iSgi.] Brewster and Chapman oti Birds of the Smvancc Itivcr. t ^ I 



the brightest days occasionally they might be heard at noon. 

 They invariably responded to an imitation of their calls, and after 

 a short time wonld come into the trees directh' over our boat, on 

 several occasions descending to within fifteen or tw^cnty feet of 

 us, where in the light of the cabin we must have been plainly 

 visible to them. This familiarity gave us an excellent opportun- 

 ity to study their calls and actions. The customary call f)f xvhon- 

 •whun-ivhoo, ivhb-whoo^ to-ivhbb-ah^ was varied both as to 

 relative position and length of syllables, by the same individuals, 

 and was apparently the cry of question and response ; but \vhen 

 two birds, perhaps rival males, came together, there ensued a 

 striiving medley of sonorous luha-whas mingled with rolling 

 tvlidb-ahs, the whole bearing an odd resemblance to deep-voiced, 

 mirthless laughter. A singular concerted performance was fre- 

 quently heard and was always indulged in by two birds, one of 

 which gave utterance to about ten rapid hoots all on the same 

 note and ending with a whoo-ak, while the other, in a slightly 

 higher tone, at once joined in and, calling half as fist, uttered 

 about five hoots and a whbb-ah^ both performers concluding to- 

 gether. On one occasion we were fairly startled by a note new 

 to us, a single, prolonged, weird, gasping shriek, emphasized at 

 its conclusion like a cry of distress. We rarely heard this call ; 

 probably a high degree of excitement was required to joroduce it. 

 One night we threw the light of a jack-lamp full upon a bird as, 

 perched above us, he gave the customary whbb-whbb call. He 

 sat in the usual crouching position and did not move perceptibly 

 while uttering the sound. 



As we approached the mouth of the river, and while still some 

 fifteen miles from the Gulf, there occurred a marked change in 

 the character of the shores. The high hummock-grown banks 

 and pine-blufts were now left behind us and in their place appeared 

 comparatively dwarfed forests composed largely of cypresses and 

 bays with a mixture of cabbage palms, red maples and sweet 

 o-ums. At more or less frequent intei-\\als there were open savan- 

 nas of varying extent. The banks were low, and at high tide 

 scarcely observable, the water passing over them and flooding 

 the cypress swamps beyond. The bird life of the river was 

 affected by this change in the nature of the region and also 

 by our proximity to the Gulf. Swallow-tailed Kites were no 

 longer observed and Wood Ducks became comparatively rare. 



