telatay { f Wii Hl a . i i] \ LUG ! Saisie nee ett { | eat lasgelstneletereictmititietat | BM sists a iiiebed i i ith (i { ererere * i iit | } nb SHEEN | aa de\ohavetele i ie Beiteaatesiy A | Selecta ttt ani ii adherens ey ¥ oh rs ts AS Ma se Ses ake Ber Ae ites Sty ee ear aie */ / SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. SPECIAL BULLETIN. LIFE HISTORLES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. FROM THE PARROTS TO THE GRACKLES, WILH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THEIR BREEDING HABITS AND EGGS, CHARLES BENDIRE, Caprary AND BrEver MAJor, U.S. A. (Retired). Honorary Curator of the Department of Odlogy, U. S. National Museum, Member of the American Ornithologists’ Union. WITH SEVEN LITHOGRAPHIC PLATES, WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1895. LID WIR IU S 12 WEIN I This work (Special Bulletin No. 3) is one of a series of papers intended to illustrate the collections belonging to, or placed in charge of, the Smithsonian Institution, and deposited in the United States National Museum. It supple- ments Special Bulletin No. 1, by the same author, which containes descriptions of the breeding habits and eggs of the gallinaceous. birds, pigeons, doves, and birds of prey. The publications of the National Museum consist of two series—the Bulletin and the Proceedings. A small edition of each paper in the Proceedings is dis- tributed in pamphlet form to specialists in advance of the publication of the bound volume. The Bulletin is issued only in volumes. Most of the volumes hitherto published have been octavos, but a quarto form has been adopted for works of the size and character of the present Bulletin. The Bulletin of the United States National Museum, the publication of which was commenced in 1875, consists of elaborate papers based upon the collections of the Museum, reports of expeditions, etc. The Proceedings are intended to facilitate the prompt publication of freshly acquired facts relating to biology, anthropology, and geology, descriptions of restricted groups of animals and plants, discussions of particular questions relative to the synonymy of species, and the diaries of minor expeditions. Other papers of more general popular interest are printed in the appendix to the annual report. Papers intended for publication in the Proceedings and Bulletin of the United States National Museum are referred to the advisory committee on publications, composed as follows: Frederick W. True (chairman), R. Edward Earll (editor), James E. Benedict. Otis T. Mason. Leonhard Stejneger, and Lester F. Ward. S. P. Laneey, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Wasainaton, D. C., June 10, 1895. Til TOANBILs, Ole COIN IMBIN ITS. PSITTACEOUS BIRDS. Family Psirracip#®. Parrots, Paroquets, ete. 1. Conurus carolinensis, Linnzus-.---.---------- Carolina Paroquet (Pl. I, Fig.1)..--.------------- PICARIAN BIRDS. Family Cucutipa. The Cuckoos, Anis, ete. 2) Crotophaga ani, immeeus------- ...--.-------- shevAmi¢ (Pll ET CAG) eeseye sees aree eens cere ce 3. Crotophaga sulcirostris, Swainson... -.-------- Grooved-billed Ani (Pl. I, Fig. 7).----.-.--------- 4. Geococeyx californianus, Lesson ..---.---.---- Inonal IRmMMAe PE (PM, Ue Ties 2) 33 sse5 cosesasooces 5. Coceyzus minor,’Gmelin -......--.------------ WeEMmeTrOv@ CWCIKOD 666563556 sognen ston casoscas c6e6 6. Coceyzus minor maynardi, Ridgway-----.---- Wlemymangly: CWCIKOO). oes sa5ceoasnéodacae dash0eSusce 7. Coceyzus americanus, Linnzeus ...---.--.----- Yellow-billed Cuckoo (PI. V, Fig. 1)-------.------ 8. Coecyzus americanus occidentalis, Ridgway... California Cuckoo (Pl. V, Fig. 2)---------.------- 9. Coceyzus erythrophthalmus, Wilson. ----~----- Black-billed Cuckoo (P1. V, Figs. 3 and 4) --..-.-- 10. Cuculus canorus telephonus, Heine---...----. Siibominm Cm@kG asco assescboscsucassoccd acssasase Family TrRoGonID«&. Trogons. 11. Trogon ambiguus, Gould ...---.--.-.----.---- Coppery-tailed Trogon seep ess see eee ee Family ALCEDINID®. Kingfishers. 12. Ceryle alcyon, Linnus....-..----.-----.---- Belted Kingfisher (Pl. I, Fig. 3)..--..--..-..----- 13. Ceryle americana septentrionalis, Sharp ------- Mexanvkinofisher (Pl yhio 4) peepee eee 14, Ceryle torquata, Linneus........---.---.-.-.- Rin ced skanofisher eset =e aeei raeteeiey sca PICINE BIRDS. Family Prcipa:. Woodpeckers. 15. Campephilus principalis, Linnzeus -...-------- Ivory-billed Woodpecker. ......-...-...---.------ 16. Dryobates villosus, Linnmwus.--...-.-.--.----- ElainyawWioodpeckerscecs cesarean eee eeae 17. Dryobates villosus leuncomelas, Boddeert-. ----- Northern Hairy Woodpecker. -....-..---.-------- 18. Dryobates villosus audubonii, Swainson. ....-. Southern Hairy Woodpecker.......-.---..------- 19. Dryobates villosus harrisii, Audubon. .....-.-. Harris’s Woodpecker.-...---.----.------.-------- 20. Dryobates villosus hyloscopus, Cabanis-.....-- Cabanis’s Woodpecker.........----.------------- 21. Dryobates pubescens, Linnieus...---..-------- Downy Woodpecker (PI. I, Fig. 24)......---------- 22. Dryobates pubescens gairdnerii, Audubon----- Ganrdners)\Woodpeckersensn sess eee erases 23. Dryobates pubescens orececus, Batchelder. ---. BateleldersawWoodpeckenessess-eeseeeee esac oe 24. Dryobates borealis, Vieillot...--..---.-------- Red-cockaded Woodpecker--..-.----..------------ 25. Dryobates sealaris bairdi, Sclater....-....---- Baindéswwioodpeckers==arsse essere eae ee eee 26. Dryobates scalaris lucasanus, Xantus........-. St. Lucas Woodpecker.-...-..-...---.------------ 27. Dryobates nuttallii, Gambel .---..-.-.--..---- NuttallsiWioodpecken seme -se see e-ieeee ce se ae 28. Dryobates arizonie, Hargitt...---.---..-..---- 7 ENVOY WWICOGI POO Kono caso sooo cosHoSSon o6os cene 29. Xenopicus albolarvatus, Cassin .....--.------- White-headed Woodpecker. ----..--..------------ 30. Picoides arcticus, Swainson. .-.----.------------ Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker..-.-.----.-------- 31. Picoides americanus, Brelin ...-..---.-------- American Three-toed Woodpecker. ..-.-.---.----- 32. Picoides americanus alascensis, Nelson..------ Alaskan Three-toed Woodpecker..--...-.-..----- 33. Picoides americanus dorsalis, Baird. ..--..------ Alpine Three-toed Woodpecker... ...-------------- 34. Sphyrapicus varius, Linnzeus.---.------------ Yellow-bellied (Sapsuckers=-==- o2-s-- 22-2 = 35. Sphyrapicus varius nuchalis, Baird..........:. Red-naped Sapsucker........--...-...----------- VI TABLE OF CONTENTS. 36. Sphyrapicus ruber, Gmelin..........-.-.-..--- Red-breasted Sapsucker....................------ 37. Sphyrapicus thyroideus, Cassin -....-...--..-. Williamson’s Sapsucker....:......-....---------- 38. Ceophleeus pileatus, Linnveus.--..---.-...---- Pileated Woodpecker (Pl. I, Fig.5)--...-.....-.-. 39. Melanerpes erythrocephalus, Linnieus. .....-.. Red-headed Woodpecker............------------- 40. Melanerpes formicivorus bairdi, Ridgway -- ---- Califormianyswoodpeckersesss5 sss heer eee een 41. Melanerpes formicivorus angustifrons, Baird .. Narrow-fronted Woodpecker.......-.-.---------- 42. Melanerpes torquatus, Wilson..-.-..--.--.-.-.- ILewalsts WOO NEO. sacasccassoaueeouoene cous 43. Melanerpes carolinus, Linnweus................ Red-bellied Woodpecker..............----------- 44. Melanerpes aurifrons, Wagler .---...---..----- Golden-fronted Woodpecker-.-.-.......-..----.-- 45. Melanerpes uropygialis, Baird -......--.-...-- Gila pWoodpeckertssssee sc ee eee eeeer ere rere eee 46. Colaptes auratus, Linneus-.-.-...-....-...-.- d EK iC) Beer Aes yA amr NN auc Ges als Soe Als Collay ues Carer Chae ioc taco cosa coseoses ene- Red-eshianitedyhnicke reese es eee eats e eee aes 48. Colaptes cafer saturatior, Ridgway....-.-.---- Northwiesterns Micke n=sp ees ae eee ene eee ae 49. Colaptes chrysoides, Malherbe_.-...--......-- Grilled Wtlielcer 35.227 SNe mt penser phe oy yee Pe 50. Colaptes rufipileus, Ridgway ......--...--.-.-- Guadalupeyblickertesessce-ceeet eee eeeee seers MACROCHIRINE BIRDS. Family CaAPRIMULGID&. Goatsuckers, ete. 51. Antrostomns carolinensis, Gmelin ..-......---- Chuck-will’s-widow (Pl.1, Figs. 8, 9).........-..- 52. Antrostomus vociferus, Wilson.----.-...-.-.-- Whip-poor-will (Pl. 1, Figs. 10, 11).-.-....-....-. 53. Antrostomus vociferus macromystax, Wagler.. Stephens’s Whip-poor-will .........-....--..----- 54. Phalznoptilnus nuttalli, Audubon. ............. Poor-will (Pl.1, Fig. 28)............-...-.--2.---- 55. Phalienoptilus nuttalli nitidus, Brewster...... Frosted Poor-will............-.....---.---2.+----- 56. Phalenoptilus nuttalli californicus, Ridgway.. Dusky Poor-will............----------.--+--. ---- 57, Nyetidromus albicollis merrilli, Sennett...-... Merrill’s Parauque (PL II, Figs. 1,2)..........---- 58. Chordeiles virginianus, Gmelin....---.-------- Nifohiphaiwkn (BIS MT Siy o's.lly 2573) ee eee nee eee se 59. Chordeiles virginianus henryi, Cassin. .-..---- Western Nighthawk (PIM, Fig. 4))-222-- 2-2 2--- 60. Chordeiles virginianus chapmani, Sennett. .... Florida Nighthawk (P). IIT, Figs. 5,6)......-..-.- . Chordeiles acutipennis texensis, Lawrence.... Texan Nighthawk (PI. III, Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10)......- Family Micropopipx. Swifts. 2 Cypselordes) niger Gm elinesyess cso eee e se is Black Swift 63. Chietura pelagica, Linnieus.......------.----- Chimney Swift (Pl. I, Fig. 2 64 Cheeturayvauxii, Downsendi2s-222- sss. ssc oes Wai Eugenesfuleens; Swainsonee-- neces easels ee VOLE UMM oO DItde seme eee seen e aeneeeeeee 67. Celigena clemencizw, Lesson -.-..--...---.-:-- Blue-throated Hummingbird.....---..-.....-..-- 68° Drochilus\colubris; Winnzeus). 2-22. -2-- 2225-222 Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Pl. I, Fig. 27)-.---. 69. Trochilus alexandri, Bourcier and Mulsant.-... Black-chinned Hummingbird ...............-.--- 70. Trochilus violajugulum, Jeffries..............- Violet-throated Hummingbird..........-.---.---- 71. Calypte cost, Bourcier...-...---.....-..-.-.- Costajs) Humming bind sey oss sesnceeeese ease teeeee f2. Calypteannayy Wessonis sas see cse een eee aac eee ATES Jahan OPS V4 oooh cscs soses coocasdaduor 73. Selasphorus floresii, Gould ----...-....--..---. Mloresis# Humming binder es ssesessee ee eee sees 74, Selasphorus platycercus, Swainson. .........-- Broad-tailed Hummingbird 2-22 222225222222 522-2. 75. Selasphorus rufus, Gmelin ..-....---...--.-.-- WULOUSPRDUIM MIN obi sees epee eels eee 76. Selasphorus alleni, Henshaw...-.....-.....--- Alllen¢s Elum o; bin deers ere eee ere fie Stellulaxcalliope, Goulds 23.222 222205202 222s CalliopesHumming bind sees ee eee cere 78: Calothorax lucifer, Swainson..-...-...5...---- Lucifer Hummingebird).--2-----2-+--+--22-5 5225. 79. Amazilia fuscicaudata, Fraser_.......=-------- RietterssHuminin oe birdees seen ses aes 80. Amazilia cerviniventris, Gould............-.-. Bufi-bellied, Hummingbirds. 2-22----24--25-6 2" 81. Basilinna xantusi, Lawrence........-.-..----- MantusisElummin es bindueees sees eee eee 82. Basilinna leucotis, Vieillot............2...--.- White-eared Hummingbird --2- 22222 2.222. 2.--2-- 83. Iache latirostris, Swainson..........-.......-. Broad-billed Hummingbird .................----- PASSERINE BIRDS. Family Corincip®. Cotingas. 84. Platypsaris albiventris, Lawrence. ..-......... Xantus’s Becard:......-..--------2-ee-e-ceee- ese 142 146 190 192 198 201 202 206 209 210 213 216 219 222 293 225 226 227 228 124, 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 131, 182. 133. 154. 135. 136, 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. . Milvulus tyrannus, Linneus . Milvulus forficatus, Gmelin. - . Tyrannus tyrannus, Linnieus . Tyrannus dominicensis, Gmelin .-...-.-.-.-.---- . Tyrannus melancholicus couchii, Baird. -....--- . Tyrannus verticalis, Say fe . Tyrannus vociferans, Swainson . Pitangus derbianus, Kaup . Myiozetetes texensis, Giraud . Myiodynastes luteiventris, Selater 5. Myiarchus crinitus, Linneus . Myiarchus mexicanus, Kaup . Myiarchus mexicanus magister, Ridgway . Myiarchus cinerascens, Lawrence . Myiarchus cinerascens nuttingi, Ridgway 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Family Tyran Myiarchus lawrenceii, Giraud ..--...-.-..---- Myiarchus lawrencei olivascens, Ridgway Sayornis phoebe, Latham NIpu. Tyrant Flycatchers. aebork-tailedsMlycatchers-se--e-ee eee serene ee - Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (P1. I, Figs. 12,18)...-.- = Ikebana PL, I, Its, WL 5). cosa csesas cococu Gens Gray Kingbird (P1. II, Figs. 3, 4)..-.-.---- Couch’s Kingbird (Pl. II, Figs. 5,6).----..-...--.- - Arkansas Kingbird (Pl. I, Pigs. 16,17).-...--.-.-.- - Cassin’s Kingbird (P1.I, Figs. 18, 19).--..-.-..- + Derby Flycatcher (P11, ies: 20) 21))2. 222-2... . Giraud’s Flycatcher (Pl. 1, Fig. 22)..--..-- - Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher (P1. II, Fig. 7) - Crested Flycatcher (PI. II, Figs. 8, 9)-.-....-...---- - Mexican Crested Flycatcher (PI. II, Figs. 10,11). -- . Arizona Crested Flycatcher (P1. II, Fig. 12) Ash-throated Flycatcher (PI. II, Fig. 13) - Nutting’s Flycatcher (PI. II, Fig. 14) - Lawrence’s Flycatcher - Olivaceous Flycatcher - Phebe (Pl. I, Fig. 28) Sayornis saya, Bonaparte.......--...--------- SES PnGslyea (PM, I, Iie, 2S) sc506 coscco sosens cose Sayornis nigricans, Swainson. -...---.-------- Black Phoebe (Pla Wice30)peeeeeeeeeeeeeee Contopus borealis, Swainson. -.-.-.------------ Olive-sided Flycatcher (Pl. I, Figs. 15, 16)-..-.--- Contopus pertinax, Cabamis.-....--.-.-.------ Coues’s Wy catcher (Pl. ID, Wigs 17) .2--2-.-2-2--.- Contopus virens, Linnwus..--...----.-------- Wioodbewec) Gel alIne tics s18 919) peeees eens Contopus richardsonii, Swainson... -....-------- Western Wood Pewee (PI. II, Figs. 20, 21, 22)... _- Empidonax flaviventris, Baird....-.-.-.-.---. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Pl. II, Fig. 23)-.-.._-- Empidonax difficilis, Baird. ...--.....---.-.-- Western Flycatcher (Pl. Il, Fig. 24, 25..-......... Empidonax cineritius, Brewster. -------------- Stmlucashphy catcher sess esses sere eeeerereeaee Empidonax acadicus, Gmelin...-.-..-.-------- Acadian Flycatcher (Pl. II, Figs. 26, 27)........-. Empidonax pusillus, Swainson. --.-..---.------ Little Flycatcher (Pl. IL, Figs. 28, 29)..--....._.. Empidonax pusillus traillii, Audubon-_.-.----- Mraillisybly. catcher @>lpelilss bio 30) eee ee ane Impidonax minimus, Baird..---.-.-.---.------ Least Flycatcher (Pl. I, Fig. 31)_---------....2-- Empidonax hammondi, Xantus....-.---.------ Hammond’s Flycatcher (Pl. II, Fig. 32)... -.-._- Empidonax wrightii, Baird. .......-..-.-.---- Wright’s Flycatcher (Pl. II, Fig. 33)--............ Empidonax griseus, Brewster. -.-.-.....------ Carey JOIN ORNROING!? Bo Rok o coonda con cca Saecousaede bbES Empidonax fulvifrons, Giraud... --..---------- Im WOW, IMkjCAHO NOP c= ses ccusa0dsccce suscoscoease Empidonax fulvifrons pygmieus, Cones ..----. Buff-breasted Flycatcher-.-..-..-.-.......-..---- Pyrocephalus rubineus mexicanus, Sclater. ---- Vermilion Flycatcher (Pl. II, Figs. 34, 35)....-..-- Ornithion imberbe, Sclater .........-.-------- Beardilesspely.catch en eeee see eee eee Ornithion imberbe ridgwayi, Brewster---.---- idiowayslvcapcherss sees se eeer eer eens Family ALAupipa. Larks. Alauda arvensis, Linnewus..---.-.----...----- Sleylank: (PISViiiion23) paeeeeeeeecace caer ee sne cree Oiocowis alpesinAls, IMIS: oo 6ccseccsoasees IslOMN@GlIbpWAl.. occa coun dade os oseaeoos ooeees assene Otocoris alpestris leucolama, Coues-.__--.----- Pallid Horned Lark (Pl. V, Fig. 24)...----..-...-.- Otocoris alpestris praticola, Henshaw. ..-.---- Prairie Horned lark (Pl) V, Pig: 25)-...----.-2--. Otocoris alpestris arenicola, Henshaw ..-.---.- Desert Horned Lark (Pl. V, Pig. 26)....--.---.---- Otocoris alpestris giraudi, Henshaw -.--.-.----- Texan Horned Warlk (Pl. V, Wig. 27)\22-.-----2----- Otocoris alpestris chrysoleema, Wagler.....--- Mexican Horned Lark (PI. V, Pig. 28).-...---.---. Otocoris alpestris rubea, Henshaw--....--.--- Ruddy Horned Lark (Pl. V, Fig. 29)-.-.--..-.---. Otocoris alpestris strigata, Henshaw-.--...... Streaked Horned Lark.----.-...........-...----- Otocoris alpestris adusta, Dwight. .-....------ Scorched Horned Lark (Pl. V, Fig. 31)-.-.----.----- Otocoris alpestris merrilli, Dwight.--.--.------ Dusky Horned Lark (Pl. V, Fig. 30).--..--------- Otocoris alpestris pallida, Townsend..-------- SonoranvrormedsWarkeerere eee eee eee eee ree eres Otocoris alpestris insularis, Townsend -...---. nis larselornedMvanksssemeee eraser ee net etenee Family Corvipa. Crows, Jays, Magpies, ete. Pica pica hudsonica, Sabine.-...--.--.---..--- American Magpie (Pl. III, Figs. 11, 12, 13)... ..---- Pica nuttalli, Audubon ...-....--.----...----- Yellow-billed Magpie (Pl. IIT, Fig. 14)..-...------ Cyanocitta cristata, Linneus.---......------- JBMS, Vay GE, Wy Iles. GH, Bnd o5esdoecedus 45a 0be0 Cyanocitta cristata florincola, Coues_-.-.----- IMoriday Blue! Jayy (RIV Mesa io)eeesseescisceiee Cyanocitta stelleri, Gmelin.-.....--...-.----- Sticlents Meany Cel Wo IMIS ))eass sscecd caso osceescae Cyanocitta stelleri frontalis, Ridgway -------- Blue-fronted Jay (Pl. V, Fig: 10).----.--..------- Cyanocitta stelleri macrolopha, Baird.....---- Long-crested Jay (Pl. V, Figs. 11, 12)....--...---- 263 264 266 269 270 270 272 276 280 282 286 288 291 295 298 301 302 305 310 312 315 Vill TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page. 144. Cyanocitta stelleri annectens, Baird -......--- Blackhead edt diaiyjstemiemtsamielterseisrlisietelseteesetieee 369 145. Aphelocoma floridana, Bartram. -.......-..---- Mock, Vane QL WV, Lies 13). so eccs sagass cosese cose 370 146. Aphelocoma woodhousei, Baird. .-...--------- Woodhouse’s Jay (Pl. V, Fig. 14)-.---.-.----.----. 372 147. Aphelocoma californica, Vigors ....-..-------- California Jay (Pl. V, Figs. 15, 16,17, 18)-..--.---. 374 148. Aphelocoma californica hypoleuca, Ridgway.. Xantus’s Jay...-...-...-------------+------------- 378 149. Aphelocoma californica obscura, Anthony. ---- Belding sydiayyen ees sie se sey ere eer eee 379 150. Aphelocoma insularis, Henshaw .....----.---- Santa Cruz Jayeenessmee=ce secre e ieee ene 379 151. Aphelocoma sieberii arizonw, Ridgway -.-.- ---- Arizona Jay (Pl. V, Figs. 19, 20)....-...--.------- 380 152, Aphelocoma cyanotis, Ridgway.--.--.--------- Blne:earediIiayssscoscws Orisa eee ease ee eeeee 382 153. Xanthoura luxuosa, Lesson.....---.---.------ Green Jay (Pl. III, Figs. 15, 16, 17)....---..------. 383 154. Perisoreus canadensis, Linnwus.-.....--------- Canada Jay (Pl. III, Figs. 18, 19).----.---.--..-.-- 385 155. Perisoreus canadensis capitalis, Baird. -..----- RockysMountainJiayea-ss-cseseae ee eee ee eee 388 156. Perisoreus canadensis fumifrons, Ridgway. ---- ‘Alaskan Jiayeee cee sce Seer ce SUS en ae 390 157. Perisoreus canadensis nigricapillus, Ridgway . Labrador Jay (PI. III, Fig. 20).....--.---.--.------ 392 158. Perisoreus obscurus, Ridgway -..------------- Oxregony) arya CEU aL EE oe oils) epee era ne 394 159. Corvus corax sinuatus, Wagler..........-..--- American Raven (Pl. IV, Figs.1,2)-..-.---.------ 396 160. Corvus corax principalis, Ridgway..-.-------- Northernphiaveni (2) Saheb cys) peeeeeee aaa eee eee 400 161. Corvus cryptoleucus, Couch ...--.---.-------- White-necked Raven (Pl. IV, Figs. 4,5, 6,7)------- 402 162. Corvus americanus, Audubon. ......---------- American Crow (PI, IV, Figs. 8,9, 10, 11,12; Pl. V, 405 Figs. 21, 22). 163. Corvus americanus floridanus, Baird......---- Florida Crow (PI. IV, Figs. 13, 14)....-.---.-.----- 413 164. Corvus caurinus, Baird......----.-...-...-2.- Northwest Crow (Pl. IV, Fig.15)......----.------ 414 165. Corvus ossifragus, Wilson -.......-----.-.----- bishiCrowa(hlaLVe Mies 16 Si\eeee ee aeee eee nee 415 166, Nucifraga columbiana, Wilson......---------- Clarke’s Nutcracker (PI. ITI, Figs. 22, 23)...-..---- 418 167. Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus, Wied-.-..-.----- Pinon Jay (Pl. TIT, Wigs. 24,25) 2-2-2... 2 eee ee 424 Family STuRNID&. Starlings. 168. Sturnus vulgaris, Linneus...-..-.....---.---- Stharlin oe ee set Se Saree se ease nee eerie 427 Family Icrertp2. Blackbirds, Orioles, etc. 169. Dolichonyx oryzivorus, Linnwus.--.-----.---- Bobolink<((BIVAL Wigs tls\2) seaseleieeecem eer ee nee 429 170. Molothrus ater, Boddzrt ..---..---...--..-.-- Cowbird (Pl. VI, Figs. 3,4,5,6)...--.-..--....-... 484 171. Molothrus ater obscurus, Gmelin -.--..---.---- Dwarf Cowbird (Pl. VI, Pigs. 7, 8).-.------------- 441 172. Callothrus robustus, Cabanis.....--..-..------ Red-eyed Cowbird (Pl. V1, Fig. 9)-.....---------- 443, 173. Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, Bonaparte... Yellow-headed Blackbird (Pl. VI, Figs. 10,11,12).. 446 174. Agelaius pheniceus, Linnzeus...-.-.-.---.---- Red-winged Blackbird (Pl. VI, Figs. 18, 14,15).-.. 449 175. Agelaius pheeniceus sonoriensis, Ridgway- .--- SonorameRedwinoeesssse- see ee ee eee eee rere 453 176. Agelaius pheeniceus bryanti, Ridgway -.-.---- Balhamanvkye diy im Oe aes eeser err eae ares eee eee 453, 177. Agelaius gubernator, Wagler.........--------- Bicolored Blackbird (Pl. VI, Figs. 16,17) ..-...----- 455 178. Agelaius tricolor, Nuttall......--...---.-----. Tricolored Blackbird (Pl. VI, Figs. 18, 19)--------- 456 179. Sturnella magna, Linnzeus-....----.2----.---- Meadowlark (Pl. VI, Figs. 20, 21)..--..-...-.----- 458 180. Sturnella magna mexicana, Sclater --.....---- Mexican Meadowlark (PI. VI, Fig. 22)---.--..-.--- 461 181. Sturnella magna neglecta, Audubon -.-...---- Western Meadowlark (PI. VI, Figs. 25, 24)....-..-. 462 182 leterusmetenus; Winn euseer mentee eae eee UUROUDEN Rens Ses cobs caeSbb NS onndoncosebocasa sone 466 183. Icterus gularis, Wagler....---..--..---------- GulaxjOrioleys es sssereneee tore eee eee ee ee eee 466 184. Icterus andubonii, Giraud ..---..-..---------- Audubon’s Oriole (PI. VI, Figs. 25, 26, 27)..-------- 469 185. Icterus parisorum, Bonaparte. .--.--.--------- Scott’s Oriole (PI. VI, Figs. 28, 29)..-....--...---.- 471 186. Icterus cucullatus, Swainson. ....-.-.---.----- Hooded Oriole (Pl. VI, Figs. 30, 31,52) .....---.---- AT4 187. Ieterus cucullatus nelsoni, Ridgway -.--------- Arizona Hooded Oriole (Pl. VII, Figs. 1, 2)---.----- 476 188. Icterus spurius, Linneeus ---.--.-------------- Orchard Oriole (Pl. VII, Figs. 3,4,5).......------- 479 189. Icterus galbula, Linnwus...---.-.--:.-------- Baltimore Oriole (Pl. VII, Figs. 6,7, 8,9)---------- 482 190. Icterus bullocki, Swainson..---.--2.-2.----.-- Bullock’s Oriole (Pl. VI, Figs. 10, 11,12, 13).----- 486 191. Scolecophagus carolinus, Miiller -.....-.-.--.- Rusty Blackbird (Pl. VII, Figs. 14, 15, 16)-....---- 489 192, Scolecophagus cyanocephalus, Wagler ..-..--. Brewer’s Blackbird (Pl. VII, Figs. 17, 18, 19,20)... 493 193. Quiscalus quiscula, Linnzeus.--.-.------------ Purple Grackle (Pl. VII, Figs. 21, 22, 23)..--.----- 497 194. Quiscalus quiscula agleus, Baird .....-....--- Florida Grackle (Pl. VII, Figs. 24, 25)..---.------- 500 195. Quiscalus quiscula eneus, Ridgway. .---.----- Bronzed Grackle (Pl. VI, Figs. 26, 27).-----.----- 501 196. Quiscalus macrourus, Swainson. ......-.-.---. Great-tailed Grackle (Pl. VII, Figs. 28, 29)....---- 504 197. Quiscalus major, Vieillot ........-.--.---=---- Boat-tailed Grackle (Pl. VII, Figs. 30, 31)...---..-- 506 TIN TIS, © ID UC Wl Ow This volume on the Life Histories of North American Birds, like the one preceding, is based on the collections in the United States National Museum, and relates only to land birds. The classification given in the Code and Check List of the American Ornithologists’ Union has again been followed, and the species and subspecies have been treated in a manner similar to that adopted in the earlier volume. Since the publication of the initial volume the odlogieal collection has been very materially increased. Dr. William L. Ralph, of Utica, New York, has, with commendable liberality, presented his entire collection, numbering over seven thousand specimens, to the Smithsonian Institution. This contains beautifully prepared sets of the eggs of many of the rarer species, quite a number of which have heretofore been unrepresented. To this collection our generous friend is constantly adding, regardless of expense. My thanks are especially due to Dr. Ralph and to my numerous corre- spondents whose names appear in the body of this volume; by the kind cooperation of these gentlemen I have been greatly aided in the preparation of this work. - I am also indebted to the United States Department of Agriculture for the many courtesies extended through Dr. C. Hart Merriam, who has given me access to the collections and furnished me with the results of the investiga- tions made by this Department. The original water-color drawings from which the plates have been repro- duced, like those of the former volume, are the work of Mr. John L. Ridgway, of Washington, District of Columbia, and of the same standard of excellence. The chromo-lithographic reproductions are by the Ketterlinus Printing Com- pany, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and I am pleased to be able to say that they come up fully to my expectations. The illustrations are all natural size. Tue AvTuHor. Ix LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. By CHARLES BENDIRE, Captain and Brevet Major, U. S. Army (retired). TSIM OUD Os) Jee iey Family PSITTACIDAX. Parrots, Paroquets, ETC. 1. Conurus carolinensis (Linnaus). CAROLINA PAROQUET. Psittacus carolinensis LINN US, Systema Nature, ed. 10, I, 1758, 97. Conurus carolinensis LESSON, Traité d’Ornithologie, 1531, 211. (B 65, C 315, R 392, C 460, U 382.