Description.—_Adult_: A prominent whitish crescent on forehead; crown,

back, and an obscure patch on breast steel-blue; throat, sides of

head, and nape deep chestnut; breast, sides, and a cervical collar

brown-gray; belly white or whitish; wings and tail blackish; rump pale

rufous,—the color reaching around on flanks; under tail-coverts dusky.

_In young birds_ the frontlet is obscure or wanting; the plumage dull

brown above, and the throat blackish with white specks. Bill and feet

weak, the former suddenly compressed at tip. Length 5.00-6.00

(127-152.4); wing 4.35 (110.5); tail 2.00 (50.8); bill from nostril

.22 (5.6).

Recognition Marks.—“Warbler size,” but comparison

inappropriate,—better say “Swallow size”; white forehead and rufous

rump. Found in colonies.

Nesting.—_Nest_, an inverted stack-shaped, or declined retort-shaped

structure of mud, scantily or well lined with grass, and depending

from the walls of cliffs, sides of barns under the eaves, and the

like. _Eggs_, 4-5, white, spotted, sometimes scantily, with cinnamon-

and rufous-brown. Av. size, .82 × .55 (20.8 × 14). _Season_, May

25-June 25.

General Range.—North America, north to the limit of trees, breeding

southward to the Valley of the Potomac and the Ohio, southern Texas,

southern Arizona, and California; Central and South America in winter.

Not found in Florida.

Range in Washington.—Summer resident, abundant but locally distributed

east of Cascades; much less common in Puget Sound region.

Migrations.—_Spring_: April 15-30. _Fall_: first week in Sept. Tacoma,

April 4, 1908.

Authorities.—_Hirundo lunifrons_, Say, Cooper and Suckley, Rep. Pac.

R. R. Surv. XII. 1860, 184. T. C&S. D¹. Kb. Ra. D². Ss¹. Ss². J. B. E.

Specimens.—Prov. P. C.

[Illustration: _Taken in Douglas County._ _Photo by the Author._

THE CLIFF DWELLERS.]

Few birds serve to recall more accurately a picture of sequestered

grandeur and primeval peace than do these amiable tenants of

Washington’s very limited scab lands. It is true that certain Cliff

Swallows, following the example of their weaker eastern brethren, have

taken to nesting under the eaves of churches and barns and outbuildings,

but they are a negligible quantity in comparison with the swarms which

still resort to the ancestral “breaks” of the Columbia gorge and the

weird basaltic coulees of Douglas County.

The particular nesting site may be a matter of a season’s use, populous

this year and abandoned the next; but somewhere along this frowning face

of basaltic columns Swallows were nesting before old Chief Moses and his

copper-colored clans were displaced by the white man. Soon after the

retreating ice laid bare the fluted bastions of the Grand Coulee, I

think, these fly-catching cohorts swept in and established a northern

outpost, an outpost which was not abandoned even in those degenerate

days when deer gave way to cayuses, cayuses to cattle, and cattle to

sheep and fences—fences, mark you, on the Swallow’s domain!

Evidence of this age-long occupation of the lava-cliff is furnished not

only by the muddy cicatrices left by fallen nests, but, wherever the

wall juts out or overhangs, so as to shield a place below from the

action of the elements, by beds of guano and coprolitic stalagmites,

which cling to the uneven surface of the rock. Judged by the same

testimony, certain of the larger blow-holes, or lava-bubbles, must be

used at night as lodging places, at least out of the nesting season.

The well-known bottle- or retort-shaped nests of the Cliff Swallow are

composed of pellets of mud deposited in successive beakfuls by the

industrious birds. It is always interesting to see a twittering company

of these little masons gathering by the water’s edge and moulding their

mortar to the required consistency. Not less interesting is it to watch

them lay the foundations upon some smooth rock facet. Their tiny beaks

must serve for hods and trowels, and because the first course of mud

masonry is the most particular, they alternately cling and flutter, as

with many prods and fairy thumps they force the putty-like material to

lay hold of the indifferent wall.

There is usually much passing to and fro in the case of these

cliff-dwellers, and we can never hope to steal upon them unawares. When

one approaches from below, an alarm is sounded and anxious heads,

wearing a white frown, are first thrust out at the mouths of the

bottles, and then the air becomes filled with flying Swallows, charging

about the head of the intruder in bewildering mazes and raising a babble

of strange frangible cries, as tho a thousand sets of toy dishes were

being broken. If the newcomer appears harmless, the birds return to

their eggs by ones and twos and dozens until most of the company are

disposed again. At such a moment it is great sport to set up a sudden

shout. There is an instant hush, electric, ominous, while every little

Injun of them is making for the door of his wigwam. Then they are

dislodged from the cliff like an avalanche of missiles, a silent,

down-sweeping cloud; but immediately they gain assurance in the open and

bedlam begins all over again.

[Illustration: _Taken in Douglas County._ _Photo by the Author._

A NESTING CLIFF, FROM BELOW.]

The Cliff Swallows are, of course, beyond the reach of all four-footed

enemies, but now and again a June rain-storm comes at the cliff from an

unexpected quarter and plays sad havoc with their frail tenements.

Besides this (in strictest confidence; one dislikes to pass an ill word

of a suffering brother) the nests are likely to be infested with

bed-bugs. Not all, of course, are so afflicted, but in some cases the

scourge becomes so severe that the nest is abandoned outright, and eggs

or young are left to their fate. In spite of this compromising weakness,

the presence of these Swallows confers an incalculable benefit upon the

farmer of eastern Washington, in that they alone are able to cope with a

host of winged insect pests. They race tirelessly to and fro across the

landscape, weaving a magic tapestry of search, until it would seem that

not a cubic inch of atmosphere remains without its invisible thread of

flight.

No. 128.

ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW.

A. O. U. No. 617. Stelgidopteryx serripennis (Aud.).

Description.—_Adult_: Warm brownish gray or snuff-brown, including

throat and breast; thence passing insensibly below to white of under

tail-coverts; wings fuscous. _Young birds_ exhibit some rusty edging

of the feathers above, especially on the wings, and lack the peculiar,

recurved hooks on the edge of the outer primary. Size a little larger

than the next. Length 5.00-5.75 (127-146.1); wing 4.30 (109.2); tail

1.85 (47); bill from nostril .21 (5.3).

Recognition Marks.—Medium Swallow size; throat not white; warmish

brown coloration, and brownish suffusion below fading to white on

belly. It is easy to distinguish between this and the succeeding

species if a little care is taken to note the general pattern of

underparts.

Nesting.—_Nest_, in crevices of cliffs, at end of tunnels in sand

banks, or in crannies of bridges, etc.; made of leaves, grasses,

feathers, and the like,—bulky or compact according to situation.

_Eggs_, 4-8, white. Av. size, .74 × .51 (18.8 × 13). _Season_: May

20-June 5, June 20-July 10; two broods.

General Range.—United States at large, north to Connecticut, southern

Ontario, southern Minnesota, British Columbia, etc., south thru Mexico

to Costa Rica. Breeds thruout United States range and south in Mexico.

Range in Washington.—Summer resident, of general distribution, save in

mountains, thruout the State. More common east of the mountains, where

it has taken a great fancy to banks of irrigating ditches, especially

where abrupt.

Migrations.—_Spring_: First week in April; Tacoma, April 3, 1905,

April 6, 1906 and 1908. _Fall_: c. Sept. 1.

Authorities.—_Cotyle serripennis_, Bonap. Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv.

IX. pt. II. 1858, 314. C&S. L¹(?). L². Rh. Ra. J. B. E.

Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. P. B. E.

It not infrequently happens that some oversight, or want of

discrimination, on the part of early observers condemns a species to

long obscurity or unending misapprehension. The Bank Swallow was at once

recognized by the pioneer naturalists of America as being identical with

the well-known European bird, but it was not till 1838 that Audubon

distinguished its superficially similar but structurally different

relative, the Rough-wing. The cloak of obscurity still clings to the

latter, altho we begin to suspect that it may from the first have

enjoyed its present wide distribution East as well as West. Hence, in

describing it, we take the more familiar Bank Swallow as a point of

departure, and say that it differs thus and so and so.

In the first place it has those curious little hooklets on the edge of

the wing (especially on the outer edge of the first primary)—nobody

knows what they are for. They surely cannot be of service in enabling

the bird to cling to perpendicular surfaces, for they are bent forward,

and the bird is not known to cling head-downward. It is easy to see how

the bird might brace its wings against the sides of its nesting tunnel

to prevent forcible abduction, but no one knows of a possible enemy

which might be circumvented in this way.

[Illustration: _Taken in Oregon._ _Photo by H. T. Bohlman and W. L.

Finley._

BABY ROUGH-WINGS.]

Again, the Rough-winged Swallow has a steadier, rather more labored

flight than that of its foil. Its aerial course is more dignified,

leisurely, less impulsive and erratic. In nesting, altho it may include

the range of the Sand Martin, or even nest side by side with it, it has

a wider latitude for choice and is not hampered by local tradition. If

it burrows in a bank it is quite as likely to dig near the bottom as the

top. Crevices in masonry or stone quarries, crannies and abutments of

bridges or even holes in trees, are utilized. In Lincoln County where

cover is scarce and the food supply attractive, I found them nesting

along irrigating ditches with banks not over two feet high. One

guileless pair I knew excavated a nest in the gravelly bank of an

ungraded lot only three feet above the sidewalk of a prominent street,

Denny Way, in Seattle. These birds were unsuccessful, but another pair,

which enjoyed the protection of some sturdy fir roots below ground,

brought off a brood on Fifty-fifth Street, near my home.

Unlike the Bank Swallows, the Rough-wings do not colonize to any great

extent, but are rather solitary. Favorable conditions may attract

several pairs to a given spot, as a gravel pit, but when together they

are little given to community functions.

These Swallows are pretty evenly distributed thruout the length and

breadth of the State, save that they do not venture into high altitudes.

Since they are so catholic in taste, it would seem that they are

destined to flourish. They are possibly now to be considered, after the

Cliff Swallow, the most numerous species. I found them regularly along

the west Olympic Coast in the summer of 1906; and, with Mr. Edson, of

Bellingham, in June, 1905, found a single pair nesting in characteristic

isolation on Bare Island, off Waldron.

Further than this, the bird under consideration resembles the other bird

quite closely in notes, in habits, and in general appearance, and

requires sharp distinction in accordance with the suggestions given

above under “Recognition Marks.”

No. 129.

BANK SWALLOW.

A. O. U. No. 616. Riparia riparia (Linn).

Synonym.—Sand Martin.

Description.—_Adult_: Upperparts plain, brownish gray; wings fuscous;

throat and belly white; a brownish gray band across the breast; a tiny

tuft of feathers above the hind toe. There is some variation in the

extent of the pectoral band; it is sometimes produced indistinctly

backward, and sometimes even interrupted. Length 5.00-5.25

(127-133.3); wing 3.95 (100.3); tail 1.97 (50); bill from nostril .20

(5.1).

Recognition Marks.—Smallest of the Swallows; throat white; brownish

gray pectoral band on white ground.

Nesting.—_Nest_, at end of tunnels in banks, two or three feet in; a

frail mat of straws and grasses and occasionally feathers. Breeds

usually in colonies. _Eggs_, 4-6, sometimes 7, pure white. Av. size,

.70 × .49 (17.8 × 12.5). _Season_: June; one brood.

General Range.—Northern Hemisphere; in America south to West Indies,

Central America, and northern South America; breeding from the middle

districts of the United States northward to about the limit of trees.

Range in Washington.—Summer resident; not common. A few large colonies

are known east of the Cascades; westerly they are rare or wanting.

Migrations.—_Spring_: May 11, 1896, Chelan.

Authorities.—_Clivicola riparia_, Dawson, Auk, Vol. XIV. April, 1897,

p. 179. T. [L¹.] D¹. Kb. D². Kk. B. E. (H).

Specimens.—Prov. C.

[Illustration: BANK SWALLOW.]

Those who know, conceive a regard for this plain-colored bird which is

quite out of keeping with its humble garb and its confessedly prosy

ways. The fact is, we have no other bird so nearly cosmopolitan, and we

of the West, who are being eternally reminded of our newness, and who

are, indeed, upon the alert for some new shade of color upon the feather

of a bird for each added degree of longitude, take comfort in the fact

that here at least is an unchangeable type, a visible link between

Stumptown-on-Swinomish and Florence on the Arno. Birds of precisely this

feather are summering on the Lena, or else hawking at flies on the sunny

Gaudalquivir, or tunneling the sacred banks of the Jordan; and the

flattery is not lost upon us of such as still prefer the Nespilem and

the Pilchuck.

[Illustration: _Taken near Chelan._ _Photo by the Author._

NESTING SITE OF THE BANK SWALLOW.]

The life of a Swallow is so largely spent a-wing, that our interest in

it centers even more than in the case of other birds upon the time when

it is bound to earth by family ties. We are scarcely conscious of the

presence of the Bank Swallow until one day we see a great company of

them fluttering about a sand-bank which overlooks the river, all busily

engaged in digging the tunnels which are to shelter their young for that

season. These birds are regularly gregarious, and a nesting colony

frequently numbers hundreds.

