Chapter C: S. Paine, of East Bethel, Vt., found a nest of this species about (17)

Mr. Kennicott’s memoranda in reference to this species are to the effect that he observed one individual at Fort Simpson, September 23, and again October 22, but on no other occasion. Both of these specimens, when first observed, were singing. Their notes, he states, were low and irregular, but were varied and quite musical. Captain Blakiston found these birds winter residents on the Saskatchewan.

In the fall and winter of 1871, a pair of these birds was attracted to the Common, in Boston, by the large number of half-domesticated European Sparrows. For a while they made daily inroads upon these favorites, killing one or more for several days in succession. They appeared to keep themselves secreted most of the time, showing themselves each day early in the forenoon, and pouncing upon their victims, unaware of their near presence, in the manner of a Hawk, aiming always at the heads, which were torn off and devoured; generally the headless remains were left uneaten. In one instance where a Sparrow had been struck on the back, an ugly wound was made, the bird escaped alive, and was soon after seen, in the middle of Tremont Street, apparently not seriously injured. These Shrikes were so bold and destructive that pains had to be taken to watch for and shoot them. Three were killed, on different days, and each with a dead Sparrow in its claws, upon which it was feasting when shot.

Both Mr. Audubon and Mr. Nuttall refer to this Shrike’s imitating the cries of other birds, apparently to decoy them within its reach. The former has heard it utter cries like those of the Sparrow screaming in the claws of a Hawk, to induce them to come out of their coverts and rescue their suffering fellows, and has seen them dart suddenly into a thicket in pursuit of one, from which would soon issue the real cries of the bird it had seized. Nuttall states that in some parts of New England this Shrike is called a Mocking-Bird, on account of its imitations of the notes of smaller birds. Its more usual note resembles the discordant creaking of a signboard hinge. He also states that it has been known to mimic the quacking of ducks, so that these would answer to it as to a decoy. He heard one of these birds, as late as November 10, uttering a low and soft warble, resembling that of the Song Sparrow, immediately after changing it to the notes of the Catbird.

When in pursuit of small birds, it will dart down with closed wings, in the manner of a Hawk, and seldom fails to obtain the object of its pursuit, following it with rapidity and pertinacity through the thickets in which it seeks shelter. When it seizes its prey, it alights on its back, and tears open its head.

Its bold audacity and perseverance are quite remarkable, and are often displayed, in the fall, in the manner in which it will enter an apartment through an open window and attack a Canary, even in the presence of members of the family. It rarely fails, if it gains access to the cage, to destroy its inmate before the latter can be rescued by the intervention of those present, and only by great promptness in sheltering the cage. In one instance the writer was sitting at a closed window reading, with a Canary hanging above him. Suddenly there was a severe blow struck at the pane of glass near the cage, and the frightened Canary uttered cries of alarm and fell to the bottom of its cage. The cause was soon explained. A Shrike had dashed upon the bird, unconscious of the intervening glass, and was stretched upon the snow under the window, stunned by the blow. He revived when taken up, and lived several days, was sullen, but tame, and utterly devoid of fear. He refused raw meat, but eagerly tore in pieces and devoured small birds when given to him. His tameness and indifference to our presence may have been occasioned by stupor arising from his injury. In another case a Shrike made a similar attack, but escaped unharmed, and though he remained about the house several days, was too wary to allow himself to be decoyed within gunshot.

A nest of the Northern Shrike, containing six eggs, was obtained by R. R. McFarlane, at Anderson River Fort, June 11, 1863. This is in many respects in striking contrast with the nests of its kindred species of the Southern States, far exceeding them in its relative size, in elaborate finish and warmth. It is altogether a remarkable example of what are known as felted nests, where various materials are most elaborately worked together into a homogeneous and symmetrical whole. It is seven inches in diameter and three and a half in height. The cavity is proportionately large and deep, having a diameter of four and a half inches, and a depth of two. Except the base, which is composed of a few twigs and stalks of coarser plants, the nest is made entirely of warm and soft materials, most elaborately interworked together. These materials are feathers from various birds, fine down of the Eider and other ducks, fine mosses and lichens, slender stems, grasses, etc., and are skilfully and artistically wrought into a beautiful and symmetrical nest, strengthened by the interposition of a few slender twigs and stems without affecting the general felt-like character of the whole. The egg measures 1.10 inches by .80, and is of a light greenish ground, marbled and streaked with blotches of obscure-purple, clay-color, and rufous-brown.

Sir John Richardson found this a by no means uncommon bird in the woody districts, at least as far as the sixteenth parallel. On account of its resemblance to the Canada Jay, the Indians called it the “White Whiskey-John.” It remains all winter in the fur regions, but is much more numerous in summer. He states that the nest is built in the fork of a tree, of dry grass and lichens neatly intertwined, and lined with feathers.

Collurio ludovicianus, BAIRD.

SOUTHERN SHRIKE; LOGGERHEAD.

_Lanius ludovicianus_, LINN. Syst. Nat. 1766, 134 (based on _Lanius
ludovicianus_, BRISSON, II, 162, tab. xv, fig. 2).—AUD. Orn. Biog.
I, 1831, 300, pl. xxxvii.—IB. Birds Am. IV, pl. ccxxxvii.—CASSIN,
Pr. A. N. Sc. 1857, 213. _Collyrio ludovicianus_, BAIRD, Birds N.
Am. 1858, 325. _Collurio ludov._ BAIRD, Rev. Am. B. 1864, 443.
_Lanius ardosiaceus_, VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 81, pl.
li. _Lanius carolinensis_, WILS. Am. Orn. III, 1811, 57, pl. xxii,
fig. 5.

HAB. South Atlantic (and Gulf?) States.

The young bird is quite different from the adult, differing as does that of _excubitoroides_, but the colors are all darker than in the corresponding age of that species.

HABITS. This species, if we regard it as distinct from the _excubitoroides_, has apparently a very restricted distribution, being confined to the South Atlantic and Gulf States. I am not aware that it has been found farther north than North Carolina. It is not common, according to Audubon, either in Louisiana or Mississippi, and probably only occurs there in the winter. I have had its eggs from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Dresser speaks of this Shrike as common in Texas in summer, and Dr. Woodhouse states that he found it very abundant in Texas and the Indian Territory. These observations may probably apply to the kindred race, _excubitoroides_, and not to this form.

