36 



THE SUNNY SOUTH OOLOGIST. 



Interesting- Items from a Dakota Note- 

 Book. 



93. Summer Yellow Bird. — This bird 

 begins nesting about June 1st. and lays 

 four bluish-white or creamy-white eggs, 

 spotted and blotched with different shades 

 of brown. It and its nest is found usual- 

 ly in the low bnshes near water, and 

 sometimes in the cultivated trees. The 

 nest is small and neat, made of the out- 

 side bark of weeds and lined with down. 

 I found one nest last season with three 

 Yellow-bird's eggs, and a Cow-bird's 

 egg tightly woven into the bottom of the 

 nest, and I could not get it out without 

 smashing it. 



123. Yellow Breast Chat arrives 

 May 12th, and lays about June loth, four 

 or five eggs. Nest found July 7th con- 

 tained ihree eggs. The birds' and nests 

 are usually found on the sides of very 

 steep banks, covered thickly with bushes 

 and small trees, near creeks. Occasion- 

 ally they nest in cultivated trees near 

 houses. The nest is similar to that of 

 the King-bird. 



197a. Western Grass Finch is 

 seen commonly in the roads and around 

 farm houses. The only set I have taken 

 was found May 30th, '85 ; the nest was 

 about four inches deep and two inches in 

 diameter, placed in some '"straw mulch- 

 ing," and constructed of grass and straw, 

 lined with horse hair. It contained four 

 much incubated egss, of a grayish-white, 

 spotted and blotched with redish-brown. 

 The female runs from the nest like a lark, 

 and skulks twenty or thirty feet before 

 taking wing. 



254. Black-Throated Bunting. — 

 This bird is most common in the high 

 grass of the river bottoms, where its nest 

 is generally found. The only nest I ever 

 found was in the long slough-grass, about 

 two or three feet from the ground, con- 

 structed of dry grass, and contained four 

 blue . eggs. They were found between 

 June 15th and 26th, 1884. 



270. Orchard Oriole. — It inhabits 

 the small water- willows along the banks 

 of rivers, and builds a pensile nest of 



green grass, lined with down ; begins 

 nesting about June 10th, laying five light- 

 blue or bluish white eggs, with brown 

 and black marks, spots and scratches. 



325a. Traills Flycatcher. — This 

 bird inhabits cultivated tree claims and 

 bushy creek banks. I found July 1st, 

 two nests containing four eggs each.. 

 They were in the forks of ash trees, 

 about four feet from the ground. Another 

 set taken July 7th, consisted of three 

 fresh eggs. The nests are most always 

 found in a fork of more than three 

 branches, each one about the size of a 

 lead pencil. The nest is constructed of 

 weed stalks, gra*s, etc., lined with down 

 and hair. The eggs are creamy-white, 

 dotted around the larger end with reddish- 

 brown. 



357a Western Nighthawk arrives 

 May 20th. Eggs are laid on bare ground,, 

 generally on stony bluffs, sometimes on 

 rocks and breaking. Fresh set of two 

 eggs found June 2nd, 1885, and another 

 set of fresh eggs found August 1st. 

 Leaves for the South about August 28th. 



388. Black-billed Cuckoo arrives 

 June 13th, commences nesting June 25th. 

 It inhabits chiefly steep banks over 

 creeks, and small trees near rivers. The 

 nest is placed on a ho:izontal branch, and 

 composed of a few sticks loosely laid to- 

 gether, very frail and flat. The eggs are 

 four in number, of a blue ground, some- 

 times clouded with darker blue. 



442. Swainson's Hawk nests in the 

 small trees near the river. I think I 

 have taken sets of eggs of this species 

 soon after the first of May. I took a set 

 of very highly colored eggs (showing 

 them to be the first of the season by that 

 bird), Juue 14th, also a set of highly 

 colored, and a set of plain dull white eggs 

 on the 9th of June. For three years I 

 took a set each year from one nest, and 

 the second year I took three sets of two 

 ( ggs each from the same. They fre- 

 quently build in the low bushes on the 

 steep creek banks. The eggs arc the 

 same as other hawks' eggs, grayish- white, 

 with red and reddish-brown spots, marks, 

 etc, 



