156 



THE OOLOGIST. 



due some of Nature's freest gifts, rocks 

 and sassafras bushes, — except 1893 

 (when we were away) and since then 

 we have been re-subduing them. How- 

 ever, the birds sing on just as merrily 

 as before we came, I suppose, at least 

 I have not learned that any have be- 

 come extinct from our intrusion, 

 though a few whose eggs are the least 

 desired in our collection and were 

 formerly quite numerous are almost 

 M^anting this season. The Bluebird, 

 "Red-head" and Carolina Wren have al- 

 most deserted us this year, and if their 

 food is any the less plenty I cannot ac- 

 count for it. 



One peculiarity in our avi fauna here 

 is that there are no birds that seem to 

 depend on the fai'm and meadow for a 

 nesting site. The Quail, Chippy, Blue- 

 bird, Catbii'd, Wren and Cardinal all 

 nest promiscuously throughout the for- 

 est, and I have not as yet found a sin- 

 gle nest except that it be in the timber. 

 Even the Dove nests in the woods. 

 Another strange feature to me is that I 

 have never found a nest in a Black Gum 

 one of our most plentiful trees, and 

 one too Ihat furnishes all fruit-eating 

 birds a goodly portion of their winter's 

 store. At my old home in Indiana, 

 the Hummer seldom built on anything 

 but the Beech. Here we have not the 

 Beech, but there is no tree nearer like 

 it for manner of growth, and shape of 

 limljs, etc., than the Gum; but Mrs. 

 Ruby-throat builds preferably in White 

 Oak on the mountain, and in the corky- 

 barked Sweet Gum of the "bottoms," 

 entirely different looking from the 

 Beech . 



So far 1 have had but little time to 

 spend collecting and have only been 

 able to secure what I find in passing 

 about my work, while iiiany a set I 

 have missed because to far from home, 

 when the time came for gathering. I 

 learned while some 18 miles above here 

 on the I'iver, that Ravens built in the 

 cliffs there every year. But that 18 



miles of rocky road and the uncertainty 

 of success have kept me away for five 

 years. Twice I have found nests of 

 Red-cockaded Woodpecker, but each 

 were in large, tall, live pines with 

 limbs high up and both trees covered 

 with resin, and two miles from home. 



Pileated Woodpeckers are more plen- 

 tiful than Crows, but they are equally 

 wary and as squirrels are plentiful and 

 have numerous excavations timilar in 

 size, shape and location to those of the 

 birds and it is the Woodpecker's nature 

 to be prying into everything, one is not 

 sure of a nest being located until he 

 sees the bird fly from the same hole on 

 different occasions. Many a hard 

 climb I have had over rough bark be- 

 lieving I would soon be in possession 

 of the coveted eggs, only to be dis- 

 gusted at finding the nest to be a squir- 

 rel's den. 



I did not know till this spring how 

 mean (v) a bird the "Guinea" Wood- 

 pecker is. I had a difficult climb to 

 one's nest three or four years ago; 

 found the bird appai'ently sitting, but 

 no eggs. This spring they built or 

 rather excavated in the top i f a tall 

 ash near the house. I waited for full 

 two weeks after all hammering had 

 ceased and to my displeasure found an 

 empty Woodpecker's hole. The same 

 pair of birds then began a nest (I 

 thought) in an oak on the other side of 

 the house and after about a month of 

 woi'k and [lalavering around have left 

 the country. 



Besides the above birds mentioned 

 some of our commoner ones are, Black 

 Vulture; Wild Turkey; Barred Owl; 

 Kentucky, Hooded, Yellow, Prothon- 

 otaiy and Black and White W^arblers; 

 Yellow-throated and ^Warbling Vireos; 

 Ovenbird; Winter and Bewick's Wrens; 

 Traill's Flycatcher; Blue-gray Gnat- 

 catcher, Whip-poor-will; Chuck-will's- 

 widow; with an occasional Bald Eagle, 

 White Pelican, White Heron and 

 Double-Crested Cormoi-ant. 



C. E. Pleas. 



