Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States / Illustrated

by Thomas G. Gentry

Plate XLVIII.—CATHARTES AURA, (Linn.) Illig.—Turkey Buzzard.

Few species, if any, have such a wide distribution in America as the Turkey Buzzard. It is found more or less abundantly to the Saskatchewan, throughout North America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, and in all portions of South America as far south as the Strait of Magellan. Individuals have been observed in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, though these birds are generally uncommon north of Central New Jersey. From Eastern Maine, in the neighborhood of Calais, to Connecticut, specimens have been occasionally captured. In a single instance Mr. Lawrence observed a small company of nine at Rockaway, Long Island. West of the Alleghanies, from Central America nearly to the Arctic regions, it occurs more abundantly. Without exception it is found in greater or less numbers in all the Middle, Western, Southern and Northwestern States. From Lower California to Washington Territory, along the Pacific, numerous parties attest to its common occurrence. In the West Indies, the islands of Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad, the last-named in particular, include it within their faunæ. In Honduras and Guatemala, as well as in the Falkland Islands, off the eastern coast of Patagonia, they are common permanent residents.

In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the writer has had many opportunities for studying the species, these Vultures summer quite plentifully. From their first appearance in March, large numbers may be seen, high up in the air, moving in large circles, apparently exploring the ground below for their favorite articles of food. In rural districts they are more frequently observed than in the vicinity of densely-populated towns. The greater abundance of carrion to be met with in the former is doubtless the cause of this preference. However, in California and Oregon, according to Dr. Newberry, they are quite as common near towns as about the large rivers. In our Southern States they visit cities and large villages, and play the part of scavengers, in company with the Black Vulture. They are said to be so tame and unsuspicious in Kingston, Jamaica, that they roost upon the house-tops, or prey upon offal in the streets. In country places they are quite as familiar and trustful. This is evidenced while feeding. So intent are they upon the business before them, that the presence of human beings is unnoticed, and even when compelled to forsake their booty, sullenly repair to a short distance, but to resume their repast when the annoyance has ceased. The Common Crow has been observed to gather around the same food, and the utmost good feeling prevailed. A small flock will often settle down upon a dead horse, around which several dogs are gathered. The snapping and snarling of these creatures, when they approach the latter too closely, does not cause them to retire, but only to step a few paces aside, when, nothing daunting, they continue their feeding, apparently oblivious of their whereabouts and surroundings.

Although the sense of sight is rather keenly developed in these birds, yet that of smell is none the less so. This is an advantage, for both the visual and olfactory organs are called into requisition in determining the presence of decaying matters. As a proof that smell leads to food-detection, we cannot do better than cite an instance mentioned by Dr. Hill, and given by Dr. Brewer in the work entitled "North American Birds." It was a case where several of these birds were attracted to the house of a German emigrant who was prostrated by fever, by the strong odor escaping from his neglected food which had become putrid. Mr. G. C. Taylor, whilst a resident of Kingston, sufficiently tested their power of smell. He wrapped the carcass of a bird in a piece of paper, and flung the parcel into the summit of a densely-leaved tree, in close proximity to his window. A moment or two elapsed, when the keen smell of these birds scented something edible, but they were unable to find it, for the obvious reason that the object was hidden from view by the enveloping paper.

Generally, their food consists of all kinds of animal matter. They are often accused of egg-sucking, and also of eating the young of Herons, as well as those of other birds. In Trinidad they are said to live on the most friendly terms with the poultry. As no breach of faith has been reported to have occurred in this instance, it is not likely that they would molest in any way our smaller birds, at least we are not cognizant of any such cases of interference, from our own observation, nor do we find them in the recorded experiences of our friends. They are worse-disposed, it seems to us, to their own kith and kin. When several are together, the most violent wrangles occur over their booty. Each strives to get the lion's share. It is rather amusing to witness their manouvres. A fellow has just discovered a very choice bit, which he is endeavoring to make away with in a somewhat hurried manner, but before he has accomplished the task, he is soon beset by a near companion who has scarcely swallowed his morsel. A conflict ensues. The latter being the stronger, succeeds after a while in defrauding the other of his rightful property. When gorged, these birds appear stupid and indisposed to exertion, the period of digestion being ordinarily passed in a motionless, listless attitude, with half-spread wings.

