ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 10-No. 1 



entirely wiiply liaiuU'd. Our tent w;is pilchcd in 

 a grove of oiilis near llie top ol' tin' Diviilc. 

 wliicli, !ill tliroiifrli tlie day, ri'soiiiidcd to Ilic 

 liarsli cries of tlie California Woodpecker. Scores 

 of Uidons lliinnnintr-birds darted liitlier and 

 tliitlier, now pausing over some jjrifjlil-liued 

 flower, or percliinj; daintily on llic lirancli of an 

 oak or i)ine, now darling willi a sliarp /,ip liefore 

 us m we sat at our meals and poising in mid-air to 

 gnzc curiously at the intruders on their i)rivHcy. 

 Slender-liilled Nulhiili-hes dodged from side to 

 side of the hugli pine trunks, wliile in the brush 

 lining the l)aid;s of a tiny stream, could be seen 

 the briglit yellow. plumage of the l^ileolated War- 

 l)ler. In a side canon some little distance from 

 our camp 1 shot two Kcd-faced Warblers, high 

 np in tlir liranchcs of a (|uaking asiien, and 

 not fur distant, a young (iracc's Wai'lilcr. On our 

 homcwai'd trip 1 secured a few IJand-tailed I'lg- 

 eons, (iandii'l's. Scaled and Mcssena Quail and 

 otlH'r uioie (■(inuuciu birds. 



With the advi-iM of cold weather Ihc 'i'iluiice 

 are once more with us, and within the past few 

 days I have .secured some fine specimens of the 

 Gray and Wollweber's Tilmice, as well as of the 

 Leail-colored Til, 1 am (hiily nn the ln,,koul Inr 

 the IJlack-eared Tils, a lew spcciinciis nf which I 

 .shot last Winter. In llie (■iictus i.n llii' phuns arc 



the Ciirve-bilb'd Tluiishcs I Cactus Wrens; 



uniongthe ScruliOak lining theridgcsthc Crissal 

 ThriLsh, Arctic and Me.vican itluebirds, Wood- 

 honsc's .lays, Mexican Flickers, Oregon. I'ink- 

 sidcil and (Jr.-iv headed vSnowbirds, while Hocks 

 of Mexican Shore Larks, MeCown's Huntings 

 and Chesliuil collared l,ongspnrs may be seen 

 here and there upon the prairie. Hut sjiace will 

 not jiermit mu lo emimerale a fnii'tion of our 

 Winter birds, and seldom do 1 return Ironi a ci.l 

 lecting trip wilhout a well llllcd liag. 



Florida Bird Life. 



liV v.. M. MASnnol'CK, I'M.A'rKA, t'l.A, 



For the last y<'ar"l have had an intense ilesire 

 to visit Floricki, and to gc't a glimpse of the bird, 

 life which it alfordcd, yet scarcely daring to 

 dream that my fond hope wouhl be n ali/.i'd, at 

 least not for a long time to come. But fate de- 

 creed otherwise, Oct. '.), 1884, found mc on board 

 a steamer in New York harbor, bound lo I'alatka, 

 Fhi. After a delightful sail of three days, 1 ar- 

 rived at Savannah, thence by rail to I'alalka on a 

 smoky little train that stopped every three or 

 four miles, to let a cow get off the track, or at 

 some little station that consisted of a house with 

 a shingle milled on to a post, telling the name. 



r.ut at length I arrivecl at l'al:it,ka, a pleasant lit- 

 tle town, situated on the St. .Johns river, 75 miles 

 from Jacksonville. After spending a few days in 

 securing rooms, and getting everything prcjiared 

 for a sea.son's study and collecting, I took one of 

 the many littli' steamers that ply on the river, and 

 started for " Crystal Lake," situated about liO 

 miles back in \\h'. woods. 1 arrived at my jour- 

 ney's end about o'clock, and during the evening 

 prepared everything for two weeks' studying. I 

 retired early and was soon lost in slumber. 

 Awaking just as the first rays of daylight were 

 peeping into my room, I dressed as hurriedly as 

 possible, and catching up my gun and bag con- 

 taining note book and jjencil, 1 started forth for 

 my first glimpse of Southern birds. JMaking my 

 way Ihroiigh the orange grove towards the lake, 

 1 came uixni a nund)er of Mourning Doves feeding 

 on the ground, or perching m\ the bare branches 

 of a Mulberry tree. On the top branch sat a 

 Sparrow Hawk, no doulit pondering in his mind 

 whether to make a raid on them, or to have for 

 breakliist souk^ one of the many little Warblers 

 that inhabit the bushes near by. Blue .Jays, and 

 Mocking liirds are numerous, while from the 

 woods came the clear mellow whistle of tjuail, 

 not from one direction, but from every C)uarler ol 

 the woods, showing that this country is plenti- 

 fully stocked with the bird. 1 have not yet 

 heard them utter the "Bob White" for which 

 they are so famous, but instead, it is " Bob-by- 

 Wltik" repeated several limes in succession, with 

 the accent slnirp on the last syllable. Soon 1 

 reached the " lake" which is nothing but a small 

 jHind, covered with patches of lily pads here and 

 there, over which the White-bellied Swallow was 

 skimming in considerable numbers. On its sur- 

 face wei'c a number of si)ecies of water fowl, 

 anuing wliiili 1 identified the following: — Wood 

 Duck, Coot, Mud Hen and Hell Diver. Bounding 

 a curve,! came suddenly ujion a number of Little 

 Blue or White Herons, feeding on the shore, I 

 walchcil Ibem for some lime, until th(!y took alarm 

 and tirw awiiy lo souu> other part of the \:\kv. 

 Hearing a "chip" in the bushes to my left, I see 

 a little form hopi>ing about, busily engaged in 

 gleanin,g the inseiMs from the leaves. Not recog- 

 nizing it, I resort to Ihe gun, lo liud it to be a 

 male Maryland Yellow-throat. 1 have not heard 

 his song since I have been here, though 1 have 

 met with him several times. In a certain 

 clump of trees, I find dozens of Ihe Ked-bcllied 

 Woodpeckers, feeding on the larva' found in Ihc 

 dead piiu' stumps. The Downy AVoodpecker is 

 also ijuile numerous, and the Hairy is frequently 

 met with. One bird is ever present in more or 

 less numbers. Ihe Turkey Buzzard, sailmg .about 