It is said to be exclusively a bird of the lowlands, and never to be met with in the mountainous parts, even of its restricted habitat.

Dr. Coues found this species very common in the neighborhood of Columbia, S. C., frequenting the wooded streets and waste fields of that city. On one occasion he observed a Loggerhead busily foraging for insects in the grounds of the Capitol. From the top of a tall bush it would occasionally sally out, capture a large grasshopper, and carry it to a tree near by, full of sharp twigs. It would then proceed to impale the insect on one of these points, remain awhile watching the result of its performance, and then resume its post on the bush, watching for more grasshoppers, some of which, one by one, it caught and impaled in like manner, others it ate on the spot.

This curious habit of impaling insects, more or less common to the entire family of Shrikes, seems to admit of no satisfactory explanation. In this case the bird thus secured them when apparently hungry, eating some and impaling others. Yet, so far as I know, it never makes any use of those it thus impales.

Mr. Audubon states that in South Carolina it is quite common along the fences and hedges about the rice plantations at all seasons, and that it renders good service to the planters in the destruction of field-mice, as well as of many of the larger insects. He speaks of its song as consisting only of shrill, clear, creaking, prolonged notes, resembling the grating of a rusty hinge. His account differs, in many respects, from the more minute and exact descriptions of Rev. Dr. Bachman. In pursuing its prey, he states that it invariably strikes it with its bill before seizing it with its claws.

In reference to its song, Dr. Bachman states that it has other notes besides the grating sound mentioned by Audubon. During the breeding-season, and nearly all the summer, the male bird posts itself at the top of some tree and makes an effort at a song, which he compares to the first attempts of a young Brown Thrush. This is a labored effort, and at times the notes are not unpleasing, but very irregular.

Dr. Bachman also claims that the male evinces marked evidences of attachment to his mate, carrying to her, every now and then, a grasshopper or a cricket, and driving away hawk or crow as they approach the nest.

He also states that he has usually found the nest on the outer limbs of trees, often from fifteen to thirty feet from the ground, and only once on a bush so low as ten feet from the ground. He has occasionally seen these birds feeding on mice, and also on birds that had been apparently wounded by the sportsman. It will sometimes catch young birds and devour them, but its food consists chiefly of grasshoppers, crickets, coleopterous and other insects, including butterflies and moths, which it will pursue and capture on the wing. Dr. Bachman has observed its habit of pinning insects on thorns. In one instance he saw it occupy itself for hours in sticking up, in this way, small fishes thrown on the shore, but he has never known them to devour anything thus impaled.

This Shrike is partially migratory in South Carolina, as a few may be found all winter, but only one tenth of those seen in summer. It is also very fond of the little changeable green lizard, which it pursues with great skill and activity, but not always with success.

It is said also to breed twice in a season. Dr. Bachman describes their eggs as white, and Mr. Audubon speaks of them as greenish-white. Neither make any reference to their spots.

All the nests that I have ever seen of this species, in the simplicity of their structure and in their lack of elaboration, are in remarkable contrast with the nests of both the _borealis_ and the _excubitoroides_. They are flat, shallow structures, with a height of about two inches and a diameter of five. They are made externally of long soft strips of the inner bark of the basswood, strengthened on the sides with a few dry twigs, stems, and roots. Within, it is lined with fine grasses and stems of herbaceous plants.

The eggs, often six in number, are in length from 1.02 to 1.08 inches, and from .72 to .78 of an inch in breadth; their ground-color is a yellowish or clayey-white, blotched and marbled with dashes, more or less confluent, of obscure purple, light brown, and a purplish-gray. The spots are usually larger and more scattered than in the eggs of _C. borealis_, and the ground-color is a yellowish and not a bluish white, as in the eggs of _C. excubitoroides_.

Collurio ludovicianus, var. robustus, BAIRD.

WHITE-WINGED SHRIKE.

_?? Lanius elegans_, SW. F. B. A. II, 1831, 122.—NUTTALL, Man. I,
1840, 287.—CASSIN, Pr. A. N. Sc. 1857, 213.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am.
1858, 327. _Collyrio elegans_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 328.
_Collurio elegans_, BAIRD, Rev. Am. B. 1864, 444.—COOPER, Orn.
Cal. 1, 1870, 140. (According to DRESSER & SHARPE, P. Z. S. 1870,
595, who have examined the type, the _L. elegans_ of Swainson is
the same as _L. lahtora_, SYKES, of Siberia.)

HAB. California?

The description already given is taken from a specimen in the collection of the Philadelphia Academy, labelled as having been collected in California by Dr. Gambel, and is very decidedly different from any of the recognized North American species. Of nearly the size of _C. excubitoroides_ and _ludovicianus_, it has a bill even more powerful than that of _C. borealis_. In its unwaved under parts and uniform color of the entire upper surface, except scapulars, it differs from _borealis_ and _excubitoroides_, and resembles _ludovicianus_. In the extension of white over the inner webs of the secondaries, it closely resembles _C. excubitor_. The great restriction of white at the base of the tail—the four central feathers being entirely black, and the bases of the others grayish-ashy—is quite peculiar to the species.

The specimen in the Philadelphia Academy we originally referred to the _L. elegans_ of Swainson, alleged to have come from the fur countries, as although some appreciable differences presented themselves, especially in the coloration of the tail, these were considered as resulting from an imperfect description. Messrs. Sharpe and Dresser, however, as quoted above, show that Swainson’s type really belongs to _L. lahtora_, an Old World species. We therefore find it expedient to give a new name to the variety, having no reason to discredit the alleged locality of the specimen.

Collurio ludovicianus, var. excubitoroides, BAIRD.

WESTERN LOGGERHEAD; WHITE-RUMPED SHRIKE.

_Lanius excubitoroides_, SWAINSON, F. B. A. II, 1831, 115
(Saskatchewan).—GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. Sc. 1847, 200 (Cala.).—CASSIN,
Pr. A. N. Sc. 1857, 213.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1864, 173 (City of
Mexico). _Collyrio excubitoroides_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 327.
_Collurio excub._ BAIRD, Rev. Am. B. 1864, 445.—COOPER, Orn. Cal.
I, 1870, 138. _? Lanius mexicanus_, BREHM, Cab. Jour. II, 1854,
145.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 46 (Mexico). _Lanius ludovicianus_,
MAX. Cab. Jour. 1858, 191 (Upper Missouri).—DRESSER & SHARPE, P.
Z. S. 1870, 595.