Recovered from their semi-stupid condition, they do not at once go to feeding again, but pass a long time in the healthful exercise of their volant appendages. Few birds are more graceful, easy and dignified while on the wing. On the ground they may seem awkward, but it is while soaring above the earth that they are seen in all their glory. When prepared for their lofty flights, they spring from the ground with a single bound, and, after a few quick flappings of the wings, move heavenward. Having attained a great elevation, they move through the ether in ever-widening circles, or sail on nearly horizontal wings, the tips above being slightly raised, with steady, uniform motion. These aerial diversions are never performed singly, but in small parties of a dozen or more, and are more common in early spring, and at the close of the breeding-period, than during the intervening time. It is also to be remarked that they are executed in silence, for the Turkey Buzzards, like their indigenous American relatives, are a mute species, the only sound of which they are capable, being a kind of hiss, which has not been inaptly compared to the seething noise emitted by plunging a hot iron in a vessel of water.

When ready to breed they look around for a hollow tree, or some stump or log in a state of decay, either upon the ground, or but slightly elevated above it. Generally, there are no indications of a nest. In occasional cases a few rotten leaves are scratched into the hollow selected for the deposition of the eggs, the latter being laid without any previous care having been taken for their preservation and shelter. In Southern New Jersey, we have sometimes strayed upon the nest in the midst of a deep and almost impenetrable morass, placed within an excavated stump. Within the rock-caverns along the wide, shallow Susquehanna, as many as a dozen nests have been observed in a few hundred yards of space, often as early as the last week of March, when the weather was favorable, but generally not till the middle of April. A few individuals have been known to remain in the vicinity of their breeding-quarters through the entire year, when the winters are not extremely rigorous. At Parkersburg, near the western boundary of Chester County, T. H. Jackson, of West Chester, Pa., has found it breeding; but within Philadelphia it rarely does, if at all. In Delaware County, paired individuals have been observed early in April under rather suspicious circumstances. In Southern Ohio it is a common summer sojourner. Mr. Gosse, in speaking of the birds in Jamaica, says that they nest in depressions in the rock, and in the ledges thereof, in retired localities, and also upon inaccessible cliffs. On Galveston Island, Audubon found the birds nesting in great numbers either under widespread cactus branches, or underneath low bushes, in the midst of tall grasses in level saline marshes.

In the vicinity of Cheraw, S. C. Dr. C. Kollock, as mentioned by Brewer, met with the Black and our present species as quite frequent denizens of the interior of swamps and dense forests, where they congregate in vast numbers during the entire year. These places are commonly designated Buzzards' roosts. Audubon once visited one of these roosts in the vicinity of Charleston, which covered more than two acres of ground, and which was completely denuded of vegetation. On the banks of many of the rivers of Southern Texas, Mr. Dresser found them nesting in large numbers, the timber along their borders constituting comfortable and secure shelter. Contrary to what has always been entertained, he affirms that they build large and bulky nests of sticks, which they place at great heights in an oak or cypress, close by the river-banks. Captain C. C. Abbott says that in the Falkland Islands the eggs are deposited in the midst of bushes beneath high banks, or on the summits of decayed balsam logs, during the early part of November, either upon the ground, or on the bare surface of a log. In certain localities, where the birds are not very common, paired individuals are frequently met with.

The eggs are generally two in number, although instances are known where but a single one is deposited. On the Falkland Islands they are said to lay three occasionally. In the West Indies, especially in the Bahama group, the nest-complement is the same as in the United States, and there does not seem to be any difference in the habits of the birds that abound in the latter country. Specimens from New Jersey, Texas, and South Carolina are creamy-white in ground, and are variously marked with divers shades of brown, intermingled with splashes of lavender and purple, which are often so faint as only to be perceptible upon close inspection. Brewer mentions a variety from near Cheraw, S. C., that was nearly pure white, and which showed but a few small red and slightly purplish lines and dots about the larger extremity. Recently, we have met with some from Texas answering the same description. In dimensions these eggs vary but little, and have, on the average, a length of 2.78 inches, and a width of 2.00, or rather less.

