May, 1885.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



69 



written comparatively, and tliough great interest 

 has of late been manifested on the subject, little 

 has as yet been accomplished. The older writers 

 on ornitholoiry were, perhaps, better versed in 

 imv bii'd language than the more recent authors, 

 and the descriptions, particularly those of Nuttall, 

 are frequently excellent, but the lull series of 

 songs and call notes of a bird, and every species 

 has a variety — have never been described in detail. ^ 



The Warbling Vireo arrives from the 27th of 

 April to the 8th of May. About the middle of 

 the latter month the birds usually seek for a loca- 

 tion for the nest. A nest w s begun on the 12th 

 of the month one season, but such an early effort 

 is unusual. The birds depart for the south during 

 the last jiart of Seplemlter. 



67. [140.] Laiimreo flndfruu^ (Vieill.) Baird. 

 Yellow-throated Vireo. A common Summer 

 resident. Arrives from April 3.Tth to May 8th, 

 and becomes common and tuneful soon after the 

 first appearance. Breeds plentifully, but the 

 nests are very rarely found with us. The notes 

 of the Yellow-throat are very penetrating and can 

 be heard at quite a distance. I have heard the 

 song over a half mile away on a f{uiet Summer 

 day. The modulation of the song is not by any 

 means equal to the beautiful notes of the Ked-eye 

 and Warbling, but is cheerful, and possesses that 

 degree of vivacity common to all the Vireos' 

 songs, which is so inspiring to the stroller. The 

 only nests which I have met with were placed at 

 an elevation of not more than ten feet above the 

 ground, and were situated at the forked e.xtrenti- 

 ties of lower limbs. The nests are, however, 

 often built well u|) in trees. They are very neatly 

 arranged structures and are surpassed in elegance 

 of workmanship by very few nests known to me. 

 The outside is covered with lichens of various 

 colors, the exterior presenting a very neat appear- 

 ance. The birds disappear in late September or 

 early October. 



08. [141.] LiiiUvireo suliUiriiis (Vieill.) Baird. 

 Blue-headed or Solitary Vireo. Never a com- 

 mon species with us. If a collector secures one 

 specimen each migration he is doing remarkably 

 well. I have not met with a dozen specimens 

 during the past seventeen years in which I have 

 been taking notes. The Blue-head is only a 

 transient with us, and is found the second and 

 third weeks in May, as a rule. It occasionally 

 appears by the 5th of the month. It is not re- 

 corded later than the 20th of May witli us. I 

 have yet to meet with two specimens in the same 

 woods at one time. The species may be social in 

 its breeding haunts, but during migrations, so far 

 as my limited observations extend, it is pre-emi- 

 nently solitary. 



69. [148] LaniiiiiboTeaUii(N\e\\\.) Great North- 

 ern Shrike. An irregular transient, generally ap- 

 pearing from the north in November, and return- 

 ing north through our county in March. Occa- 

 sionally seen throughout the winter singly or in 

 pairs. Quite common some seasons; again rare 

 for two or three successive years. Have met 

 with this Shrike in November, December, .Janu- 

 ary, February, March and Aiiril. Never seen 

 here in Summer, and only rarely after April 1st. 

 It gives way to the more southern species, Lnidus 

 liidorici(tnuse.rcubitoi'idm, which appears in March 

 or late Februarj'. 



In looking over a copy of the "O. and O." of 

 issue January, 188"), I find that Dr. Atkins em- 

 braces the Great Northern Shrike in his list of 

 the birds of Locke, Michigan, as a Summer bird. 

 He. however, fails to embrace the White-rumped 

 or Loggerhead in his list. There must be a mis- 

 take somewhere, for I am sure that the White- 

 rump is common as far north as 43 north lati- 

 tude, while the Great Northern is not embraced 

 by any reliable collector in the State as a Sum- 

 mer resident. If this point could be definitely 

 settled I would be greatly pleased, and trust that 

 the collectors of the State will give their experi- 

 ence with this species. 



70. [149.] Lanim ludovickiims.'^lAxva. Log- 

 gerhead Shrike. For years I confounded this 

 species with the next form, and have only within 

 the last few years extricated myself from such a 

 surprising and disagreeable dilemma. I cheer- 

 fully make this acknowledgement of my error, 

 l)ecause it may be that some reader of the "O. 

 and O." with whom I have corresponded will 

 call to mind remarks I made some years ago rela- 

 tive to members of this (jemiii, in which I was un- 

 doubtedly wrong. After a careful study of the 

 Shrikes I am convinced that this species is rare 

 with us as compared to the White-rump, and may 

 be considered as scarce in the State. The data 

 that I have are still too meagre for publication. 



71. [149(r.] Liiiuiis ludaekidniiK exeubitoridei 

 (Sw.) Cones. White-rumped Shrike. Very com- 

 mon in Kalamazoo County, for at least seven 

 months of the year. White-rump arrives about 

 the middle of March, as a rule. In advanced sea- 

 sons he appears sometimes in the last week of 

 February, and again not till the last week of 

 March. The eggs are usually found in complete 

 S2ts during the last week in April, occasionally 

 as early as the 18th of the month. The birds do 

 not all leave us until November. 



74. [16.'5.] Hfuperipliona vi'spertiiia (Cooper.) Bp. 

 Evening Grosbeak. A rare and very irregular 

 Fall, Winter and Spring visitor. My earliest 

 record for the year is November 2.5th, while small 

 flocks were seen in 1879 as late as May 1st. The 