The birds usually select a spot well up within a foot or two of the top

of a nearly perpendicular bank of soil or sand, and dig a straight,

round tunnel three or four feet long. If, however, the soil contains

stones, a greater length and many turns may be required to reach a safe

spot for the slight enlargement where the nest proper is placed. The

bird appears to loosen the earth with its closed beak, swaying from side

to side the while; and, of course, fallen dirt or sand is carried out in

the mouth. Sometimes the little miner finds a lens-shaped tunnel more

convenient, and I have seen them as much as seven inches in width and

only two in height. While the members of a colony, especially if it be a

small one, usually occupy a straggling, horizontal line of holes, their

burrows are not infrequently to be seen in loose tiers, so that the bank

presents a honey-combed appearance.

Communal life seems a pleasant thing to these Swallows, and there is

usually a considerable stir of activity about the quarters. A good deal

of social twittering also attends the unending gyrations. The wonder is

that the rapidly moving parts of this aerial kaleidoscope never collide,

and that the cases of turning up at the wrong number are either so few

or so amicably adjusted. The nesting season is, however, beset with

dangers. Weasels and their ilk sometimes find entrance to the nesting

burrows, and they are an easy prey to underbred small boys as well. The

undermining of the nesting cliff by the swirling river sometimes

precipitates an entire colony—at least its real and personal property—to

destruction.

A certain populous bank near Chelan faced west, and whenever the west

wind blew, the fine volcanic ash, which composed the cliff, was whirled

into the mouths of the burrows, so rapidly, indeed, that the inmates

required to be frequently at work in order to maintain an exit. A few

dessicated carcasses, which I came across in old, filled-up burrows, I

attributed to misfortune in this regard.

Bank Swallows are the least musical of the Swallow kind,—unless,

perhaps, we except the Rough-winged species, which is naturally

associated in mind with this. They have, nevertheless, a characteristic

twitter, an unmelodious sound like the rubbing together of two pebbles.

An odd effect is produced when the excited birds are describing

remonstrant parabolas at an intruder’s head. The heightened pitch in the

tones of the rapidly approaching bird, followed instantly by the lower

tone of full retreat, is enough to startle a slumbering conscience in

one who meditates mischief on a Swallow’s home.

No. 130.

AMERICAN BARN SWALLOW.

A. O. U. No. 613. Hirundo erythrogastra Bodd.

Synonyms.—American Barn Swallow. Fork-tailed Swallow.

Description.—_Adult_: Above lustrous steel-blue; in front an imperfect

collar of the same hue; forehead chestnut; lores black; throat and

breast rufous; the remaining underparts, including lining of wings,

more or less tinged with the same, according to age and season; wings

and tail blackish, with purplish or greenish reflections; tail deeply

forked, the outer pair of feathers being from one to two inches

longer, and the rest graduated; white blotches on inner webs (except

on middle pair) follow the bifurcation. _Immature_: Forehead and

throat paler; duller or brownish above; lateral tail-feathers not so

long. Length about 7.00 (177.8); wing 4.75 (120.6); tail 3.00-4.50

(76.2-114.3); bill from nostril .24 (6.1).

Recognition Marks.—Aerial habit; rufous of throat and underparts;

_forked tail_; nest usually _inside_ the barn.

Nesting.—_Nest_: a neat bracket or half-bowl of mud, luxuriously lined

with grass and feathers, and cemented to a beam of barn or bridge. In

Washington still nests occasionally in original haunts, viz., cliffs,

caves, and crannied sea-walls. _Eggs_: 3-6, of variable shape,—oval or

elongated; white or pinkish white and spotted with cinnamon or umber.

Av. size .76 × .55 (19.3 × 14). _Season_: last week in May and first

week in July; two broods. Stehekin, Aug. 10, 1896, 4 eggs.

General Range.—North America at large. Perhaps the most widely and

generally distributed of any American bird. Winters in Central and

South America.

Range in Washington.—Summer resident of regular occurrence at lower

levels thruout the State, less common west of the Cascades, more

common elsewhere in the older settled valleys.

Migrations.—_Spring_: c. May 1st; Yakima County, April 27, 1907; May

3, 1908. _Fall_: c. September 10th; Seattle, September 20, 1907.

Authorities.—_Hirundo horeorum_ Benton, Cooper and Suckley, Rep. Pac.

R. R. Surv. XII., pt. II., 1860, p. 184. T. C&S. L. Rh. D¹. Kb. Ra.

D². Ss¹. Ss². J. B. E.

Specimens.—Prov. P¹. C. E.

One hardly knows what quality to admire most in this boyhood’s and

life-long friend, the Barn Swallow. All the dear associations of life at

the old farm come thronging up at sight of him. You think of him somehow

as a part of the sacred past; yet here he is today as young and as fresh

as ever, bubbling over with springtime laughter, ready for a frolic over

the bee-haunted meadows, or willing to settle down on the nearest

fence-wire and recount to you with sparkling eyes and eloquent gesture

the adventures of that glorious trip up from Mexico.

Perhaps it is his childlike enthusiasm which stirs us. He has come many

a league this morning, yet he dashes in thru the open doors and shouts

like a boisterous schoolboy, “Here we are, you dear old barn; ar’n’t we

glad to get back again!” Then it’s out to see the horse-pond; and down

the lane where the cattle go, with a dip under the bridge and a few

turns over the orchard—a new purpose, or none, every second—life one

full measure of abounding joy!

Or is it the apotheosis of motion which takes the eye? See them as they

cast a magic spell over the glowing green of the young alfalfa, winding

about in the dizzy patterns of a heavenly ballet, or vaulting at a

thought to snatch an insect from the sky. Back again, in again, out

again, away, anywhere, everywhere, with two-mile a minute speed and

effortless grace.

But it is the sweet confidingness of this dainty Swallow which wins us.

With all the face of Nature before him he yet prefers the vicinage of

men, and comes out of his hilly fastnesses as soon as we provide him

shelter. We all like to be trusted whether we deserve it or not. And if

we don’t deserve it; well, we will, that’s all.

The Barn Swallow is not a common bird with us as it is east of the

Rockies, nor is it evenly distributed thruout our State. Wherever the

country is well settled it is likely, but not certain, to be found;

while for the rest it is confined to such lower altitudes as afford it

suitable shelter caves and nesting cliffs.

At the head of Lake Chelan in 1895 I found such a primitive nesting

haunt. The shores of the lake near its head are very precipitous, since

Castle Mountain rises to a height of over 8,000 feet within a distance

of two miles. Along the shore-line in the side of the cliffs, which

continue several hundred feet below the water, the waves have hollowed

out crannies and caves. In one of these latter, which penetrates the

granite wall to a depth of some twenty feet, I found four or five Barn

Swallows’ nests, some containing young, and two, altho it was so late in

the season (July 9, 1895), containing eggs. Other nests were found in

neighboring crannies outside the cave. A visit paid to this same spot on

August 10th, 1896, discovered one nest still occupied, and this

contained four eggs.

[Illustration: _Taken near Spokane._ _Photo by F. S. Merrill._

NEST OF BARN SWALLOW.]

Mr. F. S. Merrill, of Spokane, reports the Barn Swallow as nesting along

the rocky walls of Hangman’s Creek, in just such situations as Cliff

Swallows would choose; and back in ’89, I found a few associated with

Violet-greens along the Natchez Cliffs, in Yakima County.

A colony of some twenty pairs may be found yearly nesting on Destruction

Island, in the Pacific Ocean. A few of them still occupy wave-worn

crannies in the sand-rock, overlooking the upper reaches of the tide,

but most of the colony have taken refuge under the broad gables of the

keepers’ houses.

[Illustration: _Taken in Blaine._ _From a Photograph Copyright,

1908, by W. L. Dawson._

THE NOONING.

BARN SWALLOWS ON TELEGRAPH WIRES.]

The nest of the Barn Swallow is quadrispherical, or bracket-shaped, with

an open top; and it usually depends for its position upon the

adhesiveness of the mud used in construction. Dr. Brewer says of them:

“The nests are constructed of distinct layers of mud, from ten to twelve

in number, and each separated by strata of fine dry grasses. These

layers are each made up of small pellets of mud, that have been worked

over by the birds and placed one by one in juxtaposition until each

layer is complete.” The mud walls thus composed are usually an inch in

thickness, and the cavity left is first lined with fine soft grasses,

then provided with abundant feathers, among which the speckled eggs lie

buried and almost invisible.

Bringing off the brood is an event which may well arrest the attention

of the human household. There is much stir of excitement about the barn.

The anxious parents rush to and fro shouting _tisic, tisic_, now in

encouragement, now in caution, while baby number one launches for the

nearest beam. The pace is set, and babies number two to four follow

hotly after, now lighting safely, now landing in the hay-mow, or

compromising on a plow-handle. Upon the last-named the agonized parents

urge another effort, for Tabby may appear at any moment. He tries,

therefore, for old Nellie’s back, to the mild astonishment of that

placid mare, who presently shakes him off. Number five tumbles outright

and requires to be replaced by hand, if you will be so kind. And so the

tragi-comedy wears on, duplicating human years in half as many days,

until at last we see our Swallows among their twittering fellows strung

like notes of music on the far-flung staff of Western Union.

If birds really mean anything more to us than so many Japanese kites

flown without strings, we may surely join with Dr. Brewer in his

whole-souled appreciation of these friendly Swallows: “Innocent and

blameless in their lives, there is no evil blended with the many

benefits they confer on man. They are his ever constant benefactor and

friend, and are never known even indirectly to do an injury. For their

daily food and for that of their offspring, they destroy the insects

that annoy his cattle, injure his fruit trees, sting his fruit, or

molest his person. Social, affectionate and kind in their intercourse

with each other; faithful and devoted in the discharge of their conjugal

and parental duties; exemplary, watchful, and tender alike to their own

family and to all their race; sympathizing and benevolent when their

fellows are in any trouble,—these lovely and beautiful birds are bright

examples to all, in their blameless and useful lives.”

No. 131.

TREE SWALLOW.

A. O. U. No. 614. Iridoprocne bicolor (Vieill.).

Synonym.—White-bellied Swallow.

Description.—_Adult male_: Above, lustrous steel-blue or steel-green;

below, pure white; lores black; wings and tail black, showing some

bluish or greenish luster; tail slightly forked. _Female_: Similar to

male, but duller. _Immature_: Upper parts mouse-gray instead of

metallic; below whitish. Length about 6.00 (152.4); wing 4.57; (116.1)

tail 2.19 (55.6); bill from nostril .25 (6.4).

Recognition Marks.—Aërial habits; steel-blue or greenish above; pure

white below; a little larger than the next species.

Nesting.—_Nest_: in holes in trees or, latterly, in bird houses,

plentifully lined with soft materials, especially feathers. _Eggs_:

4-6, pure white,—pinkish white before removal of contents. Av. size

.75 × .54 (19.1 × 13.7). _Season_: last week in May, first week in

July; two broods.

General Range.—North America at large, breeding from the Fur Countries

south to New Jersey, the Ohio Valley, Kansas, Colorado, California,

etc.; wintering from South Carolina and the Gulf States southward to

the West Indies and Guatemala.

Range in Washington.—Summer resident; abundant on West-side; not

common east of the Cascade Mountains.

Migrations.—_Spring_: First week in March or earlier; Seattle, March

4, 1889; March 7, 1890; Tacoma, March 2, 1907; March 3, 1908;

Bellingham (Edson), Tacoma (Bowles), Steilacoom (Dawson), February 25,

1905; Skagit Marshes near Fir (L. R. Reynolds), February 1, 1906;

Seattle (Dr. Clinton T. Cooke), January 21, 1906.

Authorities.—_Hirundo bicolor_ Vieillot, Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv.

IX., pt. II., 1858, p. 311. T. C&S. Rh. D¹. Kb. Ra. D². J. B. E.

Specimens.—U. of W. P. Prov. C.

One Swallow does not make a summer, but a little twittering company of

them faring northward makes the heart glad, and fills it with a sense of

exaltation as it responds to the call of these care-free children of the

air. The remark applies to Swallows in general, but particularly to Tree

Swallows, for in their immaculate garb of dark blue and white, they seem

like crystallizations of sky and templed cloud, grown animate with the

all-compelling breath of spring. They have about them the marks of

high-born quality, which we cannot but admire as they spurn with a

wing-stroke the lower strata, and rise to accept we know not what

dainties of the upper air.

[Illustration: _Taken in Seattle._ _Photo by the Author._

TREE SWALLOW.]

While not so hardy as Robin and Bluebird, since it must maintain an

exclusive diet of insects, Tree Swallow is, occasionally, very

venturesome as to the season of its northward flight. Indeed a

succession of mild winters might induce it to become a permanent

resident of the Puget Sound country, and it is not certain that it has

not already done so in some instances. It often reaches Seattle during

the first week in March; while it was simultaneously observed at Tacoma

(Bowles), and Bellingham (Edson) on the 24th day of February, 1905. In

1906 Mr. L. R. Reynolds reported seeing it in numbers on the Skagit

marshes near Fir, on the 1st of February; and Dr. Clinton T. Cooke,

looking from his office window in the Alaska Building, saw a large

specimen, apparently an adult male, soaring about over the Grand Opera

House, in Seattle, on the 21st day of January.

