Chapter C: S. Paine, of East Bethel, Vt., found a nest of this species about (16)

HAB. Northern parts of Europe, America, and Asia. In America not hitherto found in the Pacific Province. In winter extending along the Rocky Mountains and the Plains as far south as Fort Massachusetts and Fort Riley; regular visitor to shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. East of this rarely seen along the United States border. Fort Mohave (???) (COOPER).

The specimen seen by Dr. Cooper, at Fort Mohave, if really of this species, fixes the most western locality on record.

For many years authentic eggs of the Bohemian Chatterer were greatly sought after, but it was not until 1856 that any were brought to the notice of the scientific world, when the late Mr. H. Wolley discovered them in Lapland. Early duplicates from his collection were sold at five guineas each, and although a good many have since been obtained, they are yet considered as great prizes. A nest, with its eggs, of those collected by Mr. Wolley, has been presented to the Smithsonian Institution by Mr. Alfred Newton. The only instances on record of their discovery in America are of a nest and one egg by Mr. Kennicott, on the Yukon, in 1861, and a nest and single egg on the Anderson River, by Mr. MacFarlane, both of which, with the female parents, are in the possession of the Institution. Although there is frequently considerable difference between individuals, there appears to be no difference between those from the two continents.

HABITS. The Waxwing is, in many respects, one of the most interesting and remarkable of the birds of North America. The roving character of its life, the mystery, still only imperfectly solved, of its habits and residence during its breeding-season, and its somewhat cosmopolitan residence in Europe, Asia, and America, impart to it an interest that attaches to but few other species. Though not common in any portions of the United States, and only appearing at all during midwinter, yet in the more northern States, in which it is occasionally found, it moves in such large flocks, and is so noticeable and conspicuous a bird, that it never fails to make a lasting impression, and hardly seems to us so very rare as it undoubtedly is.

In a single instance, in midwinter, somewhere about 1844, during a severe snow-storm, a large flock of these birds made their appearance in Boston, and alighted on a large horse-chestnut tree that stood in an open and retired place. There were at least twenty or thirty in the flock; they remained in their shelter undisturbed for some time, and their true specific character was plainly noticeable.

Several specimens were procured near Worcester, Mass., and given to Dr. Bryant. Eleven individuals of this species were shot in Bolton by Mr. S. Jillson, January, 1864, and others have since been noticed in Watertown by Mr. William Brewster. They have also been obtained near Hartford, Conn., by Dr. Wood.

Prior to this, as Mr. Audubon states, specimens had been procured near Philadelphia, and in the winters of 1830 and 1832 several of these birds were also shot on Long Island.

Mr. Boardman mentions that they are occasional, in winter, near Calais; and Professor Verrill, who did not meet with it in Norway, Me., cites it as accidental and rare in the State.

It is not common in the Arctic regions. Specimens of the bird were obtained on Anderson River, in 1862, by Mr. MacFarlane, but he was not able to find the nest. At Fort Yukon, July 4, Mr. Kennicott met with the nest of this species. The nest, which contained but one egg, was about eighteen feet from the ground, and was built on a side branch of a small spruce that was growing at the outer edge of a clump of thick spruces, on low ground. The nest was large, the base being made of small, dry spruce twigs. Internally it was constructed of fine grass and moose-hair, and lined thickly with large feathers. The female was shot, as she rose from her nest, by Mr. Kennicott’s hunter, who had concealed himself near the spot for that purpose. Mr. Kennicott had seen the nest and both parents near it before it was taken, and had thoroughly satisfied himself as to its complete identification.

Ross speaks of them as not rare throughout the district in which they winter, but yet not numerous. He adds that at Great Bear Lake they are very plentiful, and that they are reported to nest there. Mr. Dall states that they were quite common at Nulato, where they did not arrive before June 10, or later. He obtained a number of skins from the Indians, taken in his absence. He adds that it breeds, and its eggs have been obtained at Fort Yukon.

Except in a few instances, where Dr. Cooper noticed this species, in September, at Fort Laramie, and also when he obtained an individual on the Colorado, none of these birds have been seen west of the Rocky Mountains. The bird obtained by Dr. Cooper was, in his opinion, a straggler from some neighboring mountain. It made its appearance January 10, after a period of stormy weather, and was shot while feeding on the berries of the mistletoe.

This bird was first noticed in America, in the spring of 1826, near the sources of the Athabasca River, by Mr. Drummond, and in the same season by Sir John Richardson, at Great Bear Lake, latitude 65°. In the latter region he states that they appeared in flocks about the 24th of May. At that time the spring thaw had exposed the berries of the _Arbutus_ and the _Vaccinium_, that had been covered during the winter. It stayed only a few days, and none of the Indians knew where it bred, or had ever seen its nest. Afterwards, early in May, 1827, Sir John Richardson saw a large flock of three or four hundred individuals at Carlton House, on the Saskatchewan. They all alighted in a grove of poplars, on one or two trees, making a loud twittering noise. They stayed only about an hour in the morning, and were too shy to be approached within gunshot.

In England they have been known to appear as early as August. They are always shy, and not easily approached. In their activity and incessant change of position and place, they are said to resemble the Titmice. They feed on the berries of the mountain-ash, the hawthorn, and the ivy. They will also feed on insects, catching them as dexterously as Flycatchers. Their call-note is a single chirp, frequently repeated.

Mr. McCulloch, writing to Mr. Audubon, gives a touching account of the devotion shown by one of these birds to its wounded mate. The latter had been so crippled that it was hardly able to move. Its mate stationed itself on the top of the tree in which it had sought shelter, and with great vehemence continually uttered the notes _tzee-tzee_, in alarm and warning, and, when danger approached, flew against it and urged it on to flight, and stayed to share its fate, rather than leave its partner.

