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ORNITHOLOGIST 



— AND — 



OOLOGIST. 



$1.00 per 

 Annum. 



I'llil-ISIIED I-Oli THK BRLSTOL ()l{XITIIOLOGIC.\L (LUB. 

 Establislicil, Miucli, IST.i. 



Single Copy 

 10 Cents. 



VOL. XIII. 



BOSTON, MASS., MAY, 1888. 



No. 5. 



Ornithology from a Railroad Train. 



liV IS. XV. KVKKJ1.\NN AND O. 1'. .lENKIN.K. 



'I'he List (lays of Juiie and the Hi st week in 

 July found tlie writers fu route from Terra 

 Haute. Indiana, for Guaynias, in the State of 

 Sonora, Mexico. Wlien we were crossinj; tlie 

 plains of western KaiLSas, we began niaUing 

 notes of the various birds we saw. This we 

 continued during the remainder of our journey 

 until we reached the Gulf of California. Our 

 route was via the Atchison, Topeka. and Santa 

 Fe Railroad to Deniing, New Mexico, tlie 

 Southern Pacific from Deining to IJenson, Ari- 

 zona, thence via the New Mexico and Ai'i/ona 

 Kailroad to Nogales, .\rizona, and from then' 

 viii the F('rn)-caril de .Sonora to (iuaymas <iii the 

 Gulf of California. 



We endeavored to keep a record not only of 

 the various species seen, but also notes as to 

 the abundance, repeated occurrence, and any 

 other fact which at the time seemed interesting. 

 Of course we saw a number of birds which we 

 could not with certainty identify; some were 

 too far away, while others flitted by so rapidly 

 that we got no more than a glimpse of them. 



Among the birds which we were able to re- 

 cognize all the way from the Missouri River to 

 Guaynias, the following may be named: 



1. Mourning Dove. 



2. Crow. 



3. Red-shouldered Blackbird. 



4. .Shore I.ark. 



5. Bank Swallow. 

 G. Killdeer. 



7. Turkey Buzzard. 



S. Vj-avp .Swallow. 



U. Barn Swallow. 



All along the route of nearly 2,200 miles, we 

 often had occasion to remark the great abun- 

 dance of the Common Mourning Dove (Zenai- 

 dura marrtira). From Illinois to Sonora, we 

 saw these doves flying away from the road as 



the train came upon them. Souietinies hut 

 one of them would be in sight, llicn for many 

 miles, flocks of tive to twenty, or even thirty, 

 would be seen hurrying to the right or left. 

 They seemed most abundant thruugh |)arts of 

 Colorado, Xew Mexico and Arizona, where the 

 road ran through plains or broad valb'ys. This 

 was especially true in New Mexico and Arizona, 

 where they were so numerous that some were 

 in sight nearly all the time. 



At Nogales, on the border between Arizona 

 and Sonora, they grew less abundant, and in 

 Sonora were not at all common, though speci- 

 mens were seen as far south as llermosillo, !)0 

 miles from Guaymas. Crows were .seen some- 

 wh:it sparingly even into Sonora. lied-sboul- 

 dered Blackbirds were locally abundant through 

 Kansas and Colorado, and were seen occasion- 

 ally in New Mexico and Sonora. A few were 

 seen near Crittenden, Arizona. 



Shore Larks were pretty abundant as far as 

 Sonora. The variety chrijsulivma was the one 

 seen in Arizona, most likely. 



Bank Swallows. Eave Swallows, and B.irn 

 Swallows, were more or less common whcre- 

 ever suitable places were fountl. 



Killdeers were seen occasionally at various 

 places, the last at Hermosillo. Turkey Buz- 

 zards were locally abundant all along the route. 

 .\t Guaymas they were especially numerous. 



Among the species not seen west of Kansas, 

 might be named the following: 



The Eastern Meadow Lark we were able to 

 trace as far west as Newton, Kansas. The first 

 specimen of the western form {Sturnella nc- 

 (/Iccta), was heard near Topeka. From here, 

 its melodious, note became more and more fi-e- 

 quent until we had entered Colorado. From 

 there to the southwest it appeared less com- 

 mon than in Western Kansas. One does not 

 feel sure that the lark he sees east of this re- 

 gion is the Western species until he hears its 

 song. When that is heard, there is no longer 

 doubt, 'i'he rich, liquid melody of the song is 



Copyright, 188S, by F. H. Carpenter and F. B. Webster. 