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Florida and the indian Territory, sporadically only; casually along the Gulf coast and the Lower Mississippi Valley, north to southwestern Missouri. The range of the Carolina Paroquet, the only representative in the United States of this numerous family, is yearly becoming more and more restricted, and is now mainly confined to some of the less accessible portions of southern Florida, and to very limited areas in the sparsely settled sections of the Indian Territory, where it is only a question of a few years before its total extermination will be accomplished. Formerly this species had quite an extensive distribution in the United States, ranging from Florida, the Gulf, and the South Atlantic States generally, north to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Nebraska, and casually even to Michigan and New York, while west it reached to Texas and eastern Colorado. It was especially common then throughout the entire Mississippi Valley and the heavily timbered bottom lands of the larger tributaries of this stream. With the more general settlement of the regions inhabited by these birds, their numbers have gradually but steadily diminished, and even as early as 1832 Audubon speaks of their not being nearly as common as formerly. As late, however, as 1860 they were still comparatively numerous throughout the Gulf States and the Mississippi, Arkansas, and White River valleys; and I well remember seeing large flocks of these birds throughout that year in the vicinity of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and near several of the military posts in the Indian Territory. 16896—No. 3—1 1 bo LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. At present it is very doubtful if the Carolina Paroquet can be considered a regular resident anywhere excepting the localities already'mentioned, and it is rapidly disappearing from these, especially the Indian Territory. Occa- sionally a pair are still seen in southern Louisiana, and as late as the fall of 1891 Mr. Thurman 8. Powell saw a couple at the Linchpin Camping Grounds, Stone County, Missouri. Although rather restless birds at all times, they can generally be considered as residents wherever found, roving about from place to place in search of suitable-feeding grounds, and usually returning to the same roosting place, some large hollow tree, to which they retire at night, hooking or suspending themselves by? their powerful beaks and claws to the inner rough wall of the cavity. Previous to the more extensive settlement of the country, their food consisted of the seeds of the cocklebur: (Xantheum. strumarium), the round seed balls of the sycamore, those of the cypress, pecan and beech nuts, the fruit of the papaw, (Asimina trilobata), mulberries, wild grapes, and various other wild berries. According to Mr. J. F. Menge, they also feed.on the seeds extracted from pine cones and those of the burgrass, or sand bur (Cenchras tribuloides), one of the most noxious weeds known. They are also rather fond of cultivated fruit, and in Florida they have acquired a taste for both oranges and bananas. ‘They are also partial to different kinds of grains while in the milk. Mr. Frank M. Chapman states that while collecting on the Sebastian, River, Florida, in March, 1890, he found them feeding on the milky seeds of a species of thistle (Cirsium lecontei), which, as far as he could learn, constituted their entire food at that season. He says: ‘Not a patch of thistles did we find which had not been visited by them, the headless stalks showing clearly where the thistles had been neatly severed by the sharp, chisel-like bill, while the ground beneath favorite trees would be strewn with the scattered down.”? According to the observations of Mr. August Koch, published in “Forest and Stream,” September 24, 1891, they also feed on the red blossoms of a species of maple (Acer rubrum). In the vicinity of Fort Smith, Arkansas, during the fall and winter of 1860-61, I frequently saw flocks of these birds in osage orange trees, which attain a large size here, biting off the fruit and feeding on the tender buds; here they were also accused of doing considerable injury to Indian corn while still in the milk, and many were shot for this reason, and there is no doubt that they do more or less damage to both fruit and grain. Although clumsy-looking birds on the ground, it is astonishing how readily they move about on the slenderest limbs in trees, frequently hanging head down, like Crossbills and Redpolls, nipping off the seed bulbs of the sycamores, ete., and swinging themselves, with the assistance of their powerful beaks, from the extremity of one branch to another. Their flight, which is more or less undulating, resembles both that of the ton) Passenger Pigeon and again that of the Falcons; it is extremely swift and raceful, enabling them, even when flying in rather compact flocks, to dart in Oo te) ‘Proceedings of the Linnwan Society, New York, for the year ending March 7, 1890, THE CAROLINA PAROQUET. 3 and out of the densest timber with perfect ease. Their call notes are shrill and disagreeable, a kind of grating, metallic shriek, and they are especially noisy while on the wing. Among the calls is one resembling the shrill ery of a goose, which is frequently uttered for minutes at a time. Formerly they moved about in good-sized and compact flocks, often numbering hundreds, while now it is a rare occurrence to see more than twenty together, more often small companies of from six to twelve. When at rest in the middle of the day on some favorite tree they sometimes utter low notes, as if talking to each other, but move often. they remain entirely silent, and are then extremely difficult to discover as their plumage harmonizes and blends thoroughly with the surrounding foliage. They are most active in the early morning and again in the evening, while the hotter parts of the day are spent in thick-foliaged and shady trees. They are partial to heavily timbered bottom lands bordering the larger streams and the extensive cypress swamps which are such a common feature of many of our Southern States. Social birds as they are, they are rarely seen alone, and if one is accidentally wounded, the others hover around the injured one until sometimes the whole flock is exterminated. This devotion to one another has cost them dearly, and many thousands have been destroyed in this way. Mr. E. A. MelIlhenny has kindly furnished me with the following notes on their habits as observed by him in southern Louisiana, where the species was still comparatively abundant a few years ago, but has now nearly disappeared: “The Carolina Paroquet may be looked for in this section about April 25, or when the black mulberries begin to ripen. This fruit seemed to be their favorite food, and in the morning, from sunrise to about 7 o’clock, and in the evening, from 5 o’clock to sunset, at which hours they feed, they were to be found in the mulberry groves. They spent the rest of the day and roosted at night in the live-oak timber. In the morning, just before sunrise, they mounted the tallest trees, congregating in small bands, all the while talking at a great rate. As the sun rises they take flight for the nearest mulberry grove, where they partake of their morning meal amidst a great amount of noise. After they have eaten their fill they generally go to the nearest stream, where they drink and bathe; they then go to some dense oak timber, where they pass the heat of the day. After they get in the oaks they rarely utter a sound. In the afternoon they go through the same performance, with the exception of going to the water. “The flight of the Carolina Paroquet, once seen, is never to be forgotten; it is undulating, somewhat like the woodpecker’s, but very swift. While on the wing they chatter and ery continually; this cry sounds like ‘qui,’ with the rising inflection on the i; this is repeated several times, the last one being drawn out like ‘qui-i-i-i’? These birds are rarely met with in the summer, and I do not think they nest here. They are most plentiful in May and September. In the fall they feed on the fruit of the honey locust, and are then more often seen on the ground.” The total extermination of the Carolina Paroquet is only a question of a few more years, and the end of the present century will probably mark their 4 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. disappearance. Civilization does not agree with these birds, and as they certainly do some damage to fruit in sections where they still exist, nothing else than complete annihilation ean be looked for. Like the Bison and the Passenger Pigeon, their days are numbered. Jonsidering how common this bird was only a few decades ago, it is astonishing how little is really known about its nesting habits, and it is not likely that we will be able to learn much more about them. The general supposition is that they breed in hollow trees, such as cypress, oak, and sycamore, and that they nest rather early in the season, while others think they nest rather late. There are two egos in the United States National Museum collection, No. 17709, in rather poor condition, which are entered as haying been taken in St. Mary’s Parish, Louisiana, March, 1878. I have endeayored to obtain some further particulars about them, but have been unsuccessful. One eee laid in captivity by a bird in the possession of Mr. R. Ridgway was dlenostial in August, 1877, and another in July, 1878, and one in September, 1883. There are also a couple of eggs in the collection of the Bumeuieen Museum of Natural History, New York City, collected by the late Dr. S. W. Wilson, of Georgia, which I believe are genuine; these are said to have been taken on April 26, 1855, from a hollow tree, the eggs being deposited on a few chips in the cavity ; the exact locality vihiere Ther were abetned is not given, but the collection was chiefly made on St. Simon Island and in W: ayne and McIntosh counties, Georgia. Mr. William Brewster, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, ever alert to obtain new information about the abit of our inde while on a visit to Florida elicited the following, published by him in “The Auk” (Vol. VI, 1889, pp. 336, 337), which is well worth inserting here. He says: ‘ While in Florida, during Febru. ary and March, 1889, I questioned everybody whom I met regarding the nesting of the Parrakeet. Only three persons professed any knowledge on this subject. The first two were both uneducated men, professional hunters of alligators and plume birds. Each of them claimed to have seen Parrakeets’ nests, which they described as flimsy structures built of twigs and placed on the branches of cypress trees. One of them said he found a nest only the previous summer (1888), while fishing. By means of his pole he tipped the nest over and secured two young birds which it contained, This account was so widely at variance with what has been previously recorded regarding the manner of nesting of this species that I considered it at the time as a mere fabrication, but afterwards it was unexpectedly and most strongly corroborated by Judge R. L. Long, of Tallahassee. The latter gentleman, who, by the way, has a very good general knowledge of the birds of our Northern States, assured me that he had examined many nests of the Parrakeet built precisely as above described. Formerly, when the birds were abundant in the surrounding region, he used to find them breed- ing in large colonies in the cypress swamps. Several of these colonies contained at least a thousand birds each. They nested invariably in small eypress trees, the favorite position being on afork near the end of a slender horizontal branch. THE CAROLINA PAROQUET. 5 “Kvery such fork would be occupied, and he has seen as many as forty or fifty nests in one small tree. Their nests closely resembled those of the Carolina Dove, being similarly composed of cypress twigs put together so loosely that the eges were often visible from the ground beneath. The twigs of the cypress seemed to be preferred to those of any other kind of tree. The height at which the nests were placed varied from 5 or 6 feet to 20 or 30 feet. Mr. Long described the eggs as being of a greenish-white color, unspotted. He did not remember the maximum number which he had found in one set, but thought it was at least four or five. -He had often taken young birds from the nests to rear or to give to his friends. He knew of a small colony of Parrakeets breed- ing in Waukulla Swamp, about 20 miles from Tallahassee, in the summer of 1885, and believes that they still occur there in moderate numbers. “Tt seems difficult to reconcile such testimony with the statements of Audu- bon, Wilson, and others that the Carolina Parrakeet lays its eggs in hollow trees. It may be, however, that, like the Crow Blackbird, and some of the Owls, this Parrot nests both in holes and on branches, according ‘to circumstances; at. all events the above account has seemed to me to rest on evidence sufliciently good to warrant its publication.” It is quite possible that the Carolina Paroquet, from its exceedingly social nature, was compelled where very numerous to resort to open nesting sites from necessity, as suitable cavities are rarely found in sufficient quantities close to each- other to accommodate any considerable number of pairs. We find this to be the case with Bolborhynchus monachus Boddirt, the Green Paroquet of Paraguay, Uruguay, and the Argentine Republic, which suspends its nests from the extremi- ties of branches, to which they are firmly woven. Mr. Gibson describes their nests as follows: “New nests consist of only two chambers, the porch and the nest proper, and are inhabited by a single pair of birds. Successive nests are added until some of them come to weigh a quarter of a ton, and contain material enough to fill a large cart. Thorny twigs firmly interwoven form the only mate- rial, and there is no lining in the breeding chamber even in the breeding season. Some old forest trees have seven or eight of these huge structures suspended from the branches, while the ground underneath is covered with twigs and remains of fallen rocks.”’ Another species the Patagonian Parrot, Conurus patagonus (Vieillot), found in the Argentine Republic, and in Patagonia, excavates its nest in perpendicular banks, like our Kingfisher; while the Ground Parrakeet, Pezoporus formosus Latham), of Australia nests in tall grass. Although nearly all the species of this numerous family nest in hollow trees, as stated above, there are exceptions to this rule, and it is quite probable that some of our Carolina Paroquets nested at times in Florida as Judge R. L. Long deseribed, and again both in communities in large hollow trees and singly, as Alexander Wilson states, all of these different assertions being probably correct. We have no positive information about the number of eggs laid by this species in a wild state. 1 Argentine Ornithology, Vol. II, 1889, pp. 43-46. 6 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. Dr. Karl Russ, of Berlin, Germany, in his interesting article on this species in his work on “Die Fremdlindischen Stubenvégel, Die Papageien” (Vol. III, 1879, pp. 221-236), mentions several instances of the Carolina Paroquets breed- ing in captivity in Germany, where the eggs were deposited in June and July, two being the number laid; but in his ‘Handbuch fiir Vé6gelliebhaber,” he gives the number from three to five, and he describes these as pure white, fine grained, very round, and quite glossy, like Woodpeckers’ eggs, measuring 38 by 36 millimetres, or about 1.50 by 1.42 inches. Mr. Robert Ridgway’s birds would not use the nesting boxes provided for them, and both females deposited their eggs on the floor of the cage; they were laid in July, August, and September, respectively. None of these eggs can be called round; they vary from ovate to short ovate, and are rather pointed. They are white, with the faintest yellowish tint, ivory-like and quite glossy; the shell is rather thick, close grained, and deeply pitted, not unlike the eggs of the African Ostrich (Séruthio camelus), but of course not as.noticeable. Holding the egg in a strong light, the inside appears to be pale yellow. These eggs measure 36.32 by 26.92, 34.54 by 27.18, and 33.27 by 26.92 millimetres, or 1.43 by 1.06, 1.36 by 1.07, and 1.31 by 1.06 inches. The deep pitting is noticeable in every specimen, and there can be no possible doubt about the identity of these eggs. The other eges in the collection -about whose proper identification I am not so certain, and whose measurements I therefore do not give, have a much thinner shel], and do not show the peculiar pitting already referred to. There is no difficulty whatever in distinguishing these eggs from those of the Burrowing Owl or the Kingfisher, both of which are occasionally substituted for them. The type specimen, No. 20784 (Pl. 1, Fig. 1), was laid in confinement on July 19, 1878, and is the smallest of the three eggs whose measurements are given above. Family CUCULID. Tue Cucxkoos, Anis, ETc. 2. Crotophaga ani Linnavs. THE ANI. Crotophaga ani LINNAUS, Systema Nature, ed. 10, I, 1758, 105. Type C. ani Linnzeus. (B 66.67, C 288, R 389, C 425, U (383).) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: West India Islands and northern South America, east of the Andes; south to northern Argentina; casually north to the southern United States, Florida and Louisiana. The Ani, also called Black Ani, Black Witch, Blackbird, Savanna Blackbird, and Tickbird, can only be considered as a straggler within the borders of the southern United States. It is a common resident species in the West India Islands and in northern South America east of the Andes Mountains, and reaches the southern limits of its range in northern Argentina. There are two THE ANT. a specimens in the United States National Museum collection, taken within the limits of the United States—one from the Dry Tortugas by Mr. J. Wurdeman, on June 24, 1857; the other by Mr. G. A. Boardman, from Charlotte Harbor, Florida. A small flock of five of these birds was seen in July, 1893, at Diamond, Louisiana, opposite Point la Hache, and one of these was shot. This is now in the possession of Mr. George KE. Beyer, who considers the Ani a regular summer resident in that locality. The Ani is most commonly found at altitudes below 1,000 feet and rarely above 3,000. One of its principal call notes, according to Mr. John §. Northrop, who observed this species on Andros Island, one of the Bahamas, is ‘‘wee-eep,” the second syllable uttered in a much higher key than the first; another common call sounds. like “que-yu.” When perched on trees they are said to sit very close together in rows, and being good-natured social birds, they are rarely seen alone. The most complete account of the general habits of the Ani is that of Mr. Charles B. Taylor, Rae Town, Kingston, Jamaica, in “The Auk” (Vol. IX, 1892, pp- 869-371). “The Ani appears to be abundant in all parts of the island. It is one of the commonest birds near Kingston, and in most open or sparsely wooded lands or in the vicinity of cultivated clearings little groups or companies may nearly always be seen. Blackbirds are invariably present wherever cattle are pastured. IT can not recollect an instance in which I have noted a herd of cows at pasture without a flock of these birds appearing in company with them or in their immediate vicinity. This association is, doubtless, chiefly for the purpose of feeding on the ticks and other parasites on the animals, a good work largely shared by the Grackles (Quiscalus crassirostris). It is most interesting to watch a company of Blackbirds when thus engaged. Many are perched on the backs of the cattle (two or three sometimes on one cow); others are on the ground, hopping about fearlessly among the grazing herd, searching for insects at the roots of the herbage, or capturing those disturbed by the feet of the cattle. At this time one or more individuals are stationed on some tree close by, from which they now and again call to those in the open with that remarkable ery, variously syllabicated by some, but which I have at times thought strangely like the wailing of a young cat. Insects of all orders and their larvee, ticks, grubs, ete., form their chief food. Occasionally, perhaps, a few small lizards are taken, and, I believe, the eggs of other birds, as I once found in the stomach of a female portions of an egg, apparently that of some small bird. Gosse records having seen these birds eating the ripe berries of the fiddle wood, but I have not noticed them at any time eating vegetable food. “The Blackbirds at their best have a very lean and shabby appearance, and are slow and awkward in their movements. I have watched an individual make several ineffectual attempts to alight on the frond of a cocoanut palm; but even among the branches of other trees their actions appear awkward. Their flight 8 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS: is slow and gliding, somewhat labored, and of little duration, the birds often appearing to fall short of the point originally aimed at. Yet they will chase the large yellow butterflies, and I was shown a large green locust that one of these birds was seen to capture in flight and afterwards drop. In the progress of a flock from place to place they do not usually fly all together, but move away in strageling groups or couples. One or more individuals first start off with their wailing call, followed soon after by two or three; after a little delay, then two more go; another pause, then one, then three, and so on. If a tree has very dense foliage, they alight (with much awkward scrambling) on the tops or extremities of the highest branches, where they may gain a clear and uninter- rupted view, and this is usually the case when they are traversing very open country. “Their nesting habits are exceedingly curious and interesting. Many indi- viduals (possibly members of one flock) work together in the construction of a large nest, in which all the females of the company lay their eggs. The number of eggs deposited in different nests varies greatly, but is of course dependent on the number of birds in a company. Six and eight eggs are commonly found. I once took eleven, and in August, last year, I saw a clutch of twenty-one that had been taken from a single nest. It is probable that normally not more than two eggs are deposited by each bird, but nothing definite can be said on this point. The nest, which is usually placed high up in a tall tree, very frequently in a clump of mistletoe on a ‘bastard cedar,’ is a large, loosely constructed mass of twigs, entirely lined with dried leaves. But the most remarkable cireum- stance in connection with the nesting of these birds is the deposition of the eges in regular layers, with leaves between. ‘This custom I had long heard of before an opportunity offered for personal observation. In the first nest I examined the eggs were in two distinct layers, separated by a deep bed of dry leaves; the bottom layer consisted of four eggs, and these, strange to say, were all infertile. I believe this singular habit is practiced in all cases where a large number of birds resort to the same nest. The eggs are a deep bluish green, but when freshly laid are covered with a white, chalky coat, which soon becomes much scratched and erased on all. Now, what seems very singular is that compara- tively little of this chalky covering gets rubbed off the sides, where, from the turning over of the eggs in the nest, we should expect to see the greatest extent of denudation, whereas one or both ends are nearly always wholly denuded. That this circumstance is not merely accidental I feel sure, as in a large series of clutches that I have examined more than two-thirds of the number of eggs show this peculiarity. So cleanly and evenly is it done, and to such an extent, that I feel confident that it is the work of the birds themselves, their beaks alone being able to accomplish it. At the same time it is easy to see that the marks and scratches at the sides are the result of friction with the twigs and leaves of the nest. Average measurements of the egos are 1.33 by 1.20 inches. I have found eges and young in February and throughout the succeeding months to August, two or three broods probably being reared. I have also seen young, fully fledged, THE ANI. 9 but unable to fly, hopping about the branches of the nesting tree; and on another occasion, some, more advanced, searching for insects in the grass at the roots of a large guango tree, in company with many old birds.” The eggs of the Ani are glaucous-blue in color, and this is overlaid and hidden by a thin, chalky, white deposit; as incubation advances the eggs become more or less scratched and the blue underneath is then plainly visible in places, giving them a very peculiar appearance. In shape they vary from oval to elliptical oval; the shell is fine grained, rather strong, and without luster. The average measurement of forty eggs in the United States National Museum collection, mostly from the West Indies, is 84.66 by 26 millimetres, or about 1.36 by 1.02 inches. The largest egg of the series measures 39.62 by 26.67 millimetres, or 1.56 by 1.05 inches; the smallest, 29.21 by 23.37 millimetres, or 1.15 by 0.92 inches. The type specimen, No. 6048 (Pl. 1, Fig. 6), from a nest containing seven egos, was taken bv Mr. W. 