Aug. 1884.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



103 



weed stalks, and lined with fine dried grasses and weed 

 stems. It contained two fresh eggs tinged with light bine 

 and blotched with black or brown. This bird is very 

 abundant. 



Discovered in a small retired wood the nest of a Scarlet 

 Tanager. This was placed in the top of a dead Crab-apple 

 tree covered with the wild grape-vine, about twenty feet 

 from the ground. Was enabled to reach it by climbing an 

 adjoining sapling. It was loosely constructed of light, 

 dried weed-stalks, with a few dried thorn-blossom stems 

 and horse-hair for a lining. It contained four eggs— two 

 being the owners, and two the Cow Blackbird's. The form- 

 er's eggs are somewhat elongated and of a light blue color, 

 spotted with reddish brown. Observed the male of the 

 above bird repeatedly give chase to the Blue Jay until he 

 had entirely driven him from the premises. 



Numerous nests of the Wood Thrush, also of the Balti- 

 more Oriole and several of the Summer Yellow-bird came 

 under my observation. 



Mat 25. In my saddle this evening I heard issuing from 

 the thicket at the side of the road a single whistling bird 

 note at short intervals, and one I had not before heard this 

 spring. I suspected the author of it but was resolved to get 

 sight of him. I dismounted and went in pursuit. The odd 

 note sounded at a little distance among some briers ; while 

 nearing the spot the same note was suddenly transferred 

 to another part of the thicket. Thither I bent my course, 

 and now when just npon him (as I imagined) again that 

 same strange note fell on my ear, and this time directly 

 from behind me, and as far away as before. At length — 

 after we had kept up this hide and seek game for at least a 

 quarter of an hour — he blew his whistle from some low 

 briers out in the open field, when, by a near approach, I 

 succeeded in sighting and recognizing his oddity the Yel- 

 low-breasted Chat, (Icteria virens.) This bird is about the 

 size of the Catbird, has a bright yellow throat and breast ; 

 the upper parts are a uniform olive green. He lives in the 

 midst of thickets and down among the briers, and because 

 of his skulking habits, although not uncommon, is rarely 

 seen. During the breeding season his many odd notes and 

 singular ways have made him quite famous. 



May 2T. During a drive along the creek-road this even- 

 ing saw a pair of Belted Kingfishers, (Ceryle alcyon) also a 

 pair of Spotted Sandpipers, (Tringoides macular ?ms), better 

 known perhaps as the Tip-up or Teeter-tail. Both of these 

 birds are common summer residents along our streams. 

 The prevailing color of the Kingfisher is dull blue; there is 

 a white band around the neck, and a band of blue across 

 the breast, and in the female a belly-band of chestnut. The 

 head is quite large and crested. The Spotted Sandpiper is 

 quite a small bird of a " Quaker" color. The more common 

 names describe a curious habit which sufficiently distin- 

 guishes the bird to most persons. 



June 1. A morning's stroll along the banks of " Tum- 

 bleson's Run 1 '— but sparsely timbered, but in many places 

 covered with a thick undergrowth, resulted in the finding of 

 many nests. One was that of the Wood Thrush— fixed as 

 usual in a low bush— which contained two eggs of the Cow- 

 Blackbird and but one of the Thrush, all in an advanced 

 state of incubation. At one time it was supposed the 

 Cow-blackbird laid her eggs only in the nests of a few elect 

 birds, and those smaller than herself. My observations 

 this season satisfy me they are almost wholly indifferent to 

 the matter, having found their eggs alike in nests of the 

 Summer Yellowbird and Cardinal Grosbeak, the Phcebe- 

 bird, the Scarlet Tanager and Towhee Bunting, and in nests 

 in the tree-top, in the bush and on the ground. Having in 

 view returning to the above nest hereafter, I removed the 

 Thrush's eggs, being curious to know what measure of de- 



votion these birds will give to raising Cow-blackbirds. 



Another nest was the Scarlet Tanager's. This was near 

 the end of a horizontal limb of the Spruce, about fifteen 

 feet from the ground. This seemed to be even a more 

 flimsy affair than the nest of this bird previously described, 

 being almost as transparent as a coarse sieve. 



Another was that of the Black-capped Titmouse or Chick- 

 adee. This was in a hole in a rotten limb of an old decayed 

 and fallen tree, about three feet from the ground. By 

 breaking off a few bits of the rotten wood with my hand 

 was enabled to see into the nest and to discover two well 

 fledged young birds. The nest consisted of a soft material 

 of both animal and vegetable matter. In a bit I tore off, 

 detected a number of hairs of the grey squirrel. These 

 birds are not numerous here and their ne^ts very rarely met 

 with. 



Another nest I was much gratified in finding was that of 

 the Kose-breasted Grosbeak. This was placed in the top 

 of a thorn-bush about eight feet high on the bank of said 

 stream, on the edge of a thicket and in the neighborhood of 

 a few tall trees. It much resembled that of the Cardinal 

 Grosbeak, being a light, thin structure, and composed exte- 

 riorly chiefly of dried weed stalks loosely put together; the 

 inside material— forming a good half of the whole— consist- 

 ed exclusively of fine dried stems of the Spruce-pine. It 

 contained three fresh eggs. 



Secured a beautiful specimen of the Cerulean Warbler, 

 (Dendrceca caerulea,) which I shot out of the topmost bran- 

 ches of a massive oak, firing three times before bringing it 

 down. This bird discovered itself to me by its song, the 

 notes of which— forming a single brief strain oft repeated — 

 were very loud and ■ animated for so small a bird. The fol- 

 lowing will serve for a description : above, a beautiful azuie 

 blue streaked with black ; below white, streaked on the 

 breasts and sides with black ; wings crossed with two bars 

 of white. 



Shot an Orchard Oriole for identification failing to recog- 

 nize its song. This was a bird of the last year and of imper- 

 fect coloring. Under date of May 2, 1 said there was a striking 

 similarity between the song of this bird and the Warbling 

 Vireo. In many instances this is true, hut I find, after 

 more extended observation, the former's song is not always 

 identical, not even in the same individual, as it always is 

 with the Vireo. 



Saw the Black-billed Cuckoo, (Coccyzus eruthrophthalmus), 

 for the first time this season. The strange, low, guttural 

 notes of several of these birds fell on my ear during the 

 morning. There are two species of the American Cuckoo, 

 the other being called the Yellow-biUed. These are long, 

 slender birds— the tail itself measuring at least six inches. 

 The coloring in both is about the same, being a uniform 

 olive-green above and white below. The eye lids of the 

 Black-billed are a bright red and the tail feathers but slight- 

 ly tipped with white. In the Yellow-billed the lateral tail 

 feathers are black and all have large white tips. This last 

 feature will enable one at once to separate the two species 

 with a view from beneath. The yellow bill is also readily 

 detected. 



Brief Notes. 



Five Additions to the Avi-fauna ov Michigan, (O. 

 and O. IX p. SI). Dr. Atkins desires us to add the date of 

 capture of the Gray-headed Snow Bird, which was accident- 

 ally omitted. It was October 22d, 1STS. 



The Oregon Jay. (O. and O. IX p G9) "May 4th" in 

 this article should read " March 4th." 



A Trip to a Hekonky. (O. and 0. IX p 30.) I notice 

 in O. and O. for July a piece entitled "A Trip to a Heron- 

 ry," by H. A. Talbot, of this city. He says : " Several 



