July, 1884.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



81 



could frequently reach from one tree to 

 another and take two or three sets of eggs. 

 The young Herons were exceedingly vicious, 

 and upon our appearing at the nests, they 

 would dart their huge bills towards our 

 faces and make queer noises. 



Several Snowy Herons were seen but 

 we could get no shot at them. Arriving 

 home, on counting the eggs, my share came 

 to just eighty, thirteen of which were sets 

 of four, the rest sets of three and single 

 eggs. A correct estimate of the number of 

 the nests in the place could not be made, 

 but it certainly went into the thousands. — 

 II A. Talbot, Providence, Ii. I. 



Five Additions to the Avi-fauna of 

 Michigan. 



1. Long-t ailed Chickadee, (Parus atri- 

 capillus septentrionalis). — Captured May 

 29, 1874. The plumage of this specimen 

 was very much bleached and faded, the 

 tail was a trifle less than three inches, the 

 size of tarsus and foot excessively large for 

 so small a bird. One specimen has been 

 taken since the above date. 



2. Brown-headed Nuthatch, (Sitta 

 pmilla).—1&keu. May 12, 1875. This bird 

 was sent in the flesh to Mr. W. H. Collins 

 of Detroit, to be mounted, but on account 

 of the warm weather, it spoiled before 

 reaching him. 



3. Gray-headed Snow Bird, (Junco cin- 

 ereus caniceps). — This bird was taken alive 

 from a small bunch of Tory weeds, among 

 the burrs of which it had become acci- 

 dentally entangled. It was placed under 

 a sieve in the chamber of my barn until I 

 could give it better quarters, but while 

 feeding it, the next morning, it succeeded in 

 getting away from me. 



4. Western Nonpareil, ( Gyanospiza 

 versicolor). — I shot this specimen, which 

 proved to be a male in full plumage, May 

 18, 1874. At the request of Prof. Baird 

 the mounted bird was sent to Mr. Bidgway, 

 of the Smithsonian, for identification, who 



wrote me as follows : " The specimen sent 

 for examination is unquestionably C. versi- 

 color." This is believed to be the first 

 occurrence or capture of the Western 

 Nonpareil within the limits of the United 

 States. The specimen is in the collection 

 of Prof. J. M. B. Sill, of Detroit. 



5. Ground Dove, (Chamcepelia pass- 

 erina). — I met with a pair of Ground Doves 

 in the township of Brighton, Livingston 

 Co., in the summer of 1843. They were 

 so tame that I walked up within 25 or 30 

 feet of them, where my opportunity to 

 identify them was nearly as good as if I 

 had them in my hand. I watched them 

 for a long time, greatly pleased with their 

 tender cooing notes and innocent ways. — 

 Dr. II. A. Atkins, Locke, Michigan. 



Among the Red-tails. 



One of the commonest birds of prey to 

 be found in Northern Illinois, is the Bed- 

 tailed Hawk (Buteo borealis.) A person 

 will meet with them in all sorts of places, 

 but they are most common in the vicinity 

 of heavy timber. In driving through the 

 country one will see them perched upon 

 rail fences, trees by the wayside, sitting 

 on the ground in stubble or pasture fields, 

 or soaring over fields in search of their 

 prey. When on one of his foraging ex- 

 peditions the Bed-tail, on sighting his 

 prey, will remain at the same place in the 

 air by a contiuual flapping of the wings, 

 when at the proper time he will dive 

 swiftly and silently upon it. Their food 

 consists chiefly of small animals, the 

 striped gopher and ground mole being his 

 favorites. Small snakes are also very often 

 eaten by them ; indeed, during the months 

 of July and August it is pretty hard to 

 find one that does not contain one or 

 more of these reptiles along with their 

 other food. For several j'ears I have tried 

 in vain to procure some good sets of their 

 eggs, but found I was almost always too 

 late, as the eggs would be too far ad- 

 vanced in incubation or would be hatched. 



