1 68 Nehi{LIN'G 071 Bii'ds of Sonthcasiern Texas. 



limited nesting range. Everv nest was built in the top of a slender oak 

 and all the nests examined were neat, strong, and large structures ; they 

 were constructed of plant stems, slender grasses, fragments of corn-husks, 

 intermingled with sheep's wool, and lined with finer grasses. In some 

 nests a layer of mud was also to be found. 



95. Quiscalus major Vieill. Boat-tailed Grakle. — Qiiite regu- 

 larly distributed over the coast region of Texas. I found the birds breed- 

 ing in the colonies of the Little Blue Heron {Florida ccerulea) and the 

 Snowy Heron {Gai'zctta candidissima), on the button bushes (^Ccfhalaii- 

 thus occidentalis) standing in the water. May 6, 18S1. I observed a colony 

 of about twenty pairs near Rose Hill Post Office. They were all busily 

 engaged in building their nests in the tops of young oaks. Only a few 

 nests were finished, and only one contained eggs, four in number. Nest 

 composed of weed stalks, grasses and sheep's wool, lined with finer grasses; 

 cavity very shallow if compared with nests of ^liscalus furpiireus ccueiis 

 and Scolecophagus cyauocephalus. The male has a few very fine song- 

 like notes, different from those of every other Blackbird. 



96. Corvusfrugivorus i?rt;'/'r. Common Crow. — In winter numbers 

 are to be observed on Galveston Bay, near bayous, and on the sugar cane 

 fields near the Brazos. In spring they scatter over the country, breeding 

 in all suitable localities, but the}' are then nowhere common in the coast 

 region. 



97. Cyanocitta cristata Strickl. Blue Jay. — A very common res- 

 ident; breeds abundantly in all woody localities; also often in gardens on 

 mountain cedars and sometimes on the beautiful Japan medlars (^Eriobo- 

 trya japonica^. Very bold and tame when well treated, coming then into 

 door-yards and even into houses. 



98. Milvulus forficatus ^ir. Scissok-t ailed Flycather; -'Texan 

 Bird of Paradise"; "Fork-tail." — Very common summer sojourner; 

 breeds frequently' in the '"bosquets" on the prairies, on the borders of 

 woods, on isolated trees in the fields, and even in gardens. As the nest 

 in this part of Texas is in most cases placed in trees, densely covered with 

 Tillandsia, it is almost impossible to discover it. These beautiful birds 

 are not at all retiring in their habits ; in man}' instances they are so tame 

 as to breed in close proximity to dwellings. They arrive from their winter 

 quarters late in March, sometimes in the first days of April. Very often 

 two broods are raised yearly. I found fresh eggs as late as July 4. The 

 nests in the coast region are built partly of grasses but especially of gray 

 Spanish moss. In September, after the breeding season, they gather 

 in large flocks, visiting the cotton fields, where multitudes of cotton 

 worms {Aleiia argillacea) and their moths abound, on which they, with 

 many other small birds, eagerly feed ; early in October they depart for 

 the South. 



99. Tyrannus carolinensis Temm. Kingbird. — Common summer 

 resident. Arrives from the South late in March or early in April, when 

 the beautiful native yellow jessamine {^Gehemiujn sempervirens) fills the 

 air with its pleasant odor. Nests commonly in the honey locust (G/e<f/V- 



