l6o Beckham on the Birds of Bayou Sara. Loit is/ana. 



The topugraphv is much mure interesthig, and is quite thfferent 

 froai that farther south and that immediately opposite on the west 

 side of the river. A level plateau, lOO feet above the levee, begins 

 about a quarter of a mile from the river and extends back into 

 the State of Mississippi. This plateau is deeply cut by numei'ous 

 creeks and ravines, the banks of which are generally densely 

 wooded, with water-oak, sweet gum, cedar, prickly ash, magno- 

 lias, etc. All of the level ground on top is in a state of cultiva- 

 tion ; cotton being the principal crop. A few miles farther up the 

 high ground does not extend so near the riyer, tlie intervening 

 space being occupied by several small lakes and swamps — a great 

 resort for water birds of all kinds. On account of the high water 

 I did not have an opportunity of visiting this interesting field. 



My observations extended only over a period of five days from 

 April 15th to 19th, 1882, inclusive, but a great deal of ground 

 was canvassed in that time : nearly the wiiole of each day being- 

 spent in the field. A good many birds were shot, but few were 

 preserved, as taxidermy was necessarily subordinateil to field-work. 

 Dr. Langdon in his interesting paper particularly remarks the 

 absence of the Catbird, Black-and-White Creeper, White-browed 

 Yellow-throat, Kentucky Warbler, Large-billed \^'ater Thrush, 

 and the Redstart. l)ut I found all of these at "Wyoming," together 

 with many others not noted by either him or Mr. Hay, the 

 Catbird and Kentucky Warbler being particularly abundant. 



The writer was gi^eatlv assisted in his work In Mr. Robert 

 W^ederstraudt of '-Wyoming," a young man whose unusually 

 close and accurate observations of birds and bird-life rendered 

 his help peculiarly \ahiable. Many of the following notes are 

 credited to him entirely. 1 ha\e followed the nomenclature of 

 the Smithsonian list of 1881. 



1. Hylocichla mustelina ( Gm. ) Bd. Wood Thrush. — Common in 

 woodland, and several seen in the yard near the house. 



2. Merula migratoria (Z,.) S-w. aud Rich. American Robin. — Not 

 ob.served. They appear here in large numbers early in February to feed 

 on the fruit of the -'wild peach." and hundreds are shot for the table. 

 They leave early in March. 



3. Mimus polyglottus (/,. i Boie. .Mockingbird. — \&r\ abundant, 

 both in the town about gardens and yards, and in the country. P'requent- 

 ing open ground exclusively. P'our sets of eggs were taken ; two perfectly 

 fresh, and two about half incubated. .Mr. Wederstraudt called my atten- 

 tion to a curious foraging habit of this bird. ^Ve noticed one hopping 



