YELLOWHEAD (Xanthocephalus 
xanthocephalus) 
Length, about 1o‘inches. Our only blackbird 
with a yellow head. 
Range: Confined to western North America. 
Breeds from southern British Columbia, south- 
ern Mackenzie, southwestern Keewatin, and 
northern Minnesota to southern California and 
Arizona, east to southern Wisconsin, Illinois, 
and Indiana; winters from southwestern Cali- 
fornia, southern Arizona, southeastern Texas, 
and southwestern Louisiana south into Mexico. 
Apparently Nature started out with the in- 
tention of making an oriole, but decided to 
make a blackbird instead—and behold the yel- 
lowhead. He is a sociable chap and nests in 
great companies in the tule swamps of the 
west. The yellowhead's voice is harsh and 
guttural and his vocal efforts have been well 
characterized as a maximum of earnest effort 
with a minimum of harmony. Late in mid- 
summer when the young are on the wing, old 
and young betake themselves to the uplands, 
grain fields, pastures, and corrals, associating 
as often as not with redwings and Brewer’s 
blackbirds. The yellowhead feeds principally 
upon insects, grain, and weed seed, and does 
not attack fruit or garden produce; but it does 
much good by eating noxious insects and 
troublesome weeds; where too abundant it is 
likely to be injurious to grain. 
STARLING (Sturnus vulgaris) 
Length, about 8% inches. Gencral color dark 
purple or green with reflections; feathers above 
tipped with creamy buff, In flight and general 
appearance unlike any native species. 
Range: At present most numerous near New 
York City. Has spread to Massachusetts, Con- 
necticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, 
Virginia, and recently to the District of Co- 
lumbia; resident where found, though wander- 
ing southward in winter in search of food. 
The Old World has sent us two bird pests— 
the English sparrow and the starling. Al- 
though, up to the present time, we cannot con- 
vict the starling of having done any great dam- 
age he has proclivities which make him poten- 
tially very dangerous. Introduced into New 
York in 1890, the original sixty have multiplied 
many fold and spread in all directions till now 
they occupy territory hundreds of miles square, 
and are multiplying and spreading faster than 
ever. On the north they have entered Massa- 
chusetts and Connecticut, and on the south 
they have reached Richmond, though only in 
migration. Even as I write the calls of a flock 
of 200 or more can be heard coming from a 
neighboring park, but as yet the bird has hot 
elected to summer in the National Capital. 
The starling is a hardy, prolific bird and is also 
aggressive. Like the English sparrow it asso- 
ciates in flocks, which is a great advantage in 
bird disputes. There is little doubt that the 
effect of its increase and spread over ovr coun- 
try will prove disastrous to native species, such 
as the bluebirds, crested flycatchers, swallows, 
wrens, and flickers, all valuable economic spe- 
cies, which nest in cavities as does the starling. 
47 
COWBIRD (Molothrus ater) 
Length, about 8 inches. Male glossy black, 
head, neck, and breast brown, Female brown- 
ish gray. 
Range: Breeds from southern British Co- 
lumbia, southern Mackenzie, and southeastern 
Canada south to northern California, Nevada, 
northern New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and 
North Carolina; winters from southeastern 
California and the Ohio and Potomac valleys 
to the Gulf and to central Mexico. 
Chapman calls the cowbird a villain—but is 
not the villain in the piece often the most in- 
teresting character on the stage? Thus our 
cowbird, short as he,is of manners and morals, 
cannot fail to interest the bird lover. He is 
full of idiosyncrasies that keep one guessing. 
Why, for instance, his close association with 
the peaceful cow? Why his ludicrous attempts 
to sing, he who has not a thread of music in 
his whole make-up? How did Madame Cow- 
bird come to lapse from the paths of virtue 
and, in place of building a nest of her own, 
foist her eggs and the care of her offspring on 
smaller and better principled birds to their det- 
riment? 
CHIMNEY SWIFT (Chetura pelagica) 
Length, rather less than 5% inches. Too well 
known by its peculiar flight and habits to need 
describing. 
Range: Known only in eastern North Amer- 
ica. Breeds from southeastern Saskatchewan, 
Manitoba, Quebec, and Newfoundland south to 
Gulf coast; west to Plains from eastern Mon- 
tana to eastern Texas; winters south of the 
United States, 
The popular name of this bird, chimney 
swallow, embodies an error, since the bird not 
only is not a swallow, but is not even distantly 
related to the swallow family. Unlike the 
hummingbirds as the chimney swift is in ap- 
pearance and habits, it is structurally not far 
removed from them, Like the swallows it is 
an indefatigable skimmer of the air, and like 
them it earns a debt of gratitude by destroy- 
ing vast numbers of our winged enemies, which 
its unsurpassed powers of flight enable it to 
capture. Indeed, chimney swifts eat nothing 
but insects, and no insect that flies is safe from 
them, unless it be too large for them to swal- 
low. In June swifts may be seen gathering 
twigs for nest material. They disdain to pick 
these up from the ground, but seize the cov- 
eted twig with their strong feet and break it 
off from the terminal branch when in full 
flight. By means of a sticky saliva secreted 
for the purpose the swift glues these twigs to 
the sides of the chimney in the form of a shal- 
low nest. Although not generally known, 
swifts roost in chimneys and cling to the walls 
by using the sharp-pointed tail as a prop, as 
do many woodpeckers in ascending trees. Any 
bird lover may secure distinction by solving 
an ornithological riddle and telling us where 
our chimney swifts spend the winter. They 
come in spring, they go in fall, and at present 
that is about all we know of the matter, save 
that they do not hibernate in hollow trees, as 
many have believed. 
