96 THE PLANT WORLD 



or snakebird, sits motionless on the water's edge, the wings spread out 

 in a perpendicular way. You can see the conspicuous white wing spots 

 plainly for quite a distance. Great blue herons, little blue and little 

 white herons, and now and then a sandhill crane walk about among the 

 water plants on the lake's edge. Among the rare and beautiful birds 

 visiting the lake I have seen the limpkin and the purple gallinule. The 

 pied-billed grebe, here invariably called helldiver, is a constant resident, 

 nesting among the reeds. It does not seem to mind the presence of the 

 alligator, of which a few small specimens occur in the lake. I frequently 

 hear the strange notes of these birds during the night. As none of the 

 birds are allowed to be molested, they are rather tame, allowing a close 

 approach. The osprey soars over the lake almost daily, and the interest- 

 ing Everglade kite is often noticed. Bald-headed eagles I have seen 

 here more frequently than anywhere else. 



On the border of the "paradise," a small cleared depression in the 

 woods between the garden and the orange grove, the quail finds excellent 

 hiding and nesting places among the dense ferns and the tall grass. As 

 shooting is not allowed on the premises, these birds live here in large 

 coveys during fall and winter, but now they are mated and you will only 

 see them in pairs. Their loud whistle, sounding like "bob-white," is 

 one of the most familiar bird-notes near my cottage. Several rabbits 

 share their home with the quails. A common tenant of the garden is 

 the kingbird, but here it is much less lively and noisy than in the North, 

 its notes being rarely heard. They are weak in comparison to the notes 

 which are uttered by the bird in its northern home. It builds its nest 

 in the tops of the tall pines. The blue jay is abundant everywhere, and 

 the same holds true of the loggerhead shrike. The fish crow often enters 

 the garden in swarms. They are cunning marauders, robbing birds' 

 nests and feasting on mulberries, of which the trees are loaded. They 

 breed in tall pines, and preferably in cabbage palmettos. I have planted 

 a large number of mulberry trees for the sake of my feathered tenants. 

 Mockingbirds, catbirds, thrushes, and blue jaj^s enjoy the fruit im- 

 mensely, but the cedar birds, which move about silently in large flocks, 

 obtain most of it — in fact, they are gorging themselves with the juicy 

 berries. In the orange groves and flatwoods the meadow lark is quite 

 common, and its clear, sweet, but plaintive warble, which comes in soft, 

 whistling tones, falls constantly on m}' ear while writing these lines. 

 The sprightly wood warblers are not as abundant in Florida as I expected 

 them to be. In the height of migration I have seen in Texas ten times 

 as many as in Florida. Only the nij^rtle warbler is very abundant from 

 early in November to about the beginning of April, and the palm warbler 

 is also a common winter resident of my garden. The first-named .species 

 is always found in the wax myrtles, the berries of this beautiful dense 

 evergreen forming its main diet in winter. The golden-crowned and the 

 ruby-crowned kinglets, common winter sojourners, left for the northern 

 breeding range only a few days ago. Several stragglers may .still be seen 

 now and then. 



[to be continued.] 



