Bulletin of the Michigan Oknithological Club. 



39 



Notes on a Few Southern Ohio Birds, 



I take this opportunity of publishing a few notes on 

 some of the raver species of Southern Ohio birds. Let it 

 be remembered by the members of the Club that the 

 territory in whicli these observations were made has 

 really never before been thoroughly explored in regard to 

 its avi fauna. In the January number, 1898, of the 

 BULLETIN I promised to look for Bachmann's Sparrow 

 in Scioto Co. again. Therefore I spent two weeks 

 in the spring and two in the fall in Scioto Co. for 

 this purpose, but did not succeed in my undertaking. 

 But on April 28th while looking for Bachmann's 

 Sparrow I found a nest of the Woodcock with four 

 incubated eggs. The bird was so tame that a farmer 

 who was ploughing nearby had to touch it with 

 the handle of his whip before it flew up. In connection 

 with this I take the liberty of publishing the follow- 

 ing notes: 



1. Golden Eagle [Aqtdla cJirysai'tos). Prof. W. M. 

 Clayton, superintendent of the Waverly Public School, 

 told me of an "Eagle claw" which had come into his 

 possession and spoke of it as being feathered to the toes. 

 Upon request he brought it to me, and it proved 

 to be the gigantic foot of a Golden Eagle. Further 

 investigations showed that the owner of the foot 

 had been shot near Thanksgiving, 1896, in Ross 

 Co., just across the Pike Co. line. 



2. Saw- whet Owl (jA^'f/'rt'/rt: acadica.) A specimen of 

 this species was shot on Nov. 26, near the Scioto 

 river, by a small boy with a revolver. It is the first 

 record for the County of Pike. 



3. Barn Owl {Strix pradncola.) This Owl, though 

 not iust common, has been a resident of Pike and Scioto 

 counties for the last 8 or 10 years, according to all notes 

 gathered, in. I mounted a fine female adult in August 

 and a young one on Sept. 5, which I had kept 

 in captivity for a few days. 



4. Pileated Woodpecker {^CeopJdceus pileatus.) In 

 some forests here some 7-8 specimens are to be found. 

 The birds are so shy I have not been able to secure 

 one yet. They are so erratic in their place of 

 habitation that several may be seen and heard one 

 day and none the next. 



5. Tennessee Warbler {Hebninthophila peregrina.) 

 This Warbler was seen and taken for the first time 

 on Sept. 24lh at Piketon, was then seen in great 

 numbers on Oct. 3 and 4, near Wheelersburg, Scioto 

 Co., on the banks of the Ohio river. On Oct. 19 

 the last one was taken in Waverly, Ohio. This 

 species had never been seen before. 



6. Wilson's Warbler [Sylvania pusilla.^ A female 

 was shot by me on the banks of the Scioto river on Aug. 

 25th, -which leads to the conclusion that this bird 

 may possibly breed in the state. 



7. Hooded Wai'bler {^Sylvania miirata.) Not so 

 rare a summer resident as in other yeai-s. A male 

 adult taken on Sept. 30, at South Webster, Scioto 

 County, Ohio. 



8. Cape May Warbler (^Dendroica tigrina.) I was 

 so fortunate as to secure a young female of this 

 species on Oct. 3 near Wheelersburg, Scioto Co. It was 

 one of a pair and was shot out of the dizzy heights 

 of a sycamore on the banks of the Ohio river. 



9. Pine Warbler {Dendroica vigor sit.) A young male 

 still partially in first plumage was shot on Oct. 

 5 out of a number of 5 or 6 near the canal at 

 Waverly, thereby giviving the first breeding record of 

 this species for Ohio. A note of it was sent to the 

 <'Auk" in Sept. 



10. Philadelphia Vireo {Vireo philadelphicus.) This 



bird, so erratic in its migrations, was a common 

 spring migrant on May 1 and 2, near Wheelersburg, 

 in an apple orchard on the banks of the Ohio River, 

 It was also a common fall migrant, outnumbering 

 all other migrants, on the banks of Beaver Creek, 

 at Piketon, but it always stayed in the utmost tops of the 

 trees together with various kinds of warblers. There 

 I secured my specimen, a fine male, on Sept. 24th, 

 and could have taken any number of specimens I 

 desired. Future observations will undoubtedly prove 

 this species to be decidedly common in the state. 



11. Purple Gallinule {^lonornis niartinica.) A fine 

 male (juv.) shot on Nov. 15 on the banks of the 

 Scioto River at Waverly, was brought to me the next day. 



It is in a very interesting phase of plumage. All the 

 specimens which Wheaton mentions in his "Birds 

 ot Ohio" were taken in March, April and May, likewise 

 one specimen recorded in the Auk., Vol. XIV, No. 2, 

 page 200. Mr. Oliver Davie in his "Nests and Eggs of 

 North American Birds" states that it has been taken 

 several times in Central Ohio in June and July. 

 My record appears to be the first fall record from 

 the state. This fact and the age of the bird are to 

 my opinion sufficient to warrant its having been 

 reared in the state, and I do not hesitate to put the 

 purple Gallinule down as a breeder in Ohio. A note 

 concerning this was also sent to the Ktik. 



12. English Sparrow {Passer dojuestiais.) An 

 almost perfect albino, with only a few brownish spots on 

 the wings, was shot in Waverly on Sept. 24th and 

 s now in my Collection. The fall migration was a very 

 late one, and as late as Nov. 25th I secured a young male 

 of Agelaius phoeniceus (Red Winged Blackbird) and 

 a fine male of Tiirdus aonalaschkae pallasii (Hermit 

 Thrush) these being my latest records, and I also believe 

 them to be the latest for the state. 



Rev. W. F. Henninger. 

 Waverly, Pike County, Ohio. 



Louisiana Tanager and Sprague's Pippit 

 in Louisana. 



On March 19, 1898, I was on a collecting trip 

 in Jefferson Parish, across the Mississippi from New 

 Orleans, and noticed a Finch-like bird feeding on the 

 buds of a small tree. I shot it, and on picking it 

 up was very much astonished to recognize a young 

 male Louisana Tanager ( Piranga ludovidana. ) This is 

 very far out of the way for a bird of "Upper Mis- 

 souri region and British Columbia" and is besides 

 very early as compared with the arrival here of our other 

 Tanagers. 



On Nov. 24th, while ^ on a Snipe hunting trip 

 across the Mississippi from New Orleans, I was 

 rather surprised and very much pleased to find five 

 Sprague's Pipits [Anthus Spragiied.) The note, man- 

 ner of flight, etc., were very typical, and I had excellent 

 opportunities for observation. The birds were in 

 the more elevated, grassy parts of the field, but took 

 no particular care to avoid, the water, and I saw three on 

 the same ground irom which I flushed a snipe. I 

 secured one, a female in good condition though 

 dull- colored. These are the first I have seen here 

 for a long time, though in '95 about the same 

 number were observed, later in the season and 

 in the same locality. Mr. H. H. Kopman and 

 myself were the observers, and we took one specimen. 



Andrew Allison. 



New Orleans, La. 