The nest and eggs of this species remained entirely unknown until the spring of 1856, when the late Mr. John Wolley, an enthusiastic English oölogist, first discovered them in Lapland. The season was unusually backward and cold, and the nests contained their full complement by the 12th of June. One of the nests, obtained in Finland, June 19, 1861 (S. I., 5,327), contained five eggs. It is of remarkable size in proportion to that of its builder, measuring eight inches in diameter. It is flattened in shape, and its cavity, though large, is not deep. The height of the nest is three and a quarter inches, and the depth of the base is fully two and a half inches. The cavity is less than an inch deep, and is four inches in diameter. The base and outer periphery of this nest are of a coarse interlacing of the small ends of branches of fir and spruce trees. Within this is built a close, compact inner nest, chiefly composed of a lichen peculiar to Arctic regions, called tree-hair, which hangs abundantly from the branches of trees in northern forests. It resembles a mass of delicate black rootlets. These are not uncommon ingredients in the nests of northern birds, especially of European. In America, Arctic nests of the _A. carolinensis_ are occasionally built of similar materials. With these lichens are also mingled fragments of dry leaves and soft dark-colored mosses. The rim of the nest is strongly made, almost exclusively of these fine dark-colored lichens. This kind of lichen is not always black, but is often brown, and even whitish. In some of these nests silvery fibres of grass-leaves are mingled with the lichens, and in one or two there is a slight lining of feathers.

The Lapland nests were built on the branch of a tree, at a distance from the trunk, and stood up from it unsupported by the surrounding twigs, and at the height of from six to twelve feet from the ground. They were generally much exposed, and were, for the most part, built in the more open portions of the forests. The general number of the eggs was five, in one instance it was six.

The nest from the Yukon, obtained by Mr. Kennicott (S. Coll., 6,326), is smaller, and bears but little resemblance to the European. It is but five inches in diameter, of irregular shape. In height and cavity it nearly corresponds. In place of the lichens of the European, this nest is made of fine grass-stems, strips of bark, and a few feathers.

The eggs of this bird, the gift of Mr. Wolley, measure an inch in length, and from .70 to .67 of an inch in breadth. Their ground-color varies from a light slate to a yellowish stone-color. They are marked, blotched, and dotted with spots of various hues and size. These are chiefly of a dark purple, at times approaching black. Mingled with these are markings of a yellowish-brown. Nearly all these spots are surrounded by a peculiar penumbra, or shading, such as forms so marked a feature in the eggs of the common Cedar-Bird.

The egg obtained by Kennicott on the Yukon is smaller than the European specimen, measuring .90 by .65 of an inch. Its ground is more of a greenish-slate or stone-color, and the spots are of a dark brown, with a deep violet shading.

Ampelis cedrorum, SCL.

SOUTHERN WAXWING; CEDAR-BIRD.

_Ampelis garrulus_, var. β, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 297.
_Bombycilla cedrorum_, VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 88, pl.
lvii.—IB. Galerie Ois. I, 1834, 186, pl. cxviii.—CAB. Jour. IV,
1856, 3 (Cuba).—GUNDLACH, Cab. Jour. 1861, 328 (Cuba; rare).
_Ampelis cedrorum_, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1856, 299 (Cordova); 1858,
302 (Oaxaca; January); 1859, 364 (Xalapa; Cordova); 1864, 172
(City of Mexico).—SCLATER & SALVIN, Ibis, 1859, 13
(Guatemala).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 318; Rev. 407.—TAYLOR,
Ibis, 1860, 111 (Honduras).—MARCH, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phila. 1863, 294
(Jamaica).—LORD, Pr. R. Art. Inst. WOOLWICH, IV, 116 (British
Columbia; nesting).—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. Rep. XII, II, 187
(Washington Ter.).—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 129.—SAMUELS, Birds
N. Eng. 265. _Ampelis americana_, WILS. Am. Orn. I, 1808, 107, pl.
vii. _Bombycilla americana_, JONES, Nat. Bermuda, 1859, 29
(winter).—RICH. _Bombycilla carolinensis_, BRISSON, Orn. II, 1760,
337 (not binomial).—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1831, 227, pl. xliii.—IB.
Birds Am. IV, 1842, 165, pl. ccxlv.—WAGLER. _Ampelis
carolinensis_, GOSSE, Birds Jamaica, 1847, 197 (January).—BON.

SP. CHAR. Crest moderate. General color soft vinaceous-cinnamon, deepest anteriorly, more olivaceous on back, scapulars and wing-coverts, passing into pure light ash on the rump and upper tail-coverts, and into dingy yellow on flanks and abdomen. Lower tail-coverts white. Whole of the wing posterior to the greater coverts slaty-ash, almost black along end of inner webs of primaries, the outer webs of which are narrowly edged with hoary whitish. Tail slate passing into black terminally, tipped with a broad, sharply defined band of gamboge-yellow. A broad stripe of intense velvety-black on side of head, starting from nostril, passing across lore, and involving the eye, continued from it beneath the crest to the occiput; chin dull black, blending gradually into the brownish of the throat. A narrow white line across the forehead and along side of crown, between brown of crown and black of lore, etc., a narrow crescent on lower eyelid and a stripe between black of lore and that of the throat, white. _Male_ with each secondary quill terminated by a bright red horny appendage to the shaft. _Female_ with these very small and few in number, or entirely absent. _Young._ In general appearance similar to the adult female. Colors more grayish, with obsolete concealed whitish streaks on nape and down back, these stripes becoming very conspicuous on the sides and flanks and across breast. No black on chin. Rump grayish-brown; abdomen and flanks dingy whitish. No appendages to secondaries, and the yellow band across end of tail narrower than in adult.

HAB. Whole of North America as far north as Lake Winnipeg and Hudson’s Bay, south branch of Saskatchewan, latitude 52½° (RICHARDSON); south to Guatemala; Jamaica and Cuba in winter.

A specimen from Guatemala (No. 50,455 ♂) is almost identical with examples from the United States, but differs in having a small spot of yellow at the tip of each primary; also there are red appendages on the tip of a few tail-feathers, as well as the longest feather of the lower tail-coverts. The colors, generally, are softer, the brown more purplish, and the ash finer and more bluish, than in a fine spring male from Washington, D. C.

