328 



LooMis 0)1 South Carolina Birds. \ 0^■u^\ • 



11. Colaptes auratus. Flicker. — Only :i few were observed, these 

 about the cleaiingss and in the open woods. 



12. Chaetura pelagica. Chimney Swift. — Everj day they were seen 

 about the openings and above the tree tops of the unbroken forest. 



13. Trochilus colubris. Ruby-throated Hummingbird. 'IIiimming- 

 J5IRJ3.' — Common, alike in the dark, heavily-wooded ravines and on the 

 sunny ridges about the hotel. 



14. Myiarchus crinitus. Crested Flycatcher. — Preferred the more 

 open places in the woods. Common. 



15. Sayornis phoebe. Phcebe. 'Gnatcatcher.' — A pair had a nest 

 containing eggs over a door in one of the hotel piazzas on my arrival, 

 May 26. I was told that a brood had already been reared by these birds, 

 and that the nesting site was one that had been used for a number of years. 

 At the summits this species was found only in situations exposed to the 

 sun, as about the cliffs and in' the little fields. 



16. Contopus virens. Wood Pewee — The Wood Pewee was one of 

 the commoner birds of the locality. Young-of-the-year, strong of wing, 

 were noted from the outset. 



17. Empidonax acadicus. Acadian Flycatcher. — The altitude of 

 about 2500 feet appeared to limit their vertical range. Along the Middle 

 Saluda they were common; this stream alYording an avenue from the foot 

 of the mountains. 



iS. Cyanocitta cristata. Blue Jay. — Rather irregularly distributed 

 and not very common. 



19. Corvus corax . Raven. — The croak of the Raven is a familiar 



sound at the crest of these mountains, a day scarcely passing without one 

 or more being seen or heard. The cliffs on Caesar's Head and the neigh- 

 boring heights are said to be nesting places. Their attachment to one of 

 these inaccessible crags as a breeding-place has given the name Raven 

 Clitl' Falls to a beautiful cascade, where a tributary of the South Saluda 

 makes its descent into the Dismal Mountains. In May a pair continually 

 harassed the turkeys at the hotel, robbing their nests of eggs, and later 

 preving upon the young. The coming of the summer visitors caused 

 them to give the hotel and its immediate surroundings a wider berth. A 

 narrow 'leading' ridge, however, near by, separating two deep valleys, 

 continued a favorite crossing-point, and a stand taken there and patient 

 watching would certainly have been rewarded by a fair shot, but the 

 necessary time could not be spared from other field work, which is to be 

 reoretted, as the subspecific status of the Raven of the Carolina moun- 

 tains yet remains a mooted point. 



20. Corvus americanus. American Crow. — The crow was not com- 

 mon. The presence of the Raven and the absence of open ground prob- 

 ably account for its scarcity. 



21. Spinus tristis. American Goldfinch. 'Lettuce-bird'. — Fre- 

 quented chiefly the clearings and the open woodlands, where they were 

 tolerably common. 



22. Spizella socialis. Chipping Sparrow. — Shunned the densely 

 wooded situations, but were common elsewhere. 