'T. March, near Spanish Town, Jamaica, on July 30. 1862. 3. Crotophaga sulcirostris Swanson. GROOVE-BILLED ANI. Orotophaga sulcirostris SWAINSON, Philosophical Magazine, I, 1827, 440. (B —, C —, R 390, C 426, U 384.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Along the western slopes of the Andes, in South America, to the Pacific coast; from Peru north through Central America on both coasts, and through Mexico to the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas, and southern Lower California. Casual in the United States in southern Florida, southern Louisiana, southern Arizona, and California. The breeding range of the Groove-billed Ani or Jewbird within the United States is a very limited one and appears to be confined to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas, where it was first discovered near Lomita by Mr. George B. Sennett, on May 19, 1878, and added by him to our fauna. Since then it has been found breeding in small numbers in chaparral in the vicinity of Browns- ville, and its nest and three sets of eggs were taken there and are now in the Ralph collection in the United States National Museum. It strageles occasionally along the Gulf coast to southern Louisiana. Mr. E. A. Mecllhenny shot one of these birds on Avery’s Island on August 23, 1891, which is now in his collection, and it has also been taken in Florida. It is a common resident in suitable localities throughout the greater part of Mexico, the southern parts of Lower California, the whole of Central America, along both coasts, and those portions of South America situated on the western slopes of the Andes south to Peru. It is a bird of the lowlands, being rarely met with at altitudes over 700 feet, and it is generally resident wherever found. Prof. A. L. Herrara, of the National Museum of the City of Mexico, has kindly furnished me with the following notes: 10 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. “Orotophaga sulcirostris is known to the inhabitants here as the Pijon and Garrapatero. It is a social bird, being usually found in small companies of from six to fifteen individuals, absolutely monogamous, sedentary, and of semidomes- ticated habits, frequenting the haciendas and the fields and pastures in their vicinity, and as it is considered very useful because of its habit of destroying large numbers of parasites infesting the cattle, it is not molested by the inhabi- tants, and becomes very tame. It extracts the Zvodes and other Acaridans with remarkable skill, without causing ulcerations which might result from the pro- boscis or sucker remaining in the fibers of the skin, and it must be regarded as one of the most useful birds of Mexico, especially of the warm regions, so abounding in parasites of all kinds. It is noteworthy that all the Crotophage I have collected were remarkably lean, which the natives assert is their normal condition; and without exception the Garrapatero is found in all the warmer parts of Mexico where there are cattle.” Mr. E. Kirby Smith, of Jataplan, Vera Cruz, Mexico, writes me that the Groove-billed Ani is locally known there as the Chicuya, usually inhabiting the thick chaparral and uttering, almost constantly, a peculiar cracking sound. He has found their nests in brush thickets, usually not more than 6 feet from the ground—rather loose structures, resembling the nests of the Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinals), but larger, and has observed as many as fifteen eggs in a nest. Mr. Charles W. Richmond has kindly furnished me with the following notes on the general habits of this species as observed by him in the vicinity of Bluefields, Nicaragua: ‘““A very abundant resident. It appears to breed at various times during the year, as I have found fresh eggs July 6, 1892, and young birds, recently from the nest, November 29, the breeding season spreading over seven months of the year at least, as it begins nesting earlier than the date of taking my first eggs. Nests are frequently built in the heart of a thick, thorny orange or lemon tree, and this appears to be a favorite situation. In this case the nest is from 4 to 7 feet from the ground, and, besides being difficult to get at, is somewhat protected from invasion by the wasps which almost invariably take up their abode in the same tree. In going through a small lemon grove I found an old nest of this species. In the cavity there were no eggs, but on poking the nest to pieces six badly decayed eggs rolled out. ‘‘One nest containing three eggs in the proper place and two others at the bottom, under the lining of green leaves, was located in a bamboo about 12 feet from the ground. The eges were fresh, and more would probably have been deposited; the leaves forming the lining were still green. The parent birds were away at the time. Another nest was situated in some vines which had overrun an old tree stub, and was about 15 feet from the ground. “Tt may be that where numerous eges are deposited in one nest only those eges that are deposited in the proper place and directly influenced by the incubating bird are hatched, while those placed among the sticks forming the THE GROOVE-BILLED ANT. 11 bulky exterior are left unhatched. It would be interesting to watch the progress of a large nestful of eggs and note results. The nests found by me were all composed of dead black twigs, rather loosely put together, very bulky and conspicuous structures, lined with green leaves, or, if old nests, with leaves that had the appearance of having been picked green. On one occasion I saw a bird, with nesting material in its bill, taking short flights from one bamboo to another, followed by several other birds composing the company, but none of these latter had nesting material with them. “At Mr. Haymond’s plantation, on the Escondido River, above Bluefields, this species was unusually plentiful, owing, no doubt, to a large number of cattle kept there. The birds follow these animals as they meander over the pastures, hopping along on each side of an animal, catching grasshoppers and other insects which the cow disturbs as it moves along. Frequently the cow moves too rapidly and the birds lag behind, when they make short flights to the front again, passing over one another after the manner of the Grackles when feeding ina field. Only half a dozen birds or so follow a cow usually, and not many congregate in one flock, except when roosting. On this plantation, where the species is more abundant than usual, the birds appear to roost in numbers. An orange tree near the house was a favorite place where thirty or forty birds came to pass the night, flyimg in from the surrounding pasture about dusk, and after afew short flights from one tree to another, passed into the roost one or two at a time, hoppimg about as if seeking a favorable perch, uttering their peculiar note meanwhile. Out of this roost I shot seventeen birds one evening, and the males greatly predominated; there were only five females in the lot. The note of this species reminds one somewhat of the Flicker, Colaptes auratus, but may be better represented by the combination ‘plee-co,’ rapidly repeated, with the accent usually on the first syllable, but sometimes on the last. I have frequently found one of the small flocks resting on a bush or bamboo along the water’s edge, perfectly silent, until my near approach started them off, one or two at a time, scolding as they went. Their flight is even, slow, as short as possible, and consists of a few flaps of the wings, followed by a short sail, then a few more flaps, ete. “The food of those examined by me on banana plantations consisted almost entirely of small grasshoppers, the stomachs being much distended with these insects. From the fresh earth found on the bill and feet of these birds, I should judge they also feed on the ground. The Crotophaga is gregarious all the year round.” The following observations on the nesting habits of this species, based on manuscript notes of Mr. Anastasio Alfaro, director of the National Museum of Costa Rica, at San Jose, and recently published by Mr. George K. Cherrie, are especially interesting. “The Zopilotillo (so-pee-lo-tée-yo), also known as ‘Tijo-tijo’ (tee-ho), in imitation of its peculiar notes, which seem to repeat the word tijo over and over again, is very abundant in the fields near Tambor (a little town about 20 miles be LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. northwest of San Jose), where, along the hedgerows and in the scrubby timber, as well as on the skin of the cattle, they find those insects which constitute their food. The woodticks, or garropatos, from the legs and about the head and neck of the cattle are esteemed above all else a favorite morsel, In this loeality I have collected three nests during the month of May, the first with nine eggs, the second with eleven, and the last with thirteen. Some years ago I remember seeing a nest, situated in the branches of a mango tree, that os. “The nests that I have collected agree with the observations made by Zeledon. he structure is voluminous, composed chiefly of coarse dead twigs, but presents one peculiarity not observed in any other bird, namely, the nest being lined with fresh green leaves. My three specimens were all placed in low trees, and neither was found at a greater height than 3 metres. One had been built above an old nest of one of the larger Tyrannide. “Tt will not be without interest, I think, to insert my observations relative to one of these nests. On the 20th of May I noticed a Zopilotillo with a dry stick in his bill, which was immediately carried to a point in the hedgerow, where it was deposited with three others. After assuring myself that the bird was building its nest there, I retired, with the intention of returning at a more oppor- tune moment. And when, one week later, I returned to the same spot, what was my surprise to see not only the nest completed and containing six eggs, but more than this—in the thorns and leaves about it were scattered seven more eggs! As a consequence, if that collection was not the work of the Zopilotillos collectively, the poor owner would have had to deposit three eggs daily. In the finding of some of the ego's scattered in the leaves was revealed one of the architect’s peculiarities. A hole had been left in the center of the nest and only recently filled with leaves, whose fresh green color testified that they had been eut and placed there later than the others forming the carpeting to the bottom of this common incubator. contained fourteen eg “The eges were all fresh, the six occupying the nest having the character- istic rough, white, calcareous surface, perfectly clean, and without the slightest variation in color. Not so with the eggs found about the outside of the nest. Those found in contact with the leaves had taken on a dirty yellowish tinge. Those held suspended among the leaves and thorns showed various spots and lines of the lustrous blue color forming the base for the chalky external coat. The scratches had been caused by a too close contact with the thorns.” There can no longer be any doubt that the general nesting habits of this species are similar to those of the Ani, and that frequently more than one female lays in the same nest, although this habit may not be so universal as with the preceding species. The three sets of eges from the Ralph collection, taken near Brownsville, Texas, contained, respectively, four, five, and five eggs; in two of these the eges were fresh, and in the other incubation had just commenced when taken, y The Auk, Vol. IX, 1892, pp. 35, 326, THE GROOVE-BILLED ANI. 18 on May 28, 1892. These sets appear to have been laid by one bird, the eggs in each set resembling each other very closely. They were placed in huisache trees (Acacia farnesiana), from 6 to 10 feet from the ground, in rather open woods. A nest now before me, taken by Mr. Charles W. Richmond, near the Escondido River, Nicaragua, on July 6, 1892, containing three fresh eggs when found, is composed of small twigs of a vine, mixed with a few blades of cane leaves, and the center is filled with a layer of leaves of different species. It is a rather loose structure, about 10 inches in diameter and 4 inches in height. The inner cup measures 4 inches in diameter by 24 inches in depth. Nothing definite is known about the time of incubation, nor whether the male assists in this duty; from three to five eggs seem to be laid by each female, and two or three broods are probably raised in a season. The eges are mostly oval in shape, but occasionally one is found that may be called elliptical ovate. They resemble those of the Ani very closely and the same description will answer for both, with the exception that the chalky matter covering the glaucous-blue ground color appears to be heavier in the present species, giving them a more uniform milky blue appearance, and that they are also considerably smaller. The average measurement of forty eggs in the United States National Museum collection is 31.13 by 23.93 millimetres, or about 1.23 by 0.94 inches. The largest egg of the series measures 33.53 by 25.15 millimetres, or 1.32 by 0.99 inches; the smallest, 27.68 by 21.84 millimetres, or 1.09 by 0.86 inches. The type specimen, No. 18565 (Pl. 1, Fig. 7), from a set of five eggs, was taken by Mr. L. Belding, near San Jose del Carbo, Lower California, on April 29, 1882, and represents an unscratched specimen. 4. Geococcyx californianus (Lesson). ROAD-RUNNER. Saurothera californiana LESSON, Complement des Giuvres de Buffon VI, 1829 (?), 420. Geococcyx californianus BAIRD, Birds of North America, 1858, 75. (B 68, C 289, R 385, C 427, U 385.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Central and northern Mexico and adjoining portions of the United States; east through the western half of Texas, and extreme western Indian Territory; north to southwestern Kansas, southern Colorado, southern Utah, southern Nevada, and southwestern Oregon (?); Lower California. The Road-runner, equally well known as the ‘Chaparral Cock,” and occa- sionally called “Snake-killer,” “Ground Cuckoo,” “Lizard Bird,” and by the Spanish-speaking population of our southern border “Paisano” and “ Corre- camino,” is generally a resident and breeds wherever found, excepting perhaps in the extreme northern portions of its range. This it reaches in Shasta County, ‘alifornia, on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, in about latitude 40° N., while on the east side of these mountains it has as yet not been observed north 14 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. of Inyo County, California, about latitude 36° N. In southwestern Kansas it is undoubtedly quite rare and can only be considered as a strageler.' Its general habits are far more terrestrial than arboreal, spending most of its time on the ground in search of food, and frequenting the drier desert tracts adjacent to river valleys, and the lower foothills, covered by cactus, yuccas, and thorny undergrowth. It rarely ventures into the higher mountain ranges among the conifers, but breeds occasionally among the oaks bordering the pine belt. It ismost abundant at altitudes ranging from 2,000 to 3,500 feet, and is seldom seen within the United States above 5,000 feet; but in the San Pedro Martir range, in Lower California, Mr. A.W. Anthony has met with the Road-runner at an altitude of 7,000 feet above sea level, and at Glorietta, New Mexico, it has recently been reported as breeding at a height of 8,000 feet. The Chaparral Cock is rather unsocial in its habits, and it is rare to see more than a couple together excepting after the breeding season, when the young still follow one of the parents. Its food consists almost entirely of animal matter, such as grasshoppers, beetles, lizards, small snakes, land snails, the smaller rodents, and not unfrequently of young birds. On the whole, these birds do far more good than harm. When the fig-like fruit of the giant cactus is ripe they also feed on this; in fact, many mammals and birds seem to be very partial to it. It is astonishing how large an animal can be swallowed by one of these birds. I have found a species of garter snake fully 20 inches long in the crop of one shot in Arizona. Mr. Anthony writes me on this subject as follows: “A half-grown bird which I shot at San Quentin, Lower California, presented an unusually bunchy appearance about the throat and neck, a fullness which was accounted for upon dissection by the discovery of an immense lizard which had been swallowed entire but a few moments before the bird was shot. I know of several instances of Road-runners making a meal of a nest of young House-finches, Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis, and other small birds.” T am aware that there isa pretty general belief in localities where the Road- runner is common, and where the rattlesnake is usually more so, that these birds are more than a match for even the largest of these reptiles, and attack and kill them wherever found, an assertion I very much question. It is said when one of these birds, while rambling about, meets a rattlesnake, coiled up and asleep after a good meal, it quietly hedges the reptile in with a ring or fence of the joints of the Cholla cactus, and after having done so, drops a similar joint from above on the sleeping reptile, which, being enraged thereby, thrashes around and soon becomes covered with the sharp spines, and then falls an easy victim to the bird, after becoming exhausted in vain attempts to free itself. The bird is said to first pick its eyes out and so render it entirely helpless. This is a very plausible story, and while I am only too well aware of the sharpness of the spines of the Cholla ‘In a letter received from Mr. A. W. Anthony, written on August 5, 1888, and overlooked by me when this article was written, he informs me that a Road-runner, accompanied by three young, was seen by a traveling companion of his who knew these birds well, on the line of railroad between Albany and Ashland, Oregon, about 50 miles south of Albany, some time in August, 1887. This extends its range considerably northward. THE ROAD-RUNNER. 15 cactus, | know that such a hedge proves no barrier to these snakes, and that they do not mind such obstructions in the least, passing over without touching them. I consider this story ona par with the generally accepted belief of hunters and fron- tiersmen in the West, that rattlesnakes will not cross over horsehair ropes, when laid around one’s bed while camping out. I admit having heard this frequently from persons I had no reason to doubt, that I was a firm believer in the state- ment, and made use of this snake protector for a number of years; but at last my faith was rudely shattered by seeing a medium-sized rattlesnake deliber- ately erawling over such a rope which I had stretched around my tent. The snake paid no attention to the hair rope, but slightly curved its body where about to come in contact with it, gliding over without touching it, and, finding a sunny spot at the side of the tent, coiled up to take a rest, part of its body lying directly on the rope. Since witnessing this performance I have naturally lost faith in this belief, and have wished many times since that it had not been so rudely shaken, especially when in sections of the country where these reptiles are abundant and where one is liable to find his blankets occupied by one or more rattlers. Road-runners are ordinarily rather shy and suspicious birds, and not as often seen as one would think, even where comparatively common. Within the United States they are most abundant along the southern borders of Texas and Arizona, and in southern California. I found them quite common in the vicinity of my camp on Rillito Creek, near Tucson, Arizona, and also near Anaheim, Orange County, California, and I have examined about twenty of their nests. Notwithstanding their natural shyness, they are inquisitive birds, and where they are not constantly chased and molested will soon become used to man. One of these birds paid frequent visits to my camp, often perching on a mesquite stump for half an hour at a time, within 20 yards of my tent. While so perched it would usually keep up a continuous cooing, not unlike that of the Mourning Dove, varied now and then by a cackle resembling that of a domestic hen when calling her brood’s attention to some choice morsel of food. This call sounded like “dack, dack, dack,” a number of times repeated. Another peculiar sound was sometimes produced by snapping its mandibles rapidly together. While uttermg these notes its long tail was almost constantly in motion and. partly expanded, and its short wings slightly drooped. In walking about at ease, the tail is somewhat raised and the neck partly contracted. When suddenly alarmed the feathers of the body are compressed and it trusts almost entirely to its legs for escape, running surprisingly fast. While running it can readily keep out of the way of a horse on a fair gallop on comparatively open ground, and should the pursuer gain too much on the bird, it suddenly doubles on its course and takes advantage of any thickets or broken ground in the vicinity, and is soon lost to sight. - Its flight is apparently easy and, considering its short wings, is rather swift. In southern Arizona the breeding season begins sometimes as early as the middle of March, but the majority of the birds there, as well as throughout the balance of their range, do not commence nesting before April, and nidifi- 16 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. cation lasts through the summer months, two and occasionally three broods being raised in a season. While the first set of eggs laid by such species as rear more ~ than one brood in a season is usually larger in number than subsequent ones, it seems to me that with the Road-runner the reverse is the case. During the month of April, 1872, I found several nests, none of which contained more than three eggs, all well incubated when found; similar small sets were found during the first half of May, while in June and July the sets numbered from four to six eggs, the latter the largest sets observed by me in Arizona. The following explanation may account for this: In southern Arizona, during the spring months, insects and reptiles, which form the bulk of the food of these birds, are rather scarce, while in June, as soon as the rains commence, and later through the summer, suitable food is far more abundant and a larger family can be much more readily cared for, and I am of the opinion that these birds know this and act accordingly. Occasionally a larger number of eges is found, however, and Lieut. H. C. Benson, Fourth Cavalry, United States Army, writes me that he sawa nest of this species, near Fort Huachuca, containing six young birds, all of different sizes, and two eggs; the largest of the young was about ready to leave the nest, and the smallest only a day or two old. Their nesting sites are quite variable. In southern Arizona the majority of nests found by me were placed in low mesquite trees or thick bushes, and in different species of cacti, such as the prickly pear, cholla, and others. Occasion- ally one of their nests is placed on top of a mesquite stump, surrounded by green sprouts, or in a hackberry or barberry bush. I found one nest in a palo verde tree, and another in a willow thicket; in the latter case the birds did not build their own nest, but appropriated one of the Crissal Thrasher, Harporhyn- chus crissalis, Mr. F. H. Fowler writes me from Fort Bowie that he saw a nest near there, placed in the hollow of a dead stump. In Texas the Roadrunner sometimes nests in ebony bushes, and in Cali- fornia it has been known to use the nest of the California Jay, Aphelocoma californica, in oak trees, sometimes fully 16 feet from the ground. Usually the nests are placed from 3 to 8 feet from the ground, and only in rare instances higher. Sometimes they are found in quite open situations, but generally they are well concealed from view. A typical nest of the Road-runner may be described as a rather flat and shallow but compactly built structure, about 12 inches in diameter and varying in thickness from 4 to 6 inches, with but little depression interiorly. The ground work consists of sticks from 5 to 10 inches long, lined more or less reoularly with finer material of the same kind and finished off with dry grasses. Occasionally bits of dry cow or horse dung, a few feathers, the inner bark of the cottonwood, dry mesquite-seed pods, bits of snake skin, and small grass roots are used, and now and then no lining is found, the eggs lying on a simple platform of twigs. y The number of eggs to a set varies in different localities from two to nine, and occasionally as many as twelve have been found in a nest, possibly the THE ROAD-RUNNER. 