106 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 12-No. 7 



sume Dogwood berries, later on Poplar seeds 

 seemed to l)e its staple diet till about the end of 

 February, after wliieli time I have most fre- 

 quently found it feeding on the ground in the 

 woods, but the contents of its stomaeh when- 

 ever dissected, have always been seeds of vari- 

 ous kinds. 



Savannah, Grass and Field Sparrows and 

 Snowbirds feed chiefly on grass seeds, the 

 latter species varying its diet occasionally with 

 beriies. 



White-throated and Fox Sparrows and Car- 

 dinals were observed to feed largely on Frost 

 Grapes and Holly berries. 



Swamp and Song Sparrows whenever dis- 

 sected, showed only seeds of various kinds. 



Redwing, {A(iolaius pJueniceits) . In Novem- 

 ber they pillaged the late corn fields; in Janu- 

 ary they fed in large flocks in the peanut fields, 

 utilizing the waste peanuts. In March their 

 chief food is spring oats, which are usuallj^ 

 planted in tlie early part of the month. 



Cowbird, {Molothms (iter). Grass seeds in 

 Octobei', oats in March. 



Crow Blackbird, {Quisc<(lns]m7ym'eiis). Corn 

 in October and November; peanuts in latter 

 half of February; oats in March. 



Field Lark, {Sturnella magna). Feeds al- 

 most entirely on insects, chiefly grasshoppers 

 in the fall, 0(!casionally eating a few oats in the 

 spring. 



Crow, {Corvus americanns). Main food dur- 

 ing all the winter was peanuts. 



Blue Jay, {CyaHocitta cristata). Water oak 

 and Red oak acorns in October and Novembei' ; 

 Beech nuts in December and January. After 

 they have finished the Beech nuts, the majority 

 seem to leave us. 



Yellowhammer, (Colaptes auratus). Dog- 

 wood Berries, Black Haws, Sumach bei-ries, 

 Frost Grapes, Holly, and Cedar berries are all 

 eagerly devoured by them during the winter. 

 In February the majority seemed to have con- 

 centi-ated on a peanut field and they fed there 

 for nearly a month, up to the middle of March 

 in fact. 



Yellow-bellied Woodpecker, (Sphyrapictis ra- 

 rius). Their i)rincipal food while here seems 

 to be Frost Grapes and Dogwood berries ; when 

 these are gone, the yellow-bellies seem to go 

 too. About one in ten contained insects. 



Little Sapsucker, (Ficus pmhescens). Berries 

 and insects constitute its winter food in about 

 equal proportions. 



Quail and Carolina Dove feed almost entirely 

 on cowpeas, the former species being particu- 

 larly fond of them; a "pea-patch" almost hi- 



variably being the feeding ground of a covey 

 or two. 



This about concludes my list, as I have not 

 been able to collect sutticient data about any 

 other species. One fact, however, deserves 

 noting and that is that I liave observed no birds 

 feeding on Pine seeds this winter, although 

 the}' usually are quite a favorite article of diet 

 with many birds including the following ; 

 Brown-headed Nuthatch, Carolina and Tufted 

 Tits, Pine and Gold Finches, Snowbirds and 

 some othei's. 



Baird's Sparrow in Fall. 



BY L. JONES, GRINNELL, IOWA. 



Although Baird's Span-ow {Cfntronyx hairdi) 

 had been found in spring, when it appeared 

 quite common, I had not been fortunate in my 

 search for it in fall until October 4th, 188G, 

 when I found it fully as common as in spring. 

 Its stay, however, was short. A cold, wet 

 time about the loth drove it, with most of the 

 other sparrows, south. 



It seems to be a very shy bird, keeping well 

 to the ground and scooting along through the 

 grass at one's very feet; never rising far above 

 the grass or weeds. It is in sight but a moment 

 and drops again to the covert of grass. C. 

 hairdi is commonest along fences where grass 

 and weeds have been allowed to grow, and in 

 neglected fields where a rank growth of weeds 

 aftords both food and covert. I have never 

 seen it in bushy places. 



Field Notes on Some Birds of 

 Colorado. 



BY CHAKLES F. MORRISON. 



Pica jn'ca Jutdsonica (Magpie), April 3rd I se- 

 cured four sets of from four to six eggs each. 

 They breed abundantly about here ; at least 

 fifty nests can be found less than a mile from 

 mj' door. 



Nest, a high, bulky structure of sticks, lined 

 with plenty of mud. Upon this fine twigs, 

 rootlets and a top brim of softer material and 

 horsehair, the whole covered with a dome- 

 shaped arch of heavy sticks. 



The above facts are well-known, but I beg to 

 difter as to the well-known (?) hole or holes 

 which is always mentioned in connection with 

 this bird's nest. Not a nest I have seen, with 

 or without eggs, finished or unfinished, has any 

 perceptible hole at all, and the bird enters and 



