Nov. 1888.] 



AKD OOLOGIST. 



169 



Notes on Nebraska Birds. 



\V. KIXIAK TAYI.OU AND A. II. VANVI.ICET, 



ri;i;i , m.iii;aska. 



( ) Chen caernlescens (Linn). Hliic 



Goose. This bird has been (Iroppcil fioni tlic 

 A. O. U. Cliouli List, but restored in i;idf;wiiy"s 

 upw manual. Found on tlu? Missouri river. 

 Arrived about the tirst of Oi-tober, and said to 

 leave about tlie niidille nl I)ceend)ei-; some few 

 stiijing all winter. 



(159) C IIi/pi'i-lKin-d (I'all). Lesser Snow 

 Goose. Very abundant in rivers durinji migra- 

 tions, and Hies over in large numbers. Arrive 

 from the tirst of March till the tirst of April ; 

 also from the tirst till the last of Oetober. 



(171'() Ansei- alhifrous (llartl). Ameriean 

 White-fronted Goose, (^uite eommon during 

 spring migration. Arrive about the tirst of 

 March. 



(172) Bmnta canadensis (IJnn). Canada 

 Goose. Somewhat eommon during migrations, 

 from the first till the middle of May: also from 

 the first till about the last of Oetober, .\ughey 

 says, " Ver\' abundant in Nebraska and occa- 

 sionally breeds here after the great mass has 

 passed north in April, I have sometimes, later in 

 the season, seen young ones along the Missouri." 

 Parties frequenting the Missouri claim to have 

 seen their eggs floating down this river in late 

 si)ring or early summer. This goose is men" 

 tioned as migratory at Fort Sisseton, Dakota, 

 by McC'hesnej', and also in Kansas by Colonel 

 Goss. We have not observed this bird as a 

 summer resident, and think perhaps, the above 

 statements are erroneous. 



(172a) B. Caniidi'iixin hiitchiiisii (Sw. & 

 Rich). Hutchin's Goose. Probably may be 

 found within the state, but, has not been dis- 

 tinguished from B. canadensis. 



180) Olor columbianus (Ord). Whistling 

 Swan. Mentioned in the A. O. U. Check List 

 as inhabiting, " 'I'he whole of North America, 

 breiMling far north."' We have no ])ositive 

 evidence of it as a Nebraska bird. 



(181) O. buccinniittir (llicli). Trumpeter 

 Swan. A few are found all over the state in 

 the spring from the first of .\pril till May, and 

 in the fall from September till October. 



(190) Bataurus lentiyitwsiis {}/lontng). Am- 

 erican Bittern. Conmion summer resident in 

 dillerent parts of the state. Found here from 

 the first of April till the middle of October. 

 Generally found along llx' shallow waters of a 

 bog, or reedy marshes in some open territory 



near the rivers. Most abundant from the 

 middle till the last of April. Mr. C. J. Pierson, 

 a former student of the Normal, states that a 

 specimen killed April '21st 'S.i, contained in its 

 stomach two ground mice, and a snake six 

 inches long. Mr. VanVleet says, " The latter 

 part of October, 1884, I observed a Bittern 

 catch its breakfast of fish from a small stream 

 in Furnas county. I first saw the bird as it 

 emerged from the weeds and grass that over- 

 hung the stream. It moved very slowly and 

 silently, raising its foot clear of the water at 

 every step, and putting it down so carefully 

 that it caused hardly a rip])le. Near the middle 

 of the stream it stopi)ed, ami extended its neck 

 so slowly it could scarcely be seen move. This 

 it did till its beak almost touched the water; 

 when with the rapidity of lighting, it darted its 

 head into the water and seized a fish about two 

 inches long. It immediately returned to its 

 hiding place, to repeat the same operation. 

 This it did many times never failing to secure a 

 fish. 



(194) Ardi'ti herodias Linn. Great Blue 

 Heron. Occurs during spring and fall tnigra- 

 tions. (juite likely breeds in the state. Resi- 

 dents claim that they arrive on the Missouri in 

 numbers when the waters dry up, about the 

 first of .Inly, to catch the small fish. The 

 dates given by Aughey partlj' confirms this 

 statement. Said by some to nest on the jirairies 

 adjoining the river bluffs. 



(190) A. I'yrHta Gniel. American Egret. 

 Aughey mentions seeing a single specimen on 

 the Nemaha in Richardson county, extreme 

 south-east corner of the state, but this is not 

 confirmed by the dates given by Colonel Goss 

 for Kansas, namely, " Arrives from the south 

 in July and August; returns in September." 



(197) A. candidissina Gmel. Snowy Heron. 

 .Vughey mentions seeing this bird twice. 



(201) A. virfsci-ns lAnn. Green Heron. Does 

 not seem to be abundant. .lune 2nd, 18SS, found 

 a nest of this bird. Nest in the top of a dog- 

 wood; not less than twelve feet from the 

 ground ; wholly and loosely constructed of 

 willow twigs. Eggs three iji the nest and one 

 on the ground broken, probably owing to the 

 looseness of the nest; color between a pale 

 blue and a glaucous green, very pale ; form 

 elliptical fusiform; the small end being hardly 

 distinguishable from the larger end. Sizes of 

 the egg, 42 x 29m ; 40 x 29in. 



(202; yyrliciirnr nijclicorar naccins (Bodd). 

 Black-crowned Night Heron. Seem to be com- 

 mon on the streams during migrations and 

 have seen them in .lune. In a private letter. 



