:286 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



reported as " abundant " (Currier) and " common " (Praeger) in 

 Lee count}^; " coninion "' in Van Buren (Savage) and Scott (Wil- 

 son). The eggs are generally laid in a hole in a tree, a deserted 

 Woodpecker's hole. B. H. Wilson reports that in 1887 a pair 

 nested in a birdhouse in an oak tree in the heart of the city of 

 Davenport. Its habit of always using a bit of. cast-off snake skin 

 in the construction of its nest is famous and traditional. 



Genus Sayornis Bonaparte. 



195. (456). Sayornis phcebc (Lath.). Phoebe. 



The familiar Phoebe, Phoebe-bird, or Pewee, is an abundant 

 summer resident in all parts of Iowa. Its monotonous note of 

 pewit-phccbe is heard very early in the spring, as the birds fre- 

 quently arrive by the first of March and nest early in April. 

 The nest is usually affixed to the vertical side or on top of a cross 

 beam under a bridge, and few little country bridges can not boast 

 of a Phoebe's nest. Sometimes the nest is placed in the crevice 

 of a cliff, usually near a stream or in sheds and deserted buildings. 

 The eggs are three to five in number, normally white, but occa- 

 sionally sparsely dotted with brown. In 1893, o'^e pair, I think, 

 built four different nests, and eggs were takeij from four different 

 spots under the same bridge, as follows: June 3, four eggs, 

 advanced in incubation; June 13, four fresh eggs; July 3, four 

 eggs, slightly incubated ; July 22, four eggs; all were unspotted. 

 Its attachment to particular spots is very strong, and the birds 

 return to nest in the same place year after year. 



196. (457). Sayornis say a {^oxi2i^.). Say Phoebe. 



The Say Phoebe is a western species, of accidental occurrence 

 east of the Mississippi. It has been found in northern Illinois, 

 Wisconsin, Iowa, and more recently on Cape Cod, Massachusetts 

 (Miller, Auk, vii, 1890, p. 228). In Nebraska it is "practically 

 confined to the to the semi-arid portions of the state. Very com- 

 mon summer resident east to Chadron. Migrant in Holt county 

 and once at Lincoln. Extending slowly eastward" (Rev. Bds. 

 Neb, 1904, p. 67). 



Dr. I. S. Trostler records the species as a rare summer resident 

 in Mills county, and G. H. Berry states that he shot one female 

 at Hawarden, Sioux county, in 1890. 



