498 Wright and Harper, The Birds of Okcfinokee Swamp. [bet. 



in every portion of the swamp and surrounding country. In fact, only 

 the Red-bellied Woodpecker can compare with it in numbers and in wide- 

 spread distribution. On Maj r 28 we noted a nesting hole thirty feet up 

 in a pine tree, whither the parents were canying food. 



41. Myiochanes virens. Wood Pewee. — Rather common. It 

 seems to prefer the pines on the islands to anj^ other environment within 

 the swamp. In only a few instances was it observed among the cypresses. 



42. Empidonax virescens. Acadian Flycatcher; ' Tick-bird.' — 

 Common. This Flycatcher finds a congenial haunt in the gloom of the 

 cypress ' bays,' where one often hears its note as he paddles along the nar- 

 row runs. It also frequents the hammocks and the cypress ponds. 

 Within these shady retreats it appears unmindful of the summer tempera- 

 ture, and continues to utter its energetic call throughout the warmest and 

 brightest days. A nest was discovered north of Billy's Lake on May 20; 

 it was placed on a limb of a cypress sapling about ten feet above the water, 

 and contained two eggs. 



43. Cyanocitta cristata florincola. Florida Blue Jay; ' Jay- 

 bird.' — Not very common. All of our records are restricted to the larger 

 pine islands — - Billy's, Honejr, Floyd's, and Minne Lake Islands. A male 

 and a female taken on June 7 had only blueberries and huckleberries in 

 their stomachs. 



44. Corvus ossifragus. Fish Crow. — Uncommon. A few were 

 noted along the canal, May 17-18. The scarcity of Crows is a very notice- 

 able and gratifying feature of Okefinokee bird life. 



45. Dolichonyx oryzivorus. Bobolink. — Observed as a late mi- 

 grant in May: a flock of 10, Billy's Island, May 9; a flock of 40 along the 

 canal, May 17; and a male and a female on Floyd's Island Prairie, May 22. 



46. Agelaius phoeniceus floridanus. Florida Red-wing; ' Rice- 

 bird.' — ■ Common on the prairies in the northern portions of the swamp. 

 On the prairies south of Honey Island they were not so common, only a 

 few being seen on June 1 and 2. Along Billy's Lake and the Suwannee 

 none were observed. The only place where we found them in wooded 

 parts was the ' bay ' beside Minne's Lake, which is not far from prairies on 

 the east. On May 8 a nest with several eggs was found between Cowhouse 

 Island and the Big Water. On May 21 two more nests with three eggs 

 each were located on Floj-d's Island Prairie. 



47. Sturnella magna argutula. Southern Meadowlark;. ' Field 

 Lark '; ' Lark.' — Common in the pine barrens on the islands, and in the 

 country surrounding the swamp. Open as the woods are, one can hardly 

 become accustomed to the presence of the birds in a forested haunt. Some 

 of their notes, too, have a quality that sounds strange to one familiar with 

 the northern bird. On Honey Island we found young on the wing by 

 June 1. The natives do not consider this a beneficial species. 



48. Icterus spurius. Orchard Oriole. — A few were noted in the 

 region bej-ond the northern border of the swamp : Hebardville, Maj- 4, o, 

 and 24; Braganza, Ma} T 23. 



