324 Simmons, Nesting of Texan Birds. [.fuly 



poking her with a stick had no effect other than to make her snap her 

 mandibles, so I was forced to use a hook and pull her out by the neck. 



These four eggs measured: 1.32 X 1.16; 1.31 X 1.12; 1.30 X 1.19; 

 and 1.30 X 1.17. 



Coccyzus americanus americanus. Yellow-billed Cuckoo. — 

 May 17, 1914, 1 found my only nest of this fairly common summer resident. 

 It was placed on the horizontal limb of a young pine on the edge of the 

 Buffalo Bayou woods four miles west of the city, and contained three eggs. 

 The nest was a slight platform about eleven feet up, through which I could 

 see with ease; it was composed of small pine twigs, about an eighth of an 

 inch in diameter and averaging six or eight inches long, and was much more 

 concave than I had expected. This shallow saucer was neatly, though 

 quite thinly lined with a few pine needles, a small quantity of Spanish moss 

 and several tiny buds. 



A week later I visited the nest and found that some bird, presumably the 

 rightful owner, had pecked a hole in one of the eggs and the nest was 

 deserted. The three eggs measured : 1.22 X .93; 1.20 X .94; and 1.20 X 

 .92. 



Ceryle alcyon alcyon. Belted Kingfisher. — On May 28, 1910, I 

 made an investigation of the sand banks along the south side of the Houston 

 ship channel (Buffalo Bayou) about six miles east of the city, bent on 

 finding the burrow of this bird, for on several occasions I had observed 

 individuals during the breeding season in that section. There the banks 

 were almost vertical, from eight to ten feet high, and had a narrow shelf 

 between their base and the water's edge. 



Several old tunnels were located, but as they were nearly all covered 

 with spider webs I passed them by. Finally, after walking and scrambling 

 about a half mile along the base of these sand banks, I came to a likely 

 looking hole about seven feet up and about a foot and a half from the turf 

 of the solid ground above. Several old roots offered footholds, and I was 

 soon peering into the cavity; with the aid of a mirror I ascertained that 

 the tunnel did not curve, and that it contained eggs. I did not attempt to 

 dig them out, but used a make-shift hoe (a piece of wire bent on the end of a 

 stick) and by careful work dragged out the eggs, six in number, together 

 with a small amount of rubbish on which they were laid. The parents did 

 not appear until I had already secured the eggs. 



This set of six measured: 1.35 X 1.08; 1.35 X 1.02; 1.33 X 1.09; 

 1.33 X 1.08; 1.32 X 1.09; and 1.30 X 1.07. 



Dryobates borealis. Red-cockaded Woodpecker. — In a certain 

 section of the pine woods on Buffalo Bayou, about eight miles west of 

 Houston, I had occasionally noted Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, and was 

 convinced they nested in that locality. But it was not until May 25, 1912, 

 that I had an opportunity to thoroughly investigate the locality. 



I had spent several hours searching before I saw the bird, clinging to the 

 side of a dead pine in a small clearing densely covered with thickets. -And 

 by the side of the bird was a likely looking hole. On my approach the bird 



