The Bird Book Part 107

Page 441

749A. SITKA KINGLET. _Regulas calendula grinnelli._

Range.--Pacific coast, breeding in Alaska.

Said to be brighter than the preceding variety.

749b. DUSKY KINGLET. _Regulus calendula obscurus._

Range.--Guadalupe Island, Lower California.

This species nests during March in the large cypress and pine groves at high elevations above the ground. The nests are similar in construction to those of the common Ruby-crown, and the eggs are scarcely different from some specimens of that species; white, dotted and wreathed with reddish brown. Size .56 .43.

751. BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER. _Polioptila caerulea caerulea._

Range.--United States, east of the Rockies, breeding from the Gulf to the Middle and Central States; casually north to Ma.s.sachusetts and Minnesota.

These graceful birds are bluish gray above with a black forehead and central tail feathers, and white underparts. They are common in wooded districts in the south, where they saddle their beautiful nests upon horizontal branches or in crotches usually at quite an elevation from the ground; they resemble large Ruby-throated Hummers' nests but the walls are much higher and thicker; they are made of plant fibres and down, lined with cottony substances and hair, and covered on the outside with lichens to match the limb upon which it is placed. Their eggs are bluish white, specked with reddish chestnut. Size .58 .45.

Data.--Chattanooga, Tenn., April 30, 1900. Nest of moss, covered with lichens and lined with hair and feathers; 20 feet from the ground in a small tree.

751a. WESTERN GNATCATCHER. _Polioptila caerulea obscura._

Range.--Western United States and Lower California.

The habits and eggs of this sub-species are the same as those of the eastern bird, and the nests do not differ except, perhaps, in less ornamentation of the exterior.

752. PLUMBEOUS GNATCATCHER. _Polioptila plumbea._

Range.--Mexican boundary from western Texas to southern California.

This species has a bright s.h.i.+ning black crown and more black on the tail than the eastern Gnatcatcher. They saddle their nests upon the branches of trees or in upright forks, usually at an elevation of ten feet or more from the ground; the nests are made of plant fibres and fine bark strips, compactly felted together, and with little, if any, ornamental lichens on the exterior. Their eggs are pale greenish blue, spotted with reddish brown, and vary from three to five in number. Size .54 .44.

[Ill.u.s.tration 443: Ruby-crowned Kinglet.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Bluish white.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Greenish blue.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: right hand margin.]

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753. BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER. _Polioptila californica._

Range.--Pacific coast of southern California and northern Lower California.

This bird is very similar to the last but has still less white on the outer tail feathers. Like the last, the nests of this species usually lack the exterior covering of lichens, being made of vegetable fibres and plant down, firmly quilted together and saddled on horizontal limbs or placed in forks of trees at any height from the ground. Their eggs are grayish white, specked with bright reddish brown. Size .55 .44.

Data.--Escondido, Cal., May 17, 1903. 5 eggs. Nest on a large limb of a sycamore, 30 feet above ground; made of weed fibres, etc., lined with hair and fine fibres.

THRUSHES, SOLITAIRES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. Family t.u.r.dIDAE

754. TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE. _Myadestes townsendi._

Range.--Western United States, breeding from Arizona, New Mexico and southern California north to British Columbia.

This unique species is of a uniform brownish gray color, with a white eye ring, narrow bar on wing, and outer tail feathers, and with the bases of the primaries rusty colored. It is a ground inhabiting bird, feeding upon insects and berries in shrubbery and thickets. Their song is said to be liquid, melodious and often long continued, equaling that of any other bird. They nest on the ground in hollows under banks or crevices about roots of trees or fallen stumps, making a large, loosely constructed pile of weeds and trash, hollowed and lined with rootlets.

The three or four eggs, which are laid in June, are grayish white, spotted with pale brown, chiefly or most abundantly about the large end.

Size .96 .70.

755. WOOD THRUSH. _Hylocichla mustelina._

Range.--Eastern United States, breeding from North Carolina and Kansas north to northern United States; winters south of our borders.

This Thrush with his brightly spotted breast is the most handsome of this group of musical birds. They are common in damp woods and thickets, in which places they breed, placing their nests of straw, leaves and gra.s.ses in low trees usually between four and ten feet from the ground; their nests are often very rustic, being ornamented by pieces of paper and twigs with dead leaves attached hanging from the sides of the quite bulky structures. During May or June they lay three or four greenish blue eggs of about the shade of a Robin's. Size 1.05 .70.

[Ill.u.s.tration 444: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Grayish white.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Grayish white.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Greenish blue.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: left hand margin.]

Page 443

756. VEERY. _Hylocichla fuscescens fuscescens._

Range.--Eastern North America, breeding in the northern half of its United States range and in the southern British Provinces.

The Veery is very abundantly distributed in woodland, either moist or dry, and nests on the ground or within a very few inches of it, usually placing its structures of woven bark strips and gra.s.ses, in the midst of a clump of sprouts or ferns. The three or four eggs which they lay in May or June are bluish green, much darker than those of the Wood Thrush, and nearly the color of those of the Catbird. Size .90 .65.

756a. WILLOW THRUSH. _Hylocichla fuscescens salicicola._

Range.--Rocky Mountain region, north to British Columbia.

The nests and eggs of this similar bird do not differ from those of the last.

757. GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH. _Hylocichla aliciae aliciae._

Range.--Breeds from Labrador to Alaska; winters south to Central America.

The nesting habits and eggs of this species are very similar to those of the following sub-species and the same description will answer for both.

757. BICKNELL'S THRUSH. _Hylocichla aliciae bicknelli._

Range.--Breeds in the Catskills, White Mountains and Nova Scotia.