THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



33 



SOMK OKEtiON BIRDS. 



I!v G. L. IIowk. 



Sooty Cr rouse. 



( Dendragapus obscurus fuliginosws. ) 

 This bird is very common in the YVilliam- 

 ette valley. Tn the winter it remains at the 

 top of the large fir trees begining to "hoot" 

 at the first warm "spell" in spring. It 

 makes about five slow "hoots" and then 

 about six in quick succession. It is very 

 hard to locate them when they are "hooting." 

 I have often been under a tree where I knew 

 there was one, looking for as much as twen- 

 ty minutes, but come away without seeing 

 it, although it kept a hooting all the time. 

 They are a very dark bird, much more so 

 then the Oregon Ruffled grouse. {Bonasa 

 umbellus sabini). The male is darker than 

 the female, and has a yellowish pouch on 

 his neck about the size of an oiive. Only 

 the males "hoot." The sooty grouse is also 

 larger than the ruffled grouse. When the 

 grain is ripe it leaves the trees and makes its 

 home in the fields. It breeds early in the 

 spring, making a nest on the ground out of 

 grass, leaves etc., and lining it with feathers 

 arid wool. It lays about eight eggs, of a 

 buff color, thickly spotted with brown, about 

 1.85 x 1.35 in size. The Sooty grouse is not 

 as good eating as the ruffled grouse as it is 

 tougher, but is a great deal better than duck. 

 It lives mostly on grain and fir buds, I know 

 of one occurrence where a Ring Neck 

 Mongolian and a Sooty Grouse layed 

 in the same nest, the sooty grouse' hatching 

 all the eggs and raising both broods. I did 

 not see the Grouse but I saw the egg shells 

 of both kinds of eggs; and I am well ac_ 

 quainted with the person that found the nest. 

 Western^ Ulead© w Lark. 

 [Stumella magna neglecta.) 

 This is one of our commonest birds. It is 

 so much like the Meadow Lark {Stumella 

 magna) that it needs no description. It 

 makes its nest on the ground in the grass. 

 It is composed of grass, feathers, paper and 

 hairs ; it is covered, that is the grass is wove 

 in at the top so as to form a csmplete cover- 



ing the bird entering at the 'side. Any per- 

 son directly over the nest cannot find it, but 

 gel on the right side, and it is plainly seen. 

 The nest is generally placed in a slight 

 depression made by a horses foot, or a wheel 

 track. The eggs are generally five in numbe, 

 of a pure white color, thickly spotted with 

 brown and purple. The average size is 

 about 1.08 x 1.85; but they vary greatly in 

 size and color: some being long and slender 

 others thick and short. 



Red Shafted Flicker. 

 ( Colaptes ca/er) 

 This woodpecker is abundant in Oregon, 

 I shall not describe it as it is so common. 

 It makes its nest in a hollow tree, or in a 

 cavity that it makes in a sound tree. It 

 is composed of sawdust, feathers etc., and 

 is generally about two feet lower than the 

 enterance hole. It lays from six to ten eggs 

 of a pure white color ; in size about 1.14 \ 85, 

 Band-tailed Pigeon. 

 (Columba fasciata.) 

 This Pigeon is very common in this localitv 

 in certain parts of the year. It comes in 

 the spring and goes again in the fall. About 

 a mile from where I live there is a spring 

 the water of which is a little salty ; the birds 

 congregate there in great numbers. In the 

 morning the birds are found around the 

 water ; but in the afternoon they seek the 

 grain fields and the cherry trees, also the 

 strawberry fields and the alderberries when 

 they are ripe. They do not nest in this 

 locality (at any rate I have never seen a nest, 

 [nor do I know of any body that has] within 

 twenty miles of here). The bird looks very 

 much like the common blue Pigeon; being 

 about the size and color with the exception 

 that the band-tailed has a white ring around 

 its neck, and a darkish band across its tail. 

 It is not very good eating, as it has a strong 

 taste, something like that ol a duck, when 

 boiled. It makes its nest in a small tree, or 

 on the ground. The nest is composed of 

 twigs, sticks, feathers etc., and is a mere 

 platform of twigs. The eggs are two in 

 number, of a glistening white color and with 

 an average size of 1.50.x 1.20. 