HAB. Western Province of North America, as far north as Oregon; Middle North America, to the Saskatchewan, and east to Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois; south to Orizaba and Oaxaca, and City of Mexico; Cape St. Lucas.

The precise boundaries between this species and _C. ludovicianus_ are difficult of definition, as the transition is almost insensible.

The young bird is pale fulvous-ash above, everywhere with transverse crescentic bars of dusky. Two bands of mottled pale fulvous across wings, on tips of middle and greater coverts. Tail tipped with ochraceous, the white feathers tinged with the same. Breast and sides with obsolete bars of dusky. Black band on side of head rather obsolete.

In its extreme stage of coloration it differs from _ludovicianus_ in paler and purer color; the ash of back lighter; the under parts brilliant white, not decidedly plumbeous on the sides as in the other, and without so great a tendency to the usual obsolete waved lines (noticed distinctly only in winter or immature birds); the axillars bluish-white, not plumbeous. The white of wings and tail is more extended; the hoary of forehead and whitish of scapulars more distinct. The bristles at base of bill somewhat involving the feathers are black, forming a narrow frontal line, not seen in the other. The most striking difference is in the rump and upper tail-coverts, which are always appreciably and abruptly lighter than the back, sometimes white or only faintly glossed with plumbeous; while in typical specimens of _ludovicianus_ these feathers are scarcely lighter at all, and generally more or less varied with blackish spots at the end. The legs and tail are apparently longer, the latter less graduated. These differences are, however, most appreciable in specimens from the Middle and Western Provinces. Those from the Western States, east of the Missouri River, as far north as Wisconsin, are more intermediate between the two, although still nearest to the Rocky Mountain bird as described; the back darker, the rump and axillars more plumbeous, the sides more bluish. There is little doubt that the examination of series from the States along the Mississippi will show a still closer resemblance to typical _C. ludovicianus_, and that the gradation between the two extremes will be found to be continuous and unbroken. It therefore seems reasonable to consider them all as one species, varying with longitude and region according to the usual law,—the more western the lighter, with longer tail. The only alternative is to suppose that two species, originally distinct, have hybridized along the line of junction of their respective provinces, as is certainly sometimes the case. The approximation in many respects of coloration of the Shrikes of the Pacific coast to those of the South Atlantic States is not without its importance in the discussion of the subject. However it may be, it is necessary to retain the name of _excubitoroides_, as representing, whether as species or variety, a peculiar regional form, which must be kept distinctly in mind. The comparatively greater size of the bill in the Cape St. Lucas specimens is seen in other species from this locality (No. 26,438 of adjacent figure).

[Line drawings: 26438
13600]

The intensity of the black front in this species varies considerably, being sometimes very distinct, and again entirely wanting. This may probably be a character of the breeding-season, the dulness of black anterior to the eye and the lighter color of the bill having a close relationship here, as in other species, to maturity, sex, and season.

HABITS. This variety was first described from specimens obtained in the territory of the Hudson’s Bay Co. Richardson states that it was not found farther north than the fifty-fourth degree, and there only in the warm and sandy plain of the Saskatchewan. Its manners, he says, are precisely similar to those of the _borealis_, feeding chiefly on the grasshoppers, which were very numerous on the plains. Mr. Drummond found its nest in the beginning of June, in a bush of willows. It was built of the twigs of the _Artemisia_ and dry grass, and lined with feathers. The eggs were six in number, of a pale yellowish-gray color, with many irregular and confluent spots of oil-green, mixed with a few of smoke-gray.

Mr. Ridgway met with it, in his Western explorations, in all localities, but most frequently among the _Artemisia_ and in the meadow-tracts of the river valleys. It is also seen on all parts of the mountains, among the cedar groves, localities in which the _ludovicianus_ is said never to be found.

Dr. Cooper describes this bird as abundant in all the plains-region of California, but not as far as the Columbia River. South of latitude 38°, they reside all the year. They were abundant about Fort Mohave all winter, and nested as early as the 19th of March in a thorn-bush. They had young early in April. At San Diego they nested later, about April 20. He speaks of their singing as an attempt at a song, the notes being harsh, like those of a Jay, but not imitative. They catch birds, but do so very rarely, depending upon grasshoppers and other insects.

The nests of the _excubitoroides_, so far as I have had any opportunity to examine them, always exhibit a very marked contrast, in the elaborateness of their structure, to any of the _ludovicianus_ that have fallen under my notice. They resemble those of the _borealis_ in their size and the felted nature of their walls, but are more coarsely and rudely put together. They have an external diameter of about eight inches, and a height of four. The cavity is also large and deep. These nests are always constructed with much artistic skill and pains. The base is usually a closely impacted mass of fine grasses, lichens, mosses, and leaves, intermingled with stout dry twigs. Upon this is wrought a strong fabric of fine wood-mosses, flaxen fibres of plants, leaves, grasses, fur of quadrupeds, and other substances. Intertwined with these are a sufficient number of slender twigs and stems of plants to give to the whole a remarkable strength and firmness. This is often still further strengthened by an external protection woven of stouter twigs and small ends of branches, stems, etc. The whole is then thoroughly and warmly lined with a soft matting of the fur of several kinds of small animals, vegetable down, and a few feathers.

The eggs, five or six in number, measure 1.00 by .73 of an inch, and strongly resemble those of both the _borealis_ and the _ludovicianus_. Their ground-color is pale greenish-white, over which are marks and blotches, more or less confluent, of lilac, purplish-brown, and light umber.

Mr. Ridgway, who is familiar with this bird in Southern Illinois, informs me that in that section it is a resident species, being abundant during the summer and by no means rare in the winter. It is there, strangely enough, often called the Mocking-Bird, its similar appearance and fondness for the same locality leading some persons to confound these very different birds. In districts where the true _Mimus_ is not common, young birds of this species are frequently taken from their nests and innocently sold to unsuspecting admirers of that highly appreciated songster.

