2l6 ScotT on the Birds of the Ciilooaahafchie Rro-ioii f.t'ilv 



the nevSt of the Common Crow (^Corvus americanus), but perhaps a little 

 larger. The third nest was in a pine tree on the edge of one of the 

 wooded 'islands' of the prairie. It was similar in structure to the two 

 already spoken of and was about forty feet from the ground. All of these 

 nests contained young birds, and two was the number in each nest. Two 

 taken from the last nest mentioned were probably about three weeks old, 

 and still in the down which was of a dirty cream color, except on the head 

 where the pattern of the dark cap, characteristic of adult birds, was clearly 

 marked by a dark brown down. The wings and back were also darker 

 than the other part.s of the bird. 



The eggs are laid late in February or early in March, and Capt. 

 Menge tells me that two is the full complement. 



Strix pratincola. — A rather rare resident, but of regular occurrence. 

 Capt. Menge found a pair breeding on the hull of an abandoned dredge 

 that had belonged to the company engaged in draining and reclaiming 

 land in the vicinity of Lake Okeechobee, and he tells me tlie birds are 

 not uncommon in large cypress swamps on the northeast side of the 

 lake. 



Megascops asio floridanus. — The number of eggs laid by this sub- 

 species so far as I am aware does not exceed three, being in marked con- 

 trast to its northern representative. On April ii I obtained a female and 

 and three young perhaps three days old. The nest was in a deserted 

 Woodpecker's hole in a dead palmetto. On April 13 I took a female, 

 with three eggs almost ready to hatch. The nest was in a location simi- 

 lar to that found on the nth. In this part of Florida my experience 

 goes to show that the majority of individuals are in the red phase of 

 plumage. 



Speotyto cunicularia floridana. — - Found commonly on the prairies back 

 of the hammock on the north side of the river, opposite to Fort Thomp- 

 son. This prairie is known as the 'big prairie,' and reaches from the 

 north bank of tlie Caloosahatchie to Fort Ogden, and varies in width 

 from twent}' to thirty miles, being upwards of fifty miles in extent north 

 and south. It is almost a level plain, there being but little difference, pos- 

 sibly four or five feet, in its elevation at different points. Here and there 

 are ponds and sloughs, from one to fifteen acres in extent. These were 

 all dry at the time of my visit, the week between April 8 and 16. The 

 sloughs sometimes run for many miles and are generally from a hundred 

 feet to a hundred yards wide. Tliere was no water in any of these sloughs 

 at the time I visited this region. The water in these ponds and sloughs 

 during the rainy season varies in depth from a few inches to four or five 

 feet. Back from ponds and sloughs the ground rises gradually till an el- 

 evation of perhaps three feet is attained, and there is a sparse growth of 

 scrubby saw palmetto, a kind of huckleberry, and some coarse grasses. 

 This is the general character of the growth on the prairie. At varying dis- 

 tances this arid flat expanse is broken by what correspond to the 'bay heads' 

 and cypress swamps of the pine forests already spoken of. The smaller 

 'islands,' one to five acres in extent, here generally consist of a growth of 



