbarius columbarius, 290-291.
columbarius richardsoni, 748-749.
Falco communis var. anatum, 289.
cooperii, 267.
forficatus, 259.
fuscus, 263.
hudsonius, 262.
hyemalis, 274.
lagopus, 282.
leucocephalus, 287.
lineatus, 274.
lithofalco, 290.
misisippiensis, 261.
obsoletus, 277.
pennsylvanicus, 281.
peregrinus, 289.
peregrinus anatum, 289-290.
plumbeus, 261.
rusticolus gyrfalco, 748.
sancti-johannis, 282.
sparverius, 291-295.
velox, 263.
Falcon, Peregrine, 289.
Pigeon, 290.
Rusty-crowned, 291.
Falconidse, 289.
Falcones, 257.
Faunal Regions of Micliigan, 4-10.
Field Chippy, 511.
Field Crane, 149.
Field Lark, 443. 447.
Field Plover, 195, 210.
Field Sparrow. 491, 511-512.
Finch, Blue, 536.
Grass, 488.
Indigo, 536.
Lark, 498.
Lincoln's, 521.
Nelson's, 498.
Nelson's Sharp-tailed, 498.
Pine, 478-479.
Purple, 468-471.
Fire-bird, 450, 539.
Fire-brand, 612.
Fire-tail, 651.
Fish Crow, 750-751.
Fish Duck, 73. 74.
Fish Hawk, 295.
Fishing Eagle, 295.
Flame-crest, 701.
Flicker. 368-372.
Northern, 368.
Yellow-shafted. 368.
Flockingfowl, 93, 94.
Floral Regions of Michigan, 2-4.
Florida cserulea, 142-143.
Florida Gallinule, 161-162.
Flycatcher, Acadian, 403-404.
Alder, 404-405.
Blue-gray, 705.
Canada. 649.
Cat, 658.
Crested. .396-397.
Fork-tailed. 750.
Great Crested, 396.
Green, 403.
Green-crested, 403.
Least, 405-406.
INDEX.
803
Flycatcher, Olive-sided, 399-400.
Pewee, 401.
Pewit, 397.
Redstart, 651.
Scissor-tailed, 750.
Small Green-crested, 403.
Traill's, 404, 750.
Wilson's, 648.
Yellow-bellied, 402-403.
Flv-up-the-creek, 143.
Fool Duck, 108.
Fool Hen, 223.
Fork-tailed Flycatcher, 750.
Fork-tailed Gull, 57.
Fork-tailed Kite, 259.
Fork-tailed Swallow, 545.
Forster's Tern, 59-60, 735.
Fox-colored Sparrow, 524.
Fox Sparrow, 524-526.
Fox-tail, 524.
Franklin's Gull, 55-56, 734.
Franklin's Rosy Gull, 55.
Fratercula arctica, 737.
Fregatidse, 65.
French Mockingbird, 661.
Fresh-water marsh Hen, 152.
Fresh-water Marsh Wren, 677.
Frigate Bird, 65.
Fringilla albicollis, 504.
arborea, 505.
borealis, 474.
canadensis, 505.
cardinalis, 530.
caudacuta, 497.
cyanea, 536.
domestica, 480.
erythropthalma, 526.
fasciata, 517.
ferruginea, 524.
georgiana, 522.
graminea, 488.
grammaca, 498.
harisii, 500.
henslowii, 494.
hyemalis, 513.
iliaca, 524.
juncorum, 511.
lapponica, 486.
leucophrys, 503.
linaria, 474.
lincolni, 521.
melodia, 517.
monticola, 505.
nivalis, 513.
oryzivora, 430.
passerina, 492, 506.
pennsylvanica, 504.
pinus, 478.
purpurea, 468.
pusilla, 511.
querula, 500.
rufa, 524.
savanna, 491.
socialis, .")0G.
tristis, 476.
vespertina. 4()4.
FringiUidjp, Kev to species, 461-463.
Frog Hawk, 262.
Frost-snipe, 180.
Fulica americana, 163-164.
atra, 163.
martinica, 161.
noveboracensis, 159.
Fuligula affinis, 94.
albeola, 101.
americana, 90, 106.
barro^di, 99.
ferina, 90.
fusca, 106.
glacialis, 102.
marila, 93.
mollissima, 103.
perspicillata, 107.
rubida, 108.
rufitorques, 97.
spectabilis, 105.
vallisneria, 92.
Fulix affinis, 94.
collaris, 97.
G.
Gadwall, 80-81.
Galeoscoptes carolinensis, 658.
Galling, Key to families, 220.
Gallinago delicata, 177-179.
wilsoni, 177.
Gallinula chloropus, 161.
galeata, 161-162.
martinica, 161.
porphyrio, 161.
Gallinule, Common, 161.
Florida, 161-162.
Purple, 161.
Gallopavo sylvestris, 236.
Gambetta flavipes, 193.
melanoleuca, 191.
Gannet, 65-66.
Common, 65.
Garrot, 98.
Garrulus canadensis, 415.
cristatus, 412.
fuscus, 415.
Garzetta candidi.s.sima, 141.
Gatke on migration, 24-25.
Gavia arctica, 736-737.
immer, 40-42.
stellata. 42.
GaviidiP. Key to species, 40.
Geese, Key to species, 111-121.
Gelochelidon nilotica. 738.
Geothh-]5is agilis, 635.
formosa, 633.
Philadelphia, 636.
trichas, 638.
trichas brachidactyla, 638.
triclias triclias, 638-642.
Glaucion dangula, 98,
Glaucous (Jull, 51-52.
Glossy Ibis, 124-126.
Gnatcatcher, 705.
Bluo-urrav, 70.>707.
804
INDEX.
Gnatcatcher, Common, 705.
Godwit, Black-tailed, 191.
Great, 190.
Great Marbled, 190._
Hudsonian, 191, 735.
Marbled, 190.
Golden-back, 210.
Golden-crowned Kinglet, 701-704.
Golden-crowned Thrush, 627.
Golden-crowned Warbler, 600.
Golden-crowned Wren, 701.
Golden Eagle, 284-287.
Golden-eye, 98.
Barrow's, 99-101.
Rocky Moimtain, 99.
Golden Plover, 210-213.
Migration of, 24-25.
Golden Robin, 450.
Golden Swamp Warbler, 581.
Golden Warbler, 581, 597.
Golden-winged Warbler, 585-586.
Golden-winged Woodpecker, 368.
Goldfinch, 476-478.
Goniaphea ludoviciana, 532.
Goose, Big Gray, 117.
Blue, 115.
Blue Snow, 115.
Blue-winged, 115-116.
Cackling, 741.
Canada, 117-119.
Common Snow, 111.
Common Wild, 117.
Greater Snow, 741.
Hutchins', 119.
Lesser Snow, 111-115.
Little Canada, 119.
Little Wild, 119.
Small Gray, 119.
Snow, 111.
White-cheeked, 741.
White-fronted, 116-117.
Wliite-headed, 115.
Goose-brant, 119.
Goshawk, 269-270.
American, 269.
Grackle, Bronzed, 455-460.
Purple, 751.
Rusty, 453.
Gracula ferruginea, 453.
Graculus dilophus, 66.
Grass-bird, 182.
Grass Finch, 488.
Grass Snipe, 182-183.
Grass Sparrow, 488.
Grass Wren, 677.
Grasshopper Sparrow, 492-493.
Gray-back, 179, 181.
Gray-cheeked Thrush, 714-715.
Gray Duck, 80.
Gray Eagle, 284, 287.
Gray-headed Junco, 752-753.
Gray Linnet, 468.
Gray Mallard, 77.
Gray Owl, 320.
Gray Plover, 208.
Gray Snipe, 179.
Gray Widgeon, 80.
Great Black-backed Gull, 52.
Great Black Woodpecker, 360.
Great Blue Heron, 135-137.
Great Carolina Wren, 668.
Great Crested Flycatcher, 396.
Great-footed Hawk, 289.
Great Godwit, 190.
Great Gray Owl, 310-313.
Great Horned Owl, 324-330.
Great Marbled Godwit, 190.
Great Northern Diver, 40.
Great Northern Shrike, 559.
Great White Egret, 139.
Greater Bluebill, 93.
Greater Egret, 139-140.
Greater Merganser, 73.
Greater Redpoll, 476, 735.
Greater Scaup, 93.
Greater Snow Goose, 741.
Greater Yellowlegs, 191-193.
Grease Bird, 415.
Grebe, CaroHna, 38.
Eared, 36, 736.
Holboell's, 36-37, 734.
Horned, 37-38.
Pied-billed, 38-39.
Red-necked, 36.
Western, 36, 736.
Grebes, Key to species, 36.
Green Bittern, 143.
Green Black-throat, 616.
Green-crested Flycatcher, 403.
Green Flycatcher, 403.
Green-head, 40, 77.
Green-headed Widgeon, 82.
Green Heron, 143-145.
Green Ibis, 124.
Greenland Redpoll, 473-474.
Greenland Wheatear, 757.
Greenlet, Blue-headed, 573.
Philadelphia, 569.
Red-eyed, 565.
Warbling, 570.
White-eved, 574.
Yellow-throated, 572.
Green-wing, 83.
Green-winged Teal, 83-84.
Grinnell's Water-thrush, 631-632.
Grosbeak, Black-headed, 753.
Blue, 753.
Canadian, 466.
Canadian Pine, 466.
Cardinal, 530.
Common, 532.
Evening, 464-466.
Pine, 466-468.
Rose-breasted, 532-536.
Summer, 532.
Ground-bird, 488, 491, 511, 517.
Ground Dove, 746.
Ground Robin, 526.
Ground Sparrow, 511, 517.
Grouse, Key to species, 222.
Grouse, Canada, 223.
INDEX.
805
Grouse, Canada Ruffed, 226-228.