This bird inhabits, almost exclusively, open situations, being particularly fond of waste fields where young honey-locusts (_Gleditschia triacanthos_) have grown up. Among their thorny branches its nests are almost utterly inaccessible, if beyond the reach of poles. In such localities this bird may often be seen perched in an upright position upon some thorn-bush, or a fence-stake, quietly watching for its prey, remaining nearly an hour at a time motionless except for an occasional movement of the head.

The flight of this bird, Mr. Ridgway adds, is quite peculiar, utterly unlike that of any other bird except the _Oreoscoptes montanus_, which it only slightly resembles. In leaving its perch it sinks nearly to the ground, describing a curve as it descends, and, passing but a few feet above the surface, ascends in the same manner to the object upon which it is next to light. The flight is performed in an undulating manner, the bird sustaining itself a short time by a rapid fluttering of the wings, and sinking as this motion is suspended. As it flies, the white patch on the wing, with the general appearance of its gray and white plumage, increases its resemblance to the Mocking-Bird.

Though very partial to thorn-trees (honey-locust), other trees having a thick foliage—as those canopied by a tangled mass of wild grapevines—are frequently occupied as nesting-places; while a pair frequently make their home in an apple-orchard, selecting the old untrimmed trees. The situation of the nest varies according to the character of the tree; if in a thorn-bush, it is placed next the trunk, encased within protecting bunches of thorns; but if in an apple-tree, it is situated, generally, near the extremity of a horizontal branch. The number of eggs is generally six, but Mr. Ridgway has several times found seven in one nest. No bird is more intrepid in the defence of its nest than the present one; at such times it loses, apparently, all fear, and becomes almost frenzied with anger, alighting so near that one might grasp it, were he quick enough, and with open mouth and spread wings and tail threatening the intruder, its attacks accompanied by a peculiar crackling noise, interrupted by a harsh, grating _qua_, _qua_, _qua_, slowly repeated, but emphatically uttered.

The habit peculiar to the Shrikes of impaling their victims Mr. Ridgway has observed frequently in this species; for this purpose the long and extremely sharp thorns of the honey-locust serve it admirably; and “spitted” upon them he has found shrews, mice, grasshoppers, spiders, and even a Chimney-Swallow (_Chætura pelagica_); and, in another instance, but upon the upright broken-off twig of a dead weed in a field, a large spider. He has also known this bird to dart at the cage of a Canary-Bird, and frighten the poor inmate so that it thrust its head between the wires, when it was immediately torn off by the powerful beak of the Butcher-Bird.

The young of this species becomes a very pleasing and extremely docile pet. Mr. Ridgway has known one which, though fully grown, with power of flight uninjured, and in possession of unrestrained freedom, came to its possessor at his call, and accompanied him through the fields, its attachment being rewarded by frequent “doses” of grasshoppers, caught for it. It had been fully feathered before taken from the nest. Unfortunately the vocal capabilities of this Shrike are not sufficient to allow its becoming a general favorite as a pet; for, although possessing considerable talent for mimicry, it imitates only the rudest sounds, while its own notes, consisting of a grating, sonorous _qua_ and a peculiar creaking sound, each with several variations, are anything but delightful.

FAMILY CÆREBIDÆ.—THE CREEPERS.

As already stated on page 177, there is little to distinguish the _Cærebidæ_ from the _Sylvicolidæ_, except by the longer and more protracted tongue, and by the narrower gape in some of the forms. The genera _Certhiola_, _Cæreba_, _Diglossa_, etc., have peculiarities by which they are easily recognized; but when we come to such members as _Dacnis_, _Conirostrum_, etc., it becomes very difficult to separate them from the slender-billed Tanagers, the Wood Warblers, and the _Helminthophagas_.

Although the family is one widely distributed, in numerous genera, over Middle and South America, but one, _Certhiola_, belongs to North America, this being represented by a species, or rather a race, abundant in the Bahamas, and occasionally met with in the Florida Keys. We shall therefore give only the diagnosis of this family.

GENUS CERTHIOLA, SUNDEVALL.

_Certhiola_, SUNDEVALL, Vet. Akad. Handl. Stockholm, 1835, 99. (Type,
_Certhia flaveola_, LINN.

[Line drawing: _Certhiola flaveola_, Sund.]

GEN. CHAR. Bill nearly as long as the head; as high as broad at base, elongated, conical, very acute, and gently decurved from base to tip. Culmen uniformly convex; gonys concave. No bristles at base of bill. Tail rounded, rather shorter than the wings. Tarsi longer than the middle toe. Iris brown? Nest pensile and arched. Eggs with yellowish ground dotted thickly with rufous spots.

This genus is one of those especially characterizing the West Indies, almost every island as far as known having its peculiar species, differing, it is true, in very slight characters, but always constant to the normal type. Cuba alone has so far furnished no representative of this genus, its place being supplied apparently by _Cæreba cyanea_. The specimens from St. Thomas I cannot distinguish from those of Porto Rico, but this is, so far as the series before me indicates, the only case where one species occurs on two islands. All the West Indian species, nine or ten in number, agree in having the whole upper part nearly uniformly dusky or blackish; the head and back being concolored, while of the three or four South American all but one (_C. luteola_) have the back more olivaceous, the head much darker. Again, the West Indian species, with a single exception (_C. bananivora_), have both webs of lateral tail-feathers broadly and about equally tipped with white; while in all the South American this white is more restricted on the inner web, and on the outer reduced to a narrow border. _C. caboti_ from Cozumel, near the eastern coast of Yucatan, exhibits the Continental impress in possessing the character last mentioned.

In all the species from the Greater Antilles and the portion of Continental America west and directly south of this group, there is a distinct external white patch at base of quills; while this disappears in the species of the Lesser Antilles and eastern South America, or is only faintly traceable. Again, in the species of the Lesser Antilles, with the disappearance of the white wing-patch, the greater and middle wing-coverts show a faint edging of lighter, by which, as well as by the darker back, they are distinguished from their South American allies.

The shape of the white patch at base of the quills on the outer web furnishes, in combination with the color of the throat, excellent and permanent specific characters. This in the Jamaican, Haytien, and Bahaman forms is elongated, extending gradually and uniformly behind to the outer edge of the quill, while in those of Porto Rico, St. Thomas, Cozumel, and the South American species, where it exists, the posterior outline is nearly transverse, and only running out a little along outer web.