17 product of two birds. Sets ranging from four to six eggs are the rule. In large sets several sterile eggs are nearly always found, and I believe that rarely more than five young are hatched at one time. Incubation begins sometimes with the first two eggs laid, especially when the set is to be a large one, and again I have taken apparently full sets of four eggs in which there was no perceptible difference in the size of the embryos. Occasionally an egg is deposited daily, usually only every other day, and sometimes the intervals are still greater. Incubation lasts about eighteen days, and both sexes assist in this labor. The parents are devoted to their young, and when incubation is well advanced the bird will sometimes allow itself to be caught on the nest rather than abandon its eggs. The nestlings, when disturbed, make a clicking noise with their bills. When taken young, they are readily tamed, soon becoming attached to their captor, showing a great deal of sagacity, and making amusing and interesting: pets. The eggs of the Road-runner are white in color and unspotted, mostly ovate and short ovate, and rarely elliptical ovate in shape. The shell consists of two layers, the lower one close and fine grained, always pure white, without gloss; the upper, a mere film similar to that covering the ground color of the Anis, but more firm and not so easily scratched or rubbed off. This overlaying film gives these eggs sometimes a very pale yellow tint and a moderately glossy appearance. The average measurement of one hundred and one eggs in the United States National Museum collection is 39.12 by 29.97 millimetres, or 1.54 by 1.18 inches. The largest egg of the series measures 44.45 by 29.97 millimetres, or 1.75 by 1.18 inches; the smallest, 36.07 by 28.19 millimetres, or 1.42 by 1.11 inches. The type specimen, No. 20464 (Pl. 1, Fig. 2), from a set of four eggs, Bendire collection, was taken by the writer near Tucson, Arizona, on June 18, 1872, and represents an averaged-sized egg of this species. 5. Coccyzus minor (GmELIn). MANGROVE CUCKOO. Cuculus minor GMELIN, Systema Naturee, I, i, 1788, 411. Coccyzus minor CABANIS, Journal fiir Ornithologie, 1856, 104. (B 71, C 292, R 386, C 429, U 386.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: The West India Islands, excepting the Bahamas; the coast regions of northern South America from Guiana to Colombia, thence north through Central America on both coasts; on the Pacific, to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec; on the Gulf coast to Tampico, Mexico, and probably still farther north; in the United States to the coast of Louisiana, and in southern Florida, on the west side mainly, north to about latitude 27° 30’. The breeding range of the Mangrove, also known as the ‘“Black-eared” Cuckoo, and on the Island of Jamaica as the ‘Young Old-man Bird,” is, in the United States, as far as known, a very restricted one, being mainly confined 16896—No. 3 —2 18 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. to the Keys, and the west coast of southern Florida, north to about latitude 27°, and to the Gulf coast of Louisiana. In Florida it appears to be rather rare, while in southern Louisiana it is reported as somewhat more common. Audubon first met with this species on Key West and states that its habits are much the same as those of the better known Yellow and Black-billed Cuckoos. It seems to be found only in the immediate vicinity of the coast, among the mangroves, live oaks, and dense shrubbery usually found growing in such localities. Mr. E. A. MeIlhenny writes me: ‘The Mangrove Cuckoo is not an uncommon summer visitor on the coast of southern Louisiana, where it usually arrives about March 15 and leaves in September. Here it frequents the live-oak timber near streams or swamps, and usually nests on horizontal branches of wax myrtle, from 4 to 12 feet from the ground. “The earliest date on which I have taken a nest was on April 17, 1891; this contained three eggs. On July 27, 1892, I took a set of four eggs, and I believe that two broods are raised in a season. Both of these nests were placed in wax myrtles, and were almost flat and rather poorly constructed platforms, composed of dry twigs of the wax myrtle, no lining, and with barely any depres- sion in the center. I am inclined to believe that the Mangrove Cuckoo is more common now than formerly, and also less shy. It does not begin to incubate until the full set of eggs has been deposited. When disturbed on the nest the female almost always shows fight; that is, she will raise her feathers, spread her tail, and fly at you very much as a hen would when guarding her young, and at the same time she utters a clucking sound which resembles that of a domestic hen very closely. Its food consists of locusts, grasshoppers, ete.” Audubon states that it is fond of sucking the eggs of all kinds of birds in the absence of their owners, and that it also feeds on fruits and various kinds of insects. There are no fully identified eggs of this species in the United States National Museum taken within our borders, but a number collected by Mr. W.S. March, near Spanish Town, Jamaica, in May, 1862, are unquestionably referable to this Cuckoo. They are pale glaucous green in color, and vary in shape from blunt ovate to nearly a perfect oval. The shell is close grained, rather thin, and without gloss. The egg resembles that of the better known Yellow-billed Cuckoo very closely, but averages a trifle larger. The average measurement of twelve eggs from Jamaica is 30.88 by 23.45 millimetres, or about 1.21 by 0.92 inches. The largest egg measures 32.51 by 24.64 millimetres, or 1.28 by 0.97 inches; the smallest, 29.72 by 21.59 milli- metres, or 1.17 by 0.85 inches. The type specimen, No. 6052 (not figured), from a set of six eggs, was taken by Mr. W. 8S. March, referred to above, near Spanish Town, Jamaica, in May, 1862. MAYNARD’S CUCKOO. 19 6. Coccyzus minor maynardi Ripeway. MAYNARD’S CUCKOO. Coccyzus maynardi RIDGWAY, Manual North American Birds, 1887, 274. Coccyzus minor maynardi ALLEN, Ms. (B 71 part, C 292 part, Kk 386 part, C 429 part, U 386a.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Bahama Islands and southern Florida; Cuba?. Within the United States the range of Maynard’s Cuckoo, a somewhat smaller and paler race than the preceding, and from which it has been separated within the last decade, is a still more restricted one, and it has so far only been found at Key West, where it is rather rare, but it is thought to breed there in limited numbers. It is likely to occur also in suitable localities at points along the east coast of Florida, north to about latitude 27° and possibly still farther. It is evidently only a summer visitor to our shores, retiring south again in winter. It is said to be common throughout the Bahamas, and Mr. J. 8. Northrop, on a recent visit to Andros Island, in the spring of 1890, obtained several specimens of this Cuckoo there and saw others. Their notes were frequently heard by him in the mangroves or near by. The stomachs contained the remains of small insects and grasshoppers. Their general habits, mode of nidification, and eges doubtless resemble those of the Yellow and Black-billed Cuckoos very closely. There are no positively identified eggs of Maynard’s Cuckoo in the United States National Museum collection, but they are not likely to differ any in color or much in size from those of the preceding species. 7. Coccyzus americanus (Linus). YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. Cuculus americanus LINN US, Systema Nature, ed. 10, I, 1758, III. : Coccyzus americanus BONAPARTE, Journal Academy Natural Sciences, Phila., III, ii, 1824, 367. (B 69, C 291, R 387, C 429, U 387.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Eastern North America; north in the Dominion of Canada to Nova Scotia, southern New Brunswick, southern Quebec, and Ontario to about latitude 45° 30’. In the United States, through southern Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, southern Minnesota, and South Dakota; west to Nebraska, Kansas, the Indian Territory, and Texas; south to Florida, the Gulf coast, and the West India Islands; in winter to eastern Mexico, and Costa Rica, Central America. Casual to eastern Colorado, Wyoming, and North Dakota. Accidental in Greenland, Great Britain, and Belgium. The breeding range of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, also known as “ Rain Crow” or “Rain Dove,” ‘ Kow-Kow,” “Wood Pigeon,” “Indian Hen,” and in some of the West India Islands as “(May Bird,” is coextensive with its geo- graphical distribution in the United States and the southern portions of the 20 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. Dominion of Canada; and it also breeds on a number of the West India Islands, but in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and in the extreme western parts of Texas it is replaced by the California Cuckoo during this time. It is a moderately common bird in suitable localities throughout the greater part of its range in the United States, excepting along our northern border, but on account of its shy and retiring ways it is much more frequently heard than seen; it is only a summer visitor throughout the greater portions of its range in the United States, excepting Florida and parts of the Gulf coast, where some of these birds are known to winter, but by far the greater number retire still farther south to the West India Islands, and others through eastern Mexico, as far as Costa Rica. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo usually arrives in the Northern States about the commencement of May, and remains there until the end of September or the early part of October. It is decidedly arboreal in its habits, and is rarely seen on the ground, where, on account of its short and weak feet, its movements are rather awkward; but on the wing it is exceedingly graceful; its flight is noiseless and swift, and it moves or rather glides through the densest foliage with the greatest ease, now flying sidewise, and again twisting and doubling at right angles through the thickest shrubbery almost as easily as if passing through unobstructed space, its long tail assisting it very materially in all its complicated movements. Few of our birds show to better advantage on the wing than the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. It rarely indulges in protracted flights on its breeding grounds, but keeps mostly in the shadiest trees, in dense thickets along water courses, or on small islands, shrubbery bordering country roads, the outskirts of forests, and were it not for its peculiar call notes, which draw attention to its whereabouts at once, it would be much less frequently seen than it usually is, even where fairly common; on the whole, it must be considered as a rather shy, retiring, and suspicious bird. Its call notes are much more varied than is generally supposed, but it is impossible to positively distinguish them from those of its somewhat smaller relative, the Black-billed Cuckoo, which is likewise found throughout a consider- able portion of its range, and it is extremely difficult to indicate these notes on paper. On the whole, I consider those of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo to be the louder of the two, but this is only a matter of opinion, and it is rather difficult to state just what difference exists between them. One of their commonest notes is a low ‘‘noo-coo-coo-coo;” another sounds more like “‘cow-cow-cow” or “‘kow- kow-kow,” several times repeated; others resemble the syllables of “ough, ough, ough,” slowly and softly uttered; some remind me of the “kloop-kloop” of the Bittern; occasionally a note something like the “kiuh-kiuh-kiuh” of the Flicker is also uttered; a low, sharp ‘‘tou-wity-whit” and “hweet hwee” is also heard during the nesting season. Though ordinarily not what might be called a social bird, I have sometimes during the mating season seen as many as eight in the same tree, and on such occasions they indulge in quite a number of calls, and if the listener can only keep still long enough he has. an excellent oppor- tunity to hear a regular Cuckoo concert. THE YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. il From an economic point of view there are few birds which do more good than the Yellow-billed Cuckoos, as they live almost entirely on caterpillars, and even the hairy and sharp-spined ones are eaten by them in large numbers. Among the most important ones so destroyed are the cankerworm, the tent caterpillar (Clisiocampa americana), and that of Vanessa antiopa, as well as of numerous other butterflies, grasshoppers, beetles, cicadas, small snails, ete., and different kinds of fruit, as berries, mulberries, grapes, and others. Mr. J. L. Davison, of Lockport, New York, has also observed it catching winged ants, like a Flycatcher. I am aware that this species has been accused of destroying the eggs and even of eating the young of smaller birds, but I am strongly inclined to believe that this accusation is unjust, and in my opinion requires more sub- stantial confirmation. I have never yet had any reason to suspect their robbing smaller birds’ nests, and the very fact that they live in apparent harmony with such neighbors, who do not protest against their presence, as they are in the habit of doing should a Blue Jay, Grackle, or Crow come too close to their nests, seems to confirm this view. Iam upheld in this opinion by a number of careful observers whom I have questioned on this important subject. Only two of my correspondents seem to be inclined to believe this charge to be well founded. Mr. William Brewster, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, writing me on this subject, says: ‘While I have never seen either of our Cuckoos destroy the eggs of other birds, nevertheless I think they do it occasionally. One of my reasons for this belief is that many of our smaller birds, Warblers, Sparrows, etc., show great anxiety whenever the Cuckoos approach their nests, and they pursue and peck at them when they take wing, behaving toward them, in fact, exactly as they do toward the Crows, Jays, and Grackles, which we know eat eggs whenever they can get achance. My other reason is that one of myfriends once shot a Cuckoo (C. americanus, I think it was) whose bill was smeared all over with the fresh yolk of an ege.” Mr. H. P. Attwater, of San Antonio, Texas, although he has not observed it personally either, informs me that in his neighborhood this bird is locally known to the boy collectors as the Egg-sucker, and that some claim to have observed it in the act of stealing eggs. Should an occasional pair of these birds, however, be guilty of such reprehensible conduct, which I am not yet prepared to admit, it by no means follows that it is a common practice. All of our Cuckoos deserve the utmost protection; it is simply astonishing how quickly a pair of these birds will exterminate the thousands of caterpillars infesting orchard and other trees in certain seasons; it makes no difference how hairy and spiny these may be, none are rejected by them, although no other birds will touch them, and the walls of their stomachs are sometimes completely pierced by the sharp, stiletto-like hairs, without injury, and apparently not incommoding these birds in the least. Their benefit to the horticulturist is immense, and he has certainly no better friends among our birds. Although the Yellow-billed Cuckoo generally arrives in our Northern States about the middle of May, and occasionally a week or so earlier, it usually nests 22 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. rather late, and oftener, I believe, in the first week in July than in June. Like most birds, they are more noisy during mating time than at other seasons, and they are most often heard during damp, cloudy weather or before a storm, and on this account they are often called “Rain Crows,” their continuous calls being supposed to presage wet weather. As a rule they are shy and silent, unobtrusive birds, their plain, grayish- brown upper parts, with a faint bronze luster, harmonizing so perfectly with their surroundings that they are readily overlooked in the dense foliage and tangled undergrowth which they usually frequent, and it is no easy matter to study them closely, though occasionally a pair will select its nesting site close to human habitations and even in cities, when they lose their natural shyness to some extent. Mr. Mark L. C. Wilde, of Camden, New Jersey, writes me: “On June 22, 1893, while passing the corner of Sixth and Market streets, I was surprised to see a Yellow-billed Cuckoo fly off her nest, which was built on the limb of a maple tree that hung over Market street, on which the electric cars run every ten or fifteen minutes. The nest contained two fresh eggs. There are no woods nor open fields within a mile or so of the tree in which the nest was built, although there are a number of shade trees around the city and plenty of caterpillars for them to feed upon.” In the southern portions of their range, including Florida and the Gulf States, nidification begins occasionally early in April, and fresh eggs may be found sometimes in the last two weeks of this month; but the majority of these birds rarely commence laying here before the second week in May. In the District of Columbia a few pairs nest in the latter part of this month, but the greater portion do not before June, and occasionally not before July, while instances of fresh eggs, possibly second layings, have been found in the latter part of August and even in the beginning of September. In the northern por- tions of its range the breeding season is at its height during the latter part of June and the first week of July, and here one brood only is raised, while in the south they sometimes raise two. Mr. O. Widmann, of Old Orchard, Missouri, has kindly sent me the following notes on this species: “The Yellow-billed Cuckoos begin to lay here May 15. If the eggs are taken and none left in the nest, the birds abandon it and build another; but I do not think that two broods are raised in a season. This species begins to arrive here in the last days of April, but to get the earliest dates one must be up at 2 a.m., when their call is heard from time to time. After daybreak they are seldom heard before the first days of May, regularly only after the 5th. I found them very numerous in the St. Francis region the second week in May, where they were among the most conspicuous birds. At that time they seemed to live mostly on a large kind of May or willow fly (Ephemera), which the male bird caught and brought to his mate, who kept quietly perched and apparently awaiting his attentions. He alighted gracefully on her back and_ presented complaisantly the choice morsel, which was received with half-turned head and THE YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 23 open bill—the whole a picture of love and devotion pleasant to witness, and not marred by any unesthetic act or motion. One of the favorite foods of the Cuckoo in September is the elderberry, and the last week of this month may be set down as the time for its final departure.” The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is one of the poorest nest builders known to me, and undoubtedly the slovenly manner in which it constructs its nest causes the contents of many to be accidentally destroyed, and this probably accounts to some extent for the many apparent irregularities in their nesting habits. The nests are shallow, frail platforms, composed of small rootlets, sticks, or twigs, few of these being over 4 or 5 inches in length, and among them a few dry leaves and bits of mosses; rags, ete., are occasionally mixed in, and the surface is lined with dry blossoms of the horse-chestnut and other flowering plants, the male aments or catkins of oaks, willows, ete., tufts of grasses, pine and spruce needles, and mosses of different kinds. ‘These materials are loosely placed on the top of the little platform, which is frequently so small that the extremities of the bird project on both sides, and there is scarcely any depression to keep the eggs from rolling out even in only a moderate windstorm, unless one of the parents sits on the nest, and it is therefore not a rare occurrence to find broken eggs lying under the trees or bushes in which the nests are placed. Some of these are so slightly built that the eggs can be readily seen through the bottom. An average nest measures about 5 inches in outer diameter by 14 inches in depth. They are rarely placed over 20 feet from the ground, generally from 4 to 8 feet upon horizontal limbs of oak, beech, gum, dogwood, hawthorn, mulberry, pine, cedar, fir, apple, orange, fig, and other trees. “Thick bushes particularly such as are overrun with wild grape and other vines, as well as hedgerows, especially those of osage orange, are also frequently selected for nesting sites. The nests are ordinarily well concealed by the overhanging and surrounding foliage, and while usually shy and timid at cther times, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo is gen- erally courageous and bold in the defense of its chosen home; the bird on the nest not unfrequently will raise its feathers at right angles from the body and occasionally even fly at the intruder. The number of eggs in a set varies from two to five; sets of three are most common, while those of four are not at all rare. Now and then as many as six and seven have been found in one nest, but it is always more or less questionable if such large sets are the product of the same female. Usually an ege is deposited daily, and as a rule incubation does not commence until the set is completed; but there are also exceptions, and the bird may commence incubation when the first egg is laid, and at the same time continue laying at irregular intervals, varying from two to eight days, so that one will occasionally find birds of different ages and eggs in various stages of incubation in the nest. I must confess that no such instances have come under my own observation, but this fact has been so well established that there can be no question of it. It is also well known that this species will occasionally deposit an egg or two in the nests of the Black-billed Cuckoo, and the latter returns the compliment, and 24 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. now and then one of their eggs has been found in the nests of other species, such as the Wood-thrush, Robin, Catbird, Cedar-bird, Black-throated Sparrow, Cardinal, and Mourning Dove. Such instances appear to be much rarer, how- ever, than those in which they interlay with each other, and the majority of these may well be due to accident, their own nest having possibly been capsized, and necessity compelled the bird to deposit its egg elsewhere. Such instances do occur at times with species that can not possibly be charged with parasitic tendencies. There is a set of four eggs of the Meadow Lark (Ralph collection) before me now, taken on May 6, 1892, in Volusia County, Florida, which in addition contained an ege of the Florida Quail; another set of four eggs of the Gray- tailed Cardinal, taken by Mr. H. P. Attwater, near Rockport, Texas, on April 28, 1893, and presented to the collection here, contains also an egg of the Scissor- tailed Flycatcher, and I might cite other instances if I deemed it necessary. It is indisputable, however, that some latent traces of parasitism exist in our Cuckoos, but these are not very frequent and seem to be principally confined among themselves, and are apparently more prevalent among the Black-billed species than the present one. Mr. Robert Ridgway tells me that he found both species nesting in an apple orchard, near Mount Carmel, Illinois, in June, 1864, in adjoining trees, the two nests being not over 10 feet apart. Incubation, 1 think, lasts about fourteen days, and I believe the female performs the greater portion of this duty. The young when first hatched are repulsive, black, and greasy-looking creatures, nearly naked, and the sprouting quills only add to their general ugliness. If the eggs are handled the bird frequently forsakes the nest, either throwing them out or abandoning them. The eggs are elliptical oval in shape, about equally obtuse at either end; the shell is close grained, rather thin, and without gloss. The ground color varies from a uniform Nile blue to pale greenish blue when fresh, fading out in time to a pale greenish yellow. They are unspotted, but occasionally one or two eggs in a set present a sort of mottled appearance, the ground varying somewhat on different parts of the shell. Their color is one of those subtle tints which it is difficult to describe accurately. Many of the eggs resemble in tint some of the lighter-colored Heron’s eggs. The average measurement of sixty-six specimens in the United States National Museum collection is 30.28 by 22.94 millimetres, or about 1.19 by 0.90 inches. The largest ege in the series measures 33.53 by 25.40 millimetres, or 1.32 by 1.00 inches; the smallest, 27.94 by 21.34 millimetres, or 1.10 by 0.84 inches. The type specimen, No. 25977 (PI. 5, Fig. 1), from a set of three eggs, was taken by Mr. D. B. Burrows, near Lacon, Marshall County, Illinois, on July 5, 1893, and presents the mottled appearance previously referred to. THE CALIFORNIA CUCKOO. 