ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM THE SOUTH. 7 
Now, after having given the readers of the NATURALIST a gen- 
eral idea of the locality, I will proceed to consider my more par- 
ticular friends, the birds. 
Arriving at Aiken on the 14th of March, I commenced collecting 
on the same day, and remained there three weeks, during which 
time one hundred and fifty-three specimens were prepared. Owing 
to the unusual tardiness of the season, many, and in fact most, of 
the spring birds had not arrived up to the time of leaving. About 
the 14th of March, I found the yellow-rumped warbler (Dendreca 
coronata) very abundant: on the 17th the pine-creeping warbler 
(D. pinus) first made its appearance, after which time it was quite 
common ; it was very appropriately named the pine-creeping war- 
bler, as I never, except on one occasion, saw it alight, even for an 
instant, on anything but a pine tree; here it would sit by the hour 
and warble out its sweet song. On the 21st, I heard a delicate 
chirp above my head, and, looking up, saw a small bird on the 
top of one of the tallest pine trees; it was too high to be recog- 
nized, so I shot it, and found to my great delight that it was the 
yellow-throated warbler (D. Dominica). The black and white 
creeper (Mniotilta varia) was seen on the 18th, from which time 
afterwards it was common. A few Maryland yellow-throats (Geo- 
eae trichas) arrived on the 31st, but were not numerous. The 
hermit thrush ( Turdus Pallasii) and the robin (Planesticus migra- 
oe were quite plentiful when I arrived. Mocking birds ( Mi- 
mus polyglottus) did not become numerous until about the 25th, 
after which time they “ fairly filled the air with their rich medley 
of inexhaustibly varied notes, the singers’ leaping in restless 
ecstasy from branch to branch, with drooping wings and spread 
tail, or flitting from thicket to thicket as they sang.” I observed 
but one eat-bird (Galeoscoptes Carolinensis) and that was on the 
4th of April; the brown thrush or long-tailed thrasher (Harpo- 
rhynchus rufus) was very common on and after March 19th. 
I shot a pewee or pheebe bird (Sayornis fuscus) on the 15th, 
after which time they were often seen. Our common kingbird, or 
beebird (Tyrannus Carolinensis) arrived on the 4th of April, 
when it immediately commenced its usual noisy abuse of all the 
other species, both large and small, especially the former. On 
the 22d, I shot one blue-headed vireo ( Vireo solitarius), which was 
the only one seen; the white-eyed vireo ( V. Noveboracensis), how- 
ever, was quite common on and after the 27th. The great Carolina 
Sm. 