As a general rule South American species have shorter tails than the West Indian.

It is a nice question what are really species in this genus, and what merely races or varieties; but it would probably be not far from correct to assume that the various forms described are simply modifications of one primitive species, produced by geographical distribution and external physical conditions. In the following diagnosis I shall treat all the varieties as occupying the same rank, without attempting any discrimination. Although but one of these belongs to the United States, and that as a straggler from the Bahamas, I give the table of the whole, to show the interesting relationship between them.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Above dusky-olive or blackish; the rump olivaceous or yellowish; the head and cheeks always black, and sometimes darker than back. Chin and throat ashy or black. Rest of under part yellow, duller behind. A broad white stripe from bill above eye to nape. A white patch at base of primaries; generally visible externally, sometimes concealed. Lateral tail-feathers tipped with white. Bill black; legs dusky.

A. Head uniform in color with rest of upper parts; dark sooty-brown or blackish. Both webs of outer tail-feather tipped with white (except in _luteola_). All West Indian except _luteola_, which, however, occurs in Tobago and Trinidad, and generally belongs to the shores of the Carribean Sea.

1. A distinct and conspicuous external white patch at base of
primaries. Wing-coverts not margined with paler.

_a._ Throat uniformly but decided dark ash-color, varying in
shade, never entirely black, however, nor ashy-white.

Throat very dark ash, not contrasting or appreciably
different from blackish of cheeks.

Wing-spot elongated; the white running out gradually
and obliquely behind to the outer edge of the
primary, reaching shaft of outer primary. Yellow of
breast decidedly ochraceous. Rump as bright yellow
as the belly. _Hab._ Jamaica … _flaveola_.[83]

White patch of wing more quadrate on each quill;
transverse; not tapering off gradually and uniformly
behind; not reaching the shaft on outer primary.
Breast without ochraceous; rump olivaceous-yellow;
the color different from that of belly. _Hab._ Santa
Cruz … _newtoni_.[84]

_b._ Chin and throat lighter ash (but not at all whitish); in
decided and appreciable contrast with blackish of cheeks.
Jugulum yellow, like under parts generally.

Lateral tail-feather broadly tipped with white on both
webs. Rump olivaceous-yellow.

Wing-spot on each primary nearly quadrate, as in
_newtoni_. _Hab._ Porto Rico and St. Thomas …
_portoricensis_.[85]

Lateral tail-feather with inner web only broadly tipped
with white. Rump bright yellow like belly. Bill very small.

White of wing as in _flaveola_, but less extended, and
margining edge only of outer primary. _Hab._ Hayti and
St. Domingo … _bananivora_.[86]

White of wing as in _newtoni_. Size much larger; darker
above. _Hab._ Tobago, Trinidad, and north shore of South
America … _luteola_.[87]

_c._ Chin, throat, and jugulum white, with a tinge of ashy.
Yellow of under parts much restricted.

Depth of bill less than half distance from nostril to tip.
Superciliary stripe reaching to nape. Yellow of under part
restricted to a triangular patch on breast. White spot on
wing large, tapering off gradually on each primary, as in
_flaveola_; on the outer reaching shaft. Both webs of outer
tail-feather about equally tipped. _Hab._ Bahamas and
Florida Keys … _bahamensis_.[88]

Depth of bill fully half distance from nostril to tip.
Superciliary stripe reaching the occiput only. Yellow of
under parts more extended. White spot on wing restricted;
more quadrate, as in _newtoni_; edge only of outer primary
involved. Outer web of outer tail-feather scarcely tipped.
_Hab._ Cozumel Island, Yucatan … _caboti_.[89]

2. No external white patch at base of primary quills.
Wing-coverts obscurely margined with paler. Both webs of outer
tail-feathers tipped about equally with white. Rump olivaceous;
this color of but slight extent.

_a._ Throat black; continuous with black of cheeks; or else
very dark plumbeous, scarcely distinguishable from the
cheeks.

Median line of throat white, the sides black like the
cheeks; chin alone black. Superciliary stripes not
confluent anteriorly. _Hab._ Martinique … _martinicana_.[90]

Whole throat blackish. No white frontal band?

Wing 2.50 inches. Belly ochraceous. _Hab._ Dominica
Island, West Indies … _dominicana_.[91]

Wing 2.20 inches. Belly more yellow. _Hab._ Barbadoes …
_barbadensis_.[92]

Whole throat very dark plumbeous. A whitish frontal broad
band connecting the superciliary stripes which extend in
front of the eye. _Hab._ Antigua, West Indies …
_frontalis_.[93]

A grayish frontal band; superciliary stripes narrow; not
extending in front of eye. Trace of white patch at base of
primaries … _bartholemica_.[94]

B. Head blackish, in distinct contrast to the more olivaceous back. Outer tail-feather with outer web scarcely tipped with white. Wing-coverts not margined with paler. Throat light ash, in distinct contrast to black of cheek.

1. A distinct external white wing-patch at base of primaries.

Rump olive-green. _Hab._ Mexico and Central America, but
hardly reaching line of Panama R. R. … _mexicana_.[95]

Rump olive-yellow. _Hab._ Panama R. R.; south along Andes
to Peru … _peruviana_.[96]

_a._ No external white wing-patch.

Rump olive-green. _Hab._ Brazil and Guiana …
_chloropyga_.[97]

The preceding table is based upon a critical examination of many hundred specimens belonging to the Smithsonian Institution.—S. F. BAIRD.

Certhiola bahamensis, REICH.

BAHAMA CREEPER.

_Certhia flaveola_, var. β. LINN. Syst. Nat. ed. 12, I, 1766, 187.
(“_Certhia_” _bahamensis_, CATESBY, Car. tab. 59. Bahamas.)
_Certhiola flaveola_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 924, pl. lxxxiii,
f. 3 (Indian Key, Fla.). _Certhiola bahamensis_, REICH. Handb. I,
1853, 253 (CATESBY, Car. tab. 59, Bahamas).—CASSIN, Pr. A. N. S.
Ph. 1864, 271. _C. bairdi_, CABANIS, Jour. Orn. 1865, 412 (_C.
flaveola_, BAIRD, Birds N. A.).