The Tree Swallow is a lover of the water and is seldom to be found at a

great distance from it. It is close to the surface of ponds and lakes

that the earliest insects are to be found in spring, and it is here that

the bird may maintain the spotlessness of its plumage by frequent dips.

Hence a favorite nesting site for these birds is one of the partially

submerged forests which are so characteristic of western Washington

lakes. The birds are not themselves able to make excavations in the

wood, but they have no difficulty in possessing themselves of the

results of other birds’ labors. Old holes will do if not too old, but I

once knew a pair of these Swallows to drive away a pair of Northwest

Flickers from a brand new nesting-hole, on the banks of Lake Union, and

to occupy it themselves.

The nesting cavity is copiously lined with dead grass and feathers; and

sometime during the last week of May from four to six white eggs are

deposited. The female sits very closely and it is sometimes necessary to

remove her by hand in order to examine the nest. Both parents are very

solicitous on such occasions, and should a feather from the nest be

tossed into the air, one of them will at once catch it and fly about

awaiting a chance to replace it. Or if there are other Swallows about,

some neighbor will snatch it first and make off with it to add to her

own collection.

Tree Swallows are slowly availing themselves of artificial nesting

sites. In fact, several species of our birds have become quite

civilized, so that nowadays no carefully constructed and quietly

situated bird-box need be without its spring tenant. A pair once built

their nest in a sort of tower attic, just inside a hole which a Flicker

had pierced in the ceiling of an open belfry of a country church in

Yakima. When in service the mouth of the swinging bell came within two

feet of the brooding bird. One would suppose that the Swallows would

have been crazed with fright to find themselves in the midst of such a

tumult of sound; but their enterprise fared successfully, as I can

testify, for at the proper time I saw the youngsters ranged in a happy,

twittering row along the upper rim of the bell-wheel.

No. 132.

VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW.

A. O. U. No. 615. Tachycineta thalassina lepida (Mearns).

Synonym.—Northern Violet-green Swallow.

Description.—_Adult male_: Upperparts, including pileum, hind-neck,

back, upper portion of rump, scapulars, and lesser wing-coverts, rich

velvety bronze-green, occasionally tinged with purple, crown usually

more or less contrasting with color of back, greenish-brown rather

than bronze-green, and more strongly tinged with purple; a narrow

cervical collar, lower rump, and upper tail-coverts, velvety

violet-purple; wings (except lesser coverts) and tail blackish glossed

with violet or purple; lores grayish; underparts, continuous with

cheeks and area over and behind eye, and with conspicuous flank patch,

nearly meeting fellow across rump, pure white; under wing-coverts pale

gray, whitening on edge of wing. Bill black; feet brownish black; iris

brown. _Adult female_: Like male but usually much duller, bronze-green

of upperparts reduced to greenish brown, or brown with faint greenish

reflections. _Young birds_ are plain mouse-gray above and their inner

secondaries are touched with white. Length 4.50-5.50 (114.3-139.7);

wing 4.41 (112); tail 1.77 (45); bill .20 (5.2).

Recognition Marks.—Smaller; green and violet above, white below;

white-cheeked and white-rumped (apparently) as distinguished from the

Tree Swallow.

Nesting.—_Nest_: of dried grasses with or without feathers, placed in

crevice of cliff or at end of vapor hole in basalt walls; latterly in

bird boxes and about buildings. _Eggs_: 4-6, pure white. Av. size .72

× .48 (18.3 × 12.2). _Season_: June.

General Range.—Western United States, from the eastern base of the

Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, north to the Yukon Valley, south in

winter to Costa Rica.

Range in Washington.—Summer resident, of regular occurrence in

mountain valleys and among the foothills; rare or local elsewhere;

becoming common in the larger cities.

Migrations.—_Spring_: “About the 10th of May” (Suckley)[49]; now at

least March; Chelan, March 27, 1896; Seattle, March 24, 1906; Tacoma,

March 16, 1907; March 14, 1908; Olympia, February 27(?), 1897.

Authorities.—?Ornith. Com. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., VII., 1837, 193

(Columbia River). _Hirundo thalassina_ Swainson, Baird, Rep. Pac. R.

R. Surv. IX., pt. II., 1858, p. 312. T. C&S. L¹. Rh. D¹. D². Ss¹. Kk.

J. B. E.

Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. P¹. C. E.

To appear to the best advantage this dainty sky-child should be seen on

a bright day, when the livid green of back and crown may reflect the

glancing rays of the sun with a delicate golden sheen. At such a time,

if one is clambering about the walls of some rugged granite cliff of the

lower Cascades, he feels as if the dwellers of Olympus had come down in

appropriate guise to inquire his business. Not, however, that these

lovely creatures are either meddlesome or shrewish. Even when the nest

is threatened by the strange presence, the birds seem unable to form any

conception of harm, and pursue their way in sunny disregard. Especially

pleasing to the eye is the pure white of the bird’s underparts, rising

high on flanks and cheeks and sharply contrasting with the pattern of

violet and green, in such fashion that, if Nature had invited us to

“remold it nearer to the heart’s desire,” we must have declined the

task.

[Illustration: VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW

MALE, 8/11 NATURAL SIZE

From a Water-color Painting by Allan Brooks]

Before the advent of the white man upon Puget Sound, these birds

commonly nested in deserted woodpecker holes and in natural cavities of

trees, while upon the East-side they nested (and still do to a large

extent) upon the granite or lava cliffs. In the last-named situations

they utilize the rocky clefts and inaccessible crannies, and are

especially fond of the smaller vapor holes which characterize the

basaltic formations. Favorable circumstances may attract a considerable

colony, to the number of a hundred pairs or more, but even so it is not

easy to find a getatable nest. If one is able to reach the actual

nesting site, the mouth of the ancient gas-vent which the birds have

chosen for a home may prove too small to admit the hand.

[Illustration: _Taken in Oregon._ _Photo by Finley and Bohlman._

YOUNG VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW.]

Thruout the State, however, and especially upon the West-side, these

exquisite birds are forsaking their ancient haunts and claiming

protection of men. Already they have become common in larger cities,

where they occupy bird-boxes and crannies of buildings. South Tacoma,

being nearest to their old oak nurseries, is quite given over to them,

and it is a pretty sight on a sunny day in April to see them fluttering

about the cottages inspecting knot-holes and recessed gables or, in

default of such conveniences, daintily voicing their disapproval of such

neglect on the part of careless humans.

In these birds and in the Barn Swallows, the well known twittering and

creaking notes of Swallows most nearly approach the dignity of song.

Indeed, Mr. Rathbun contends that the song heard at close quarters is a

really creditable affair, varied, vivacious, and musical.

The Violet-greens are somewhat less hardy or venturesome than the Tree

Swallows, arriving usually during the last week in March. Last year’s

nesting site becomes at once the spring rendezvous, but the duties of

maternity are not seriously undertaken until about the 1st of June. At

the head of Lake Chelan some twenty pairs of these Swallows, having left

the old nesting cliff a mile away, had engaged quarters at Field’s

Hotel, being assigned to the boxed eaves of a second-story piazza in

this pleasant caravanserai; but they had not yet deposited eggs on the

20th of June, 1906.

Altho not formerly so fastidious—I have found cliff nests composed

entirely of dried grass—these birds have become connoisseurs in

upholstery of feathers, and their unglossed white eggs, five or six in

number, are invariably smothered in purloined down, until we begin to

suspect that our fowls rather than our features have favored our

adoption.

_Ampelidæ_—The Waxwings

No. 133.

BOHEMIAN WAXWING.

A. O. U. No. 618. Bombycilla garrula (Linn.).

Synonyms.—Northern Waxwing. Greater Waxwing.

Description.—_Adults_: A conspicuous crest; body plumage soft,

grayish-brown or fawn-color, shading by insensible degrees between the

several parts; back darker, passing into bright cinnamon-rufous on

forehead and crown, and thru dark ash of rump and upper tail-coverts

into black of tail; tips of tail feathers abruptly yellow (gamboge);

breast with a vinaceous cast, passing into cinnamon-rufous of cheeks;

a narrow frontal line passing thru eye, and a short throat-patch

velvety black; under tail-coverts deep cinnamon; wing blackish-ash,

the tips of the primary coverts and the tips of the secondaries on

outer webs white, tips of primaries on outer webs bright yellow,

whitening outwardly; the shafts of the rectrices produced into

peculiar flattened red “sealing-wax” tips; bill and feet black. Length

about 8.00 (203.2); wing 4.61 (117.1); tail 2.56 (65); bill .47

(11.9).

Recognition Marks.—Chewink size; grayish-brown coloration. As

distinguished from the much more common Cedar-bird; belly _not_

yellow; white wing-bars; under tail-coverts cinnamon.

Nesting.—Not known to breed in Washington. Like that of next species.

_Eggs_, larger. Av. size, .98 × .69 (24.9 × 17.5).

General Range.—Northern portions of northern hemisphere. In North

America, south in winter irregularly to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois,

Kansas, southern Colorado, and northern California. Breeds north of

United States; also, possibly, in the mountains of the West.

Range in Washington.—Winter resident, regular and sometimes abundant

east of the Cascades, especially in the northern tier of counties;

rare or casual on the West-side.

Authorities.—_Ampelis garrulus_, Brewster, B. N. O. C. VII. Oct. 1882,

p. 227. D¹. J. E.

Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. P¹. C.

Nothing can exceed the refined elegance of these “gentlemen in feathers”

who visit us yearly in winter, rarely on Puget Sound, but abundantly in

the northeastern portion of the State. Demure, gentle, courteous to a

fault, and guileless to the danger point, and beyond, these lovely

creatures exceed in beauty, if possible, their more familiar cousin, the

Cedarbird. They move about in flocks, sometimes to the number of

hundreds, and as the rigors of winter come on they search the orchard

and berry-patch for ungarnered fruit, or divide with hungry Robins the

largess of rowan trees. Much time is spent in amiable converse, but it

is not at all fair to call them “chatterers,” or _garrulus_, as tho they

were monkeys. Dignity is of the very essence of their being, and, as

fond as they are of good living, they would starve rather than do

anything rude or unseemly.

An observer in Utah[50] relates how an ill-mannered Robin, jealous of

the good behavior of a company of these visitors, in an apple tree, set

about to abuse them. “He would bluster and scream out his denunciations

till he seemed unable longer to restrain himself, when, to all

appearances, absolutely beside himself with rage because the objects of

his wrath paid no attention to his railings, he did the catapult

act—hurling himself straight at the intruders. Several of the Waxwings,

in order to avoid an actual collision, left the places where they were

feeding, and alighting on twigs near by paused for a moment, as if to

observe the antics of the furious Robin, when they would resume their

feeding. Their indifference to the loud bullying protests of the Robin,

and their persistence in remaining on the premises after he had ordered

them off so exasperated Mr. Redbreast that with screams of defiance he

dashed from group to group without stopping to alight, until, exhausted

quite as much by the heat of anger as by the unusual exertions he was

making, he was glad to drop to a branch and pant for breath”—while the

Waxwings continued to ignore the churl, as gentlemen should.

Concerning the nesting range of this bird there has been much surmise.

For many years the single eggs taken by Kennicott at Fort Yukon on July

4, 1861, remained unique; but latterly we are learning that it also

nests much further south. Mr. Brooks took four sets, one from a Murray

pine and three from Douglas firs, at 158-Mile House, B. C., in June,

1901[51]. Dr. C. S. Moody[52] reports the taking of a set of five eggs

at Sandpoint, Idaho, July 5, 1904. On June 26, 1904, Robert G. Bee, of

Provo City, found a nest near Sunnyside, Utah[53]. With such examples

before us it is practically certain that the species will be found

nesting in this State. Indeed, Mr. F. S. Merrill, of Spokane, believes

that he once found a nest of the Bohemian Waxwing on the headwaters of

the Little Spokane River near Milan. The nest he describes as having

been placed in an alder at a height of eight feet, and it contained four

eggs on the point of hatching. The brooding bird allowed a close

approach while upon the nest, but was not seen again after being once

flushed.

No. 134.

CEDAR WAXWING.

A. O. U. No. 619. Bombycilla cedrorum Vieill.

Synonyms.—Cedar-bird. Cherry-bird. Carolina Waxwing. Lesser Waxwing.

Description.—_Adults_: A conspicuous crest; extreme forehead, lores,

and line thru eye velvety-black; chin blackish, fading rapidly into

the rich grayish-brown of remaining fore-parts and head; a narrow

whitish line bordering the black on the forehead and the blackish of

the chin; back darker, shading thru ash of rump to blackish-ash of

tail; tail-feathers abruptly tipped with gamboge yellow; belly sordid

yellow; under tail-coverts white; wings slaty-gray, primaries narrowly

edged with whitish; secondaries and inner quills without white

markings, but bearing tips of red “sealing-wax”; the tail-feathers are

occasionally found with the same curious, horny appendages; bill

black; feet plumbeous. Sexes alike, but considerable individual

variation in number and size of waxen tips. _Young_, streaked

everywhere with whitish, and usually without red tips. Length

6.50-7.50 (165.1-190.5); wing 3.70 (94); tail 2.31 (58.7); bill .40

(10.2).

Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; soft grayish-brown plumage; crest;

red sealing-wax tips on secondaries; belly yellow; wings without white

bars or spots, as distinguished from preceding species.

Nesting.—_Nest_, a bulky affair of leaves, grasses, bark-strips and

trash, well lined with rootlets and soft materials; placed in crotch

or horizontally saddled on limb of orchard or evergreen tree. _Eggs_,

3-6, dull grayish blue or putty-color, marked sparingly with deep-set,

rounded spots of umber or black. Av. size, .86 × .61 (21.8 × 15.5).

_Season_: June, July; two broods.

General Range.—North America at large, from the Fur Countries

southward. In winter from the northern border of the United States

south to the West Indies and Costa Rica. Breeds from Virginia, Kansas,

Oregon, etc., northward.

Range in Washington.—Of regular occurrence in the State, but irregular

or variable locally. Resident, but less common in winter.

Authorities.—_Ampelis cedrorum_ Baird, Cooper and Suckley, Rep. Pac.

R. R. Surv. XII. pt. II. 1860, p. 187. T. C&S. Rh. D¹. Kb. Ra. D².

Ss². Kk. B. E.

Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. P. B. E.

One does not care to commit himself in precise language upon the range

of the Cedarbird, or to predict that it will be found at any given spot

in a given season. The fact is, Cedarbirds are gypsies of the feathered

kind. There are always some of them about somewhere, but their comings

and goings are not according to any fixed law. A company of Cedarbirds

may throng the rowan trees in your front yard some bleak day in

December; they may nest in your orchard the following July; and you may

not see them on your premises again for years—unless you keep cherry

trees. It must be confessed (since the shade of the cherry tree is ever

sacred to Truth) that the Cedarbird, or “Cherrybird,” has a single

passion, a consuming desire for cherries. But don’t kill him for that.

You like cherries yourself. All the more reason, then, why you should be

charitable toward a brother’s weakness. Besides, he is so

handsome,—handsomer himself than a luscious cherry even. Feast your eyes

upon him, those marvelous melting browns, those shifting saffrons and

Quaker drabs, those red sealing-wax tips on the wing-quills (he is

canning cherries, you see, and comes provided). Feast your eyes, I say,

and carry the vision to the table with you—and a few less cherries. Or,

if there are not enough for you both, draw a decent breadth of

mosquito-netting over the tree, and absolve your soul of murderous

intent. Remember, too, if you require self-justification, that earlier

in the season he diligently devoured noxious worms and insect pests, so

that he has a clear right to a share in the fruit of his labors.

Cherries are by no means the only kind of fruit eaten by these birds.

Like most orchard-haunting species, they are very fond of mulberries,

while the red berries of the mountain ash are a staple ration in fall

and winter. Truth to tell, these beauties are sad gluttons, and they

will gorge themselves at times till the very effort of swallowing

becomes a delicious pain.

The Cedarbird, being so singularly endowed with the gift of beauty, is

denied the gift of song. He is, in fact, the most nearly voiceless of

any of the American Oscines, his sole note being a high-pitched sibilant

squeak. Indeed, so high-pitched is this extraordinary note that many

people, and they trained bird-men, cannot hear them at all, even when

the Waxwings are squeaking all about them. It is an almost uncanny

spectacle, that of a company of Waxwings sitting aloft in some leafless

tree early in spring, erect, immovable, like soldiers on parade, but

complaining to each other in that faint, penetrating monotone. It is as

tho you had come upon a company of the Immortals, high-removed,

conversing of matters too recondite for human ken, and surveying you the

while with Olympian disdain. You steal away from the foot of the tree

with a chastened sense of having encountered something not quite

understandable.

The dilatory habits of these birds are well shown in their nesting,

which they put off until late June or July, for no apparent reason. In

constructing the nest the birds use anything soft and pliable which

happens to catch the eye. Some specimens are composed entirely of the

green hanging mosses, while others are a complicated mixture of twigs,

leaves, rootlets, fibers, grasses, rags, string, paper, and what not.

The nest may be placed at any moderate height up to fifty feet, and a

great variety of trees are used altho orchard trees are favorites. The

birds are half gregarious, even in the nesting season, so that a small

orchard may contain a dozen nests, while another as good, a little way

removed, has none. In the Nooksack Valley, near Glacier, Mr. Brown

showed me a tiny pasture carved out of the woods, where he had found,

during the previous season, six nests of the Cedarbird, placed at

heights ranging from three to six feet above the ground in small clumps

of vine maple or alder saplings. In Chelan we found them nesting in the

tops of the solitary pine trees which line the stream.

The female sits closely upon her eggs, not infrequently remaining until

forcibly removed. Once off, however, she makes away without complaint,

and pays no further attention to the incident until the intruder has

departed.

Always of a most gentle disposition, when the nesting season arrives,

according to Mr. Bowles, these birds richly deserve the name of Love

Birds. A leaf from his note-book supports the statement: “July 7, 1896.

To-day I watched two Cedarbirds selecting a nesting site, first one

location being tested, then another. Finally they decided upon a

suitable place and commenced picking both dry and green leaves from the

surrounding trees, placing them upon a horizontal limb where two or

three twigs projected. Almost all of these leaves blew off as soon as

placed, greatly to the surprise of the birds, who solemnly watched them

drop to the ground. These fallen leaves were never replaced, fresh ones

being gathered instead, and these were always secured from growing

trees. Then one got a long strip of plant silk and, placing it on the

leaf foundation flew a foot or two away and lit. The other bird promptly

took away the silk and brought it to its mate, who very gently took it

and put it back. This operation was repeated again and again. At times

both held the silk, sitting only an inch or two apart, whereupon the

bird who was the original finder would, _very gently_, pull it from the

bill of its mate and replace it. At the end of fifteen minutes of this

loving passage I was obliged to retire, and I shall never know whether

the plant fiber was successfully placed or merely worn out.”

_Laniidæ_—The Shrikes

No. 135.

NORTHERN SHRIKE.

A. O. U. No. 621. Lanius borealis Vieill.

Synonyms.—Great Northern Shrike. Butcher-bird.

Description.—_Adult_: Upperparts clear, bluish gray, lightest—almost

white—on upper tail-coverts; extreme forehead whitish; wings and tail

black, the former with a conspicuous white spot at base of primaries,

the latter with large, white terminal blotches on outer feathers,

decreasing in size inwardly; a black band through eye, including

auriculars; below grayish white, the feathers of the breast and sides

narrowly tipped with dusky, producing a uniform, fine vermiculation

which is always present; bill blackish, lightening at base of lower

mandible; feet black. _Young_ birds are barred or washed with grayish

brown. The plumage of adult is sometimes overcast above with a faint

olivaceous tinge. Length 9.25-10.75 (235-273.1); wing 4.50 (114.3);

tail 4.19 (106.4); bill .72 (18.3); tarsus 1.07 (27.3).

Recognition Marks.—Robin size; gray and black coloring; sharply hooked

bill; breast vermiculated with dusky, as distinguished from next

species.

Nesting.—Does not breed in Washington. _Nest_: a well constructed bowl

of sticks, thorn-twigs, grasses, and trash, heavily lined with

plant-down and feathers; in bushes or low trees. _Eggs_: 3-7, dull

white or greenish gray, thickly dotted and spotted with olive-green,

brown, or lavender. Av. size, 1.07 × .78 (27.2 × 19.8).

General Range.—Northern North America; south in winter to the middle

and southern portions of the United States. Breeds north of the United

States except sparingly in northern New England.

Range in Washington.—Spring and fall migrant and not common winter

resident thruout the State, chiefly at lower levels.

Authorities.—? Townsend, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. VIII. 1839, 152

(Columbia River). Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, 325. C&S. D¹.

Ra. D². B. E.

Specimens.—(U. of W.) P¹. Prov. B. E.

Flitting like a gray ghost in the wake of the cheerful hosts of Juncoes

and Redpolls, comes this butcher of the North in search of his

accustomed prey. If it is his first visit south he posts himself upon

the tip of a tree and rasps out an inquiry of the man with the gun.

Those that survive these indiscretions are thereafter faintly descried

in the distance, either in the act of diving from some anxious summit,

or else winging swiftly over the inequalities of the ground.

All times are killing time for this bloodthirsty fellow, and even in

winter he “jerks” the meat not necessary for present consumption—be it

chilly-footed mouse or palpitating Sparrow—upon some convenient thorn or

splinter. In spring the north-bound bird is somewhat more amiable, being

better fed, and he pauses from time to time during the advance to sing a

strange medley, which at a little remove sounds like a big electric

buzz. This is meant for a love song, and is doubtless so accepted by the

proper critics, but its rendition sometimes produces about the same

effect upon a troop of Finches, which a cougar’s serenade does upon a

cowering deer.

Experts try to make out that this creature is beneficial, on the whole,

because of the insects he devours, but I have seen too much good red

blood on this butcher’s beak myself. My gun is loaded!

Suckley writing in the Fifties remarks the scarcity of all Shrikes in

Oregon or Washington “Territories,” and this is fortunately still true,

especially west of the Cascades. The probable explanation is that the

mild climate of the Pacific slope of Alaska retards or prevents the

southward movement of the more hardy species.

No. 136.

WHITE-RUMPED SHRIKE.

A. O. U. No. 622 a. Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides (Swains.).

Description.—_Adult_: Dark bluish gray above, changing abruptly to

white on upper tail-coverts; scapulars chiefly white; wings black, a

small white spot at base of primaries; the inner quills narrowly

tipped with white; tail black, the outer pair of feathers chiefly

white, and the succeeding broadly tipped with white in descending

ratio until color disappears in two central pairs; below white

slightly soiled on breast, but everywhere strongly contrasting with

upperparts; narrow frontal line including nasal tufts, lores, and

ear-coverts, black,—continuous, and passing mostly below eye; bill and

feet black. _Immature_: Colors of adult less strongly contrasted;

lower parts washed with brownish; loral bar obscure; more or less

vermiculated with dusky all over (in younger birds), or upon the

underparts alone; ends of wing-quills, coverts, and tail-feathers

often with ochraceous or rusty markings. Length of adult male:

8.50-10.00 (215.9-254); wing 3.96 (100.6); tail 3.9 (99); bill .60

(15.3); tarsus 1.1 (28).

Recognition Marks.—Chewink to Robin size; dark gray above; whitish

below; longitudinal black patch of head; wings black and white; breast

of adult unmarked, as distinguished from both _L. borealis_ and _L. l.

gambeli_.

Nesting.—_Nest_: a bulky but well-built structure of sticks,

thorn-twigs, sage-bark, dried leaves, etc., heavily lined with wool,

hair, and feathers; placed at moderate heights in sage-brush or

sapling. _Eggs_: 5-7, dull grayish or greenish white, thickly speckled

and spotted with pale olive or reddish brown. Av. size, .97 × .73

(24.6 × 18.5). _Season_: April, June; two broods.

General Range.—Western North America from the Great Plains westward,

except Pacific Coast district and from Manitoba and the plains of

Saskatchewan south over the tablelands of Mexico; south in winter over

the whole of Mexico intergrading with _L. l. migrans_ in region of the

Great Lakes.

Range in Washington.—Common summer resident east of the Cascades,

chiefly in sage-brush country.

Authorities.—Dawson, Auk, XIV. 1897, 179. (T). D¹. D². Ss¹. Ss².

Specimens.—(U. of W.) P. C.

The brushy draws of the low lava ranges and the open sage stretches of

the East-side constitute the favorite preserve of this lesser bird of

prey. He arrives from the South early in March when his patchy plumage

harmonizes more or less with the snow-checkered landscape, but he is

nowise concerned with problems of protective coloration. Seeking out

some prominent perch, usually at this time of year a dead greasewood or

a fence-post, he divides his time between spying upon the early-creeping

field mouse and entertaining his lady love with outlandish music. Those

who have not heard the White-rumped Shrike _sing_, have missed a treat.

He begins with a series of rasping sounds, which are probably intended

to produce the same receptive condition in his audience which Ole Bull

secured by awkwardly breaking one string after another on his violin,

till only one was left. There, however, the resemblance ceases, for

where the virtuoso could extract a melody of marvelous variety and

sweetness from his single string, the bird produces the sole note of a

struck anvil. This pours forth in successive three-syllabled phrases

like the metallic and reiterative clink of a freely falling hammer. The

chief difference which appears between this love song and the ordinary

call of warning or excitement is that in the latter case the less tender

passions have weighted the clanging anvil with scrap iron and destroyed

its resonance.

[Illustration: _Taken in Douglas County._ _Photo by the Author._

THE SHRIKE’S PRESERVE.]

