136 



THE OOLOGIST. 



part of each clay and seemed to have 

 stopped migrating, but Saturday the 

 29th in the afternoon the sun came 

 out and soon all had disappeared. Al- 

 though the nights are now cool, the 

 Chuck wills Widow and Whip-poor- 

 wills are still with us. The berries 

 on the black gum, holley and dog- 

 wood trees are abundant this year, all 

 serving as excellent food for the Rob- 

 ins and Flickers during their stay in 

 this section. A late pair of Ospreys in 

 my back woods still have young un- 

 able to fly. They must hurry or frosty 

 nights will catch them ere they can 

 fish for themselves. 



H. H. Bailey. 



Denver, Colo., May 13, 190S. 

 Editor "The Oologist", 



Dear Sir, 



In the April Oologist the Rev. P. B. 

 Peabody takes occasion to criticize 

 the Condor and also the well known 

 scientist, Mr. E. R. Warren, of Colo- 

 rado Springs, in connection with an 

 alleged incorrect statement regard- 

 ing the nesting habits of the Arkan- 

 sas Kingbird. 



He concludes his criticism with 

 these words "Now in the two cases 

 here given the birds in question be- 

 yond the vestige of a doubt were Say's 

 Phoebes. The Western Kingbird has 

 never been proven to nest in this 

 manner, etc." 



Upon what facts or authority Mr. 

 Peabody bases this unequivocal state- 

 ment would be interesting to know, 

 but to one who is intimately acquaint- 

 ed with the habits of Tyrranus ver- 

 ticalis, his lack of information on this 

 subject is certainly surprising, es- 

 pecially for one of his standing in 

 Ornithological matters. 



Mr. Peabody's statement that the 

 Western (or Arkansas) Kingbird has 

 never been proven to nest in the man- 

 ner mentioned is hardlv tenable in 



the face of standard authorities. 

 Davies mentions a number of various 

 nesting sites, including fence posts, 

 frame work of a windmill, cornice of 

 a house, etc., while Bendire, quoting 

 ;Mr. Wm. G. Smith one of the most 

 careful and accurate Colorado observ- 

 ers says that they "nest occasionally 

 on ledges" and further gives numer- 

 ous instances of similar nesting sites. 

 These two authorities alone are with- 

 out doubt stifficient to "prove" almost 

 any point upon which they both agree 

 perfectly, and a close study of their 

 opinions oh this question will be' 

 much more conclusive than anything 

 I might say on the subject. 



The writer's intimate acquaintance 

 with T. verticalis has extended over 

 a period of ten years and covers not 

 only eastern and western Colorado, 

 but also numerous localities in Utah, 

 Nevada, Idaho and Oregon, and I 

 have no hesitancy in saying that 

 throughout this vast stretch of coun- 

 try, the Western Kingbird nests fully 

 as often about buildings, fences, etc., 

 as it does in trees, and this is not the 

 result of examining a few nests only, 

 for I have literally seen hundreds of 

 nests in the past several years. 



Throtighout western Colorado, Ne- 

 vada and Idaho it is seldom indeed 

 that a stockyard, or corral is to be 

 found without one or more pairs of 

 these birds nesting in one of the 

 many nooks perfectly suited to their 

 needs. In the prairie region of east- 

 eirn Colorado windmills are a favorite 

 nesting site, and in the mountainous 

 portions of the state a large majority 

 of the abandoned cabins ftirnishes a 

 nesting site for these birds. 



I have fotind their nests many times 

 between the two upright posts of a 

 pole fence immediately adjoining 

 heavily timbered ground and there 

 can be no possible question but what 

 sitr-s of this kind or about buildings 



