March 1887.] 



a:n^d oologist. 



35 



Deudro'Cd coromxta^ Myrtle Warbler. This, 

 our old respected friend, the Yellow-ruinp, aji- 

 peared to the niiinber of four one day in Jidy 

 lit Ca])e Whittle, but they seemed to have lost 

 their reel<oiiinf2,- for they scurried by the house 

 as if anxious to leave a country so uninviting. 



Dejulrwra virens. Black-throated (jireen War- 

 bler. A bird of the year, which I killed at 

 Esquimaux Point on Septendier the 4tb. was 

 all I saw of this species. 



Aiithas pcnnsijlvanicus^ American Pipit, liath- 

 er common, and very tame at Cape Whittle, but 

 not seen elsewhere. They nested exactly like 

 the Savannah Sparrow, placing their nests on 

 tile ground in open places. 



Trofjlodytes hyemaUi/!, Winter AVren. Not 

 counnon, though regularly heard in the thick 

 woods about Es(]uimaux Point. 



Sitta ranadensin, Eed-l)reasted Nuthatch. Saw 

 several broods with their parents at Esquimaux 

 Point the tirst week of September. 



Panoi hudsonicus, Hudsonian Chickadee. 

 AVhile at Esquimaux Point in the spring, I saw 

 l)ut two individuals, and ol)served none others 

 until my retvu-n in September, when they were 

 migrating in abundance along witli the Labra- 

 dor Jays. Never before had I seen them in 

 tlocks of over a dozen or fifteen, but now they 

 passed in fifties and hundreds, and tlie two 

 mornings that I was out I must have seen as 

 many as twenty such bunches. 



Mcr^dd laigratoria^ American Robin. Arrixcd 

 at Esquimaux Point on May 17th, and was h- 

 regularly distributed along the coast, being 

 found wherev«'r the location suited, but want- 

 ing in others, as at Cape Whittle. 



Field Notes on Some Birds of 

 Colorado. 



BY 0HARI,P:S F. MORRISON, FORT LKWIS, COI.. 



Say's Pewee (Sayornis say I). Said to be i-om- 

 mon but 1 have seen but few speciuKMis ; do not 

 believe it conunon here; it is more a i)rairie 

 t)ird, found it common in western Nebraska, 

 near Sidney; l)reeding al)undantly in the 

 ravines which cut through the prairie. The 

 nest was always placed on the side of a snug 

 clift" or on top of a small projection, much like 

 Sayornis fusats, but perhaps more lightly put 

 together. Egg similar but larger; a set of 

 these before me measure .81 x .64 ; .86 x .64 ; .79 

 X .63 ; more inclined to a cream tint than ftisctis, 

 which disappears if left exposed to the light for 

 any length of time. I am told that it nests up- 



on beams in old barns, which would not be sur- 

 prising ; a fact that ))rings it nmch fuscus in its 

 general habits. Said to arrive in Colorado early 

 in April. 



December 19th, 1886, in a valley among the 

 Pinous, three miles south of here, 1 found a 

 large flock of Bluebirds (S. artira) probably 

 come north with a wave, which had lasted a 

 week. On my way home 1 saw manj^ others. 

 These birds disappeared on October 21st with 

 other migrants and are the only birds that have 

 come north again since that date. 



Mexican Crossbill {Loxia curvirostra mexica- 

 na). On January 15th, I secured a male and 

 female of this si)ecies from a flock of thirty or 

 more, and 1 l)elieve them to be breeding, as the 

 males were in full song and many were evi- 

 dently looking for mates. 1 saw one fine male 

 peri'hed upon the topmost limb of a tall dead 

 pine singing witli all his might, nor did he pay 

 any attention to the iemales that frequently 

 flew into his tree ; while in most cases a female 

 would l)e followed by six or seven males, sing- 

 ing and doing their utmost to attract her atten- 

 tion, which attentions she would seem to return 

 by utter indifi'erence, flying soon to some other 

 tree, when the males would cease singing and 

 appear extremely astonished at such treatment. 

 But soon a male woulil nuister courage to fol- 

 low her, and one by one she would be joined by 

 them all, only to be treated in the same manner. 

 I also saw a female fly into a large pine twice 

 with dried grass but could not detect any nest. 

 The birds were present a week later but not in 

 flocks, and I hope yet to secure their eggs. 

 The song of these birds is extremelj^ beautiful 

 and cannot l)e described. 1 heard a male, perch- 

 ed high in air singing a song the exact counter- 

 l)art of the evening song of the Robin, but more 

 melio\\ and subdued, as if from a great dis- 

 tance. The two specimens taken measured as 

 follows: male, length 6.70; extent 11.15; wing 

 3.80; tail 2.75; bill .73; tarsus .73; head, back, 

 neck and heart red, slightly mixed with touches 

 of olive, runip decidedly red, belly white, wings 

 and tail blackish, undei' tail coverts black with 

 wide white edges, bill and feet dark horn color. 

 Female smaller, with the red of the head, back 

 and neck above evenly mixed with dusky 

 spots, resembling some sparrows, belly white 

 and spotted like the young of the Thrushes, 

 under tail coverts like the male, wings and tail 

 similar, with secondaries light edged, rump a 

 very bright red, length 6.45 ; extent 10.89 ; 

 wing 3.70; tail 2.25; bill .70; tarsus .67. 



Slender-billed Nuthatch {Sitta caroliuensis 

 aculeata). I watched these birds as long as 



