J^ebraska Ornithologists' Union 83 



seen in spring than at any other time, usually in the val- 

 ley where they were following the cattle. 



y2. Xanthocephaliis xanthocephalus (Bonaparte) — Yellow- 

 headed Blackbird. 



On September 3, 1911, I saw a flock of about sixty Yel- 

 low-headed Blackbirds in a cornfield in the Loup valley; 

 May 17, 1912, I observed a single bird of the species, and 

 September 10 of the latter year the last birds that I saw 

 as my train left Halsey were these blackbirds — a flock of 

 them down by the river. The Yellovv^-headed Blackbird 

 breeds locally in the sandhill marshes of the state, but was 

 not observed near the Reserve during the summer, prob- 

 ably because of the absence of any extensive tracts of suit- 

 able marsh land. It is reported as a common migrant by 

 men on the Reserve, and was seen by F. M. Chapman in 

 May, 1906. 



73. Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus) — Red-winged Blackbird. 



Numerous Red-winged Blackbirds nested along the river 

 at Halsey where I found their nests placed in various sit- 

 uattions, from the ground up to six or eight feet above it. 

 The birds frequented marshy parts of the river bank more 

 commonly than other situations and were never seen far- 

 ther away from the water than the open valley land. 

 There is great probability that some or all of these birds 

 should be referred to the western form A. p. fortis Ridgway 

 but no specimens were taken to prove this supposition. 



74. Sturnella magna (Linnaeus) — Meadowlark. 



Chapman speaks of a single typical eastern Meadowlark 

 which he both saw and heard at Halsey on the 5th of May, 

 1906. This record is unique for the locality but the bird 

 was probably a member of a local colony of eastern Mead- 

 owlarks which breeds in the lake region of Cherry county, 

 adjoining Thomas county on the north. 



75. Sturnella neglecta Audubon — Western Meadowlark. 



The Western Meadowlark is a very common summer 

 resident and breeder in this region. On various occasions 

 in May and early June I flushed the birds from their nests 

 in the tufts of bunch-grass that dot the hills. So well are 

 the nests placed and so alike are the various bunches of 

 grass that a return to a given tuft and its occupants is de- 

 cidedly uncertain unless the place has been marked by 