SP. CHAR. (11,951 ♂, Bahamas.) Above dark dusky-brown; scarcely darker on the head; the rump yellow. Edge of wing and a triangular patch covering the front of breast (the angle behind) pale yellow; the rest of under parts pale ashy-white, purest on front and sides of neck and on crissum; on flanks somewhat soiled and rather darker. A broad superciliary white stripe (not crossing the forehead) from bill to nape, but little lighter than the throat; the line of feathers immediately behind the nostrils, and a small patch at base of lower mandible under the tips, with the usual stripe from bill through the eye, being blackish. White spot at base of quills very distinct externally; the posterior outline on each outer web of the primaries not quadrate, but running out obliquely behind and on the outermost quill reaching the shaft. Edges of quills narrowly margined with grayish-white; on the secondaries continued round the tips. No distinct bands on the coverts. Outer tail-feathers broadly tipped with white; this even involving the innermost, but reduced to a narrow edge. Total length, 4.40; wing, 2.30; tail, 1.80.

Bill: Length from forehead, .62; from nostril, .41; along gape, .59; depth at base, .17. Legs: Tarsus, .75; middle toe and claw, .58; claw alone, .17; hind toe and claw, .45; claw alone, .20.

HAB. Bahamas and Keys of southeast coast of Florida.

A specimen from the Florida Keys (10,367) is rather darker than those from the Bahamas, the white less extended, and not quite reaching the shafts in the outer quills.

HABITS. This species, belonging properly to the Bahaman group of the West Indian Islands, was found at Indian Key, Fla., January 31, 1858, by Mr. Würdemann, where it appeared to be not at all rare. Nothing is known of its habits, but they are doubtless nearly the same as those of the allied species. The _C. flaveola_ is known in Jamaica as the Banana Quit, Honey-Sucker, and Black and Yellow Creeper. According to the description of them given by Mr. Gosse, these birds, scarcely larger than the Humming-Birds, are often seen in company with them, probing the flowers for similar purposes, but in a very different manner. Instead of hovering like the Humming-Bird in front of the blossom, for which its short wings would be incompetent, these birds alight on the tree and proceed in a very business-like manner. Hopping from twig to twig in an active manner, they carefully examine each blossom. In doing this they throw their bodies into a variety of positions, often clinging by the feet with the back downwards, the better to reach the interior of a blossom with their curved beaks and peculiar tongue. The objects of these researches are the small insects which are always found in the interior of flowers. This bird is unsuspecting and familiar, and very freely resorts to the blossoming shrubs of the gardens and yards. Mr. Gosse mentions, in evidence of this familiarity, that a large moringa-tree under his window, as he was writing, and which all through the year was profusely set with fragrant blossoms, and was a favorite resort of these birds, was being carefully scrutinized by two active little Creepers. Although within a few feet of his window, they pursued their examinations, perfectly undisturbed by his looking on. As they move about they utter a soft sibilant note.

The nests of this little bird are usually built in those low trees and bushes to which are fastened the nests of the brown wasps, and in close contiguity to them. Mr. Gosse regards this singular predilection as a remarkable exercise of instinct, if not of reason, as the evident object of it is the protection afforded by the presence of those formidable insects, though upon what terms of amity this defensive alliance is kept does not appear.

These Creepers incubate during the months of May, June, and July. On the 4th of May, Mr. Gosse observed one with a bit of “silk-cotton” in her beak, and found the skeleton of the nest just commenced in a bush of the _Lantana camara_. It was evidently to be of dome shape, and so far had been constructed entirely of silk-cotton. The completed nests are made in the form of a globe, with a small opening below the side. The walls are very thick, composed of dry grasses intermixed irregularly with the down of asclepias. One of these nests was fixed between the twigs of a branch of a _Bauhinia_ projecting over a highway. Another, found towards the end of June, was built in a bush of _Lantana_, and of the same structure. It contained two eggs, greenish-white, thickly but indefinitely dashed with reddish at the larger end. Mr. Gosse quotes a Mr. Robinson as giving their dimensions at .44 by .31 of an inch, while his own specimens are much larger than this, measuring .63 by nearly .50. Two eggs of _C. flaveola_, from Jamaica, in my cabinet, measure, .68 by .51 and .68 by .49 of an inch. In one the ground is a dull white, so generally and thickly covered with minute but confluent dots of reddish-brown as to impart a pinkish tinge to the whole egg. In the other the ground is a dull white, sparingly marked with blotches of brown over about three fourths of its surface, but at the larger end covered with a crown of larger and confluent blotches of subdued purple and dark umber, intermingled with a few lines of a darker hue, almost black.

Two eggs of _G. newtoni_, from St. Croix, are of a more rounded-oval shape, and measure .69 by .45 and .65 by .44 of an inch. They have a dull white ground, but this is so uniformly and generally covered with confluent reddish-brown markings as to be nowhere very distinct.

The St. Croix species is called the Sugar-Bird in that island, from its habit of entering the curing-houses, through the barred windows, probably attracted thither by the swarms of flies. It is a very familiar species, haunting gardens, and often entering houses, and never manifesting any alarm. It keeps in pairs, and breeds from March to August. Mr. Newton states that it builds a domed and often pensile nest, with a small porch, or pent-house roof, over the entrance, generally at the extremity of a leafy bough. The nest is generally very untidy on the outside, and is composed of coarse grass and cotton, with feathers on the inside. It deposits its eggs before the completion of the nest, “rather to the discomfiture of the oölogist, who delays inserting his finger into the structure while he sees one or both of the birds busy with a tuft of grass or cotton in their bills, until at last he finds their eggs already hatched.” Mr. Newton observed one instance in which two broods were reared in the same nest, with only an interval of ten days between the time the young left it and the laying of an egg.

FAMILY TANAGRIDÆ.—THE TANAGERS.

CHAR. Primaries nine. Bill usually conical, sometimes depressed or attenuated, usually more or less triangular at base, and with the cutting edges not much inflected; sometimes toothed or notched. Legs short; claws curved; colors usually brilliant.

