Adult ♂ (No. 82,329, U. S. Nat. Mus., Oyster Bay, Florida, March, 1881; Chas. W. Ward): Head white, with the sides of the crown and entire occiput (including the lengthened plumes) deep black;[[3]] neck lavender-gray (much lighter than in the type of würdemanni), the fore-neck white thickly streaked with black for the lower two-thirds; jugular plumes chiefly white, their lengthened tapering portion entirely so. Upper surface uniform bluish plumbeous, the lengthened scapular plumes hoary whitish or pale silvery gray. Upper breast uniform black; abdomen and lower breast white, rather indistinctly streaked with dark gray; anal region mixed black and white, in longitudinal dashes (the black rather predominating); crissum immaculate pure white. Tibiæ uniform light cinnamon; edge of the wing (especially near the bend) deeper cinnamon, but this much mixed with white toward the bases of the quills; lining of the wing, axillars, sides, and flanks, uniform plumbeous. Bill, apparently, entirely olivaceous-yellow; naked portion of tibiæ very pale brown (evidently yellowish or flesh-colored in life); tarsi light brown (olivaceous in life?), darker in front; toes light brown. Wing, 20.50: culmen, 6.75; depth of bill through nostril, 1.10; tarsus, 8.75; middle toe, 5.10; naked portion of tibiæ, 5.50.
Mr. W. H. Collins, of Detroit, who kindly presented the specimen described above to the National Museum, has sent me measurements of two other specimens, one in his own possession, the other mounted for Mr. Ward. As may be seen below they agree closely in dimensions with the type, their measurements being, respectively, wing 20.00–20.50; culmen 6.50–7.00; depth of bill through nostril, 1.25; tarsus, 8.75–9.00; middle toe, 5.25–5.45; naked portion of tibia, 5.75–6.00.
LIST OF BIRDS OBSERVED AT HOUSTON, HARRIS CO., TEXAS AND VICINITY AND IN THE COUNTIES MONTGOMERY, GALVESTON AND FORD BEND.
BY H. NEHRLING.
1. Turdus migratorius, L. Robin.—Very common in the woods from November to April. Very shy and retiring during their stay; only a few have been observed in the larger gardens of Houston. Feeds abundantly on the berries of the holly (Ilex opaca) and the myrtle-holly (Oreophila myrtifolia). About the 15th of April all have departed for the North.
2. Turdus mustelinus, Gmel. Wood Thrush.—Arrives from the North early in October when the aromatic berries of the Magnolia grandiflora are ripe, on which they eagerly feed. On account of this food the flesh is very delicate and large numbers are killed by pot hunters, who call them “Grassets.” In the winter months they appear not to be common and inhabit swampy thickets and bottom woods.
3. Turdus fuscescens, Steph. Wilson’s Thrush.—Only a few observed during the fall migration.
4. Turdus swainsoni, Cab. Olive-backed Thrush.—Not rare during the migrations.
5. Mimus polyglottus, Boie. Mockingbird.—A very abundant resident. Only a few remain to winter, in protected localities; the majority migrate further south. They arrive from their winter quarters early in March and are by the end of that month again common. Nest-building commences usually in the middle of April. Many are killed by farmers and gardeners on account of their fondness for ripe figs and grapes. Besides insects, they feed eagerly on the berries of the poke (Phytolacca decandra), the elder (Sambucus canadensis), and the Mexican mulberry (Callicarpa americana). In winter the berries of the myrtle-holly (Oreophila myrtifolia) and those of the mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens) are their principal food.
6. Mimus carolinensis, Gray. Catbird.—I first observed a single specimen of this bird April 25, 1879. It was then my opinion that this bird must be a very rare migrant, as I did not meet with another that year. It was this year (1881), May 5, when I wandered through the thick underbrush in the woods on Spring Creek that I heard the peculiar cry of the Catbird, and a few minutes after I discovered the nest, which was built in a young oak sapling, about ten feet above the ground. They are not the familiar and confident birds of the Northern States, but extremely shy and retiring in their habits. They kept a good distance from me when I took the nest.