The duty of hatching falls not exclusively to either sex, but is shared by both. The time required to bring out the young is, under the most constant sitting, about twenty-two days. While occupied with family-matters the birds are seldom visited by strangers, and are allowed to rule in their own chosen realm with undisputed sway. Only the hardened collector has courage to enter their disgusting abodes, and rifle them of their treasures, a business not difficult of accomplishment, for the birds instantly vacate, and become silent watchers of the pillage. These birds do not seem to possess a particle of spirit, and are as cowardly as they are big. When captured they offer no active resistance, but very effectually warn off their aggressor, by disgorging the half-digested contents of their crop. When being killed they are perfectly passive and apathetic. Dr. Coues affirms that they will often simulate death when captured. On one occasion, an individual being shot, was picked up for dead. While being borne to his tent it was perfectly limp. Reaching his quarters, he carelessly threw it upon the ground, and went to work at something else. After a brief spell he looked around and beheld, to his surprise, that the bird had changed its position, and was furtively glaring around. On going to it, its eyes immediately closed, its body became relaxed, and it lay completely motionless, and apparently dead. After compressing its chest for several minutes, until he fancied life to be extinct, he dropped the bird, and repaired to supper. On returning, the bird had disappeared, it evidently having scrambled into the bushes as soon as his back was turned. This strategem is not new, and has been frequently observed by us, although unrecorded.

What they lack in courage they more than make up in the attention which they bestow upon their offspring. Like their parents, the latter are gluttonous feeders, and must be nourished at frequent intervals during the entire day. Their diet at first is the half-changed matter which is forced by the parents in their mouths. When they have been blessed with the use of their eyes, which occurs during the second week of their life, they are able to masticate small bits of meat that are brought to them, although the early method is still kept up until they are ready to hunt for themselves. This matter, together with that of an excrementitious character, which is found about the nest, renders the latter exceedingly offensive, and is hardly endurable to persons of weak nerves. But where numbers breed together the foulness of the resort is indescribable.

The young are covered at first with a whitish down; but as they increase in age, soon show traces of what they are to be, but of, the precise period when they attain the adult plumage, we are ignorant. When they quit the nest they appear with the bill and naked skin of the head and neck, of a livid blackish hue, and the back of the head and nape with more or less of whitish down. Their dress is more uniformly blackish, the brownish borders above being less distinct, and the reflections rather green than violaceous. Mature birds have the bill white, the feet flesh-colored, and the head red. The general plumage is blackish-brown, and the quills ashy-gray on their lower surfaces. The skin of the head presents a wrinkled aspect, and is sparingly invested with bristle-like feathers, the plumage proper commencing in a circle on the neck The nostrils are quite large and open, the iris umber, and the tail rounded. In length they measure about two and a half feet, and have an extent of nearly six. The tail is one foot long, and the wings two.

Notwithstanding their filthy habits, which render them obnoxious in the eyes of many persons, their harmless, peaceable natures should command for them respect from the lords of creation, even though they should not possess other claims to popular consideration. Like their nearest relations the plundering Buteos and Falcons—they offer no harm to their smaller brethren, nor detriment to the husbandman's stock of poultry. They are essentially a useful bird, and in the Southern States where their services are most in demand, both they and the Black Vulture are protected by law, a fine being imposed upon any who should wilfully destroy their lives. But in more northern sections they are persecuted with impunity. Hence their avoidance of the residence of man. As scavengers we recognize in them great benefactors, and when left in undisturbed possession of their freedom, they come in and go out among their human brethren, and seldom show the repulsive side of their character. In not endowing these birds with the same great force of character which she has lavished upon the Falcons, Nature has provided them with a means of defence, which is as serviceable to them as the powerful talons and bill of their courageous brethren.

