AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 13 



expressed in the "witchery" song of the male when he launches him- 

 self into the air from the tip of some bush and mounts skyward for fifty 

 or more feet, singing as he goes, and then descends either on gliding 

 wings or with the utmost abandon, as suits his fancy. 



BELDING YELLOW^THROAT. 



A. O. U. No. 683. (Geothlypis beldingi) 



Range. — Lower California. 

 DESCRIPTION. 



Similar to and as bright as the western Yellow-throat but with the 

 black mask crossing the head diagonally on top and bordered behind 

 by yellow instead of white. It also differs in being quite a little larger 

 that being the chief difference between the females of the two species; 

 length 5.7 inches whereas the common Yellow-throat is but 5.2 inches. 



HABITS. 



The habits of this peculiar species do not differ materially from those 

 of the other Yellow-throats but from all that is known of them they 

 appear to nest exclusively among reeds or cat-tails over water, as the 

 Western Yellow-throat does frequently. The nests that have been 

 found were from two to four feet above the water and were made of 

 the cat-tail leaves lined with fibre and hairs. The eggs are like those 

 of the preceding but slightly larger. 



RIO GRANDE YELLOW^THROAT. 



A. O. U. No. 683.1. (Geothlypis poliocephaea) . 



RANGE. 



Rio Grade Valley in Texas and south. This species is of the size of 

 the last; it has only the lores and forehead black, the crown and cheeks 

 being gray; otherwise it is colored like the common Maryland Yellow- 

 throat. Its habits do not differ at all from the others of the genus. 

 They are only locally abundant in Texas. 



TOM, DICK AND HARRY. 



By J. S. Dixon. 



Tom, Dick and Harry were three Desert Sparrow hawks; (Falco 

 sparverius deserticolus). Their first view of the world was from a 

 hallow limb of a white oak, which was their home. This cavity was 

 about 18 inches long by 6 inches in diameter, but it was large enough 

 to shelter a happy family of six. 



My attention was attracted to this tree one day in the last week in 

 June 1902, by the mother bird swooping down at me as I was passing 

 by. From her angry demonstrations I concluded there was a nest of 

 young ones nearby. I climbed up to a favorable looking stub and 

 looked in. I was greeted by a scream from the inmates which were 

 four in number. Their cry brought both parents from a nearby tree 