Canadian Ruffed, 226.
Canadian Spruce, 223.
Northern Ruffed, 226.
Northern Sharp-tailed, 234.
Pinnated, 229-234.
Ruffed, 224-226.
Sharp-tailed, 234-236.
Snow, 228.
Spotted, 223.
Spruce, 223.
Spruce-woods Ruffed, 226.
White, 228.
Willow, 228.
Gruidse, 148.
Grus americana, 148-149.
canadensis, 149, 742.
fusca, 149.
mexicana, 149-152.
pratensis, 149.
Guillemot, Black, 737.
Bri'innich's, 43.
Thick-billed, 43.
Guinea Duck, 40.
Guinea Woodpecker, 345, 348.
Guiraca cserulea, 753.
ludoviciana, 532.
Gull, Black-backed, 52-53.
Black-headed, 56.
Bonaparte's, 56-57.
Bonaparte's Rosy, 56.
Burgomaster, 51.
Coffin-carrier, 52.
Common, 53, 54-55.
Fork-tailed, 57.
Franklin's, 55-56, 734.
Franklin's Rosy, 55.
Glaucous, 51-52.
Great Black-backed, 52.
Harbor, 53.
Herring, 53-54.
Ice. 51.
Iceland, 52.
Jaeger, 47.
Kittiwake, 50-51.
Lake, 53, 54.
Lake Erie, 60.
Laughing, 738.
Mackerel, 60.
Ring-billed, 54-55, 734.
Sabine's, 57-58.
Saddle-back, 52.
White-Avinged, 52.
Gulls, Key to species, 49-50.
Gull-chaser, 47.
Gull-hunter, 47.
Gull-billed Tern, 738.
Gyrfalcon, 748.
GjTfalcon, Brown, 748.
H.
Habia ludoviciana, 532.
Hair-bird, 506.
Hair Sparrow, 506.
Hairy Woodpecker, 345-347.
Haliaeetus leucocephalus, 287-289.
Hammock-bird, 450.
Hang-bird, 450.
Hang-nest, 450.
Little, 565.
Harbor Gull, 53.
Hardwood Forest Region, 9.
Harelda glacialis, 102.
hyemalis, 102-103.
Harlan's Hawk, 748.
Harlequin Duck, 740.
Harporphynchus rufus, 661.
Harrier, Marsh, 262.
Harris's Sparrow, 500-503.
Havell's Tern, 59.
Hawk, Bird, 263.
Big Chicken, 274.
Black, 277, 282.
Blue Hen, 269.
Broad-winged, 281-282.
Brown, 277.
Bullet, 263, 290.
Buzzard, 270.
Chicken, 263, 267, 270.
Cooper's, 267-269.
Dove, 269.
Duck, 289-290.
Fish, 295.
Frog, 262.
Great-footed, 289.
Harlan's, 748.
Hen, 270, 274, 277.
Marsh, 262-263.
Mouse, 262, 282, 291.
Partridge, 269.
Pigeon, 263, 267, 290-291.
Quail, 267.
Red-shouldered, 274-277.
Red-tailed, 270-274.
Richardson's, 748-749.
Rough-legged, 282-283.
Sharp-shinned, 263-267.
Snake, 259.
Sparrow, 263, 291-295.
Swainson's, 277-281.
Swallow-tailed, 259.
Swift, 267.
White-breasted Chicken, 270.
White-rumped, 262.
Winter, 274.
Hawks, Key to species, 257.
Hawk Owl, 333-334.
Hedge Sparrow, 517.
Hedjnneles ludoAacianus, 532.
Heigh-ho, 368.
HeHnaia vermivora, 582.
Hell-diver, 37, 38.
Helminthophaga celata, 587.
ciirj-soptera, 585.
citrea, 581.
]ieregrina, 588.
jiinus, 583.
ruficapilla, 586.
Helmitlieros solitarius, 583.
vermivorus, 582-583.
Helodromas solitarius, 193-195.
INDEX.
Hemlock Warbler, 012.
Hen Ciirlew, 203.
Hen Hawk, 270, 274, 277.
Henslow's Bimting, 494.
Henslow's Sparrow, 494-497.
Hermit Tluaish, 718-722.
Heroclias egretta, 139-140.
Herodiones, Key to families, 124.
Heron, Black-crowned Night, 146-147.
Great Blue, 135-137.
Green, 143-145.
Least, 133.
Little Blue, 142-143.
Little Green, 143.
Little White, 141.
Louisiana, 742.
Night, 146.
Snow;v', 141.
Yellow-crowned Night, 742.
Herons, Key to species, 127-128.
Herring Gull, 53-54.
Hesperiphona vespertina, 464-466.
High-holder. 368.
High-hole, 368.
Himantopus mexicanus, 170-171.
nigricollis, 170.
Hirundo bicolor, 549.
erytlxrogastra, 545-549.
fulva, 544.
horreorum, 545.
lunifrons, 544.
pelagica, 381.
purpurea, 542.
riparia, 551.
serripennis, 552.
subis, 542.
Hirundinidse, 541.
Histrionicus histrionicus, 740.
Hoarv Redpoll, 474.
Holbcell's Grebe, 36-37, 734.
Holboell's Redpoll, 751.
Honker, 117.
Hooded Flycatching Warbler, 646.
Hooded Merganser, 76-77.
Hooded Sheldrake, 76.
Hooded Warbler, 646-648.
Hoot Owl, 306.
Horned Grebe, 37-38.
Horned Lark, 407-408.
House Martin, 542.
House Sparrow, 480.
House Wren, 672-675.
Hoyt's Horned Lark, 410.
Hudson Bay Chickadee, 698.
Hudson Bay Titmouse, 698.
Hudsonian Chickadee, 698-701.
Hudsonian Curlew, 204-207.
Hudsonian Godwit, 191, 735.
Hudsonian Owl, 333.
Hudsonian Titmouse, 698.
Hudsonian Wagtail. 055.
Hutcliins' Goose, 119.
Hummer, 387.
Hummingbird, Common, 387.
Ruby-throated, 387-388.
Hydranassa tricolor ruficollis, 742.
Hydrochclidon nigra surinamensis, 64-65.
plunibea, 64.
surinamensis, 64.
Hylocichla aliciae, 714-715.
fucescens fucescens, 712-714.
fuscescens salicicola, 757.
guttata pallasi, 718-722.
mustclina, 708-712.
\istulata swainsonii, 715-718.
Hylotomus ])ileatus, 360.
Hypothetical List, 736-757.
L
Ibididje, 124-126.
Ibises, 124-127.
Ibis falcinellus, 124.
Ibis, Bay, 124.
Glossy, 124-126.
Green, 124.
Wood, 126-127.
Ice Gull, 51.
Iceland Gull, 52.
Icteria virens, 642-646.
Icteria viridis, 642.
Icteridae, 429.
Icterus baltimore, 450.
galbula, 450-452.
phoeniceus, 439.
spurius, 448-449.
xanthocephalus, 438.
Ictinia mississippiensis, 261.
plumbea, 261.
Imperial Tern, 58.
Indian Hen, 127.
Indigo Bird, 536-537.
Indigo Bimting, 536.
Indigo Finch, 536.
Introduction, 1-29.
lonornis martinicus, 161.
Iridoprocne bicolor, 549-551.
Ixobrychus exilis, 133-134.
neoxenus, 134-135.
Jack Ciu-lew, 204.
Jack-pine Bird, 618.
Jack Pine Plains, 8-9.
Jack-pine Warbler, 618.
Jack-.snipe, 177, 182.
Jaeger Gull, 47.
Jsger, Parasitic, 48-49.
Pomarine, 47-48.
Richardson's, 48.
Jay, Blue, 412-415.
Canada, 415.
Common, 412.
Jenny Wren, 672.
Jerfalcon, 748.
Jug Swallow, 544.
Junco, 513-514.
Gray-headed, 752-753.
Montana, 752.
Slate-colored, 513.
INDEX.
807
Jiinco hyemalis hyemalis, 513-514.
hy emails montanus, 752.
phaeonotus caniceps, 752-753.
Kentucky Cardinal, 530.
Kentucky Warbler, 633-635.
Kestrel, American, 291.
Keys, Use of, 14-20.
Killdeer, 213-214.
King Eider, 105-106.
King Rail, 152-154.
Kingbird, 392-396.
Kingfisher, 341-344.
Belted, 341.
Kinglet, Golden-crested, 701.
Golden-crowned, 701-704.
Ruby-crowned, 704-705.
Kite, Black-shouldered, 260
Blue, 261.
Fork-tailed, 259.
Mississippi, 261.
Swallow-tailed, 259-260.
White-tailed, 260-261.
Kites, Kev to species, 257.
Kirtland's Owl, 319.
Kirtland's W^arbler, 618-623.
Kittiwake, 50-51.
Knot, 181-182.
Kow-kow, 337, 340.
Labrador Duck, 740-741."'
Ladder-backed Three-toed Woodpecker,
749-750.
Lagopus albus, 228.
lagopus, 228-229.
rupestris, 746.
Lake Erie Gull, 60.
Lake Gull, 53, 54.
Lake Huron Scoter, 106.
Laniidjp, 559.
Lanius borcalis, 559-560.
excubitor, 559.
garrulus, 554.
ludovicianus, 563.
ludovicianus excubitorides, 755.
ludovicianus ludovicianus, 754-755.
ludovicianus migrans, 563-564.
tyrannus, 392.
tyrannus var. carolinensis, 392.
Lanivireo flavifrons, 572-573.
solitarius, 573-574.
Lapland Longspur, 486-488.
Large-billed Water-thrush, 632-633.
Laridse, 49.
Lark, Common, 443.
Field, 443, 447.
Homed, 407-408.
Hoyt's Horned, 410.
Lesser Horned, 408.
