16 A PRELIMINARY LIST OF THE 



had fed very largely on a small brown beetle 

 (Colaspis brunnea) which in its grub state some- 

 times does considerable mischief by eating the roots 

 of strawberry plants. 



Audubon observed martins at Louisville as early 

 as March 15. 



Tanagers (Family Tanagridse). 



103. Scarlet Tanager (Piranga erythromelas, Vieillot). 



A rather rare migrant iu eastern Kentucky. 

 Audubon records it as plentiful in the State. 



104. Summer Red Bird (Piranga rubra, Linn.). 



A common summer resident throughout Ken- 

 tucky. The nest with fresh eggs may often be 

 seen fromthe middle of May to June 1. It is one 

 of our most characteristic birds. 



Finches (Family Fringillidse). 



105. Black-throated Buntmg(Spiza americana, Gmelin). 



A summer resident. Not very common. This 

 is one of the birds mentioned by Mr. John Bur- 

 roughs (see an article entitled " A Taste of Ken- 

 tucky Blue-grass" in The Century for July, 1890) 

 as characteristic of this region. The bird is not 

 rare in some localities, but taking the State as a 

 whole, cannot be ranked with such species as the 

 red-headed woodpecker, the flicker, the summer 

 red bird, the cardinal grosbeak, the Carolina wren, 

 the crow, and the mocking bird. These are per- 

 manent residents and are common throughout the 

 State. The black-throat occurs here only during 

 the summer, and not a tithe of the individuals are 

 to be seen in the State that occur on the prairies of 

 states north of the Ohio River. The nests with 