The Shrike is a bird of prey but he is no restless prowler or hoverer,

wearing out his wings with incessant flight—not he. Choosing rather a

commanding position on a telegraph wire, or exposed bush top, he

searches the ground with his eye until he detects some suspicious

movement of insect, mouse, or bird. Then he dives down amongst the sage,

and if successful returns to his post to devour at leisure. The bird

does not remain long enough at one station to inspire a permanent dread

in the local population of comestibles; but rather moves on from post to

post at short intervals and in methodical fashion. In flight the bird

moves either by successive plunges and noisy reascensions, or else

pitches downward from his perch and wings rapidly over the surface of

the vegetation.

The Sage Shrikes are prolific and attentive breeders. The first brood is

brought off about the 1st of May, but fresh eggs may sometimes be found

as early as the last week in March in the southern part of the State. A

second brood may be expected from June 1st to 15th.

The nest is a bulky but usually well-built affair, placed habitually in

a sage bush, or a greasewood clump, with wild clematis for third choice.

The structure is designed for warmth and comfort, so that, whenever

possible, to the thickened walls of plant fibers, cow-hair, or sheep’s

wool, is added an inner lining of feathers, and these not infrequently

curl over the edge so as completely to conceal the nest contents. One

nest examined in Walla Walla County contained the following materials:

Willow twigs, broom-sage twigs, sage bark, weed stems, dried yarrow

leaves, dried sage leaves, hemp, wool, rabbit fur, horse-hair, cow-hair,

chicken feathers, string, rags, and sand, besides a thick mat of finely

comminuted scales, soft and shiny, the accumulated horny waste from the

growing wing-quills of the crowded young—altogether a sad mess.

[Illustration: _Taken in Douglas County._ _Photo by the Author._

NEST AND EGGS OF WHITE-RUMPED SHRIKE.]

The parent birds are singularly indifferent as a rule to the welfare of

a nest containing eggs alone. The female sits close, but once flushed,

stands clinking in the distance, or else absents herself entirely. When

the young are hatched, however, the old birds are capable of a spirited

and deafening defense.

It is curious that in Washington we have seen no signs of the out-door

larder, consisting of grasshoppers, mice, garter-snakes, etc., impaled

on thorns, which the eastern birds of this species are usually careful

to maintain somewhere in the vicinity of the nest. It may be simply that

the lack of convenient thorns accounts for this absence, or for the

failure of the habit.

Altho this bird belongs to a bad breed, one containing, among others,

the notorious “_Neuntöter_,” or Ninekiller, of northern Europe,

concerning which tradition maintains that it is never satisfied until it

has made a kill of nine birds hand-running, the evidence seems to be

overwhelmingly in its favor. Birds are found to constitute only eight

per cent of this bird’s food thruout the year, while, on account of its

services in ridding the land of undoubted vermin, its presence is to be

considered highly beneficial.

No. 137.

CALIFORNIA SHRIKE.

A. O. U. No. 622 b. Lanius ludovicianus gambeli Ridgway.

Description.—Similar to _L. l. excubitorides_ but decidedly darker,

duller gray above; underparts more sordid, tinged with brownish or

with more or less distinct transverse vermiculation of pale brownish

gray on chest and sides of breast; averaging slightly smaller.

Recognition Marks.—As in preceding—duller.

Nesting.—As in _L. l. excubitorides_—has not yet been reported from

Washington.

General Range.—Pacific Coast district from southwestern British

Columbia to northern Lower California; south in winter to Cape St.

Lucas and western Mexico.

Range in Washington.—Rare summer resident west of the Cascades.

Authorities.—? Orn. Com., Journ. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. VII. 1837, 193

(Columbia River). _Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides_ Lawrence, Auk,

IX. 1892, 46.

Resident Shrikes, presumably referable to this recently elaborated

subspecies, are exceedingly rare in western Washington. Mr. Bowles has

not seen any near Tacoma, and neither Mr. Rathbun nor myself have

encountered them in Seattle. Mr. R. H. Lawrence, however, notes having

seen three “White-rumped Shrikes” on June 10, 1890, in a small clearing

on the Humptulips River[54].

The smaller Shrikes are birds of the open country, and they should be

found in at least Lewis, Thurston, and Pierce Counties.

_Vireonidæ_—The Vireos

No. 138.

RED-EYED VIREO.

A. O. U. No. 624. Vireosylva olivacea (Linn.).

Description.—_Adult_: Crown grayish slate, bordered on either side by

blackish; a white line above the eye, and a dusky line thru the eye;

remaining upperparts light grayish olive-green; wings and tail dusky

with narrow olive-green edgings; below dull white, with a slight

greenish-yellow tinge on lining of wings, sides, flanks, and crissum;

first and fourth, and second and third primaries about equal, the

latter pair forming the tip of wing; bill blackish at base above,

thence dusky or horn-color; pale below; feet leaden blue; iris red.

Little difference with age, sex, or season, save that young and fall

birds are brighter colored. Length 5.50-6.50 (139.7-165.1); wing 3.15

(80); tail 2.10 (53.5); bill .49 (12.5); tarsus .70 (18).

Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; largest; white superciliary line

contrasting with blackish and slate of crown; red eye. Note smoother,

and utterance a little more rapid than in _L. s. cassinii_.

Nesting.—_Nest_, a semi-pensile basket or pouch, of bark-strips,

“hemp,” and vegetable fibers, lined with plant-down, and fastened by

the edges to forking twigs near end of horizontal branch, five to

twenty feet up. _Eggs_, 3 or 4, white, with black or umber specks and

spots, few in number, and chiefly near larger end. Av. size, .85 × .56

(21.6 × 14.2). _Season_: c. June 1; one brood.

General Range.—Eastern North America, west to Colorado, Utah,

Washington and British Columbia; north to the Arctic regions; south in

winter from Florida to the equator. Breeds nearly thruout its North

American range.

Range in Washington.—Imperfectly made out. Summer resident on both

sides of the Cascades. Either increasingly abundant or more observed

latterly (Brook Lake, Chelan, Stehekin, Seattle, Tacoma, Kirkland

breeding 1908).

Migrations.—_Spring_: Seattle, May 3, 1908.

Authorities.—Belding, Land Birds of the Pacific District, 1890, p.

199. (Walla Walla by J. W. Williams, 1885). Ss². B.

Specimens.—C.

We are rubbing our eyes a little bit and wondering whether the Red-eyed

Vireo has really been here all the time, or whether he only slipped in

while we were napping a decade or two since. Certain it is that the

bird’s presence in the Pacific Northwest was unknown to the pioneers,

Townsend, Cooper, Suckley, and the rest; and the first intimation we had

of the occurrence of this Vireo west of the Rockies was Chapman’s

record, published in 1890[55] of specimens taken at Ducks and Ashcroft,

B. C. The year following, viz., August 4, 1891, a singing Red-eye was

recognized by Mr. C. F. Batchelder, of Cambridge, Mass., at the Little

Dalles, in this State[56]. Mr. Lyman Belding, the veteran ornithologist,

of Stockton, Cal., advises me, however, that this Vireo was first seen

by his friend, Dr. J. W. Williams, of Walla Walla, on June 4 and 24,

1885, and that six specimens were taken. Dr. Merrill, writing in

1897[57], records them as abundant summer visitors at Fort Sherman,

Idaho; and Fannin notes their occurrence upon Vancouver Island. Messrs.

C. W. and J. H. Bowles met with this species in the Puyallup Valley on

June 23, 1899, when they saw and heard at least half a dozen. Mr. Bowles

and I were constantly on the lookout for this bird during our East-side

trip in May and June, 1906, but we failed to observe it in either

Spokane or Stevens Counties. We found it first in a wooded spur of the

Grand Coulee on June 13th; then commonly at Chelan, where it nested; and

also at the head of Lake Chelan with Cassin Vireos right alongside. And

now comes the announcement of its breeding at Kirkland where Miss Jennie

V. Getty took two sets in the season of 1908.

The truth is, the Cassin Vireo has so long occupied the center of the

stage here in the Northwest, that we may never know whether his cousin,

Red-eye, stole a march on us from over the Rockies, or was here for a

century grieving at our dullness of perception. In habit the two species

are not unlike, and their ordinary notes do not advertise differences,

even to the mildly observant. Those of the Red-eye are, however, higher

in pitch, less mellow and soft in quality, and are rendered with more

sprightliness of manner. Its soliloquizing notes are often

uttered—always in single phrases of from two to four syllables

each—while the bird is busily hunting, and serve to mark an overflow of

good spirits rather than a studied attempt at song. His best efforts are

given to the entertaining of his gentle spouse when she is brooding upon

the nest. A bird to which I once listened at midday, in Ohio, had chosen

for his station the topmost bare twig of a beech tree a hundred feet

from the ground, and from this elevated position he poured out his soul

at the rate of some fifty phrases per minute, and without intermission

during the half hour he was under observation.

So thoroly possessed does our little hero become with the spirit of

poesy, that when he takes a turn upon the nest he indulges, all

unmindful of the danger, in frequent outbursts of song. Both birds are

closely attached to the home, about which center their fears and their

hopes; and well they may be, for it is a beautiful structure in itself.

The nest is a semipensile cup, bound firmly by its edges to a small fork

near the end of some horizontal branch of tree or bush, and usually at a

height not exceeding five or ten feet. It is composed largely of fibers

from weed-stalks, and fine strips of cedar or clematis bark, which also

forms what little lining there is. A curious characteristic of the

entire Vireo family is the attention paid to the outside instead of the

inside of the nest. The outside is carefully adorned with lichens, old

rags, pieces of wasp nests, or bits of newspaper, with no idea of

furthering concealment, for the result is often very conspicuous. The

walls are not over a third of an inch thick, but are so strong that they

not infrequently weather the storms of three or four seasons.

When we came upon a female sitting contentedly in her nest in the center

of a charming birch tangle in Chelan County, we had as good as

photographed the eggs. We were particularly elated at our good fortune

because the eggs had not yet been taken within the limits of the State.

When we had watched the mild-eyed mother for ten minutes, and had

lessened the distance to five feet, we began to suspect young; but when

she flitted, we found nothing at all. She was only fooling.

No. 139.

WESTERN WARBLING VIREO.

A. O. U. No. 627 a. Vireosylva gilva swainsonii (Baird).

Description.—_Adult_: Above, dull ashy, almost fuscous, tinged with

olivaceous, same on pileum,—the last-named color brightest on

interscapulars, rump, and edgings of secondaries and rectrices; wings

and tail fuscous, the primaries with faint whitish edgings; no

wing-bars; first primary spurious,—only about a third as long as the

others; point of wing formed by third, fourth, and fifth primaries;

second shorter than sixth; below white with slight tinges on

sides,—buffy on sides of head and neck, olive-fuscous on sides of

breast, sulphur-yellow on sides of belly and flanks, and sometimes

vaguely on breast; lores and space about eye whitish, enclosing

obscure dusky line thru eye; bill dusky above, lighter below; feet

blackish. Length 5.00-6.00 (127-152.4); wing 2.64 (67); tail 1.94

(49.3); bill .39 (10); tarsus .69 (17.5).

Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; general absence of positive

characteristics,—altogether the plainest-colored bird of the American

avifauna.

Nesting.—_Nest_: a pensile pouch of bark-strips, grasses, vegetable

fibers, and trash, carefully lined with plant-down; hung usually from

fork of small limb, at any height. _Eggs_: 3 or 4, white, sparingly

and distinctly dotted or spotted, or, rarely, blotched with black,

umber, or reddish brown, chiefly at the larger end. Av. size .75 × .55

(19 × 13.9). _Season_: June 1-20; one brood.

General Range.—Western United States and Canada (British Columbia,

Alberta and Athabasca), breeding south to southern border of United

States and southern extremity of Lower California; south in winter

thru Mexico to Vera Cruz and Oaxaca.

Range in Washington.—Summer resident thruout the State in deciduous

timber, chiefly at lower levels.

Migrations.—_Spring_: Yakima, May 6, 1900; Seattle, May 5, 1905;

Yakima, May 4, 1906; Tacoma, May 5, 1907; Seattle, May 3, 1908.

Authorities.—? _Vireo gilvus_, Townsend, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila.,

VIII. 1839, p. 153 (Columbia River). _Vireo gilvus_ (_swainsonii_

proposed), Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv., IX. pt. II. 1858, 336. T.

C&S. L. Rh. D¹. Ra. D². J. B. E.

Specimens.—U. of W. Prov. B. BN. E.

The old-fashioned name “Greenlet,” as applied to the Vireos, was a

misnomer, if a description of plumage was intended; but if it was

intended to memorialize the bird’s fondness for greenery, nothing could

have been more apt. The Warbling Vireo’s surroundings must be not only

green, but freshly green, for it frequents only deciduous trees in

groves and riverside copses. It is not an abundant bird, therefore, in

Washington, altho equally distributed, whether in the willows and

birches which gather about some lonesome spring in the bunch-grass

country, or among the crowded alders and maples of the turbid Nooksachk.