Northern Horned, 407.
Old Field, 443.
Prairie, 408.
Prairie Homed, 408-410.
Lark, Shore, 407.
Summer Horned, 408.
AVinter Horned, 407.
Lark Finch, 498.
Lark Sparrow, 498-500.
Larus argentatus, 53-54.
argentatus var. smithsonianus, 53.
atricilla, 738.
bonapartei, 56.
delawarensis, 54-55, 734.
franklini, 55-56, 734.
glaucus, 51.
hyperboreus, 51-52.
leucopterus, 52.
marinus, 52-53.
maximus, 52.*^
parasiticus, 48.
philadelphia,_56-57.
pomarinus, 47.
sabini, 57.
smithsonianus, 53.
tridactylus, 50.
zonorhynchus, 54.
Laughing Gull, 738.
Lazy Bird, 434.^
Least Bittern, 133-134.
Least Flycatcher, 405-406.
Least Sandpiper,(l85-186.
Least Tern, 63-64.
Leconte's Bunting, 497.
Leconte's Sparrow, 497.
Lesser Blue-bill, 94-97.
Lesser Egret, 141-142.
Lesser Horned Owl, 300.
Lesser Horned Lark, 408.
Lesser Redpoll, 474.
Lesser Snow Goose, 111-115.
Lesser Yellowlegs, 193.
Lestris parasitica, 48.
pomarinus, 47.
richardsoni, 48.
Lettuce-bird, 476.
Life Zones, 4-6.
Limicolse, 165.
Limosa fedoa, 190.
haemastica, 191, 735.
hudsonica, 191.
Linaria minor, 474.
Lincoln's Finch, 521.
Lincoln's Song Sparrow, 521.
Lincoln's Sparrow, 521-522.
Linnet, Gray, 468.
Pine, 478.
Purple, 468.
Red, 468.
Linota homemanni, 473.
Lithofalco columdarius, 290.
Little Auk, 44-47, 734.
Little Blackhead, 94.
Little Blue Heron, 142-143.
Little Canada Goose, 119.
Little Egret, 141.
Little Hang-ncst, .565.
Little Homed Owl, 320.
Little Mcadowlark, 498, .5.^7.
Little Sapsiicker, 348.
808
INDEX.
Little Scaup Duck, 94.
Little Tell-tale, 193.
Little Tern, 63.
Little Wild Goose, 1 19.
Little Yellow Rail, 159.
Little Yellowlegs, 193.
Log-cock, 360-364.
Loggerhead Shrike, 563, 754-755.
Long-billed Curlew, 203.
Long-billed Marsh Wren, 679-681.
Long eared Owl, 300-302.
Long-legged Sandpiper, 180.
Long-talied Cliickadee, 756-757.
Long-tailed Duck, 102.
Long-tailed House Wren, 670.
Longipennes, 47.
Longspur, Common, 486.
Lapland, 486-488.
Painted, 751-752.
Smith's, 751.
Loon, 40-42.
Black-billed, 40.
Black-throated, 736-737.
Ring-necked, 40.
Red-throated, 42.
Loons, Key to species, 40.
Lophodytes cucullatus, 76-77.
Lophophanes bicolor, 692.
Louisiana Heron, 742.
Louisiana Water-thrush, 632.
Louisiana Wren, 668.
Loxia americana, 470.
cardinalis, 530.
cur^^rostra minor, 470-472.
enucleator, 466.
leucoptera, 472-473.
leucura, 466.
ludoviciana, 532.
M.
Machetes pugnax, 746.
Mackerel Gull, 60.
Macrochires, 373.
Macrorhamphus griseus griseus, 179-180.
Macrorhamphas griseus scolopaceus, 744.
Magpie, 411-412.
Black-billed, 411.
Magnolia Warbler, 604-606.
Mallard, 77-78.
Black, 78.
Dusky, 78.
Gray. 77.
Marbled Godwit, 190.
Mareca americana, 82-83.
penelope, 81-82.
Marila affinis, 94-97.
americana, 90-91.
collaris, 97-98.
marila, 93.
valisneria, 92-93.
Marlin, Black-tailed, 191.
Brown, 190.
Red, 190.
Marlinspike, 48.
Marsh Bluebill, 97.
Marsh Harrier, 262.
Marsh Hawk, 262-263.
Marsh Hen, 127.
Fresh-water, 152.
Marsh Owl, 302.
Marsh Quail, 443.
Marsh Region of Miclugan, 7.
Marsh Wren, 679.
Martin, 542.
Bank, 551.
Black, 542.
House, 542.
Pui-ple, 542-544.
Sand, 551.
Maryland Yellowthroat, 638-642.
May-bird, 430.
Meadowlark, 443-447.
Common, 443, 447.
Little, 498, 537.
Western, 447-448.
Meadow-snipe, 182.
Meadow Wren, 677.
Meadowwink, 430.
Mealy Redpoll, 474.
Measurements of birds, 15-17.
Meat Bird, 415.
Meat Hawk, 415.
Megascops asio, 320.
Melanerpes erythrocephalus, 364-366.
Melanetta velvetina, 106.
Meleagris americana, 236.
fera, 236.
gallopavo, 236.
gallopavo silvestris, 236-237.
silvestris, 236.
Melospiza cinera melodia, 517.
fasciata, 517.
georgiana, 522-523.
lincolni, 521-522.
melodia melodia, 517-518.
Merganser americanus, 73.
serrator, 74.
Merganser, Greater, 73.
Hooded, 76-77.
Red-breasted, 74-75.
Mergus americanus, 73-74.
cucullatus, 76.
merganser, 73.
serrator, 74-75.
Merlin, American, 290.
Merriam's Life Zones, 4-6.
Merula migratoria, 722.
Micropalama himantopus, 180-181.
Micropodida^, 381.
Migrant Shrike, 563-564.
Migration, 20-29.
Migration at night, 23-24.
Migration of Golden Plover, 24-25.
Migration of Purple Martin, 22.
Migration of Waterfowl, 24.
Migration Routes, 27-29.
Migratory Thrush, 722.
Milvus furcatus, 259.
leucurus, 260.
Mimic Thrush, 656.
Mimid®, 656-668.
INDEX.
809
Mimus carolinensis, 658.
polyglottos, 656-657.
Minute Tern, 63.
Mississippi Kite, 261.
Mitred Warbler, 646.
Mniotilta varia, 579-581.
Mniotiltidae, 576.
Mocker, Brown, 661.
Mockingbird, 656-657.
Frencli, 661.
Sandy, 661.
Slate-colored, 658.
Mocking Thrush, 656.
Mocking Wren, 668.
Molothrus ater, 434-438.
pecoris, 434.
Monkey Owl, 298.
Monkey-faced Owl, 298.
Montana Junco. 752.
Moose Bird, 415.
Motacilla testiva, 597.
aurocapilla, 627.
calendula, 704.
caerulea, 705.
cserulescens, 598.
canadensis, 597.
citrea, 581.
chrysoptera, 585.
coronata, 600.
fusca, 612.
maculosa, 604.
noveboracensis, 629.
palmarum, 625.
pensylvanica, 608.
ruticilla, 651.
sialis, 727.
tigrina, 592.
varia, 579.
vermivora, 582.
virens, 616.
Motacillidap, 655-656.
Mottled Owl, 320.
Mountain Duck, 740.
Mourning Dove, 251-253.
Mourning Warbler, 636-638.
Mouse Hawdv, 262, 282, 291.
Mouse Wren, 675.
Mud Hen. 161, 163.
Red-l)illed, 161.
White-billed. 163.
Mud Swallow, 544.
Murre, 737.
Briiiuiich's. 43-44, 734.
Thick-billed, 43.
Murrclet, Ancient, 737.
Murres, Key to species, 43.
Muscicapa acadica, 405.
caerulea, 705.
canadensis, 649.
cantatrix, 574.
carolinensis, 658.
citrina, 646.
crinita, 396.
flaviventris, 402.
fusca, 397.
gilva, 570.
Muscicapa inornata, 399.
ludoviciana, 396.
noveboracensis, 574.
olivacea, 565.
phoebe, 397.
pusilla, 648.
querula, 401, 403.
rapax, 401.
ruticilla, 651.
saya, 398.
solitaria, 573.
striata, 611.
virens, 401.
Muscivora forficata, 750.
tyrannus, 750.
Musquito Hawk, 377.
Mycteria americana, 126-127.
Myiarchus crinitus, 396-397.
Myiochanes virens, 401-402.
Myiodioctes canadensis, 649.
formosus, 633.
pusillus, 648.
mitratus, 646.
Myrtle Warbler, 600-604.
N.
Nannus hiemalis, 675-677.
Nashville Swamp Warbler, 586.
Nashville Warbler, 586-587.
Nauclerus forficatus, 259.
furcatus, 259.
Necklaced Warbler, 649.
Nelson's Finch, 498.
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Finch, 498.
Nelson's Sparrow, 498.
Nettion carolinense, 83-84.
carolinensis, 83.
Nighthawk, 377-381.
Nightingale, 627, 712.
Night Heron. Black-crowned, 146-147.
Yellow-crowned, 742.
Nisus cooperi, 267.
fuscus, 263.
Nocturnal Migration, 23-24.
Noisy Plover, 213.
Nonpareil, Western, 753.
Northern Blue Yellow-back, 590.
Northern Flicker, 368.
Northern Hairy Woodpecker, 347.
Northern Horned Lark. 407.
Northern Marvland Yellowthroat, 638.
Northern Parula Warbler, 590-591.
Northern Phalarope. 16(3-167.
Northern Pileatod ^^'oodpecker, 360.
Northern Raven, 417-420.
Northern Red-wing, 442.
Northern Rol)in, 722.
Northern Ruffed Grouse, 226.
Northern Sharji-tailed Grouse, 234.
