194 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Birds of Bertie County, N. C. 



Followiiiir Mr. ('lute's and others cx- 

 aiuplc, I will ciidcavor to interest the 

 readers of the ()<jl()(UST with a descri])- 

 tion of a i)art of the birds of this eouiity. 



Of the Thrush family the Catbird is 

 the most numerous, and is only a sum- 

 mer resident, migrating South in the 

 latter part of September. Tiie Wood 

 'I'lirusli eouu's next and is (piite coni- 

 inon during the suainier months. The 

 Kobiii is an abundant winter resident, 

 migrating North when spring oj)ens, 

 to bi-eed. 



The BIuel)ird is a resident at all limes 

 and l)uil(l Iheii" nest in any suitable 

 l)laee. 



The Blue-gray (Inateatelier is not 

 very eomnion, and is only a sumniei' 

 resident. This s])eeies eonstiaiet the 

 nieest nest of any bird that it has ever 

 In-en my lot to find. 



The Carolina Chickadee is eommou 

 during the summer and breeding season 

 I eolleeted a set of this Chickadee last 

 April, and the nest was a hole excavat- 

 ed in the dead to]) of a }icar tree. It 

 contained six eggs l)ut J Indke one in 

 trying to get them. 



Of the Nuthatches the Brown-headed 

 is quit common. Indeed, it is the on- 

 ly one that breeds here, I believe. 

 These birds always excavate a hollow 

 for their nest in almost any suitable^ 

 place; but nearly always in the new 

 grounds when there are anj' high 

 sturaj)s. 



The Carolina Wren take the lead of 

 all the rest of the \Vrens in numbers 

 aliout here. Resident. 



Of the Warblers the Iloode.i Warbler 

 is liie only one that 1 know anything 

 alout. Tliese birds alwas build their 

 ntst in the small under-l)ushes, and 

 only a few feet from the ground, gen- 

 erally not more than three feet . Sum- 

 mer resident. 



Vircos. The Red-eyed Virco is (he 

 only representative of these beautiful 



nest makers in this county, 1 think. 

 Summer resident. 



The Bank Swallow is quite common 

 in the spring during the migration. 

 They are said to breed in the banks 

 along the Albemai'le Sound. 



That great pest, theEnglish Si)arrow, 

 has not got in this county yet. The 

 most common s))arrows in the summer 

 are the Song and Chipping S])arrows, 

 and in the winter the Swamp and Y(!l- 

 low-winged S])arrowsare very common. 



Crows. The American and Fish 

 Crows are the only biids of this fami- 

 ly that art' seen in this t'ounly. They 

 are both numerous. The Fish Crow is 

 a summer resident, while the American 

 Crow is a resident at all times. 



The Meadow Lark is the only Lark 

 here and it is a winter resident. 



Flycatchers. The Acadian andCri'st- 

 ed Flycatchei's are conunon, and mi- 

 grate South on the ajjproach of winti'r. 



The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is 

 the only of this species that we see in 

 our gardens. Common sninmer resi- 

 dent. 



The Chimney Swift is c( mmon, l)uild- 

 ing in almost every chimney that it can. 

 Summer resident. 



The Chuck-wills Widow, Whi})oor- 

 will and Night Hawk are all common. 

 Almost an}' night in the l)reeding season 

 one can hear three or four Chuck-Avills 

 Widows at a time. Summer icsidents. 



The Pileated W%)0(li)eck er is common 

 and is to Ix^ met with in almost any 

 swamj). The Golden-wingetl and 

 Downy Woodpeckers are the most 

 numerous residents. 



The Belted Kinghshei' is to be seen 

 freipiently along streams <>f clear water, 

 in which there are ])lenty of lish. 



'Ihe Black and Yell(.w-bii]( d Cuckoos 

 are l)oth here in summei'. 



Ofthe()w!s, the Barred 0\\\ is the 

 most numerous, although the Great and 

 Little Horned Owls are to be met with 

 occasionally. 



Birds. ,f Prev. The K.d shoid<!.red 



