86 ORNITHOLOGICAL, NOTES FROM THE SOUTH. 
distance of two hundred and seventy-five miles, to a Place called 
** Okahumkee,” at the head of navigation. 
For.the first hundred and fifty miles the country on each side of 
.the river is thickly wooded, the forests consisting mainly of cy- | 
press and palmetto trees: the undergrowth is very dense, and, 
. together with the long and numerous prickly vines, forms an almost 
` impenetrable jungle. To make matters still worse for the collector, 
nearly the whole country is an immense swamp, and it is very 
seldom that you see’a little knoll rise above the level of the sur- . 
rounding débris. This is, of course, the home of innumerable 
' birds and a comparative paradise for the ornithologist. ie 
For the remaining hundred and twenty-five miles the river runs — 
through a vast and almost unbroken savanna: here it widens 
into two good sized lakes, known as lakes Griffen and Harris. i 
A cypress or live oak is occasionally met with on this part of the . 
river; if so, its branches (like. those of the other forest trees) are — 
adorned with large quantities of parasitic moss ( Tillandsia usne- : 
‘oides), which hangs i in graceful festoons to the water’s edge. 
Several miles back from the river (and often not so far) dry 
land rises out of the water and is covered with pine trees. Alli- ; 
gators are quite numerous about the river, voh in the wooded 
portions and in the savannas. 
The following i is a list of birds met with during this excursion 
. 
Re D ne eT 
_ Planesticus Peipin Baird (Common Robin). Not very common. A few 
he St. John’s river. Probably breeds. z and 
fader gota Boie — ocking Bird). Very common about the St. John’s river 
Tm 
La 
(Tufted Ti ). Quite common at Green Cove $ 
about the veal and at Okahumkee. ae 
ee Latham (Brown-headed Nuthatch). Very commo n at Green Cove $ 
the St. John’s; ais vidio numerous at Okahumkee. Gregarious. Theys 
os be c confined almost oo. to sop pine swamps and barrens, "a 
ne: m 
0 ! a 
_ color as the rest of the upper parts instead of brown; the white spot bese? g 
is also very igdistinct. Their note is very peculiar and is entirely d ‘i 
that of any of the other nuth thatches. Tn habits, they resemble | a? 
peepee ge ihe large Ses. They also resemble the other 
wak Carolina Wren). Not uncommon | a pe 
€ Breeds. ~ 
a varia Yall. Black a 1 White Creeper). Not common about the” 
and on the Ocklawaha. : 
| armen amp cae Yellow-backed Warbler). Common abont t 
P z 