Northern Shrike, 559-560.
Northern Water-thrush, 629.
Northern Waxwing. 554.
Numenius americanus. 203-204.
borealis, 207-208.
bre\'irostris. 207.
810
INDEX.
Numenius hudsonicus, 204-207.
longirostris, 203.
occidentalis, 203.
rufus, 203.
Nuthatch, Brown-headed, 755-756.
Canada, G88.
Carolina, 683.
Common, 683.
Red-bellied, 688.
Red-breasted, 688-692.
White-bellied, 683.
White-breasted, 683-687.
Nuthatches, Key to species, 683.
Xuttall's Pewee, 399.
Nuttallornis borealis, 399-400.
Nyctale acadica, 319.
albifrons, 319.
richardsoni, 314.
tengmalmi var. richardsoni, 314.
Nyctanassa violacea, 742.
Nyctea nyctea, 331-333.
scandiaca var. arctica, 331.
Nyctiardea gardeni, 146.
grisea var. naevia, 146.
Nycticorax nycticorax nsevius, 146-147.
Odontophoridee, 220.
(Edemia americana, 106.
Oidemia americana, 106.
bimaculata, 106.
deglandi, 106-107.
perspicillata, 107-108.
Olbiorchilus hi emails, 675.
Old Field Lark, 443.
Old-squaw, 102-103.
Old-wife, 102.
Olive-backed Tlirush, 715-718.
Olive-sided Flycatcher, 399-400.
Olor buccinator, 122-123.
columbianus, 121-122.
Oporornis agilis, 635.
formosus, 633-635.
Philadelphia, 636-638.
Orange-croAvn, 587.
Orange-crowned Warbler, 587-588.
Orchard Oriole, 448-449.
Oriole, Baltimore, 450-452,
Basket, 448.
Brown, 448.
Orchard, 448-449.
Orioles and Blackbirds, Key to species,429.
Oriolus ater, 434.
mutatus, 448.
phoeniceus, 439.
spurius, 448.
Orpheus carolinensis, 658.
rufus, 661.
Ortolan, 155.
Ortygometra Carolina, 155.
noveboracensis, 159.
Ortyx virginiana, 220.
Oscines, 406.
Osprey, 295-297.
Otocoris alpestris alpestris, 407-408.
Otocoris. alpestris hoyti, 410.
alpestris praticola, 408-410.
Otus americanus, 300.
asio asio, 320-324.
brachyotus, 302.
vulgaris, 300. •
vulgaris var. wilsonianus,'_300.
wilsonianus, 300.
Ovenbird, 627-629.
Owl, Acadian, 319-320.
Arctic, 331.
Arctic Saw-whet, 314.
Barn, 298-300, 735.
Barred, 306-310.
Big Hoot, 324.
Canadian, 333.
Cat, 324.
Day, 333.
Ermine, 331.
Gray, 320.
Great Gray, 310-313.
Great Horned, 324-330.
Hawk, 333-334.
Hoot, 306.
Hudsonian, 333.
Kirtland's, 319.
Lesser Horned, 300,
Little Horned, 320.
Long-eared, 300-302.
Marsh, 302.
Monkey, 298.
Monkey-faced, 298.
Mottled. 320.
Prairie, 302.
Rain, 306.
Red, 320.
Richardson's, 314-315.
Saw-whet, 319.
Screech, 320-324.
Short-eared, 302-306.
Snowy, 331-333.
Sparrow, 314, 319.
Spectral, 310.
Swamp, 302.
Virginia Horned, 324.
Western Horned, 330-331.
White, 298, 331.
White-fronted, 319
Wood, 306.
Oxyechus vociferus, 213-214.
Painted Duck, 740.
Painted Longspur, 751-752.
Palm Warbler, 625-626
Paludicoltp, 148.
Pandion americanus,'^295.
carolinensis, 295.
haliaetus, 295.
haliaetus carolinensis, 295-297.
Pandionida?, 295.
Parasitic Jseger, 48-49.
Parida, 692.
Paroquet, Carolina, 749.
Partridge, 224.
INDEX.
811
Partridge, Spruce, 223-224.
Virginia, 220.
Partridge Hawk, 269.
Parula americana, 590.
Pariila Warbler, 755.
Parus atricapillus, 695.
atricapillus var. carolinensis, 697.
bicolor, 692.
carolinensis, 697.
hudsonicus, 698.
hudsonicus stoneyi, 698.
palustris, 695.
Passenger Pigeon, 238-251.
Passer domesticus, 480-485.
Passerciilus lincolni, 521.
savanna, 491.
sandmchensis savanna, 491, 492.
Passerella iliaca, 524-526.
Passerherbulus henslo-nd, 494-497.
lecontei, 497.
nelsoni, 498.
Passerina cyanea, 536-537.
nivalis, 485.
savanna, 491.
versicolor, 753-754.
Passeres, Key to Families, 389-391.
Pasture Bird, 488.
Pea-bird, 450.
Peabody Bird, 504.
Pectoral Sandpiper, 182.
Pedioecetes kennicotti, 234.
phasianellus, 234-236.
Peep, 185-186, 188, 200.
Little, 188.
Peet-weet, 200.
Pelecanidse, 68-70.
Pelecanus americanus, 68.
bassanus, 65.
dilophus, 66.
erythrorhjTichos, 68-69, 735.
fuscus, 69, 735.
maculatus, 65.
occidentalis, 69.
onocrotalus, 68.
onocrotalus occidentalis, 69.
trachjThynchos, 68.
Pelican, Brown, 69-70, 735.
Common, 68, 69.
White, 68-69, 735.
Pelicans, 65, 68-70.
Pelidna alpina sakhalina, 187-188.
Pelionetta perspicillata, 107.
Pendulinus spiu-ius, 448.
Penthestes atricapillus atricapillus, 695.
atricapillus septentrionalis, 756-757.
carolinensis carolinensis, 697-698.
hudsonicus, 698-701.
Perdix virginiana, 220.
Peregrine, American, 289.
Peregrine Falcon, 289.
Pcrisoreus canadensis, 415.
Perissoglossa tigrina, 592.
Peto Bi>d, 692.
Petrochelidon lunifrons, 544-545.
Peucaea lincolni, 521.
Pewee, 397.
Pewee, Barn, 397.
Bridge, 397.
NuttaU's, 399.
Water, 397.
Wood, 401-402.
Pewee Flycatcher, 401.
Pewit Flycatcher, 397.
Phaethontidfe, 65.
Phalacrocoracidse, 65, 66-68.
Phalacrocorax auritus, 66-68.
carbo, 739-740.
dilophus, 66, 735.
Phalarope, Gray, 165.
Northern, 166-167.
Red, 165-166.
Red-necked, 166-167.
Summer, 167.
Wilson's, 167-168.
Phalaropodidse, 165.
Phalaropes, Key to species, 165.
Phalaropus fulicarius, 165-166.
hyperboreus, 166.
lobatus, 166, 167.
tricolor, 167.
Wilsoni, 167.
Phasianidse, 237.
Pheasant, 224.
English, 237.
Japanese, 237.
Ring-necked, 237.
Pheasants, Old-world, 237.
Philadelpliia Greenlet, 569.
Philadelphia Vireo, 569-570.
Philohela minor, 172-177.
Phoebe, 397-398.
Sav's, 398-399.
Phoebe Bird, 397.
PhlcBotomus pileatus abieticola, 360-364.
Pica caudata var. hudsonica, 411.
hudsonica, 411.
melanoleuca var. hudsonica, 411.
pica hudsonia, 411-412.
Pici, 345.
Picidse, 345.
Picoides americanus, 749-750.
arcticus, 350-353.
Picus canadensis, 347.
carolinus, 366.
erythrocephalus, 364.
leucomelas, 347.
median us, 348.
pileatus, 360.
pubescens, 348.
septentrionalis, 347.
varius, 353.
villosus. 345.
Pied-billed Grebe, 38-39.
Pigeon, Blue-headed, 238.
Passenger. 238-251.
Prairie, 210.
Red-breasted, 238.
Wild, 238.
Wood. 238.
Pigeons, Key to species, 238.
Pigeon-tail, 86.
Pigeon Falcon, 290.
812
INDEX.
Pigeon Hawk, 263, 267, 290-291.
Pigeon Woodpecker, 368.
Pileated Woodpecker, 360.
PilUviUet, 733.
Pine Bullfinch, 466.
Pine Creeper, 623.
Pine-creeping Warbler, 623.
Pine Finch, 478-479.
Pine Forest Region of Michigan, 7-
Pine Grosbeak, 466-468.
Pine Linnet, 478.
Pine Siskin, 478.
Pine Warbler, 623-625.
Pinicola canadensis, 466.
enucleator canadensis, 466.
enucleator leucvn-a, 466-468.
Pinnated Grouse. 229-234.
Pintail, 86-88, 234.
Pipilo ervthropthalmus, 526.
Piping Plover, 216-217.
Pipit, 655.
Piranga erythromelas, 539-541.
rubra, 754.
Pisobia bairdi, 184-185.
fuscicollis, 183-184.
maculata, 182-183.
minutilla, 185-186.
Plains Region of Michigan, 8-9.
Planesticus migratorius, 722-727.
Platyrhynchos virescens, 403.
Plectrophanes lapponicus, 486.
nivalis, 485.
Plectrophenax nivalis, 485-486.
Plegadis autumnalis, 124-126.
falcmellus, 124.
Plover, 208-217.
Plover, Key to species, 208.
Plover, Belted Piping, 216.
Black-bellied, 208-210.
Black-heart, 187.
Field, 195, 210.
Four-toed, 208.
Gray, 208.
Golden, 210-213.
Kildeer, 213-214.
Noisv, 213.
Piping, 216-217.
Prairie, 195.
Red-legged, 217.
Ring, 215.
