August, 1893.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



between. The river sloughs, in close prox- 

 imity to wooded districts, seem to be avoided, 

 but those bordering open lakes and rivers are 

 undoubtedly its rendezvous. As Mr. Ridg- 

 way has said, " the geographical range of the 

 Vellow-headed Blackbird is quite co-exten- 

 sive with the treeless districts of the western 

 half of the continent." 



Referring to the reports, we find it reported 

 from counties 5, 6 and 7 as very abundant; 

 in No. 8, considered rare ; in No. 10, found 

 sparingly. Here we have a group of five 

 counties, in three of which the bird is abun- 

 dant, and two in which it is found sparingly. 

 The numerous lakes and large sloughs in the 

 former three, and the absence of them, com- 

 paratively, in the latter two, is evidently the 

 cause of this. Reported from Xo. 3 as not 

 found near Rockford, but has been found in 

 the Kiswanke Bottoms, ten miles south. Re- 

 port from Davenport, Iowa, opposite No. 15, 

 clearly indicates its rarity in that vicinity- 

 In No. 16, reported as found in great abun- 

 dance in the northern part of the county, 

 and its comparative absence in the southern 

 portion quite conspicuous. Due to the 

 northern portion having extensive sloughs. 

 From Ottawa, on the Illinois River, No. 18, 

 reported as not found, although there are 

 numerous prairie sloughs. Inasmuch as this 

 county is quite large, and being represented 

 by only one report, that from the central por- 

 tion, I think the bird may be found breeding 

 in some other part of it. I am strengthened 

 in my belief as Mr. Barnes reports it as breed- 

 ing commonly in No. 24. In No. 25, re- 

 gards it as a rare summer resident. From No. 

 26, reported as not found, probably owing 

 to the absence of marshy districts. In the 

 vicinity of No. 31, reports show that it is of 

 rare occurrence, evidently passing as a tran- 

 sient. In the central part of the state, in 

 Nos. 33, 34 and 36, reported as a rare mi- 

 gratory bird. From No. 40, Mr. Pearson 

 writes that it is a summer resident. In the 

 southern half of the state it seems to be of 

 T9.XC occurrence, if found at all. No record 



of it from Nos. 77, 88 and 95. In the vi- 

 cinity of St. Louis, reported as a rare straggler, 

 but from No. 92 it is said to pass through as 

 a migrant. Perhaps the Wabash River is ac- 

 countable for this, as it is the highway for 

 many transient species. I quote the follow- 

 ing from Mr. Ridgway's excellent work, " Or- 

 nithology of Illinois " : " The Vellow-headed 

 Blackbird appears to be confined to the prairie 

 districts of the northern ])ortion of the state ; 

 at least there seems to be no record of its 

 occurrence elsewhere. The writer thought he 

 once heard its note at Mt. Carmel, but was 

 unable to discover the bird and may have 

 been mistaken ; but he was never able to find 

 it on the prairies of Richland County, in 

 marshy situations where the red-wings were 

 abundant." \\'hile glancing over the list of 

 birds observed in the middle and southern 

 parts of the state by Robt. Kennicott, I find 

 the following concerning the Saffron-headed 

 Blackbird : " This bird I observed near Xan- 

 dalia in July. I am informed that it nests 

 in various parts of Southern Illinois." Van- 

 dalia is in Fayette County, No. 67, and if 

 the bird was found here in July, it certainly 

 must have been breeding. This list was pub- 

 lished in the year 1855, and we would prob- 

 ably err should we suppose that the present 

 range of this bird is the same as it was thir- 

 ty-eight years ago. However, it may yet be 

 found in certain portions of the southern half 

 of Illinois, but we are yet to hear of it. 



The reports do not contain sufficient in- 

 formation on the migration of this species to 

 permit dwelling on the subject. In the spring 

 migration, the Yellow-head mingles with the 

 Red-wings, Crackles, Bobolinks and Cow- 

 birds. Mr. Pearson writes that the Yellow- 

 heads arrive in the spring with the Red-wings, 

 and depart in the fall in immense flocks. 

 Mr. \Vidmann communicates that he observed 

 female Yellow-headed Blackbirds in company 

 with Bobolinks and female Red-wings. The 

 recognition of this bird is not difficult, being 

 easily identified at sight. It is not to be 

 overlooked, if to be found, as it is quite con- 