25 8. Coccyzus americanus occidentalis Ripeway. CALIFORNIA CUCKOO. Coccyzus americanus occidentalis RIDGWAY, Manual North American Birds, 1887, 273. (B —, C —, R 387 part, C 429 part, U 3874.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Western North America; north to the southern portions of British Columbia; east to the Rocky Mountains and southern Texas; south over the table- lands of Mexico; northern Lower California. The breeding range of the California Cuckoo, for which the name ‘‘ Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo” seems to be more appropriate, is coextensive with its distribution in the United States. As far as yet known it reaches the northern limits of its breeding range about latitude 50° 45’, near Kamloops, in British Columbia, and its southern and eastern limits in the lower Rio Grande Valley, in southern Texas. The eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains appear to form the eastern limits of its range in this direction. Although nowhere common, it seems to be generally distributed over the Pacific Coast States and Territories. Mr. F. Stephens writes me: “I consider the California Cuckoo a rare sum- mer resident of the valleys of southern California. The only instance of its breeding here, that I know of, was in the San Bernardino Valley; I saw the parent fly from the nest, which was in a slender willow growing in a thicket in a moist location. The little tree leaned, but was too strong to admit of my pulling the nest within reach; I therefore attempted to climb to the nest and succeeded in spilling the eggs, which broke on striking the ground. The fragments were pale green. The eggs were fresh and appeared to be two in number. I think the date was the latter part of May, 1882.” Mr. Charles A. Allen, of Nicasio, has found this subspecies breeding in the willow thickets along the Sacramento River, California, where it appears to be not uncommon in suitable localities. Dr. Clinton T. Cooke considers it moder- ately common in the vicinity of Salem, Oregon, and Mr. R. H. Lawrence met with it occasionally in the Columbia River Valley, in Clarke County, Washington. It appears to reach the center of its abundance, the lower Rio Grande Valley, in Texas, about the beginning of April, and sometimes nests there in the latter part of this month, but ordinarily not before May, while in southern Arizona it appears to arrive considerably later. I noticed it first on June 10, 1872, among the willows in the Rillito Creek bottom, and again on the 19th, but failed to find a nest before July 17, but after this date I found several others; two of these as late as August 22. Its general habits, call notes, and food are very similar to those of its somewhat smaller eastern relative, and excepting this difference and its stouter and larger beak, it is otherwise indistinguishable. On the whole, it appears to be more common west of the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Mountains than in the interior, where I only met with it on a single occasion, near Old Fort Boise, at Keeneys Ferry, on the Oregon side of Snake River, and here I found a nest of this subspecies on August 2, 1876, containing 26 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. three half-grown young. The nest was placed in a clump of willows, within a few feet of where I was camped, and my attention was first attracted to it by the uneasy manner in which the parents moved through the willows, constantly flitting back and forth, and always with a large black cricket (Anabus simplex or purpuratus) in their bills, on which they seemed to feed their young entirely. They picked most of these repulsive-looking creatures from grass stalks and low shrubs on which they were feeding, and although there were numbers of them to be found all around, as well as in camp, they generally went off some little distance to get them. The nestlings, only two or three days old, were ugly-looking creatures, and their bodies were almost naked. The parents soon lost their fear caused by my proximity, and flew back and forth at short inter- vals during the three hours of daylight in which I had an opportunity to observe them. The young uttered occasionally a low, wheezy note, like “ugh, ugh,” but on the whole both parents and young were rather silent. This subspecies has also been met with in Utah, and Mr. A. W. Anthony observed a Cuckoo which is unquestionably referable to this subspecies near Ensenada, Lower California. If the California Cuckoo showed the same parasitic habit of occasionally depositing one or more of its eggs in the nests of other birds, as its eastern relatives are now and then known to do, I believe that I should have observed the fact in southern Arizona. Here I found eight of their nests with eges, and fully five hundred nests of smaller birds, which nested in similar localities among the willow thickets and mesquite bushes, overrun with vines, in the creek bottoms, but not a single instance of parasitism came under my observation. The California Cuckoo built its own nest in every case, and while it generally was a loose, slovenly affair, without any pretence to architectural beauty, I think on the whole it compared favorably with the nests of our two better-known eastern species; some at least were fairly well lined with dry grasses and the blossoms of a species of Hvax, and there was generally a slight depression in the center of the nest for the eggs to rest in. I took my first set, containing two fresh egos, on July 17, 1872; on the 25th of this month I found another set of four eggs in which incubation had slightly and uniformly begun. On July 27 I secured two more sets, one of four, the other of three eggs, both fresh; and I did not find any more until August 21, when I took a set of three, one of which contained a large embryo, another one somewhat less advanced, and the remaining egg was addled. Next day I found two more nests, one containing a set of three, in which incubation had commenced evenly, the other held two fresh egos, and on August 24 I found the last nest, which contained a single fresh egg, to which no others were added. ‘Two of these nests contained incomplete sets when found, and an ege was added in each case on succeeding days. As arule, incubation does not begin until the set is completed, and an egg is deposited daily. Both sexes assist in incubation and in the care of the young. I believe only one brood is raised in southern Arizona in a season. The nests here were placed in willow or mesquite thickets, from 10 to 15 feet from the ground, and they were usually fairly well concealed by the surround- ing foliage. THE CALIFORNIA CUCKOO. 27 The eges of the California Cuckoo are usually three or four in number. They are light greenish blue in color, unspotted, and in time this unstable tint fades to a uniform pale yellowish green. They are mostly elliptical oval in shape; a few may be called elliptical ovate, one end being slightly more pointed than the other. The shell is fine grained, rather thin, and without gloss. The eggs average a trifle larger than those of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The average measurement of forty-three specimens in the United States National Museum collection is 30.85 by 23.16 millimetres, or about 1.21 by 0.91 inches. The largest of these egos measures 33.53 by 24.38 millimetres, or 1.32 by 0.96 inches; the smallest, 27.43 by 21.08 millimetres, or 1.08 by 0.83 inches. The type specimen, No. 20470 (Pl. 5, Fig. 2), Bendire collection, from a set of four eggs, was taken by the writer on Rillito Creek, near Tucson, Arizona, on July 27, 1872. This is one of the largest eggs in the series, and is slightly faded, fresh egos looking somewhat brighter. 9. Coccyzus erythrophthalmus (Witsoy). BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO. Cuculus erythrophthalmus WILSON, American Ornithology, IV, 1811, 16, Pl. 28. Ooccyzus erythrophthalmus BONAPARTE, Journal Academy Natural Sciences, Phila., IJ, ii, 1824, 367. (B 70, C 290, R 388, C 428, U 388.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Eastern North America; north in the Dominion of Canada to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, southern Quebec, and Ontario, to about latitude 479°, and in the provinces of Manitoba and eastern Assiniboia to about latitude 51°; west in the United States to the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas; south, in winter, to the West India Islands, Central America, and northern South America. Accidental in Great Britain and Italy, The Black-billed Cuckoo, a slightly smaller bird than the Yellow-billed, is likewise known by the different local names of the latter, and is often mistaken for it. It appears to be somewhat hardier, extending its migrations several degrees farther north, and it breeds throughout its range from about latitude 35° northward. Occasionally it has been reported as breeding still farther south, but below the latitude named it must be considered as an irregular and rare sum- mer resident. In eastern North America it reaches the northern limits of its range in about latitude 47°, while in the interior, in the provinces of Manitoba and eastern Assiniboia, it has been found as far north as latitude 51°, and it ranges probably still farther in this direction. The eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains appear to form the western limits of its habitat. Here it has been obtained at Pryor’s Fork of the Yellowstone, Montana, and I found it breeding on the Little Horn River, near Fort Custer, on June 25,1885. Mr. W.G. Smith has observed it in Larimer County, Colorado, where he believes it breeds, but it is rare. It is a fairly common species in suitable localities throughout the greater part of its range, and in the more northern portions it outuumbers the Yellow- 28 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. billed Cuckoo considerably. In winter it occurs to some extent in Florida and along the Gulf coast, but by far the greater number pass beyond our borders to the West India Islands, and even through Mexico and Central America to northern South America. It usually reenters the United States from its winter haunts in the South during the first half of April, arriving on its more northern breeding grounds generally about a week earlier than the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The return migration in the fall ordinarily begins in the latter part of September, while a few of these birds linger sometimes well in October and occasionally even until early November. Its general habits, plumage, manner of flight, food, and many of its call notes are very similar to those of the Yellow-billed species, and it is rather difficult to distinguish one from the other unless very close to them. Like the species referred to, it is eminently beneficial, and deserves the fullest protection. They frequent the same kind of localities, and are especially partial to the shrubbery along water courses, lakes, ponds, hillsides bordering wet meadows, overgrown here and there with clumps of bushes, and the outer edges of low- lying forests, while they are far less often observed in high and dry situations any distance away from water. On the whole, its call notes appear not to be quite so loud as the Y ellow-billed Cuckoo’s, and rather more pleasing to the ear. Their ordinary note is a soft ‘c66-c66,” a number of times repeated. Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller, well known as an enthusiastic and painstaking observer, describes their alarm note as “‘cuck-a-ruck,” and gives a very full and interesting account of the actions of a pair of these birds in her charmingly-written “Little Broth- ers of the Air.” From personal observations, I am inclined to believe that the Black-billed Cuckoo is more irregular in its nesting habits than the Yellow-billed, and that cases of parasitism are of more frequent occurrence. I also think their eges are much oftener found in different stages of incubation than appears to be the case with the Yellow-billed species. Mr. J. L. Davison, of Lockport, New York, well known as a careful and reliable ornithologist, in his list of birds of Niagara County, New York, origi- nally published in ‘“ Forest and Stream,” September, 1889, makes the following remarks about this Cuckoo: “T have often found the eggs of this species in the nest of C. americanus, but only once have I found it in the nest of any other bird, June 17, 1882, I found a Black-billed Cuckoo and a Mourning Dove sitting on a Robin’s nest together. The Cuckoo was the first to leave the nest. On securing this I found it contained two eggs of the Cuckoo, two of the Mourning Doye, and one Robin's egg. The Robin had not quite finished the nest when the Cuckoo took posses- sion of it and filled it nearly full of rootlets; but the Robin got in and laid one ege. Incubation had commenced in the Robin and Cuckoo eggs, but not in the Mourning Dove’s eggs. I have the nest and eggs in my collection. * * * “T am also quite certain that I have seen the Black-billed and Yellow-billed Cuckoo feeding young in the same nest, an account of which was published in ‘Forest and Stream.’ Since then I have found a number of nests containing THE BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO. 29 the eggs of both species, and have come to the conclusion that I was not mis- taken in that observation. On September 10, 1883, I found a nest of the Black- billed Cuckoo containing two young birds not more than one day out of the shell; the two previous nights we had severe frosts that destroyed vegetables.” While instances of the Black-bilied Cuckoo laying in the nests of the Yellow-billed are not especially rare, cases where it lays its eges in those of other species, especially smaller ones than itself, are decidedly uncommon. I have never seen a case of this kind, but, nevertheless, several well-authenticated instances have been recorded which leave no room for doubt; of these I will only quote one, published by Dr. C. K. Clarke, of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, who says: “In an orchard we discovered a Black-billed Cuckoo sitting in a Chipping Sparrow’s nest, and the bird did not attempt to move till we almost touched it. It now seemed very evident that the case against the bird was a strong one, and when a Cuckoo’s egg was found in the nest the chain of evi- dence was complete. The egg was hatched and produced a tyrannical young Cuckoo, who turned his companions out of the nest and made himself as com- fortable as possible as long as was necessary. Two of us saw the old Cuckoo actually sitting in the nest, and there was no doubt about the matter. We have been informed that the erratic nesting of the Cuckoo has been repeated in the same orchard since the occasion referred to, but of this we have no accurate information.”* Its eggs have been found in the nests of the Wood Pewee, Yellow Warbler, Catbird, and others. Nidification commences rather late, rarely before the middle of May; full sets of eggs are sometimes found about the end of this month, but much more frequently during June and July. Occasionally a set is met with in the latter part of August, probably a second clutch. The earliest nesting record I know is one of May 7, 1878, where Mr. Robert Ridgway found a set of these eggs near Mount Carmel, Illinois; these are now in the United States National Museum collection. Ordinarily an egg is deposited daily until the set is completed, but not unfrequently they are laid at considerably longer intervals, and it is well known that young of different ages, as well as eggs in various stages of incubation, are sometimes found in the same nest. The nests of the Black-billed Cuckoo appear to be slightly better built than those of the Yellow-billed species; the platform is usually constructed of finer twigs, the soft inner bark of cedar, fine rootlets, weed stems, etc., and there is generally more lining. This consists of the aments of oak, white and black ash, and,maple, willow catkins, and the flowers of the cudweed or everlasting (Gnaphalium), dried leaves, and similar materials. The majority of the nests are placed in rather low sitaations, mostly not over 6 feet from the ground, on horizontal limbs of bushy evergreens, pines, cedars, and hemlocks, or in decid- uous trees and shrubs, such as the box elder, chestnut, thorn apple, and beech trees; also in hedges, briar and kalmia patches, occasionally on old logs, and now and then even on the ground. Dr. P. L. Hatch reports such instances in ! Transactions of the Canadian Institute, Oct., 1890, Vol. I, Part I, pp. 48-50. 30 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. his “Birds of Minnesota,” 1892 (p. 222). There is but little difference in the size of their nests from those of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and the same meas- urements will answer for both. The Black-billed Cuckoo is apt to desert its nest if it knows it has been discovered. Judge J. N. Clark, of Saybrook, Connecticut, writes me: “Of all the Cuckoos’ nests which I have found, before the set was complete, if the bird was at the nest, and one generally is, the next visit would always find the nest deserted and one or more of the eggs gone; at least such has been my frequent experience.” On the data sheet of a set of three eggs of this species in the Ralph collection, taken on May 29, 1879, by Mr. W. W. Worthington, on Shelter Island, Suffolk County, New York, I find the following entry in the collector’s handwriting: “On visiting this nest first it contained two eggs; the following day it was empty. I then left it one day, and on the next visit it contained three eggs. I have carefully examined these eggs, and they certainly look as if they had all been laid by the same bird.” I had a somewhat similar experience with the only nest of this species I found near Fort Custer, Montana, on June 22, 1885. This was placed in a bull or buffalo berry bush (Shepherdia argentea) close to the banks of the Little Horn River, about 4 feet from the ground. I noticed the bird slipping off as I approached, and on looking into the bush and separating the branches I found the nest and saw that it contained only a single egg, which appeared to be very peculiarly marked. I did not touch this, and left the vicinity at once. On revisiting the place again on the 24th, I found the nest empty and no trace of the egg on the ground below the nest. I was much provoked at not having taken the egg when I first found the nest, as it was a very deeply colored one, and after making a thorough search through the thickets on that side of the river, I gave it up for that day, but returned again on the 25th and examined a patch of wild rose bushes about 100 yards from the old site and on the opposite bank. Almost as soon as I entered this thicket I saw a Cuckoo flying up into a willow sapling and acting in a very excited manner; a few minutes later I found a nest, containing, to the best of my belief, the identical egg I had seen in the first one. The second nest was evidently built in a hurry, and consisted simply of a very slight platform of dry twigs, with scarcely any lining whatever. It was placed 3 feet from the ground, in a dense clump of wild rose bushes, and was well concealed from view. To make sure, this time I took the single egg, which is the most peculiarly colored one I have yet seen of this species, and is reproduced on PI. 5, Fig. 3. Although not what might be called a very social bird at any time, occasionally in some particularly suitable place a number of pairs may be found nesting close together. Mr. H. W. Flint, of New Haven, Connecticut, writes me: “I know of one spot in this vicinity where the Black-billed Cuckoo might almost be said to breed in colonies—a sloping hillside’ near a traveled road. Here I have found seven nests of this species within an hour, none of them placed over 3 feet from the ground. I have also frequently found their nest on THE BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO. 31 a fallen limb, the top of which was resting upon underbrush, As an exception to their low nesting, I once found a nest containing two well-feathered young and two fresh eggs over 18 feet from the ground, placed in the top of a cedar tree, in a dense thicket of other cedars.” Both sexes assist in incubation as well as in the care of the young; they appear to be devoted parents, and the fact that they are occasionally willing to abandon their young to the mercy of foster parents appears rather unaccount- able, to say the least, especially when it is positively known that they occasionally remove their eges, as well as the young, from one nest to another in order to- better protect them from possible harm. In my opinion, the real causes for the so utterly inconsistent behavior on the part of some of these birds are not yet fully understood. The itumber of eggs laid to a set varies from two to seven; sets of three or four are most common, and those of over five are rare. Dr. Louis B. Bishop found a set of seven eggs of this species near New Haven, Connecticut, on June 7, 1893, in which three eggs were fresh, in two incubation had just begun, in another it was somewhat more advanced, and in one egg the embryo was well formed. ‘There is frequently considerable difference in size among the eggs found in the same set, although apparently laid by the same bird. In a set of three eggs, for instance, No. 26019, United States National Museum collection, taken by Mr. Thad. Surber, near White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, on June 3, 1893, the measurements are as follows: 26.92 by 20.07, 24.89 by 19.81, and 22.35 by 18.54 millimetres, or 1.06 by 0.79, 0.98 by 0.78, and 0.88 by 0.73 inches; the difference is, of course, not always so great, but is often quite - perceptible. The eggs of the Black-billed Cuckoo are more nearly oval than elliptical oval, and shorter and rounder than those of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and much more deeply colored. Like these, they are unspotted; the shell is thin and fine grained, with little or no gloss. Their color is difficult to describe exactly, varying from nile blue to pale beryl green, and occasionally the shell shows a decidedly marbled appearance, caused by different shades running into each other, an illustration of which is shown in Pl. 5, Fig. 3. Aside from their deeper color, they are also readily distinguished from the eggs of the Yellow- billed Cuckoo by their smaller size. The average measurement of forty-two specimens in the United States National Museum collection is 27.23 by 20.53 millimetres, or about 1.07 by 0.81 inches. The largest egg of the series measures 29.97 by 22.86 millimetres, or 1.18 by 090 inches; the smallest, 22.35 by 18.54 millimetres, or 0.88 by 0.73 inch. The type specimen, No. 22444 (PI. 5, Fig. 3), a single egg, Bendire collec- tion, was taken by the writer near Fort Custer, Montana, on June 25, 1885, and is a very peculiarly colored specimen, while No. 26019 (PI. 5, Fig. 4), from a set of three eggs, and taken by Mr. Thad. Surber, on June 3, 1893, near White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, represents about an average egg of this species. 