Vol. XXI 

 1904 



Stockard, Woodpeckers and Vultures in Mississippi. 4^9 



— Many cases were noted of the second set in the same burrow 

 from this woodpecker when the first eggs of the season had been 

 removed. Careful observations were not made to find whether 

 the laying would continue after the second set had been taken. 

 The Red-head was found to begin laying later in the season 

 than any other member of the family. May 12, 1901, was the 

 earliest full set seen, and fresh eggs have been found as late as 

 June 14. This species was also found to excavate a new nest 

 each season, and was not seen to take an old burrow, though 

 many were often to be had in the same tree. 



Catharista urubu. Black Vulture. — The Black Vulture 

 was found depositing her egg in more widely different situations 

 than any other bird observed. The favorite site was a large hol- 

 low log, or a tree having a huge hollow base with an opening only 

 a few feet up, so that the female might be able to jump out of the 

 nest. Below are the conditions in which this species was found 

 depositing its eggs : 



One pair for three seasons nested in a large hollow sycamore 

 log that lay across a small stream and served as a ' foot log ' for a 

 little-used path in a swampy wood. At least three people a day 

 must have walked over the log as the Vulture sat calmly on her 

 eggs. After the three years the log was not observed further. 

 This situation was rather noisy for a bird so retiring in its nesting 

 habits. March 16, 1901, a set of two eggs was found lying on 

 the bare ground under a large tree that had been uprooted and 

 had fallen so that its trunk made an angle of about fifteen degrees 

 to the earth. The eggs were placed below this trunk, which was 

 four and one half feet above them, and thus the slanting sun rays 

 could have fallen upon the spot but for the heavy foliage of the 

 wood. March 19, 1902, two sets of two eggs each were found on 

 the naked ground in a dense cane thicket which formed the under- 

 brush on a thickly wooded slope. Many vultures were evidently 

 laying here as large numbers of them were in the trees overhead. 

 But the thicket was so dense that it was next to impossible to get 

 about to find the eggs. 



March 23, 1902, a vulture's nest was seen in a very queer loca- 

 tion. This was in a cave in the side of a steep clay bank which 

 bordered a creek. The entrance to the cave was about seven feet 