Respecting the resident range of this species, as compared with its summer dispersions, it has not been observed to winter on the Atlantic seaboard beyond New Jersey, and is even more abundant here in summer than in the cold season. In Washington, where the bird is said to be quite common, no important diminution of its numbers has been noticed during several successive winters. In both the Carolinas the same condition of affairs is found to exist. Its winter range in the interior seems to be higher up, perhaps as far north as Minnesota, for it has been observed here late in October, and again in December, but the latter may have been an accidental occurrence. According to Dr. Coues, the isothermal line corresponding, on the Atlantic coast, with the fortieth parallel of latitude, may approximately indicate its farthest northern limit in the winter.

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Plate XLIX.—LOPHODYTES CUCULLATUS, (Linn.) Reich.—Hooded Sheldrake.

The habitat of this species is nearly co-extensive with the whole of North America. Throughout considerable portions of the United States it is chiefly migratory, being seen only in the spring and fall. In the Missouri region it is the most common of the three species that inhabit this country, and is said by writers to breed in Northern Dakota, and also on the Upper Missouri and Milk rivers. It was found along the banks of the Yellowstone by the party under Lieutenant Warren, and by later expeditions, on the Green River. In New England, according to Samuels, it is less plentiful than any of the other Sheldrakes during the autumn, winter and early spring, but more recent writers—Messrs. Rich and Deane—have found it a not uncommon breeder in hollow stumps on Lake Umbagog. In Central New York, Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey it is quite often seen in transitu, and in some localities a few are known to winter. But the majority, after spending the summer in the northern parts of the United States and the British possessions to their utmost limits, only quit these haunts when the streams have become frozen, for the creeks and rivers of our Southern States, and the still warmer climes of Mexico and Cuba. E. W. Nelson says they are common winter residents upon Lake Michigan, and breed sparingly throughout the State of Illinois.

Though mainly an inland species, having a fondness for ponds, lakes and fresh-water streams, yet it does not confine its visits exclusively to such resorts, but forsakes them during very cold weather for the seashore, where it can pursue its calling untrammeled by the accidents of winter, which are more certain to affect fresh than salt waters. By the sporting fraternity it is now called the "Hairy Head," an appellation which it fitly deserves, for the high, beautifully-rounded and particolored crest which so gracefully adorns the head, is rendered more conspicuous in the absence of the usual decorations which Flora had so recently lavished upon the landscape.

Like most Sheldrakes, in common with the Ducks and Geese, this species depends upon the water for the principal portion of its food. Consequently, it spends considerable time in swimming, and being endowed with keen sight, is able to discern its prey at some distance below.' With the possession of this wonderful faculty, it unites great skill and nicety of address. Its movements upon the glassy liquid surface are performed with silence and gracefulness, so as not to produce undue alarm to the finny tribes and creeping things that dart hither and thither, or crawl their slimy lengths along the oozy or pebbly bottom; and the stroke of the head, when one has crossed its line of vision, is as rapid and unerring as the swift motion of the Heron when he deals the death-giving blow to some luckless reptile that has just emerged from its quiet retreats. In the case of the Sheldrake, it is not merely the head and neck that are immersed, but often the entire body receives the watery bath, especially when the game is out of ordinary reach. These baths are enjoyed; for no sooner has the bird arisen with its feathers glistening in the sunlight like gem-bedecked armor, than, with one slight ruffle, the jewels are dashed to pieces, and it is ready again. Fish, small crabs, molluscs, seaworms, reptiles, and such like creatures as dwell in water, are eagerly hunted and eaten. On the dry laud, beetles, grasshoppers and lepidoptera contribute their share to its varied and voluminous menu.

When the spell of winter has been broken, and thousands of small birds are wending their way northward in April, the Sheldrakes catching the contagion of migration, leave their winter haunts, and following the great arteries of our continent, slowly journey northward. After a little they bid adieu to these essential guides, and betake themselves inland, where by the grassy margins of lakes, ponds and small streams, in retired and unfrequented localities, in the declining days of May, or dawn of laughing June, they select their partners, and enter upon the duties of housekeeping. Around the bayous of the Ohio, on our Northwestern Lakes, by the borders of Hudson's Bay, and on the River St. Peters, they delighted to raise their numerous families in the happy days of Audubon, and there they still find suitable quarters, almost undisturbed by man and his minions. In our own beloved country they breed less abundantly, and only, as far as can be ascertained, in the regions, noted above, adjacent to British America.