32 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. ro. Cuculus canorus telephonus (HeErnz). SIBERIAN CUCKOO. Cuculus telephonus HEINE, Journal fiir Ornithologie, 1863, 352. Cuculus canorus telephonus STEJNEGER, Bulletin 29, U. S. National Museum, 1885, p. 224. (B —, R —, C —, U [388.1.]) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Eastern Asia, casually to the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. The Siberian Cuckoo claims a place in our fauna on the strength of a single specimen having been taken by Mr. William Palmer at Northeast Point, St. Paul’s Island, Alaska, on July 4, 1890, which is now in the United States National Museum collection. Mr. Palmer states ‘when collected it was busily engaged capturing some large flies which are abundant on these islands, and with which its stomach was literally packed. It had been seen by the natives in the same place for more than two weeks, and was probably the same individual seen by myself on June 13, when becalmed in a fog off the eastern side of the same island, on which occasion it circled overhead like a gull for some time, while calmly inspecting the boat, and then moved off northward.”? As far as I can learn, nothing definite has as yet been ascertained regarding its nesting habits and eggs. They undoubtedly correspond closely to those of its well-known western relative, the common European Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, and Dr. Stejneger tells me that in its general habits and call notes he could not detect the slightest difference from those of the latter. At his suggestion, I have substituted the name of “Siberian” for ‘“Kamschatkan” Cuckoo, which is more applicable to the bird described by him as Cuculus peninsule, from Kamschatka. Family TROGONID. 'Troeons. 11. Trogon ambiguus Goutp. COPPERY-TAILED TROGON. Trogon ambiguus GOULD, Proceedings Zoological Society, 1835, 30. (B 65, C 284, R 384, C 422, U 389.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Southern Mexico from Oaxaca and Guerrero, north to the valley of the lower Rio Grande, in Texas, and the mountains of southwestern New Mexico, and southern Arizona. The Coppery-tailed Trogon, the only representative of this magnificently plumaged family in the United States, must be considered as a rather rare summer resident within our borders, and very little is yet known about its general habits. There is no longer any doubt, however, that it breeds in some of the mountain ranges of southern Arizona, and probably also in the San Luis Mountains, in the extreme southwestern corner of New Mexico. First Lieut. 1 The Auk, Vol. XI, 1894, p. 325. inane ieee THE COPPERY-TAILED TROGON. aD H. C. Benson, Fourth Cavalry, United States Army, secured a young male in its first plumage in the Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, on August 24, 1885, and an adult female was shot in the same vicinity by Mr. F. H. Fowler in the first part of August, 1892. Another adult female, which evidently had a nest close by, was obtained by Dr. Edgar A. Mearns, United States Army, on June 23, 1892, on the east side of the San Luis Mountains, close to the Mexican boundary line. The long tail feathers in this specimen are much worn and abraded, and look as if the bird had passed considerable time in very limited quarters. Its mate was also seen, but not secured. Judging from the character of the country this species inhabits in southern Arizona, that is pine forest regions, it is probably only a straggler in the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas, and does not breed there. é Dr. A. K. Fisher has kindly furnished me with the following notes on this species: ‘Soon after arriving at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, I learned that the Trogon was not uncommon among the pines in the neighboring mountains. A reliable young man informed me that he had killed three during the previous season (1891), and a rancher who raises fruit in Ramsay Canyon stated that the species visited the gardens in considerable numbers, especially during the period when cherries were ripe. He had noticed the first arrival on May 17. “On June 9, in company with Capt. J. L. Fowler and his son Frederick, I made a trip toward the head of Tanner or Garden Canyon, as it is more com- monly designated in the vicinity. While riding up the shady trail among the pines a beautiful male Trogon flew across the path and alighted among the trees on the opposite side of the narrow canyon. It was impossible to follow it and to pass through the thick underbrush and loose rocks without making con- siderable noise, which startled the bird, and it was finally lost among the thick foliage. Higher up in the mountains we heard its peculiar note, which was uttered at regular intervals, and closely resembled that of a hen Turkey. Later in the afternoon, on the way down, another was heard, and by carefully approaching along the hillside a male was discovered sitting on the lower limb of a pine. It sat straight upright, with the tail hanging perpendicular to the body, and while uttering its note the head was thrown backward and the bill extended nearly upward. After watching the bird for a few moments it was secured. The testes were well developed. The stomach contained a few smooth caterpillars.” The general habits of the Coppery-tailed Trogon probably do not differ much from those of other members of this family about which a little more is known. According to Gould, who published a magnificent monograph of this family, ‘“Trogons are usually found singly or in pairs, and keep mostly in the shade of forest trees, perching on the lower limbs of these. During the breeding season they are continually calling to each other, and are called ‘Viadas’ (Widows) by the Mexicans; they are easily located on this account and are not particularly shy. Their food consists of fruit, grasshoppers, and other insects, and in their actions while catching the latter they are said to resemble a Fly- catcher, starting and returning from a perch like these birds, and often sitting 16896—No. 3 —3 34 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. for hours in the same place. They are often met among flocks of other birds, such as Flyecatchers, Tanagers, Creepers, and Woodpeckers.” * All of the Trogons, whose mode of nidification is known, resort to natural cavities in trees or to some of the larger woodpecker holes, the eggs being depos- ited in the bottom of the hole, on the rubbish or chips which may be found in it. These are said to vary from two to four, more likely the former number. As far as known, they are unspotted; the egg of the handsome Quezal (Pharmocrus mocinno) is described as of a pale bluish-green color; that of the Mexican Trogon (Trogon mexicanus) is said to be very pale greenish, while the eggs of Trogon surucua from Paraguay are said to be pure white. I have seen eges purporting to belong to this species; but their large size, as well as the source from which they came, do not warrant me in giving measurements or a description of these specimens, and as far as I know genuine eggs of the Coppery-tailed Trogon still remain to be described. Family ALCEDINIDA. Kinerisners. 12. Ceryle alcyon (Linnavs). BELTED KINGFISHER. Alecedo aleyon LINN AUS, Systema Naturie, ed., 10, 1, 1758, 115. Ceryle wlcyon BONAPARTE, Proceedings Zoological Society, 1837, 108. (B 117, C 286, R 382, C 423, U 390.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: North America generally; south to Panama and the West Indies. The Belted Kingfisher, ordinarily simply called ‘‘Kinefisher,” is one of our best-known birds, and it is generally distributed in suitable localities throughout the North American Continent, though seldom very common anywhere. — Its breeding range extends from Florida and Texas north to the shores of Labrador, Hudson Bay, the Arctic Ocean, and Bering Sea. In the more northern parts of its range it is only a summer resident, but not a few winter in some of the New England and other Northern States, as well as in Oregon and Washington, on the Pacific coast. These birds which brave the severe winter climate along our northern border are probably migrants from the far North, and better adapted to withstand the cold, the only requisite being sufficient open water to enable them to obtain their necessary supply of food. In the mountain regions of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana they range to an altitude of 9,000 feet in summer, and perhaps still higher, while in the southern Sierra Nevada they reach nearly the same elevations. In its general appearance the Kingfisher is a striking but rather top-heavy looking bird; its satin-like plumage feels dense and smooth to the touch, as if it was oiled, while its soft, weak feet look out of all proportion to its rather large ‘Monograph of the Trogonid, 2d ed., 1875, Pl, VIII, not paged. THE BELTED KINGFISHER. BYD) head and body. They seem almost inadequate to support its weight, and cer- tainly do not appear to be much adapted to walking, an exercise which I have never seen one indulge in. In its disposition it must be classed among the unsocial and quarrelsome birds, and, excepting during the mating and breeding season, it is rare to see two together. As in everything else, however, there appear to be exceptions to this rule, as Mr. W. E. Loucks, of Peoria, Illinois, writes me: “Along the Cedar River, in Iowa, I found these birds in great numbers. to 18 feet from the ground, and occasionally as low as 8 feet, or again in the dead top of a tall pine, fully 50 feet up, and it breeds earlier than any other Wood- pecker found in the same localities. The number of eggs laid to a set varies from three to six; those of four are by far the most common; sets of five are only occasionally met with, while sets of six are very unusual. Mr. Denis Gale has taken a set of six, and I also found one. The eggs lie on the fine chips left in the bottom of the cavity, and are occasionally well packed into these, so that only about one-half of the egg is visible. They resemble the eggs of Dryobates villosus in color, but those of an elliptical ovate shape are more common than the oval and elliptical ovals, averaging, therefore, more in length, while there is proportionably less difference in their short diameter. The average measurements of forty-four specimens in the United States National Museum collection is 24.95 by 18.49 millimetres, or about 0.98 by 0.73 inch. The largest ege of the series measures 26.16 by 18.80 millimetres, or 1.03 by 0.74 inches; the smallest, 23.37 by 17.78 millimetres ,or 0.92 by 0.70 inch, The type specimen, No. 19422 (mot figured), from a set of three eggs, Bendire collection, was taken by the writer in the Blue Mountains, near Camp Harney, Oregon, on May 29, 1875. 21. Dryobates pubescens (Linyaus). DOWNY WOODPECKER. Picus pubescens LINN US, Systema Nature, ed. 12, I, 1766, 175. D{ryobates| pubescens CABANIS, Museum Heineanum, IV, June 15, 1863, 62. (B 76, © 299, R 361, C 440, U 394.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Eastern and northern North America; from Florida and the Gulf States north through the Dominion of Canada, in southern Labrador, to about latitude 55° N.; thence in a northwesterly direction through the Northeast Territory, Keewatin, and the Northwest Territory to northern Alaska, to about latitude 66° N.; west to Mani- toba, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, the Indian Territory, and eastern Texas. Irregularly to Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and California. Acci- dental in England. The Downy Woodpecker, also known as the “Little Sapsucker” and “Little Guinea Woodpecker,” is the smallest of our Picide, closely resembling a Hairy Woodpecker in coloration, but much smaller. Like it, it is an extremely hardy 56 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. bird, and is equally at home in the boreal regions or in semitropical Florida. Its breeding range is an extensive one and corresponds with its geographical distribution. Although of a more or less roving disposition in winter, in certain localities throughout its range, caused probably by abundance or lack of food, it can not be considered as a strictly migratory bird, as it appears to be a resident even in winter in northern Alaska, a fact that is well attested from the numerous specimens taken there at that season and now in the United States National Museum collection. I notice that the under parts of all the Alaskan specimens and others from the far north are much lighter colored than birds from the southern parts of its range, they also generally average somewhat larger, and if Dryobates villosus leucomelas is considered a good race, our northern Downy Woodpecker would appear to me to be equally well entitled to subspecific rank. I took a single specimen of this northern form, a male, near Fort Custer, Montana, on January 28, 1885, which is identical with the birds found in Alaska, probably a straggler from the far north. I have also seen a perfectly typical specimen ‘of this species, a female, taken by Mr. 8. F. Rathbun, near Seattle, Washington, on February 20, 1892. The Downy Woodpecker is more sociable and confiding in man than the Hairy Woodpecker; it likes to take up its home in the vicinity of human habi- tations, and I believe throughout the eastern United States it is more abundant than its larger relative. Unfortunately, it is also considered a Sapsucker, and many of these exceedingly useful little Woodpeckers are killed yearly through lamentable ignorance, under the supposition that they injure the fruit trees by boring in the bark, while in fact they render the horticulturist inestimable service by ridding his orchard of innumerable injurious insects, their eggs and larvee, and few of our native birds deserve our good will more than the little Downy Woodpecker. The most stringent protection is none too good for it. It is one of the most industrious of birds, is always at work hunting for food, and the number of injurious beetles and their larve, caterpillars, etc., destroyed by a single bird in the course of a season must be enormous. Aside from such a diet, it feeds also on ants and their larvee, spiders and their eggs, and more rarely on small grains, berries, and nuts. It does not object to raw meat, and if a piece is hung up in winter where it can readily get at it, it will pay it regular visits as long as it lasts. It is partial to rather open and cultivated country, interspersed here and there with small woods and orchards; and to the scattering trees and shrubbery of river and creek bottoms, the shade trees along country roads, and along the edges of clearings, and it is even at home in villages. It especially loves to feed in orchards, and also in alders and white birch trees. It begins near the roots and carefully scans every cranny as it hops along, looking now on one side and then on the other, and no lurking insect seems to escape its sharp eye. It is less often met with in the more extensive forests, excepting along water courses, and it does not seem to care much for burnt tracts, which have so much attraction for the Hairy and other Woodpeckers. Although not particu- larly sociable to its own kind, it loves to be in company with other smaller insect- lh THE DOWNY WOODPECKER. 57 ivorous birds, such as Chickadees, Nuthatches, and others, especially in winter. It is not as noisy a bird as the majority of Woodpeckers, and utters but few notes, excepting during the mating season when two or three males are in pur- suit of a female. While searching for food it utters occasionally a low “pshir, pshir.” One of its common call notes sounds like “pwit, pwit,” terminating with “tchee, tchee, tchee,” rapidly repeated. Another note, uttered when a pair are chasing one another, reminds me somewhat of the “kick-kick” of the Flicker, but is not uttered quite as loudly. In the early spring the male frequently amuses himself by persistently drumming on some resonant dry limb, often for fifteen minutes at a time, to attract the attention of his mate, or as a challenge to some rival, but later in the season this is less frequently heard. It is exceed- ingly graceful in all its movements on a tree trunk, moving up or down as well as sidewise with equal facility, and I have seen it hanging perfectly motionless for minutes at a time in the same position, apparently as if in deep thought. While at Holland Patent, New York, during the summer of 18938, I had excel- lent opportunities to watch these interesting birds; a pair had raised a brood in a dead limb of a maple tree in the public square of the village, and one or more could be seen about at almost any hour of the day, and I have more than once walked up to within 3 feet of one. As they had never been molested, they were tame, and allowed themselves to be closely approached. The young of the year were, apparently, much more suspicious than the old birds. In the more southern portions of its range, as in Florida, nidification usually begins about the middle of April; in New England and along our northern border, from four to five weeks later, and in Alaska rarely before June 1. Apple, pear, cherry, oak, maple, poplar, alder, American linden or basswood, ash, willow, and magnolia trees appear to furnish its favorite nesting sites, and it prefers to dig out a home in some dead limb, or in the dead top of the trunk, but it also nests in live trees, usually selecting those in which the core shows signs of decay. In Florida slender dead saplings are preferred. The entrance hole is just about large enough to admit the body of the bird with somewhat of an effort, perfectly circular, measuring about 1$ inches in diameter. The inner cavity is gradually enlarged toward the bottom, where it is about 3 inches wide, and the sides are chipped smooth; the hole is usually from 6 to 9 inches in depth, and the bottom is covered with a layer of fine chips on which the eges are deposited. Both sexes assist in this work, and it takes about a week to complete a suitable excavation. After it is finished the male frequently digs out a somewhat shallower one for himself in the same tree, or in another close by. A new site is usually selected each season in the vicinity of the old one, but occasionally this is cleaned out, deepened a little, and used for several years in succession. Lach pair of birds lay claim to a certain range, and intruders on this are driven away. The Downy Woodpecker, although small in size, does not lack for courage. Mr. J. W. Preston writes me: “On May 15, 1891, a female Downy was attracted from her nest in a decaying branch of a weeping willow near our house by a Red-headed Woodpecker, which was tapping on the tree trunk. It at once 58 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. attacked the larger intruder fearlessly, and several times she darted at its head without frightening it away, and at last the defense became so spirited that the Red-head seized the little one by the wing, tearing a secondary therefrom, and flew off with its trophy.” The number of eggs laid to a set varies from three to six, sets of four or five being most coumnenly found; one egg is deposited daily. In the north, as a rule, only a single brood is raised in a season; in the more southern parts of its range it probably raises two. If the first set of eggs are taken, and the entrance hole has not been enlarged, it will often lay a second set in the same cavity, and occasionally a third set. Incubation lasts about twelve days, and the male performs his full share of this duty. The young are diligently cared for, for some time after leaving the nest, and when able to provide for themselves each goes its own way. In the winter they dig shallower excava- tions in dead trees, old stumps, or fence posts in some sheltered situation, in which they spend the nights, and to which they retire during stormy weather. In Florida full sets of fresh eggs may be looked for during the last week in April, and in our Northern States about a month later. The nesting sites vary from 5 up to 50 feet. There is considerable variation in the size of the eggs of this species; like those of all Woodpeckers, they are glossy white in color, and mostly ovate and rounded ovate in shape. The average measurement of sixty specimens in the United States National Museum collection is 19.40 by 15.08 millimetres, or about 0.76 by 0.59 inch, The largest egg of the series measures 22.35 by 16.26 millimetres, or 0.88 by 0.64 inch; the smallest, 17.78 by 13.46 millimetres, or 0.70 by 0.53 inch. The set to which the smallest ege belongs was taken by Dr. William L. Ralph, in Putnam County, Florida, and one se the five eggs it contained is figured. The cavity was excavated in the dead top of a magnolia tree standing in an open field near woods, 48 feet from the ground. The type specimen, No. 25594 (PI. 1, Fig. 24), from a set of five eggs, Ralph collection, was taken as stated shor, on April 30, 1892, and apnea one of the smallest eges of the series. 22. Dryobates pubescens gairdnerii (Aupuzoy). GATRDNER’S WOODPECKER. Picus gairdnerti AUDUBON, Ornithological Biography, V, 1839, 317. eS pubescens fDi Proceeding U.S. Mevsonel Museum, VIII, 1885, 355. (B 77, C 299a, BR 361a, C 441, U 394a.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Western North America; from southern California north through Oregon and Washington into British Columbia, to about latitude 55°, and possibly farther north; east to the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges and somewhat beyond. Gairdner’s Woodpecker, the western representative of the Downy, is prin- cipally distinguishable from it by having the middle and greater wing coverts plain black, or only slightly spotted with white. Its range is apparently rather GAIRDNER’S WOODPECKER. 59 restricted, and seems to be mainly confined to that part of California west of the Sierra Nevadas. Mr. EK. W. Nelson reports it as rare in the pinon belt of the Panamint and Grapevine mountains during Dr. C. Hart Merriam’s explorations in the Death Valley region, in the southeastern parts of this State, in 1891. In Oregon and Washington it probably does not reach very far beyond the eastern slopes of the Cascades, while in central British Columbia it is known to occur as far north as Lake Babine, in about latitude 55°. Among a collection of birds and eges sent by Mr. R. MacFarlane from Fort St. James was a single skin of this subspecies taken in June, 1889. Gairdner’s Woodpecker is more or less a resident and probably breeds wherever found. It is said to be rather common in parts of northern California and in Oregon, but I found it somewhat rare everywhere in the west. It occurs im small numbers about Fort Klamath, Oregon, where I took a set of four slightly incubated eggs, near the Indian Agency, in a dead aspen sapling, on June 9, 1883. The cavity was about 8 inches deep and situated 15 feet from the ground. All of the Klamath birds are typical, and fully as dark underneath as any from the coast. I also met with this or the lately described Batchelder’s Woodpecker near Fort Walla Walla, Washington, and on the John Day River, Oregon, but it was of rare occurrence in both localities, and seemed to be con- fined to the willows near streams. Mr. Rollo H. Beck, of Berryessa, California, writes me that it is a fairly common resident there, and is principally found along the water courses of the foothills, and only occasionally along the creeks and streams in the valleys. Mr. Charles A. Allen informs me that it breeds in the oaks and willows along the Sacramento River, California, but that it is not common. Its breeding sites seem to be confined to deciduous trees, preferably dead ones, or old stumps, and besides these already mentioned, sycamore and cottonwoods are occasionally used. heir nesting sites are rarely found at any great distance from the ground, usually ranging from 4 to 20 feet up and rarely higher. Its general habits, food, call notes, mode of nidification, ete., are similar to those of the Downy Woodpecker, and the same description will answer for both. As California is a great fruit-growing State, Gairdner’s Woodpecker should be especially protected for the good work it does by ridding the orchards of noxious insects and their larvee. In southern California nidification begins sometimes as early as the middle of April, while farther north it is several weeks later; four or five eggs are usually laid to a set, and one is deposited daily. Ordinarily but one brood is raised in a season. The eggs of Gairdner’s Woodpecker resemble those of the Downy in every respect, but average a trifle smaller. The average measurement of thirty-four specimens in the United States National Museum collection is 18.80 by 14.22 millimetres, or 0.74 by 0.56 inch. The largest egg of the series measures 20.32 by 16 millimetres, or 0.80 by 0.63 inch; the smallest, 17.53 by 13.21 millimetres, or 0.69 by 0.52 inch. The type specimen, No. 19433 (not figured), from a set of four eggs, Bendire OD") collection, was taken by the writer near Fort Klamath, Oregon, on June 9, 1883. LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. (op) oO 23. Dryobates pubescens orececus BaTcHELDER. BATCHELDER’S WOODPECKER. “Dryobates pubescens oreecus BATCHELDER, Auk, VI, July, 1889, 253. (B 77, part; C 299a, part; BR 361a, part; C 441, part; U 3940.