Ring-necked, 215-216.
Semipalmated, 215.
Upland, 195.
Western Piping, 216.
Poacher, 82.
Pochard, American, 90.
Podiceps carolinensis, 38.
greisegena, 36.
greisegena var. holboelli, 36.
holbellii, 36.
PodiljTiibus podiceps, 38-39.
Poecile atricapillus, 695.
Poke, 127, 143.
Polioptila cserulea, 705-707.
Pomarine Jseger, 47-48.
PocBcetes gramineus, 488-491.
Porphyrio americanus, 161.
Porzana Carolina, 155-157.
jamaicensis, 743.
noveboracensis, 159.
Potato-bug Bird, 532.
Prairie Brant, 116.
Prairie Chicken, 229-234.
Prairie Hen, 229.
Prairie Horned Lark, 408-410.
Prairie Lark, 408.
Prairie Owl, 302.
Prairie Pigeon, 195, 210.
Prairie Plover, 195.
Prairie Region of Michigan, 6-7.
Prairie Titlark, 655.
Prairie Warbler, 626-627.
Preacher, 565.
Progne subis, 542-544.
Ptarmigan, Common, 228.
Rock, 746.
Willow, 228-229.
Pterocyanea discors, 84.
Puffin, 737.
Purple Finch, 468-471.
Purple GaUinule, 161.
Purple Grackle, 751.
Purple Linnet, 468.
Purple Martin, 542-544.
Migration of, 22.
Purple Sandpiper, 744-745.
Pygopodes, 35.
Pyranga rubra, 539.
Quail, 220-222.
Quail Hawk, 267.
Quawk, 146.
Quebec Warbler, 608.
Querquedula carolinensis, 83.
discors, 84-85.
Quiscalus seneus, 455.
ferrugineus, 453.
purpureus ajneus, 455.
quiscula seneus, 455-460.
quiscula quiscula, 751.
versicolor, 455.
R.
Raft Duck, 90, 93, 94.
Rail, Black, 743.
CaroHna, 155.
Common, 155.
Clapper, 742-743.
King, 152-154.
Little Black, 743.
Little Red-breasted, 154.
Little Yellow, 159. \
Red-breasted, 152.
Sora, 155-157.
Virginia. 154-155.
Yellow, 1.59-160.
Rails, Key to species, 152.
Rail-bird, 155.
Rallidffi, 152.
INDEX.
813
Rain-crow, 337, 340.
Rain-dove, 337.
Rain Owl, 306.
Rainfall in Michigan, 2.
Rallus carolinus, 155.
crepitans, 152, 742-743.
elegans, 152-154.
limicola, 154.
noveboracensis, 159.
virginianus, 154-155.
Rapidity of flight, 23-25.
Raptores, 254.
Raven, Common, 417.
Northern, 417-420.
Razor-billed Auk, 737.
Recur\'irostra americana, 169-170.
himantopus, 170.
occidentalis, 169.
Recm-virostridse, 169.
Red-backed Dmilin, 187.
Red-backed Sandpiper, 187-188.
Red-bellied Nuthatch, 688.
Red-bellied Woodpecker, 366-368.
Red-bird, 530, 539.
Black-winged, 539.
Crested, 530.
Summer, 539, 754..
Red-breast, 181, 722.
Blue, 727.
Red-breasted Merganser, 74-75.
Red-breasted Nuthatch, 688-692.
Red-breasted Pigeon, 238.
Red-breasted Rail, 152.
Red-breasted Sandpiper, 181.
Red-breasted Shoveller, 85.
Red-breasted Snipe, 179-180.
Red Crossbill, 470-472.
Red Curlew, 190.
Red-eyed Cireenlet, 565.
Redhead, 90-91, 364.
Red-headed Teal, 83.
Red-headed Woodpecker, 364-366.
Red-legged Duck, 78.
Red-legged Plover, 217.
Red Linnet, 468.
Red Marlin, 190.
Red-necked Grebe, 36.
Red-necked Phalarope, 166-167.
Red Owl, 320.
Red Phalarope, 165-166.
Redpoll, 474-475.
American Mealy, 474.
Common, 474.
Greater, 476, 735.
Greenland, 473-474.
Greenland Mealy, 473.
Hoary, 474.
Holbcell's, 751.
Lesser, 474.
Red-shouldered Blackbird, 439.
Rod-shouldcrod Buzzard, 274.
Ked-sh()ul(lcrcd Hawk, 274-277.
Redstart, C),") 1-652.
Redstart Flycatcher, 651.
Redstart Warbler, 651.
Redtail, Eastern, 270
Red-tail, Western, 747-748.
Red-tailed Buzzard, 270.
Red-tailed Hawk, 270-274.
Red-tlu-oated Diver, 42.
Red-tliroated Loon, 42.
Red-throated Sapsucker,'353.
Red Thrush, 661.
Red-wing, 439.
Northern, 442.
Thick-billed, 442-443.
Red-winged Blackbird, 439-442.
Red-winged Starling, 439.
Reed Wren, 679.
Reference Books, 29-31.
Regulus calendula, 704-705.
cristatus, 701.
satrapa, 701-704.
Resident Birds, 20-21.
Rhinogryphus aura, 254.
Rhyacophilus solitarius, 193.
Rice-bird, 430.
Richardson's Hawk, 748-749.
Richardson's Owl, 314-315.
Richardson's Jseger, 48.
Ring-bill, 97.
Ring-billed Blackhead, 97.
Ring-billed Gull, 54-55, 734.
Ring-neck, 97.
Pale, 216.
White. 216.
Ring-necked Duck, 97-98.
Ring-necked Loon, 40.
Ring-necked Plover, 215-216.
Ring-necked Scaup, 97.
Ring Plover, 215.
Ring-tailed Eagle, 284.
Riparia riparia, 551-552.
River-snipe, 200.
Rissa tridactvla, 50-51.
Robin, 722-727.
Blue, 727.
Canada, 722.
Common, 722.
English, 450.
Ground, 526.
Golden, 450.
Northern, 722.
Swamp, 526, 715, 718.
Wood, 708.
Robin Redbreast, 722.
Robin Snipe, 181.
Rock Duck, 740.
Rock Ptarmigan, 746.
Rock Snipe, 744.
Rocky-mountaLn Golden-eye, 99.
Roody, 108.
Rook, 108.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak, 532-536.
Roseate Tern, 738.
Rough-legged Buzzard, 282.
Rough-legged Hawk, 282-283.
Rosy Gull, Bonaparte's, 56.
Franklin's, 55.
Rough-winged Swallow, 552-553.
Royal Tern, 59.
Ruby-crown, 704.
814
INDEX.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 704-705.
Ruby-crowned Wren, 704.
Ruby-tliroat, 387.
Rubv-throated Hummingbird, 387-388.
Ruddy Duck, 108-110.
Ruddy Turnstone, 217.
Rufous-tailed Thrush, 718.
Ruff, 746. - -
Ruffed Grouse, 224-226.
Rusty Blackbird, 453-454.
Rusty-crowned Falcon, 291.
Rusty Grackle, 453.
S.
Sabme's Gull, 57-58.
Saddle-back, 52.
Salt-water Marsh Wren, 679.
Sanderling, 189-190.
Sandhill Crane, 149-152.
Sand Martin, 551.
Sandpeep, 185, 188, 200.
Little, 185.
Sandpiper, Baird's, 184-185.
Bartramian, 195-199.
Big, 193.
Black-belUed, 187.
Bonaparte's, 183.
Buff-breasted, 199.
Curlew, 745.
Least, 185-186.
Long-legged, 180.
Purple, 744-745.
Red-backed, 187-188.
Red-breasted, 181.
Semipalmated, 188.
Solitary, 193-195.
Spotted, 200-203.
Stilt, 180-181.
Western Semipalmated, 745.
White-rumped, 183-184.
Sandpipers, Key to species, 171.
Sand-snipe, 200.
Sand Swallow, 551.
Sandy Mockingbird, 661.
Sapsucker, 353-360, 683, 688.
Little, 348.
Red-throated. 353.
Yellow-bellied, 353.
Sarcorhamphi, 254.
Savanna Sparrow, 491-492.
Sawbill, Big, 73.
Common, 74.
Little, 76.
Saw-whet Owl, 319.
Saxicola oenanthe leucorhoa, 757.
sialis, 727.
Sayornis fuscus, 397.
phoebe, 397-398.
sayus, 398-399.
Say's Phoebe, 398-399.
Scarlet Tanager, 539-541.
Scaup, Greater, 93.
Little, 94.
Ring-necked, 97.
Scissor-tailed Flycatclier, 750.
Scolecophagus carolinus, 453.
ferrugineus, 453.
ScolopacidiB, 171.
Scolopax borealis, 207.
drummondi, 177.
fedoa, 190.
flavipes, 193.
grisea, 179.
haemastica, 191.
marmorata, 190.
melanoleuca, 191.
minor, 172.
noveboracensis, 179.
rusticola, 744.
Wilsoni, 177.
Scops asio, 320.
Scoter, American, 106.
Black, 106.
Lake Huron, 106.
Surf, 107-108.
Velvet, 106.
White-winged, 106-107.
Scotiaptex cinerea, 310.
nebulosa, 310-313.
Screech Owl, 320-324.
Sea-coot, Black, 106.
White-winged, 106.
Sea-dove, 44.
Sea Gull, 53.
Sea-snipe, 165.
Sea Swallow, 60, 62, 63.
Seiurus aurocapillus, 627-629.
ludovicianus, 632.
motacilla, 632-633.
n3e\'ius notabilis, 631.
noveboracensis, 629.
noveboracensis notabilis, 631-632.
noveboracensis noveboracensis, 629-63 1 .
Semipalmated Plover, 215.
Semipalmated Sandpiper, 188.
Setophaga ruticilla, 651-652.
