Birds Near Minco, Oklahoma 7 



wood along the South Candian River, and on the uplands they were 

 seen on the ground or on fence posts. On May 31 one was seen 

 sitting across a wire on a fence as any perching bird might do. 

 When flushed it flew to another wire and again alighted across it. 

 The courtship antics of the males were observed daily. Mounting 

 sixty or eighty feet above the female the male would turn and dash 

 down past her, turning abruptly, decurving the wings strongly, 

 and at the same time producing the familiar whirring boom. Their 

 loud call notes came to my ears constantly. No nests were seen. 



21. Chordciles Virginians henryi Cassin. — Western Nighthawk. 



A male secured May 24 and two females shot on May 31 repre- 

 sent this form. The male and one female are typical, while the 

 other female is intermediate between C. v. henryi and lioivelli. In 

 the first two the upper parts are strongly suffused with tawny and 

 in all three the paler markings are much more rufous or reddish 

 than in Jiowelli. These birds were without doubt migrants follow- 

 ing up the South Canadian River to breeding grounds about its 

 headwaters in New Mexico. This is the most eastern record for 

 this subspecies as restricted by Oberholser, and the birds secured 

 were some distance from their breeding range.^ Nighthawks are 

 often late migrants so that these May specimens are not notable 

 in respect to the time at which they were taken. 



22. Muscivora forficata (Gmelin). — Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. 

 Common. One male was secured May 24, one female on May 25 



and four males on May 26. These birds were found in the open 

 country usually where small trees or bushes afforded perches. The 

 males were conspicuous, the females seen seldom. Prom the num- 

 ber of these flycatchers observed on May 26, I believed that part 

 were still in migration. The call note was a harsh, sharp note, 

 somewhat like that of Tyrannus tyranmis. The flight was straight, 

 with the tail at times opening and closing. Males in display often 

 varied this direct flight by a series of quick zigzags up and down, 

 with the tail opening and closing and the bird calling loudly, a 

 crazy skydance brilliant with vivid color. The whole performance 

 reminded me of one of the " nigger chasers," whose blazing, erratic 

 course delights the small boy on our great national holiday. Males 

 seemed conscious of their conspicuous appearance and were wild. 

 Often they flew ahead of me out of range, lighting on small bushes, 

 weed stems, or even on the ground when out on the open prairie. 

 May 25 I found a nest half completed, built of down from the cot- 

 tonwoods and strippings from weathered weed stems. It was 

 placed in a bush six feet from the ground, with no attempt at con- 

 ' Oberholser, H. C, Monograph of Genus Chorcdiles, Bull, 86, U. S. 

 Nat. Mus., 1914, p. 65. 



