-M 



E # 00L0G1ST,«<- 



Vol. VI, 



ALBION, N. Y., APRIL, 1889. 



No. 4 



The Baptores of Michigan. 



1!Y SCOLOPAX, KALAMAZOO, 5IICH. 



EUinuM kcuruK (Yieill. ) White-lftiled 

 Kite; Black-slionldered Kite. 



This is a rare sipecies as a Michigau bird 

 ftud I feel uucertain about recordiug it here, 

 but canuot well ignore the species wheu it 

 is entered iu lists of Michigau birds. 



Dr. H. A. Atkius, an ul«erver for over 

 a quarter of a century at Locke, lugham 

 Co., Mich., wrote me shortly before his 

 uufortuuate taking off, that this si)ecies wits 

 " a rare summer resident'' iu his neighbor- 

 hood. A. B. Covert, of Ann Arbor, this 

 State, in his list " Birds of Washtenaw 

 County, Mich., " says: " .\. very rare 

 straggler from the soiith; two specimens 

 taken." It is on these authorities that I 

 embrace this species in this list. 



6V/T?M //w/.w/i?>« (LiKX.) Marsh Hawk; 

 Marsh Harrier; Harrier. 



This is an abimdant species iu many 

 sections of the State where suitable territory 

 can be found. In many quarters of Mich- 

 igan, forests are too dense and large,' and 

 where clearings do exist, the nature of the 

 surface is not of that character apprecii^ed 

 by the Harrier. However, locality seems 

 to have much to do with the preference of 

 the birds, entirely aside from the nature of 

 the surface. For example, there are many 

 sections of our State where the surface is 

 apparently exactly suited to the Marsh 

 Hawk, where an individual is never or rarely 

 seen. This bird was embraced by Dr. 

 Sager iu his pioneer list of Michigan birds 

 in 1839, and has been recorded by nearly 

 all lists since. Thus far, no lists or author- 

 ity from the Tipper peninsula, that I can 

 learn of, lists this species, nor did I find it 

 there It, however, is foiind undoubtedly, at 

 least to a limited extent north of the Straits 

 of Mackinaw as it is found in the British 

 possessions. 



Afarch 10 is niv earliest recorded arrival 



in the southern part of the State, and the 

 birds generally are not seen before the lo 

 or 20 of that month and sometimes, in late 

 seasons, I believe even later. Our first 

 knowledge of their presence as well as our 

 last record of them about November 10, is 

 by seeing one sailing across a field with 

 that gentle undulating motion so character- 

 istic of the species. Perhaps it is a marshy 

 tract over which the the new arrival wends his 

 waj', and this more probable if the mercury 

 is much below the freezing point, from the 

 reason that the small mammals are moving 

 earlier in the spring than those of the dry 

 upland fields, and especially are they more 

 active on a cold day than their relatives of 

 greater altitudes. I have especially noted 

 that this bird when inclined to hunt about 

 the fields and uplands, invariably selects 

 southern slopes of hills in cold weather. 

 thereby gathering a greater harvest than 

 would be found on the northern slope, 

 where the small mammals keep within their 

 holes. About May first to tenth the birds 

 begin to jiair, that is, go through all of 

 the extravagant manifestations of the spring 

 alliance, usually common to birds in this 

 quarter. I am aware that the Raptores are 

 generally supposed to be mated for life, 

 and do not doubt it, but certain I am that 

 birds that I have observed, of several 

 different species of hawks are given to great 

 demonstrations each spring. At this time 

 the male makes a peculiar cry or scream 

 and is not infrequently answered by the 

 female. The scream uttered is a ky yf, 

 something like a small dog's alarm when 

 alarmed, and is almost continuous 

 minute or so by turns. The note 

 hai-sh than that of any of the hawks, 

 scream is not uttered while the 

 hunts. 



The nest is placed, always, so far as I 

 am able to learn, in a marsh on a hummock 

 of from one to three feet elevation above 

 the surrounding surface. Generally a 

 good deal of water hasto be waded through 



for a 



is less 



The 



bird 