A specimen (No. 53,396 ♂, Humboldt River, Nevada, September 10, 1868, C. King, R. Ridgway) from the Middle Province of the United States, differs considerably from any other in the collection. The colors are much paler, the anterior portions being almost ochraceous, the whole abdomen nearly white. The white band across the forehead is very broad; the extreme point of the chin only black. Whether it is a representative of a style peculiar to the Great Basin, or merely a bleached individual, cannot be decided without additional specimens from the same region.

There is so much variation in different specimens in regard to the red wax-like appendages, that the Guatemalan specimen mentioned above can hardly be considered as more than a very highly developed individual.

HABITS. The habits of the common Cedar-Bird are eminently nomadic, and, so far as those of the Waxwing are known, correspond in all respects, except in the more general and especially the more southern distribution of the present species. They are found throughout North America at least so far as the wooded country extends, and they breed from Florida to the Red River country. They are a common bird in New England, and would be much more so but that their fondness for cherries and other small fruits, and their indifference to danger, makes them an easy and frequent mark for destruction. Their unpopularity has caused their numbers to be greatly reduced of late years in the thickly settled portions of the country.

In Southern Texas Mr. Dresser found these birds very common during the winter at San Antonio and Eagle Pass, but he observed none later than the middle of April. They were seen in Tamaulipas, by Lieutenant Couch, in March, and afterwards in April at New Leon, Mexico. Sumichrast states that these birds are found everywhere and in great abundance in winter throughout Vera Cruz. They are there known as the _Chinito_, and are highly appreciated by the Mexican epicures. They are equally abundant in northern parts of South America, and also throughout Central America.

In Washington Territory and in Oregon Dr. Cooper speaks of them as less common than in the Atlantic States, and he only met with a few, in single pairs, in the summer. Townsend states that he found them in Oregon, but Dr. Suckley never met with any west of the Rocky Mountains.

In California Dr. Cooper has seen small flocks in winter, as far south as San Diego, feeding on the mistletoe berries. He found their nests at Fort Vancouver, and has no doubt that they also breed in various parts of California.

Mr. Robert Kennicott states, among other memoranda of his route, that, May 31, on an island in Winnipeg River, he saw a large flock of these birds, numbering fifty or more.

With some irregularity as to their appearance, they are found throughout the year in New England, their presence being usually regulated by their food. They are, by preference, eaters of berries and other vegetable food, except in spring and early summer, when they eat insects almost exclusively, feeding upon the larvæ of the spanworm and the canker-worm, and small caterpillars, and supplying these to their young. They also feed their nestlings with various kinds of berries and small fruits, both cultivated and wild. They do not nest until late in June or early in July, and with so much irregularity that I have found them sitting on their unhatched eggs as late as the 12th of October. They are a greedy bird, feeding voraciously where they have an opportunity. They are very much attached to each other and to their offspring. Once, when one had been taken in a net spread over strawberries, its mate refused to leave it, suffered itself to be taken by the hand, in its anxiety to free its mate, and when set at liberty would not leave until its mate had also been released and permitted to go with it. In the summer of 1870 a nestling, hardly half fledged, fell from its nest, and was found injured by its fall, taken into the house, and fed. Whenever exposed in its cage its parents came about it, and supplied it with cherries and other fruit, unmindful of the near presence of the family. The young bird lived, and became perfectly tame, feeding from the hand, and preferring to be fed rather than feed itself. Besides its low lisping call, this bird had a regular faint attempt at a song of several low notes, uttered in so low a tone that it would be almost inaudible at even a short distance. It became perfectly contented in confinement, and appeared fond of such members of the family as noticed it.

The noticeable feature of the Cedar-Bird, its crest, it has the power to erect or depress at will. In confinement it generally keeps this depressed, only erecting it when excited from any cause, such as alarm, or desire to receive food.

Wilson states that in Pennsylvania they collect in August in large flocks and retire to the mountains, feeding on the fruit of the _Vaccinium uliginosum_, which grows there in great abundance. Later in the season they descend to the lowlands to feed on the berries of the sour-gum and the red-cedar. In confinement they are very fond of apples, bread soaked in milk, and almost any kind of soft food. They are also very fond of flies, and are expert flycatchers, snapping at all that venture within the cage.

In their migrations their flight is graceful, easy, and continued, and is performed at a considerable height.

It is unfortunate for the horticulturist that this bird has done so much to merit his prejudices and reprobation, and that he does not appreciate to the full the immense services it renders to him each spring in the destruction of injurious insects. A flock of these birds will, in a short space of time, devour an immense number of the larvæ of the destructive canker-worms (_Phalænæ_) that infest the apples and elms of Massachusetts, and, if permitted, would soon greatly reduce their numbers. But these prejudices cannot be softened by their good deeds, and the Cherry-Bird is still hunted and destroyed.

Their nests are usually constructed late in June or early in July, and are placed in various positions, sometimes in a low bush or tree not more than three or four feet from the ground, and rarely more than twenty. Their nests are large and bulky, but strongly made of various materials. Generally they build a strong external framework, six or seven inches in diameter, composed of the ends of twigs, coarse stems of vegetables, and grasses. Within this they build a compact, well-made fabric of grasses, grapevine bark, and other finer substances, lining the whole with leaves and fine root-fibres. The cavity is large and deep for the bird. The parents are fourteen days in incubating before the young are hatched out, and all this while are remarkably silent, hardly uttering a sound, even their faintest lisping note, when the nest is meddled with, though they evince great anxiety by their fearless indifference to their own danger.

The eggs, usually five, sometimes six, in number, have a marked resemblance to those of the Waxwing, but are smaller. Their ground-color varies from a light slate-color to a deep shade of stone-color, tinged with olive. These are marked with blotches of a dark purplish-brown, almost black, lighter shades of a dark purple, and penumbræ of faint purple, sometimes by themselves or surrounding and continuing the darker spots. They vary in length from .80 to .88 of an inch, and average about .85. In breadth they are from .60 to .70 of an inch, and in shape they differ also from an oblong-oval to one of a quite rounded form.

Nests of these birds from the Arctic regions are more elaborately built and more warmly lined, being often largely made up of the fine dark-colored lichens that cover the forest trees of those regions.

SUBFAMILY PTILOGONATINÆ.

