160 Beckham on the Birds of Bayou Sara , Louisiana. 
The topography is much more interesting, and is quite different 
from that farther south and that immediately opposite on the west 
side of the river. A level plateau, ioo feet above the levee, begins, 
about a quarter of a mile from the river and extends back into 
the State of Mississippi. This plateau is deeply cut by numerous 
creeks and ravines, the banks of which are generally densely 
wooded, with water-oak, sweet gum, cedar, prickly ash, magno- 
lias, etc. All of the level ground on top is in a state of cultiva- 
tion ; cotton being the principal crop. A few miles' farther up the 
high ground does not extend so near the river, the intervening 
space being occupied by several small lakes and swamps — a great 
resort for water birds of all kinds. On account of the high water 
I did not have an opportunity of visiting this interesting field. 
My observations extended only over a period of five days from * 
April 15th to 19th, 1882, inclusive, but a great deal of ground 
was canvassed in that time ; nearly the whole of each day being j 
spent in the field. A good many birds were shot, but few were 
preserved, as taxidermy was necessarily subordinated to field-work. 
Dr. Langdon in his interesting paper particularly remarks the 
absence of the Catbird, Black-and-White Creeper, White-browed 
Yellow-throat, Kentucky Warbler, Large-billed Water Thrush, 
and the Redstart, but I found all of these at ‘‘Wyoming,” together 
with many others not noted by either him or Mr. Hay, the 
Catbird and Kentucky Warbler being particularly abundant. 
The writer was greatly assisted in his work by Mr. Robert 
Wederstraudt of “Wyoming,” a young man whose unusually 
close and accurate observations of birds and bird-life rendered 
his help peculiarly valuable. Many of the following notes are 
credited to him entirely. I have followed the nomenclature of 
the Smithsonian list of 1881. 
: 
1. Hylocichla mustelina {Gin.) Bd. Wood Thrush. — Common in 
woodland, and several seen in the yard near the house. 
2. Merula migratoria {L.) Sw. and Rich. American Robin. — Not 
observed. They appear here in large numbers early in February to feed ! 
on the fruit of the “wild peach.” and hundreds are shot for the table. I! 
They leave early in March. 
3. Mimus polyglottus (A.) Boie. Mockingbird. — Very abundant, 
both in the town about gardens and yards, and in the country. Frequent- 
ing open ground exclusively. Four sets of eggs were taken ; two perfectly 
fresh, and two about half incubated. Mr. Wederstraudt called my atten- 
tion to a curious foraging habit of this bird. We noticed one hopping |j 
