iSsr.j PROCEEDINGS OP UNITED STATES NATIONAL MttSEUM. 213 



tlieiii. Tbey are .such restless rovers, too, that one can never depend 

 on their remaining long enough in one situiitio;i to be stalked. It is 

 useless to follow one of these birds, for when he leaves the ])ine cone 

 at which he may have been hammering contentedly he is as likely to 

 fly clean out of the neiglilxnhood as not. The best way to get the 

 birds IS to shoot them on the wing from some covert over which they 

 are likely to fly in passing from one patch of pihons to another. Their 

 coming is unmistakably announced by their incessant s(|ualling. hjven 

 when feeding the Nutcrackers kee^) up a peevish s(;olding. In summer 

 their heads and breasts are always reddened l)y the juice of the unripe 

 cones of PIums Ji^.rilifi, but later they depend on the seeds of the larger 

 pines. 



Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus (Wicd.). I'lnon Jaij. 



About fifteen sj»ecimens of this species were collected at Fort Crook 

 by Captain Feilner. Tiiere are no records showing that it has been 

 found in this region by any one else, but there (^an be no doubt that 

 it inhabits the |)inon-covered localities generally. 



Family ICTEEID.'E. Blackbirds, Okioles, &c. 



Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (Conap.). YcUow-lieadcd Blackbird. 



A bird common in Northern California, but of irregular distribution, 

 often passing over extensive stretches of unfavorable country to arrive 

 at the cultivated tracts and reedy lakes where it breeds. This is char- 

 acteristic of all the Blackbirds found in the country, for, after leaving 

 the Sacramento Valley, the settled places aie few and far between, and 

 Blackbirds are too partial to grassy meado ws and niarshes to wander far 

 from them. 1 do not remember of ever seeing a Blackbird of any species 

 among the foot-hills of the Lower McCloud. 



This species was often found among the flocks of Brewer's Blackbirds 

 that frequented the timothy meadows of Berry vale, at the western base 

 of Mount Shasta, 3,500 feet altitude. Very few were seen at Red Bluff, 

 but large numbers were found breeding in the " tules " bordering Eagle 

 Lake. Here they led an independent sort of life amid strange surround- 

 ings, for with the exception of the marsh wreus that nested in the riieds 

 with them, other species of land birds were scarce; ducks, coots, and 

 grebes weresplashing and gabbling ainong the reedsbeneath their nests; 

 gulls, terns, shags, and pelicans were flying overhead or darting into 

 the water all around. The rippling surfiice of the lake, tlie waving 

 reeds along its miirgin, the tall pines, with their background of mount- 

 ains, and the presence of a great variety of birds, all contributed to 

 form h.ere a scene of life and beauty. I'lom tlu'ir station upon the tops 

 of the tules these Blackbirds dis[)iayed their yelU)\v heads and vied 

 with their strange neiglibors iu noise and animation. 



Agelaius phoeniceus (Linn.'). lUdwnKjvd HUiclhhd. 



An abundant summer resident oi" the cuiiivated country north of 

 Mount Shasta, and obs(u^ved in moderaxe numi>c,'s in suitable localities 