Moreover, the bird is not so frequently found about parks and shade

trees as in the East, altho it looks with strong favor upon the advent

of orchards. And the orchardist may welcome him with open arms, for

there is not among all his tenants a more indefatigable gleaner of bugs

and worms.

Because he is clad in Quaker gray there is little need for the Vireo to

show himself as he sings, and he remains for the most part concealed in

the dense foliage, a vocal embodiment of the living green. Unlike the

disconnected fragments which the Red-eye furnishes, the song of this

bird is gushing and continuous, a rapid excursion over pleasant hills

and valleys. Continuous, that is, unless the bright-eyed singer happens

to spy a worm _in medias res_, in which event the song is instantly

suspended, to be resumed a moment later when the wriggling tid-bit has

been dispatched. The notes are flute-like, tender, and melodious,

having, as Chapman says, “a singular alto undertone.” All hours of the

day are recognized as appropriate to melody, and the song period lasts

from the time of the bird’s arrival, early in May, until its departure

in September, with only a brief hiatus in July.

[Illustration: _Taken in Oregon._ _Photo by Bohlman and Finley._

WESTERN WARBLING VIREO AT NEST.]

In sharp contrast with the beautiful canzonettes which the bird showers

down from the tree-tops, come the harsh, wren-like scolding notes, which

it often delivers when searching thru the bushes, and especially if it

comes across a lurking cat.

The Warbling Vireo’s cradle is swung midway from the fork of some nearly

horizontal branch in the depths of a shady tree. In height it may vary

from fifteen to twenty-five feet above the ground; but I once found one

in a peach tree without a shadow of protection, and within reach from

the ground. The structure is a dainty basket of interwoven grasses,

mosses, flower-stems, and the like. It is not, however, so durable as

that of some other Vireos, since much of its thickness is due to an

ornamental thatching of grass, bark-strips, green _usnea_ moss, and

cottonwood down, which dissolves before winter is over. The female is a

close sitter, sticking to her post even tho nearly paralyzed with fear.

The male is usually in close attendance, and knows no way of

discouraging the inquisitive bird-man save by singing with redoubled

energy. He takes his turn at the eggs when his wife needs a bit of an

airing, and even, it is said, carries his song with him to the nest.

No. 140.

CASSIN’S VIREO.

A. O. U. No. 629 a. Lanivireo solitarius cassinii (Xantus).

Synonym.—Western Solitary Vireo.

Description.—_Adult male_: Crown and sides of head and neck deep

olive-gray; a supraloral stripe and eye-ring whitish, the latter

interrupted by dusky of lore; remaining upperparts olive-green

overcast with gray, clearing, pure olive-green on rump and upper

tail-coverts; wings and tail blackish with edging of light olive-green

or yellowish (white on outer web of outer rectrices); tips of middle

and greater coverts yellowish olive, forming two rather conspicuous

bars; underparts white tinged with buffy, changing on sides and flanks

to sulphur yellow or pale olive; under tail-coverts yellowish; bill

grayish black above, paler below; feet dusky, iris brown. _Adult

female_: Like male but duller, browner on head and neck, less purely

white below. _Immature_: Head and neck more nearly like back;

supraloral streak, orbital ring, and underparts washed with brownish

buff. Length about 5.50 (139.7); wing 2.84 (72.2); tail 2.05 (52.2);

bill .39 (10); tarsus .75 (19).

Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; slaty gray head contrasting with

olivaceous back; whitish eye-ring distinctive; voice has more of an

edge than that of _V. olivacea_.

Nesting.—_Nest_: a semi-pensile basket of woven bark-strips, grasses,

and vegetable fibers, variously ornamented externally with cherry

petals, spider cases, bits of paper, etc., lashed to bark of

horizontal or descending bough of sapling (oak, vine-maple, fir, etc.)

at a height of from five to thirty feet; bulkier and of looser

construction than that of other Vireos; measures 2¼ inches across by

1½ inches deep inside; walls often ¾ of an inch in thickness. _Eggs_:

3-5, usually 4, white or creamy white, sparingly marked with spots,

which vary from rich red brown to almost black—but unmarked specimens

are of record. Av. size .75 × .55 (19 × 13.9). _Season_: May 15-June

5; one brood.

General Range.—Pacific Coast district north to British Columbia, east

to Idaho (Ft. Sherman; Ft. Lapwai), breeding from Los Angeles County,

California, northward thruout its range; south in winter to western

Mexico.

Range in Washington.—Common summer resident on both sides of the

Cascades, found chiefly in timbered areas.

Migrations.—_Spring_: Seattle-Tacoma, c. April 15.

Authorities.—? _Vireo solitarius_, Ornithological Committee, Journ.

Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., VII. 1837, 193 (Columbia River). _V. solitarius_

Vieillot, Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv., IX. pt. II 1858, p. 340, part.

(T). C&S. Rh. D¹. Ra. D². Ss². J. B. E.

Specimens.—(U. of W.) B. Prov. P¹.

Nothing so endears a bird to a human admirer as a frank exhibition of

confidence. Overtures of friendship on the bird’s part may traverse all

rules of caution and previous procedure, but henceforth there is a new

relation established between them, bird and man, and the man, at least,

is bound to live up to it. At the oncoming of a smart shower on Capitol

Hill (before the “For Sale” days) the bird-man put into a fir-covered

nook for shelter, and had not been there two minutes before a pair of

Cassin Vireos entered for the same reason. They were not in the least

disturbed by the man’s presence, but cheerfully accepted him as part of

Things as They Are. Therefore, they proceeded to preen their dampened

feathers at distances of four or five feet, while the bird-man sat with

bated breath and glowing eyes. The birds roamed freely about the nook

and once, I think, _he_ made a grimace behind the bird-man’s back; for

when they came around in front again, I judged she was saying, “Ar’n’t

you the wag!” while he tittered in droll recollection.

[Illustration: _Taken in Oregon._ _Photo by Finley and Bohlman._

CASSIN VIREO AT NEST.]

These Vireos roam the half-open woods at all levels, like happy school

children; and their childish curiosity is as little to be resented. If

one hears a bird singing in the distance, he need only sit down and

wait. Curiosity will get the better of the bird, and under pretense of

chasing bugs it will edge over, singing carelessly now and then, by way

of covering the inquisitive intent. At close range the song is stifled,

and you feel for the ensuing moments as you do when you have overtaken

and passed a bevy of ladies on a lonesome street, _all_ hands and feet

with a most atrocious swagger. Inspection done, the bird suddenly

resumes the discarded melody, and you no longer have to “look pleasant.”

[Illustration: _Taken near Tacoma._ _Photo by Dawson and Bowles._

BRIMFUL.]

Like most Vireos, Cassin sings as he works; and, as he works a good deal

of the time, albeit in leisurely fashion, he sings in tiny phrases,

separated by unembarrassed intervals of silence, a sort of soliloquizing

commentary on life, very pleasant to the ear,—_Weé ee-tsiweéoo-tsoo

psooi-petewer-ptir-sewtrs-piti-wee-sueeé-pisooor_. But our schoolboy

does not fully express himself in music so staid and delicate. He has at

command a rasping, nerve-grating war-cry, possibly intended by Nature as

a defense against cats, but used, as matter of fact, when the bird is in

particularly fine spirits. The note in question may perhaps be fitly

likened to the violent shaking of a pepper-box, a rattling, rubbing,

shaking note, of three or more vibrations, ending in a little vocal

flourish.

These Vireos swing a bulky basket from the lower or middle heights of

oak trees, fir trees, alders, or saplings of various sorts. Usually no

dependence is placed in cover, save that the ornamented nest corresponds

roughly with its general surroundings of leaf, moss and lichen. In

sheltered places, the texture of the nest is so well preserved that it

may require close inspection the second season to distinguish it from a

new nest. One such I examined, green with growing moss, and stark at the

lowermost branch-tip of an unleafed cornel sapling, and I could not have

determined its age save for a tiny weed-shoot germinating from the

bottom of the cup.

[Illustration: _Taken near Tacoma._ _Photo by Bowles and Dawson._

A DECORATED NEST.]

Further Mr. Bowles says of their nesting habits: “Both birds assist in

the duties of incubation, the male singing most assiduously while on the

nest, and usually singing close to his mate while she is sitting. His

turn at sitting seems to come between nine o’clock in the morning and

noon, and the nest is not hard to find if his song can be traced. The

bird student must work quietly, however, as the song at once ceases

should any unusual noise occur. They are most courageous while on the

nest, seldom leaving until removed by hand, when both birds remain

within a few feet of the intruder, scolding vigorously. So much noise do

they make that all the birds in the vicinity are attracted—indeed this

is about the only sure method of ascertaining the presence of some of

our rarer Warblers. On one such occasion a female Cooper Hawk left her

nest, which was seventy-five yards distant, and sat on a branch

overhead, screaming at me.

“They are the quickest as well as the slowest birds in completing their

nests that have come under my notice. One pair built a handsome nest and

laid four eggs in precisely ten days; while another pair were more than

three weeks from the time the nest was started until the eggs were laid.

“They are the only Vireos that I have ever known to nest in communities.

Single pairs are the rule, but I have found as many as six occupied

nests inside of a very small area, the nests being only a few yards

apart.”

[Illustration: _Taken near Tacoma._ _Photo by Bowles and Dawson._

O’ER YOUNG TO FLIT.]

No. 141.

ANTHONY’S VIREO.

A. O. U. No. 632 c. Vireo huttoni obscurus Anthony.

Synonym.—Dusky Vireo.

Description.—_Adults_: Above dull olive, brightening (more greenish)

posteriorly; wings and tail dusky, edged chiefly with pale

olive-green; two prominent wing-bars of pale olive-yellow or whitish,

formed by tips of middle and greater coverts; tertials broadly edged

with palest olive on outer, and with whitish on inner webs; outer web

of outermost rectrix whitish; underparts sordid whitish and more or

less washed, chiefly on breast and sides, with dingy olive-yellow;

lores pale; an orbital ring of whitish, or palest olive-yellow,

interrupted midway of upper lid by spot of dusky; bill horn-color

above, pale below. Length about 4.75 (120.6); average of three

specimens in Provincial Museum at Victoria: wing 2.46 (59.9); tail

2.20 (55.8); bill .35 (8.9); tarsus .75 (19).

Recognition Marks.—Pygmy to warbler size; dingy coloration; whitish

wing-bars serve to distinguish bird from _Vireosylva g. swainsonii_,

but throw it into confusion in summer with the Western Flycatcher

(_Empidonax difficilis_), which it otherwise closely resembles, and in

winter with the Sitkan Kinglet (_Regulus c. grinnelli_). From the

Flycatcher it may be distinguished by its shorter, narrower and yet

thicker bill, and by its more restrained yellowness; from the Kinglet

by its greater size and much stouter bill, more prominent wing-bars,

and rather less prominent eye-ring; and from both by its demure ways.

Nesting.—_Nest_: a semipensile basket of interwoven mosses lined with

grasses (nine feet high in fir tree—one example known). _Eggs_:

2-5(?); .72 × .52 (18 × 12.9). _Season_: June (probably also earlier).

General Range.—Pacific Coast district from western Oregon to

southwestern British Columbia at lower levels (not at all confined to

oak woods as variously reported).

Range in Washington.—West-side, as above; strictly resident.

Authorities.—? Townsend, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. VIII. 1839, 153

(Columbia River). Bowles (C. W. and J. H.), Auk, XV. 1898, 138. Ra. B.

E.

Specimens.—U. of W. Prov. B. E.

In approaching the study of Anthony’s Vireo one must forget all he knows

or thinks he knows about Vireos in general. This bird is _sui generis_,

and deviations from all known rules are its delight. It has been, in

fact, until quite recently, a sort of woodland sphinx, an ornithological

mystery, the subject of much inquiry and hazard. Its presence in

Washington was quite overlooked by Cooper and Suckley, and Mr. Rathbun’s

appears to be the record[58] of first occurrence, that of a bird taken

May 14, 1895. I took a specimen on Capitol Hill on the third day of June

of the same year; and since that time appearances have become a matter

of course to the initiated. Samuel N. Rhoads[59], writing in 1893,

considered Anthony’s Vireo a rare visitor to Vancouver Island, where he

secured a specimen in 1892 near Victoria. Fannin[60] records it as “a

summer resident on Vancouver Island.” As matter of fact, the bird is

_resident_ the year round wherever it occurs. I saw it near Victoria

during the coldest weather of 1905-6, and find it regularly at Seattle

and Tacoma during the winter season. J. H. Bowles secured a specimen, a

male in full song, at American Lake on January the 26th, 1907. Moreover,

this bird had a bare belly as tho it might have been assisting with

incubation.

The very fact that these birds winter with us argues that they have been

here for always and always, and the darkening of plumage (as compared

with the type form, _V. huttoni_) testifies further to their long

residence.

Anthony’s Vireo is leisurely, almost sluggish at times, in its

movements. During the winter it mingles freely with the local troops of

Kinglets and Chickadees, and keeps largely to the depths of fir trees.