In the holes of tall dead trees, or on the tops of stubs, twenty, thirty and forty feet from the ground, seldom higher, the female places her nest, giving it a warm and cosy lining of soft grasses and feathers. She has everything her own way, the male seemingly manifesting little or no interest. Here she deposits her treasures, and relieved of her mate, who dwells by himself in some remote and secluded locality, instantly repairs to its precincts, and for nearly three weeks remains a very assiduous and persevering sitter. Like the Wood Duck, when about to leave the nest for food, she is careful to cover her eggs with some of the materials of the nest, to prevent them from becoming cold. Though not often constrained to leave them, but when she does, she is apt to remain away for a considerable time, but not long enough to endanger the developing life within.

The eggs are thick-shelled, somewhat spherical, more so than any other species of Duck, and a trifle more pointed at one extremity than the other. They are of a clean-white color, but in some instances are made to appear somewhat yellowish on the surface, which is to be attributed to stains produced by moisture from the feet of the sitting-bird. From the other Sheldrakes they may be readily distinguished by color and size, but should these fail, which is not likely to prove the case, their identity may be recognized by a peculiar noise which is made when two of these eggs are struck together, the sound produced resembling nearly that of a couple of ivory balls when submitted to the same treatment. In size there is considerable variation, but in no instance will the eggs be found to rival the others in dimensions. The average length is 2.13 inches, and average breadth 1.72. Samuels mentions specimens that were 2.30 by 1.75, and others, more rounded, that measured 2.10 in transverse diameter, and 1.80 in the other direction.

Though jealous of her treasures, yet the female is not known to risk her life to save them. If the nest is approached, she maintains the utmost silence, and only ventures out when terrified by heavy blows on the trunk of the tree which contains her nest. Driven out, she seeks the pond or stream close-by, and from its bosom surveys the actions of the intruder, with not so much as a cry of remonstrance. If the latter is hidden from view by the dense vegetation, she quits the water, circles over and about Him, and is always careful to keep out of reach of harm. Her quiet demeanor and intense watchfulness betoken the distress and anxiety that reign within, and, to a person of the least particle of sympathy, are enough to cause him to give up his desire for pillage, forsake the scene, and leave that mute witness of his contemplated wrong in peaceful possession of her property.

In course of time the young are hatched. Maternal joy is now at its height. However, the parent does not permit herself to be so completely carried away thereby, as to lose sight of their interests, but sets to work to remove them from their closely-cooped quarters. If their home is some distance from the water, she carries them one by one in her mouth, and lays them down by its banks. In changing from one stream to another, where some space intervenes, this is her ordinary method of transportation in their early ages. Almost as soon as the chicks have been placed in sight of the water, they require no coaxing to induce them to enter, but impelled by feelings of instinct, they plunge into its depths, and act as though they had been there before. While disporting themselves in the aqueous fluid, the mother exercises a strict surveillance, to prevent being surprised. If taken unawares, she utters a chattering, guttural cry. The whole brood dive and swim off under water to the shore, and conceal themselves in the dense herbage. While the young are disappearing, the mother counterfeits lameness, and by every conceivable stratagem known to her, endeavors to lead the intruder away from the spot. Succeeding in this, she takes to wing and flies off. If apprised of the approach in season, before the person has advanced within gun-shot distance, she swims away with great rapidity, her brood following after, until they have reached a bend in the stream. Here, out of sight of the pursuing party, they make for the shore, creep silently out of the water, and hide themselves until the object of their dread has disappeared. The female Wood Duck often encroaches upon the domains of this bird, and the most unhappy consequences follow.

When the young are able to provide for themselves, the male emerges from his solitude, and consorts with his family. Both old and young hold together during the remainder of the season, and then unite with other small flocks to constitute the larger ones which are seen in migration in the month of October. Young birds, when about two-thirds grown, are in great demand for the table, as they are excellent eating. From their habit of flapping the wings on the water, when endeavoring to escape pursuit, they have been called "Flappers." It is probable that they do not attain their full plumage until the next spring. Nuttall says the upper plumage is browner than in the adult, and the white speculum and bands on the tertiaries less perfect. The black and white bars on the shoulders, and the white stripe behind the eye, are wanting. On the head, neck, and upper portions of the breast, a soiled pale-brown color prevails, which is edged with whitish on the last. The chin is inclined to white. The bill is black above, and orange below, and the crest but slightly developed.

