I'HE IOWA ORNITHOLOGIST. 



tail white including- the 

 under coverts; the central 

 feathers and usualh^ part of the 

 next pair tog^ether with the upper 

 coverts black. Bill and feet black; 

 iris brown. Leng^th 12.50; extent 

 22.00; wing- 7.00, 8.00; tail 4.00. 

 4.50; tarsus 1.35; bill averag-ing 

 1.67; feet from 1.25, 1.75. Sexes 

 alike in color, but female smaller 

 than male. Young- similar but 

 browner ash. There is great 

 difference in the shade in adults, 

 the plumage when fresh being 

 more g-laucous ash v/earing 

 browner and also bleaching espec- 

 ially on the head. Hah. Coniferous 

 belt of the West. North to Sitka, 

 South to Mexico, East to Neb- 

 raska, West to the Coast Rang-es. 

 (Cone's Key, page 418.) "On Sept. 

 23, 1894, a Clarke's Nutcracker 

 was shot by Cal. Brown, 4 miles 

 South of this city and sent to me 

 for identification. (This specimen 

 was also identified by Prof. C. C. 

 Nutting-, chairman of the com- 

 mittee on State Fauna of the Iowa 

 Academy of Sciences. ) The bird 

 was alone when shot in small 

 tree, in pasture. This specimen 

 is now in the Iowa State Uni- 

 versity Collection, and according- 

 to letters received by me from 

 C. C. Nutting-, it is \\\^ first record 

 of its occurrence in Iowa." (Carl 

 Fritz Henning-.) 



Family TANAGRID.E. 



Tanagers. 



608. Piranga erythromelas. (Vieill.) 

 SCARLET TANAGER. 



"Common summer resident in 

 Jackson Co., present in '94 from 

 May 8, to Aug. 31. Far more 

 abundant than is generally sup- 

 posed, keeping in the tops of the 

 trees most of the time. A fine 

 sing-er. Nests in June; nest is 

 placed on horizontal limb of 

 forest trees, loosely constructed of 

 stems and twig-s, and lined with 

 fine rootlets, etc. Egg"s three to 

 five, blotched and spotted with 

 reddish brown. The only mem- 

 ber of this family I have found 

 here."(H. J. Gidding-s ) "Breeds 

 in Des Moines and Johnson Co's. 

 Ill the former I have found an 

 orchard near a forest to be a fav- 

 orite nesting" place. In the latter 

 the}' prefer the timber, usually 

 placing- the nest on a horizontal 

 limb of an oak. Grossly imposed 

 upon by the Cowbird. Have 

 found sets of one eg-g of the Tan- 

 ag-er, and three of the Cowbird. 

 Arrived in Johnson county, May 

 9, 1894. A specimen, female, in 

 in S. U. I. bears date of October 

 7, 1894."(Paul Bartsch.) "Com- 

 mon summer resident in Marshall 

 Co. May to September. Con- 

 fines itself to the woods. Never 

 found nest but I am confident it 

 breeds here." (A. P. Godley. ) 



"Is not an uncommon summer 

 resident in Scott Co. preferring 



