60 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 5 



some coming so close as to enable me plainly to distinguish 

 the markings of the head, even the " central bed of flame 

 color." These dainty little birds are but transient visitors 

 on their way to the breeding grounds of the North. 



Saw also several individuals of the Red-headed Wood- 

 pecker, (NelaiHTpi'z ei\iitlin»:/j>lia!/rs.) This, in other years, 

 has been a common Winter resident here, but this past 

 Winter was exceedingly rare. 



April 10. The first appearance of the Purple Martins, 

 (Prognc purpurea,) — about a week behind their usual date 

 or arrival. The Kobins are nesting. 



April 12. A new spring arrival is the Brown Thrush or 

 Thrasher (Ilarporhynclms rufus) ; the first one to come 

 under my observation alighted on a Plum tree in my yard 

 this evening. If one has an acquaintance with but a dozen 

 of "our own birds," his list ought to include this accom- 

 plished songster. It is a bird of marked individuality, that 

 once known, can be identified at sight. Its distinguishing 

 characters are its large size — being the largest of the 

 Thrushes ; its rich brown or rust-red dress, its spotted 

 breast, and very long brown tail. A closer view will reveal 

 two bars of dull white across the wing. This bird is fre- 

 quently seen about brier and bramble bushes, along fences, 

 but is wont to mount to the top of a tree when he sings. 



April 13. Saw a pair of Green Herons, (Ardca virescens) 

 coursing along one of our small streams. The universally 

 written and familiar book name of this bird in a hundred 

 years has not supplanted the vulgar traditional name which 

 it to-day receives from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. 



April 14. The Catbirds, (Minus carolinensts,) are here. 

 The Snowbirds have not all left us yet. A small flock 

 alighted in my lot to-day. 



An interesting early spring concert this evening was one 

 in which the Robin, the Catbird and Brown Thrasher were 

 the principal performers, to which we were treated by going 

 no farther than the kitchen yard. 



April IS. It was my privilege this morning to hear the 

 song of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, (Regulus calendula), 

 which Wilson seems never to have recognized and entirely 

 passes over. It is a sweet little melody warbled out at odd 

 intervals, and consists of about a dozen notes very rapidly 

 uttered, and bearing a remarkable resemblance to the song 

 of the Warbling Vireo, or the Orchard Oriole, in miniature. 

 These birds are unusually abundant in this locality this 

 spring. Discovered a Turtle-dove's nest on the top of a 

 decayed stump but two feet high, which stood out in the 

 open field, on a steep slope. The nest consisted of no other 

 material than a few blades of dried grass within a slight 

 concavity, and contained two white eggs — the full comple- 

 ment—in an advanced stage of incubation. Recognized 

 the Bay-winged Bunting, (Pocecetea gramineus.) This be- 

 longs to the Sparrow family ; is a tine songster, and its habit 

 of singing in the evening has suggested the name of " Ves- 

 per-bird" which some are pleased to give -it. The chestnut 

 patch on the shoulder of the wing, and the white lateral 

 tail feathers, will separate this species from its kind. A 

 moderately close view will reveal the former, and the bird's 

 flight will always expose the latter. 



The song of the Whip-poor-will, {Antrostomus vociferus), 

 is heard in the land. 



April 19, ' The Summer' TellowbiTti, (Dendrceca cestiva); 

 is here 'among the "branches of the apple tree singing his 

 monotonous se-se-se-'ces-'si-wect. This is by some confound- 

 ed with our American Goldfinch, which, however, it but 

 little resembles. The former's uniformly yellowish dress, 

 longer bili and more direct flight, and the latter's short 

 thick bill, black crown, wing and tail (of the male) and un- 

 dulating flight, .ought to separate them in the eyes of the 

 most inexperienced. 



April 26. From the 4th to the 21st of this month the 

 weather was uniformly mild and spring-like ; on the 22d — 

 day and night— rain fell without cessation, changing to 

 snow on the 23d, falling to the depth of three or four inches; 

 froze on that and the two succeeding nights, snow not all 

 disappearing until this morning. 



Three Robins' nests were completed within the bounds of 

 my yards and apple orchard, with one, two and four eggs 

 respectively in each; also a Dove's nest. For thirty or 

 forty hours these nests were covered with several inches of 

 snow. Only one— the Robin's nest with four eggs has since 

 been re- occupied by the owner; all the others are wholly 

 abandoned. To-day I examined the above mentioned 

 Dove's nest. This was located in an apple tree, about fif- 

 teen feet from the ground, and was founded on a last year's 

 Robin's nest, consisting of a few additional loose twigs 

 and dried grasses, forming a nearly level bed, and held two 

 eggs. Breaking these revealed two dead embryos appar- 

 ently fully incubated. 



April 27. With the aid of a boy's "pocket catapult" 

 and a few heavy shot, secured for my cabinet a fine speci- 

 men—a male— of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, which was 

 gleaning among the branches of the apple tree in my or- 

 chard in company with one or two others. It had but a 

 moment before warbled out the sweet little song peculiar to 

 this bird, which I described a few days since, but one in 

 which, ornithologists tell us, it rarely indulges this side of 

 its northern breeding grounds. The Kinglets may readily 

 be recognized by their small size, being but little larger than 

 Hummingbirds. Between the Gold-crest and Ruby-crown 

 the former may be distinguished by the markings of the 

 head, the crown being a golden yellow with a narrow bor- 

 dering of deep black; the bed of yellow being opened a 

 little exposes a bright flame color. The under parts are 

 lighter than in the Ruby-crown. The ruby of the latter is 

 only seen when the feathers are parted. 



" The Swallows have come." Observed a pair of Barn 

 Swallows, (Hirundo erythrogastra) fly into my stable this 

 evening. 



A single Snowbird appeared in my orchard to-day. An 

 unusually late occurrence for this bird in this locality. 



Mat]. My observations this morning were made with 

 the aid of a shot gun. This is the one disagreeable feature 

 in the pursuit of the science of ornithology— the occasional 

 necessity of taking life at once so innocent, so happy and 

 so beautiful. One dead bird, however, of anyone species, 

 as a rule, ought to suffice the amateur for a merely critical 

 examination. In respect of the Warbler family the birds 

 are themselves so small, and frequenting, as they do, dur- 

 ing their short stay with us, the higher branches of our 

 forest trees, the mere discrimination of species becomes 

 impossible without a resort to the gun, and is, therefore, 

 no less necessary to perfect local lists than to complete cab- 

 inet collections. Resident birds, even the smallest, will ad- 

 mit of a sufficiently close approach during the breeding 

 season as to render identification possible without taking 

 life. 



Secured four interesting specimens, viz., the Hermit 

 Thrush, (Turdus pallasi,) the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, (Poli- 

 optila ccerulea,) the Yellow-rumped Warbler, (Dendrceca 

 coronata,) and the Yellow-throated Vireo, ( Vireo flavifrons,) 

 all within the bounds of one small tract of broken wood- 

 land, the- first two in a watered ravine, the others on the 

 summit of the hill. 



There is one group or sub-genus of the Thrush family 

 that is quite puzzling to inexperienced observers because of 

 the remarkable likeness existing between the different spe- 

 cies. This group embraces the Thrush named above, the 

 Wood Thrush, the Olive-backed Thrush and Wilson's 

 Thrush or Veery. The following are the most important 