We confess our entire inability to present a diagnosis that shall define and separate satisfactorily by external characters the closely allied families of _Cærebidæ_, _Sylvicolidæ_, _Tanagridæ_, and _Fringillidæ_, agreeing as they do in the main in every respect. The only attempt at distinction is based upon the shape of the bill, and this in what are generally called _Tanagridæ_ presents every variety of shape, from the attenuation seen in _Dendroica_ to the stoutest form of the _Fringillidæ_. The _Cærebidæ_ have peculiarities of the tongue, not appreciable, however, in the skin. In view, therefore, of the difficulty in question, we shall copy the conventional names and unsatisfactory definitions of other authors, in our inability to present a satisfactory arrangement of our own.

Carus and Gerstæcker in Handbuch der Zoologie, I, 277, adopt a classification of the _Oscines_ based on the palatine bones in which _Fringillidæ_ and _Tanagridæ_ are distinguished from the _Sylvicolidæ_ as follows:—

Suborder OSCINES, SUNDEVALL. Of the ten primaries, the first is short, rudimentary, or wanting; the number of secondaries is rarely more than nine. Tarsus entirely booted, or else with an undivided plate on the sides. Lower trachea completely formed by the help of the trachea and bronchiæ; generally with four pairs of muscles, distributed before and behind.

GROUP I. SPIZOGNATHÆ. Outer lamella of the palatine bone developed in a vertical plane, with the hinder border more or less emarginated; the anterior palatine process broad, and united by a truncated border to the high and broad upper mandible.

FAMILY 1. _Ploceidæ._ Ten primaries.

FAMILY 2. _Fringillidæ._ Bill encircled by a more or less distinct swelling at base. Frontal feathers not forming lateral angles. Edges of the jaws drawn in as far as the corner of the mouth; nine primaries; the first three usually longest. Legs with undivided plates behind.

FAMILY 3. _Tanagridæ._ Bill more or less triangular at the base. Culmen always more or less curved. Frequently a tooth or notch in the upper bill, sometimes fine serrations. Wings moderate; somewhat pointed; primaries nine. Tarsus and toes short and stout. Hind toe stout and long. Claws curved.

GROUP II. CORÆOGNATHÆ. Palatine bone broad and rather flat behind, the external angles prolonged, not extended into a vertical plate. Base of bill generally narrower. Primaries nine or ten. This section embraces, of North American forms:—

Mniotiltidæ,
Motacillidæ,
Alaudidæ,
Sylviidæ,
Turdidæ,
Cærebidæ,
Hirundinidæ,
Ampelidæ,
Laniidæ,
Troglodytidæ,
Certhiidæ,
Paridæ,
Icteridæ,
Corvidæ,

all of which have already been described in the present work, with the exception of the last two.

The family of Tanagers is peculiar to the New World, which abounds in species of a great variety of forms. Only one genus, _Pyranga_, actually enters within the limits of the United States, with four well-marked species, there being many others in Central and South America.

GENUS PYRANGA, VIEILL.

_Pyranga_, VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, iv.—IB. Analyse, 1816,
32.—SCLATER, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1856, 123.
_Phœnisoma_, SWAINSON, Class. Birds, II, 1837, 284.

GEN. CHAR. Bill somewhat straight; subconical, cylindrical, notched at tip; culmen moderately curved; commissure with a median acute lobe. Wings elongated; the four first primaries longest. Tail moderate, slightly forked. Colors of the male chiefly scarlet, of the female yellowish.

[Line drawing: _Pyranga rubra._
34177 ♂]

The rictus is well provided with bristles, which bend downwards, but if brought forward would reach the nostrils. These are rounded, and are closely crowded by the frontal leathers. The tarsus is shorter than the middle toe, scutellate anteriorly, and smooth on the sides behind. The lateral toes are about equal; the basal joint of the middle toe united for half its length to the inner toe, and by almost the whole length to the outer.

The following table may serve to distinguish the males of the several species of this genus. The females of all differ from the males in having the red replaced, the dusky of upper surface by olive-green, the brighter tint of lower parts by yellow.—R. RIDGWAY.

Species and Varieties.

A. Wing and tail blackish, or deep black, in more or less striking contrast to the color of the upper parts. Wing with two light bands (except in _P. rubra_).

_a._ Body and head red in the ♂; yellow in the ♀.

_Wings intense black in the ♂; back not streaked._

1. P. rubra. Wing without any bands, or with merely
indications of bright scarlet ones. ♂. Intense pure scarlet;
wings and tail intense black. ♀. Olive-green above (including
wings and tail), pale yellow below. _Juv._ ♀. Olive-green
above, yellow below; wings and tail black. _Hab._ Eastern
Province of United States.

2. P. erythromelæna. Wing with two bands of pure white. ♂.
Bright scarlet; wings, tail, and lores intense black. ♀.
Olive-green above, yellow beneath; wings and tail slaty.

Forehead, eyelids, and anterior half of cheeks
velvety-black; red of a carmine shade. _Hab._ Middle
America, north to Mirador … var. _erythromelæna_.[98]

Forehead, eyelids, and anterior half of cheeks scarlet
(lores only black); red of a scarlet shade. _Hab._ Northern
South America … var. _ardens_.[99]

_Wings brownish-dusky in the ♂; back streaked with black._

3. P. bidentata.[100] Wing with two bands of pinkish-white
(♂), or yellowish-white (♀). ♂. Above reddish-brown; head and
beneath minium-scarlet. ♀. Above olive-green; head and
beneath yellow. _Hab._ Middle America (both coasts) from
Costa Rica to Middle Mexico.

_b._ Body always yellow; head red in the ♂.

_Lesser wing-coverts black or dusky._

4. P. ludoviciana. Wing with two light yellow bands. ♂.
Back, wings, and tail intense black; head crimson. ♀. Above
olive-green, tinged with ashy on the back; beneath pale
greenish-yellow; wings and tail dusky olive-green; no red on
head. _Hab._ Western Province of United States.

_Lesser wing-coverts and middle coverts yellow._

5. P. rubriceps.[101] Wing without light bands. ♂. Back and
rump olive-green; wings and tail black; head crimson. _Hab._
New Granada.

B. Wing and tail reddish or greenish, of the same general color of the upper parts; wing without any light bands.

_a._ Wing, 3.00. Body always yellow; head red in the ♂.