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Rocky Mountains and adjacent mountain regions from Arizona and New Mexico north through Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, probably to the southern parts of eastern British Columbia and western Alberta, in the Dominion of Canada; west through Utah and southeastern Idaho to Nevada. Casually to southern California. Batchelder’s Woodpecker, recently separated from Gairdner’s by Mr. C. F. Batchelder, whose name it bears, is distinguishable from the preceding subspecies by haying the under parts pure white instead of smoky brown; the white areas are generally more extended, and the under tail coverts are immaculate instead of being spotted or barred with black. It is also somewhat larger. Like the former, it is distinguishable from Dryobates pubescens by the absence or scarcity of the white markings on the wing coverts. The geographical and breeding range of Batchelder’s Woodpecker is as yet but very indefinitely ascertained. Dr. Kdgar A. Mearns, United States Army, reports it as breeding sparingly through the Pinus ponderosa belt, ascending into the Spruce zone, on the San Francisco cone, and considers it the rarest of the Woodpeckers found in Arizona. Mr. Denis Gale took a nest and eggs of this subspecies in Boulder County, Colorado, on June 12, 1889. The excavation was found in a half-dead aspen, 30 feet from the ground, and presumably well up in the mountains, as Mr. William G. Smith informs me that it is only a winter visitor in the lower valleys, and is never seen there during warm weather. I found it rare near Fort Custer, Montana, and only obtained a single male specimen, on November 23, 1884, among the willows and cottonwoods on the Little Horn River. Dr. James C. Merrill, United States Army, met with it breeding at Fort Shaw, Montana, early in June, 1879, and tells me that five or six eggs are generally laid to a set, and that the nesting habits are just like those of the Downy Woodpecker. Among some skins recently sent me for examination by the Doctor, from Fort Sherman, Idaho, taken during the winter of 1894 and 1895, are four specimens which certainly can not be referred to either Batchelder’s or Gairdner’s Wood- peckers; neither can they be called typical “Dryobates pubescens,” but two of the specimens come much nearer the latter than to the other two subspecies, the under tail coverts in all of them being distinctly spotted. I am at a loss where to place them, and it will require a larger series of skins to determine their proper status. Dr. C. Hart Merriam saw a small Woodpecker among some burnt timber in the upper part of Wood River Valley, Idaho, which, in all prob- ability, was referable to this subspecies. The United States National Museum collection also contains specimens from the Bitter Root Valley, Montana; the upper Humboldt Valley, in Nevada; from the head waters of the Cheyenne River, and from Laramie, Wyoming; and it appears to be more common on the >? i | | | ee BATCHELDER’S WOODPECKER. 61 eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains than on the western and through the Great Basin regions. It undoubtedly is also found in the Rocky Mountain regions of southern British Columbia and the Province of Alberta. Its gen- eral habits, food, etc., resemble those of the two preceding subspecies in every way. ‘The eggs are also similar. The average measurement of eleven specimens is 19.05 by 15.24 millimetres, or 0.75 by 0.60 inch. The largest egg measures 19.81 by 15.24 millimetres, or 0.78 by 0.60 inch; the smallest, 17.53 by 14.99 millimetres, or 0.69 by 0.59 inch. The type specimen, No. 21945 (not figured), from a set of four eggs, was taken by Dr. James C. Merrill, United States Army, near Fort Shaw, Montana, on June 12, 1879. . 24. Dryobates borealis (Vimruuot). RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER. Picus borealis VIEILLOT, Oiseaux Amerique Septentrionale, IT, 1807, 66. Dryobates borealis RipGwWaAy, Proceedings U. 8. National Museum, VIII, 1885, 355. (B 80, C 296, R 362, C 433, U 395.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Southeastern United States; north to North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and the Indian Territory; west to eastern Texas. Casually to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker, a common resident of our South Atlantic and Gulf States, is particularly abundant in the pine forests of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. In the northern half of North Carolina it is rather rare, but it probably breeds in the vicinity of Raleigh, as Mr. H. H. Brimley shot a female there in pine woods on April 22, 1891. There are also several specimens in the United States National Museum collection from Roane County, Tennessee ; it has likewise been reported from Newport, in northeastern Arkansas, and from the Indian Territory; these points probably mark the northern limits of its breeding range. Mr. Henry Nehrling found it not uncommon in the flat, sandy pine woods in southeastern Texas, which marks the western limits of its known range. The majority of observers state that it is strictly a bird of the pines, and that it breeds only in trees of that kind, while Mr. Nehrling says that it usually excavates its nesting sites in deciduous trees, and Mr. EK. A. McIlhenny writes me that in southern Louisiana it generally nests in willow and china trees. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is reported to be one of the noisiest members of this family, but at the same time more sociable in disposition than other species. Its call notes are said to be uttered in a rather petulant manner, and Alexander Wilson compares them to the querulous cries of young birds. Its food, like that of all our Woodpeckers, consists mainly of small insects and their larvee, cocoons, and spiders, and, in summer, to some extent of berries and fruits. Mr. E. A. McIlhenny writes that in southern Louisiana the fig crop ripens during their breeding season, and that the young are fed to a considerable 62 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. extent on them, the parent taking the stem of a fig in its beak and carrying it entire to the nest. Audubon mentions poke and smilax berries, grapes, and pine flowers as being eaten by them. , In Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana nidification commences rather early, sometimes in February; but full sets of eggs are rarely found before the last week in April, and the majority of these birds commence laying about May 1. Mr. Arthur T. Wayne writes me from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on this subject as follows: ‘‘The Red-cockaded Woodpecker prefers the long- leaf pine to breed in, but I have also found the nest in the short-leaf species. In this vicinity the hole is invariable excavated in a live pine, and sometimes as many as six holes are found in a single tree. It never lays until the gum pours freely from the tree it nests in, and to hasten its flow the birds dig into the tree on all sides, above and below the hole. The height of its nesting site varies from 20 to 70 feet.” Trees in which the heart is diseased are usually selected for such a purpose, and the cavity is excavated in the main trunk of the tree, ordinarily from 25 to 35 feet from the ground. ‘The entranceshole, which is about 2 inches in diameter, frequently passes through 6 inches of solid wood before it reaches the somewhat softer decayed inner parts of the tree, and the nesting cavity, which is gradually enlarged toward the bottom, varies from 6 to 10 inches in depth by about 34 inches in diameter. Both sexes assist in this labor, as well as in incubation, which lasts about fourteen days. Ordinarily only‘one brood is raised in a season, but from the fact that Mr. Henry Nehrling found young in July which had only recently left the nest, it is possible that a second brood is occasionally reared. Dr. William L. Ralph tells me that this species is quite common in the low, flat pine woods in Putnum County, Florida, where he has found several of its nests. All of these were excavated in the trunks of live pine trees, and it took considerable labor to get at the eggs; these are three or four in number, rarely more. The eggs of this Woodpecker are pure glossy white, and mostly elliptical ovate in shape. The shell is moderately strong, close grained, and semitranslucent when fresh. The average measurement of twenty-three specimens in the United States National Museum collection is 24.07 by 17.46 millimetres, or about 0.95 by 0.69 inch. The largest egg measures 26.42 by 18.54 millimetres, or 1.04 by +0.73 inches; the smallest, 22.10 by 17.27 millimetres, or 0.87 by 0.68 inch. The type specimen, No. 24724 (not figured), from a set of four eggs, was taken by Dr. William L. Ralph on May 9, 1891, near San Mateo, Putnam County, Florida. acquaaen ees BAIRD’S WOODPECKER. 63 25. Dryobates scalaris bairdi (ScLaTrR). BAIRD’S WOODPECKER. Picus bairdi (SCLATER’S MSS.) MALHERBE, Monograph of the Picidie, I, 1861, 118, PI. 27. Dryobates scalaris bairdi RIDGWAY, Manual of North American Birds, 1887, p. 285. (B 79, C 297, BR 363, C 434, U 396.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Northern Mexico and southern border of the United States, from Texas through southern New Mexico and Arizona to southeastern California; north to southern Nevada and southwestern Utah. Baird’s Woodpecker, also known as “Texan Sapsucker” and ‘Ladder- backed Woodpecker,” is generally resident and breeds wherever found. It attains about the northern limits of its range in southwestern Utah, where Dr. C. Hart Merriam met with it near the mouth of the Santa Clara River; he also observed it at Upper Cottonwood Springs, at the eastern base of the Charleston Mountains, Nevada, and an adult male was taken by him on Beaverdam River, in northwestern Arizona, on May 9, 1891. This extends its northern range to about latitude 37°. In Texas and New Mexico it is rarely met with north of latitude 34°. The western limits of its range are found in southeastern California, in San Bernardino County. Mr. F. Stephens, who is well known as an accurate observer, writes me on this subject: “I have taken Baird’s Woodpecker, mated, in April, in the eastern end of the San Gorgonio Pass, in San Bernardino County, California, and also at other times and places in the Colorado desert, where it is not as common, however, as Nuttall’s Woodpecker.” Dr. A. K. Fisher took two specimens on January 4 and 5, 1891, at Hesperia, in the same county. The eastern limit of its range appears to be found in southeastern Texas, where Mr. Henry Nehrling reports it as common in all the wooded districts of Harris, Montgomery, Galveston, and Fort Bend counties, and from our present knowl- edge it appears to occur throughout the greater part of this State, excepting the northern and northeastern portions. Baird’s Woodpecker is but a trifle larger than the Downy, and its habits, call notes, food, ete., are very similar. It prefers the lowlands and river bottoms to the uplands, and it is rarely found at altitudes above 4,000 feet. I found it common in the mesquite groves on the Santa Cruz River, between Tucson and the Papago Mission Church, Arizona, and much less so among the cottonwoods and willows on Rillito Creek. In Arizona it is also met with in the oak belt, but apparently not in the pines. Mr. W. E. D. Scott states: “I have frequently met with Baird’s Woodpecker in the Cholla region in Arizona, digging in the ground at the roots of a cactus. They are at times gregarious. I particularly noticed this in December, 1885, when I often met with this species in flocks of from four to a dozen on the plains at an altitude of 3,000 feet. I have found the species breeding in May at an altitude of 3,500 feet. On May 27, 1884, I found a nest in a mesquite tree, which contained five eggs nearly ready to hatch; the opening to the nest was 14 feet from the ground.”’ 1'The Auk, Vol. HI, 1886, p. 426. 64 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. Baird’s Woodpecker, like several other species, is very fond of the ripe fig- like fruit of the giant cactus, and I have met it more than once in Sahuarito Pass, Arizona, eating it on the ground. It nests by preference in mesquite trees, one of our hardest woods, and it must require a long time to chisel out a nesting site in one of these trees. While it is true that the heart is usually more or less decayed, the birds have first to work through an inch or two of solid wood which is almost impervious to a sharp ax. Dr. James C. Merrill, United States Army, reports Baird’s Woodpecker as a common resident in the vicinity of Fort Brown, Texas, and that he took several sets of its eggs there; it was also met with by Mr. G. B. Sennett near Hidalgo, Texas, where a nest was found on April 29 containing three young birds and a sterile egg. In Texas it has also been found nesting in hackberry and china trees, as well as in telegraph poles and fence posts. In southern New Mexico and Arizona it nests sometimes in the flowering stems of the agave plant and also in yucca trees, and I have found it nesting on Rillito Creek, Arizona, in a small dead willow sapling not over 34 inches in diameter. The cavity was about 12 feet from the ground and 10 inches in depth, and the entrance hole a trifle over 14 inches in diameter. This nest was found on June 8, 1872, and contained only two eggs, in which incubation was about one-half advanced; the eggs laid on fine chips. The nesting sites are placed at various distances from the ground, from 3 to 30, usually from 6 to 14 feet. Dead branches of trees or partly decayed ones seem to be preferred to live ones. From two to five eges are laid to a set, usually four or five, and incubation, in which both sexes assist, lasts about thirteen days. In the lower Rio Grande Valley full sets of fresh eggs are sometimes found by the middle of April, but throughout the greater part of its range not until the first week in May. I believe one brood only is raised, as a rule, in a season; but, as fresh eges are sometimes found as late as July, it is probable that a second brood is occasion- ally reared. The eggs of Baird’s Woodpecker are glossy white in color, fine grained, and mostly oval or elliptical oval in shape, varying occasionally to elliptical ovate. The average measurement of fifty-seven specimens, mostly from the Ralph collection and taken in the lower Rio Grande Valley, is 20.74 by 15.92 milli- metres, or about 0.82 by 0.63 inch. The largest egg of the series measures 22.10 by 16.76 millimetres, or 0.87 by 0.66 inch; the smallest, 17.27 by 15.49 millimetres, or 0.68 by 0.61 inch, and a runt in the collection measures only 14.48 by 11.43 millimetres, or 0.57 by 0.45 inch. The type specimen, No. 20904 (not figured), from a set of four eggs, was taken by Dr. James C. Merrill, United States Army, near Fort Brown, Texas, on May 23, 1877. hdl THE ST. LUCAS WOODPECKER. 65 26. Dryobates scalaris lucasanus (XanTUs). ST. LUCAS WOODPECKER. Picus lucasanus XANTUS, Proceedings Academy Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1859, 298. Dryobates scalaris lucasanus RIDEWAY, Proceedings U.S. National Museum, VIII, 1885, 355. (B —, C 297b, R 363a, C 436, U 396a.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Lower California; casual (?) in sowthern California. The St. Lucas Woodpecker, a closely allied race to Baird’s Woodpecker, is a common resident in the southern portions of the*peninsula of Lower California, where it was discovered by Mr. J. Xantus, near Cape St. Lucas, and described in the ‘Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, in 1859.” Mr. Walter E. Bryant, in his “Catalogue of the Birds of Lower California,” makes the following remarks about this subspecies: ‘I first met with this Woodpecker on Santa Margarita Island, and afterwards collected specimens as far north as latitude 28°; Mr. Beldimg found it very common at the Cape region, but rarely saw any in the Victoria Mountains.”* Mr. A. W. Anthony took a specimen at San Telmo, Lower California, on April 30, 1893, and saw others there, and Mr. W. W. Price took another on April 29, 1889, at White Water, San Diego County, California, which extends the range of this subspecies considerably to the northward. Mr. Gerritt S. Miller, jr., of Cambridge, Massachusetts, who records the capture of the above specimen, which is now in his collection, says in referring to it: ‘Mr. Price writes me that the specimen was shot from a telegraph pole about 3 miles west of the station of White Water. Woodpeckers, apparently of the same kind, were seen on several other occasions on the telegraph poles along the line of the Southern Pacific Railroad, near White Water, but they were very shy and no more could be killed. The birds were nesting in the telegraph poles, there being no other wood in the region.”* The eges of the St. Lucas Woodpecker I believe remain still undescribed, but are probably indistinguishable from those of the preceding subspecies, and its general habits also appear to be very similar. 27. Dryobates nuttallii (GamBeEL). NUTTALL’S WOODPECKER. Picus nuttallii GAMBEL, Proceedings Academy Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, April, 1843, 259. Dryobates nuttallii RIDGWAY, Proceedings U. S. National Museum, VIII, 1885, 355. (B 78, C 297a, R 364, C 435, U 397.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Northern Lower California from the San Pedro Martir Mountains, north through California to southern Oregon (Umpqua Valley), west of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains. Nuttall’s Woodpecker, which is about the same size as the Texan Wood- pecker, is an inhabitant of the lower foothill regions throughout its range, and is 1 Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 2d series, Vol. II, 1889, p. 286, 2 The Auk, Vol. XI, 1894, p. 178. 16896—No. 3——5 66 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. most common in the oak belt and the deciduous trees along water courses, rarely being met with among the conifers. It is a resident and breeds throughout the greater portion of California west of the Sierra Nevadas, but is nowhere especially common. In southern Oregon it appears to be rare, and the only specimens recorded from this State are the one taken by Dr. J. S. Newberry in the Umpqua Valley, which is in the United States National Museum, but has no date on the label, and another taken near Ashland, now in the collection of the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. ©. It is apparently more abundant in southern California than elSewhere. Mr. F. Stephens reports it there as a common resident below the pine region, in which it occurs but sparingly. Mr. Charles A. Allen writes me: “It breeds among the cak groves and perhaps among the willows along the Sacramento River, but I never found it far away from the oaks. Its habits are similar to those of Gairdner’s Woodpecker, but its notes are quite different—so much so as to be appreciated even by a novice.” Mr. H.W. Henshaw describes the call of Nuttall’s Woodpecker as consisting of a series of loud rattling notes, much prolonged, and says: “They can not be compared with those of any other Woodpecker with which I am acquainted.” He further states: “This Woodpecker is a bird particularly of the oak groves, and ranges from the lower valleys of the mountains to a height of at least 6,000 feet, where, near Fort Tejon, I found it fairly numerous among the pines, this being the only locality where I found it among the conifers.” * Mr. A. W. Anthony, in his list of “Birds of San Pedro Martir, Lower ‘alifornia,” published in “Zoe” (Vol. IV, p. 236), says: “Common along all the timbered streams as high as 4,000 feet, or the limit of the live oaks and sycamores.” Mr. Rollo H. Beck, of Berryessa, California, writes me as follows: ‘‘Nuttall’s Woodpecker is a fairly common resident in the mountains to the east of Santa Clara County. It seems to prefer the oak trees to other kinds, climbing up and down the limbs, much the same as Gairdner’s does, in the search for grubs and insects. On May 13, 1892, I found a female digging a cavity for a nest on the under side of a dead oak limb, about 24 feet from the ground; the cavity was about 8 inches deep and not yet completed. Next day, while walking down a small gulch, I saw a female fly from a hole in a sycamore limb, which had been split off from the main trunk and lodged on a limb of another tree close by. The under side of the limb was dead, but the upper part was still living. Red- shafted Flickers had dug several holes in the same limb, and one of these contained eggs. I procured a rope and returned to this tree about four hours later, and when I had climbed to within 4 feet of the nest the female flew off. On examination I found that the nest contained young, just hatched; both parents remained close by and uttered notes of protest until I left. They appear to be partial to gulches, where white and live-oak trees are numerous, and I have not noticed any in the valleys, among the willows along streams, where Gairdner’s Woodpeckers are common.” 1 Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian, 1876, p. 258. NUTTALIYS WOODPECKER. 67 Mr. B. 'T. Gault published an interesting article on Nuttall’s Woodpecker in “Bulletin II, Ridgway Ornithological Club,” April, 1887 (pp. 78-81), from which I extract the following: ‘Although I have been as far south as San Diego, California, and as far north as the Russian River, Sonoma County, stop- ping at intermediate points, I have observed this bird at but one locality. This assertion, however, may not cut any figure, for my stops were necessarily short in some places. The region I refer to lies at the tipper end of the San Bernar- dino Valley and back from the coast about 50 miles. It is near a ranche known as ‘Crafton Retreat.’ “T had been out on the bowlder plain several hours, on the morning of April 23, 1883, collecting birds, and spying a clump of elder bushes in the distance, not far from the brook, the thought occurred to me that I might take arest beneath their shade and at the same time be ready for any bird that put in an appearance. ‘These bushes, or more properly trees, are a great deal larger shrub than our eastern plant, their trunks growing from 4 to 8 inches through; and if they are not the same species, their umbellate blossoms are strikingly similar, if not identical, to those of our common eastern shrub (Sambucus cana- densis). 