The adult male is black above, with two crescent-shaped spots before the wings, and a bar across the speculum, of the same color. The sides are chestnut, and striped with black, while the lower parts, speculum, bands on tertiaries, and crest-centre, are white. The nostrils are sub-basal, and the bill nearly or quite black. His length is from eighteen to nineteen inches, and wing about eight.

From her lord the female differs somewhat in size, being smaller, and in a most marked degree in plumage. The two are easily distinguished. The compact, erect, semi-circular and side-compressed crest is smaller and less rounded; the head and neck are brown; back and sides dark brown, with paler edges to the feathers, and white on wings of less extent. The lower mandible is reddish at base. Upon comparison with the above description of the immature bird, it will be observed that a striking resemblance obtains between the two. Where the sexes materially differ in plumage, the rule seems to be that the young males take on the characteristic dress of the mother before assuming that which is to distinguish them later in life.

The disposition of the Sheldrakes to nest in obscure situations, remote from the haunts of man, and often difficult of access, perhaps, has much to do with the ignorance that enshrouds their history. Were they better known, and more easily approached, they might be subdued by the skill of man, and be made to associate with the Mallard, whose ancestors still live in a feral state. A little patience is all that is necessary to carry the project to completion, if it should be attempted, and reasoning from the success of the plan in the case of the Wood Duck—a species remarkably similar in general habits—we entertain no doubt as to its practicability. But would the plan be feasible? This is a question that we are not prepared to answer. At any rate, it is worthy of an effort. If the trial has ever been made, we are not aware of it, nor can we find anything in the literature of ornithology to warrant us in saying that it has. Beautiful in plumage, and noted for their grace, skill and ease upon the watery element, they might become interesting denizens of man's surroundings, even though they should never, by their usefulness, fully repay him for the care and expense which he would necessarily be compelled to bestow upon them.

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Plate L.—PHAINOPEPLA NITENS, (Sw.) Scl.—Black-crested Flycatcher.

This very remarkable bird was originally described from Mexico by Swainson, and appears to have been first assigned to our fauna by Colonel George A. McCall, who met with it in 1852, while traveling from Vallecita to El Chino. It is said to occur in mountainous regions throughout the southern portions of California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, and probably in parts of Colorado and Utah. In Southern California, according to B, W. Evermann, of Bloomington, Ind., who has devoted considerable time to the study of its habits, it is quite locally distributed, and is rather a common summer resident in the smaller valleys and canyons, but is rarely observed "in the larger valleys or more open level country." Among the foot-hills in the vicinity of Frezno Flats, he encountered considerable numbers on the evergreen oaks, in July, 1880, but only a single pair at the entrance of the Yosemite Valley, and these were perched high-up in a tall sugar-pine, not silent, however, but calling to each other in their own peculiar fashion.

Our friend's first acquaintance with this species was made in the delightful valley of Santa Clara in October, 1879, while collecting Gambel's Sparrows. Intent upon the business before him, he was pursuing his way along a fence, when a strange bird, light and graceful upon the wing, was seen nervously moving from one point to another, ever and anon darting at some passing insect, and uttering in the intervals of feeding the oddest and most querulous note he had ever heard. This note, says our informant, was "full of sadness, desolation and despair." Never before had he been so affected by song of bird as by this. Since then several opportunities have been afforded him, and many an hour has been spent in listening to its song.