CHAR. Legs moderate. Nostrils oval, with wide naked membrane above and to some extent behind them; the frontal feathers not reaching to their border, and rather soft. Wings graduated, shorter than the somewhat broad, fan-shaped tail; the first quill nearly half the second. Adults plain.

Although we find it convenient for the present to retain the genera _Ptilogonys_ and _Myiadestes_ in the same subfamily, there seems little doubt that they belong to very different families, the latter being more properly placed in _Turdidæ_, as shown in Rev. Am. Birds. It is not necessary that the subject be discussed here, however, and we merely give the diagnosis of the two groups of which these genera are the types respectively:—

Ptilogonateæ. Tarsi scutellate anteriorly; not longer than middle toe and claw.

Myiadesteæ. Tarsi with a continuous plate anteriorly; longer than middle toe and claw.

SECTION PTILOGONATEÆ.

CHAR. Tarsus stout, shorter, or not longer than the middle toe and claw; conspicuously scutellate anteriorly, and frequently on one or other or on both sides; sometimes with a row of small plates behind. Wings much graduated; the second quill not longer than secondaries. Outline of lateral tail-feathers parallel or widening from base to near tip. Tail unvaried, or else inornate at end. Quills without light patch at base. Head crested. Young birds not spotted. Not conspicuous for song.

There are two genera of this section having in brief the following characters:—

Crest narrow, pointed, its feathers stiff, their webs compact;
outer primaries broad. Tail rounded … _Phænopepla_.

Crest broad, decumbent, soft, the feathers loose; outer
primaries attenuated. Tail even or cuneate … _Ptilogonys_.

The genus _Ptilogonys_ has two species, one Mexican, the other Costa-Rican, neither coming within the limits of the United States. The type is _P. cinereus_, SWAINSON (BAIRD, Rev. Am. Birds, 412), a species of the tablelands of Mexico, which may yet be found within the southern borders of the United States in New Mexico or Arizona.

GENUS PHÆNOPEPLA, SCLATER.

_Phænopepla_, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1858, 543. (Type, _Ptiliogonys
nitens_, SWAINS.)

GEN. CHAR. Crest narrow, pointed behind. Outer primaries broad, not attenuated nor pointed at end; the first half the second. Tail rounded, fan-shaped; feathers very broad, wider towards end. Bill feeble, rather narrow, well bristled; nostrils somewhat overhung by frontal feathers. Sexes dissimilar; male black; quills with median white patch on inner webs; tail not varied.

The single known species is glossy black in the male; the female brownish-ash.

Phænopepla nitens, SCLATER.

SHINING-CRESTED FLYCATCHER.

_Ptiliogonys nitens_, SW. An. in Menag. 1838, 285.—BON. Consp. 1850,
335.—HEERMANN, Jour. A. N. Sc. Phila. II, 1853, 263.—CASSIN, Ill.
Birds Texas, etc. 1854, 169, pl. xxix. _Cichlopsis nitens_, BAIRD,
Birds N. Am. 1858, 320, 923. _Phænopepla nitens_, SCLATER, P. Z.
S. 1858, 543; 1864, 173 (City of Mexico).—BAIRD, Rev. Am. B. 1864,
416.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 131. “_Lepturus galeatus_, LESS.”

SP. CHAR. (No. 8,275 ♂.) Tail broad, almost fan-shaped; graduated slightly; not at all emarginate, and longer than wing. First quill broad, slightly falcate, scarcely attenuated; more than half the second, which about equals the tenth; sixth longest; third equal to seventh. Feathers on nape rather full, with a lengthened, pointed, narrow, occipital crest.

_Male_ (No. 8,275) entirely glossy greenish-black; the inner webs of all the primary quills with a large, lengthened patch of white, which does not reach the inner margin; their outer webs very narrowly edged with ashy, as are also lateral tail-feathers externally.

_Female_ (No. 8,274) brownish-ash, paler below; the white of inner webs of quills obsolete; the greater coverts and quills edged externally with whitish, the anal and crissal feathers edged and tipped with the same; the outer tail-feather with narrow edge of white externally towards end.

Immature birds show every gradation of color between the two extremes described above.

Total length, 7.60; wing, 3.80; tail, 4.35; length of bill from forehead, .46, from nostril .31, along gape, .66; tarsus, .70; middle toe and claw, .65.

[Line drawing: _Phænopepla nitens._
8275]

HAB. Mountainous region of the southern portions of Western and Middle Provinces of United States, and south to Orizaba; Cape St. Lucas; Plateau of Mexico (resident, SUMICHRAST).

HABITS. So far as known, this bird occurs in the mountainous portions of the United States, from Fort Tejon, Cal., to Mexico, and from the Rio Grande to San Diego. It is closely allied, in its appearance, as also in many of its habits, both with the Waxwings and the Flycatchers.

This species was first detected within the United States by Colonel McCall, who obtained it in California in 1852. Its habits, as he observed them, partook of those of the true Flycatcher. They are said to be remarkable for their slender, active form, in which their long and ample tail, and the elongated feathers of their head, capable of being erected into a crest, are conspicuous features. Colonel McCall first met with them in a clump of trees on the borders of a mountain brook, between Valliecita and El Chino. A number of them were together actively engaged in the pursuit of insects. They were light and graceful on the wing, though less swift and decided in their motions than the true Flycatchers. In these evolutions the bright white spot on the wing, visible only when the wing is spread, was quite conspicuous, and in fine contrast with the glossy black of the general plumage. In his journey Colonel McCall afterwards met this bird several times, either in small companies or singly. They were always either on mountain sides, or in the timbered borders of mountain streams.

Dr. Henry met with this species near the Little Lagoon, on the Colorado Desert. It was perched on a mezquite-tree, jerking its tail almost incessantly, as do other kinds of Flycatchers, and, from time to time, dashing in irregular curves high into the air in pursuit of insects. It became quite abundant as he approached the Colorado, occurring in companies of twenty and thirty. At Fort Yuma he also met with them in considerable numbers late in November, as they were migrating southward. Dr. Henry describes its note as a low, plaintive whistle. He ascertained that it breeds in California by finding specimens of young birds. He likewise met with this species near Fort Webster, in New Mexico; and Dr. Kennerly also noticed it, in February and March, between Big Sandy Creek and the Colorado River.

Mr. Dresser obtained two specimens of this species at Eagle Pass. One of these had its stomach filled with the berries of a species of mistletoe that grows abundantly on the mezquite-trees. He noticed that it carries its crest erect and much recurved, after the manner of the European _Parus cristatus_.

Sumichrast states that this species, called _Reyecito_, is well distributed throughout the Plateau of Mexico, but only ranges in the valley of the Orizaba, to the height of about 1,500 metres, rarely coming as far as that. It is also common at Tehauntepec and other places.

Dr. Cooper found them quite numerous, in winter, near the Colorado. He also found them common, in December, about the Mohave River, and in summer, from Los Angeles to San Diego. They were found to prefer the trees in which the mistletoe grows, on the berries of which they largely feed, though they occasionally pursue insects in a zigzag course similar to that of the _Sayornis nigricans_.

They almost constantly utter a loud cry of alarm, and when pursued are very wild. When wounded, they conceal themselves so closely in the thick tufts of the mistletoe as to be found with difficulty. Many left the Colorado Valley in April, but a few remained. Their notes Dr. Cooper describes as similar to those of the Crested Flycatchers, but sweeter.

It was found by Feilner, at Fort Crook, in April, 1860, but has not been met with near the coast so far to the north.

A nest of this bird, obtained by Dr. Cooper, on the 27th of April, was built on a horizontal branch of the mezquite (_Algarobia_), twelve feet from the ground. It was found near Fort Mohave, on the Colorado River. The nest is a very flat structure, four inches in diameter, and less than two in height. The cavity is less than an inch in depth. The nest is made almost entirely of hempen or flax-like fibres of plants, interwoven with fine grasses, stems of plants, and stalks of a larger size. It is lined with a soft downy substance of a vegetable character.

The eggs, two in number, are of an oblong-oval shape, nearly equal at either end, and with a ground-color of a light slate, tinged with a yellowish-green. They are marked and blotched equally over the entire egg, with spots and blotches of various lines, from a light, faint, obscure purple to deeper tints of purplish-brown, even to black. It is a very marked egg, and unique in its appearance. They measure .90 by .60 of an inch.

Dr. Coues found this species a summer resident in Arizona, somewhat rare about Fort Whipple, but found very abundantly a little farther south, and a permanent resident in the southern portions of that Territory. It inhabits rather open country in preference to densely wooded regions. He describes it as a shy, wild, and restless bird, with a superb song, powerful and finely modulated. Dr. Coues appears to think that this species has but little affinity with the forms with which it is usually grouped.

SECTION MYIADESTEÆ.

CHAR. Tarsus slender, longer than middle toe and claw; undivided as in _Turdidæ_. Toes deeply cleft. Wings more pointed; second quill much longer than secondaries. Lateral tail-feathers cuneate, or narrowing from base towards tip; generally whitish at end of inner web. Quills with their extreme bases, especially of inner webs, buffy yellow, showing a light patch inside. Head not crested, though the feathers sometimes full. In the young all the feathers with light rounded spots. Pre-eminent as melodious singers.

But a single genus of this group belongs to the United States, although two others (_Cichlopsis_ and _Platycichla?_) occur in South America. As already stated, the affinities of _Myiadesteæ_ are much closest to _Turdidæ_, and this would seem the proper family for it.

GENUS MYIADESTES, SWAINSON.

_Myiadestes_, SWAINSON, Jard. Nat. Library, XIII. Flycatchers, “1838,”
132. (Type, _M. genibarbis_, SW.)

[Line drawing: _Myiadestes townsendi._
38426
16168]

GEN. CHAR. Occipital feathers full and soft. Plumage rather loose. Bill weak, much depressed. Commissure nearly straight. Hind toe longer than inner lateral. Toes deeply cleft. Closed wing externally with an exposed light band across the base of the quills, and another nearer the end, separated by a darker one. Tail somewhat graduated on the sides.

Of the ten or more described species of this genus, only one belongs to the limits of the United States, although several others occupy adjacent territory in Mexico. Several are peculiar to islands of the West Indies.

The only two species closely related to the _M. townsendi_ are the _M. unicolor_ and _M. obscurus_, which belong to Mexico. They may be distinguished as follows:—

An ochraceous band across base of secondaries and upper primaries, conspicuous on outer surface.

1. M. townsendi. Generally dull ashy, paler beneath. Throat and
abdomen whitish. _Hab._ Middle and Pacific Provinces of United
States only.

No ochraceous on outer webs of secondaries and primaries.

2. M. obscurus.[80] Back and wings rusty-olive. Head and beneath
ashy, top of head deepest ash. _Hab._ Mountains of Mexico and
Guatemala; Tres Marias Islands.

3. M. unicolor.[81] Entirely dark bluish slate-color, lighter
beneath. Lores black. _Hab._ Central Mexico and Guatemala.

Myiadestes townsendi, CABAN.

TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE.

_Ptiliogonys townsendi_, AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 206, pl. ccccxix,
fig. 2. (For other references see Birds N. Am. 321.)—NEWBERRY, P.
R. Rep. VI, Whipple’s Rep. Zoöl., 82. _Culicivora towns._ DE KAY,
N. Y. Zoöl. II, 1844, 110. _Myiadestes towns._ CABANIS, Wieg.
Arch. 1847, I, 208.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1857, 5; 1858, 97.—BAIRD,
Birds N. Am. 1858, 321; Rev. 429.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. Rep.
XII, II, 187.—KENNERLY, P. R. Rep. X, Whipple’s Rep. 25.—LORD, Pr.
R. Art. Inst. WOOLWICH, IV, 116 (Br. Col.).—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1,
1870, 134.

SP. CHAR. Tail rather deeply forked. Exposed portion of spurious quill less than one third that of the second; fourth quill longest; second a little longer than the sixth. Head not crested. General color bluish-ash, paler beneath; under wing-coverts white. Quills with a brownish-yellow bar at the base of both webs mostly concealed, but showing a little below the greater coverts and alulæ; this succeeded by a bar of dusky, and next to it another of brownish-yellow across the outer webs of the central quills only. Tertials tipped with white. Tail-feathers dark brown; the middle ones more like the back; the lateral with the outer web and tip, the second with the tip only, white. A white ring round the eye. Length, 8 inches; wing, 4.50; tail, 3.85. (8,234).

HAB. Mountainous regions of Middle and Western United States. (Not found at Cape St. Lucas nor in Mexico.)

Young birds have a large triangular pale-ochraceous light spot on the end of each feather (rather paler below), bounded externally by a narrow border of blackish; the quill and tail feathers as in the adult.

HABITS. The first specimen of this somewhat remarkable bird was shot by Captain Brotchie, at Fort George, Astoria, and presented to Mr. Townsend, and by the latter given to Mr. Audubon. For some time this remained unique, and the habits of the species unknown. Through the government explorations, however, we have been made more familiar with its habits and peculiarities.

Dr. Newberry, in his report on the Zoölogy of Lieutenant Williamson’s explorations, mentions finding this bird very abundant in the Des Chutes Basin. It did not frequent either dense forests or prairies destitute of trees, but seemed to select surfaces covered with a scattered growth of pine and cedar. His party first met with it at the base of Mount Jefferson, in the cañon of Mpto-ly-as River. In picking his way with infinite difficulty down this gorge, his attention was drawn by its new and attractive song. There were several of them in the pines and cedars growing on the face of the cliff. He describes its song as clear, full, and melodious, like that of a true _Mimus_. The next day, as he followed down the river, in the bottom of the cañon the deep gorge was filled with a chorus of sweet sounds from thousands of these birds. He describes them as having a habit of sitting on the branch of a tree projecting over a stream, or hanging from some projecting crag, and at times flying out in narrow circles, after insects, precisely in the manner of Flycatchers.

Afterwards, in another cañon, the terraced banks of which were sparsely set with low trees of the Western cedar, he again found these birds quite numerous, and had every opportunity both of hearing and of seeing them, watching them for hours while feeding and singing. They began their songs with the first dawn of day, and at sunrise the valley was perfectly vocal with their music. He describes their song as not greatly varied, but speaks of all their notes as particularly clear and sweet, and with strains of pure gushing melody that were both spontaneous and inspiring. At that time, September 30, they were feeding on the berries of the cedar. They were very shy, and could only be obtained by stratagem.

Dr. Kennerly, in his Report on the birds observed in the explorations under the charge of Lieutenant Whipple, speaks of meeting with these birds in the Rocky Mountains, in the vicinity of the Pueblo of Zuñi, in New Mexico. Thence, westward, he occasionally met with it, and usually in the cedar thickets.

Dr. Suckley mentions, in his Report on the Zoölogy of Washington Territory, obtaining a specimen of this species at Fort Steilacoom, April 28, 1856. It was very wild and difficult of approach. It was the only specimen obtained, and he considered it accidental west of the Cascade Mountains. Dr. Cooper, in the same Report, speaks of obtaining a specimen near Fort Laramie in October, where it seemed to be not uncommon.

Dr. Cooper, in his Birds of California, dwells with much emphasis upon the delightful melody of this species. Having always found them silent, and with habits like the Flycatchers’, he was quite unprepared to hear them singing in the Sierra Nevada, and, if he had not obtained the bird, would not have believed that one of this family was capable of singing with such power. Their song, he says, can be compared with nothing uttered by any other bird he has ever heard in the United States; for, he adds, it excels that of the Mocking-Bird in sweetness, besides being entirely original.

He met with only a few of this species among some junipers on the western slope near the summit, in September, 1863. He has always met with them nearly singly. Dr. Henry found them at Fort Webster, New Mexico, in large numbers, both in fall and in winter. Their home, Dr. Cooper thinks, seems to be in the vicinity of the great deserts of the central regions, or the cedar-covered mountains that intersect them.

Dr. Woodhouse obtained several specimens on the Zuñi Mountains in New Mexico, and from there westward found it exceedingly abundant. Its food seemed to be exclusively berries, and chiefly those of the cedar.

Dr. Coues also found these birds rare summer residents in Arizona, and confirms its possession of rare local powers, producing a rich, sweet, and finely modulated song.

Mr. Robert Ridgway, in accompanying Mr. King’s party of explorations, writes that he found this curious bird only occasionally, most frequently among the pines of the Sierra Nevada, and only once or twice among the mountains east of that range. In July, 1867, he found a nest of this bird. It was in a deep ravine on the western slope of the Sierras, at an altitude of five thousand feet. It was placed in a cavity of the rocks forming the perpendicular upper bank of a sluice constructed for mining purposes, through which ran the waters of a considerable mountain stream. The nest was about a foot above the water, and was as bulky as that of the _Harporhynchus rufus_, and similarly constructed, being composed almost entirely of sticks. It contained four young. When he approached, the female was much excited, flying before, or running on the ground in the manner of a true Thrush. Mr. Ridgway makes no mention of its song.

Mr. Lord met with these birds only once, and then at Colville, towards the end of November. All the leaves had fallen, the ground was deeply covered with snow, and the cold was intense. His attention was first attracted by hearing a low sweet song, not unlike that of the Song Thrush of Europe, which at that season was a most unusual sound. On looking around he saw about twenty of these birds perched on the top sprays of some white thorn-bushes. In their mode of darting off and returning again they reminded him of a Shrike. He shot six, and could detect no material difference in plumage between males and females. In the stomachs of those he opened were the remains of small coleopterous insects and a few haws.

FAMILY LANIIDÆ.—THE SHRIKES.

CHAR. Bill very powerful, strong, and much compressed, the tip abruptly hooked, deeply notched, and with a prominent tooth behind the notch; both mandibles distinctly notched, the upper with a distinct tooth behind, the lower with the point bent up. Tarsi longer than the middle toe, strongly scutellate. Primaries ten; first primary half the second, or shorter (occasionally wanting). Wings short, rounded; tail long and much graduated. Sides of tarsi with the plates divided on the outside.

Of this family only a single genus is known in North America.

GENUS COLLURIO, VIGORS.

