A Jievised List q/ Cincinnati Birds. 25 



thirty-seven of which belong to the SylvicolidcB, and thirty-three to the 

 Fringillidai. In other inland localities, however, Dr. Cones' rnle ap- 

 pears to hold good, as the FrincfiUida' slightly outnnniber the Sylvi- 

 colidce in Illinois' and Minnesota,^ and exceed themb}' fourteen species 

 in Kansas.^ 



Of our remaining families of " Land Birds," the Thrushes are noted 

 for their song, the Titmice and Wrens for their activity, the Swallows 

 for their grace and endurance on the wing, and the Tanager and Hum- 

 ming Bird for the tropical vividness of their plumage. The Wood- 

 peckers attract our attention bj^ their peculiar habits; Owls are popu- 

 larly' supposed to possess an unusual share of wisdom; and while some 

 of the Falconid(B are famous for their strength and daring, one at 

 least, the emblem of the republic, is infamous as " a piratical parasite'' 

 of the industrious Fish-hawk. Our Cowbird, which is classed with 

 the Icteridoi or Orioles, is notorious for imposing its eggs on other 

 species in the manner of the Cuckoo of Europe; while the American 

 Cuckoo builds a nest and reai'S its own young. It is by no means 

 certain however that this is invariably the case with the latter species, 

 as I am informed by Dr. A. J. Howe, that he has in one instance known 

 our Cuckoo (probably the Yellow-billed species) to lay in a Robin's 

 nest; and, watching the nest from day to day he finally observed that 

 the Robin had hatched the Cuckoo's egg along with her own. Nuttall, 

 quoted by Baird, Brewer and Ridgway, also mentions finding an egg of 

 the Yellow-billed Cuckoo in a Catbird's nest, and another in the nest 

 of a Robin. {North American Birds, Vol. 2, p. 480.) 



Of our " Water Birds," the most noticeable family is the Anatido', 

 comprising the Swans, Geese and Ducks, of which twenty-seven spe- 

 cies haA'e been identified in this vicinit}'. These are all migrants with 

 us, but some of the ducks are known to breed in the State at suitable 

 localities, as at St. Mary's Reservoir and on the marshes in the neigh- 

 borhood of Lake Erie. The Wood Duck has also been seen with a 

 brood of very small 3'oung, on the Little Miami river, within a few 

 years. Some of the Herons (Ardetdo') and the Cranes {Gruidoe) are 

 remarkable for their size and peculiar plumage ; and one of our Galli- 

 nules [Porphyrio martinica) is entitled to especial consideration as a 

 tropical visitor of unusually frequent occurrence recently, five speci- 



1 See " Birds of North-eastern Illinois," by E. W. Nelson.— ^('//<=^'« of the Essex Jnstiiufe, 

 Vol. viii., Dec., 187G. 



2 See " Catalogue of the Birds of Minnesota," by P. L. Hatch, U-D.—JBidlethi Minne- 

 sota Academy of ^ulitral Sciences, 1874. 



3 "A Catalogue of the Birds of Kansas," by Professor F.H Snow, of the Kansas Acad- 

 emy of Science. Third edition, 1875. 



