July 1890.] 



AKD OOLOGIST. 



107 



On the Fort Bassinger Trail. 



In tlie ^ray of early dawn I started from the 

 little frontier settlement in Soixth Florida 

 where had I been staying, to look np the Gronnd 

 Owls on the Kissimmee Prairie once more. It 

 was a hmji' day's tramp that I had before me, 

 and as I could only steal one day from other 

 occupations I put my best foot foremost and 

 when the trail was plain made capital time. 



Crossing the Hatchoclass just beyond the lo 

 cation of old Fort Ivan a flock of Sandhill 

 Cranes ran up, the first living thing I had seen, 

 except one rabbit. But as dayliglit began to 

 show the woods livened up a bit and while 

 boiling my morning coffee, I was much 

 amused by the gambols of a family of Pole 

 Cats. When not, let us say agitated, these 

 arc very beautiful creatures, and in blessed 

 Florida the effects of the agitation does not 

 last long. 



Just after leaving my fire there was a rush 

 and scramble in the scrub about a rod to the 

 right and five beautiful deer bounded away. 

 Before I got to the prairie I disturbed two 

 more. Noted also Meadow Larks, Red-cock- 

 aded Woodpecker, Yellow- winged Sparrow, 

 Ground Dove, Flicker, Brown-headed Nut- 

 hatch, Red-poll Warbler, Bluebird, Carolina 

 Dove, Towhee, Cardinal, Crow, Red-winged 

 Blackbird and Quail. Saw tracks of Turkey, 

 Otter, Raccoon, and Fox Squirrel. 



Tiien came a long tramp over the open 

 prairie. Though only the 24th of March, the 

 day was intensely hot and the season had been 

 so dry that not a droj) of water was to be had. 

 But right out in the open I found a large flock 

 of Quail who ran before me down the dusty 

 track for probably quarter of a mile. Lai-ks, 

 Sand-hill Cranes and Caracara Eagles were 

 the only other birds seen, till suddenly out of 

 the ground popped up a little Owl. For a 

 minute or two he stood winking and bowing 

 at me and then took flight, 4rppi')ing again 

 about a hundred yards off. I carefully noted 

 the spot where he settled and then made my 

 ()l)servations on his home. I found that he 

 had made a small clearing in the grass and 

 weeds about three feet across and begun his 

 burrow on the east side of it. A large mound 

 of earth and sand — about a peck and a half — 

 was loosely piled up and the hole extended 

 straight into the ground about two feet. I 

 followed him up and after the usual severe 

 race shot him. During the afternoon I visited 

 two old towns but found no inhabitants, 

 though signs of recent " house cleaning " were 



plainly to be discerned. Quite late in the day 

 I found another town of three holes and while 

 digging in one that looked quite promising an 

 owl came from across the prairie and fiew 

 almost into my face. As she dodged off I 

 caught my gun and brought her down. She 

 had her mouth full of dry grass and was evi- 

 dently coming to the very hole I was digging 

 at, for on completing my excavations I found 

 quite a well-formed nest in the cavity at the 

 end of the burrow composed of the same kind 

 of grass that she held in her mouth. The 

 other two holes were in about the same stage 

 of completion and their tenants were in all 

 probability watching me despoil their homes 

 from some point of concealment not far away. 

 My inference is that the time to look for the 

 eggs of this species on the Kissimmee Prairie 

 is during the first half of April. Once find 

 what sort of ground the Owls like and plenty 

 of burrows can be discovered. And no one 

 can possibly confound them with the holes of 

 Skunks and Gophers. The habitations differ 

 almost as much as the inhabitants. 



Walter Iloxie. 



The Rough-Winged Swallow. 



The Rough-winged Swallow is imputed as 

 rai'e in all places of its occurrence. However, 

 I believe it is of more general occurrence in 

 almost all i)arts than is thought, it being too 

 frequently overlooked or confounded with its 

 very near relative, the Bank Swallow. 



Mr. J. L. Davison does not mention this bird 

 in his "List of Birds of Niagara County, 

 N. Y. ," while here in the adjoining county 

 (Orleans) it is a summer resident that may be 

 depended upon, and several sets of its eggs are 

 taken each season. This bird is so like the 

 Bank Swallow in every particular that the only 

 safe means of identification is the bird in the 

 hand. However, it may be identified when 

 flying towards one by an observation of its 

 throat and breast. The throat of the Bank 

 Swallow is white, and it has a black pectoral 

 band, wdiile the Rough-winged species has a 

 black or brownish throat and no such band on 

 tlie breast. The bird in the hand will reveal 

 the peculiarities from which it takes it name. 



Although the sand bank, the home of the 

 Bank Swallow, is generally ascribed as the 

 nesting place of the Rough-winged, in this 

 locality at least, such is not the case as often 

 as otherwise. Hei-e, the favorite nesting place 

 of Serripennis seems to be in the crevices of 