_Collurio_, VIGORS, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1831, 42. (Type, _Lanius
excubitor_, L.)
_Lanius_, AUCT. (not of LINNÆUS, whose type is _L. cristatus_).
_Collyrio_, G. R. GRAY.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 323.

[Line drawing: _Collurio excubitoroides._
38423]

GEN. CHAR. Feathers of forehead stiffened; base of bill, including nostrils, covered by bristly feathers directed forward. Bill shorter than the head, much compressed, and very powerful. Culmen decurved from base, the mandible abruptly bent down in a powerful hook with an acute lobe near the tip. Tip of lower mandible bent upwards in a hook; the gonys very convex. Rictus with long bristles. Legs stout; the tarsi rather short, and longer than the middle toe; the lateral equal; the claws all very sharp and much curved. Wings rounded; the first primary about half the second, which is equal to the sixth or seventh. Tail longer than the wings, much graduated, the feathers broad.

But few species of this genus belong to America, and these are confined to the northern portion. For the purpose of more readily identifying the species we present a brief diagnosis, and then furnish descriptions of all (including a European ally) in a single table.

Species.

A. Outer webs of secondaries wholly white for basal half (mostly concealed by coverts, however). Upper eyelid white.

C. excubitor.[82] Nasal tufts grayish-white. In other
respects, as regards colors, like _excubitoroides_. Wing,
4.20; tail, 4.00; tarsus, .95. _Hab._ Europe.

B. Outer webs of secondaries black to the base. Upper eyelids black.

_a._ White crescent on lower eyelid. Beneath with wavy bars of
dusky in all stages. Tarsus less than 1.00; wing more than
4.50.

C. borealis. Upper half of nasal tufts white. Black
spectacle bordered above the ear-coverts by hoary whitish.
Scapulars and upper tail-coverts approaching white. Wing,
4.70; tail, 4.70; tarsus, .93. _Hab._ Arctic America; in
winter south into United States, especially into the northern
portions.

_b._ No white crescent on lower eyelid. Beneath without bars, except in young. Tarsus more than 1.00; wing less than 4.50.

C. ludovicianus. Black spectacle not bordered over
ear-coverts with whitish.

_White patch on primaries reaching nearly as far as end of first quill. Nasal tufts entirely black._

Black of lores and nasal tufts bordered above with hoary
whitish. Tail white at base; inner webs of secondaries
paler toward margin, but not abruptly white. Beneath
entirely white, without ashy tinge laterally, or across
breast. Axillars whitish. Upper tail-coverts ashy-white,
scapulars pure white. Wing, 4.10; tail, 4.20; tarsus, 1.10;
bill, .50. _Hab._ Western North America from Pacific Coast
east to a little beyond the Mississippi, and to Texas.
Nearly all of Mexico … var. _excubitoroides_.

Black of lores, etc., not bordered above by whitish. Tail
black at base. Inner webs of secondaries pure white to the
shaft on basal half. Beneath tinged with ashy laterally and
across breast. Scapulars and upper tail-coverts hardly
different from back. Bill, .60. _Hab._ California and fur
countries … var. _robustus_.

_White patch on primaries reaching only about half-way to end of first quill. Nasal tufts hoary-grayish above._

Black of lores bordered above by hoary-whitish. Tail as in
_elegans_,—secondaries as in _excubitoroides_. Beneath very
strongly tinged with plumbeous laterally and across breast.
Upper tail-coverts like the back, posterior scapulars only
inclining to white. Axillars plumbeous. Wing, 3.80; tail,
3.95; tarsus, 1.00; bill, .50. _Hab._ South Atlantic and
Gulf States … var. _ludovicianus_.

We now proceed to give a more detailed table of these species, and under the heading of each shall omit any further description:—

GENERAL COLOR. Bluish or plumbeous ash above; the outer edges of scapulars, sometimes the forehead and rump, paler. Beneath white, sometimes with waved transverse dark lines. A broad black stripe from side of upper bill through eye (extending more widely beneath than above it, sometimes wanting above) to end of ear-coverts. Wings (except lesser coverts) and tail black; the former with a white patch across base of primaries, sometimes on inner webs of secondaries; the secondaries tipped with white; the tail with broad white tips to the lateral feathers, the concealed bases of which are also usually white.

A. Black cheek-stripes involving eyelid only on upper border
of eye, and not meeting across the forehead. A crescentic patch
of white in the black below the eye; upper edge of black stripe
behind the eye bordered by hoary whitish. Breast and belly
always with distinct, transverse waved lines of dusky. Bill,
when mature, entirely black. Length about 10 inches.

Above light ash. Upper tail-coverts and forehead much paler
than the back, the former without waved lines. Axillars
whitish.

Inner webs of secondaries paler towards edges, but not of
well-defined white. Concealed bases of tail-feathers,
except sixth, white. Tarsus shorter than the gape of mouth.
Length, 10.00; extent, 14.50; wing, 4.70; tail, 4.70; bill
above, .85; tarsus, .93 … _borealis_.

B. Black cheek-stripes not involving upper border of eye or
upper eyelid, which is whitish, and not meeting across the
forehead, its upper edge behind the eye with scarcely a lighter
border. No patch of white on lower eyelid. Under parts unvaried
white; in female obscurely waved. Base of under mandible
whitish. Length about 9 inches.

Above light ash. Upper tail-coverts and forehead decidedly
paler than the back. Axillars whitish.

Inner webs of all secondaries (except innermost) white to
shaft, except for less than terminal half, which is black
along the shaft. Concealed base of tail white, except on
sixth feather. Tarsus equal to the gape … _excubitor_.

C. Black cheek-stripes involving upper eyelid, as in A, but
without patch of white below the eye; meeting in a narrow,
sometimes inconspicuous, line across the forehead, its upper
edge behind the eye not bordered by lighter. Beneath plain
white, or very obscurely waved in _ludovicianus_ (the female?).
Bill, when mature, entirely black. Length about 8.50 inches.

Above dark plumbeous-ash. Upper tail-coverts and forehead
scarcely paler than the back. Sides and breast tinged with
bluish-gray.