In the lovely month of May, of the year that has just passed, while watching two pairs engaged in nesting, he was treated to a delightful and gratuitous serenade, late in the evening, when most birds had retired to their perches. Ceased from their labors, they had taken their stations upon the topmost boughs of the live oaks which supported their nests, when one of the males instantly tuned his pipe, and gave expression to the sweetest yet saddest of refrains, which was "low, slow, sad and indescribably delicious and fascinating." Mr. Evermann, in speaking of it, says: "I could think of nothing with which to compare it, but at times I thought I could detect a slight resemblance to the lowest, most subdued notes of the Sickle-billed Thrasher." The song is certainly wonderful and unique, and should entitle its author to a very exalted position among singing-birds. From all accounts it is most generally heard at nightfall, and only occasionally in the early part of the afternoon. Of the few writers who have treated of this species, Doctors Coues and Cooper seem to be the only persons, besides the one we have just referred to, who are willing to credit it with musical ability.

From their winter-home in Lower Arizona and Mexico these birds reach Southern California from the fifteenth to the twentieth of April—males and females together. At first they are somewhat gregarious, not from feelings of sociability, if we are rightly informed, but from the presence of favorite articles of food which abound in certain places. Though insects constitute a very considerable portion of their diet, yet like their supposed nearest affinity—the Cedar-bird—they are fond of the various berries that are to be found in their accustomed haunts. The fruit of the mistletoe is said to give them abundance of nutritious food during their entire stay. Henshaw says: "Large numbers of this species were found, on several occasions, in the canyon back of Camp Apache, Arizona. As they were noticed nowhere else in this vicinity, I judged that the abundance of mistletoe berries here served as an attraction. These they were greedily feeding upon." The same author found immense numbers gathered together in the canyon at Camp Bowie, Ariz., feeding upon a species of wild plum and also of grape, fruits of which they were particularly fond. Their predilection for the berries of the mistletoe is attested to by other writers no less eminent.

Though close and vigorous feeders, yet they do not carry their greed to the extent that the Cedar-bird does, which, as we have seen, never seems to be in any very great hurry to enter upon the duties of nidification. The cares of the household early engross their attention. The flocks break up into pairs, and the latter soon start off in quest of suitable nesting places. The tree selected in Southern California appears to be the live oak exclusively, but in other localities, the mezquite sometimes shares with it the honor. Of seven nests examined by Evermann, four were saddled on a horizontal limb from four to twenty-five feet above the ground, and near the end; one was placed upon three small twigs, another upon two, and the last in a forked branch, thirty feet high, and in the extreme summit. In the work of building there seems to be no division of labor, and each bird appears to act independently of the other. The utmost caution is taken to prevent discovery. When a suitable twig, or other substance has been found by either, it is not carried directly to the nest, but the finder first flies to a neighboring bush or tree, where he alights for a brief spell, and shows his anxiety by a nervous twitching of the tail. Uttering a call, he spreads his wings for flight, and glides swiftly to another tree, and perhaps to another, each time approaching nearer and nearer to the nesting-tree, the bright white spot upon the wing gleaming in the sunlight in vivid contrast with the black body-color. If aware of your presence, he seemingly endeavors to delude you, for just when you think you are sure of his location, if you have not already discovered it by observation, he disappoints you by flying to a more distant tree, where he ceases his notes, rests awhile, but only to resume his hitherto circuitous flight directly to the wished-for spot. While working upon the nest the most perfect silence is maintained, and the builder always leaves in the direction opposite to that by which he entered. The routine was so closely followed by Evermann, that he could generally guess with tolerable accuracy what movements were in contemplation.

We are told that from five to eight days are required for the completion of the domicile, and that laying commences on the day succeeding this event, one egg being laid daily until the full nest-complement is reached. By the fifteenth of May the birds are ready for incubation, although in some cases this business is entered into by the fourth, and occasionally not until the nineteenth of the month.

Respecting the number of eggs laid, Mr. Evermann finds that three is. the usual number, although up to the time of his observations, it was the opinion of ornithologists that the birds deposited but two. Seven nests were secured by this collector, in the vicinity of Santa Paula, Cal., and all excepting one were found to contain three eggs, and this had but two. Dr. Cooper gives but two as the ordinary complement, and he is the first individual who called attention to the nest of the species. This structure was found near Fort Mojave, on the Colorado, 011 the twenty-fifth of April, and was placed in a mezquite branch at a height of twelve feet from the ground. No further particulars were given of this find, until Dr. Brewer described it in the first volume of the "History of North American Birds." Substantially, he says the nest was a very flat affair, four inches in external diameter, not two in height, and with a depth of cavity of less than an inch. It was composed almost wholly of flax-like fibres, fine grasses, plant-stems, and stalks of larger size, variously interwoven, and lined with a soft downy material of vegetable character.

