18 Allison, Spring Birds of Tishomingo Co., Miss. [jan 



20. Dryobates pubescens. Downy Woodpecker. — ■ Common. 



21. Dryobates borealis. Red-cockaded Woodpecker. — Fairly com- 

 mon; very noisy, and not likely to be overlooked when present. 



22. Ceophloeus pileatus. Pileated Woodpecker. — Common, and 

 not especially shy; nor does it confine itself to the deeper forests. 



23. Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Red-headed Woodpecker. — 

 Not common; it prefers large dead trees in clearings, and these are hardly 

 to be had in this region. The same explanation can probably be offered 

 in the case of the absent Sparrow Hawk. 



24. Centurus carolinus. Red-bellied Woodpecker. — Not un- 

 common; mainly confined to the creek woods. I noticed that it utters 

 many of the notes of the preceding species; it is an undoubted fact that 

 there is much local variation in the notes of this bird. 



25. Colaptes auratus. Flicker. — Common. 



26. Antrostomus carolinensis. Chuck-will 's-widow. — Common; 

 but less so than the succeeding species, and arriving later. I heard Whip- 

 poor-wills from the night of my arrival in the valley, April 18, but the voice 

 of this more southern bird was not added to the caprimulgine chorus until 

 April 22. It was common after April 28. 



27. Antrostomus vociferus. Whip-poor-will. — Very common. 

 The song generally commenced about seven o'clock, on clear nights; and 

 once I heard a Whip-poor-will cry at five in the morning. I heard none 

 at all in bad weather. 



28. Chordeiles virginianus. Nighthawk. — Fairly common. None 

 were seen until April 24, and I never noted the species as really common. 



29. Chaetura pelagica. Chimmey Swift. — ■ Common, and of normal 

 habits. I found a nest in the chimney of a deserted cabin in the heart 

 of the hills; and they nested also in the occupied farm-houses. 



30. Trochilus colubris. Ruby-throated Hummingbird. — Common; 

 the bulk arrived April 22. 



31. Tyrannus tyrannus. Kingbird. — Fairly common; it did not 

 arrive in breeding numbers until about May 1, and never became abundant. 



32. Myiarchus crinitus. Crested Flycatcher. — Common from the 

 time of my arrival 



33. Sayornis phoebe. Phosbe. — I thought I heard one of these birds 

 on April 18, and later on I discovered it to be a rare breeder. In the 

 tunnel I have before referred to, cut in the rotten limestone of a steep 

 hillside, I found a nest perched on a narrow ledge about six feet up. It 

 was composed externally of green moss, and contained four young a few 

 days old; they were silent, unemotional little creatures, and made no 

 demonstration when I took the nest down to see them more closely, or 

 when I replaced it. 



The mother waited outside the tunnel, calling frequently. It struck 

 me as singularly appropriate that the first rocky cave I had entered- in 

 Mississippi should hold a Phoebe's nest; for in less typical situations we 

 have never noted the bird except as a winter resident. 