Black of loral space rather hoary along upper border.
Frontal dark line inappreciable or wanting. Inner webs of
secondaries paler only along the marginal half, and not
abruptly white. Axillars plumbeous. Tail-feathers, except
the innermost, with a concealed well-defined white patch at
base, largest on the more exterior one. Bill from nostril,
.50. Under parts often with very obscure faint waved lines
(in the female?). White patch on wing reaching about to
middle of first primary. Tarsus equal to the gape. Length,
8.50; wing, 3.72; tail, 4.10; bill above, .82; tarsus, 1.00 …
_ludovicianus_.

Black of loral space without any lightening above it.
Frontal black band well marked. Inner webs of secondaries
(except innermost) pure white to shaft, except along rather
more than terminal half, where the shaft is bordered by
black. Axillars whitish. Tail-feathers black to base,
except the loose fibres, which are grayish. Bill from
nostril, .60. Under parts without waved lines. White patch
on wing reaching nearly opposite to end of first primary.
Tarsus about equal to the gape. Length, 8.75; wing, 4.20;
tail, 4.40; bill above, 1.00; tarsus, 1.20 … _elegans_.

Above light ash-color. Upper tail-coverts and forehead much
lighter than the back, the former sometimes almost white.
Sides and breast generally nearly pure white.

Black of loral space with conspicuous hoary margin above
it. Inner web of secondaries much as in _C. ludovicianus_.
Axillars whitish. Tail-feathers with concealed white patch
at bases of all the feathers. Bill from nostril about .50.
No waved lines beneath. White patch on wing reaching nearly
opposite to end of first primary. Tarsus longer than the
gape. Length, 8.50; wing, 4.05; tail, 4.25; bill above,
.83; tarsus, 1.12 … _excubitoroides_.

1. Collurio borealis, _Vieill._ ♂ H. B. T., 19549.
2. “ “ “ _juv._, 17192.
3. Collurio excubitoroides, _Swains._ ♂ Neb., 38423.
4. “ ludovicianus, _Linn._ ♂.
5. Certhiola bahamensis, _Reich._ ♂ Bahamas, 11951.]

Collurio borealis, BAIRD.

GREAT NORTHERN SHRIKE, OR BUTCHER-BIRD.

_Lanius borealis_, VIELLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 90, pl. 1.—SW.—
AUD. Syn.—IB. Birds Am. IV, 1842, 130, pl. ccxxxvi.—CASSIN.—MAX.
Cab. Jour. VI, 1858, 190 (Upper Missouri).—JONES, Nat. Bermuda,
1857, 51 (Bermuda).—DRESSER & SHARPE, P. Z. S. 1870, 590.
_Collyrio borealis_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 324.—COOPER &
SUCKLEY, P. R. Rep. XII, II, 1860, 188 (Washington
Territory).—DALL & BANNISTER, 280 (Alaska).—SAMUELS, Birds N. Eng.
268. _Collurio borealis_, BAIRD, Rev. Am. B. 1864, 440. _Lanius
excubitor,_ FORSTER, Phil. Trans. LXII, 1772, 382 (not of
LINNÆUS).—WILSON, I, 1808, 74, pl. v, fig. 1. _Lanius
septentrionalis_, BON. Syn. 1828, 72 (not of GMELIN, which cannot
be identified as an American species).—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870,
137.—CASSIN, Pr. A. N. Sc. 1857, 213.—MURRAY, Ed. New Phil. Jour.
XI, 1859, 223 (H. B. T.).

HAB. Whole of America north of United States; in winter south to Washington, St. Louis, Prescott (Arizona), and North California; Bermuda (winter, JONES).

The description of this and the succeeding species will be found on page 413. In winter, the colors, especially of the immature birds, are quite different from those described. The plumage of the adult, in winter, differs from that of spring as follows: the lores and nasal tufts are whitish, instead of pure, sharply defined black, with, however, some of the hair-like fibres blackish. The ash above is a little less clear, the white beneath less pure; the under mandible whitish at the base. An immature bird, in winter, has the ash above overlaid by a wash of reddish-brown, producing a prevailing uniform light-brown tint; the black on side of head is reduced to an obsolete patch on the ear-coverts. The dull white beneath is everywhere—sometimes even on the lower tail-coverts—covered with numerous bars of dusky, more sharply defined, and darker than in the adult.

Eastern specimens appear to have as much white on the rump as Western ones.

HABITS. In the breeding-season this species of Shrike is found in all North America north of the United States, and is said to breed also within our territory, in mountainous districts. Such, at least, is the statement of Mr. Audubon, and Wilson leaves us to infer the same thing by giving a minute description of its nest and eggs. But Audubon may have confounded this species with the _excubitoroides_, and Wilson, apparently believing our species and the _excubitor_ of Europe to be identical, may have had the nest and eggs of the European bird in view in his description. We know of a single recent instance in which this bird has bred within the limits of the United States, though it may breed in Northern and Eastern Maine. Mr. Boardman spoke of it as common only in winter, near Calais, but he has since met with its nest in New Brunswick, within twelve miles of St. Stephen. It was supposed by his informant to be the nest of the Canada Jay, but proved, on shooting the parent, to be that of the Northern Shrike. When found, it contained four eggs, but these had hatched out before it was secured. The nest was found on the last of April, and was built in a low spruce-tree. Mr. Boardman has since seen these birds in his neighborhood during the summer. Professor Verrill thinks it is only common in the autumn and winter in Western Maine. In Western Massachusetts, Mr. Allen cites it as not very common, but a regular winter visitant, from the last of October to the middle of April.

Mr. Ridgway met with it frequently in the neighborhood of Carson City during the winter, among the willows bordering the streams that flow from the mountains. Dr. Coues also found it as far south as Arizona, though Mr. Dresser did not meet with any in Texas, nor did Dr. Woodhouse notice any in his expedition to the Zuñi. Captain Feilner found this species common, in the colder months, in the northeastern portions of California, and Dr. Cooper gives it as abundant at the Columbia River in October.

Mr. Audubon further states that in severe winters he has met with it as far south as Natchez on the Mississippi. It is also not uncommon in Kentucky during the same season, but he never met with it near the seaboard.