1 had hardly seated myself on an arm of the shrub when my atten- tion was attracted to a hole in the main trunk, directly above my head. At almost the same instant a bird appeared at the opening from within, and dodged back again as soon as she saw me. The movement was executed so quickly that I was unable to tell whether it was a Wren ora Woodpecker, but concluded that it was the latter. Upon examination of the aperture it seemed to have been lately made. Of course I thought that there would be no trouble in dislodging her, and commenced to rap on the trunk of the shrub with the butt of my gun; but this seemed to have no effect. I then walked back about 50 feet, and, taking a stand, waited from ten to fifteen minutes in the hope that she would come out, affording me an opportunity to secure her and thus solve the mystery, but in this maneuver I was also baffled. I then went up to the bush and shouted with all my might, but this did not shake her nervous system in the least, when I finally resorted to my jackknife in order to enlarge the orifice, but, from its being such a tedious job, gave it up in disgust. The next morning I took a hatchet along with me, for I desired very much to know what that hole con- tained. It did not take me very long to cut a place large enough for me to get my hand in, and I was thoroughly surprised to learn that the bird was still on her nest. I pulled her out, and she appeared to be stupefied—dead, appar- ently—but soon revived. Upon further inspection I found that the nest con- tained egos. The bird proved to be a female Nuttall’s Woodpecker, and the egos were pretty well advanced in incubation and would have hatched in a few days. “The nest, which was about 54 feet from the ground, was nearly a foot deep and about 5 inches wide. The hole at the entrance to the nest was but a little larger than a silver half dollar. The eges were six in number, their dimen- sions being 0.85 by 0.66, 0.87 by 0.65, 0.82 by 0.64, 0.85 by 0.66, 0.85 by 0.66, 68 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. and 0.84 by 0.64 inch, respectively. By the above measurements one will readily see that the eggs average very evenly. They are of a pearly white color, and seem to taper off, being more pointed at the small end than is usually the case among the Picide. The male of this pair (for these were the only ones seen in the vicinity) was shot a little while before at the brook. I afterwards observed some of these birds among the oaks in the foothill canyons, hearing their notes for the first time. Dr. Cooper mentions taking the female from the nest, and perhaps this may be characteristic of the species—indeed, it may be of fre- quent occurrence among Woodpeckers; but of the many Woodpeckers’ nests that I have examined none have been so persistent in holding the fort as Dryo- bates nuttallii.” Their food appears to consist mainly of insects and their larvee, and prob- ably occasionally of berries and fruits. Its favorite nesting sites are in oaks, sycamores, cottonwoods, and occasionally in elders, willows, and the giant cactus, generally in dead limbs or old stubs, and usually at no very great height from the ground. Nidification usually commences early in April and continues through May. Only one brood is raised in a season, but if the eggs are taken a second set is laid about two weeks later. Both sexes assist in the excavation of the nesting site, as well as in incubation, which lasts probably about fourteen days. Nuttall’s Woodpecker, like the majority of this family, is a devoted parent, and loath to leave its eggs or young, frequently allowing itself to be caught on the nest. It is a very beneficial species to the horticulturist, and deserves the fullest protection. The number of eggs to a set varies from four to six, sets of four being most often found. They are usually short ovate in shape, occasionally ovate. The shell is fine grained, strong, pure white in color, and rather glossy. The average measurement of twenty-two specimens in the United States National Museum collection is 21.34 by 16.19 millimetres, or about 0.84 by 0.64 inch. The largest ege measures 23.62 by 16 millimetres, or 0.93 by 0.63 inch; the smallest, 19.30 by 15.75 millimetres, or 0.76 by 0.62 inch. The type specimen, No. 26631 (not figured), from a set of four eggs, Ralph collection, was taken near Lakeside, San Diego County, California, on May 5, 1890. 28. Dryobates arizonz (HarcirT). ARIZONA WOODPECKER. Picus arizone HARGITT, Ibis, 1886, 115. Dryobates arizone RipG@wAy, Manual of North American Birds, 1887, 286. (B —, C —, R 365, C 437, U 398.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and adjacent portions of western Mexico to Zacatecas and Jalisco. The range of the Arizona Woodpecker within the United States is a rather restricted one, it having as yet been obtained only in the Chiricahua, Huachuca, Santa Rita, and Santa Catalina mountains, in southern Arizona, and on the east THE ARIZONA WOODPECKER. 69 side of the St. Luis Mountains, near the international boundary line, in south- western New Mexico, where Dr. EK. A. Mearns, United States Army, collected several specimens in June, 1892; but it does not appear to be very common anywhere. It is probably a resident and breeds wherever found It was first added to our fauna by Mr. H. W. Henshaw, who considers it as not uncommon in the foothills of the Chiricahua Mountains, where he took several specimens in the latter part of August, 1874, and states: “This rare Woodpecker is a common species on the foothills of the Chiricahua Mountains, where it was one of the first birds that met my eye when the section where it abounds was first entered. * * * So far as I could ascertain, at this season at least, it is confined to the region of oaks, ranging from about 4,000 to 7,000 feet, thus inhabiting a region about midway between the low valleys and the mountain districts proper. Here they appeared to be perfectly at home, climbing over the trunks of the oaks with the same ease and rapidity of movement that distinguish the motions of the Downy or Hairy Woodpecker, though their habits, in so far as they are at all peculiar, are perhaps best comparable to those of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker of the South (Dryobates borealis), espe- cially their custom of moving about in small companies of from five to fifteen, though they were occasionally found singly or in pairs. “When in pursuit of food, they almost always alighted near the base of the trees, gradually ascending and making their way along the smaller limbs and even out among the foliage, appearing to prefer to secure their food by a careful search than by the hard labor of cutting into the wood in the way the Hairy Woodpecker employs its strength. * * * TI found them at all times rather shy and gifted with very little of that prying curiosity which is seen in some of the better-known species of this family; and if by chance I surprised a band feeding among the low trees, a sharp warning note from some member more watchful than the rest communicated alarm to the whole assembly, when they took flight immediately, showing great dexterity in dodging behind trunks and limbs, and making good their retreat by short flights from one tree to another till they were out of sight.”! Mr. F. Stephens found a nest containing young birds in the Santa Rita Mountains on May 16, 1880, in a sycamore tree; and Mr. W. E. D. Scott records another, found on May 27, 1884, in the Catalina Mountains, in an oak, about 10 feet from the ground. He says: “The nest was much like that of the Hairy Woodpecker, save that the opening was a little smaller. It contained three young birds about two-thirds grown and half feathered.” ? The habits of the Arizona Woodpecker are probably very similar to those of the other members of the genus Dryobates, and this species seems to be principally confined to the oak belt and the timber of the foothills along the few streams found in the regions it inhabits. Lieut. H. C. Benson, Fourth Cavalry, United States Army, as well as Dr. A. K. Fisher, met with it in the vicinity of 1U. 8. Geographical Surveys West of the 100th Meridian, Vol. V, 1875, pp. 389, 390. ?The Auk, Vol. III, 1886, p. 426. vA0) LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. Fort Huachuea, and the latter also found it in the Chiricahua Mountains, south of Fort Bowie. He tells me that on May 14, while collecting in Garden Canyon, in the Huachuca Mountains, a mile or more above the Post garden, he found a nest of this species in a large maple which overhung a stream. The cavity was situated in a dry branch, about 20 feet from the ground, and was about a foot in depth. It contained four young, which were still naked. I have only seen one set of eggs ofthis species, which were taken near Fort Huachuca, Arizona, in May, 1890. They are usually three or four in number; the shell is close grained and glossy; they measure 21.08 by 16 millimeters, or 0.83 by 0.63 inch, and resemble the eggs of Baird’s Woodpecker very closely. There are no specimens in the United States National Museum collection. 29. Xenopicus albolarvatus (Cassin). WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER. Leuconerpes albolarvatus CASSIN,,Proceedings Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, October, 1850, 106. Xenopicus albolarvatus MALHERBE, Monograph of the Picide, II, 1862, 221. (B 81, C 295, R 366, C 442, U 399.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Higher mountain ranges of western North America; from southern California north through Oregon and Washington to southern British Columbia; east to western Nevada and western Idaho. The habitat of the White-headed Woodpecker is restricted to the higher mountain ranges of the Pacific province. It is a bird of the pine and fir forests, and is usually resident and breeds wherever found. It is most common at altitudes of from 5,000 to 9,000 feet, but in winter it descends somewhat lower, and may then be sometimes seen as low as 3,000 feet, and occasionally even near sea level, Mr. 8. Hubbard, jr., having taken a specimen near Gray’s Harbor, Washington, as recorded in ‘‘Zoe” (July, 1892, p. 141). It has been met with at Similkameen, in the Cascade Mountains, in southern British Columbia, which marks the northern limit of its known range; at Mount Idaho and near Fort Sherman, Idaho, which marks the eastern, and in the Volean Mountains, in Cali- fornia, which is the most southern record for this species. Mr. Robert Ridgeway found it not uncommon near Carson City, while Mr. H. W. Henshaw observed it at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and I met with it in the Blue Mountains, near Camp Harney, Oregon, where it was rarely seen. Its center of abundance appears to be found in the higher Sierra Nevadas, in California, and in the Cascade Mountains, in Oregon. Both Dr. J. C. Merrill, United States Army, and myself found it common at Fort Klamath in winter, but none apparently bred near the Post. The only nest found be me there was on the slopes of Crater Lake Moun- tain, about 12 miles north of Fort Klamath, at an estimated altitude of about 6,500 feet. The nesting site was excavated in an old pine stump, about 15 feet from the ground, and contained four slightly incubated eggs on May 29, 1883. a5 THE WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER. al In the Blue Mountains, near Camp Harney, Oregon, this species was rare, but I found two nests there, one on May 25, 1875, containing two fresh eggs, in a dead limb of a pine, and about 25 feet from the ground. The other was found on May 6, 1877, containing four fresh eggs; the cavity was located in a dead pine stump, about 15 feet from the ground, near Ruby’s sawmill, on the Canyon City road, at an altitude of about 5,500 feet; it was about 10 inches deep, the entrance hole being cireular and about 1? inches in diameter; the eggs were placed on a layer of fine chips, and, I believe, were the first described of this species. Mr. L. Belding writes: “Common in the fir forests of the Sierra Nevada from about 4,000 feet upward; most numerous at about 5,000 feet. Rare in the tamaracks. * * * Its burrows are often within 2 or 3 feet of the ground. I have seen two nests in cuts for shakes or shingles, made after the tree was sawed into sections, and one in a small, short stub of a dogwood (Cornus nuttalli); May 25, 1879, first full set of eges taken at Big Trees. At Bloods, 7,200 feet altitude, I have taken them as late as July 17. The eggs are usually four, although I have seen five. In winter it is found sparingly in the upper edge of the foothills, at 3,000 feet altitude. I found it rather common about Big Trees in the mild January of 1879, until 2 feet of snow fell, after which none were seen.”' It is found on both sides of the Sierra Nevadas, but seems to be much more common on the western slope. Mr. F. Stephens writes me: ‘ Xenopicus albolar- vatus is a resident of the pine regions of southern California, but is not common excepting possibly in a few localities. I have never observed it below the pines. I have taken incubating birds in June in the Cuyamaca Mountains at altitudes of about 7,000 feet. The nesting sites here were in very large dead pine trees and inaccessible. The white head makes the bird easily recognizable; its notes are somewhat different from those of other Woodpeckers in this region, and seem to me more like those of Dryobates arizone. On June 19, 1893, I found a nest of this bird in the San Jacinto Mountains, at an altitude of about 5,800 feet, in a rotten pine stub about 9 feet from the ground; it contained three young of different ages, the eldest being able to fly a very little.” Mr. Rollo H. Beck informs me that he found this species fairly common in the pine timber near the road from Murphy’s to the Yosemite Valley, California, and that he discovered three nests with young on June 8, 1893. These were all located in cavities in dead pine stumps, from 6 to 15 feet from the ground. A nest containing three fresh eggs was also discovered in a similar stump only 4 feet from the ground, the cavity being 8 inches deep. He writes also: ‘I noticed one of these birds on some fallen logs near the road, busily engaged in catching spiders, searching for grubs, and frequently flying after passing insects, catching them in mid-air in the manner of the California Woodpecker.” Dr. James C. Merrill, United States Army, makes the following interesting remarks about this species, as observed by him at Fort Klamath, and as these entirely agree with my own, I give them entire: (e LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. “Xenopicus albolarvatus.—This interesting Woodpecker was first observed November 9; by December it had become rather abundant, and so continued until the latter part of February, but after the middle of March none were seen. During the breeding season careful search failed to reveal its presence near the fort, nor was it found in the higher mountains north of the valley in July and August. One would think that the peculiar coloration of the White-headed Woodpecker would make it very conspicuous and its detection an easy matter, but this is by no means the case, at least about Fort Klamath. On most of the pines in this vicinity there are many short stubs of small broken branches projecting an inch or two from the main trunk. When the sun is shining these projections are lighted up in such a manner as to appear quite white at a little distance, and they often cast a shadow exactly resembling the black body of the bird. In winter, when a little snow has lodged on these stubs, the resemblance is even greater, and almost daily I was misled by this deceptive appearance, either mistaking a stub for a bird or the reverse. “T have rarely heard this Woodpecker hammer, and even tapping is rather uncommon. So far as I have observed, and during the winter I watched it carefully, its principal supply of food is obtained in the bark, most of the pines having a very rough bark, scaly and deeply fissured. The bird uses its bill as a crowbar rather than as a hammer or chisel, prying off the successive scales and layers of bark in a very characteristic way. This explains the fact of its being such a quiet worker, and, as would be expected, it is most often seen near the base of the tree, where the bark is thickest and roughest. It must destroy immense numbers of Scolytide, whose larvee tunnel the bark so extensively, and of other insects that crawl beneath the scales of bark for shelter during winter. I have several times imitated the work of this bird by prying off the successive layers of bark, and have been astonished at the great number of insects, and especially of spiders, so exposed. As the result of this, and of its habit of so searching for food, the White-headed Woodpeckers killed here were loaded with fat to a degree I have never seen equaled in any land bird, and scarcely surpassed by some Sandpipers in autumn. “Though not shy, and with care generally approachable to within a short distance, it is watchful and suspicious, and seems to know very well what is going on, even if it does not see fit to fly away, though it is more apt to do this than to dodge around the trunk. The flight is direct, and rather slow and heavy. Its skull is noticeably less hard and dense than that of Dryobates harrisii or Picus arcticus. During the winter it is silent, the only sound I have heard it make being a harsh screech when wounded.”* Since then the Doctor has also found it during the winter of 1894-95 near Fort Sherman, Idaho, where it is not uncommon, and probably breeds in the mountains in the vicinity. 1The Auk, Vol. V, 1888, p. 253. THE WHITH-HEADED WOODPECKER. 713 I consider the White-headed Woodpecker a rather silent and more sedate bird than most of the other members of this family, the only note I have heard it utter being a sharp, clear “witt-witt” as it passes from one tree to another. During the winter its food consists principally of spiders and insects and their larvee; and in summer, as Mr. Charles A. Allen, of Nicasio, California, informs me, ‘‘It feeds its young on the large black ants with which all the dead pines and stumps are covered at that time of year.” Nidification usually begins about the middle of May and continues through June. The sexes relieve each other in the preparation of the nesting site, which is usually located in a dead stub of a pine or fir; one that is partly decayed seems to be preferred as it rarely excavates one in solid, hard wood. The nesting sites are seldom situated over 15 feet from the ground, and sometimes as low as 2 feet. The entrance hole is about 14 inches wide, perfectly circular, and just large enough to admit the bird; the inner cavity gradually widens towards the bottom, and is usually from 8 to 12 inches deep, the eggs lying on a slight layer of fine chips, in which they become well embedded as incubation advances. Occasionally a rather peculiar site is selected. Mr. Charles A. Allen found a nest of this species in a post in one of the snow sheds on the Central Pacific Railroad, between Blue Canyon and Emigrant Gap, about 40 feet from the entrance of the shed, and some thirty trains passed daily within a few feet of the nest, which contained six eggs when found. Incubation lasts about fourteen days, and both sexes assist in this, as well as in the care of the young, which are born blind and remain so until about half grown. The number of eges to a set varies from three to seven, sets of four being most common. ‘There is only a single set of five in the United States National Museum collection, taken by Mr. L. Belding, at Big Trees, California, on June 8, 1879; but Mr. Charles A. Allen writes me that he has found seven eggs in one of their nests. These vary in shape from ovate to short ovate; the shell is pure white, fine grained, and only moderately glossy. When fresh and unblown they are of a delicate pinkish tint and semitranslucent, and the yolk can be plainly seen; as incubation advances they become more and more opaque. The average measurement of forty-one specimens in the United States National Museum collection is 24 by 18.07 millimetres, or about 0.95 by 0.71 inch. The largest ege of the series measures 25.40 by 19.30 millimetres, or 1.00 by 0.76 inch; the smallest, 21.84 by 17.78 millimetres, or 0.86 by 0.70 inch. The type specimen, No. 19436 (not figured), from a set of four eggs, Ben- dire collection, was taken by the writer, near Camp Harney, Oregon, on May 6, 1877. (4 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 30. Picoides arcticus (Swainson). ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. Picus (Apternus) arcticus SWAINSON, Fauna Boreali Americana, IT, 1831, 313. Picoides arcticus GRAY, Genera of Birds, I, 1845, 434. (B 82, C 300, R 367, C 443, U 400.) GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE: Northern North America; south to the northern border of the eastern United States; regularly to northern New England and the northern parts of New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota; casually to Massachusetts, northern Connecticut, northern Pennsylvania, and northern Illinois. In the Rocky Mountains to Montana and Idaho, and in the western United States south to California and Nevada to about latitude 39° (Lake Tahoe), and possibly still farther south in the Sierra Nevada in winter. The northern limits of the range of the Arctic or Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker are not yet very well defined, and, judging from the few specimens from far northern localities in the United States National Museum collection, it appears to be much rarer there than the next species. It certainly must be considered a rare resident in Labrador, as Mr. L. M. Turner obtained only a single specimen during several years’ residence in the district of Ungava. This was taken at the “Forks” on December 18, 1882, and none were observed by him in the vicinity of Fort Chimo. There are several specimens in the collec- tion from Moose Factory, James Bay, and others from Forts Rae and Providence, on Great Slave Lake; from Fort Chipewayan, on Lake Athabasca, and a single one from Fort Reliance, on the Upper Yukon River, Alaska, in latitude 64° N., which marks about the most northern point of its known range. The Museum possesses another Alaska specimen also, taken in March, 1893, by Mr. C. L. McKay, on the Mechatna River, and it appears to be rare here also. Its south- ern limits are much better defined, and include the northern border of the eastern United States, reaching the southern point of its range in the Adirondacks, New York, in about latitude 44°, where it also breeds; and occasionally stragglers are taken somewhat farther south in winter—in Massachusetts, for instance; it is also recorded from Connecticut, northern Pennsylvania, and northern Illinois. It is not uncommon in the northern parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minne- sota, and breeds in suitable localities in all these States. It does not appear to occur in the southern Rocky Mountains in the United States, excepting in Mon- tana, but it is abundant in the Cascade Mountains, Oregon, and in the Sierra Nevadas in California and Nevada, south to about latitude 39° (Lake Tahoe). It has also been met with in Washington, Idaho, and eastern British Columbia, and is said to be common in the wooded parts of Manitoba; it is certain also to occur in suitable localities in Assiniboia and Alberta, as well as in the interven- ing regions wherever suitable timber is found. The Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker is essentially a bird of the pine, spruce, fir, and tamarack forests, and is rarely seen in other localities. It is generally a resident, rarely migrating to any distance, and probably breeds wherever found. THE ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 15 Its flight is swift, greatly undulating, and is often protracted for considerable distances. It is quite common in northern Maine, and Mr. Manly Hardy con- siders it as the tamest and most stupid of the Woodpeckers found in that State. He writes me: “Here Gn Maine) it is rarely, if ever, found in any numbers far from burnt tracts; if in green growth, usually singly, or at most in pairs; but on newly burnt lands specimens may be found by the score, and their sharp, shrill ‘chirk, chirk’ can be heard in all directions. It seems to feed entirely on such wood worms as attack spruce, pine, and other soft-wood timber that has been fire-killed. Specimens are so abundant in such places that I once shot the heads off of six in a few minutes when short of material for a stew.” The food of this Woodpecker seems to consist almost entirely of tree- boring insects and their larve, mainly Buprestide and Cerambycide ; but Audubon states that it feeds also on berries and fruits. It never attacks a healthy tree, and is far more beneficial than harmful, and deserves protection. Mr. J. W. Preston, of Baxter, lowa, writes me that he found this Wood- pecker breeding in Becker County, Minnesota, the nesting site being situated in a live larch tree, about 30 feet from the ground; it contained young on June 13, 1887. Dr. James C. Merrill, United States Army, found it breeding in Prickly Pear Canyon, on the road between Helena and Fort Shaw, Montana, as well as near Fort Klamath, Oregon; and Mr. R. S. Williams writes me that the species is tolerably common about Columbia Falls, Montana. Mr. R MacFarlane found it nesting near Fort Providence, Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territory, and Mr. C. Krieghoff at Three Rivers, Lower Canada, eggs taken by the two last-named gentlemen being now in the collection. Dr. C. Hart Merriam found two nests, with eggs, of this species in the Adirondacks, near Seventh Lake, Fulton Chain, Hamilton County, New York, on May 27 and June 2, 1883, and has kindly furnished me with the following notes: “The water of Seventh Lake, Fulton Chain, had been raised by a dam at the foot of Sixth Lake, flooding a considerable area along the inlet, and the trees killed by the overflow stood in about 6 feet of water. In 1883 the place was first visited by me, May 27. Both species of Three-toed Woodpeckers (Picoides americanus and arcticus) were tolerably common, and one new nest of each was found. That of P. arcticus contained one fresh egg. ‘The nest was 10 inches deep, and the opening within 5 feet of the surface of the water. It was in a dead spruce, 10 inches in diameter.