164 



THE OSPREY. 



series of loud, discordant, vet in its higher 

 notes, musical, medley of sounds ending with 

 a harsh grating noise somewhat like the rust- 

 ling of the feathers of a Peacock's tail. Then 

 another takes up the song and sometimes a third 

 and then the whole performance is repeated 

 alternately several times to the evident satis- 

 faction of the birds themselves. I never saw 

 a female near by or taking" the least interest in 

 these exhibitions. The birds feed a great deal 

 while walking on the floating leaves of the lily 

 pads, even walking in the water, and picking 

 up insects an inch or more under the surface. A 

 very tame male frequented the river bank at 

 Orange Hammock and I saw it daily searching 

 for food at the water's edge. < hie day while it 

 was wading in the water a bass snapped at it; 

 it instantly jumped to a place of safety on the 

 bank and eyed the commotion in the water for 

 some time before making up its mind to retire 

 altogether. The next day it returned to the 

 spot and I watched it for some time. It walked 

 along the bank looking for food as usual, but 

 carefully refrained from wetting its feet. It 

 kept this up for several days, then evidently 

 forgot its previous fright, and when I left a 

 few days later it was wading as carelessly as 

 before. Nests began to be built about March 

 lb. Fresh eggs were obtained on the 20. Si. me 

 nests contained two eggs, one three, and most 

 one or none. Most of the nests were built in 

 the willows in small colonies of five or six, 

 always over water and rarely more than five 

 feet above it One nest was found at the river's 

 edge in the center of a bunch of sawgrass. 

 Female birds were shy and far less numerous 

 than the males. The five sets of eggs preserved 

 show a very great diversity of both size and 

 coloration. 



73. Yellow Bird. (Spinas tristis.) 

 A few seen and heard occasionally. 



74. Savanna Sparrow. (Coin niiatlus sand- 

 wit hensis savanna.) 



Common all over the low prairie region, and 

 even seen in yards. 



75. Yellow-winged Sparrow. (Cot urn un- 

 ites sava.nna.rum passerinus.) 



Occasionally found in the open pine woods. 



76. Chipping Sparrow. (Spizella socialis.) 

 A few seen about a house near Lake Kissira- 



mee. 



77. Pine-woods Sparrow. (Aimophila asti- 



valis.) . 



A few were secured in the pines near Lake 

 Arbuckle. 



78. Bachman's Sparrow. (Aimophila asstt- 

 valis bachmanii.) 



I shot one in the pines March Id, near Lake 

 Arbuckle. 



79. Swamp Sparrow. (Melospiza georgiana.) 

 Often seen in wet bushy places and generally 



solitary. 



80. Towhee. (Pipilo erythrophthalmus.) 



I took one specimen in a thick palmetto scrub 

 at Lake Arbuckle on March 8. the only one seen. 



81. Florida Towhee. (Pipilo erythroph- 

 thalmus alleni.) 



The common name of this bird is a misnomer 

 as its irides are not white, but streaked yel- 

 lowish with an ill defined reddish ring surround- 



ing the yellow. A common bird, keeping itself 

 well hid in the taller palmettos about the ham- 

 mocks and swamps. At Orange Hammock I 

 stood once for nearly ten minutes watching a 

 female bird which perched, almost motionless, 

 and not in the least frightened, less than five 

 feet from me. 



.x2. Florida Cardinal. (Cardinalis cardi- 

 nalis //orit/anns.) 



Fairly common about the larger hammocks. 

 Mr. Driggs permitted one to nest under his 

 pi irch for years. 



83. Purple Martin. (Progne subis.) 



A few pairs seen about dead trees in the pine 

 woods. 



84. White breasted Swallow. (Tachyci- 

 neta bicolor. i 



A number of dead birds were shown me in a 

 boathouse in Kissimmre. Small flocks were 

 seen occasionally, but resident winter birds had 

 evidently all been killed off by the unexpected 

 severity of the winter. 



85. Logger head Shrike. (Lanius ludovi- 

 cianus I 



A common bird. I saw one go on its nest on 

 a branch of a pine, and fully forty feet from the 

 ground. 



86. Yellow throated Vireo. {Vireo flavi- 

 frons.) 



Saw but two. 



87. Solitary Vireo. (Vireo solitaries.) 

 A few. 



88. White-eyed Vireo. (Vireo nevebora- 

 censis.) 



A few heard. 



89. Black-and-white Warbler. (Mniotilta 

 varia.) 



( >nlv saw three. 



90. Blue-yellowback. (Comp$oth lypis 

 americana.) 



Quite numerous about the edges of cypress 

 swamps; especially at Lake Arbuckle. 



91. Myrtle Wakkler. (Dendroica coronata.) 

 Extremely abundant about ( Irange Hammock, 



less so elsewhere. Usually feeding about the 

 burnt palmettos. A few individuals moulting. 



'C Yellow throated Warbler. (Den- 

 droica dominica. i 



I saw two on March 19, hunting about Til- 

 landsia in a liveoak at Orange Hammock. 



93. Pine Warbler. (Dendroica vigorsii.) 



Fairly well distributed throughout the pines. 

 Frequently seen hopping- about on the ground 

 in low wet grassy places in the pine woods. 



<)4. Palm Warbler. (Dendroica palmarum.) 



By far the most abundant bird of the genus; 

 especially so about Orange Hammock where it 

 could always be found in numbers about dead 

 weed stalks standing in the swamps bordering 

 the river. Tame; the spring moult just begin- 

 ning. 



95. Golden crowned Thrush. (Seiurus 

 aurocapillus.) 



I saw one by the side of the river on March 19. 



no. Water-thrush. (Seiurus noveboracensis.) 



Not over three or four seen. 



97. Southern Yellowthroat. (Geothlypis 

 trichas rosi oe. I 



Of regular distribution in suitable places. 

 Shy and hard to see owing to its habit of keep- 