6. P. erythrocephala.[102] Above olive-green, beneath
yellow. ♂. Head red. Wing, 3.00; tail, 2.70. _Hab._ Mexico
(Temiscaltipec).

_b._ Wing 3.50 or more. Body and head red in ♂.

_Commissure with a distinct tooth; bill bluish._

7. P. hepatica. Bill small, not swollen laterally; culmen
gently curved terminally, straight basally; commissural tooth
small. ♂. Above reddish-ashy, becoming brighter reddish on
the head above; beneath minium-scarlet medially, much tinged
with ashy laterally. ♀. Ashy-green and greenish-yellow,
instead of reddish. _Juv._ ♂, similar, but throat tinged with
orange-red.

Auriculars grayish like the back; eyelids light red; lores
grayish. Wing, 4.10; tail, 3.40; bill, .50. _Hab._
Table-lands of Middle America, north into southern Rocky
Mountains of United States … var. _hepatica_.

Auriculars reddish like the neck; eyelids and lores well
defined, buffy-white. Wing, 3.60; tail, 3.25; bill, .46.
_Hab._ Paraguay … var. _azaræ_.[103]

8. P. saira. Bill large, much swollen laterally, the culmen
curved both terminally and basally. ♂. Above dark
brownish-red, beneath deep scarlet, duller laterally. ♀.
Bright olive-green and intense orange-yellow, instead of
reddish.

Commissural tooth indistinct; forehead considerably
brighter reddish or yellowish than the back. ♂. Beneath
almost entirely pure vermilion-scarlet. ♀. Beneath almost
wholly pure gamboge-yellow. Wing, 4.00; tail, 3.40; culmen,
.80. _Hab._ Eastern South America (Brazil and Trinidad) …
var. _saira_.[104]

Commissural tooth distinct, prominent; forehead scarcely
brighter reddish or yellowish than the back. ♂. Beneath
brownish-scarlet medially, more brownish laterally. ♀.
Beneath Indian-yellow medially, greenish laterally. Wing,
3.70; tail, 3.20; culmen, .80. _Hab._ Southern Middle
America, on the Atlantic (Belize, Rio Manati, Costa Rica,
Angostura, and Veragua) … var. _testacea_.[105]

_Commissure without an appreciable tooth; bill pale brownish._

9. P. æstiva. ♂. Above purplish-red, beneath pure, fine,
rosaceous-vermilion. ♀. Above brownish olive-green, beneath
ochraceous-yellow.

Head above scarcely brighter reddish or yellowish than the
back. Bill, .55, or less, from nostril; primaries, .84
longer than secondaries. Wing, 3.81; tail, 2.96; bill, .52.
_Hab._ Eastern Province of United States, south, in winter,
through Eastern Middle America to Peru … var. _æstiva_.

Head above decidedly brighter reddish or yellowish than the
back. Bill, .60 or more, from nostril; primaries, 1.16
longer than secondaries. Wing, 4.24; tail, 3.68; bill, .64.
_Hab._ Southern Middle Province of United States (Upper Rio
Grande region and Lower Colorado Basin); in winter south,
through Western Mexico, to Colima … var. _cooperi_.

C. Body ashy; wings, tail, and pileum dull purplish-red; throat, lining of wing and crissum dilute rose-pink in the ♀.

10. P. roseigularis.[106] Sides of head, nape, back, and
scapulars deep ash, the dorsal region with a faint purplish
cast; lores, eyelids, cheeks, and lower parts in general,
paler, and with a dingy buff tinge,—paler on the abdomen, and
more strongly marked with ash across the breast and along
sides. Whole pileum, from bill to nape and down to the upper
edge of lores, eyes, and auriculars, wings, upper
tail-coverts, and tail, dark purplish-red. Whole throat
dilute vermilion, or rose-pink sharply defined; crissum and
lining of wings a paler shade of the same. Wing, 3.05; tail,
2.75; bill, from nostril, .45; its depth at the base, .40,
its breadth, .30; tarsus, .80. _Hab._ Yucatan.

Pyranga rubra, VIEILL.

THE SCARLET TANAGER.

_Tanagra rubra_, LINN. I, 1766, 314.—GMELIN, I, 1788, 889.—WILSON,
Am. Orn. II, 1810, 42; pl. xi, f. 3, 4.—AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838,
388; pl. cccliv. _Pyranga rubra_, VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. I,
1807, iv; pl. i, f. 12 (Head.).—SWAINSON, F. Bor. Am. II, 1831,
273.—BON. List. 1838.—IB. Conspectus, 1850.—AUD. Syn. 1839,
136.—IB. Birds Am. II, 1841, 226; pl. ccix.—SCLATER, Pr. Zoöl.
Soc. 1855, 156.—IB. 1856, 123.—MAX. Cab. Jour. VI, 1858,
270.—SAMUELS, 251. _Phœnisoma rubra_, SW. Birds, II, 1837, 284.
_Phœnicosoma rubra_, CAB. Mus. Hein. 1851, 24. _Pyranga
erythromelas_, VIEILLOT, “Encyc. Méth. 800.”—IB. Nouv. Dict.
XXVIII, 1817, 293.

SP. CHAR. Bill shorter than the head. Second quill longest; first and third a little shorter. Tail moderately forked. _Male._ Whole head and body continuous, pure, intense scarlet, the feathers white beneath the surface, and grayish at the roots. Wings and tail, with the scapulars, uniform intense black; the middle-coverts sometimes partly red, forming an interrupted band. Lining of wing white. A blackish tinge along sides of the rump, concealed by wings. Bill pea-green; iris brown; tarsi and toes dull blue. _Female._ Olive-green above, yellowish beneath. Wing and tail feathers brown, edged with olivaceous. Length, 7.40; wing, 4.00; tail, 3.00.

_Hab._ Eastern Province North America, north to Winnepeg (west to El Paso? HEERMANN). In winter, south to Ecuador (Rio Napo, SCL.). Bogota (SCL.) Cuba (SCL. & GUNDL.); Jamaica (SCL. & GOSSE); Panama (LAWR.); Costa Rica (LAWR.); Vera Cruz (winter, SUMICHRAST).

At least three years seem to be required for the assumption of the perfect plumage of the male. In the first year the young male is like the female, but has black wings and tail; in the fall red feathers begin to make their appearance, and the following spring the red predominates in patches.