VOl 'l906 ni ] Williams, Birds of Leon County, Fla. 159 



Wilsonia mitrata. Hooded Warbler. — Of the pleasant recollections 

 of the fall of 1904 none will remain so indelibly impressed upon my memory 

 as those of the present species. The dry and lifeless skin of this bird excites 

 more than ordinaiy appreciation of the beauties of natural things, so how 

 much more intense must be that feeling when one can spend a morning in 

 a beautiful virgin forest inhabited by several pairs of the living birds? Such 

 was my privilege in that memorable season. In my former paper I was in 

 great doubt as to the status of this bird with us. I said it was a migrant, 

 never abundant. So the matter stood until August 17, 1904, when the 

 spirit of fall possessed me and I betook myself to Lively's woods for recre- 

 ation and relief from the endless vexations and annoyances of a profes- 

 sional life. No sooner had I climbed the wire fence than my presence dis- 

 turbed a pair of these birds which was feeding on the ground near the edge 

 of the woods. Their characteristic alarm notes resounded through the 

 forest and I was deeply sensible of the position I occupied — that of an 

 unwelcomed trespasser upon the domains of at least one of the legitimate 

 proprietors of that bounty of Providence. The birds were in a high state 

 of plumage, which stood out in well defined contrast to their dull-colored 

 surroundings, for the Hooded Warbler is a bird of the earth, his ambition 

 rarely taking him into the higher trees. Contented he is to spend his days 

 among the fallen leaves or in the humbler growth of swamp or forest. There 

 he shines and lives and is happy. There were six or eight pairs of them in 

 this woodland and when the necessities of the times did not demand my 

 presence elsewhere I could enjoy an hour or two in their midst, watching 

 their every movement with my field glasses. They seemed always actively 

 in search of food though they went at it very deliberately, in fact the bird 

 has a very phlegmatic disposition, in the fall at any rate, and its movements 

 are strangely different from those of any other warbler I know. On Oct. 

 16 they were still there. On the 26th an oppressive silence reigned through- 

 out the woodland — they had gone. 



Setophaga ruticilla. American Redstart. — Saw a female on August 

 19, 1904, in our yard. Sept. 23 they were common in Lively's woods. 

 None seen after Oct. 14. 



Anthus pensilvanicus. American Pipit. — In my former paper I said 

 I had never seen this bird. There was no truth in the statement. I had 

 seen it a hundred times but assumed it was the Vesper Sparrow and let the 

 matter rest. Lake Lafayette is a large body of water, no where very deep, 

 and there are seasons when it goes entirely dry, leaving a marsh stretching 

 to the east and west almost as far as the eye can distinguish objects the size 

 of a large oak. The whole body of land is covered with a growth of aquatic 

 grass which when burned off makes way for a succulent grass that cattle 

 are fond of. The place then becomes a pasture. I was so sure the bird 

 ought to be there and so anxious to verify the statements of my friend who 

 asserted the abundance of the species in the county, that on the evening of 

 Nov. 26, 1904, I stole away from my office and drove to the lake, only to 

 find overwhelming evidence of the accuracy of his assertion. The pasture 



