JAY— CREEPER— FINCH— WOODPECKER— MERGANSER— SCAUP-DUCK. 



98 



motion. Their food consists of surface fish, small bivalves, and 

 aquatic insects ; while its name is taken from the peculiar cry with 

 which, in the breeding season, it assails any intruder on its domain. 

 According to Faber's Icelandic Ornithology, its swarms are so nu- 

 merous on Grimsoe that they darken the sun when they fly, deafen 

 the ear when they scream, and deck the green-capped rocks with 

 a white covering when they breed. 



Florida Jay. ( Cyanocitta Jlortdanai) 



Fig. a. 



But few birds have so limited a range as this beautiful Jay, it 

 having never been discovered outside the State of Florida, and 

 even there is confined to growths of scrub oak alone. Its nest is 

 composed of dry sticks loosely plaited together, leaving interstices 

 so large that the bird may be seen between them, and is lined with 

 fine rootlets and the fibers of the dwarf-palmetto. The eggs are 

 from four to six, light blue in color, sparingly sprinkled with rufous 

 spots, and measuring about 1.05 by .80 inches. But one brood is 

 raised during the season. Its food consists of snails, insects, va- 

 rious fruits and berries, the acorns of the oak, and the seeds of the 

 sword-palmetto. Its flight resembles that of the Canada Jay, and 

 while its notes are more frequently uttered than those of the Blue 

 Jay, they are much softer. According to Audubon, it is easily 

 kept in a cage, when it will feed on fresh or dried fruit such as figs 

 and raisins, and the kernels of various nuts, securing the food beneath 

 its feet and breaking it to pieces before swallowing. A pair kept 

 in confinement were fed upon rice and all kinds of dried fruit, and 

 when, after dinner, the cage door was opened, would fly to the 

 table and feed on the almonds that were given them and drink claret 

 diluted with water. Both attempted to imitate particular sounds, 

 but in a very imperfect manner. 



Bahama Creeper. (Certhiola bahamensis.') 



Fig. 3- 



This bird belongs to the West India Islands, and is occasionally 

 found upon the Keys of the southeast coast of Florida. Nothing 

 seems to be known regarding its habits. That they resemble those 

 of allied species is very probable, but, in the absence of any re- 

 corded facts, we simply give a life-like representation of the bird. 



Bachman'8 Finch. (Peuccca bachmani.) 



Fig. 4- 



Until recently, the range of this bird was supposed to be confined 

 to the States of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Mr. Ridge- 

 way reports it as breeding in Southern Illinois, and it is probably 

 common throughout the Southern States. It receives its name from 

 the distinguished naturalist and associate of Audubon, Dr. John 

 Bachman, who was the first to notice it and to study its habits. It 

 is not a shy bird, but it has a habit, after giving utterance to its me- 

 lodious notes, of plunging into the tall broom grass that is invariably 

 found near its haunts. Dr. Bachman regarded this bird as the 

 finest singer of all the Sparrow family ; and Mr. Ridgeway tells us 

 that the song is one of the finest he has ever heard, resembling the 

 sweet chaunt of the Field Sparrow, only stronger, and varied with 

 a clear, high, and musical strain, resembling the syllables "thee- 

 eeeee-til-lut, lut-lut." Its nest is made on the ground, concealed 

 in tufts of thick grass, composed of wir}^ species of coarse grasses 

 and without lining. The eggs are four in number, of a pure, clear 

 white, and measure about .74 by .60 inches. Its food consists of 

 fine seed, small berries, and coleopterous insects. 



Red-oockaded Woodpecker. (Picus borealis.) 



Fig. 5- 



This bird is confined to the Southeastern Atlantic States, extend- 

 ing, though rarely, north and west to Pennsylvania and Texas. 

 According to Audubon, the nest is usually found bored in a decayed 

 stump, about thirty feet from the ground. The eggs are from four 

 to six in number, pure white, elliptical in shape, and measuring 

 about .95 by .70 inches. When the young are hatched, and before 

 they are able to fly, they crawl out of the hole and wait on the 

 branches for their parents to bring them food until they are able to 

 shift for themselves. It glides up and sideways on the branches 

 and trunks of trees with great celerity, excelling all other Wood- 

 peckers in this respect, and constantly giving utterance to short, 

 shrill cries that may be heard at a considerable distance. These 

 cries are also kept up while on the wing, and during the love-season 

 are incessant and much more vigorous. It is a pugnacious bird, 

 defending its rights to the last. Audubon once captured one, but, 

 as it refused to accept food from his hands, it was allowed its free- 

 dom. While in his possession it would crawl up the wall, which 

 was brick and unplastered, and eat the stray spiders and other in- 

 sects lodged in the crevices. 



Red-breast Merganser — Fishing Duck. (Mergus serrator) 



Fig. 6. 



This bird is common throughout the Northern Hemisphere, fre- 

 quenting the estuaries and rivers of Great Britain. In winter it is 

 met with on nearly every unfrozen stream of the Union. Audubon 

 tells us that it breeds in many parts of our Middle and Eastern 

 States, and that he found the female in charge of her brood twice 

 in Kentucky ; and that in the States of New York, Massachusetts, 

 and Maine, it is by no means a rare occurrence to meet with the 

 nest of this bird along the borders of small secluded lakes. It is 

 an expert diver, at the least alarm diving beneath the water and 

 swimming long distances, and when it approaches the surface 

 first thrusting out its head for the purpose of reconnoitering. Its 

 flight is strong and very rapid, and capable of being sustained for 

 long distances. According to Audubon, it is so gluttonous that it 

 frequently has to disgorge before it is enabled to fly, and that some 

 kept in confinement died from overeating. Its nest is built accord- 

 ing to latitude and the earliness of the season, from the first of 

 March until the middle of May, and is usually placed within a 

 short distance of the margin of fresh water. It is composed of dry 

 weeds, mosses of various kinds, and lined with down from the 

 breast of the female. The eggs vary from six to ten, are of a dull 

 yellow cream-color, and measure about 2.50 by 1.62 inches. As 

 soon as the young are hatched, they betake themselves to the water, 

 and need but the briefest lesson to become the most expert of divers. 

 The flesh of this bird is very tough, and has a most decided fishy 

 flavor. 



Little Black-headed Duck— Blue-bill— Broad-bill- 



gula ajjinis?) 



Fig- 7- 



-Scaup-duck. (Fuli- 



This Duck inhabits the whole of North America, breeding from 

 the extreme Northern States northward, wintering from the Middle 

 States southward, and is found in great abundance on the Ohio, 

 Missouri, and Mississippi rivers. It arrives at its winter quarters 

 about the first of October, and leaves from the first of March to the 

 middle of April. Its nest is exceedingly rude, consisting of the 

 merest excavation and surrounded by a few sticks. The eggs are 

 ovoidal in form, of a dirty pale drab color, and measure about 2.25 