When moving about silently, it bears a striking resemblance to the

Ruby-crowned Kinglet. It is, of course, slightly larger and much more

deliberate, lacking especially the wing-flirt of the Kaiserkin. The

region about the eye is more broadly whitish, and the wing-bars concede

a difference upon inspection, but the resemblance is so close as

altogether to deceive the unwary.

In spring the bird separates itself from its late companions, and begins

to explore the budding alders and maples. As the season advances the

bird plants itself in some thicket and complains by the hour in strange,

monotonous, unvireonine notes. The songs vary endlessly in different

individuals, but have this in common, that they are a deliberate,

unvarying succession of double notes, usually, but not always, of a

slightly nasal character. _Chu-wêem_ - - - - _chu-wêem_ - - - - - -

_chu-wêem_ - - _ad lib._, is the common type; _Pu-cheéañ_ - - - - -

_pu-cheéañ_ - - - - - - _pucheéañ_, is a French variation; _Poo-eêp^t_ -

- - _poo-eêp^t_ and _jüreê^t - jüreê^t - jüreê^t_ are types lacking the

nasal quality. Only once I heard the notes pronounced quite rapidly,

_pe-eg′, pe-eg′, pe-eg′, pe-eg′ pe-eg′, ad infinitum_, or rather _ad

adventum shotguni_. Occasionally the first syllable is accented; as,

_(pe)cheê-oo or cheê-oo, cheê-oo_.

Before he has found a mate Anthony roams about with some degree of

restlessness, shifting his burden of song from place to place with a

view to effect, and uttering now and then coaxing little requests which

are certainly meant to win the heart of the lady in hiding. This

squeaking note is sometimes raised to the dignity of song, at which

times it is not unlike the whining of a dog, a most extraordinary sound

to come from so tiny a throat. And if one mentions a chirp, or chuck,

like that of a Red-wing Blackbird on a small scale, we have most of the

representative efforts of this eccentric genius.

Only one nest of this subspecies has been reported to date, that

discovered by Mr. C. W. Bowles, on June 21, 1897, near South Tacoma. It

was placed nine feet up in a young fir, where it hung suspended by two

small twigs. Externally it was composed entirely of a long hanging moss,

some variety of _Usnea_, very thickly and closely interwoven, being thus

conspicuously devoid of such exterior decorations as other Vireos

provide. Inside was a carefully prepared bed of fine dry grasses, upon

which lay two eggs half incubated.

“The female bird was on the nest when first seen and, unlike the

majority of our Vireos, flushed the instant the ascent of the tree was

attempted. From the nest she flew about twenty feet into a neighboring

fir, where she looked down upon our operations with apparently no

concern whatever. Beyond rearranging her feathers from time to time,

there was nothing to indicate that she had a nest anywhere in the

vicinity, as she made no sound or complaint of any kind. Neither was

there any of the nervous hopping from twig to twig in the manner by

which so many of the smaller birds as clearly display their anxiety as

they do by their notes of distress.”[61]

_Tyrannidæ_—The Tyrant Flycatchers

No. 142.

KINGBIRD.

A. O. U. No. 444. Tyrannus tyrannus (Linn.).

Synonyms.—Eastern Kingbird. Bee Martin. Tyrant Flycatcher.

Description.—_Adult_: Above ashy black changing to pure black on head,

and fuscous on wings; crown with a concealed orange-red (cadmium

orange) patch or “crest,” the orange feathers black-tipped and

overlying others broadly white at base; wings with whitish and

brownish ash edgings; tail black, all the feathers broadly

white-tipped, and the outermost pair often white-edged; below white,

washed with grayish on breast; bill and feet black. _Immature_ birds

lack the crown-patch, and are more or less tinged with fulvous or

buffy on the parts which are light-colored in the adult. Length

8.00-9.00 (203-228.6); wing 4.60 (116.8); tail 3.31 (84.1); bill from

nostril .52 (13.2).

Recognition Marks.—Chewink size; blackish ash above; _white_ below;

black tail conspicuously tipped with white; noisy and quarrelsome.

Nesting.—_Nest_: at moderate heights in trees, usually over water, of

weed-stalks, plant-fibres and trash, with a felted mat of plant-down

or wool, and an inner lining of fine grasses, feathers, rootlets, etc.

_Eggs_: 3 or 4, sometimes 5, white or cream-white, distinctly but

sparingly spotted with dark umber and occasional chestnut. Av. size

.98 × .73 (24.9 × 18.5). _Season_: first week in June; one brood.

General Range.—North America from the British Provinces south; in

winter thru eastern Mexico, Central and South America. Less common

west of the Rocky Mountains. Not recorded from northern Mexico and

Arizona.

Range in Washington.—Not uncommon summer resident on East-side; not

common, but of regular occurrence in certain localities west of the

Cascades; nearly confined to vicinity of water in lake or pond.

Authorities.—_Tyrannus carolinensis_ Baird, Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R.

Surv., IX. pt. II. 1858, p. 171. T. C&S. D¹. Ra. D². Ss¹. Ss². J. B.

E.

Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. P¹. C. E.

No one has come forward with a theory to account for the testiness of

this bird’s temper, not for the domineering qualities which distinguish

him above all others; but I hazard that it is because his glowing crown

is partially concealed by bourgeois black. Those whose regal marks are

more patent are wont to receive homage as matter of course, but the

scion of an unacknowledged house, a feathered Don Carlos, must needs

spend a fretful life in defense of his claims. Toward those who knuckle

down tamely the little tyrant is often very gracious, and it may be

conceded that he does perform a real service in holding the common

enemies at bay. Who has not seen him as he quits his perch on some

commanding tree and hurries forward, choking with vengeful utterance, to

meet and chastise some murderous hawk, who before any other foe is

brave? Down comes the avenger! The Hawk shies with a guttural cry of

rage and terror, while a little puff of feathers scatters on the air to

tell of the tyrant’s success. Again and again the quick punishment

falls, until the tiny scourge desists, and returns, shaking with shrill

laughter, to give his mate an account of his adventure.

[Illustration: _Photo by F. S. Merrill._ _Taken near Spokane._

A DEMURE YOUNG TYRANT.]

It is easily possible, however, to exaggerate the pugnacity of the

Kingbird, or to infer from extreme examples that all are quarrelsome. It

is not unusual for Kingbirds to be on the best of terms with their

immediate neighbors, thieves always excepted. I once found in one small

aspen tree at Chelan the nests of three birds each containing eggs,

viz., a Robin, an Oriole, and a Kingbird. The two latter were within

five feet of each other. Dr. Brewer also records an exactly similar

case. Kingbird’s courage, which is unquestionable, is often tempered by

prudence; altho at other times it quite overbalances his better

judgment. The Burrowing Owl will tolerate none of his nonsense, and I

have seen the birds make sad mistakes in molesting these virtuous

mousers. The sight of a Shrike will make a Kingbird shrink into the

smallest possible compass, while Catbirds, too, are said to be, for

valid reasons, quite exempt from molestation.

The food of the Kingbird consists entirely of insects, caught on the

wing for the most part, by sallies from some favorite perch. His

eyesight must be very good, as he not infrequently spies his prey at

distances of from twenty to fifty yards. Honey bees form an occasional

but inconsiderable article of diet. Grasshoppers are not overlooked, and

they sometimes capture, not without a scuffle, those big brown locusts

(_Melanoplus sp._) which make flippant exposure of their persons on a

summer day. Both in the taking of food and in the discharge of police

duties the Kingbird exhibits great strength and swiftness, as well as

grace in flight. Once, when passing in a canoe thru a quiet, weed-bound

channel, I was quite deceived for a time by the sight of distant

white-breasted birds dashing down to take insects near the surface of

the water, and even, occasionally dipping under it. They had all the

ease and grace of Tree Swallows, but proved to be Kingbirds practising

in a new role.

[Illustration: _Taken in Douglas County._ _Photo by W. L. Dawson._

COLD SPRING LAKE.

THE ORIOLE-KINGBIRD NEST APPEARS NEAR THE TOP OF THE PROJECTING TREE.]

This fondness for water is often exhibited in the birds’ choice of a

nesting site. Where accustomed to civilization, orchard or shade trees

are preferred, but on many occasions nests are found on low-swinging

horizontal branches overhanging the water; and, as often, in tiny willow

clumps or isolated trees entirely surrounded by it. The nest of the

Kingbird sometimes presents that studied disarray which is considered

the height of art. Now and then a nest has such a disheveled appearance

as to quite discourage investigation, unless the owners’ presence

betrays the secret of occupancy. On the shore of Cold Spring Lake, in

Douglas County, we noted a last year’s Bullock Oriole’s nest, which

would not have attracted a second glance, with the newer nest hard by,

had it not been for the constant solicitude of a pair of Kingbirds.

Investigation showed that the ancient pocket had been crammed full of

grass and twigs, and that it contained two fresh eggs of the Flycatcher.

Ordinarily the nest is placed in an upright or horizontal fork of a tree

at a height of from three to forty feet. Twigs, weed-stalks, and trash

of any kind enter into the basal construction. The characteristic

feature of the nest, however, is the mould, or matrix, composed of

vegetable plaster, ground wood, and the like, or else of compacted wool

and cow-hair, which is forced into the interstices of the outer

structure and rounded inside, giving shape to the whole. This cup, in

turn, is lined with fine grasses, cow-hair, or variously. Occasionally,

nests are found composed almost entirely of wool. In others string is

the principal ingredient.

Altho the Kingbird never sings, it has a characteristic and not

unmusical cry, _tizic, tizic_ (spell it _phthisic_, if you favor the old

school) or _tsee tsee tsee tsee_, in numerous combinations of syllables,

which are capable of expressing various degrees of excitement and

emotion.

In eastern Washington this Kingbird is common and well distributed, tho

far less abundant than the larger, grayer “Western.” West of the

Cascades it is rare but regular, being found chiefly along the wooded

margins of lakes.

No. 143.

WESTERN KINGBIRD.

A. O. U. No. 447. Tyrannus verticalis Say.

Synonyms.—Arkansas Kingbird. Arkansas Flycatcher.

Description.—_Adult Male_: Foreparts, well down on breast, and upper

back ashy gray, lightening, nearly white, on chin and upper throat,

darker on lores and behind eye; a partially concealed crown-patch of

orange-red (Chinese orange); lateral boundaries of this patch

olivaceous; back, scapulars, and rump ashy glossed with olive-green;

this color shading to black on upper tail-coverts; wings fuscous; tail

black, the outer web of outermost rectrix white, or faintly tinged

with yellow; underparts below breast rich canary yellow, paler on

wing-linings and lower tail-coverts; bill and feet black; iris brown.

_Adult Female_: like male but crown-patch usually somewhat restricted,

and primaries much less attenuated. _Young birds_ are duller and

browner without crown-patch, and with little or no olivaceous on back;

the yellow of underparts is paler (sulphury or even whitish), and the

primaries are scarcely or not at all attenuated. Length of adult males

about 9.00 (228.6); wing 5.12 (130); tail 3.68 (93.5); bill .73

(18.7); tarsus .74 (18.8). Females average less.

Recognition Marks.—Chewink to Robin size; noisy, petulant ways; ashy

foreparts and yellow belly distinctive.

Nesting.—_Nest_: of twigs, grasses, string, wool, and other soft

substances, placed at moderate heights in bushes or trees, or more

commonly on beams and ledges of barn or outbuildings. _Eggs_: 3-5,

like those of _T. tyrannus_, but averaging smaller, .93 × .68 (23.6 ×

17.3). _Season_: first week in June; one brood.

General Range.—Western United States, north regularly to southern

British Columbia, occasionally to Alberta, Assiniboia, and Manitoba,

north to western Minnesota, eastern Nebraska, and western Texas,

breeding thruout range, and south to Chihuahua, Mexico; south in

winter thru Mexico to highlands of Guatemala.

Range in Washington.—Common summer resident east of the Cascades, rare

or casual on the West-side.

Migrations.—_Spring_: c. May 1st; Wallula April 26, 1905; Yakima April

30, 1900; Chelan May 11, 1896.

Authorities.—Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, p. 174. T. C&S.

D¹. D². Ss¹. Ss². J. B. E.

Specimens.—U. of W. P¹. Prov. B. E.

[Illustration: _Taken in Douglas County._ _Photo by the Author._

WESTERN KINGBIRD AT NEST.]

Here is the presiding genius of all properly conducted ranches upon the

sunny side of the Cascade Mountains. Guest he is not, host rather; and

before you have had time to dismount from your panting cayuse this bird

bustles forth from the locust trees and hovers over you with noisy

effusiveness. The boisterous greeting is one-third concern for his

babies in the locust tree hard-by, one-third good fellowship, and the

remainder sheer restlessness. The Western Kingbird is preeminently a

social creature. And by social in this case we mean, of course, inclined

to human society. For, altho the bird may start up with vociferating

cries every time a member of the besieged household sets foot out of

doors, one is reminded by these attentions rather of a frolicsome puppy

than of a zealous guardian of the peace. Those who have been most

honored by their presence year after year claim that the birds become

fond of certain members of the family, and allow a familiarity in nest

inspection which would be shriekingly resented in the case of strangers.