Sewick, 405.
Shag, 66.
Sharp-shinned Hawk, 263-267.
Sharp-tail, 86.
Sharp-tailed Grouse, 234-236.
Shelldrake, 73.
Big, 73.
Buff-breasted, 73.
Red-breasted, 74.
Summer, 76.
Shoal Duck, 103.
Shore Bird.<;, 165.
Shore Lurk. 407.
Short-billed Curlew, 204.
Short-billed ]\Larsh AVren, 677-679.
Short-eared Owl, 302-306.
Short-tailed House Wren, 672.
Short-tailed Tern, 64.
Short-tailed Wren, 675.
Shot-pouch, 108.
Shovel-bill, 85.
Shoveller, 85-86.
Blue-winged, 85.
Shrike, Great Northern, 559.
Loggerhead, 563, 754-755
INDEX.
815
Shrike. Migrant, 563-564.
Northern, 559-560.
White-rumped, 563, 755.
Winter, 559.
Shuffler. 93, 94.
Sialia sialis, 727-729.
wilsonii, 727.
Sickle-bill, 203.
Sickle-billed Curlew, 203-204.
Siskin, 478.
American, 478.
Pine, 478.
Sitta canadensis, 688-692.
carolinensis, 683-687.
melanocephala, 683.
pusilla, 755-756.
stulta, 688.
varia, 688.
Sittidse, 683.
Siurus motacilla, 632.
nsevius, 629.
Skunk-head Blackbird, 430.
Skunk-head Coot, 107.
Skunk-top, 107.
Slate-colored Junco, 513.
Slate-colored Mockingbird, 658.
Slate-colored Snowbird, 513.
Small-billed Water-thrush, 629-631.
Small Gray Goose, 119.
Small Green-crested Flycatcher, 403.
Smith's Longspur, 751.
Snake Bird, 65, 739.
Snake Hawk. 259.
Snake-skin Bird, 396.
Snipe, American, 177.
Common, 177.
English. 177.
Grass, 182-183.
Grey, 179.
Jack. 182.
Red-breasted, 179-180.
Robin, 181.
Rock, 744.
Stone, 191.
Surf, 189.
Western Red-breasted, 744.
White, 189.
Wilson's, 177-179.
Winter, 744.
W^ood, 172.
Snipe, Key to species, 171.
Snowbird, 485, 513.
Snowbird, Black, 513.
Blue, 513.
Slate-colored, 513.
White. 485.
Snow Bunting, 485-486.
Snowflake, 485.
Snow (ioose. 111.
Snow Grou.se, 228.
Snowy Egret, 141.
Snowv Heron, 127, 141.
Snowy Owl, 331-333.
Solitary Sandpiper, 193-195.
Solitary Thrush, 718.
Solitary Vireo. 573.
Solon Goose, 65.
Soland Goose, 65.
Somateria dresseri, 103-104.
moUissima, 103.
spectabilis, 105-106.
Song Sparrow, 517-518.
Swamp, 522.
Lincoln's, 521.
Song Thrush, 708.
Song Wren, 670.
Sooty Tern, 739.
Sora Rail, 155-157.
Sou'-southerly, 102.
Southern Chickadee, 697.
Southern Tanager, 754.
Southern Water-tlirush, 632.
Sparrow, Bush, 511.
Canada, 505.
Cliipping, 506-510.
Clay-colored, 510-511.
English, 480-485.
European House, 480.
Field, 491, 511-512.
Fox, 524-526.
Fox-colored, 524.
Grass, 488.
Grasshopper, 492-493.
Ground. 511, 517.
Hair. 506.
Harris's, 500-503.
Hedge, 517.
Henslow's. 494-497.
House, 480.
Lark, 498-500.
Leconte's, 497.
Lincoln's, 521-522.
Nelson's, 498.
Savanna, 491-492.
Song, 517-518.
Swamp, 522-523.
Tree, 505-506.
Vesper, 488-491.
White-crowned, 503-504.
White-throated, 504-505.
Winter, 505.
Yellow-winged, 492.
Sparrow Hawk, 263. 291-295.
Sparrow Owl. 314, 319.
Spatula clypeata, 85-86.
Sparvius ])latvpterus, 28 1.
Speckled-belly. 116.
Speckled Brant. 116.
Speckled Canada Warbler, 649.
Spectral Owl. 310.
Speed of Birds, 23-25.
SphjTapicus varius. 353.
Spike-bill, 190.
Spike-tail, .%, 234.
Spine-tail Duck. 108.
Spinas tristis, 476.
pinus, 478-479.
Spirit Duck, 98, 101.
Spiza americana, 537-539.
cyanea. 536.
Spizella agrestis, 511.
dome>;ticn. .">n(;
816
INDEX.
Spizella monticola, 505-506.
pallida, 510-511.
passerina, 506-510.
pusilla, 511-512.
pusio, 510.
socialis, 506.
Spoon-bill, 85.
Spotted Grouse, 223.
Spotted Sandpiper, 200-203.
Spotted Warbler, 604.
Sprig-tail, 86.
Spring-tail, 86.
Spruce Grouse, 223.
Spruce Hen, 223.
Spruce Wren, 675.
Spruce-woods Ruffed Grouse, 226.
Squatarola helvetica, 208.
squatarola, 208-210.
Squawk, 146.
Squealing Duck, 102.
Stake Driver, 127.
Starling, Red-winged, 439.
Steganopodes, 65-70.
Steganopus tricolor, 167-168.
Wilsoni, 167.
Stelgidopterjrx serripennis, 552-553.
Stercorariidae, 47.
Stercorarius parasiticus, 48-49.
pomarinus, 47-48.
Sterna antillarum, 63-64.
arctica, 62.
caspia, 58-59.
cayana, 59.
dougalli, 738.
forsteri, 59-60, 735.
frenata, 63.
fuscata, 739.
havelli, 59.
hirundo, 60-61.
macroura, 62.
maxima, 59.
minuta, 63.
nigra, 64.
paradissta, 62-63.
Philadelphia, 56.
plumbea, 64.
regia, 59.
superciliaris, 63.
surinamensis, 64.
wilsoni, 60.
Sternula antillarum, 63.
Stilt, 170-171.
Black-necked, 170.
Stilt Sandpiper, 180-181.
Stone Snipe, 191.
Stork, Wood, 126.
Storks, 126-127.
Strepsilas interpres, 217.
Striges, 297.
Strigida>, 300.
Striped-head, 204.
Striped Warbler, 579.
Strix acadica, 319.
accipitrina, 302.
arctica, 331.
asio, 320.
Strix brachyotus 302.
canadensis, 333.
caparoch, 333.
cinerea, 310.
flammea, 298, 302.
fiammea var. americana, 298.
flammea var. pratincola, 298.
frontalis, 319.
funerea, 333.
hudsonia, 333.
maximus, 324.
nebulosa, 306, 310.
nyctea, 331.
otus, 300.
passerina, 319.
pratincola, 298.
tengnialmi, 314.
varia, 306-310.
virginiana, 324.
Study of Birds, 12-20.
Stump Swallow, 549.
Stump Wren, 672.
Sturnella magna, 443-447.
magna neglecta, 447.
neglecta, 447-448.
Stm-nus ludovicianus, 443.
praidatorius, 439.
Sugar-bird, 464.
Sula americana, 65. \
bassana, 65-66.
Sulidse, 65-66.
Sultana, 161.
Summer Butcher-bird. 563.
Sunmier Duck, 88.
Summer Grosbeak, 532.
Summer Horned Lark, 408.
Sunmier Red-bird, 539, 751.
Summer Residents, 20-21.
Summer Tanager, 754.
Summer Teal, 84.
Summer Warbler, 597.
Summer Yellowbird, 597.
Summer Yellowlegs, 193.
Surf Coot, 107.
Surf Duck, 107.
Surf Scoter, 107-108.
Surf Snipe, 189.
Surnia ulula caparoch, 333-334.
ulula var. hudsonica, 3^33.
Swainson's Hawk, 277-281.
Swainson's Thrush, 715.
Swallow, Bank, 551-552.
Barn, 544, 545-549.
Barn-loft, 545.
Blue-backed, 549.
Bridge, 552.
Chimney, 381.
Cliff, 544-545.
Eave, 544, 549.
Fork-tailed, 545.
Jug, 544.
Mud, 544.
Rough-winged, 552-553.
Sand, 551.
Stump, 549.
Tree, 549-551.
INDIOX.
SI7
Swallow, Wliitc-bellied, 5H).
\Vliil(!-l)m;iste(l, 51<».
Su:illcnv-(:.il, 259.
Swallow l;iil(Ml Hawk, 250.
Swallow -tailed Kite, 259-2(30.
Swamp r.lackbird, 489.
Swamp Owl, 302.
Swamp Uohin, 526, 715, 718.
Swaiii]) Soiii; Sparrow, 522.
Swam]) Sparrow, 522-52;3.
Swan, 122-123.
Common, 121.
Trumpeter, 122-123.
Whistling, 121-122.
Wild, 121.
Swans, Kev to species, 121.
Swift, Cliirnncy, 381-387.
Swift Hawk, 267.
Sycamore Warbler, 6M-G16.
Sylvania ranadcnsis, 649.
pusilla. 618.
Sylvia a^stiva, 597.
agili,s, 635.
americana, 590.
autunmalis, 609.
azurea, 606.
calendula, 704.
canadensis, 598.
castanea, 609.
cclatus, 587
cerulea, 606.
•Idrenii, 597.
chrysoptcra, 585.
citrinclla, 597.
coronata, 600.
:olor, 626.
domcstica, 672.
Formosa, 633.
gilva, 570.
icterocephala, 608.
ludoviciana, 668.
maculosa, 604.
Tuagnolia, 604.
inarilandica, 038.
maritima, 592.
mitrata, 646.
minuta, 626.
pcnsilis, 614.
pensylvanica, 608.
peregrina, 588.
Philadelphia, 636.
pinus, 623.
j)rotonotarius, 581.
|)UHilla, .598.
rara, 606.
regulus, 701
rubricapilla, 586.
ruficapilla, 586.
sialis, 727.
solitaria, 583.
sphagnosa, .598.
M-ina, 592.
'"IS 6.38.
).
ora, 582.
vig(jr.sii, (123.
103
Sylvicola aestiva, 597.
blaekl>uriii:e, ()12.
eaTulea, (10(1.
cilia. Iciisis, ,')98.
discolor, 626.
Kirthmdii, 618.
parus, 612.
petechia, 625.
striata, 611.
vurens, 616.
Sylviiila?, 701.
Sympliemia scmii)lamala inornala, 733.
Syuthliboramphus ant i( puis, 737.
Syrnium cmcreinn, 310.
nebulosum, 306.
'racliycineta bicolor, 549.
Tanaficr, Common, 539.
Scarlet, .539-541.
Southern, 754.
Siunmer, 754.
Tanagra cyanca, 536.
grisca, 574.
rubra, 539.
Tangarida^, 539.
Tantalus loculator, 126.
Tattler, Bartram's, 195.
Tawny Thrush, 712.
Teacher, 627.
Teal, Blue-winged, 84-85.
Crecn-winged, 83-84.
Red-headed, 83.
Sunmier, 84.
Winter, S3.
Teaser, 48.
Teeter-tail. 200.
Teetercr, 193, 200.
Telescopic observations, 23-24.
Tell-tale, 191, 193.
Tehnatodytes palustris, 679-681.
Tennessee Warbler, 588-590.
Tern, Arctic, 62-63.
Black, 64-65.
Caspian, 58-59.
Cayenne, 59.
Common, 60-61, 62.
Forster's, .59-60, 735.
Gull-billed, 738.
Havell's, .59.
Imperial, 58.
Least, 63-64.
Little, 63.
Minute, 63.
ItoKcate, 738.
Hoval, .59.
Short-tailed, 61.
Sf.otv. 739.
Wilsl.n's, 60.
Terns, Key (o species, 19-50.
Tetra<t caiiace, 223.
canadensis, 223.
lagopus. 228.
phasianellus. 231.
iogatus, 220.
SIS
INDEX.
Tt'trao uinbdlus, 224.
virginiamis, 220.
Tetraouidic, Key to species, 222.
Thick-billed Gviillcmot, 43.
Tluck-l)ille(l Murre, 43.
'riiick-hiUcl Ued-wing, 442-143.
ThisUe-bii-d, 476.
Thrasher, ()01.
I5ro\vn, (iOl-GOS.
Thrush, Alice's, 714.
Browu, GGl.
(lolden-crowiied, 627.
Ci ray-cheeked, 714-715.
Hermit, 718-722.
Migratory, 722.
Mimic, 656.
Mocking, 656.
Olive-backed, 715-718.
Red, 661.
Rufous-tailed, 718.
Solitary, 718.
Song, 708.
Swainson's, 715.
Tawny, 712.
Western Tawny, 757.
Western Wilson's, 757.
Willow, 757.
Wilson's, 712.
Wood, 708-712.
Thrushes, Key to species, 707.
Thrush Blackbinl, 453.
Thryomanes bewicki, 670-672.
Thryothorus bewickii, 670.
ludovicianus, 668.
palustris, 679.
stellaris, 677.
Thunder-pump, 127.
Timber-doodle, 172.
Tinnunculus sparverius, 291.
Tip-up, 193, 200.
Tit, Tufted, 692.
Titlark, 655-()5().
Prairie, 655.
Titmouse, Black-capi)ed, 695.
Hudson Bay, 698.
Hudsonian, 698.
Tufted, 692-694.
I'itniice, Key to species, 692.
Topography of Birds, Frontispiece.
Topography of Michigan, 1-2
Torch-bird' 612.
Totanus Bartramius, 195.
chloropygias, 193.
flavipes, 193.
macularius, 200.
melanoleucus, 191-193.
solitarius, 193.
vocifcrus, 191.
Totipahnate Swimmers, 65.
Towhee, 430, .526.
Towhce Bunting, 526.
Toxostoma rufum, 661-668.
Traill's Flycatcher, 404, 750.
Transients, 20-21.
Tree Creeper, 681.
Tree S})arrow, 505-506.
Tree Swallow, 549-551.
Trichas agilis, 635.
marilandica, 638.
marylandica, 638.
Philadelphia, 636.
Tricolor, 364.
Tringa aljiina, 187.
;illiiiia \ar. aincricaiia, IS'
ali.ina pa.alira, 1S7.
arcjiaria, 1S<».
autunmalis, 124.
bairdii, 184.
Bartramia, 195.
bonapartei, 183.
canutus, 181-182.
cincrea, 181.
fulicaria, 165.
fuscicoUis, 183.
helvetica, 208.
hiaticula, 215.
himantopus, 180.
iiyperborea, 166.
islandica, 181.
leucopliaja, 189.
lobala, 166.
Icimicauda, 195.
inacularia, 200.
niaculata, 182.
niiuutilla, 185.
morinella, 217.
]:)Cctoralis, 182.
pusilla, 185, 188.
Schinzii, 183.
semipalmata, 188.
solitaria, 193.
squatarola, 208.
subruficollis, 199.
wilsonii, 185.
Tringoides macularius, 200.
Trochilus colubris, 387.
Trochilida', 387.
Troglodytes aedon, 672-675.
americanus, 672.
bewickii, 670.
brevirostris, 677.
liiemalis, 675.
ludovicianus, 668.
palustris, 679.
stellaris, 677.
Troglodytidic, 668-681.
Tropic Birds, 65.
Trumpeter Swan, 122-123.
Tryngites rufesccns, 199.
subruficollis, 199.
Tufted Chickadee, 692.
Tufted Tit, 692.
Tufted Titmouse, 692-691.
TurdidiT, 707.
Turdus alicia% 714.
aonalaschkae pallasii, 718.
aurocapilla, 627.
carolinensis, 658.
carolinus, 453.
crinitus, 396.
fucescens, 712.
melodus, 708.
INDEX.
819
Tardus jnigratorius, 722.
minor, 718.
motacilla, 632.
mustelinus, 708.
nanus, 718.
pallasii, 718.
polyglottos, (iof).
rufus, 661.
solitarius, 718.
swaiusoni, 71.i.
trichas, 638.
ustulatus swaiusoni, 715.
virens, 642.
wilsonii, 712.
Turkey, American, 2:56.
Eastern, 236.
Northern, 236.
Wild, 236-237.
Turlcey Buzzard, 254-257.
Turkey Vulture, 254.
Turnstone, 217-219.
Ruddy, 217.
Turtle Dove, 251.
Turtur carolinensis, 251.
Tympanuchus americanus, 229-234.
TyrannidiE, Key to species, 392.
Tyrannula acadica, 403.
flaviventris, 402.
minima, 405.
pallida, 398.
Tyrannus borealis, 399.
carolinensis, 392.
fuscus, 397.
intrepidus, 392.
saya, 398.
tyrannus, 392-393.
virens, 401.
U.
Upland Crane, 149.
Upland Plover, 195.
Uria lomvia, 43-44. 734.
troille, 737.
TTrinator imber, 40.
lumnift, 42.
V.
Vanishing P.irds, 11-12.
Variation in si/o, 15-16.
Varied liunting, 7.")3-75-l.
Veery. 712-714.
Velocity of iiiglil , 23-25.
Velvet Duck, 106.
Velvet Scoter, 10().
Venison Bird, 415.
Vcrmivora celata, 587-588.
chrvso]itcr:i , 585-.58(>.
pcimsvlv.niica. 582.
pciruiih.i, .VSS-590.
pinii-,. .,,v; .-.s:,.
ruhricapilla, .")S6-.-)S7.
Vesper Sparrow, 4.SS-4<»1.
Vireo, Bluo-hoa.le.l, ,-)73-57l.
l'.rotli(>rlv-lovc, .')60.
Vireo, Philadelphia, 569-570.
Red-eyed, 565-569.
Solitary, 573.
Warbling, 570-572.
White-eyed, 574-575.
Yellow-throated, 572-573.
Vireo flavifrons, 572.
gilvus, 570.
griseus, 574-575.
noveboracensis, 574.
olivaceous, 565.
philadelphicus, 569.
solitarius, 573.
Vireonidse, 564.
Vireosylva gilva, 570-572.
olivacea, 565-569.
philadelphica, 569-570.
Virginia Cardinal, 530.
Virginia Horned Owl, 324.
Virginia Partridge, 220.
Virginia Rail, 154-155.
Vultur am-a, 254.
Vulture, Black, 746-747.
Turkey, 254.
W.
Wag-tail, 629, 632.
Hudsonian, 655.
Water, 629, 632.
Wagtails, 655-656.
Wag-tail Warbler, 625.
Wake-up, 368.
Walloon, 40.
Warbler, Autumnal, 611.
Azure, 606.
Bay-breasted, 609-611.
Black and White, 579-581.
Black and White Creeping, 579.
Black and Yellow, 604.
Blackburnian, 612-614.
Black-capped, 648.
Black-headed, 646.
Black-poll, 611-612.
Black-throated Blue, 598-600.
Black-throated (Jrcen, 616-618.
Black-tliroated Ground, (i36.
Blue, 606.
Blue ( '-olden-winged,. 585.
1 \\ uc-w i n gi'd , 5S3-5.S5 .
l^hie-wingcd Swamii, .')S3.
Blue-winged ^'ell()W, 5S3.
Blue Vellow-bnckcd. .V.tO.
Canada,, 64!)-650.
Canadian, 64U.
Canadian Klycalcliing.^l 10.
(Jape May, 592-,")07.
Cerulean, 606-608.
Ciiestnut-sided. 608-600.
(Connecticut. ()35-()36.
Creeping. 579.
I'jvergreen, 616.
Colden, 581. .507.
(iolden-crowned, 600.
(iolden Swanii>, 581.
(Iclden-winged, .-.8.5-.-)8().
820
INDEX.
Warbler, Golden-winged Swamp, 585.
Hemlock, 612.
Hooded, 646-648.
Hooded Flycatching, 646.
Jack-pine, 618.
Kentucky, 633-635.
Kirtland's, 618-623.
Magnolia, 604-606.
Mitred, 646.
Mourning, 636-638.
Myrtle, 600-604.
Nashville, 580-587.
Nashville Swamp, 586.
Necklaced, 649.
Northern Parula, 590-591.
Orange-crowned, 587-588.
Palm, 625-626.
Parula, 755.
Pine, 623-625.
Pine-creeping, 623.
Prairie, 626-627.
Quebec, 608.
Redstart, 651.
Speckled Canada, 649.
Spotted. 604.
Striped, 579.
Summer, 597.
Sycamore, 614-616.
Tennessee, 588-590.
Tennessee Swamp, 588.
Wag-tail, 625.
Western Red-poll, 625.
Western Palm, 625.
Western Yellow Red-poll, 625.
White-browed, 614.
White-cheeked, 614.
White-crowned Yellow-throated, 614.
Willow, 581.
Wilson's Black-capped, 648.
Wilson's Flycatching, 648.
Worm-eating, 582-583.
Worm-eating Swamp, 582.
Yellow, 597-598.
Yellow-crowned, 608.
Yellow-rumped, 600.
Yellow-throated, 755.
Warbling Greenlet, 570.
AVarl)ling Vireo, 570-572.
^\'a.shingtou Eagle, 287.
Water Hen, 161.
W^ater Pewec, 397.
Water-thrush, 629, 632.
Common, 629.
Grinnell's, 631-632.
Large-billed, 632-633.
Louisiana, 632.
Northern, 629.
Small-billed, 029-631.
Southern, 632.
Western, 631.
Water Turkey, 66, 739.
Water Wag-tail, 629, 632.
Water-witch, 37, 38.
Wavey, 111.
Blue, 115.
Common, 111.
Waxwiug, Big, 554.
Bohemian, 554-555.
Carolina, 556.
Cedar, 556.
Conmion, 556.
Northern, 554.
Western Chickadee, 756.
Western Crow Blackbird, 455.
Western Grebe, 36, 736.
Western Horned Owl, 330-331.
Western Meadowlark, 447-448.
Western Nonpariel, 753.
Western Palm Warbler, 025.
Western Piping Plover, 216.
Western Red-breasted Snipe, 744
Western Red-poll Warbler, 625.
Western Red-tail, 747-748.
Western Semipalmated Sandpiper, 745.
Western Tawny Thrush, 757.
Western Water-thrush, 631.
Western Willet, 733-734.
Western Wilson's Thrush, 757.
Western Yellow Red-poll Warbler, 625.
Western Yellowthroat, 638.
Wheatear, Greenland, 757.
Whippoorwill, 373-377.
Whiskey-jack, 415.
Wliiskey-john, 415.
Whistler, 98-99.
Whistling Swan, 121-122.
Whistle-wing, 98.
White-back, 92.
White-bellied Brant, 119.
White-bellied Nuthatch, 683.
White-bellied Swallow, 549.
White-bill, 513.
White Brant, 111.
White-breasted Chicken Hawk, 270.
White-breasted Nuthatch, 683-687.
White-breasted Swallow, 549.
White-browed Warbler, 614.
White-cheeked Goose, 741.
White-cheeked Warbler, 614.
White-crown, 503.
White-crowned Sparrow, 503-504.
White-crowned Yellow-throated ^^■:ul)l(■
614.
White Egret, 139.
White-eyed Greenlet, 574.
White-eyed Vireo, 574-575.
White-fronted Goose, 116-117.
White-fronted Owl, 319.
White Grouse, 228.
White-headed Eagle, 287.
White-headed Goose, 115.
White Owl, 298, 331.
White Pelican, 68-69, 735.
White-rump, 191.
White-rumped ILawk, 262.
White-rumped Sandpiper, 183-184.
White-rumjied Shrike, 563, 755.
White Snowbird, 4S5.
White-tailed Kite, 260-261.
White-throat, 504.
White-throated Sparrow, 504-505.
White-throated f'rn\vn-si>nrrow, 504.
INDEX.
821
Wliite-wingedjBlackbird, 43ti.
White-winged Coot, 108.
Wtiite-wingei Crossbill, 472-17;>.
Wtiite-winged Gull, 52.
Wnite-winged Scoter, 105-107.
Wnite-winged Sea Coot, 103.
Whooping Crane, 148-149.
Wick-up, 388.
Widgeon, 81-82.
Bald, 82.
European, 81-82.
Gray, 80.
Green-headei, 82.
Wood, 88.
Wild Canary, 47G, 597.
Wild Duck, 77.
Wild Goose, 117.
Wild Pigeon, 238.
Wild Swan, 121.
Wild Turkey, 236-237.
Willet, Western, 733-734.
Will-o-the-wisp, 377.
Willow Grouse, 228.
Willow Ptarmigan, 228-229.
Willow Thrush, 757.
Willow Warbler, 581.
Wilsonia canadensis, 849-G50.
citrina, 646-G48.
pusilla, 048-649.
Wilson's Black-cap, 648-1)49.
Wilson's Flycatcher, 648.
Wilson's Flycatching Warbler, 648.
Wilson's Phalarope, 167-168.
Wilson's Snipe, 177-179.
Wilson's Tern, 60.
Wilson's Thrush, 712.
Winter Butcher Bird, 559.
Winter Chippy, 505.
Winter Duck, 102.
Winter Hawk, 274.
Winter Horned Lark, 407.
Winter Shrike, 559.
Winter Snipe, 744
Winter Sparrow, 505.
Winter Teal, 83.
Winter Visitors, 20-21.
Winter Wren, 675-677.
Wood Cock, 360.
Woodcock, 172-177.
lOuropoan, 744.
Wood 1 )uck, 88-90.
Wood Hen, 360.
Wood Ibis, 120-127.
Wood Owl, 306.
Woodpocker, Black-backed Tiiree-toed, 350-
353.
Downy, 348-350.
Golden-winged, 368.
Great Black, 360.
Hairy, 345-347.
Ladder-liacked Three-toed, 749-750.
Little Guinea, 348.
Northern Hairy, 347.
Northern Plicated, 360.
Pigeon, 368.
Pileated, 360.
Woodpecker, Red-bellied, 366-368.
Red-headed, 364-366.
Wood Pehcan, 126.
Wood Pewee, 401-402.
Wood Pigeon, 238, 368.
Wood Robin, 708.
Wood Snipe, 172.
Wood Thrush, 708-712.
Wood Widgeon, 88.
Wood Wren, 672, 675.
Worm-eater, 582.
Worm-eating Swamp Warbler, 582.
Worm-eating Warbler, 582-583.
Wren, Bewick's, 670-672.
Brown, 672.
CaroHna, 668-670.
Cat-tail, 679.
Common, 672.
Fresh-water Marsh, 677.
Golden-crowned, 701.
Grass, 677.
Great Carolina, 668.
House, 672-675.
Long-billed Marsh, 679-681.
Long-tailed House, 670.
Louisiana, 668.
Marsh, 679.
Meadow, 677.
Mocking, 668.
Mouse, 675.
Reed, 679.
Ruby-crowned, 704.
Salt-water Marsh, 679.
Short-billed Marsh, 677-679.
Short-tailed, 675.
Short-tailed House, 672.
Song, 670.
Spruce, 675.
Stump, 672.
Winter, 675-677.
Wood, 672, 675.
Wrens, Key to species, 668.
X.
Xanthoccphalus icteroceplialus, 438.
xanthocephalus, 438-139.
Xema sabini, 57-58.
Yellow-back, Blue, 590.
Yellow-back, Northern Blue, 590.
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, 402-403.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 353.
Yellow-billetl Cuckoo, 337-340.
Ycllowbird, 476, 597.
Summer, 597.
Yellow-breasted Chat, 642-646.
Yellow Chat, 642.
Yellow Crake, 159.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron, 742.
Yellow-crowned Warbler, 608.
Yellow-hammer, 368.
Yellow-headed Blackliird, 438-439.
Ycllowlegs, 193.
822
INDEX.
Yellovvlegs, Big, 191.
Greater, 191-193.
Lesser, 193.
Little, 193.
Summer, 193.
Winter, 191.
Yellow Rail, 159-160.
Yellow-rump, (iOO.
Yellow-rumped Warbler, CAM.
Yellow-shafted Flicker, 308.
Yellow-shanks, 193.
Yellowthroat, 408, 638.
Common, 638.
Maryland, 638-642.
Northern Maryland, 638.
Western, 638.
Yellow-throated Greenlet, 572.
Yellow-throated Vireo, 572-573.
Yellow-throated Warbler, 755.
Yellow Warbler, 597-598.
Yellow-winged Sparrow, 492.
Zamclodia ludoviciana, 532-536.
melanocephala, 753.
Zebra-back, 366.
Zebra Bird, 366.
Zenaidura macroura curolinensi-
Zone, Allcghanian, 4.
Austral, 4.
Boreal, 4.
Canadian, 4.
Transition, 4.
Upper Austral, 4.
Zones of Life, 4-6.
Zonotrichia albicoUis, 504-505.
graminea, 488.
leucophrys, 503-504.
querula, 500-503.
East Lansing, Michigan, June 1, 1912
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