This notice of Dr. Cooper's nest, though probably authentic, is thought by Coues not free from suspicion. The material of Captain Bendire, which maybe found described in the Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Boston, though ascribed by Brewer to Townsend's Flycatcher, unquestionably belongs to the Black-crested, for the nest and eggs of the former are too well known, through the exertions of Mr. Wilbur F. Lamb, of Holyoke, Mass., whose interesting narrative appears in the Bulletin of the Kuttall Ornithological Club, for 1877, to lead any intelligent naturalist to refer it thereto. Recurring to the subject, in the Appendix to the above "History," Brewer re-describes the Bendire material, although in very unsatisfactory terms. He says the nest was found saddled, most generally, on a horizontal branch of a mezquite tree, and is a shallow, nearly flat structure, measuring four inches across, and having a cavity two and a half inches in diameter, and one-half an inch in depth. Fine sticks and fibres of plants make up the external bulk, and within a little down of the cottonwood and a stray feather. The first nest, which was found May 16, was mainly lined with the shells of empty cocoons. Though the captain met with more than a dozen nests with eggs and young, yet, astonishing to say, he never found more than two in a nest—a striking contrast to Evermann's observations. In attempting to reconcile the difference he honestly says: "The thing is perhaps accounted for, and I am very positive about my views being correct, that in California they [the Black-crested Flycatchers] raise only one brood, while in Arizona they raise two and three." There is no doubt of the correctness of his opinion, for in this, as in many other species, the number of eggs in a set is probably larger in the northern parts of the breeding-range than in the southern, the difference being made up by the greater number of broods annually raised in the latter.

There seems to be considerable uniformity in the character of the materials utilized in nesting. Before us are six nests from Southern California, and, on close examination, each seems to be the exact counterpart of every other. Fine grass, small sticks, thin hairy stems, vegetable fibres and wool, empty cocoons and seed vessels, the latter attached to their stalks, curiously and ingeniously matted together, and presenting a rather even surface, considering the abundance of sticks utilized, make up nearly the entire structure. The cavity exhibits the same materials, but then they are more smoothly adjusted by the builders. None of the nests before us are perfectly round, such as we sometimes see in the Wood Pewee's lichen-clad home, but are somewhat eccentric in contour. The same irregularity is usually a conspicuous feature of the inside. In external diameter they are nearly four inches, and in length vary from one and a half to two, one side being sometimes a half inch thicker than the other, not an accidental occurrence, but probably the result of design, due, no doubt, to the position of the nest upon the branch, the thicker part looking outwardly where exposure is the greater. The depression is two and a half inches wide, and the depth usually but a half, but varying from that to as much as an inch. In the Plate it is represented natural in size, and saddled upon a horizontal branch of the live oak, a short distance in advance of the builders.

The eggs, two or three in number, are of an oblong oval shape, and vary from a greenish-white to a lavender and a grayish-white groundcolor, and are rather strongly marked with small, distinct spots of divers shades of brown, interspersed with fine dottings of slate, which are pretty uniformly diffused over the surface, although most abundant about the larger extremity. The distribution of these spots presents some marked variations, but, according to our experience, a uniformity prevails in eggs of the same clutch. A set of three before us shows the following measurements: .94 by .69, .94 by .68 and .93 by .68. Incubation begins immediately after the eggs are laid, according to Mr. Evermann, and is the exclusive duty of the female for about fourteen days.

The young male partakes of the coloration of both parents, but the adult is a uniform lustrous black, the monotony of which is in a measure relieved by large white patches upon the wings, most of the inner web of each primary feather, excepting the first, showing this latter color. The female is brown, the white on the wings being much restricted, or obsolete. Their entire length is about seven and a half inches, wing three and three-fifths, and tail four and a quarter.