[Illustration: _Taken in Douglas County._ _Photo by the Author._

“BEAUTIES THEY ARE.”]

One can readily guess a utilitarian consideration in favor of ranch

life, viz., the greater variety and abundance of insects afforded. Of

these the Kingbirds enjoy a practical monopoly by reason of their

confidence in man. They are fond of flies, moths, butterflies, crickets,

winged ants, and all that sort of thing. Moreover, they eat bees.

But,—[Hold on, Mr. Rancher! Don’t grab that shot-gun and begin murdering

Kingbirds] _they eat only drones_. A bee-keeper in California was

curious on this point and dissected over a hundred specimens of Western

Kingbirds and Phœbes, using a microscope in the examination of stomach

contents. The birds had been shot about the apiaries, where they had

been seen darting upon and catching bees. Altho many of the birds were

gorged, no working bees were found, only drones. This is an important

distinction to bear in mind, for the reduction of drones is

unqualifiedly beneficial. And when one stops to think of it, it is

absurd to suppose that a bird could swallow bees, stings and all, with

impunity.

But the real secret of Kingbird’s attachment for mankind is not

discovered until we see his nest. It is our _strings_ which have won his

heart. Whatever else the nest may or may not contain, it is sure to have

string,—string in strands, string in coils, string in bunches, hanks,

and tangles, drug store string of a dissipated crimson hue, white string

that came around the sugar, greasy string that you had tied around your

finger to remind you to feed the chickens, string of every length and

size and use and hue.

Those Western Kingbirds which have not yet adopted men manage to subsist

somewhat after the fashion of their eastern cousins, and build a nest of

twigs, grass, weed-stalks, bark strips, and cottonwood down, placing it

against the trunk, or saddling it upon a horizontal fork of willow,

poplar, cottonwood, or pine, usually near water. One we found in Douglas

County built in a small willow which emerged from a shallow lake, a

hundred feet from shore.

But, more commonly, nests are placed about crannies and projections of

farm buildings, fences, unused wagon-ricks, or upon the house itself. If

no such conveniences offer, a shade tree is second choice, and the nest

includes all the soft waste which the farm affords, bits of cloth, wool,

cow-hair, feathers, _and string_.

[Illustration: _Taken at Stratford._ _Photo by the Author._

A DIVIDED HOUSE.]

Eggs to the number of 4 or 5 are deposited from the 1st to the 15th of

June. Beauties they are too, creamy white with bold and handsome spots

of chestnut in two shades, and lilac-gray. Incubation is accomplished in

twelve or thirteen days, and the youngsters fly in a matter of two

weeks.

These Kingbirds are model parents, devoted in brooding and courageous in

defense. Noisy they are to a fault, garrulous in an unnumbered host of

cajolatives and ecstatics, as well as expletives. Unlike the members of

_Tyrannus tyrannus_, they are good neighbors even among their own kind.

At the call of need neighbors rally to the common defense, but this is

usually in villages where demesnes adjoin. On several occasions I have

found other birds nesting peaceably in the same tree with these

Kingbirds; and, as in the case of _T. tyrannus_, Bullock Orioles appear

to be rather particular friends.

The nests shown in the cut on preceding page are the work of one pair of

birds. Embarrassed by a wealth of string and unable to decide which of

two good locations to utilize, the birds built in both; the female laid

eggs in both, three in one and two in the other. Moreover, she sat in

both, day and day about, a bird of a divided mind.

No. 144.

ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER.

A. O. U. No. 454. Myiarchus cinerascens (Lawrence).

Description.—_Adults_: Above dull grayish brown changing to clear

brown on crown; wings dusky brown, the middle and greater coverts

tipped broadly, and the secondaries edged with pale buffy brown or

dull whitish, the primaries edged, except toward tips, with

cinnamon-rufous; tail darker than back, with paler grayish brown

edgings, that of outermost rectrix sometimes nearly white; tail

feathers, except central pair, chiefly cinnamon-rufous on inner webs;

sides of head and neck gray (slightly tinged with brown) fading into

much paler gray on chin, throat, and chest, changing to pale yellowish

on breast and remaining underparts; yellow of underparts strengthening

posteriorly, and axillars and under wing-coverts clear (primrose)

yellow. Bill blackish; feet and legs black; iris brown. Length of

adult male about 8.35 (212); wing 3.94 (100); tail 3.63 (92); bill .75

(19); tarsus .91 (23).

Recognition Marks.—Chewink size; brownish gray above; ashy throat

shading into pale yellow of remaining underparts.

Nesting.—_Nest_: a natural cavity or deserted Flicker hole, copiously

lined with wool, hair, or other soft materials. _Eggs_: 3-6, usually

4, buffy or creamy as to ground, but heavily marked, chiefly in

curious lengthwise pattern, with streaks of purplish chestnut of

several degrees of intensity. Av. size, .88 × .65 (22.4 × 16.5).

_Season_: first week in June; one brood.

General Range.—Western United States and northern Mexico, north

irregularly to Washington; south in winter thru Mexico to Guatemala.

Range in Washington.—Breeding near North Yakima in summer of 1903; one

other record, Tacoma May 24, 1905.

Authorities.—Snodgrass (R. E.), Auk. Vol. XXI, Apr. 1904, p. 229. B.

Specimens.—P. C.

Flycatchers are somewhat given to wandering, or at least exploring, on

their own account, regardless of traditions. A Gray Kingbird (_Tyrannus

dominicensis_), normally confined to the Gulf of Mexico, is of record

for Cape Beale on Vancouver Island; and that dashing gallant, the

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, of Texas, has ventured as far north as Hudson

Bay. The Ash-throated Flycatcher is typically a bird of the

south-western United States; but it is not altogether surprising that it

should have extended its northern range into the Upper Sonoran belt of

eastern Washington, as it did in the season of 1903, when it was

observed at North Yakima by Mr. Bowles, and, independently, by Mr.

Robert E. Snodgrass, the latter collecting for Pullman College. Without

precedent or excuse, however, was the appearance of a handsome pair near

Tacoma, as recorded by Mr. Bowles, on the 24th day of May, 1905.

“The Ash-throated Flycatcher is quite expert upon the wing but never

indulges in protracted flight if it can help it. It seems to be rather

quarrelsome and intolerant in its disposition toward other birds, and

will not allow any to nest in close proximity; in fact, I am inclined to

believe that it not infrequently dispossesses some of the smaller

Woodpeckers of their nesting sites.

“Its food consists mainly of beetles, butterflies, grasshoppers, flies,

moths, and occasionally of berries, especially those of a species of

mistletoe.

“By the beginning of May most of the birds are mated, and nidification

begins shortly afterward. The nests are usually placed in knot-holes of

mesquite, ash, oak, sycamore, juniper, and cottonwood trees, as well as

in cavities of old stumps, in Woodpeckers’ holes, and occasionally

behind loose pieces of bark, in the manner of the Creepers.

“The Ash-throated Flycatcher nests at various heights from the ground,

rarely, however, at greater distances than twenty feet. The nest varies

considerably in bulk according to the size of the cavity used. Where

this is large the bottom is filled up with small weed-stems, rootlets,

grass, and bits of dry cow- or horse-manure, and on this foundation the

nest proper is built. This consists principally of a felted mass of hair

and fur from different animals, and occasionally of exuviæ of snakes and

small lizards; but these materials are not nearly as generally used as

in the nests of our eastern Crested Flycatcher—in fact, it is the

exception and not the rule to find such remains in their nests”

(Bendire).

No. 145.

SAY’S PEWEE.

A. O. U. No. 457. Sayornis saya (Bonap.).

Synonyms.—Say’s Phoebe. Western Phoebe.

Description.—_Adults_: General color drab (grayish brown to dark

hair-brown), darker on pileum and auriculars, lighter on throat,

shading thru upper tail-coverts to black; tail brownish black; wings

fuscous, the coverts and exposed webs of tertials edged with lighter

grayish brown; underparts below breast cinnamon-buff; axillars and

lining of wings light buff or cream-buff. Bill and feet black; iris

brown. _Young birds_ are more extensively fulvous, and are marked by

two cinnamomeous bands on wings (formed by tips of middle and greater

coverts). Length of adult male 7.50 (190.5); wing 4.14 (105); tail

3.23 (82); bill .62 (15.7); tarsus .79 (20). Female averages smaller.

Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; drab coloring; cinnamon-colored

belly; melancholy notes; frequents barns and outbuildings or cliffs.

Nesting.—_Nest_: composed of dried grasses, moss, plant-fibers, woolly

materials of all sorts, and hair; placed on ledges, under eaves of

outbuildings, under bridges, or on cliffs. _Eggs_: 3-6, usually 5,

dull white, occasionally sparsely dotted. Av. size, .77 × .59 (19.6 ×

15). _Season_: April 20-May 10, June 1-15; two broods. Yakima County

April 24, 1900, 5 young about five days old (eggs fresh about April

7th).

General Range.—Western North America north to the Arctic Circle in

Alaska, Yukon Territory, etc., east to Manitoba, western Wyoming,

western Kansas, etc., breeding thruout range, south to Arizona and

northern Lower California; southward in winter over northern and

central Mexico.

Range in Washington.—Common summer resident east of the Cascades

(chiefly in Upper Sonoran and Arid Transition life-zones), rare or

casual west of the mountains.

Migrations.—_Spring_: c. March 15; Okanogan County March 17, 1896;

Ahtanum (Yakima Co.) Feb. 20, 1900.

Authorities.—Bendire, Life Hist. N. A. Birds, Vol. II. 1895, p. 277.

(T). D¹. Kb. D². Ss¹. Ss². J. B.

Specimens.—P¹. Prov. C.

A gentle melancholy possesses the Pewee. The memory of that older Eden

once blotted by the ruthless ice-sheet, still haunts the chambers of the

atavistic soul and she goes mourning all her days. Or she is like a Peri

barred from Paradise, and no proffer of mortal joys can make amends for

the immortal loss ever before her eyes. _Kuteéw, kuteéw!_

In keeping with her ascetic nature the Pewee haunts solitary places,

bleak hillsides swept by March gales, lava cliffs with their solemn,

silent bastions. Or, since misery loves company, she ventures upon some

waterless townsite and voices in unexpectant cadences the universal

yearning for green things and cessation of wind.

A part of the drear impression made by this bird is occasioned by the

time of year when it puts in an appearance, March at the latest, and,

once at least, as early as February 20th (in Yakima County). Flies are

an uncertain crop at this season, and it is doubtless rather from a

desire for shelter than from inclination to society, that the species

has so largely of late years resorted to stables and outbuildings.

Twenty years ago Say’s Pewee was unknown as a tenant of buildings in

Yakima County. Now, there are few well-established farms in that part of

the State which do not boast a pair somewhere about the premises; while

hop-houses are recognized as providing just that degree of isolation

which the bird really prefers.

Say’s Pewee, for all its depressed spirits, is an active bird, and makes

frequent sallies at passing insects. These constitute its exclusive diet

save in early spring when, under the spell of adverse weather, dried

berries are sought. Butterflies and moths are favorite food, but

grasshoppers and beetles are captured as well; and the bird, in common

with certain other flycatchers, has the power of ejecting indigestible

elytra and leg-sheathings in the form of pellets.

[Illustration: _Photo by the Author._

SAY’S PEWEE.]

The males arrive in spring some days in advance of the females.

Courtship is animated in spite of the melancholy proclivities of the

bird; and the male achieves a sort of song by repeating _ku-tew_’s

rapidly, on fluttering wing. Besides this, in moments of excitement,

both birds cry _Look at ’ere_, with great distinctness.

Eggs are laid by the 10th of April and usually at least two broods are

raised, in this latitude. In the natural state these Pewees nest about

cliffs, at moderate heights, and in shallow caves. In selecting a site,

they show a decided preference for a cliff which enjoys the protection

of nesting Prairie Falcons. A stout bracket of twigs, weed-fibers,

lichens, and other soft substances, is constructed, and a luxurious

lining of wool and hair is supplied; but the whole must be partially

shielded by some projecting tooth or facet of stone, or artificial

construction.

The author in taking his first (and only) set of Say Pewee eggs selected

a nest on the south wall of Brook Lake, reached only by canoe. The floor

of an old Cliff Swallow’s nest, placed in a shady niche at a height of

some twelve feet, formed the support of the Pewee’s accumulations. The

cliff was perfectly straight, but by dint of half an hour’s work piling

lava blocks and securing footholds, with the aid of a double-bladed

paddle he succeeded in reaching the nest. Requiring the use of both

hands in descent, he placed the four fresh eggs in his hat, and the hat

in his teeth, reaching the ground safely and depositing the hat

carefully. Tired out by the exertion he flung himself down upon the

narrow strip of shore and rested. Then noting the rising wind, he sprang

up, seized the coat and hat and—Oh! Did something drop?!! Yes, gentle

reader, the eggs were in it,—but only one was smashed. Only one! As

perfect the arch without its keystone as a “set” of eggs with the guilty

consciousness of one missing!

No. 146.

OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER.