UC-NRLF
Donated to
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
DAVIS
A PRELIMINARY CATALOG
OF THE
BIRDS OF MISSOURI
BY
OTTO WIDMANN
ST. LOUIS, MO.
1907
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
PAVIS
A PRELIMINARY CATALOG OF THE BIRDS OF
MISSOURI*
OTTO WIDMANN.
I. INTRODUCTION.
The need of a list of the birds of Missouri has become more and
more apparent as the popularization of Nature Study has made
progress during the last few years. Nearly all the northern
states have published for many years lists and revised lists, but
this is the first attempt in our state. It is based chiefly on
personal observations made during the last thirty years. Other
sources of information of which I was able to avail myself are
comparatively few and very little has ever been published. To
those gentlemen who were kind enough to favor me with their
notes I would here express my thanks. They are: Mr. Vernon
Bailey of Washington, D. C., who visited Stone Co. in 1892 for a
short time; Mr. Roger N. Baldwin of St. Louis; Mr. James New-
ton Baskett of Mexico, Mo., the author of the Story of the Birds;
Mr. John A. Bryant of Kansas City; Mr. B. F. Bush of Courtney,
Mo.; Mr. Edmonde Samuel Currier of Keokuk, la., who kept
very good records of the birds of his vicinity including parts of
Clark Co., Mo., for more than twelve years prior to his removal to
Oregon in 1903; Dr. Aug. F. Eimbeck and his brother, Mr.
Charles L. Eimbeck, of New Haven, Mo., the owners of fine col-
lections of mounted birds made in Warren and Franklin Co.
during the last forty years; Mr. Ben True Gault of Glen Ellyn,
111., who has twice collected in parts of southern Missouri, mainly
in Dunklin and Reynolds Co. ; Mr. Julius Hurter, Sr., of St. Louis,
whose collection of mounted birds of the neighborhood of St.
Louis is now in Washington University; Mr. John D. Kas-
tendieck of Billings, Christian Co., the owner of a large and fine
collection of mounted birds taken in his vicinity during the last
forty years; Mr. Adolf Lange of Leaven worth, Kan., whose collec-
tion of birds contains specimens taken on the Missouri side ; Mr.
* Presented to The Academy of Science of St. Louis, May 21, 1906.
(1)
2 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
John S.Marley of Kansas City, Mo.; Dr. Walter Mills of Webster
Groves, Mo.; Mr. H. Nehrling, the author of "Die Nord-Ameri-
kanische Vogelwelt" and "Our Birds of Song and Beauty," who
lived at Freistatt near Pierce City, Lawrence Co., from October
1882 to April 1887; Mr. Edgar M. Parker of Montgomery City,
Mo.; Mr. Otho C. Poling of Quincy, 111.; Mr. Wm. E. Praeger,
who, when living at Keokuk, la., often visited Missouri soil on
his ornithological excursions; Mr. F. C. Pellett of Salem, Mo.;
Mr. C. W. Prier of Appleton City, Mo. ; Dr. G. C. Rinker of Union-
ville; Mr. Walter Giles Savage of Monteer, Shannon Co., formerly
of Jasper, Jasper Co.; Mr. Frank Schwarz of St. Louis; Mr. Philo
W. Smith, Jr. of St. Louis, an ardent collector of eggs for many
years in different parts of the state, bringing together one of the
most complete collections of North American birds' eggs in the
United States; Mr. A. F. Smithson of Warrensburg, Mo.; Mr.
B. M. Stigall of Kansas City; Mr. Chas. W. Tindall of Indepen-
dence, Mo.; Mr. Sidney S. Wilson of St. Joseph, Mo.; Mr. Julius
T. Volkman of Webster Groves, Mo.; Mr. E. Seymour Woodruff,
who visitd Shannon Co. from March 10 to May 16 and Grandin,
Carter Co., from May 16 to June 7, 1907, and very kindly sub-
mitted all his notes, containing new and valuable records, for use
in this list; Mr. Chas. K. Worthen of Warsaw, 111., who sent me
interesting notes on birds taken on the Mississippi River or so
near the state line that they must be regarded as worthy of a
place in our list. I am also indebted to the gentlemen of the
Bureau of Biological Survey of the United States Department of
Agriculture, for the loan of the schedules containing the reports
.on bird migration in Missouri from 1884 to 1905. They com-
prise the work of thirty-six observers scattered through nearly as
many counties and varying from notes on a few birds in a single
season to full reports on a number of species and a long series of
years, chiefly for spring, but some for spring and fall migration.
II. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
The first local list ever made in the state is that of Dr. P.
R. Hoy, published in his Journal of an Exploration of Western
Missouri in 1854 in the nineteenth Annual Report of the Smith-
sonian Institution for 1864. He enumerates 156 species.
Occasional mention of birds of the lower Missouri River is
found among the observations of Max Prinz zu Wied in his
"Reise in das Innere Nord-America in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834"
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 3
and in his " Verzeichniss der Vogel welche auf einer Reise in Nord-
America beobachted wurden" in the" Journal fuer Ornithologie,"
for 1858; also in Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in
1819 and '20, published from notes of Thomas Say in 1823; and
in F. V. Hayden's Report on the Geology and Natural History
of the Upper Missouri River based on explorations in 1855, '56 and
'57, published in the Transactions of the American Philosophical
Society, vol. 12, 1863.
A few notes on the birds of Missouri are found in J. H. Town-
send's Narrative of a Journey across the Rocky Mountains in
1839 (vol. 21 of Early Western Travels), and a larger number in
Audubon's Missouri River Journals, 1843, in "Audubon and his
Journals," by Maria R. Audubon, 1897. Edward Harris, who
accompanied Audubon on his journey to the upper Missouri
in 1843 published a nominal "List of Birds and Mammalia found
on the Missouri River from Fort Leaven worth to Fort Union"
in the Fifth Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution,
1850 (1851).
In his " Notes on an Ornithological Reconnoissance," Dr. J.
A. Allen writes in the Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 3: p. 6, July
1872: "Our collections at Leavenworth (in May 1871) were
principally made in the heavy timber on the East Leavenworth
(Mo.) side of the Missouri River opposite Fort Leavenworth.
Most of the water-birds were obtained about a lagoon on the
Missouri side." In Bull. Nuttall Ornith. Club, vol. 3, p. 148,
1878, is a notice by Dr. J. A. Allen of the occurrence of three
species of seaducks and a purple gallinule taken near St. Louis by
Mr. Julius Hurter in 1875, 76 and 77. In vol. 4, 1879, page 139 -
147, of the Nuttall Bulletin there is a list of 148 species observed
by Mr. W. E. D. Scott at Warrensburg, Mo., during the spring
migration, March 27 to June 15, 1874. In the Ornithologist and
Oologist of 1884, Mr. Jul. Hurter of St. Louis enumerates 265
species of birds collected by him during fifteen years in the vi-
cinity of St. Louis. Mr. Otho C. Poling of Quincy, 111., in his
"Notes on the Fringillidae of western Illinois," in the Auk, vol.
7, 1890, speaks of observations made on Missouri soil.
Several papers treating of Missouri birds have been published
by the author of the present list during the last twenty years in
the Auk, the Ornithologist and Oologist, the Osprey, and Bird
Lore. The Reports on Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley
by W. W. Cooke also contain a large number of notes and dates
on Missouri birds, chiefly from St. Louis. The report for the
4 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
spring of 1882 is published in Forest and Stream during October
and November of that year; that of the spring of 1883 is pub-
lished by the American Field in Bull. no. 1 of the Ridgway Orni-
thological Club of Chicago, December 1883. The reports of
1884 and 1885 are contained in Bull. no. 2 of the Department of
Agriculture, Division of Economic Ornithology, entitled : " Report
on Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley in the years 1884 and
1885," by W. W. Cooke, 1888, edited and revised by Dr. C. H.
Merriam.
III. EXPLANATIONS.
The nomenclature is that of the American Ornithologists'
Union check-list, latest (1895) edition and supplements. The
numbers are also those of the check-list; the species and sub-
species have not been serially numbered, because in a preliminary
list it is too difficult to decide which shall and which shall not be
numbered ; a species doubtful to-day may have to be recognized
to-morrow, and species which have occurred lately may soon be
found exterminated as far as this state is concerned. Species and
subspecies which are known to have bred in the state, or which
occur under such circumstances that it is almost certain that they
breed within the limits of the state, are marked with an asterisk.
Synonyms, both scientific and English, used in the works of
American ornithologists, principally those used by Wilson, Audu-
bon, Nuttall, Baird, and Coues, are given to enable students to
find their way through the many and great changes in nomen-
clature made since the first of these books was printed ninety-
eight years ago. No attempt is made to describe birds ; manuals,
handbooks, keys, and general works on North American orni-
thology are numerous. The catalog is confined to a detailed
treatment of the geographic distribution of each species and sub-
species in accordance with the latest sources of information.
This is followed by a statement of its range in Missouri, manner
of occurrence in regard to season and relative abundance, dates
of arrival and departure, and such notes as may be helpful to the
student in the search of rare species. Species are called residents
when they are found within the limits of the state in every month
of the year ; they are sometimes called permanent residents when
they remain in the same locality throughout the year, but of this
kind we have but very few, while of many species some indi-
viduals remain through winter with us, though the majority go
outh. Of a few species the numbers are larger in winter than
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 5
in summer, because reinforced by winter visitants from the north.
Winter visitants are those which are found only in the colder part
of the year and return to the north sooner or later in spring;
when they are of regular occurrence and long sojourn in the same
locality every winter, they are also called winter residents.
Summer residents are those which pass the warmer part of the
year in our state, leave us in autumn and return in spring. A
few species may properly be termed summer visitants, because
they visit the state only for a short time after their breeding
season in a more southern home is over. Transient visitants are
all those species which breed farther north and winter farther
south, passing through our state in migration and spending more
or less time in the transit.
Residents and summer residents are breeders; transient visi-
tants, summer visitants, winter residents and winter visitants
are non-breeders in the state.
The terms used to indicate relative abundance may be defined
thus : Common means of such regular occurrence in all suitable
localities at the proper time that individuals can be found with-
out any effort. Fairly common, meaning moderately common,
is used to indicate that the species, though of regular occurrence
in suitable localities, is so thinly scattered that it requires more
or less search to find it. Rather rare means uncommon, infre-
quent, known to occur only in small numbers, requiring much
search. Rare means occurring at wide intervals. As the result
of persecution or adverse circumstance formerly common species
have been reduced to this state. Accidental designates those
which are entirely unexpected because extralimital.
The catalog contains not only species and subspecies fully
authenticated, but also a few of such highly probable occurrence
that it seems only a question of time and opportunity to establish
the proof of their presence. This is a slight deviation from the
usual course of relegating everything not fully verified by cap-
tured specimens to an appended, generally overlooked, hypo-
thetical list. But since this catalog is in an initial stage, far from
completion, I hold it to be of the greatest importance to keep
constantly before the eyes of the student what should be done in
the way of filling the gaps. He should not only know what has
already been accomplished, but also what he can do in the
locality in which he works toward completing the list. When
visiting a new locality it is a great help to know beforehand for
6 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
what one should watch, particularly in order to make a dis-
covery of value.
Apparently extirpated species are also retained in the list,
because it is interesting to know what formerly occurred in the
state, and because the possibility still exists that at least a few
individuals remain or have returned from adjacent regions.
Introduced species are also admitted as naturalized members of
our avifauna.
The total number of species and subspecies contained in the
catalog is 383, of which 162 are breeders. Species not actually
taken within the limits of the state are distinguished by being
put into brackets. Of this kind there are 30, which subtracted
from 383 leave as the present status (July 8, 1907) 353 actually
observed species and subspecies for our state.
IV. FAUNAL AREAS.
Our avifauna is mainly that of the eastern United States
generally and differs little from that of the adjoining states on
the east, north and south. The Eastern Province reaches from
the Atlantic ocean to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains,
where the Middle Province begins, but many of the western forms
of birds extend eastward into Kansas and still more so into
western Nebraska, thus swelling the number of species and sub-
species in the latter state to 415. Illinois, too, has a larger list
of breeders as well as of winter visitants, because her fauna is
enriched by water birds visiting Lake Michigan and by its great
north and south extension, which enters the Alleghanian faunal
area of the Transition zone in the north and reaches with its
southern end slightly into the Austroriparian area.
Missouri belongs almost entirely to the Carolinian faunal area
of the upper Austral life zone; only the low alluvial counties of
the southeast can be considered a spur of the Austroriparian
faunal area of the Lower Austral life zone. The circumstance
that all our rivers of the southern slope of the Ozarks have wide,
open and long valleys leading southward gives an opportunity
f 01 a northward advance of southern forms of plants and animals ;
and our broad, open prairie region of the west and north offers no
barrier to an eastward spreading of the western fauna and flora.
In comparing the avifauna of Missouri with that of the At-
lantic States in the same latitude it should be remembered that,
although the mean temperature differs but little, the climate of
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 7
the former is somewhat more severe than that of the latter, the
summers being hotter, the winteis colder. It is therefore not
sui prising to find slight differences in the summer and winter
faunas of the two regions, while the migrations occur at nearly
the same time, owing to the similarity in temperature of the
spring and fall months.
V. THE CL1MYTE.
The climate of Missouri, continental as H is in a high degree, is
one of great variations. Generally speaking it may be said that
it is characterized by hot summers and moderately cold winters,
with exceptions of moderately hot summers and very cold winters.
Maximum temperatures of eighty degrees and over occur during
the summer on eighty bo ninety days; ninety degrees and over
on twenty to thirtv days. In ordinary winters the temperature
reaches to and below the freezing point on about eighty days
and falls below zero on trom ten to twenty days. There are on
record a few exceptionally moderate winters like that of 1905-'06
when the zero mark was hardly reached, or readied only in the
more northern counties. There is little difference in the amount
and duration of the summer's heat in the different parts of the
state, but there is a difference of five degrees in the average
winter temperature between the northwest and the center, and
from ten to fifteen degrees between that of the northwest and
the southeast. All waves, cold and warm, appear first in the
northwest and advance southeastward, requiring about twenty-
four hours to reach the southeastern corner of the state. The
most pronounced polar waves of midwinter are nearly as cold in
one part of the state as in the other, but cold periods are generally
of shorter duration in the southeast, moderating more rapidly un-
der the more southern sun and the lower elevation. This is espe-
cially rioticeable in the beginning and at the end of winter, but, due
to its northwest-southeast course, the chilling effect of a departing
high barometer may still be felt strongly in the southeast when
the approaching low barometer has already entered the state 'n
the northwest with rapidly rising temperature. Such conditions
are particularly striking in spring, when north-bound migrants
are thereby enabled to depart, while no migration reaches us
from the south, then still under the influence of the cold east and
southeast w ; nds of the departed high pressure. The first frosts
occur late in October, in the southern part sometimes not before
8 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
November, but exceptionally the last of September even in the
southeast. The last frost occurs in the south about the first, and
in the north about the fifteenth of April, exceptionally later as on
April 20, 1904, when six inches of snow covered the ground at
St. Louis with a temperature of 28 to 30 (max.). Hoarfrosts
may kill tender vegetation as late as the middle of May in nearly
all parts of the state.
The following dates may illustrate the remarkable dissimilarity
in dates of opening spring: Peach-trees were in bloom in St.
Louis in 1878 on March 15; in 1907 on March 25; in 1879 on April
15 ; in 1880 on April 1 and in 1881 on April 28. The same Magnolia
which was in flower on March 12, 1878, did not bloom in 1881
before April 24, but in 1882 again as early as March 18, when
spring opened on the first of March. Though spring opened in
1881 only on April 16 not a single tree was without its leaves at
St. Louis on May 9; but in 1907 the leafing of trees began March
15 and was not completed June 1. An exceptionally early open-
ing of spring with us can, of course, have no influence on the
starting of migrants from their remote winter homes in southern
Mexico, Central and South America, as they cannot know what
kind of weather we have in the United States, but a late spring
may retard their progress after they have entered our country.
Most of the birds which winter beyond the limits of the United
States do not reach Missouri before April, and their arrival is there-
fore not influenced by our weather prior to that time. They do
not come earlier, be the spring ever so early and vegetation corres-
pondingly advanced; but it is different with birds which winter
within the United Stales, as nearly all species do which arrive in
Missouri prior to April. Though the desire to return to their
breeding ground is not dependent on the weather, being the result
of a plrysiological process which through inheritance is fixed to a
certain time of the year independent of meterological conditions,
a precocious rise in temperature with the consequent develop-
ment of plant and animal life exerts some influence by stimulat-
ing this desire, and it is for this reason that considerable fluc-
tuation occurs in the time of arrival of our earlier migrants as
well as in the departure of our winter guests. A backward spring
causes a general retardation of all migration that becomes less
marked as the season advances, but every cold wave, even in
the height of migration, checks farther advancement for the time
being and detains transients at the localities where they happen
to be when the adverse conditions arise. This is of great prac-
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 9
tical value for the observer or hunter, as it affords him oppor-
tunity to find for a longer time and in greater numbers birds
which under other, for them more favorable, conditions would
have passed on at once or with little delay. The abundance and
scarcity of migrants in transit through our state is therefore
largely dependent on the time at which prolonged cold or warm
spells strike our region. Should the cold spell set in at the time
when the bulk of ducks is present, the hunter will have cause to
rejoice; but should their arrival be delayed and then be followed
by a decided and extensive warm period, the bulk will pass on,
proceeding on their way to the northern breeding grounds, and
the hunters will find the season a poor one. This is the case with
all transients and is the reason why we find certain birds common
in one year and rare in another; it is especially noticeable in
May when the presence of north-bound warblers, thrushes, and
others, is greatly influenced, shortened or lengthened, by these
warm and cold waves or spells.
A great diversity is also found in the seasonal distribution of
precipitation which in a year amounts to thirty-four inches in the
northwest and forty-six in the southeast. May and June are the
months of greatest precipitation, and five inches of rain fall in
each of these months throughout the state. This rainy season
is generally followed by dry periods in July and August, when
droughts of several weeks duration are not rare. But there are
no fixed rules: while in some years no appreciable precipitation
takes place from early July to September, in other years rainy
periods occur almost every week throughout summer. State-
ments of average precipitation, as of average temperature, give
no insight into the weather conditions of a region. Four inches
of rain may fall within twenty-four hours and not a drop fall for
a whole month, or the four inches may come down in install-
ments of half an inch distributed over the same period.
The effect of such different conditions on bird life is remark-
able. Heavy storms with copious downpours in the height of
the breeding season destroy immense numbers of broods, and
long droughts make insect life so scarce that some species of
birds find it impossible to provide enough food for their young.
The increase or decrease in the number of individuals of a species
is therefore often the direct result of favorable or unfavorable
weather of the preceding summer.
While spring migration is chiefly influenced by temperature,
fall migration is controlled in a large measure by precipitation.
10 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
In years of drought during August and September, and such
years are by no means rare, migrants proceed southward on
their journey without much delay, because insect food of the
kind they like is scarce, and all birds need water for drinking and
bathing. The drying up of water courses and ponds has much
to do with the early disappearance of birds from their breeding
ground. The condition of our lakes and rivers governs the
occurrence and abundance of water-birds in autumn. Should
our rivers be so full as to cover all sandbanks and mud flats,
waders will not remain with us; on the other hand, ducks will
be rare when our ponds and sloughs are very low or dry, or when
the water is too deep for dabbling. The presence or absence of
particular species at certain seasons is therefore the direct result
of the great variation in the seasonal distribution of precipi-
tation.
In winter, too, it is the abundance or scarcity of snow on the
ground that regulates the presence of birds more than the tem-
perature does. Fortunately in most winters we cannot com-
plain of too much snow, though the average snowfall for the
state is said to be eight inches in the southeast, and thirty inches
in the northwest. First snows usually do not fall before the
middle of November; but here, too, the exceptions are almost as
frequent as the rule. Snow once covered the ground at St.
Louis as early as November 5 and did not entirely disappear
from the north sides of houses until the middle of April (1881).
In another year (1889) there was no precipitation of any kind
during the entire fall and winter until the first of January,
1890, when exceedingly heavy rain and wind storms followed.
Snows falling before Christmas are usually light and drifted by
the accompanying cold and high winds. Such snows do not
affect bird life seriously, because they leave much ground un-
covered and accessible to the ensuing sunshine. The worst kind
of snow, that which is introduced or followed by freezing rain
and sleet, falls mostly between the fifth of January and tenth of
February, generally in advance of our severest polar waves
whose low temperature preserves the icy crust almost intact
for days and weeks. They are naturally very destructive to
bird life, the more so the further southward they extend and the
longer they last. It was one of these periods that came near
exterminating our eastern bluebirds in February 1895.
The deepest snows fall in the latter part of winter, from the
last of February to the first of April, but remain on the ground
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 11
but a few days, giving way to the bright sunshine and strong
winds following in their wake.
VI. TOPOGRAPHY.
Missouri has three topographic divisions: the prairie region
in the north and central west, the Ozark region in the south, and
the lowlands in the southeast. There is a sharp line sepa-
rating the lowlands from the Ozarks, but the dividing line be-
tween the other two regions is indistinct, following in the main
the Missouri River westward to Boonville, there turning south-
westward through Clinton, Appleton City, and Nevada to La-
mar, leaving the state where the Spring River crosses the
line.
The Ozark region has its highest elevation in a plateau, a broad,
comparatively even, stretch of high land, which reaches from
Perry, Ste. Genevieve, and Jefferson Counties southwestward
to the southwest corner of the state. It attains a height of 1100'
in St. Francois Co., 1600' in Iron and Reynolds Cos., 1400' in
Dent, 1700' in Wright and 1550' in Stone, Barry and Taney
Counties. This upland is not a contiguous stretch, but is inter-
rupted by shallow, rather wide troughs and by broad areas
where the water disappears and runs in underground channels;
but all the drainage of the Ozarks goes from this divide either
north to the Missouri and Meramec Rivers or south to the
White and Arkansas Rivers, a very small area only being drained
eastwardly direct into the Mississippi River.
In the region immediately adjoining the plateau the streams
have cut deep valleys and narrow gorges with innumerable ra-
vines. This is the most rugged part of the whole region, the
valleys reaching their maximum depth about midway between
the plateau and the border subregion with bluffs and cliffs 300
feet high in places.
The Ozark border subregion is the hilly belt inclosing the
Ozarks, being less rugged, less stony, but broken up more or less,
and sloping gradually down to the prairie region or terminating
on the east and north in the bluffs of the Mississippi and
Missouri Rivers. The prairie region has never been a true,
treeless prairie; its name is applied simply because its topog-
raphy is of the same type as that of all the prairie regions
of the Mississippi Valley; it is in fact the eastern border of the
12 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
vast sloping plain which stretches from the foot of the Rocky
Mountains to the Mississippi River. It is lowest along the border
line of the Ozarks and along its eastern edge which fronts the
Mississippi River, rising from 800' along this belt to 1100' south
of Kansas City and to 1200' near the northwestern corner of the
state. It is a gently undulating plain of rich soil, largely brought
there by glacial action and thus differing greatly from that of
southern Missouri, which is the result of decomposed native rocks.
The valleys in the prairie region are true flood plains with flat
floors, cut into soft shale, generally broad with gently sloping
sides and extremely tortuous channels. All the valleys were
originally heavily wooded, and remnants of the primeval forests
are still found in the Mississippi and Missouri River bottoms
and on their bluffs, but most of the timber of the prairie region
has been removed, leaving only thin strips of woods along the
streams with occasional artificial groves. Tree growth of vari-
able size and quality once covered the entire Ozark region,
heavy and of valuable kind in the valleys and along hillsides, low
and of little value on the dry ridges and flats west of the Pine
and White Oak region. The best parts of all the valleys have
long been cleared and are devoted to agricultural pursuits;
everywhere, high and low, the best timber is being rapidly cut
out and removed; whole stretches have been transformed into
orchards, and farms are springing up everywhere, even on the
remotest hilltops. But there is still a vast amount of tree
growth, so much so that, looking over the country from some
eminence in the Ozarks, the eye meets hardly anything but vast
stretches of woodland for miles and miles in all directions. The
character of these woods is rather disappointing, for upon close
inspection it is found to be of little commercial value, consisting
in large part of medium-sized and small Blackjack and Post
Oaks. Formerly Pine trees (Pinus echinata) grew in large
quantities on silicious ground along the divide and southern slope
of the Ozarks from St. Francois Co. to Taney Co., but they are
mostly gone or disappearing at a rapid rate, being replaced only
by scrub-oaks with no prospect for a continuation of pine woods
in any part of the region, as the growth of Pinus echinata is too
slow to make planting profitable and the annual burning over
of the forest floor has prevented natural reproduction.
The flood-plains of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and the
bluffs bordering them play such an important part in the dis-
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 13
tribution of vegetable and animal life that they deserve a de-
tailed description.
Where the Missouri River enters the state at the northwest
corner it meanders for sixty miles through a flood plain of from
six to ten miles in width with low, gently sloping bluffs hardly
100 feet high anywhere. The alluvial land on the Missouri side
extends over a large area, covering one-third of the counties of
Atchison and Holt, and smaller areas of Andrew, Buchanan and
Pealt Counties. All these bottoms were originally thickly tim-
bered with Walnut, Maple, Sycamore, Cottonwood, Elm, Hickory,
Oak, Hackberry, Willow, Locust, Boxelder, etc. Below the
Nebraska-Kansas line the river encounters harder rock and the
floodplain narrows to three or four miles, while the bluffs rise to
almost three times their height for a hundred miles, down to
near Lexington in Lafayette Co. From there to Glasgow, run-
ning through soft shale, the river has carved out a flood plain from
six to ten miles in width between low bluffs hardly 100 feet high.
Rich alluvial bottoms, in some parts of a marshy nature, and
ranging from one to three miles in width, extend for one hundred
miles along the great bend of the river in Saline Co. and com-
prise one-third of the area of Carroll Co. From Glasgow to St.
Charles the Missouri River flows without many windings through
hard limestone in a floodplain less than three miles, in some places
only two miles wide between steep bluffs 300 and more feet in
height.
The floodplain of the Mississippi River is generally broader
than that of the Missouri River, but less than one-half of it is on
the Missouri side, the current of the river being mostly near the
bluffs of its western shore. The width of the floodplain where
the river reaches the state in the northeast, is about eight miles,
with bluffs of 250 feet above low water. Bottomland up to three
miles wide, some protected by levees, some subject to overflow,
extends through three counties, Clark, Lewis, and Marion.
At Hannibal hard limestone causes the floodplain to contract,
reaching its minimum width of three to four miles at Louisiana
with bluffs over 400 feet high, closely followed by the stream
through most of Rails and Pike counties. In Lincoln Co. the
alluvial bottom widens again on our side with land partly pro-
tected by levees, partly subject to overflow, and reaches its
maximum width in St. Charles Co., where all land east of St.
Charles, St. Peters and St. Paul is alluvial, much of it marshy
and dotted with ponds and lakes connected by sloughs.
14 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
From the mouth of the Illinois River to Alton, a stretch of
sixteen miles, the shore on the Illinois side is a wall of cliffs from
100 to 150 feet in height, formerly, and in less degree still the
home of interesting birds with feeding grounds mostly on our
side of the river. There is some bottom land in the northern
portion of St. Louis Co., but from the City of St. Louis to the
city of Cape Girardeau very little lowland is found on our side,
as the river washes the foot of the bluffs nearly all along bluffs
which in many places attain the dignity of cliffs similar to those
above Alton on the Illinois side. At Cape Girardeau the Missis-
sippi enters the great alluvial plain, of which the seven counties
in the southeastern corner of Missouri form a part, and through
which the mighty river, together with the waters of the Ohio
winds in a wide belt with frequent changes of its channel and the
formation of cut-offs, islands and lakes.
The most pronounced physiographic area of Missouri is the
swampy region of the southeast. There, remnants of the most
magnificent forests are still in existence, though continually
encroached upon, and, since the region is now traversed by several
railroads, it can be only a question of a few years when but a
shadow of its sublime beauty will be left. It is the home of the
Bald Cypress, the Water Tupelo, the Sweet Gum and Planer-
tree ; a paradise for the ornithologist as well as the botanist who
finds there representatives of the Floridian and Texan floras;
a bonanza for the herpetologist and entomologist.
Terminated northward by abrupt bluffs along a north-east
south-west line from Cape Girardeau to where the Current River
crosses the state line in Ripley Co., the alluvial plain covers about
seven counties with an elevation of less than 400 feet above sea
level and from ten to twenty feet above the Mississippi River at
low- water. A number of rivers and bayous, connected in the
eastern portion with the Mississippi, in the western with the St.
Francis River, divide into ridges and islands and yearty inundate
a large portion of the area when high water overflows their shal-
low beds for weeks and months at a time. Thus, Little River,
which in very dry summers has hardly enough water to carry a
canoe, reaches often a width of from six to seven^miles; this is
also the width of the St. Francis River with its parallel-running
sloughs or arms. &/j
Peninsula of Missouri is called that part of the southeast which
extends from latitude 36 30' south to 36. With the exception
of a narrow strip of sandy ridge between Little and St. Francis
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 15
Rivers the whole region is low and a large part of it under water
except in late summer and early fall, or in unusually dry seasons.
Originally nine-tenths of the whole area was overgrown with a
dense forest, the sandy ridge called Grand Prairie being the only
part not fully covered with tree growth. Trees of magnificent
size grew here by the millions; Cotton woods and Cypresses
attained gigantic dimensions; Sweet or Red Gums had taken
possession of high levels, called islands; while the Bald Cypress
occupied the region of the regular yearly overflow, and the Tu-
pelos took to the sloughs and rivers themselves. Together with
the Sweet Gums holding the higher levels were different kinds
of Oak (White, Cow, Red, Shingle, Overcup and Willow Oaks),
Red Maples, Elm, White Ash, Sycamore, Pecan, Mockernut,
Shagbark Hickory, Hackberry, Sassafras, Black Gum, Tulip,
Mulberry, Boxelder, Catalpa, Holly, and others. Dogwoods,
Redbud, Papaw, Hazel, Spicebush, and Hercules Club were
plentiful among the lower tree growth intertwined with a large
variety of climbers, among them Crossvine, Wistaria, Muscadine,
Berchemia, Smilax and Cocculus. In the sloughs were Itea,
Leitneria, Planera, Micania and many others assisting the broad
belts of Polygonum densiflorum and Zizania miliacea to occupy
the sides, while Nelumbo, Nymphea and Nuphar covered the
deeper portions, filling the whole expanse of the water with
plant growth.
Excepting the presence of cane-brakes (Arundinaria) in its
southern portion, the Peninsula does not differ essentially from
the rest of the alluvial southeast in any of its physical features,
but, having escaped the so-called civilization longest, retained
the primeval conditions longest, and only since the railroads
began to penetrate the region ten years ago is it slowly but surely
changing its former peculiarly wild and interesting character into
one of devastation and desolation. Not only that the best
timber is being removed, but hundreds of thousands of giant trees
are girdled in the expectation of making the sandy soil agri-
culturally available. Levee-building and ditching is going on
along the Mississippi River; lakes have been drained and much
land has been protected from high water in the Mississippi;
the whole region is in a state of transformation; lumbering and
the saw mills have attracted a population whose chief diversion
is found in fishing and hunting, in devastating and destroying;
surely the Peninsula will soon cease to be the paradise of the nat-
uralist and hunter. Ducks, of which 150,000 were killed in a
16 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
single winter (1893-94) on the Big Lake and shipped from Horners-
ville, still visit the region in large numbers in their migrations
and many remain in mild winters, but the resident game birds
such as the Turkey, and summer residents like the Wood Duck
and Hooded Merganser are decreasing rapidly and will, like the
Ivorybill, the Snakebird, the Canada Goose, several kinds of
ducks and herons, the Bald Eagle and Osprey, in fact like most
birds of larger size, disappear and become, as far as their beeding
in that part of Missouri is concerned, exterminated.
VII. DECREASE OF BIRDS.
There is no doubt that the gun is the main factor in the rapid
disappearance of all the larger birds. No amount of instruction
and law-making will prevent the killing of hawks and owls by
farmers and hunters, especially the latter, who sees in every
large bird an enemy of his game, a competitor in the chase or
fishery.
The reduction in the number of the smaller birds is the result of
quite different causes causes which cannot be removed because
they are the unavoidable consequences of the transformation of
a wild, thinly inhabited land into a highly cultivated, thickly
settled one. With the felling of the trees, tree-inhabiting wild
creatures necessarily disappear; with the draining of the low-
lands, marsh birds cannot be expected ary more; the drying-up
of the lakes diverts their animal life to other regions, the re-
moval of certain plants from a place makes the presence of certain
kinds of animal life impossible. When we consider how much
one organism is dependent on others, we do not wonder that an
annihilation of many forms of animal life, high and low, is in-
separably bound up with such a change as deforestation and
subsequent cultivation. While we see a few birds which for-
merly lived exclusively in the forest accommodate themselves
to the changed conditions and put up with substitutes, such as
orchards and artificial groves, many of the true forest-loving birds
invariably disappear with the forest and become exterminated
as far as that particular locality is concerned. Not counting the
scrub-oak barrens of the Ozarks as forest, because very few wood-
land birds find a home in them, we can say that only 25 per cent,
of the former forest area is left as such at present, and that there-
fore 75 per cent, of most of the woodland birds of Missouri have
gone since the white man began to settle in the state. But de-
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 17
forestationfis still going on, on even a larger scale than ever be-
fore. There may come a time when forestry steps in and takes
care of the remaining woodland, and men may even begin to
plant new forests as they do in other countries, but such arti-
ficial groves compare with the primeval forests as docs a corn-
field with a marsh or prairie. Many birds now at home in the
forest would feel themselves perfect strangers in such a highly
cultivated tract of tree growth. There will be no great variety
of trees, no twiners and vines of any kinds, no underbrush and
thickets of brambles and briars, no decaying tree-tops and no
prostrate monarchs of the forest crumbling into dust. The floor
of the tract will offer no shelter and no hiding places for the nests
of ground-builders: no thickets will harbor the many different
songsters, which cannot exist without them; no canopy of low
trees overgrown with climbers will conceal, as it now so effectively
does, the cradles of our summer guests, and wood-peckers will
find no insect-infested trees to yield them food and homes.
There will be a desolation and stillness throughout these woods
that even the few birds piesent will hardly have the courage to
break. Next to the vanishing of the woodland bird comes that
of the marsh bird, whose doom is sealed by the draining of the
lowland along our rivers and the transformation of lakes and
swampy tracts into cornfields. These are no substitute for
sedges, reeds, and flags and the manifold vegetation associated
with them; nor will the pond and lake dwellers return after their
watery haunts have yielded to the plow and harrow. Where do
they go? We do not know; some of the smaller birds may be-
take themselves to meadows, but the great majority disappear
forever from the locality and the extermination of some of these
species as breeders in our state is rapidly approaching. Those
species of birds which frequent the thickets along the edge of
woods and the vegetation which fringes the watercourses have
a better chance to endure for a while, but these too will constantly
be reduced in numbers by the adoption of the ideal clean culture,
which does away with all plant growth from fences and roads,
and removes even the last remnants along the creeks and small
wet- weather branches.
The universally deplored decrease of insectivorous and song-
birds, generally laid at the door of the egg-collector and the boy
with the gun, is therefore easily explained as the direct and in-
evitable result of the progress of civilization, which not only
changes the physical features of the land, but also introduces
18 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
and propagates enemies of the existing fauna not known before.
The cat and the dog are responsible for the killing of many of
our choicest pets, which like the Bluebirds confidingly seek our
protection to be sadly disappointed by loosing their young ones
to the cat as soon as they leave the nest. Some dogs are as bad
as cats in destroying the broods of birds nesting on the ground.
Besides the cat and the dog the hog does the greatest harm to
birds which habitually make their nests on or near the ground.
In parts of our state where the only woodpatch left standing is
given to pasturing swine, no ground nester can long survive, and
we find these species now entirely wanting in localities where
they used to be common. Cattle, horses and sheep involuntarily
inflict losses on birds frequenting their pastures by trampling on
their nests or disturbing them in the act of incubating. There
are still other ways of destruction unavoidably connected with
the tilling or burning over of land at a time when some birds have
already nested on the ground and those which escape the fire
and the plow may be demolished by the scythe or mower later on.
It is easy to see why birds must become scarcer and scarcer, and
that it will require all the protection man is able to give to keep
them from a lamentable state of rarity.
VIII. BIRD PROTECTION.
It would be wrong to understand by bird protection simply
the restraint from killing them. We have to actively assist
them in the battle against adversities. It is not yet too late to
save remnants of original forests from destruction ; men of means,
corporations, or associations of men, should establish such bird
reserves in all parts of the state wherever forests remain. All
that is required is a strong fence and a guard to keep out the dog
and the hog, the cattle and the cat, the axe and the fire, and all
other bird enemies, and allow only those persons to enter who
appreciate the rare privilege.
Land owners and their tenants should be more sparing with
axe and fire than they are now; before removing trees, stumps,
vines, thickets and hedges they should consider whether it would
not be possible to leave them for the birds, especially trees which
have already served them for a home. Some birds, and among
them the most useful ones, habitually nest in holes in trees;
such birds can be helped by setting up bird boxes in trees or on
poles in suitable places about the garden, park or orchard.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 19
Birds which nest in thickets can be assisted by planting shrubs
and bushes and allowing them to grow thick enough for a bird
to hide its nest there. Such birds once attracted will return,
like those which build in holes, to the same place every year.
Another way of attracting birds to one's premises is by planting
wild fruit trees, especially Wild Cherry and Red Mulberry trees
wherever shade and ornamental trees are wanted. It is not only
a boon for our little feathered friends, but it keeps them away
from our cultivated fruit, for birds need fruit of some kind for
their diet, and, being deprived by man of their former wild
fruit, they seek a substitute in our orchards, gardens and vine-
yards.
Our new game, bird and fish protection law of 1905 is as good
as can be desired at present, but the enforcement of such a law
depends so much on public sentiment that it remains to be seen
how much good it will do. A great mistake has been made in
framing Section 8 in which the word Chickenhawk is used among
birds excluded from protection. Ornithologists do not recognize
any particular species under that name, while hunters and others
call every large hawk a chickenhawk. By thus inserting the
word chickenhawk among birds to be killed, our legislators have
doomed the fate of our most useful mice-destroyers, namely
the Marsh Hawk, the Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, Broad- winged,
and Rough-legged Hawks. All these are commonly known as
chickenhawks, though they hardly ever catch chickens, while
the Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, which really do the
damage, are but seldom seen, because they hide in the woods
and appear and disappear on their foraging expeditions with such
lightning rapidity that they fall seldom to the gun of the hunter
who takes pride in killing the slow mouse-hunting species which
frequent the fields and perch on fence-posts. The proper thing
to do would be to except from protection only the individual
caught in the act of stealing, because it cannot be expected that
anyone not a trained ornithologist can at first sight distinguish
the harmful from the useful species.
Section 8 excepts from protection also the Goshawk and the
Great Horned Owl, but the first is a very rare transient visitant,
and the latter would never catch a chicken in a cold winter night,
if our farmers would properly care for their fowls and keep them
in hen-houses during the winter nights. Crows and English
Sparrows should, I think, only be destroyed where they do actual
damage, but not on general principle. In most parts of our
20 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
state Crows do more good than harm, and if farmers were not
prejudiced against them partly on account of their black garb
and would investigate before passing judgment, they would
often find that the damage with which they charge the crow is
really done by other animals unseen because nocturnal.
The English sparrow does not need much protection. Nature
has endowed it with so much sagacity and other useful qualities
for self-preservation that its future is safe; and many persons
are found who like the bird in spite of everything said against it.
It is not true that they drive away our native birds. Until lately
every plea for bird protection had to be based on their economic
value. The aim of the investigator was to express in dollars and
cents the benefit which a species bestows on husbandry by des-
troying its enemies, animal and vegetable. On the other hand
he had to find out exactly what injury a bird does to man by
appropriating things belonging to him, or which he claims as his
own because of his superiority in the world of creation. Now
the time is coming when one can plead for birds on esthetic
grounds without asking, does the actual benefit really outweigh
the damage? Or, is the number of insects killed really sufficiently
large to pay for the fruit it eats? Or, still worse, what is the
percentage of beneficial insects in the insect diet of each par-
ticular species? Should a species not be classed among the nox-
ious animals, because it was found to destroy 60 per cent, of
beneficial insects against only 40 per cent, of injurious ones?
There may have been a time when the American farmer could
ill afford to lose a bushel of corn, a peck of cherries or something
of equally small value with which to pay for the pleasure of being
surrounded by bird life all the year round. May be he lacked the
esthetic sense which brings the greatest happiness in the enjoy-
ment of the beautiful. At present there are many willing and
even eager to make sacrifices in order to secure the opportunity
for the purest of enjoyments, the admiration of the wonderful
works of creation, and certainly not the least among them is
the bird!
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 21
Order PYGOPODES. Diving Birds.
Suborder Podicipedes.
Family PODICIPIDAE. Grebes.
[1. AECHMOPHORUS OCCIDENTALIS (Lawr.) Western Grebe.]
Podiceps occidentalis.
Geog. Dist. Western North America from central Mexico
to western Manitoba, Assiniboia, Alberta and British Columbia;
eastward casually to Ontario, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas.
Breeds from North Dakota northward, chiefly in Assiniboia and
Alberta. Winters mainly along the Pacific coast from British
Columbia southward.
It has been taken near Omaha, Nebraska, less than fifty miles
north of our state line, also at Lawrence, Kan., about the same
distance from the western boundary (November 3, 1887), and
probably occurs as an irregular visitant on the Missouri River
along our western border.
2. COLYMBUS HOLBOELLII (Reinh.). HolboelFs Grebe.
Podiceps rubricollis. Podiceps griseigena holboelli. Podiceps holboellii.
Podiceps cristatus. American Red-necked Grebe.
Geog. Dist. Northern North America, Greenland and eastern
Asia. Breeds from lat. 46 in Minnesota (Elbow Lake and
Leech Lake) and from northern North Dakota to the Arctic
Ocean, and winters in the United States to South Carolina and
southern California.
Was taken in western Missouri by Dr. P. R. Hoy in the spring
of 1854 and may still visit our state, but is said to have become
rare everywhere.
3. COLYMBUS AURITUS Linn. Horned Grebe.
Podiceps cornutus. Dytes auritus.
Geog. Dist. Northern Hemisphere. Breeds from northern
Wisconsin and northern Nebraska northward, and winters along
the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and in California, migrating through
the United States at large.
Not recorded from western Missouri, but in the eastern part
of the state formerly a fairly common transient visitant hi April,
22 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
October and November. Two males in Mr. Hurter's collection
were taken April 13 and November 27, 1877, near St. Louis.
4. COLYMBUS NIGRICOLLIS CALiFORNicus (Heerm.). American
Eared Grebe.
Colymbus auritus. Podiceps auritus (in Nuttall and Audubon). Podiceps
auritus calif ornicus (in Coues' Key, 1872). Colymbus calif ornicus (Grin-
nell). California Grebe. Horned Grebe.
Geog. Dist. Western North America from the Mississippi to
the Pacific and from Central America to Great Slave Lake.
Breeds in colonies in suitable localities throughout its range, but
has suffered greatly from persecution by plume hunters.
In Missouri formerly a common transient visitant from April
9 to May 3, and from September 22 to November 2, but much
scarcer now; more common west than east.
*6. PODILYMBUS PODICEPS (Linn.). Pied-billed Grebe.
Colymbus podiceps. Podiceps carolinensis. Carolina Grebe. Thick-billed
Grebe. Hell-diver. Dabchick. Dipper. Water-witch.
Geog. Dist. North and South America except extreme
northern and southern parts. Breeds throughout its range.
Winters in southern states and southward.
In Missouri by far the commonest of the family. May be
found in its migrations in spring and fall on all waters, on rapidly
flowing rivers, and even on small ponds. The first arrive in
southeast Missouri early in March, at St. Louis the last of March,
and in northern Missouri early in April. The bulk is present in
April, but migration lasts till early in May. Fall migration takes
place from the middle of September until the end of November,
chiefly in October. Formerly a common breeder in all reedy
lakes throughout the state, but with drainage and persecution
it is becoming rarer every year.
Suborder Ceppbi. Loons and Auks.
Family GAVIIDAE. Loons.
7. GAVIA IMBER (Gunn.). Loon.
Urinator immer. Colymbus torquatus. Colymbus glacialis. Great Northern
Diver. Walloon.
Geog. Dist. Northern part of northern hemisphere. Breeds
from northern United States northward to Greenland and Alaska,
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 23
and winters along the Gulf of Mexico and in Lower Cali-
fornia ; also along the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts south-
ward.
During their migrations Loons are sometimes found on our
larger lakes and rivers in every part of the state from the first
week of April to the first of May, and from October 20 to Novem-
ber 20, but this being the height of the duck-hunting season,
they cannot stay long anywhere and pass on rapidly.
9. [GAVIA ARCTIC A (Linn.). Black-throated Loon.]
Urinator arcticus. Colynibus arcticus. Arctic Loon. Arctic Diver.
Geog. Dist. Northern part of northern hemisphere. Breeds
in arctic regions and migrates south in winter to northern United
States east of the Rocky Mountains, but apparently extremely
rare everywhere on this continent. Students should carefully
examine all loons in winter dress, in which they resemble each
other extremely. Size is too variable in this family to be a dis-
tinguishing feature. Red-throated Loons may easily be separ-
ated by the tarsus being longer than the middle toe with claw,
but the Common and Black-throated Loons, so different in their
beautiful summer dress, can only be told apart by exact mea-
surement of the distance from the base of the culmen to the
anterior point of the loral feathers, which is greater than the
distance from the latter point to the anterior border of the nos-
trils in the Common Loon, and not greater in the Black-throated
Loon.
11. GAVIA LUMME (Gunn.). Red-throated Loon.
Urinator lumme. Colymbus septentrionalis.
Geog. Dist. Northern part of northern hemisphere. Breeds
from New Brunswick and New Foundland to Greenland and
through the arctic regions to Alaska. In winter south to United
States, coastwise to Florida and southern California and in the
interior chiefly on the Great Lakes and larger rivers.
Two specimens in winter dress taken November 3, 1902, near
New Haven, Mo., are in the collection of Mr. Chas. Eimbeck.
It has been taken twice on the Missouri near Omaha in
spring and fall (April 6, 1897 and September 28, 1894) and Mr.
W. E. Praeger writes me that there is a mounted specimen in
Keokuk said to have been shot on the Des Moines River near
Ottumwa, la.
24 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Order LONGIPENNES. Long-winged Swimmers.
Family STERCORARIIDAE. Skuas and Jaegers.
37. STERCORARIUS PARASITICUS (Linn.). Parasitic Jaeger.
Lestris Richardsonii. Richardson's Jaeger (dark phase).
Geog. Dist. Northern part of northern hemisphere. Breeds
from Greenland along the Arctic sea-coast to the Behring Sea
and the Aleutian Islands. In winter from New York, Illinois
and California southward to Brazil and in the Old World to
South Africa.
In migration it has repeatedly been taken in Colorado, in Kan-
sas (young male near Lawrence, October 10, 1898, in Nebraska,
September 13, 1898, near Lincoln) , andMr.W.E.Praeger has in
his collection an immature male shot on the Des Moines rapids
October 6, 1896. Mr. J. D. Kastendieck of Billings, Christian
Co., Mo., has in his collection of finely mounted birds a specimen
taken on a mill-pond near Billings in August 1905. It was alive
when he secured it and he kept it several days, feeding it on
fresh meat and large insects, which it took eagerly from his hand.
.Family LARIDAE. Gulls and Terns.
Subfamily Larinae. Gulls.
40. RISSA TRIDACTYLA (Linn.). Kittiwake.
Larus tridactylits.
Geog. Dist. Circumpolar regions in summer. In America in
winter south to the Middle States and Great Lakes (Wisconsin,
Illinois, Minnesota, Wyoming and Colorado).
As a rare straggler this species is placed in our list by Mr.
John A. Bryant, who took a specimen near Kansas City in 1897.
51. LARUS ARGENT ATUS Briinn. Herring Gull.
Larus argentatus smithsonianus. American Herring Gull. Sea Gull.
Geog. Dist. Northern hemisphere, including the whole of
North America. Breeds from Maine, the Great Lakes, Minne-
sota and British Columbia to the Arctic Sea. In winter along
the whole coast of California, the Atlantic coast, the Great Lakes
and the larger rivers south to the Gulf Coast, Cuba and Mexico.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 25
In Missouri the Herring Gull is a transient and winter visitant,
most common in early spring and in fall from October 20 to
November 20. On the Mississippi and lower Missouri Rivers
it may be seen from September 20 to May 5 in varying numbers,
leaving us entirely only when the rivers are frozen and returning
with the breaking up of the ice. It frequents the lower Missouri
River, but is rare in the western part of the state.
54. LARUS DELAWARENSIS Ord. Ring-billed Gull.
Larus zonorhynchus Richards. Common American Gull.
Geog. Dist. North America at large, but chiefly in the in-
terior. Breeds from the northern United States northward and
winters coastwise from British Columbia and Long Island south-
ward, also on the Lower Mississippi and in the Gulf States.
In Missouri the Ring-billed Gull is a common transient visitant
in March and April, October and November. It is much more
common in western Missouri than the Herring Gull.
59. LARUS FRANKLINII Sw. & Rich. Franklin's Gull.
Chroicocephalus franklini. Franklin's Rosy Gull.
Geog. Dist. Interior of North America, migrating chiefly
west of the Mississippi River, and breeding from northern United
States northward, mostly in the prairie region of Manitoba and
Assiniboia. Winters from the mouth of the Mississippi south-
ward through Mexico and Central America to Peru.
In Missouri formerly a regular transient visitant throughout
April and in October and November; now rarely seen in the
eastern part of the state.
60. LARUS PHILADELPHIA (Ord). Bonaparte's Gull.
Larus bonapartei. Chroicocephalus Philadelphia.
Geog. Dist. Whole of North America, breeding north of the
United States, mostly in the wooded region from Hudson Bay to
the Yukon marshes and British Columbia. In winter from our
southern states to western Mexico.
In eastern Missouri a regular transient visitant, formerly com-
mon, the latter part of March and early in April, and through
October.
62. XEMA SABINII (Sab.). Sabine's Gull.
Larus sabinii. Fork- tailed Gull.
Geog. Dist. Arctic regions. In North America south in
26 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
winter to New York, the Great Lakes, Great Salt Lake and Cali-
fornia; casual to Montana, Colorado, Nebraska (September);
Iowa, October 15, 1891, and October 12, 1894; Kansas, Bahama
and coast of Peru.
It finds a place in our list on the strength of three specimens
taken by Mr. Chas. K. Worthen of Warsaw, 111., in September
1900, on the Mississippi River, bounding Clark Co., Mo., in the
northeast corner of the state.
Subfamily Sterninae. Terns.
64. STERNA CASPIA Pallas. Caspian Tern.
Sterna tschegrava.
Geog. Dist. Nearly cosmopolitan. In North America breed-
ing locally from Newfoundland to Virginia, and in colonies on
small islands in Lake Michigan, in Texas, Louisiana and Nevada.
In migration widely scattered, having been taken in Wyoming,
Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio, etc.
Mr. Chas. K. Worthen of Warsaw, 111., writes me that he took
Caspian Terns a number of times during the latter part of May
and fore part of June, usually while flying over a big sandbar in
the Mississippi River not far from the Missouri shore. Mr. W.
E. Praeger saw Caspian Terns frequently at Keokuk in the fall
of 1887 and '88 from September 9 to October 15. Mr. John D.
Kastendiek has a fine specimen in his collection of mounted birds.
It was shot on the mill pond at Billings, Christian Co., about
April or May, 1895.
69. STERNA FORSTERI Nuttall. Forster's Tern.
Sterna havelli. Ha veil's Tern.
Geog. Dist. North America generally. Breeds locally in the
United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but chiefly in the
interior north to latitude 57. In winter southward to Brazil.
In Missouri, both east and west, formerly a fairly common,
now rather rare, transient visitant in April and May, and again in
September and October.
70. STERNA HIRUNDO Linn. Common Tern.
Sterna wilsonii. Sterna fluviatilis. Common Sea Swallow. Wilson's Tern.
Geog. Dist. Northern hemisphere. In America chiefly along
the Atlantic coast north to the Arctic coast and west on large
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 27
lakes to Alberta. Breeds from Arizona, Texas and Florida
northward. Winters from Virginia southward and along the
Gulf coast to western Mexico.
In Missouri now a rare transient visitant in the second half of
May. In the eastern part of the state it was formerly much
more common than in the western, but it has also been taken at
St. Joseph by Mr. Sidney S. Wilson (May 28, 1895).
*74. STERNA ANTILLARUM (Less.). Least Tern.
Sterna minuta. Sterna argentea. Sterna supercttiaris. Sterna frenata.
Geog. Dist. Northern South America, northward to southern
California, Dakota and New England, breeding throughout its
range, and wintering south of the United States.
The Least Tern was formerly a not uncommon summer resi-
dent on sandbars in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers from
May 1 to September 15, but none have been seen the last few
years, though they may still breed in small numbers within
the state.
*77. HYDROCHELIDON NIGRA SURINAMENSIS (GMEL.). Black
Tern.
Hydrochelidon lariformis. Sterna nigra. Hydrochelidon fissipes. Sterna
fissipes. Hydrochelidon plumbea. Short-tailed Tern.
Geog. Dist. Temperate and tropical America from Alaska to
Chile and Brazil. Breeds from the middle United States west of
the Alleghanies northward, the marshy districts of Manitoba and
Assiniboia being its chief breeding grounds at present.
In Missouri the Black Tern was formerly a fairly common
breeder in marshy regions, but it is now rare except in migra-
tion, when fairly common from the end of April to the last of
May and in August and September, sometimes to October 21.
Order STEGANOPODES. Totipalmate Swimmers.
Family ANHINGIDAE. Darters.
*118. ANHINGA ANHINGA (Linn.). Anhinga.
Plotus anhinga. PLotus melanogaster. Darter. Snakebird. Water Turkey.
Geog. Dist. Tropical and subtropical America, north in
United States to South Carolina on the Atlantic coast and south-
ern Missouri in the Mississippi Valley.
28 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
With drainage, deforestation and settlement of swampy
regions this species is fast receding southward. Twenty years
ago Mr. E. W. Nelson observed the Anhinga in the vicinity of
Cairo, where Hennicott had reported it as of common occurrence
in 1865. In 1896 it was still a fairly common summer resident
in the watery region of Dunklin and Pemiskot Counties, but
since the railroads penetrated the Peninsula in all directions and
made it easily accessible to the lumberman and hunter, there is
little hope for a continuance of its abode in Missouri, though
a few pairs may still be found in secluded spots.
Family PHALACROCORACIDAE. Cormorants.
120. PHALACROCORAX DILOPHUS (Swain.). Double-crested Cor-
morant.
Pelecanus (Carbo} dilophus. Gracidus dilophus.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Great Slave
Lake, east to Utah and Wyoming. Breeds chiefly north of
United States and winters from the Gulf States southward.
In Missouri Cormorants are still common in migration from the
middle of March till the end of May and in fall from September
25 to November 15, chiefly in April and October. They are
rarer in the western part of the state.
*120a. PHALACROCORAX DILOPHUS FLORID ANUS (Aud.). Florida
Cormorant.
Phalacrocorax floridanus. Southern Double-crested Cormorant.
Geog. Dist. South Atlantic and Gulf States and lower Miss-
issippi Valley to the mouth of the Ohio.
In the Peninsula of Missouri Cormorants are still breeding in
considerable numbers. When feeding young in their nests in the
high timber along the Mississippi, troops of them are continually
flying to and from the distant feeding grounds in the bayous
or lakes and sloughs in the Little River and St. Francis
basin.
[121. PHALACROCORAX MEXICANUS (Brandt). Mexican Cormo-
rant].
Carbo mexicanus.
Geog. Dist. Mexico, Western Gulf States and lower Missis-
sippi Valley to mouth of the Ohio. It was taken near Cairo in the
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 29
spring of 1879 and twice in Kansas. (April 2, 1872, at Lawrence,
and in Mitchell Co.)
Being a very common summer resident in several sections of
Louisiana it seems probable that roving individuals, following
the example of several other species of birds, may straggle up the
Mississippi Valley into our state. Students should be on the
lookout for them when visiting the Peninsula in summer or
early autumn.
Family PELECANIDAE. Pelicans.
125. PELECANUS ERYTHRORHYNCHOS Gmel. American White
Pelican.
P. americanus. P. trachyrhynchus. P. onocrotalus.
Geog. Dist. North America; rare in northeastern states,
common in the interior; north to Mackenzie River, lat. 61.
Breeds from Minnesota, Great Salt Lake, Utah and Eagle Lake,
Cal., northward. Winters south of United States to Central
America.
In Missouri the White Pelican is a regular and still common
transient visitant in April, September and October, occurring in
large flocks on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, where it finds
a safe retreat on the immense sandbars in the middle of these
rivers. For feeding purposes it visits also smaller bodies of
water, but retires to the large rivers for rest and roost. Small
parties are sometimes seen in summer (May, June, July and
August) individuals which either did not get to breeding, or
have been disturbed and driven from their nesting grounds.
In his Preliminary Report on the Animals of the Mississippi
Bottom near Quincy, Mr. H. Garman mentions the presence of a
flock of forty Pelicans in August 1888; also troops of Cormorants.
This tends to show that these species may wander about before
their regular time for migration has come. From the notes of
early explorers it is evident that Pelicans were formerly abundant
along the lower Missouri River. Under date of April 28, 1833,
Max, Prince zuWied writes: "One hundred or more Pelicans go
north in wedge or crescent shape." and the next day, April 29,
1833, he saw a still larger flock. Audubon often speaks of flocks
of Pelicans when he went up the Missouri in April, 1843, and saw
some as late as May 9 near the corner of the state. Also on his
way back in October, 1843, he mentions great flocks of geese
30 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
and pelicans on the 10th near Leavenworth and an abundance of
geese and pelicans on the 13th near Brunswick. Mr. Jasper
Blines of Alexandria, Mo., writes in Forest and Stream, vol. 39,
p. 294: "On September 25, 1892, immense flocks of pelicans
appeared along the Mississippi (Clark Co.) pursuing their annual
migration southward. One flock I observed was a quarter of a
mile in length and contained hundreds of these great birds.
The pelicans are the only wild fowl which seem to maintain their
average numbers."
Order ANSERES. Lamellirostral Swimmers.
Family ANATIDAE. Ducks, Geese and Swans.
Subfamily Merginae. Mergansers.
129. MERGANSER AMERICANUS (Cass.). American Merganser.
MergvA americanus. Mergus merganser. American Sheldrake. Fish Duck.
Goosander. Buff-breasted Sheldrake.
Geog. Dist. North America generally. Breeds now chiefly
from Newfoundland, Labrador and British Columbia northward,
locally also in northern United States, and sparingly in the
mountainous regions of the West. Winters through the southern
United States to the Gulf coast.
In Missouri the Merganser is a common transient visitant and
one of the earliest migrants in spring, coming as soon as the ice
breaks up; some remain in mild winters.
130. MERGANSER SERRATOR (Linn.). Red-breasted Merganser.
Mergus serrator. Red-breasted Sheldrake. Fishduck,
Geog. Dist. Northern portion of northern hemisphere.
Breeds from Newfoundland and Greenland through the wooded
region to the Aleutian Islands; south sparingly to the northern
United States. Winters in the United States, mostly coastwise,
rare in the interior.
A specimen, of this, in Missouri apparently rare species, was
taken near Kansas City, April 20, 1902, by Mr. John A. Bryant.
Mr. W. E. Praeger took two females near Keokuk, February 14,
1890, and Mr. Edmonde S. Currier of Keokuk gives the following
dates: February 21 and 23, 1892, March 28, 1899, May 4, 1902,
October 19, 1902, November 12, 1896.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 31
*131. LOPHODYTES CUCULLATUS (Linn.). Hooded Merganser.
Mergus cucidlatus. Sawbill. Hooded Sheldrake. Fishduck.
Geog. Dist. Whole North America; breeding through most
of its range; south in winter to Cuba and Mexico; a few remain
in the southern states.
In Missouri the Hooded Merganser is, in favorable localities,
a fairly common summer resident from early in March till No-
vember. The heavily wooded bottoms of the larger rivers and
the swampy southeastern counties are the breeding grounds of
this species, often mistaken for Wood Ducks, especially the
females and young ones, sometimes even the males, the dress of
which is much plainer in summer than in early spring. More
common and generally distributed are the transient visitants in
spring and fall. Some stay in mild winters, but as a rule the last
leave the state in December and return in March.
Subfamily Anatinae. River Ducks.
*132. ANAS BOSH AS Linn. Mallard.
Anas domestica.
Geog. Dist. Northern hemisphere. Breeds chiefly north of
United States from Greenland to Alaska. Formerly a breeder in
most of the United States west of the Alleghanies and north of the
Ohio Valley, it is now rare in the Eastern, but still common in
some of the Western States. Winters through the Southern
States to central Mexico and Lower California, rarely to Central
Auinerica and Cuba.
In Missouri the Mallard is a very common transient visitant;
in spring from the breaking up of the ice in January or February to
about April 25, most numerous in the second and third week of
March; in fall from early in September to the middle of Decem-
ber. The bulk generally does not come before October 10 to
northern Missouri, and not before October 20 to the southeast,
and leaves the former about November 20 and the latter nearly a
month later. Many remain in open winters, and even in severe
winters a few are known to have wintered in northern Missouri,
taking refuge in air holes caused by warm springs in rivers and
visiting cornfields in the daytime. A few pairs still find safe
breeding grounds in the large tracts of spartina grass in the
marshes of north Missouri, but, as the open season for duck
32 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
shooting is now extended to the first of May, there is no hope
for an increase in their numbers.
133. ANAS OBSCURA Gmel. Black Duck.
Black Mallard. Dusky Duck.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, breeding formerly in the
northern United States east of the Mississippi River, now chiefly
from Newfoundland and the Maritime Provinces to Hudson Bay
and west to the Red River. In migration it has been found as
far west as eastern Nebraska and eastern Kansas. Its chief
winter home is on the Atlantic coast from Long Island to northern
Florida, though quite a number winter in Louisiana.
In Missouri the Black Duck is sometimes, though rather rarely,
taken with Mallards in their migrations to and from their winter
habitat. Dates of their capture run from March 10 to April 10 and
from October 13 to December 1.
133a. ANAS OBSCURA RUBRIPES Brewster. Red-legged Black
Duck.
Geog. Dist. The breeding range of this lately separated sub-
species includes northern Labrador and the Hudson Bay region.
The southern limit has not yet been determined. It winters
somewhat farther north than the Black Duck, as far north as
Nova Scotia and as far south as South Carolina. In migration
it has been taken as far west as Nebraska, and as far south as
Mississippi Co., Arkansas (Nov. 5, 1887), but nothing is known
of its winter home in the interior.
A specimen in the possession of Mr. Emmett Cole of Malta
Bend was taken in Saline Co. and, if students will pay more
attention to the separation of the different subspecies, this
more northern form of Black Duck will probably be found to
be a regular transient visitant in our state.
135. CHAULELASMUS STREPERUS Linn. Gadwall.
Anas strepera. Gray Duck.
Geog. Dist. Northern hemisphere. The breeding range in
America extended formerly from the upper Mississippi Valley to
the Pacific, now chiefly through the prairie region of Canada,
north to lat. 68, and from the Rocky Mountains west to British
Columbia, south to Colorado and nearly throughout California.
It is rare, even as a mere straggler, in Ontario and Quebec and
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri, 33
the northern Atlantic States. It winters from North Carolina to
Florida, but chiefly in the lower Mississippi Valley and thence
westward to Central Mexico and Lower California.
In Missouri the Gadwall is a fairly common transient visitant
from the last of February to the end of April, when they are
generally found in pairs. They used to be summer residents in
northern Missouri, and only a few years ago were considered rare
breeders in Clark Co., Mo., by Mr. Ed. S. Currier of Keokuk, la.
In the southward migration they appear about the middle of
October and remain in the southeast well into December.
136. MARECA PENELOPE Linn. Widgeon.
Anas penelope.
Geog. Dist. Northern part of Old World and Aleutian Islands.
In America a frequent straggler, chiefly along the Atlantic coast
from Greenland and Newfoundland to Florida. In the interior it
has been reported from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wiscon-
sin, and Nebraska. On the Pacific coast it has occurred several
times in California, British Columbia and Alaska. A remarkable
fact is, that, while the Atlantic coast records are nearly all made
in winter (October 20 to February 5) and none later than March
25, those of the interior are all made in spring (March 23 to
April 18).
Mr. Frank Schwarz of St. Louis mounted a male which was
killed by a hunter in the vicinity of St. Louis, April 10, 1905.
137. MARECA AMERICANA Gmel. Baldpate.
Anas americana. American Widgeon.
Geog. Dist. Whole of North America with the exception of its
northeastern part, being only a straggler north of the Great
Lakes and Chesapeake Bay. Breeds sparingly on the plains of
Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, more commonly in Colo-
rado, Utah and Nevada (formerly east to Indiana and Wisconsin),
now chiefly from Minnesota, North Dakota, Manitoba and Ascdni-
boia northwestward to the Arctic circle. In Alaska to Kotzebue
Sound. South to Oregon. It winters in California, and in the
East from Virginia and the Ohio River to Cuba, Mexico and
Guatemala.
In Missouri the Baldpate is a common transient visitant. It
is present in spring from the last of February in the southeast,
and from the middle of March in the north, to the middle of
34 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
April, occasionally to the end of the month (April 28, 1904,
Kansas City, Bryant). Those seen in April are generally in
pairs. In fall migration they reach us early in October, are
common from October 10 to November 20; some linger on the
southeastern waters well into winter.
Some writers use the term " wintering " when a species is seen
in every month of winter, but this is misleading. Many birds
stay with us until the first part of January when the severest
period of winter begins, are gone for over a month, but return to
us before the end of February, at which time the strength of win-
ter is broken and the ice of the rivers has moved out.
139. NETTION CAROLINENSIS (GmeL). Green-winged Teal.
Anas crecca. Anas carolinensis. Querquedula carolinensis.
Geog. Dist. Whole of North America. Breeds from New
Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador west to British Colum-
bia, northwest to Kotzebue Sound and throughout the Aleutian
Islands, north to Mackenzie River. Also in the mountains of the
western United States, and formerly in many localities of the
Eastern States from northern Illinois and Nebraska northward.
At present the main breeding grounds extend from Manitoba
northwestward to Lake Athabaska. It winters along the Pacific
coast from British Columbia to Jalisco and through the southern
Atlantic and Gulf States to southern Mexico, rarely to Cuba and
Honduras.
In Missouri the Green-winged Teal is a very common transient
visitant. It returns to the southeast soon after the middle of
February, to the marshes of north Missouri and the western part
of the state about the first of March. The bulk is present from
March 10 to 25, but the last has not left the state before a month
later. In autumn the first begin to reappear between September
15 and 22 and from the end of the month to the middle of No-
vember they may be found in many parts of the state. They are
mostly all gone by the middle of December, but in mild winters
a few may be found in January.
140. QUERQUEDULA DISCORS (Linn.). Blue- winged Teal.
Anas discors.
Geog. Dist. North America, chiefly east of Rocky Mountains
and west of Great Lakes. Breeds locally from northern Ohio,
southern Indiana, Missouri, Texas and New Mexico, but mainly
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 35
from northern United States northward to Saskatchewan;
rarely east to New England and Newfoundland and Labrador,
or west to Nevada, central Oregon, British Columbia and
Alaska. It winters from the South Atlantic and Gulf States south
through the West Indies and Mexico to Central and northern
South America as far as Brazil and Chile.
In Missouri it is a very common transient visitant. The first
reach the southeast early in March, sometimes even in February.
On the marshes near St. Louis the first are usually taken between
the 10th and 17th of March and in northern Missouri about a
week later. The bulk is present from March 15 to April 15 and
the last transients are found about April 25. Pairs seen in the
latter part of April or in May intend to remain and would breed
if let alone ; but, as they are hunted wherever seen, they probably
succeed but seldom in rearing a brood. The last instance of eggs
being found in the state is given by Mr. E. S. Currier, who states
that on May 23, 1889, a nest was found by boys in Clark Co., and
an egg was brought to Mr. F. M. Crawford at Way land. A pair of
Bluewings was seen by me June 17, 1906, near Malta Bend,
Saline Co., and others in the same, month near Peruque, St.
Charles Co. The first flocks of southbound Bluewings have been
seen in northern Missouri on the first of September, but the bulk
is with us from September 15 to October 25, and some linger for
another month (November 22, 1905, St. Charles Co.).
141. QUERQUEDULA CYANOPTERA (Vieillot). Cinnamon Teal.
Anus cyanoptera. Red-breasted Teal.
Geog. Dist. Western America from Mexico to British Co-
lumbia and from Peru to the Straits of Magellan and the Falkland
Islands. Breeds east to Wyoming and southern Texas, straggling
in migration into the Mississippi Valley, and wintering south of
the United States, chiefly in Mexico.
An occasional straggler in Missouri it has been taken as far east
as the vicinity of St. Louis, as several mounted specimens in
private collections attest. It is said to occur with flocks of Blue-
winged Teals.
142. SPATULA CLYPEATA (Linn.). Shoveller.
Anas dypeata. Spoon-bill. Spoon-billed Duck.
Geog. Dist. Northern hemisphere; in America, rare on the
Atlantic coast north of the Potomac, common from Indiana
36 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
westward to California. Breeding formerly in most of its range,
it is now restricted in the United States to western plains and
mountain parks. In Canada it breeds from Manitoba west to
central British Columbia and northwest to Kotzebue Sound,
being most abundant between 51 and 54 lat. It winters from
Virginia to Georgia and through the Gulf states to Mexico and
Guatemala, rarely to Florida and the West Indies or South
America.
In Missouri the Shoveller is a fairly common transient visitant
from March 10 to April 25 and from October 1 to November 20.
In mild weather earlier and later dates have been obtained in
central Missouri (February 20, 1903, New Haven, Dr. Eimbeck,
and December 4, 1902, St. Charles Co.), and in southeastern
Missouri some have been taken in January. The Shoveller is
known to have bred in the state (Clark Co., B. S. Currier), and
even now pairs are seen late in April or even in May (May 16,
1905, Warrensburg), which would probably breed, if conditions
were favorable.
143. DAFILA ACUTA (Linn.). Pintail.
Anas acuta. Anas caudacuta. Sprig. Sprigtail.
Geog. Dist. Northern hemisphere; breeding sparingly in
western United States, but chiefly from Manitoba, Assiniboia and
British Columbia northward to the Arctic coast, rarely eastward
from Hudson Bay to New Brunswick. It is the commonest duck
in Alaska. It winters from Virginia and Louisiana southward
to Cuba and through Mexico to Costa Rica, rarely to Panama.
Also along the Pacific coast from British Columbia south through
California.
In Missouri the Sprig, as it is commonly called, is a very com-
mon transient visitant in spring and fall, lingering long with us
in spring, but passing through rapidly in fall. Flocks of Sprigs
may be found in one part of the state or another from the end of
January to April 20, and from October 1 to December 15, more
commonly from March 1 to 25, and from October 10 to November
25. With Mallards the Sprigs are the first ducks to return to
us as soon as the snow disappears from the ground and before the
ice has broken up in the lakes or left the rivers. They appeared
near St. Louis February 24, 1905, three days before the ice
broke up in the Mississippi and only four days after the first
thaw followed one of our severest winters, in which the ground
was covered for four weeks with a solid sheet of icy snow. The
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 37
first appear even at our northern state line seldom later than the
end of February.
*144. Aix SPONSA (Linn.). Wood Duck.
Anas sponsa. Dendronessa sponsa. Summer Duck.
Geog. Dist. North America from latitude 54 southward to
Cuba and southern California. Breeds through most of its range
and winters in the South Atlantic and Gulf States and in Cali-
fornia, returning early to the breeding grounds.
As a transient visitant it is still fairly common from March 15
to April 20, and from October 20 to November 25. It is also a
fairly common summer resident in all heavily wooded river
bottoms, especially in those of the Peninsula, and many succeed
in rearing broods in spite of continuous persecution. In August
and September gatherings of from 75 to 100 birds may yet be
found in favorite secluded spots in our river bottoms, to which
they repair daily for weeks, if not disturbed too much. They
are early breeders, and young out of nest may be met with in the
second week of May.
Subfamily Fuligulinae. River Ducks.
146. AYTHYA AMERICANA (Eyt.). Redhead.
Anas ferina. Fidigida ferina. Fuligula americana. Pochard.
Geog. Dist. North America to about latitude 54, rare on the
North Atlantic coast. Breeds from southern California sparingly
to British Columbia and locally from Nebraska northward, most
numerously in the reedy marshes of Manitoba, Assiniboia,
Alberta and Saskatchewan. It winters from the coast of British
Columbia and from the Potomac through the southern states
southward to southern Mexico.
In Missouri the Redhead is a fairly common transient visitant
from March 1 to April 10, exceptionally earlier in February and
even in January, or later (April 19, 1894, Currier) and in fall from
October 15 to December 1. While abundant in large flocks in
spring, it is less often met with in the fall.
147. AYTHYA VALLISNERI A (Wils.). Canvas-back.
Anas vallisneria. Fuligida valisneria. White-back.
Geog. Dist. Whole of North America; rare on north Atlantic
coast, more plentiful from Quebec and Ontario westward to
38 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Alberta, where most abundant; northwestward to Sitka. Breeds
locally from Minnesota, North Dakota, Colorado and Nevada
northward. Winters from Fraser River to Mazatlan and from
Chesapeake Bay and the Ohio River southward through the
southern states to central Mexico.
Though not rare the Canvas-back is a less regular transient
visitant in Missouri than the Redhead and in smaller troops.
It occurs sometimes in February, but mostly between March 1
and April 15, and in fall from October 25 to December 10,
oftenest from the middle to the end of November.
148. AYTHYAMARILA (Linn.). Scaup Duck.
Aythya marila nearctica. Anasmarila. Fuligula marila. Fulix marila
Big Black-head. Big Blue-bill.
Geog. Dist. Northern hemisphere; in America breeding from
Minnesota and British Columbia throughout northwestern Canada
to Kotzebue Sound and the Aleutian Islands, more commonly
northward. Winters from the Aleutian Islands along the Pa-
cific coast almost to Mexico, in the lower Mississippi Valley and
abundantly from Long Island to Chesapeake Bay, less commonly
along the South Atlantic and Gulf coast to southern Texas.
Like the Canvas-back, and even more so, the Big Blue-bill is
irregular in its appearance in Missouri, and never occurs in large
flocks like its smaller cousin. Available dates of its capture on the
marshes of northeastern Missouri range from February 28 to
April 1 (One taken May 18 was probably a cripple) . In fall from
November 10 to December 5.
149. AYTHYA AFFINIS (Eyt.). Lesser Scaup Duck.
Fuligula affinis. Fulix affinis. Fuligula mariloides. Fuligula minor.
Fuligula marila in Audubon's works. Little Blue-bill. Little Black-
head.
Geog. Dist. North America, breeding from the northern
border of the United States northward through the prairie region
to the Arctic Circle, and from Hudson Strait to the Yukon
River; rarely in northern United States and on the Pacific coast.
It winters in the South Atlantic States and southward to the
Greater Antilles ; it is especially common along the Gulf coast to
Guatemala; less common in California.
In Missouri the Blue-bill is a very common transient visitant,
occurring in large flocks from the last of February to the middle
of April, and from October 1 to December 5. Earliest for St.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 39
Charles Co., February 16, 1904; latest December 4, 1902. Ear-
liest for Clark Co. (Currier), February 21, 1892; latest in spring,
April 25, 1897; in fall, December 5, 1899. Pairs are occasionally
seen in summer (June 18, 1901, Clark Co., Currier, and June 17,
1906, in Saline Co.), but whether they breed has not been ascer-
tained.
150. AYTHYA COLLARIS (Donov.). Ring-necked Duck.
Anas collaris. Fulix collaris. Fuligula collaris. Anas fuligida. Anas
(Fuligula) rufitorques. Ring-neck. Ring-bill. Blackjack.
Geog. Dist. North America, rare on North Atlantic Coast.
Breeding from southern Minnesota and North Dakota northward
to Lake Athabasca; sparingly west of the Rocky Mountains.
In winter chiefly along the Gulf Coast to Central America and
Cuba; north to the Carolinas and the Ohio River.
The Blackjack is a very common transient visitant in Missouri.
The first arrive from the south about a week after the first Mal-
lards and Sprigs have come. In short winters the species may be
absent a few weeks only. In the vicinity of St. Louis the first
have been noted February 18, 1898; in some years they were not
seen before the middle of March, but usually varying numbers
are frequenting the marshes of northeastern Missouri from March
10 to April 10, sometimes to the end of the month (April 28, 1893,
Clark Co., Currier). Their presence in fall is also governed
largely by the weather conditions. In 1903 they were plentiful
in St. Charles Co. from October 3 till December 4; in other
years they came as late as October 20 and were gone a month
later.
151. CLANGULA CLANGULA AMERICANA (Bonap.). American
Golden-eye.
Glaucionetta clangida americana. Fuligula clangula. Bucephala amer-
icana. Anas clangula (in Wilson). Clangida glaucium. Clangula vul-
garis. Bucephala clangula. Whistler. Great Head. Garrot. Whistle-
wing.
Geog. Dist. North America; breeding from Newfoundland,
New England, northern Michigan, North Dakota, Montana and
British Columbia northward in wooded regions to the Mackenzie
River and Alaska. It winters abundantly on the Atlantic coast
from the British Provinces to South Carolina, along the Pacific
coast, and less commonly on the Gulf coast.
In Missouri the Whistle-wing is a frequent transient or winter
40 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
visitant on the larger rivers. At Keokuk, which is situated on
the Mississippi River at the foot of the rapids, Mr. E. S. Currier
had the opportunity to observe it every winter for eleven years
and found it in flocks of from 30 to 100, sometimes much more
numerous, as on January 17, 1903, and March 5, 1895, when a
thousand were present. His dates of those first seen vary from
November 9, 1895, to December 4, 1892, and those for last seen
from January 17, 1903, to April 7, 1899. A female in the Hurter
collection was taken near St. Louis, January 1, 1875.
152. CLANGULA ISLANDICA (Gmel.). Barrow's Golden-eye.
Glaucionetta islandica. Anas islandica. Rocky Mountain Garrot.
Geog. Dist. Northern North America; breeding from moun-
tains of western United States and from Bay of Fundy to Green-
land and Alaska. It winters around the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
in the northern United States, the Rocky Mountains and on the
Pacific coast south to central California.
Mr. E. S. Currier gives the species as rare, but occurring amongst
the immense number of Golden-eyes which winter on the Des
Moines rapids. Mr. W. E. Praeger obtained a female shot March
27, 1888, on Lima Lake, 111., a few miles east of the state line.
In a letter sent to Mr. R. Ridgway and published in Forest and
Stream, vol. 36, p. 435, Mr. Frank W. Sparks of St. Louis writes
under date of February 10, 1891: "This fall, while shooting at
the same place (New Albany, southeast Missouri) I killed a
specimen of Barrow's Golden-eye. Unfortunately this duck, or
more properly drake, was half picked by one of the boys in camp
when I discovered it. He is rare so far east, is he not?" To this
Mr. R. Ridgway replied: "Regarding your capture of Barrow's
Golden-eye in Missouri, this is not so remarkable, as specimens
have previously been taken in the vicinity of St. Louis, in Kansas
and southern Illinois. These localities represent, however,
about the southern limit of the winter range of the species,
which is a northern and not a western bird, as you seem to regard
it."
153. CHARITONETTA ALBEOLA (Linn.). Buffle-head.
Anasalbeola. Fuligula albeola. Clangula albeola. Bucephala albeola.
Butterball. Dipper.
Geog. Dist. North America; breeds from Maine, Ontario,
Wisconsin, Wyoming and British Columbia northward in all the
forest country to the upper Yukon. In winter along all coasts
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 41
of the United States, and less regularly on the Great Lakes and
larger rivers of the interior ; south to Mexico and Lower California.
In Missouri the Butterball is a fairly common transient visitant
in early spring and late fall. It is sometimes taken in February,
even in the western and northern part of the state (February 5,
1904, Kansas City, Bryant; February 22, 1885, Keokuk, Prae-
ger), but small troops are met with most frequently between
March 1 and April 10, exceptionally later (May 4, 1892, Keokuk,
Currier). In fall the earliest record is October 10, 1904, (Kansas
City, Bryant) and the latest December 4, 1892 (Keokuk, Currier).
The largest number of dates were obtained between October 10
and November 20.
154. HARELDA HYEMALIS (Linn.). Old-squaw.
Anas hyemalis. Clangula hyemalis. Harelda glacialis. Anas glacialis.
Anas longicauda. Long-tailed Duck. South-southerly. Old-wife.
Geog. Dist. Northern hemisphere; breeding along the Arctic
coast, and wintering from the Aleutian chain down the whole
Pacific coast to California, and on the Atlantic coast from St.
Lawrence to North Carolina; less regularly on the Great Lakes
and larger rivers of the interior south to the Ohio River, excep-
tionally even to Louisiana (February 28, 1885, and February 13,
1899).
In Missouri an irregular winter visitant between November 20
and April 1. Old birds are always rare, but young birds are some-
times common.
155. HISTRIONICUS HISTRIONICUS (Linn.). Harlequin Duck.
Anas histrionica. Fuligula histrionica. Histrionicus torquatus. Histrion-
icus minitus. Anas minuta.
Geog. Dist. Northern North America, Iceland and Eastern
Asia. Breeds in America from Newfoundland, Labrador and the
east coast of Greenland, south of the Arctic Circle, on rapid
streams of the interior west to Alaska and British Columbia, and
in the mountains of the western United States south to lat. 38.
In winter irregularly to the northern United States from the
coast of Maine to California, but everywhere rare and apparently
on the decrease.
In Missouri a rare winter visitant. One was taken March 21,
1897, in Montgomery Co. by Mr. E. M. Parker, and another,
taken near St. Louis, October 29, is in the Hurter collection.
42 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Near Omaha, Neb., it has been taken as early as September 16,
1893, and September 19, 1895 (Osprey vol. 3, p. 131).
[162. SOMATERIA SPECTABILIS (Linn.). King Eider].
Fuligula spectabilis.
Geog. Dist. Northern part of northern hemisphere. Breeds
in Arctic region from the Atlantic to Pacific ; in America in winter
south to New Jersey and the Great Lakes, rarely south to Georgia
and California.
Mr. Wm. E. Praeger has in his collection a young male which
was shot on the Mississippi River near Keokuk, November 10,
1894 (Auk, vol. 12, p. 86).
163. OIDEMIA AMERICANA Swains. American Scoter.
Anas nigra. Fuligula americana. Black Scoter. Sea Coot. Scoter Duck.
Geog. Dist. Northern North America and eastern Asia.
In summer in the Hudson Bay country, but breeding most abun-
dantly on the Pacific coast from the Aleutian Islands to Kotzebue
Sound and northeastern Asia. In winter to the coasts, lakes and
larger rivers of the United States, chiefly north and eastward,
rarely to lower Mississippi Valley and on the Pacific coast to
California. Also in Japan.
Black Scoters in immature plumage are probably not as rare
in Missouri as appears from captured specimens. They have
repeatedly been taken in southeastern Nebraska, and Mr. W. E.
Praeger obtained one at the Des Moines rapids near Keokuk,
October 31, 1895. An immature specimen killed near St. Louis,
November 24, 1875, is in the Hurter collection, and there is a
report, though somewhat questionable, of a flock of fifty being
seen May 2, 1883, on a millet field near Anna, Union Co., in
southern Illinois, feeding on the newly sown seed.
165. OIDEMIA DEGLANDI Bonap. White-winged Scoter.
Anas fusca. Fuligula fusca. Oidemia fusca. Oidemia bimaculata.
Oidemia velvetina. Melanetta velvetina. Oidemia fusca velvetina.
Velvet Scoter. White-winged Coot. Black Surf Duck. Velvet Duck.
Geog. Dist. Northern North America; breeding from Gulf
of St. Lawrence to 59 lat. in Labrador, and from North Dakota
and Alberta to Hudson Bay and mouth of the Mackenzie River;
less commonly from British Columbia to Kotzebue Sound and
the coast of northeastern Siberia. In winter to the coast of the
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 43
Pacific from British Columbia to Lower California, and on the
Atlantic from Nova Scotia to South Carolina, also on the Great
Lakes and irregularly throughout the United States south to the
Gulf Coast.
In Missouri a rather rare winter visitant on the Missouri and
Mississippi Rivers. A male in the Hurter collection was taken
near St. Louis, October 18, 1883, and two in immature plumage,
November 24, 1877. A female taken near Kansas City is in the
Public Museum of that city. Mr. W. E. Praeger has one in his
collection taken October 26, 1895, on the Des Moines River near
Keokuk. In southeastern Nebraska specimens were secured
October 14, 1899, and December 8, 1900.
166. OIDEMIA PERSPICILLATA (Linn.). Surf Scoter.
Anas perspicillata. Fuligula pentpicillata. Pelionetta perspicillata.
Pelioiietta tnncbridgii. Surf Duck. Sea Coot. Surf Coot. Gray
Coots (young and females). Spectacled Coot. Skunkhead.
Geog. Dist. North America; breeding from Newfoundland
and Labrador (Greenland?) along the Arctic coast to Alaska.
In winter along the Pacific Coast from the Aleutians to Lower
California; on the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida, chiefly
from Massachusetts to North Carolina ; in the interior throughout
the United States irregularly as far south as Louisiana.
In Missouri a rare winter visitant. An immature specimen
taken near St. Louis, May 3, 1876, is in the Hurter collection.
Mr. Wm. E. Praeger has specimens taken near Keokuk, October
19, 1895, and October 22, 1896. A young male was secured
October 29, 1887, at Lawrence, Kan., and one, also a male, at
Lincoln, Neb., October 7, 1896.
167. ERISMATURA JAMAICENSIS (Gmel.). Ruddy Duck.
Anas rubidus. Erismatura rubida. Fuligula rubida. Anas jamaicensis.
Spine-tailed Duck. Bristle-tail. Fool Duck.
Geog. Dist. From northern South America through the
Greater Antilles and Central America to the Great Slave
Lake. Breeds locally throughout its range, but mainly in the
reedy lakes of Manitoba, Assiniboia and Alberta. In winter
to California,. South Atlantic and Gulf States and southward.
In Missouri the Ruddy Duck is a fairly common, but generally
distributed, transient visitant. In spring it is with us from the
latter part of February (February 26, 1884, St. Louis) to the end
of April (April 25, 1881, a fine male in the Hurter collection)
44 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
and in fall from October 10 to November 20. According to Mr.
Hy. Nehrling the Ruddy Duck was formerly a rare breeder in
southwestern Missouri.
Subfamily Anserinae. Geese.
169. CHEN HYPERBOREA (Pall.). Lesser Snow Goose.
Anser hyperboreus. Anser albatus. Chen hyperboreus albatus. Snow
Goose. White Brant.
Geog. Dist. Northeastern Asia and western North America
to the Mississippi Valley. Breeds within the Arctic circle from
Liverpool Bay to Alaska. In winter from British Columbia
through the interior valleys to southern California, Mexico,
Texas and Louisiana.
In Missouri the Snow Goose, often called Brant, is a fairly
common, generally distributed transient visitant from the end
of February (February 25, 1884, St. Louis) to the middle of
April (April 16, 1902, New Haven; April 17, 1894, Vernon Co.),
chiefly in March, and in fall from October 10 to November 20.
169a. CHEN HYPERBOREA NIVALIS (Forst.). Greater Snow Goose.
Anas hyperboreus. Chen hyperboreus nivalis.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, east of the Mississippi
River except the region north of Virginia, migrating in spring
through Manitoba and eastern Assiniboia, in fall through western
Assiniboia and Alberta. Breeds in Arctic regions and winters
along Atlantic coast, the Gulf States, and irregularly in the
Greater Antilles.
In Missouri a transient visitant of probably regular occurrence,
together with intermediate forms, among troops of the former
subspecies. Typical specimens have been secured by Mr. Chas.
K. Worthen of Warsaw, 111., several times on Lima Lake, and Mr.
E. W. Nelson stated that he found the two subspecies in about
equal numbers in Illinois, sometimes in separate flocks, or mixed
with the other subspecies, and also with the Blue Goose. Dr
Rud. M. Anderson writes in his Birds of Iowa on page 183 : "On
the basis of these measurements (78 skins collected in Iowa)
only ten or twelve per cent, of the specimens from Iowa can defi-
nitely be considered as Greater Snow Geese, the remainder being
the Lesser variety, with every grade of intermediates between.
In the face of such perfect intergradation, the attempt to differ-
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 45
entiate between the varieties seems to be almost a useless refine-
ment."
169.1. CHEN CAERULESCENS (Linn.). Blue Goose.
Anas caeridescens. Anser caerulescens. Blue-winged Goose. Young of
Snow Goose.
Geog. Dist. Interior of North America. Breeding ground
unknown but thought to be on eastern shores of Hudson Bay.
In winter through Mississippi Valley to Gulf coast, chiefly west
of the Mississippi River.
In Missouri the Blue Goose is a fairly common transient visi-
tant in spring in flocks by themselves or mixed with Snow Geese.
Available dates run from March 17 to April 2; no fall record is
at present at hand. Formerly considered to be the young or a
colored phase of the Snow Goose, this species did not receive
that measure of observers' attention which it deserves. More-
over the young of the two species resemble each other perfectly
in form and size, and enough in color to make identification at a
distance difficult. Both, old and young, were formerly not rare
in the St. Louis market. Two fine specimens of adult birds
are in the Eimbeck, one in the Hurter collection and some in
several other private collections in St. Louis.
171a. ANSER ALBIFRONS GAMBELI (Hartl.). American White-
fronted Goose.
Anser gambeli. Anser albifrons. Anser frontalis. Speckle-belly. Laugh-
ing Goose.
Geog. Dist. North America generally, rare on the Atlantic
coast, common in migration in the Mississippi Valley and in the
Pacific States. Breeds in Greenland and on the mainland along
the Arctic coast to the Yukon River. Winters from British
Columbia to Cape St. Lucas and Jalisco, and from lower Missis-
sippi Valley and southern Texas to northern Mexico; also in
Cuba.
In Missouri the Speckle-belly, also called Brant by hunters,
though less abundant than formerly, is still a fairly common
transient visitant from early in March to the latter part of April,
and in October and the first half of November.
172. BRANTA CANADENSIS (Linn.). Canada Goose.
Anas canadensis. Bernida canadensis. Wild Goose.
Geog. Dist. North America; breeding from Tennessee, Ar-
kansas, northern Colorado, southern Oregon, northward to and
46 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
through the British Provinces from Newfoundland to British
Columbia and northward to the Mackenzie River basin and the
interior of Alaska. In winter to California and from Long Island,
Ohio Valley and lower Missouri Valley southward through the
south Atlantic and Gulf States. As the settlers of the country
moved west and northward the breeding grounds of the goose
were encroached upon. Its southern limits at present extend
through the northern tier of states, but the bird will soon be
driven from there as well as from the southern provinces of Can-
ada.
In Missouri the Wild Goose is a commonltransient visitant
and a not very rare winter resident, being present in larger or
smaller numbers from early in October to the latter part of
April, leaving the state entirely only for a short time during
the severest winter weather when the ground is covered with
snow and the rivers are frozen. When the first white men
flocked into the state, they found the geese nesting all along
the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. In his " Reise durch Nord
America" Prinz zu Wied tells us that he found on April 25,
1833, a nest in a tree at the mouth of Nodaway River, and
that the next day he met with a group of goslings guarded by
their parents.
During the last decade of the past century the Peninsula
of Missouri still harbored a small number of breeding pairs,
usually nesting on cypress stumps in the overflow, 6 or 8 feet
above the water. The natives hunted their eggs and young, and
bevies of semi-domesticated Wild Geese were a common sight in
Pemiscot and Dunklin Counties. Pairs thus reared were allowed
to make their own nests in the fields of the farmer and incubated
their eggs themselves, the gander keeping guard and boldly
attacking all intruders. As there has been a great influx of
settlers into that country during the last few years, it is probable
that the days of the Wild Goose breeding in Missouri are past,
but some may still at least try to remain. Non-breeders are
sometimes seen in northern Missouri long after the transients are
all gone (May 3, 1887, St. Louis; May 18, 1902, New Haven;
June 7, 1886, Mt. Carmel).
172a. BRANTA CANADENSIS HUTCHINSII (Rich.). Hutchin's
Goose.
Anser hutchinsii. Bernicla hutchinsii. Little Wild Goose. Lesser Canada
Goose.
Geog. Dist. Western North America; in the north-east to
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 47
Hudson Bay region; rarely to the Atlantic coast. Breeds from
Yukon Delta northward along the Arctic coast and islands and
migrates through the western states and the Mississippi Valley
to winter in California and the southern United States.
In Missouri a fairly common transient and winter visitant,
generally in company with its larger cousin, from which it is
readily distinguished by its much smaller size. The first Hutch-
in's Geese Audubon ever saw, he killed October 14, 1843, near
Brunswick, Mo.
[172c. BRANTA CANADENSIS MINIMA Ridgw. Cackling Goose.]
Branta minima.
Geog. Dist. Coast of Alaska, chiefly about Norton Sound and
Lower Yukon, migrating southward into western United States,
east to Wisconsin.
A fine example of this very small Goose, killed in the vicinity
of Quincy, 111., and now in the bird collection of the Public
Library, extends its range as a casual visitant to the eastern
border of Missouri.
178. DENDROCYGNA FULVA (Gmel.). Fulvous Tree-duck.
Anas fulva. Penelope mexicaiia.
Geog. Dist. Southern border of United States; east to eastern
Louisiana (Rigolets Pass), north to central California (Marys-
ville) and Nevada (Washoe Lake); south into Mexico. Occurs
also in South America, southern Asia, Africa and Madagascar.
Accidental in Washington (October 3, 1905, Grays Harbor);
North Carolina (Swan Island, July, 1886).
Of its occurrence in Missouri we find the following record in
Forest and Stream: vol. 36. p. 435: "St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 10,
1891. Dr. T. H. Bean. Dear Sir: While duck shooting last
fall at New Albany, southeastern Missouri, I killed what was then
to me a new duck, but which I have since identified as Dendro-
cygna fulva, a South American bird, if I have placed it right.
Is not this a rare bird so far north? I have mounted the skin
and would present it to the Smithsonian, if it will be of any use
to that institution. Yours very truly, Frank W. Sparks.' 7
To this the following reply was added : " Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, June 12, 1891. Mr. Frank W. Sparks, 2516 No.
Broadway, St. Louis. Dear Sir: I write to thank you on behalf
of the National Museum for the very fine specimen of the Fulvous
48 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Tree-duck, Dendrocygna fulva, which you had the kindness to
present through Dr. Bean. Besides being a very acceptable
specimen on account of its good preparation, it is particularly so
from the very exceptional locality which it represents, being, so
far as the Eastern United States are concerned, much the
most northern example on record Currituck Sound, N. C. (a
single accidental specimen), Louisiana and Texas being the
most northern localities for the species known to me, except in
California where it is not uncommon as far north as Stockton.
It has also been taken near Carson, Nev. Yours truly,
R. Ridgway, Curator Dep'tof Birds."
Subfamily Cygninae. Swans.
180. OLOR COLUMBIANUS (Ord). Whistling Swan.
Anas columbianus. Olor americanus. Cygnus americanus. Cygnus
bewickii. Cygnus ferus. Cygnus musicus. American Swan.
Geog. Dist. North America; breeding along the coast of the
Arctic Sea from Baffinland and Nottingham Island to Alaska,
where it has been found as far south as 58 (Becharof Lake).
Winters on Pacific coast from British Columbia to southern
California; on the Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Florida;
rare in the interior and Gulf States.
In Missouri a rare transient visitant in early spring (March 26,
1898, St. Joseph, Wilson; March 27, 1894, Keokuk, Currier;
March 24, 1885, St. Louis ; March 16, Hurter collection). Seldom
met with in fall (October 8 and 9, Keokuk, Praeger). It may
not be out of place to remind students, as Dr. Coues does in his
Birds of the North-west, page 546, "that the yellow spot on the
bill is not constant, in young birds especially, often no trace can
be observed. In such cases the species would be distinguish-
able from 0. buccinator by the smaller size, fewer tail feathers,
and shorter, differently shaped bill."
181. OLOR BUCCINATOR (Rich.). Trumpeter Swan.
Cygnus buccinator.
Geog. Dist. Interior of North America, breeding formerly
from Iowa and Nebraska through the North-west Territories,
now from about 60 to the Arctic Ocean. Winters from British
Columbia to southern California and migrates through the Mis-
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 49
sissippi Valley to the Gulf of Mexico. Rare or casual on the
Atlantic coast.
In Missouri the Trumpeter Swan is a regular, formerly fairly
common, now rather rare, transient visitant from the middle of
February to the middle of April, chiefly in March. The innum-
erable large and small lakes in the flood plains of the Mississippi
and Missouri Rivers offer temporary resting places for the passing
swans, which wander in small troops and, where not molested,
remain sometimes for weeks on favorite feeding grounds. On a
small lake on a St. Charles Co. game preserve a party of eight
remained in 1895 from March 15 to April 9; and they are known
to return to the same lake every spring. In autumn these lakes
are usually too shallow and small to suit swans, though they
attract geese and ducks, as well as other water birds and waders.
As this species is known to have bred in Iowa and Nebraska the
swans, which Audubon saw May 4, 1843, on the Missouri River
between Leaven worth and St. Joseph may have been on or near
their nesting grounds. That swans bred formerly also in north-
eastern Missouri is well known to old hunters. Mr. Jasper
Blines of Alexandria wrote October 31, 1888, in Forest and Stream
vol. 31, p. 343: "What has become of the swan? This noble
fowl was tolerably plentiful here in former times and even
hatched its brood along the densely covered shores of our low-
land lakes. But they have bidden us good-bye and have
sought climes more genial, and their musical voice is no more
heard in our land."
Order HERODIONES. Herons, Storks, Ibises, etc.
Suborder Ibide. Spoonbills and Ibises.
Family IBIDIDAE. Ibises.
[184. GUARA ALBA (Linn.). White Ibis.]
Scolopax alba. Tantalus albus. Ibis alba. Eudocinus albus.
Geog. Dist. South Atlantic and Gulf States to West Indies
and northern South America; north to North Carolina, southern
Illinois, Great Salt Lake and Lower California, casually to Long
Island, Connecticut and South Dakota.
There are two White Ibises in immature plumage in collections
at Quincy, Illinois, one in the Seaman collection in the High
50 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
School, the other in the Public Library. Upon inquiry it was
found that both were killed at the same time out of a flock of four
by Mr. Slingerland of Quincy in the neighborhood of that city.
This extends the range of the species in the Mississippi Valley
northward to the region of northern Missouri.
[186. PLEGADIS AUTUMNALIS (Hasselq.). Glossy Ibis.]
Tantalus falcinellus. Ibis and Plegadis falcinellus. Ibis Ordii. Ibis falci-
nellus var. ordii. Green Ibis (young). Bay Ibis.
Geog. Dist. Warmer parts of Old World and West Indies T
irregularly to southeastern United States, wandering north along
Atlantic coast to New England and in the Mississippi Valley to
Nebraska (three specimens taken in eastern Nebraska near
Omaha), and Wisconsin.
One in immature plumage was killed February 27, 1880 r
within a few miles of St. Louis in the Illinois bottom, and
is now in the Hurter collection of Washington University of
St. Louis.
187. PLEGADIS GUARAUNA (Linn.). White-faced Glossy Ibis.
Scolopax guarauna. Ibis and Tantalus guarauna. Ibis thalassinus (young).
Geog. Dist. Northern South America through West Indies
and Mexico to Texas, southwestern Louisiana, California, strag-
gling northward to British Columbia, Oregon, Wyoming, Kansas
and Nebraska. Also found breeding (June 26, 1894, and June
22, 1895), at Heron Lake, Minn.
The Kansas records are one in fall, 1879, near Lawrence; one
near Wichita, October 17, 1890; and one near McPherson, April
29, 1891. Of the three specimens taken in Nebraska, two were
killed near Omaha, August 19, 1893, and April 6, 1897. There
is also a record from Calhoun Co., la., where one was killed out
of a flock of thirteen in April 1891. In a case of mounted birds
presented to the Cuivre Hunting Club by one of its former
members, Mr. John T. Davis, is a fine specimen of a White-faced
Glossy Ibis in adult plumage. All birds in the case were taken
on the club grounds in St. Charles Co., but unfortunately dates
of capture have not been preserved.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 51
Suborder Cicouiae. Storks, etc.
Family CICONIIDAE. Storks and Wood Ibises.
Subfamily Tantalinae. Wood Ibises.
188. TANTALUS LOCULATOR Linn. Wood Ibis.
Water Turkey. Colorado Turkey. Gcurdhead.
Geog. Dist. From southern South America to southeastern
California, Arizona, and the Gulf coast, wandering in summer
northward through the lower Mississippi Valley to Missouri,
irregularly to Utah, Colorado, Indiana and Wisconsin, casually
to Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
The Gourdhead, as it is called by the natives, is a regular sum-
mer visitant in the Peninsula of Missouri from July to September,
occurring in troops of from ten to thirty. Some years these
troops follow the Mississippi River into northern Missouri,
visiting the lakes of the bottom land, rarely ascending the lower
Missouri River. Dr. A. F. Eimbeck observed them but once in
thirty-five years, a flock of seven at New Haven, August 11 to
September 11, 1902.
Suborder Herodii. Herons, Egrets, Bitterns, etc.
Family ARDEIDAE. Herons, Bitterns, etc.
Subfamily Botaurinae. Bitterns.
*190. BOTAURUS LENTIGINOSUS (Montag.). American Bittern.
Ardea stellaris canadensis. Botaurus minor. Ardea minor. B. mugitans.
Stake Driver. Thunder Pump. Indian Pullet. Look-up.
Geog. Dist. From Guatemala northward throughout the
United States and in Canada to Hudson Bay and Mackenzie
River, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Breeds in suitable
localities in most parts of the United States, chiefly northward.
In Missouri the Bittern can still be regarded a fairly common
summer resident and breeder in all marshes from about the first
of April to the end of October. In migration it may be met with
in unexpected places, on small pools in the woodland, on the
prairie, as well as on the broad marshes of the great flood plains,
52 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
especially numerous in the St. Francis basin. In the more
southern part of the state the first appear in March, but April and
. October are the months when the transient visitants are most
common and generally distributed. A few linger through
November. November 19, 1906, one was caught in the heart of
St. Louis in a sleet storm unable to continue its flight, because
covered with sleet and frozen rain. In the very backward spring
of 1907 a transient individual was met with in Calvary Cemetery
at St. Louis as late as May 9. Numerous examples are known,
proving that such birds as Bitterns do not follow certain migra-
tion routes, but travel broadcast over the country. Mr. E. Sey-
mour Woodruff found a Bittern on April 8, 1907, beside a small
pool of rainwater in a shallow depression on top of the plateau in
the woods of Shannon Co.
*191. ARDETTA EXILIS (Gmel.). Least Bittern.
Ardea exilis. Little Bittern.
Geog. Dist. Northern South America and West Indies to
southern British Provinces. Breeds throughout the United
States from Maine to southern Oregon, except in the mountainous
regions of the West. Winters from the Gulf coast southward.
In Missouri the Least Bittern is a locally common summer
resident from the middle of April in the south, and nearly a month
later in the north, to September. It is a denizen of the reedy
lakes and sloughs in the flood plains of the Mississippi and Mis-
souri Rivers. Even where plentiful, they are seldom seen in the
daytime, but become active toward evening, when they move
about by clasping the reed stalks just above the water and flying
from one part of the lake to another low over the plant growth.
In the love season their peculiar chat-like note may often be
heard coming from the dense reeds. Specimens taken near
Springfield (Dr. D. T. Kizer) and at Billings (J. D. Kastendieck)
show that the Least Bitterns do not follow the large rivers in
their migrations, but cross the Ozarks.
Subfamily Ardeinae. Herons and Egrets.
*194. ARDEA HERODIAS Linn. Great Blue Heron.
Blue Crane. Fish Heron.
Geog. Dist. From northern South America to Nova Scotia,
Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia, rarely to the Northwest
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 53
Territories and Alaska* Breeds locally throughout its range and
winters from the Gulf and South Atlantic States and California
southward.
The Blue Crane, as this bird is generally called, is a fairly com-
mon summer resident in Missouri from the middle of March,
occasionally earlier, to November. It is surprising that a bird
so large and subjected to such universal persecution still survives
in the numbers in which we find it to-day. During the breeding
season there is probably no county in the state where some indi-
viduals cannot be seen flying from the distant nest to some fav-
orite feeding grounds. Perhaps the largest numbers may be
seen in the flood plains of the great rivers, where whole colonies
nest on the highest trees along the shores or on the islands ;
but they are also found in the remotest counties of the Ozarks,
where they build their nests in the high trees of the valleys in one
county and have their feeding grounds ten or more miles away in
another county.
*196. HERODIAS EGRETTA (GmeL). American Egret.
Ardea egretta. Herodias alba egretta. White Crane. White Heron.
Geog. Dist. Originally whole of South America, Central
America, West Indies, and in North America throughout the
United States, excepting the mountainous regions of the West,
to southern Canada. Now greatly reduced in numbers and rare
where formerly common. Breeds now locally from Virginia
and Missouri southward and wanders after the breeding season
northward. Winters from the Gulf States southward.
Until the early nineties, when the plume craze reached our
country and every trapper became a plume hunter, the swamps
of the southeast harbored large colonies with hundreds of breeding
Egrets. After a very few years of slaughter the birds had grown
so scarce that the good men had to give up hunting cranes as an
unprofitable occupation. As late as 1900, small numbers were
still breeding in colonies together with Great Blue Herons on
islands in the Mississippi as far north as St. Charles and Lincoln
Counties, making the shallow lakes in the marshes their feeding
grounds, but none have been seen there the last few years.
Twenty years ago hundreds congregated around these lakes in
August and early September and many ascended the lower Mis-
souri Valley on these roving expeditions at least as far as New
Haven (Dr. Eimbeck).
54 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
197. EGRETTA CANDIDISSIMA (GmeL). Snowy Heron.
Ardea candidissima. Garzetta candidissima. Little White Egret.
Geog. Dist. Formerly from Argentina to the northern United
States, casually to Nova Scotia, Ontario and British Columbia,
breeding from Virginia and southern Illinois southward. Now
nearly exterminated in the United States.
Like other herons the Snowy used to wander northward in the
Mississippi River flood plain after the breeding season and was a
common bird on the marshes of St. Charles Co. in August and
September, but none have been seen there for the past ten years.
A few may have survived the slaughter and destruction of their
colonies in southeastern Missouri and with proper protection
may again become an ornament of our late summer landscape.
Mr. J. D. Kastendieck shot some on the mill pond at Billings in
August and September 1895, and Mr. W. E. Praeger reports them
as having occurred near Keokuk, but Snowy Herons seem never
to have visited the more northern and the western part of the
state in large numbers.
[198. DICHROMANASSA RUFESCENS (GmeL). Reddish Egret.
Ardea rufescens. Demiegretta rufa. Dichromanassa rufa. Ardea rufa.
Ardea rufescens. Ardea pealei. Demiegretta pealei. Peale's Egret
(white phase.)
Geog. Dist. Gulf States, Mexico (both coasts), Central Amer-
ica and West Indies, north to the Ohio in the Mississippi Valley.
Observed and found quite common during the last week of
August 1875 in the vicinity of Cairo, 111., by Mr. E. W. Nelson.
199. HYDRANASSA TRICOLOR RUFICOLLIS (Gosse). Louisiana
Heron.
Ardea ludoviciana. Demiegretta ludoviciana. Hydranassa tricolor ludovici-
ana. Ardea leucogastra v. leucophrymna. Ardea tricolor ruficollis.
Geog. Dist. Gulf States, Mexico, Central America and West
Indies ; casually northward to New Jersey and Indiana.
Mr. E. S. Currier killed one near Sand Ridge, Clark Co., Mo.,
April 13, 1890, as it rose from a small prairie pond.
200. FLORIDA CAERULEA (Linn.). Little Blue Heron.
Ardea caerulea. Little White Heron (young).
Geog. Dist. From northern South America through the West
Indies and Central America to eastern United States; breeding
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 55
in the southern states, formerly to southwestern Indiana and
Missouri and wandering after the breeding season northward to
the more northern states, accidentally to Wisconsin, Maine and
Nova Scotia. It winters south of the United States, returning
to Louisiana about the middle of March and to Missouri more
than a month later (April 30, 1880, Hurter collection).
Not known to breed in Missouri at present, but appears in the
Peninsula in large troops, composed entirely of birds of the year,
late in July or early in August, remaining till September. Some
of them wander up the Mississippi to the region of the mouth of
the Illinois River, irregularly, farther north (Warsaw, 111.,
Worthen) or along the Missouri River north to southern Nebraska.
It has been taken in Platte Co., Mo., opposite Leavenworth,
Kan., by Mr. A. Lange, and a specimen in the Kansas City Public
Museum was taken near that city.
*201. BUTORIDES VIRESCENS (Linn.). Green Heron.
Ardea virescens. Shytepoke. Fly-up-the-creek.
Geog. Dist. From northern South America, through the
West Indies and Central America to southern Ontario, through-
out the United States east of the Great Plains and in Cal-
ifornia and Oregon. Breeds throughout its range and winters
south of the United States.
In Missouri the Green Heron is a common summer visitant of
general distribution not confined to low or swampy regions like
other herons, but frequenting wooded streams and ponds, nesting
sometimes far away from water on cultivated land, frequently in
orchards in small colonies of from six to ten nests on one acre.
It arrives in southern Missouri about the 10th of April, in central
and northern parts from one to two weeks later (Shannon Co.,
April 10, 1904; Vernon Co., April 15, 1894; St. Louis Co., April
17, 1886; Kansas City, April 18, 1904; Keokuk, average date,
April 25) . It leaves the breeding grounds in family groups during
September and very few are seen after the first of October.
(Latest record October 13, 1896, Keokuk, Currier.)
*202. NYCTICORAX NYCTICORAX NAEVIUS (Bodd.). Black-crowned
Night Heron.
Ardea naevia. Nyctiardea grisea naevia. Nyctiardea gardeni. Night-
Raven. Qua-bird. Squawk. Quawk.
Geog. Dist. Nearly the whole of South America, parts of
West Indies, and through the United States to New Brunswick,
56 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Ontario and Manitoba. Breeds throughout its range and winters
from California and the Gulf Coast southward.
In Missouri formerly a locally numerous, now a greatly re-
duced, summer resident in the flood plains of the larger rivers,
chiefly the Mississippi, from April 10 to October 10. More
generally distributed in migration, especially in early fall, when
young birds may be met with at ponds and pools far aw r ay from
their usual haunts. When on wing in the twilight going from
nesting to distant feeding grounds they resemble ravens, which,
with some similarity in their croak, has given rise to the popular
name, Night Raven.
*203. NYCTANASSA VIOLACEA (Linn.). Yellow-crowned Night
Heron.
Nycticorax violacea. Nyctiardea violacea. Nycterodius violaceus.
Geog. Dist. From Brazil to the South Atlantic and Gulf
States; in the Mississippi Valley to the mouth of the Ohio; on
the Pacific coast to Lower California; casually north to Massa-
chusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska and Colorado. Breeds in all
parts of its regular summer range, which formerly extended to
Indiana, Illinois and Kansas. Winters south of the United
States to which it returns in March.
Thirty-three years ago the breeding range of the Yellow-
crowned Night Heron extended up the Illinois bottom to the
mouth of the Illinois River. A young of the year in the Hurter
collection was captured opposite St. Louis, July 12, 1873, and an
adult, April 10. Ten years ago they were still fairly common
summer residents in the Peninsula, but of late they have become
few and their total extermination as breeders in the state is fast
approaching.
Order PALUDICOLAE. Cranes, Rails, etc.
Suborder Grues. Cranes.
Family GRUIDAE. Cranes.
204. GRUS AMERICANA (Linn.). Whooping Crane.
Ardea americana. Grus hoy anus (young). Hooping Crane.
Geog. Dist. Interior of North America from Mexico, Texas
and Florida to Saskatchewan and 'Athabasca, migrating chiefly
Widniann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 57
through the Mississippi Valley and breeding formerly in the north-
ern United States and Canada from the Red River to the Rocky
Mountains, now driven to the northernmost portions of its range
by the irresistible encroachment of civilization.
Available records of its occurrence in Missouri are few. The
first for the state is that of Dr. P. R. Hoy in his "Journal of an
Exploration of western Missouri" under date of April 18, 1854.
One in the Hurter collection of birds taken in the vicinity of
St. Louis is dated March 17, 1884. Mrs. Musik reported five
cranes seen at Mount Carmel, Audrain Co., March 25, 1885.
Mr. Hy. Nehrling saw 26 Whooping Cranes at Freistatt, Law-
rence Co., March 27, 1886. I had the pleasure of seeing twelve
pure white, beautiful cranes flying low over St. Louis on the after-
noon of March 25, 1888. Mr. P. L. Ong reported the occurrence
of two cranes (G. americana) at Laclede, Linn Co., March 20 and
27, 1889. The last record at hand is March 9, 10 and 15, 1894,
from Stotesbury, Vernon Co., made by Mr. T. Surber in his
migration report to the Dep't of Agriculture. There is no fall
record for Missouri, but T. M. Trippe saw "quite a number" in
the fall of 1872 in Decatur Co., Iowa, just across the line of north-
central Missouri. One winged on the Grand Prairie in Dunklin
Co. in 1864 was kept alive by Dr. Cook of Cottonplant and after
his death by his widow for over thirty years.
205. GRUS CAN ADENSIS (Linn.). Little Brown Crane.
Grus fraterculus. Northern Sandhill Crane.
Geog. Dist. Arctic and subarctic America. Breeds in the
high north along the Arctic coast, and migrates south through
western United States to Texas and New Mexico.
A female was shot in Clark Co., Mo., April 10, 1896, and brought
to Mr. W. E. Praeger, who has the skin in his collection. It has
repeatedly been taken in eastern Nebraska (and Wisconsin),
and is regarded as a common migrant in Kansas.
206. GRUSMEXICANA (Miill.). Sandhill Crane.
Grus canadensis (part.). Brown Crane. Grus americana (By Audubon
supposed to be young of Whooping Crane).
Geog. Dist. From central Mexico and Florida to southern
Canada. Rare east of the Alleghanies north of Georgia. West
to California. Breeds locally throughout its range from Arizona
58 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
to southeastern British Columbia, and formerly east to Florida
and Ohio. Winters in the Gulf States and Mexico.
In Missouri formerly a fairly common transient visitant,
mainly from the middle to the end of March, sometimes earlier
(March 4 and 5, 1882, St. Louis) or later (April 10, 1894, Keokuk).
W. E. D. Scott mentions the Sandhill Crane as being a common
migrant at Warrensburg, arriving early in April 1874. Prince
of Wied on his way up the Missouri River in 1833 makes the
following entry in his diary : " April 18, 1833. Below Lexington.
A large number of Sandhill Cranes filled the air with their voices;
they went in flocks northeastward." Fall records are less fre-
quent; they come from the center of the state, Saline and How-
ard Counties, October 14 to 25, 1885 and 1890. Audubon saw
many Sandhill Cranes October 13, 1843, near the mouth of the
Grand River. There is no doubt that only a small percentage
of their former numbers survive. Very few notes of the last ten
years are to be had, while as late as 1872 J. M. Trippe writes from
our northern boundary (Decatur Co., Iowa): "Vast numbers
pass over in spring and fall; they bred formerly." On his jour-
ney up the Missouri River in 1843 Audubon saw five Sandhill
Cranes near the mouth of Nodaway River as late as May 7;
and Dr. Hoy met with a pair on the prairie between Utica and
Lexington May 18, 1854. He writes: "My brother waved his
hat and shouted two or three times, when the male bird com-
menced, by bowing and hopping in a ludicrous manner, a
series of amusing antics, interluded with brief samples of vocal
powers that made ample compensation in strength for any lack
of melody."
Suborder Balli. Rails, Gallinules, Coots, etc.
Family RALLIDAE. Rails, Gallinules, Coots.
Subfamily Rallinae. Rails.
*208. RALLUS ELEGANS (Aud.). King Rail.
Great Red-breasted Rail. Marsh Hen.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States; north to Connecticut,
southern Ontario, Minnesota; west to eastern Nebraska and
Kansas. Breeds in fresh- water marshes throughout its range.
Winters in the southern states.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident in the marshes
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 59
along the large rivers; arrives from the last of March to the end
of April and remains to the latter part of October. Specimens
in the collections of Dr. D. T. Kizer of Springfield and Mr. J. D.
Kastendieck of Billings were taken in Greene and Christian
counties in the Ozark border region and Mr. Philo W. Smith, Jr.
of Eureka Springs reports this species as a rare breeder in the
White River valley along our southern boundary (1906). Young
were seen as early as June 1, 1905, at Mudlake, St. Charles Co.
*212. RALLUS VIRGINIANUS Linn. Virginia Rail.
Little Red-breasted Rail.
Geog. Dist. From Central America and Cuba to New Bruns-
wick, Ontario and Manitoba; on the Pacific coast to British
Columbia. Breeds throughout its range in the United States,
but chiefly northward. Winters in the South Atlantic and
Gulf States, Mexico and California.
In Missouri the Virginia Rail is a fairly common transient visi-
tant in spring, occurring not only in the marshes of the larger
rivers, but in wet places of the Prairie and Ozark border regions.
It may be found all through April and early May (earliest date
March 31, 1887, St. Louis; latest May 19, Warrensburg). It
has been found breeding in Clark Co. by Mr. E. S. Currier.
There is no record of its occurrence in fall.
*214. PORZANA CAROLINA (Linn.). Sora.
Rallus carolinus. Ortygometra Carolina. Common Rail. Ortolan. Car-
olina Crake.
Geog. Dist. From northern South America and the West
Indies to British Provinces (rarely to Greenland) ; in the West
to lat. 55; in the Mackenzie River region. Breeds chiefly north
of lat. 38, and winters from the South Atlantic and Gulf States
southward.
In Missouri a common transient visitant in all parts of the state,
the Ozarks not excepted. Some may be found as early as April
1, but they are most plentiful and generally distributed during
the second half of April, and in the north to the middle of May.
Fall migration begins early in September and lasts through
October (latest November 19, 1893). It has been observed in
summer in St. Charles and Howard Co., and nests have been
found near Kansas City (ten eggs, Mr. 0. C. Sheley, Independence)
and in Clark Co. (Mr. E. S. Currier).
60 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
215. PORZANA NOVSBORACENSIS (Gmel.). Yellow Rail.
Rallus noveboracensis. Ortygometra noveboracensis.
Geog. Dist. North America to Hudson Bay, chiefly eastern;
in the West to Utah, Nevada and California. Nowhere common.
No extralimital records except Cuba and Bermuda. Breeds
from Connecticut, northern Indiana and Wisconsin northward,
and winters in the southern States, often met with on rice fields
in Louisiana.
In Missouri an apparently rare or irregular transient visitant
chiefly in April. Earliest date of capture, March 27, 1876,
Hurter collection. Records are chiefly from the Mississippi
bottom north of St. Louis, but there is a specimen in Mr. Chas.
W. Tindall's collection taken near his home, Independence, and
one in the collection of Dr. G. C. Rinker at Union ville. Mr. E.
S. Currier regards them as irregular transients at Keokuk, where
Mr. W. E. Praeger found them common April 22, 1888, and April
21, 1889, at Sand Ridge, Clark Co., Mo. In the late and cold
spring of 1897 Mr. 0. Poling found it numerous in May near
Quincy . Mr . Chas . K . Worthen thinks that they sometimes breed
near Warsaw, 111., as he has found it occasionally during the
breeding season. There is no record for fall migration, but this
is not surprising when we consider how difficult it is to flush
them or make them fly any distance since they always prefer
to escape by running and skulking.
216. PORZANA JAMAICENSIS (Gmel.). Black Rail.
Rallus jamaicensis. Little Black Rail.
Geog. Dist. From the West Indies and Chile to New England
and Oregon. Seems to breed locally throughout its range, but
easily overlooked on account of its small size and secretive habits.
Nowhere common. Winters in Central America.
Taken only once in Missouri (St. Charles Co.), but probably of
frequent occurrence in spring and fall, possibly a summer resident,
since nests have been found in Illinois and Kansas (nest with 8
eggs near Manhattan, June 1880; nest with 10 eggs, June 19,
1875, Calumet River, Illinois). The earliest date for the vicinity
of our state is March 18, 1886, Neosho Falls, Kan., and the latest
in fall, October 11, 1885, Iowa City, la. Since the above was
written I am informed by Dr. G. C. Rinker of Hamilton, Kan.,
that he took a Black Rail at Union ville, Putnam Co, Mo., and has
it in his collection.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 61
Subfamily Gallinulinae. Gallinules.
218. IONORNISMARTINICA (Linn.). Purple Gallinule.
Fulica martinica. Gallinula porphyrio. Porphyrio martinica.
Geog. Dist. From northern South America, West Indies, Mex-
ico to South Atlantic and Gulf States, irregularly north to Middle,
and casually to Northern States and Canada. Winters chiefly
south of United States.
In Missouri probably only an accidental visitant, having been
taken but twice in the vicinity of St. Louis; April 18, 1877,
Hurter collection; and April 22, 1877, near St. Charles in the
Blanke collection. (A record from Manhattan, Kan., is dated
April 14, 1893, and one from northern Illinois, [April 24,
1900.)
*219. GALLINULA GALE ATA (Licht.). Florida Gallinule.
Crex galeata. Gallinula chloropus. Mudhen. Moorhen. Waterhen.
Geog. Dist. From Brazil and Chile to southern Canada and
central California. Breeds throughout its range and winters
chiefly south of the United States.
Twenty years ago Florida Gallinules used to be numerous
breeders on the lakes and sloughs in the neighborhood of St.
Louis. Gradually they became fewer and fewer until now we
must class them among the rare birds. There is no record of
their breeding in the southeast, and the only one from the west
comes from Independence (Tindall, June 1, 1904) . In the bottom-
land from St. Louis northward there are still a few secluded spots,
where they can raise a brood, but with the generally established
drainage of their favorite waters the only places left to them will
be game preserves where neither drainage nor summer shooting is
allowed. Fortunately Gallinules have learned to come late,
after the first of May, when the hunting season is over and when
there is enough plant growth to afford hiding places. Transients
are seldom noticed ; those breeding north of central Missouri seem
to pass over or by us without stopping. The only record for a
fall transient is October 3, 1905, St. Louis, a young of the year
found alive with broken legs in the street near one of the St. Louis
water towers against which it had probably flown in the night.
Early in October, 1906, another one, now in the bird cage in
Forest Park, was caught in the streets of St. Louis.
62 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Subfamily Fulicinae. Coots.
*221. FULICA AMERICANA Gmel. American Coot.
Fulica atra. Coot. Mud hen.
Geog. Dist. From northern South America through West
Indies and whole of North America to Canada, rarely to Alaska
and Greenland. Breeds from Texas and Louisiana northward
and winters from the Southern States southward.
In Missouri the Coot is a very generally distributed and com-
mon transient visitant from the middle of March to April 20 and
from October 10 to November 25. Also a not very rare summer
resident and breeder in suitable localities, not only in the flood
plains of the larger rivers, but in the prairie and Ozark regions
and reported as breeding at Montgomery City (Parker), War-
rensburg (Smithson), Independence (Tindall), Pierce City (Nehr-
ling), White River (Philo Smith Jr., Eureka Springs), Fayette
(Kilpatrick).
Order LIMICOLAE. Shore Birds.
Family PHALAROPIDAE. Phalaropes.
222. CRYMOPHILUS FULICARIUS (Linn.). Red Phalarope.
Tringa fulicaria. Phalaropus fulicarius. Gray Phalarope.
Geog. Dist. Northern parts of northern hemisphere, breeding
within the Arctic regions and coming south in winter chiefly
coastwise to the Carolinas on the Atlantic and Cape St. Lucas
on the Pacific ; rare in the interior as far south as the Ohio Valley.
Has been taken two or three times in the Mississippi River
between Missouri and Illinois by Mr. Chas. K. Worthen of War-
saw, 111. Also recorded from Lawrence, Kan., about 40 miles
from our state line, where a young female was taken November
5, 1905. Other records are from Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin,
Minnesota and Wyoming (September 14, 1897).
223. PHALAROPUS LOBATUS (Linn.). Northern Phalarope.
Tringa lobata. Lobipes lobatus. Tringa hyperborea. Phalaropus hyper-
boreus. Lobipes hyperboreus. Red-necked Phalarope. Gray Phalarope
(winter).
Geog. Dist. Northern hemisphere, breeding in America from
Labrador and Greenland both in wooded country and on Barren
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 63
Grounds to Alaska. In winter to the tropics, migrating chiefly
along the Pacific, less commonly in the interior and along the
Atlantic coast.
A specimen in the Hurter collection was taken October 9,
1878, near St. Louis. One in Mr. J. D. Kastendieck's collection
was killed near Billings, and another in Mr. A. Lange's possession
was captured by him in Platte Co., Mo., opposite Leaven worth,
Kan. Specimens were obtained at Lincoln, Neb., August 23
and September 18, 1904, and May 14, 1905; taken also in Kan-
sas, May 25, 1883.
224. STEGANOPUS TRICOLOR (Vieill.). Wilson's Phalarope.
Plialaropus tricolor. PJialaropus lobatus. Phalaropus or Steganopus
Wilsoni.
Geog. Dist. From southern South America to Saskatchewan,
chiefly in the interior. Breeds from Wisconsin and northern
Nebraska, the mountains of Colorado and the Death Valley
northward; formerly in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
Winters south of the United States.
In Missouri this beautiful and graceful bird, formerly common,
must now be classed with the rarer transient visitants. It should
be looked for in the latter part of April and first of May and in
August and September. Earliest date in spring, April 22, 1880,
St. Louis, Hurter collection, and in fall, August 5, 1878, St. Louis,
Hurter collection. Mr. Currier found it near Keokuk, May 6,
1898. Mr. Tindall at Independence, May 1, 1900. There is a
fine specimen in Mr. Kastendieck's collection. Mr. H. Nehrling
found it with young in July, 1884, in Lawrence Co., and it may
still be a local breeder in some parts of the state. In Hayden's
Report on the Natural History of the Upper Missouri in 1855,
'56 and '57, we read: " Quite abundant during spring months
along marshy bottoms and lakes of the lower Missouri River."
Family RECURVIROSTRIDAE. Avocets and Stilts.
225. RECURVIROSTRA AMERICANA Gmel. American Avocet.
Geog. Dist. From Guatemala and West Indies to lat. 54,
rarely as far north as Great Slave Lake; common from Kansas
and Nebraska westward; now rare in the eastern United States
and accidental on the Atlantic coast. Breeds locally in most of
the western states, but now chiefly in Alberta, Assiniboia and
64 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Saskatchewan. Winters in southern California, but mainly
south of the United States.
In eastern Missouri the Avocet has always been regarded as a
rare transient visitant. A female in the Hurter collection taken
near St. Louis is dated October 28, 1878. Mr. Praeger saw a
mounted specimen which was killed on the bars in the Missis-
sippi near Keokuk previous to 1885. In western Missouri it
seems to be less rare. Mr. Thad Surber met with a flock of one
hundred, April 8, 1894, near Stotesbury in Vernon Co., and Mr.
A. Lange of Leaven worth, Kan., took some Avocets in Platte
Co., Mo.
[226. HIMANTOPUS MEXICANUS (MiilL). Black-necked Stilt.]
Charadrius mexicanus. Himantopus nigficollis. Recurvirostra himan-
topus. Stilt. White Snipe '(Utah). Lawyer. Long-Shanks.
Geog. Dist. From northern Brazil and Peru to northern
United States, now rare in eastern United States except Florida.
Breeding area in United States now restricted to the West from
Mexico, southwestern Texas and Colorado to Oregon. Winters
from Florida and Louisiana southward through West Indies,
Mexico and Central America to Brazil and Peru.
As there are five records of its capture near Omaha, Neb.,
April 20, 1895, May 6, 1894, May 10, 1893, and October 3 and 9,
1894, it is very probable that stragglers can be found in western
Missouri, if students will look out for them on flooded lands after
heavy rains in spring and fall.
Family SCOLOPACIDAE. Snipes, Sandpipers, etc.
*228. PHILOHELA MINOR (Gmel.). American Woodcock.
Scolopax minor. Rusticola minor. Microptera americana.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Canada from
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Manitoba; west to the
Plains; breeding throughout its range and wintering in the
southern states.
In spite of all persecution the Woodcock is still a fairly common
summer resident in eastern Missouri ; some winter in the Penin-
sula, but the bulk returns to it in February, to southern Missouri
generally early in March and to northern Missouri in the latter
part of that month, where they remain till the middle of Novem-
ber. Young birds well on the wing were seen June 2, 1905, in
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 65
St. Charles Co. Though Mr. Nehrling found the Woodcock com-
mon in autumn 1884 in Lawrence Co. and mounted specimens
are in the collections of Mr. LeBlanc at Springfield and Mr.
Kastendieck at Billings, the species does not seem to be of fre-
quent occurrence in the western part of the state.
230. GALLINAGO DELICATA. (Ord). Wilson's Snipe.
Scolopax delicata. Scolopax gaUinago. Scolopax Wilsoni. Gallinago
Wilsoni. Scolopax Drummondi. Scolopax Douglasii. Am. Snipe,
Long-bill. Jack Snipe.
Geog. Dist. From northern South America through Central
America and West Indies north to the Arctic circle. Breeds
from northern United States northward and winters from
Florida and southern Texas southward.
In Missouri the Snipe is a common transient visitant of general
distribution, both east and west, spring and fall, though varying
much both in time of presence and in numbers. In some seasons
the first Snipes are taken in the neighborhood of St. Louis in the
second half of February (February 17, 1897; February 20, 1898;
February 24, 1886; February 28, 1904; in others in the first part
of March, in some years not before the midlde of March (March
15, 1888; March 15, 1902; March 13, 1903). The bulk of the
species is present from the 15th to trie 20th of March till from
the 20th to 25th of April; the last are all gone before the end
of the month. In the more northern parts of the state the first
appear seldom before the middle of March (March 13, 1900,
Keokuk), usually between the 20th and the 25th and remain to
the close of April, sometimes into May (May 9, 1896, St. Joseph;
May 7, 1894; May 7, 1897; May 12, 1895, Keokuk). In their
southward migration in fall they are even more uncertain in time
and numbers than in spring. Exceptionally early dates are
August 17, 1897, and September 3, 1893, Keokuk, and August 31,
1886, St. Louis. After the middle of September their appearance
may be expected along our northern boundary (September 19,
1902; September 20, 1899, Keokuk). In central Missouri the
first are taken in the second week of October, but Snipes are
seldom plentiful in Missouri before the middle of October and cease
to be so after the first week of November, though some linger into
the latter part of the month (November 21, 1897 and 1899;
November 24, 1896 and 1900, Keokuk) and exceptionally longer
(December 14, 1904, St. Charles Co.) even in northern Missouri.
In the most southern part of the state a few may remain in mild
66 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
winters, as they are known to do in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.
The new game protection law of Missouri gives no protection to
this species, the open season extending over the whole period of
its presence in the state, namely from September 15 to April 30.
[231. MACRORHAMPHUS GRISEUS (Gmel.). Dowitcher.]
Scolopax grisea. Scolopax noveboracensis. Red-breasted Snipe. Brown
Back. Gray Snipe. Gray-back (winter).
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, breeding far north;
south in winter to Brazil. Irregularly to Alaska, Oregon,
Idaho, Nebraska and formerly common in Wisconsin.
As the two species of this genus were formerly regarded as
varieties and were said to be indistinguishable in the winter and
immature plumage, not enough attention was paid to them to
enable us to say in what proportion they visited the state while
Dowitchers were yet plentiful; but since it is known, that the
eastern form or species occurs in the Mississippi Valley along
with the western, the claim for a place in our list may yet be
established.
232. MACRORHAMPHUS SCOLOPACEUS (Say). Long-billed Do-
witcher.
Limosa scolopacea. Macrorhamphus griseus scolopaceus. Red-bellied
Snipe. Red-bellied Dowitcher. Greater Long-beak.
Geog. Dist. Western North America; breeding in Alaska to
the Arctic coast; migrating through western United States and
Mississippi Valley, rarely through Eastern States, to Mexico.
Twenty years ago Dowitchers were fairly, though irregularly,
common transient visitants in all suitable localities of Missouri.
They migrated in flocks, and large numbers were sometimes found
in the St. Louis market, chiefly in April. In fall they were still
more irregular in their appearance and have been known to
occur from August to the end of October (October 28, 1873,
Hurter collection). At present they must be classed among the
rare birds and, if spring shooting is not abolished, they may be
brought to the point of extermination.
233. MICROPALAMA HiMANTOPUS (Bonap.). Stilt Sandpiper.
Tringa himantopus. Tringa Douglasii. Tringa Auduboni.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America; west to the foot of the
Rocky Mountains; north to the Arctic coast. Breeds north of
Widinann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 67
the United States and winters in the West Indies, Central and
South America.
In Missouri the Stilt Sandpiper, which is said to move rapidly
through the United States spring and fall (Audubon), is a rare
transient visitant in August and September and very irregularly
in spring. (April 30, 1902, Kansas City; September 28, 1878,
Hurter collection).
234. TRINGA CANUTUS Linn. Knot.
Tringa cinerea. Tringa islandica. Tringa rufa. Robin Snipe. Red-
breasted Sandpiper. May Bird. Grayback (young). Blue Plover
(young).
Geog. Dist. Chiefly on the sea coasts; in northern hemisphere
in summer; in southern hemisphere in winter. Breeds far north;
migrates mainly along the Atlantic coast.
The Knot is probably only an accidental visitant in Missouri.
It has been taken in Platte Co., opposite Leavenworth, Kan.,
by Mr. A. Lange of that city and another was taken October,
1874, at Brown ville, Neb., which is on the Missouri River
opposite the northwest corner of our state; three others were
reported from southeastern Nebraska, May 16, 1896, August 27,
1896, and September 30, 1893. Two specimens were shot in
the spring at Neosho Falls, Kan., within fifty miles of our western
state line. According to Prof. Snow the species was formerly
common in Kansas (Birds of Kansas, 1873) and seems to have
been met with oftener in the interior generally, especially in
the region of the Great Lakes.
235. ARQUATELLA MARITIMA (Brunn.). Purple Sandpiper.
Tringa maritime,. Winter Snipe. Rock Snipe.
Geog. Dist. Northern portions of northern hemisphere.
In America chiefly the northeastern portions, breeding in the
high north and wintering from Greenland southward along the
coast to the Carolinas, casually to the Great Lakes and larger
streams in the Mississippi Valley.
The Purple Sandpiper is admitted on the strength of its being
mentioned in Dr. P. R. Hoy's list of birds taken in western Mis-
souri in the spring of 1854.
239. ACTODROMAS MACULATA (VieilL). Pectoral Sandpiper.
Tringa maculata. Tringa pectoralis. Jack Snipe. Grass Snipe.
Geog. Dist. Whole of North America, rare in California.
68 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Breeds in the Arctic regions, chiefly Alaska; migrates through
United States and West Indies to South America as far south as
southern Brazil and Chile.
In Missouri a common transient visitant from March 15 to
June 6 and through August, September and October to the
middle of November (November 5, 1901, November 14, 1896,
November 24, 1900, Keokuk, Currier). Mr. Praeger gives it
as abundant at Keokuk from March 28 to April 23, and from
August 11 to October 21. Mr. Nehrling reported it as very
common during the first half of April in Lawrence Co. The
species is said to be common at Independence (Tindall) and at
Fayette (Kilpatrick) from March 15 to April 10. Records show
that some linger through May and even into June; (May 11, 1882,
St. Louis; May 14, 1895, May 16, 1898, May 27, 1901, and June
6, 1893, Keokuk).
240. ACTODROMAS FuscicoLLis (Vieill.). White-rumped Sand-
piper.
Tringa fuscicollis. Tringa schinzii. Tringa bonapartei. Bonaparte's
Sandpiper.
Geog. Dist. Breeding in Arctic regions, chiefly from Hudson
Bay to Mackenzie River; it migrates through United States,
mainly east of the Rocky Mountains, West Indies and Central
America to South America as far south as Falkland Islands.
In Missouri formerly a fairly common, now a rather rare,
transient visitant late in May and early in June, and again early
in autumn. Twenty years ago Mr. Nehrling regarded it a
common transient visitant in'Lawrence Co., and Mr. Kastendieck
collected specimens in 1882 at his mill-pond in Christian Co.
Mr. E. S. Currier met with a flock of ten at Sand Ridge, Clark
Co., May 16, 1898, and again, June 2, 1901, a flock of eight near
the mouth of Des Moines River on a sand-bar. His latest date
is June 5, 1894, when the first was seen near Keokuk, May 22.
Mr. E. S. Woodruff found a flock of about twelve at Jacks Fork
of Current River in Shannon Co., May 15, 1907.
241. ACTODROMAS BAIRDII Coues. Baird's Sandpiper.
Tringa bairdii. Bull-peep.
Geog. Dist. Breeds from Hudson Bay along Arctic coast to
Point Barrow and migrates through the interior of North Amer-
ica, rarely along the Atlantic coast, south to Chile and Patagonia.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri T69
In Missouri a fairly common migrant from March till the close
of May, and in fall from August till the middle of October,
often in company with its nearest relatives, the Pectoral Sand-
piper (October 13, 1893, Independence, Tindall; October 14,
1888, Keokuk, Praeger).
242. ACTODROMAS MINUTILLA (Vieill.). Least Sandpiper.
Tringa minutilla. Tringa wilsonii. Tringa pusilla. Peep. Mud-peep.
Stint.
Geog. Dist. The whole western hemisphere; breeding from
Magdalen Islands and Anticosti to the interior of Alaska; win-
tering from South Carolina and southern California southward.
In Missouri the Least Sandpiper is a fairly common transient
visitant from the middle of April through May to the first of
June, and from the middle of August to November, frequenting
with other sandpipers and plovers the extensive mud flats of
the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
243a. PELIDNA ALPINA SAKHALINA (Vieill.). Red-backed Sand-
piper.
Tringa alpina pacifica. Tringa cinclus. Pelidna pacifica. Red-breast or
Red-back (in spring). Lead-back (in fall). Black-bellied Sandpiper.
Dunlin. Ox Bird.
Geog. Dist. North America and Eastern Asia, chiefly coast-
wise, rare or irregular in the interior. Breeds from Hudson Bay
along Arctic coast to northern Alaska. Winters in California,
the South Atlantic and Gulf coast and southward.
In Missouri the Red-backed Sandpiper is a rare transient
visitant, spring and fall. It was first taken in the state by Dr.
J. A. Allen opposite Leavenworth, May 1871 (Bull. M. C. Z.,
vol. 3, 1872). A female in the Hurter collection was taken near
St. Louis, October 7, 1880, and Mr. Praeger took one near
Keokuk, October 4, 1885. Dates of specimens taken near
Lincoln, Neb., are May 22, August 23, September 4 and 11, 1904,
and May 14, 1905; May 16 and 30, 1896 ; May 22, 1899; Novem-
ber 7, 1896; and near Omaha, May 12, 1895.
246. EREUNETES PUSILLUS (Linn.). Semipalmated Sandpiper.
Tringa pusilla. Tringa semipalmata. Ereunetes petrificatus. Sand-peep.
Peep.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, west to Utah, breeding
from Labrador to Point Barrow and migrating through the
70 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
United States south to the West Indies and northern South
America.
In Missouri a common transient visitant in late April and May
and again in August and through September to October 17.
Earliest in fall, August 6, 1887, St. Louis; latest, October 17,
1880, Hurter collection.
247. EREUNETES OCCIDENT ALIS Lawr. Western Sandpiper.
Ereunetes pusillus. Ereunetes petrificatus (of western localities).
Geog. Dist. Western North America, breeding chiefly in
Alaska and migrating through western United States r mostly
along Pacific coast, to Central and South America. Casually
eastward through the interior to the Atlantic coast in company
with the Semipalmated Sandpiper.
Has been taken a few times in spring on sandbars in the Mis-
sissippi River by Mr. Chas. K. Worthen of Warsaw, 111. In
the spring plumage the Western is easily distinguished from
the Semipalmated Sandpiper by its bright chestnut on head,
back and rump.
248. CALIDRIS ARENARIA (Linn.). Sanderling.
Tringa arenaria. Calidris calidris. Calidris rubidus. Beach Bird.
Geog. Dist. Almost cosmopolitan; breeding in arctic and
subarctic regions and in America, migrating through United
States, both coastwise and through interior; wintering from
California and southern Texas to Chile and Patagonia.
In Missouri the Sanderlings were formerly fairly common
transient visitants from the latter part of August to October.
They were found in small flocks on the extensive sand bars in
the Mississippi River, frequenting the same place for weeks,
together with other sandpipers and plovers. In spring they
appeared to be more in a hurry, never remaining long in one
place. Like all waders their numbers have greatly decreased
during the last twenty years and the species seems never to have
been as common westward as in the eastern part of the state.
249. LIMOSAFEDOA (Linn.). Marbled Godwit.
Scolopax fedoa. Limosa foeda. Marlin. Dough Bird.
Geog. Dist. North America to southern Canada; rare on
the Atlantic coast. Breeding formerly from Iowa, Wisconsin
and eastern North Dakota northward, now restricted mainly
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 71
to Alberta, Assiniboia and Manitoba, becoming scarce every-
where. In winter to the Gulf coast, California, Mexico and parts
of Central America and the West Indies.
In Missouri Marbled Godwits could formerly be called fairly
common transient visitants in April and September; they are
now rare.
251. LIMOSA HAEMASTICA (Linn.). Hudsonian Godwit.
Scolopax haemastica. Limosa hudsonica. Black-tailed or Ring-tailed Godwit
or Marlin.
Geog. Dist. From southern South America to Arctic regions,
breeding in the high north and wandering through the east-
ern United States to South America. Rare on the Atlantic
coast.
In Missouri a rather rare transient visitant in April and Oc-
tober. A male in the Hurter collection was taken in St. Louis
Co., April 19, 1872, and two in the collection of the Cuivre Club
were killed on their grounds in St. Charles Co.
254. TOT ANUS MELANOLEUCUS (Gmel.). Greater Yellow-legs.
Scolopax melanoleuca. Gambetta melanoleuca. Scolopax vociferus. Totanus
vociferits. Tell-tale. Stone Snipe. Greater Yellowshanks.
Geog. Dist. Nearly the whole of America; breeding formerly
from Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin northward, at present from
northern Nebraska north to the Mackenzie River and Sitka.
In winter from southern California and the Gulf States south to
Argentina and Chile.
In Missouri Greater Yellow-legs are still fairly common and
generally distributed transient visitants, especially in spring,
less so in fall. The first appear from the south during the last
week of March, seldom earlier (March 9, 1903, Kansas City,
Bryant). They become more general during the second week of
April and are most plentiful in the second half of that 'month.
In ordinary seasons they disappear in the first half of May, but
in cool Mays some have been known to stay toward the end of
May and even into June (June 5, 1894, Keokuk, Currier). In
fall migration their appearance is more irregular. Near Keokuk
they have been found as early as August 28, 1899, and as late as
November 9, 1895, also at Independence (Tindall) November
7, 1892, but they are most likely to be present about the middle
of October.
72 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
255. TOTANUS FLAVIPES (Gmel.). Yellow-legs.
ScoUpax flavipes. Gambetta flavipes. Lesser Tell-tale or Yellowshanks.
Geog. Dist. Nearly the whole of America; breeding from
northern United States to Arctic ocean, chiefly in the interior;
migrating south in winter to southern South America. Much
rarer west of the Rocky Mountains.
In Missouri the Yellow-legs is a common transient visitant oc-
curring sometimes in very large flocks from the middle of March
to the middle of May, and in smaller numbers from August 2
to the middle of October.
256. HELODROMAS SOLITARIUS (Wils.). Solitary Sandpiper.
Tringa solitaria. Totanus solitarius. Rhyacophilus solitarius. Totanus
chloropygius. Wood Tattler. Tip-up.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, west to Utah, Wyoming,
British Columbia and Alaska. Breeds locally within the north-
ern and western United States, but chiefly northward through
the Northwest Provinces to latitude 64. Winters in South
America.
In Missouri a common transient visitant, never in flocks, but
scattered along water-courses and even small pools throughout
the state from April 15 to May 25, and from August 1 to October
10, chiefly from August 20 to September 25. Latest in spring,
May 27, 1894, Keokuk; and in fall, October 9, 1902, Jasper Co.
258. SYMPHEMIA SEMIPALMATA (Gmel.). Willet.
Scolopax semipalmata. Totanus semipalmatus. Semipalmated Tattler.
i
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to British Prov-
inces, west to the Mississippi. Breeds from Florida to New
Jersey, rarely northward. South in winter to West Indies and
South America.
Formerly not separated from the western Willet from which
it differs very little. Records for Willets do not show which of
the two subspecies is meant, but both may occur in Missouri,
the one in the eastern, the other in the western part.
258a. SYMPHEMIA SEMIPALMATA INORNATA Brewster. Western
Willet.
Geog. Dist. Western North America, east to the Mississippi
Valley, north to latitude 56. Breeds from Texas and Louisiana
northward and winters in Mexico.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 73
While in the breeding plumage it may be comparatively easy
to tell the two subspecies apart, in the plain gray and white dress
which they wear in migration, they are said to be distinguishable
only by size, but even this difference is said to be not absolutely
reliable. All Willets taken in Missouri should therefore be sub-
jected to a close scrutiny to establish their identity as subspecies.
In Missouri Willets were formerly fairly common transient
visitants in late April and early May, and again in September.
That they occurred even in large flocks is proved by Audubon,
who writes in his Journal that he met with a large flock of Willets
near St. Joseph, Mo., May 5, 1843. At present they are con-
sidered fare throughout the state. An exceptionally late date
is given by Mr. Currier of Keokuk, namely October 27, 1896.
*261. BARTRAMIA LONGICAUDA (Bechst.). Bartramian Sand-
piper.
Tringa longicauda. Tringa bartramia. Totanus bartramius. Actiturus
bartramius. Bartram's Tattler. Field Plover. Upland Plover. Grass
Plover.
Geog. Dist. Eastern Nortji America, west to Utah and
Oregon, north to Nova Scotia and Alaska. Breeds throughout
most of North American range, but chiefly in the prairie and
plains region with its breeding center in western Manitoba and
eastern Assiniboia. Winters in South America, as far south as
Brazil and Peru.
In Missouri Field Plovers used to be fairly common summer
residents in the Ozark border and Prairie regions ; in some local-
ities a few may still be found nesting (Appleton City, Prior,
1906), but with an open season till the first of May there is little
hope for them. In migration, too, their numbers have been
greatly reduced, not one-tenth of the transient visitants of twenty
years ago being left. In the southern part of the state the first
Field Plovers make their appearance in the latter part of March,
in northern Missouri seldom before the middle of April. Tran-
sients are mostly gone by the first of May, but begin to reappear
in family groups the middle of July and continue to be present
through August and nearly to the end of September.
262. TRYNGITES SUBRUFICOLLIS (VieilL). Buff-breasted Sand-
piper.
Tringa rufescens. Tryngites rufescens. Tringa subruficottis.
Geog. Dist. Common on their breeding-grounds along the
Arctic coast and on the Barren Grounds from Anderson River
74 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
to Point Barrow, and breeding scatteringly in other parts of the
north from Ontario, Minnesota and British Columbia; it is
strangely scarce in the United States in migration, except perhaps
on the coast prairie of western Louisiana and Texas, where it
is found in dense flocks in spring. It is not found in California
and very rarely on the Atlantic coast. In winter it goes to
South America as far as Uruguay and Peru; frequently found
in Europe and Cuba.
On September 15, 1901, Mr. Chas. W. Tindall killed nine
Buff-breasted Sandpipers on a sandbar in the Missouri River
near Independence. Mr. Chas. K. Worthen of Warsaw, 111.,
once took a small flock of this species on a sandbar in the Missis-
sippi River. There are quite a number of fall records from the
neighborhood of Chicago, and from southeastern Nebraska,
among them two of recent date, September 11, and 18, 1904,
Lincoln, Neb.; but spring records are few, through G. S. Agers-
borg states (Auk vol. 2, p. 286), that he found the Buff-breasted
Sandpiper in southeastern South Dakota in abundance in spring,
"when it arrives in large flocks. Only very few are seen on the
return passage."
*263. ACTITISMACULARIA (Linn.). Spotted Sandpiper.
Tringa macularia. Totanus macularius. Tringoides macularius. Peet-
weet. Sand-lark. Tip-up. Teeter-tail. Common Sandpiper.
Geog. Dist. Whole of North, Middle and South America,
except Greenland. Breeds throughout the United States and
almost to the Arctic coast. Winters south of the United States,
going as far south as southern Brazil.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident along the large
rivers from April 15 to October 20, and a common transient
visitant in spring on all streams, ponds and lakes, and in July,
August and September numerous on the sandbars of the larger
rivers.
264. NUMENIUS LONGIROSTRIS Wils. Long-billed Curlew.
Sickle-bill.
Geog. Dist. Formerly an inhabitant of the whole United
States, breeding from Texas northward as well as in the South
Atlantic States and locally in the Mississippi Valley north to
Wisconsin and Minnesota ; now their breeding range is restricted
to the western and northwestern states, east to western Kansas
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 75
and western Nebraska, north through Assiniboia and Alberta into
British Columbia. In winter to California, the Gulf coast
and south to some parts of the West Indies and Central
America.
In Missouri formerly a fairly common transient visitant
early in April and from August to October (latest record, October
15, 1905, Jasper Co. , Philo. W. Smith, Jr.), now rare like other
waders of large size.
[265. NUMENIUS HUDSONICUS Lath. Hudsonian Curlew.]
Scolopax borealis. Numenius borealis. Numenius intermedius. Jack
Curlew. Short-billed Curlew.
Geog. Dist. Whole western hemisphere; breeding in the far
North, the exact localities not well known, and migrating through
United States, chiefly coastwise; wintering from the Gulf states
to Patagonia.
In Missouri probably a rare transient visitant about the
middle of April and early in October. Apt to be confounded
with the Eskimo Curlew, and the large females with the Long-
billed Curlew. It is recorded from different points in eastern
Nebraska, and according to Agersborg (Auk vol. 2, p. 287) used
to be a common migrant in southeastern South Dakota.
266. NUMENIUS BOREALIS (Forst.). Eskimo Curlew.
Scolopax borealis. Dough-bird. Esquimaux Curlew.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America; breeding on the
Barren Grounds to the southward of Fort Anderson and along
the coasts of Behring Sea and Kotzebue Sound. Spring migra-
tion chiefly through the interior, generally with Golden Plovers,
formerly very common on the plains, now said to go by way of
thinly settled parts of western Nebraska and western Kansas.
In autumn migration formerly common in New England, now
flying from Nova Scotia south over the ocean. In winter south
throughout South America.
In Missouri a now rare transient visitant in spring, formerly
very common in western Missouri late in March and throughout
April. Mr. Thad. Surber reports seeing a flock of one hundred in
Vernon Co., April 16, 1894. Mr. W. G. Savage met with a flock
of ten in Jasper Co., May 1, 1902.
76 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Family CHARADRIIDAE. Plovers.
270. SQUATAROLA SQUAT AROLA (Linn.). Black-bellied Plover.
Tringa squatarola. Squatarola helvetica. Charadrius helveticus. Chara-
drius apricarius. Beetle-head. Bull-head. Ox-eye.
Geog. Dist. Nearly cosmopolitan, but chiefly in the northern
hemisphere. In America breeding from Hudson Bay along
Arctic coast to Alaska and migrating through United States
both coastwise and in the interior, to the West Indies, Columbia
and Brazil.
In Missouri a rather rare, formerly irregularly common,
transient visitant from the middle of April to the middle of May,
and in fall to the end of October. Latest record, November
5, 1889, when Mr. Chas. W. Tindall killed one at Independence.
272. CHARADRIUS DOMINICUS Mull. American Golden Plover.
Charadrius pluvialis. Charadrius virginicus. Charadrius fulvus var.
virginicus. Charadrius marmoratus. Green Plover. Field Plover.
Bull-head.
Geog. Dist. Western hemisphere except coast of Behring
Sea. Breeds in Arctic regions from Parry Islands to Norton
Sound. Migrates through United States, chiefly the interior ,
in spring, and along the Atlantic coast in fall ; very rare in Cali-
fornia. In winter to South America as far south as Patagonia.
In Missouri a common transient visitant from latter part of
March to nearly the end of April, and rarely in fall. Formerly in
very large flocks about the middle of April on the marshes and
fields of northern Missouri, where it still occurs, but in much
smaller numbers. The new law of 1905, which forbids spring
shooting of plovers in Missouri, will probably be instrumental
in increasing plovers of all kinds. Earliest date in spring,
March 23, 1872, St. Louis (Hurter collection) ; latest April 30,
1892, Keokuk (Currier). Fall records are from Keokuk (Currier)
October 19, 1902, October 29, 1893 and November 9, 1895;
from Independence, November 8, 1892, when Mr. Chas. W.
Tindall killed one on a sand bar in the Missouri River.
*273. OXYECHUS VOCIFERUS (Linn.). Killdeer.
Charadrius vociferus. Aegialites vociferus. Aegialitis vocifera. Killdee
Plover.
Geog. Dist. United States, Mexico and southern Canada,
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 77
breeding throughout its range, wintering from California and
the Gulf States southward to northern South America.
In Missouri it may still be called a common transient visitant
spring and fall, though it is by no means as abundant as formerly,
when it was also well known as a summer resident, not only in the
prairie region of the north and west, but also in the Ozark border
region and even in the valleys of the Ozarks themselves. A
few may still breed in the state, as it is reported to do so at Apple-
ton City by Mr. C. W. Frier, 1906. Killdeers are among the
first migrants to return to us in earliest spring. The first reach
Missouri during the latter part of February (February 17, 1898,
St. Louis; February 18, 1902, Jasper Co.; February 26, 1904,
St. Charles Co.; February 28, 1904, Independence; February
28, 1893, Keokuk). The bulk of transients is with us from the
middle of March to the middle of April, and in fall from September
1 to the middle of November. Exceptionally late dates are
November 17, 1896, Keokuk; November 26, 1905, Jasper Co.
(Philo. Smith) ; and December 18, 1887, St. Louis.
274. AEGIALITIS SEMIPALMATA Bonap. Semipalmated Plover.
Tringa hiaticula Wils. Charadrius hiaticida Ord. Charadrius semipalmatus.
Semipalmated Ring Plover. Ring Plover. Ring-neck.
Geog. Dist. Arctic and subarctic America from Ungava
Bay to Norton Sound, rarely south to Ontario and Manitoba.
Migrates through United States and winters from Louisiana and
Texas to Brazil, Peru and Galapagos Islands.
In Missouri a fairly common transient visitant from April 20
to May 20, and in fall from August 20 to September 25 in scat-
tered flocks on the mud-flats of our larger rivers together with
other plovers and sandpipers.
277a. AEGIALITIS MELODA CIRCUMCINCTA Ridgw. Belted
Piping Plover.
Lately and apparently unnecessarily separated from Aegialitis meloda,
the Piping Plover of the Atlantic States, Charadrius hiaticida var. Wils.,
Charadrius melodus of Ord., Aud. etc.
Geog. Dist. Mississippi Valley, Manitoba and Assiniboia,
west to Wyoming. Breeding formerly from Illinois, Indiana and
southern Wisconsin northward, now from northern Nebraska.
Also found on the Magdalen and Sable Islands. Winters from
the Gulf coast southward.
78 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
In Missouri now a rather rare transient visitant about May 1,
and more commonly in August and September with other waders
on the mud-flats and sand bars of the larger rivers.
Subfamily Arenariinae. Turnstones.
283. ARENARIA MORINELLA (Linn.). Ruddy Turnstone.
Tringa interpres. Strepsiles interpres. Calico-back.
Geog. Dist. Breeding in arctic America from Mackenzie
River eastward; in migration southward through the United
States, coastwise and by way of Great Lakes and larger rivers
to South America as far south as Patagonia and Falkland
Islands.
In Missouri a transient visitant on the sand bars of the Missis-
sippi River from the middle of August to the middle of September.
Occurs probably also in spring, as it has been taken on the
Missouri River near Omaha in May and on the Mississippi at
Burlington, May 21, 1892. A male was taken on the Kansas
River near Topeka, Kan., August 16, 1898, and a single specimen
in winter plumage was observed on a sandbar near Cairo, 111.,
by Mr. E. W. Nelson, August 30, 1875.
ORDER GALLINAE. Gallinaceous Birds.
Suborder Phasiani, Pheasants, Grouse, Partridges, Quails, etc.
Family TETRAONIDAE. Grouse, Partridges.
Subfamily Perdicinae. Partridges.
*289. COLINUS VIRGINIANUS (Linn.). Bob-white.
Tetrao virginianus. Perdix virginiana. Ortyx virginianus. Quail (in New
England). Partridge (Middle and Southern States).
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to southern Maine,
southern Ontario and Minnesota, west to South Dakota, Nebraska,
Kansas, Oklahoma and eastern Texas. Lately introduced into
New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, California, Oregon and
Washington. Breeds throughout its range and is non-migratory,
able to withstand the rigors of the northern states, where with
sufficient protection in winter it would become half-domesti-
cated and very plentiful.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 79
According to our new game law of 1905 November and De-
cember are the only months in which Bob-whites may lawfully
be killed in Missouri, and it is to be hoped that this lovely bird
may regain its former abundance. Feeding the whole year
round on insects, weedseeds, and waste grain it is one of the most
beneficial birds on the farm and should, therefore, receive all the
protection the farmer can give. Though generally considered
non-migratory, local migrations from exposed to more sheltered
places have often been noticed, and according to Dr. A. F.
Eimbeck of New Haven, Franklin Co., a regular north and south
migration is a fact well known to people living along the shores
of the Missouri River, where Quails are seen toward evening
flying across the river, southward in September, northward in
April. The river being over half a mile wide some of the birds
become exhausted and fall into the water where they are picked
up by the people along the shore.
Subfamily Tetraoninae. Grouse.
*300. BON ASA UMBELLUS (Linn.). Ruffed Grouse.
Tetrao umbellus. Pheasant. Partridge (in northern states).
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Canada,
south along the Alleghanles to Georgia and eastern Tennessee;
sparingly through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois to Missouri (nor-
thern Arkansas); west to eastern Nebraska and Minnesota.
Non-migratory.
Until twenty years ago the Ruffed Grouse, here called Pheas-
ant, was numerous in most wooded parts of Missouri. Early
travelers mention it. Audubon killed a pair at the mouth
of Grand River, April 30, 1843, and Dr. Hoy has it in his
list of birds found above Boonville in early summer, 1854.
In 1872 Trippe found it an abundant breeder in Decatur
Co., la., just across our northern state boundary, and
Mr. Nehrling saw a specimen killed in 1883 near Pierce
City in the Ozark border region of southwest Missouri. Dr.
Eimbeck and his brother, who has a very fine mounted male
in his collection, say it was common near New Haven until
about 1886. About that time Mr. Hurter received a set of eggs
from Pevely, Jefferson Co. Mr. W. F. Rasmus born in 1838
near Marthas ville, Warren Co., writes that in his youth pheasants
were plentiful near his home as well as near Herman and Wash-
80 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
ington, where he lived later for a while. In 1888 Professor
Kilpatrick reported from Fayette, Howard Co., " formerly
plenty, now scarce." Mr. F. C. Pellet of Salem stated recently
that pheasants were once found in Dent Co., but are not found
there now. Mr. W. G. Savage writes me that fifteen years ago
pheasants were considered common in Shannon Co. and that
some still occur there, though rarely. One was shot near Mon-
teer in the winter of 1905-'06. Mr. B. T. Gault met with Ruffed
Grouse in two places near Edgehill in Reynolds Co. in June
1894. Mr. E. S. Currier found a nest with eggs on hilly ground
in Lee Co., la., just across the Des Moines River from Clark Co.,
Mo., about ten years ago.
Although Ruffed Grouse must at present be regarded as rare
in Missouri, there are some very recent records which prove that
they are not entirely exterminated. Dr. Williams of Flat
River knows where to find pheasants along the Big River in
St. Francois Co. and Dr. W. Mills and Mr. Jul. Volkman of Web-
ster Groves have lately located small colonies along the Meramec
River in St. Louis Co. and on the bluffs of the Missouri River
in Franklin Co. Mr. Philo Smith foun.d pheasants only a few
years ago in the hills back of Herman in Gasconade Co. The
new game law (section 10) prohibits their capture or killing
until December 1, 1910, when it is expected they will again be
plentiful enough to permit an open season of one month in late
fall or early winter. While they formerly inhabited not only
the hilly part of the state, but also the slopes along the then
wooded river bottoms of northern Missouri, they are now re-
stricted to the bluff regions of the larger rivers and, to a less
extent, to ravines and hillsides along some of the smaller streams,
but are never found on the wide ridges of the Ozarks themselves,
where conditions do not seem to suit them. Some think the
reason why Ruffed Grouse are not more plentiful in the Ozarks
and why they have entirely disappeared from localities where
they were not much molested by man, is to be found in the ter-
rible increase and spread of the chigger (Trombidium), which
is said to kill the young grouse. That the chigger, carried from
place to place by pasturing animals, is steadily increasing and
alarmingly spreading to regions not infested before, is a well-
known fact nearly throughout Missouri and, since enemies may
determine the breeding range of an animal as well as food and
other conditions, I give it as a not impossible theory. Another
explanation of their disappearance from the forests of the Ozarks
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 81
may be found in the annual burning over of the floor of these
forests in the erroneous opinion the grazing-ground is thereby
improved. As this custom has been followed for fifty years,
it has succeeded in extirpating a large number of plants, some of
which may formerly have been helpful or needed in making
the region a desirable abode for the Ruffed Grouse.
*305. TYMPANUCHUS AMERICANUS (Reich.). Prairie Hen.
Tetrao cupido. Cupidonia cupido. Pinnated Grouse. Prairie Chicken.
Geog. Dist. Prairies of the Mississippi Valley from Louisiana
and Texas to Manitoba, now rare east of the Mississippi River
wast through eastern parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kan-
sas with a tendency to spread with deforestation and the settle-
ment of the country, but disappearing when the population
becomes dense.
That the Prairie Hen was once a common resident in the
prairie region of Missouri, there is ample proof, but as long ago
as 1888 reports came from observers in the state with that la-
mentable annotation so often met with in recent bird list
"Once common, now rare." With the increase of population
and prosperity the number of hunters increased wonderfully
during the last decade, and when the new game law of 1905
was framed, the danger of total extinction of the Prairie Hen
seemed imminent, but instead of following the example of other
states prohibiting all killing for a number of years, the legis-
lature made an open season from November 15 to December 15.
In a state which issues over 65,000 hunters licenses one month's
open season undoubtedly suffices to prevent any considerable
increase of the small remnants left. But even with the best
protection laws the Prairie Chicken, such an easy mark for every
boy hunter and every Missouri boy in city or on farm is a
hunter now-a-days ,has no prospect of ever becoming numerous
again except on well-guarded preserves, where they may easily
become semi-domesticated. Though as a rule non-migratory
the Prairie Hen of northern Iowa and Minnesota has been known
to migrate (some say the females only) southward into and
through western Missouri in November and December, returning
northward in March. Large flocks of such transients or winter
visitants were noticed formerly, but their numbers seem to be
too much reduced everywhere to notice such a movement at
the present time.
82 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
307. TYMPANUCHUS PALLIDICINCTUS Bidgw. Lesser Prairie Hen.
Geog. Dist. Eastern edge of the plains from Kansas south
to western Texas. A specimen of this smaller, paler-colored
species in the Hurter collection is said to come from southwestern
Missouri.
In the Nuttall Bulletin, vol. 2, p. 52, Geo. N. Lawrence writes :
"In the latter part of January 1877 I found in Fulton Market
(New York) about thirty specimens of this form. * * *
I ascertained that they came from Pierce City, southwestern
Missouri. * - * * I lately learned from a large dealer that
they had been quite abundant in market, all coming from
Southern Missouri."
Family PHASIANIDAE. Pheasants and Turkeys.
PHASIANUS COLCHICUS Linn. English Pheasant.
Geog. Dist. Eurasia from Black Sea to Mongolia; south to
Persia. Naturalized in Britain and other countries of western
and central Europe.
PHASIANUS TORQUATUS Gmel. Ring-necked Pheasant.
Geog. Dist. Southern Siberia, Corea and northeastern China.
Several apparently unsuccessful attempts to introduce Pheas-
ants into Missouri have been made. Major Geo. H. McCann
of Springfield, Mo., president of the St. Louis Park and Agri-
cultural Co., and the best informed man on all endeavors of
stocking our state with game, was kind enough to write to me
under date of June 12, 1907, the following interesting account:
"The St. Louis Park and Agricultural Co. has liberated some-
thing over 400 birds about equally divided of English and
Ring-necked Mongolian Pheasants. They were liberated in
Taney Co. on our preserve. We also raised some 32 birds
by the Game-keeper's wife and several covies were raised on
and about the preserve, but they leave after the first frost in
fall when leaves begin to drop. They go where I know not.
I don't believe we have a pair of birds on the preserve. I have
inquired for miles around the preserve, they have seen them,
but they left. I have labored with them for the past ten years
to try and help stock our state, but feel I have made com-
plete failure. I can breed and raise, but when turned loose
after a few days they are gone. Springfield, Greene Co., organ-
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 83
izecl a club of some ninety members a few years ago, leased
several thousand acres, raised and liberated some 600 birds.
For a year we felt success, but as with the St. L. P. & Agr. Co.,
it proved failure and I am unable to locate a bird in Greene Co.
Some five or six thousand dollars has been spent on those birds.
I sent several pairs to north Missouri with like results. "
*310. MELEAGRIS GALLOPAVO SILVESTRIS (Vieill.). Wild Turkey.
Meleagris gallopavo. Meleagris gallopavo fera.
Geog. Dist. Formerly entire eastern United States from
Florida to Maine, Ontario and Minnesota; west to Kansas and
Nebraska; but at present extinct or at the point of extinction
in most states except in the southern Alleghanies, the Ozarks
and heavily timbered bottoms of southern rivers. Non-mi-
gratory.
In Missouri Wild Turkeys occurred formerly in all parts of
the state, along the densely wooded river bottoms of the prairie
region, in the flood plains of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers,
in the swamps of the southeast and throughout the Ozarks.
All the early travelers speak of the abundance of the Wild Turkeys.
Audubon met with them along the Missouri River to the north-
west corner of the state (May 6, 1843), and on his way back
he speaks of their abundance, October 14, 1843, between
Brunswick and Glasgow. When visiting the Grand River
valley near Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Dr. Hoy makes the
following note: "Skinned a fine old gobbler shot by a friend;
wild turkeys are plenty in this vicinity." Across the boundary
of north central Missouri, Trippe writes from Decatur Co., la.,
in 1872: "Not uncommon, but shy and vigilant." But as early
as 1888 Mr. Lientz reports from Fayette, Howard Co., " Formerly
plenty, now scarce." At present (1906) Wild Turkeys are all
gone from northern Missouri, but are still found in small numbers
in most parts of the Ozarks and in the swamps of the southeast.
According to Dr. W. Mills of Webster Groves a few still breed
in St. Louis and Franklin Go's, and the species may hold its own
for a while yet, though with two months of open season (No-
vember and December), which the new (1905) law allows,
this will be a difficult matter.
84 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Order COLUMBAE. Pigeons.
Family COLUMBIDAE. Pigeons.
315. ECTOPISTES MIGRATORIUS (Linn.). Passenger Pigeon.
Columba migratoria. Ectropistes macrura. Wild Pigeon.
Geog. Dist. Formerly eastern North America to Hudson
Bay, west to Great Plains and straggling to Wyoming, Nevada
and Washington, breeding from latitude 32 in Mississippi to
latitude 65 in Mackenize. In later years so extremely rare
that their occurrence anywhere may be regarded as casual, un-
less it be some unsettled parts along the northern border of the
United States or in Canada.
Our new game law does not protect the Wild Pigeon at all,
considering it extinct in the state of Missouri, though once in a
while we find the capture of a few of them reported in the
newspapers. That they were formerly abundant in Missouri
is attested by the early travelers and explorers and is well
known to all the old inhabitants. Available records are the
following :
1833, April 21. Prince of Wied killed some above the mouth
of the Kaw River.
1843, May 6. Audubon killed one or two north of the present
site of St. Joseph.
1855, '56 and '57. F. V. Hayden says in his report: " Quite
abundant on the lower Missouri River. ' '
1872. Large flocks were observed by Dr. A. F. Eimbeck at
New Haven, and his brother, Charles L. Eimbeck, who has two
fine specimens in his collection of mounted birds.
1874, April 6. W. E. D. Scott saw a flock of seven at Warrens-
burg.
1878. Last seen at Fayette by Prof. Kilpatrick (Reported
in 1885).
1880, September 29. Mr. J. D. Kastendieck took his last
W T ild Pigeon at Billings, but saw some several years afterward.
1882, February 5 and 6. Several large flocks were seen going
north by the writer at St. Louis.
1883, Last year common (in the fall) at Keokuk (Currier).
1884, September 9 and 21. Seen at Mt. Carmel, by Mrs.
Musick.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 85
Sf 1885, April 18, September 27 (twenty), September 28 (fifty)
and the last on September 30 at Mt. Carmel.
1885, September 19. Last seen at St. Louis by the writer.
1888, October 31. Mr. Jasper Blines of Alexandria, Clark
Co., Mo., writes in Forest and Stream, vol. 31, p. 343: "During
the whole year I have seen but few passenger pigeons. They
were in former years very numerous here and could be seen in
flocks composed of millions of birds every spring and fall."
1893. Last shipment of Wild Pigeons received at St. Louis
by N. W. Judy & Co., the game dealers, who handled more
dead and live pigeons than any other firm in the country, and
who had their netters employed all the year around, tracing
the pigeons to Michigan and Wisconsin in spring and to the
Indian Territory and the south in winter. Silvan Springs,
Ark., from where the last shipment was received according to
Judy's letter to Mr. R. Deane (Auk, vol. 12, p. 298), is only
twenty-five miles south of the southwest corner of the state.
1894, April 15. Mr. E. S. Currier sees ten pigeons at Keokuk,
his first since 1888.
1896, May 19. The same sees one among doves, and again
one October 18 of the same year.
1896, September 17. Mr. W. Praeger shoots a male near
Keokuk.
1896, December 17. Out of a flock of fifty near Attic, Oregon
Co., Mo., Mr. Chas. U. Holden, Jr., kills a pair and sends them
in the flesh to Mr. R. Deane of Chicago (Auk vol. 14, p. 317).
1897, August 17. A flock of 75-100 is seen twenty-five miles
west of our state line in Johnson Co., Neb.
1902, September 26. Last seen at New Haven by Dr. Eim-
beck.
*316. ZENAIDURA MACROURA (Linn.). Mourning Dove.
Columba macroura. Columba carolinensis. Zenaidura carolinensis. Caro-
lina Dove.
Geog. Dist. Breeds from Mexico and Cuba throughout the
United States to Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia and
winters from about lat. 40 southward to the West Indies and
Panama.
In Missouri the Dove still remains a common summer resident
in spite of almost constant persecution, not only in the prairie
and border regions, but on all cultivated ground throughout the
86 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Ozarks and the southeast. The first spring arrivals appear at
very irregular times, seldom before the middle of March, most
frequently in the second half of that month; about once in four
years the first Doves are not seen before some day in the first
half of April, then soon followed by the bulk, which is to be ex-
pected between April 10 and 25, when they become generally
distributed and begin nesting. Small troops may be seen flying
northward as late as early May. Where not molested they lose
much of their timidity and build nests in close proximity to
human habitations. From July to October, though not forming
real flocks, Doves are found in large aggregations on the wheat
stubble and in corn-fields, gleaning the waste grain and ripening
grass and weed seeds. After the middle of October they become
scarce, but small numbers continue in northern Missouri into,
and sometimes through, November, and in southern Missouri
through December. As the law sanctions their destruction till
the first of January, very few get a chance to prove their endur-
ance of our more severe winter weather of January and February,
when snow and sleet drive them to the farmyard for food and
shelter and place them at the mercy of the farmer.
Order RAPTORES. Birds of Prey.
Suborder Sarcorlmntiplii. American Vultures.
Family CATHARTIDAE. American Vultures.
*325. CATHARTES AURA (Linn.). Turkey Vulture.
Vultur aura. Rhinogryphus aura. Turkey Buzzard. Red-headed Vulture.
Geog. Dist. From Patagonia and the Falkland Islands to
Assiniboia in the interior, to British Columbia on the Pacific
and to Sandy Hook on the Atlantic side, rarely to New England
and the British Provinces. Winters from southern California,
Ohio River and Chesapeake Bay southward.
The Turkey Vulture or Buzzard, as it is commonly called,
is the only one of all our larger birds which has not diminished
in numbers during the past twenty-five years. It is also one
of the few birds that can be seen in any of the 114 counties of
Missouri on any day during six months of the year from April
to October. It can hardly be called a permanent resident,
not even in the most southern part of the state. Some think
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 87
that a species can be said to winter with us, when we see an
individual in every one of the winter months, but this is not
correct. Though frost may occur in Missouri on any day from
the middle of October to the middle of April, our really severe
winter weather comes usually only between the middle of January
and the middle of February. Moderately cold weather with
frequent mild, and even warm spells may prevail through
December and part of January and induce hardy birds to remain
with us, but a prolonged period of intensely cold, even zero
weather is likely to set in as late as the fourth week of January
and last uninterruptedly until the middle of February, fully
three weeks, when suddenly the weather may turn warm, ob-
literate all traces of ice and snow within one week and make it
possible for the vanguard of migrants to invade the state before
the end of the month. Among the first to put in an appearance
after the withdrawal of severe weather are a few forerunners
of this species, but records for February are not many. Excep-
tionally early dates are for St. Louis, February 10, 1888, and for
Keokuk, February 17, 1897; for Mt. Carmel, February 18,
1886. The majority of Turkey Buzzards return in March,
filling up their ranks very slowly and some of their old haunts are
not reached before the first half of April. Troops of migrating
Buzzards are seen late in March and early in April and again in the
first half of October. After the middle of that month the species
becomes scarce, .but does not entirely disappear from the state
for some weeks yet and lasts have been reported by different
observers all the way from October 16, 1904, Kansas City,
to December 14 and January 18 at Montgomery City, though
mainly in November. Whether Turkey Vultures have increased
since the white man has settled the country, is difficult to say,
but it is remarkable that Audubon does not mention them
among the birds observed on his way up the Missouri River in
April 1843, while Dr. Hoy found them "nesting in cliffs all
along the river" in April 1854. For reasons only known to the
solons of Jefferson City our latest game law, that of 1907, has
placed the Buzzard into section 7 together with the English
Sparrow, Chicken Hawk, Blackbird and Crow among the birds
"not protected by this act."
*326. C ATH ARISTA URUBU (Vieill.). Black Vulture.
Vultur atratus. Catharista atrata. Cathartes atratus. Vultur iota. Carrion
Crow.
Geog. Dist. South Atlantic and Gulf States to western Texas,
88 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
north to North Carolina, and in the Mississippi Valley to the
mouth of the Ohio ; casually to the northern states and Canada ;
south through the West Indies, Mexico, Central America and
in South America to lat. 41.
In Missouri a regular, though not numerous, summer resident
in the alluvial counties of the southeast, where it is said to make
its nests on cypress stumps in the overflow in similar situations
as the Canada Goose. Also seen by the writer along the White
River in southwestern Missouri in Stone Co. in June 1905, and
in Taney Co., May 1906, in company with Turkey Vultures.
Mr. H. Nehrling reported it as having occurred twice in Law-
rence Co. Mr. E. S. Woodruff identified one April 29, 1907, in
Shannon Co.
Suborder Falcones. Falcons, Hawks, Buzzards, Eagles, Kites, etc.
Family FALCONIDAE. Falcons, Hawks, Eagles.
Subfamily Accipitrinae. Kites, Buzzards, Hawks, Eagles.
*327. ELANOIDES FORFICATUS (Linn.). Swallow-tailed Kite.
Falco forficatus. Falco furcatus. Nauderus forficatus. Nauclerus furcatus,
Milvus furcatus. Elanus furcatus. Fork-tailed Kite. Swallow-tailed
Hawk.
Geog. Dist. Whole of South and Central America, and in
North America through the interior north to Minnesota 47
and North Dakota 49 lat. ; on the Atlantic coast to the Caro-
linas, rarely to New England; west casually to Colorado.
Breeds regularly from Ohio River southward; irregularly north
to Iowa, northern Nebraska, southern Wisconsin, and wanders
after the breeding season in flocks of various size indifferently
over the country, chiefly west of the Mississippi River. Winters
south of United States.
In the cotton field region of southeastern Missouri the Swallow-
tailed Kite is a regular, though not numerous, summer resident,
nesting in the adjoining cypress swamps. In the rest of the
state it is of very irregular occurrence, though apparently
paying occasional visits to all parts of it. It has been found
nesting in Clark Co. in the northeast corner of Missouri by Mr.
E. S. Currier of Keokuk, and Mr. John S. Marley took an egg
from a nest near Kansas City. Trippe found it breeding in
1872 just across the state line in Iowa. Nearly all observers in
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 89
Missouri have met with the species at one time or another.
Audubon saw one near the northwest corner of the state, May
10, 1843, probably near its breeding ground. Dr. Hoy has it
in his list of birds observed in western Missouri between April
16 and June 15, 1854. Scott noted it once at Warrensburg,
April 15, 1874. In his "Birds of the North-West" Dr. Coues
writes on page 333: U I had the pleasure of observing it myself
in Missouri opposite Fort Leavenworth in May 1864." Early in
the eighties Mr. Nehrling found it a pretty regular visitant in
Lawrence Co. Mr. Jul. Hurter once observed a troop of 40 in
early August in the city of St. Louis remaining in the same
locality over a week. In 1884 Mrs. Musick saw them repeatedly
in troops of six to eight at Mt. Carmel, Audrain Co. It was
also reported from Fayette, May 9 and 25, 1884. There is also
one date saved from my old notes lost by fire, August 20, 1885,
St. Louis. Mr. Currier and Mr. Praeger give me the following
dates of occurrence at Keokuk : March 2 and March 19 (unusually
early) and May 13, 1897. Mr. Tindall saw one July 16, 1904, at
Independence, and Mr. Bush, August 30, August 31 and Septem-
ber 4, 1906, at Courtney. Fine specimens taken in the state
are in the Hurter collection at St. Louis, in the Eimbeck col-
lection at New Haven, in the Kastendieck collection at Billings,
and one taken by Mr. Ollie C. Shelley at Independence loaned
to the Public Museum of Kansas City.
[328. ELANUS LEUCURUS (Vieill.). White-tailed Kite.]
Milvus leucurus. Falco dispar. Elanus glaucus. Elanus dispar. Black-
shouldered Hawk.
Geog. Dist. From Chile and Buenos Ayres to South Carolina
on the east (except West Indies), Indian Territory and Texas
in the interior, and northern California on the Pacific. Rare
within the United States except in California, where fairly
common.
There is one record from southern Illinois where Mr. R.
Ridgway observed a pair at Mt. Carmel in the summer of 1863
or 1864. In Mrs. Bailey's " Handbook, of the Birds of Western
United States," the species is said to occur to the latitude of
St. Louis in the interior, but no record of its occurrence in
Missouri has been obtained. If it enters our state, it is probably
as an accidental visitant from the southwest.
90 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
*329. ICTINIA MISSISSIPPIENSIS (Wils.). Mississippi Kite.
Falco mississippiensis. Falco plumbeus. Ictinia plumbea. Ictinia sub-
caerulea.
Geog. Dist. Southern United States east of Rocky Mountains ;
south to Guatemala; north to South Carolina, Missouri and
Kansas, casually to Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and
Dakota. Winters south of the United States.
The region of the cypress swamps and cotton fields in the south-
east is the only part of Missouri where Mississippi Kites may be
called common summer residents, where half a dozen or more
may be seen circling playfully above the timber, or hunting
peacefully like so many Nighthawks low over the sandy fields.
In the eighties a pair made its home for several summers in a
small secluded piece of primeval forest in the southwestern part
of St. Louis, arriving there near the end of April and remaining
till August. As most of the stately trees have since then been
removed and the place has become common hunting ground,
the gentle, dove-like pair is gone, but a few Mississippi Kites
still find their way to St. Louis County and probably nest
on the bluffs of the Missouri River. There are no records for
the species from that part of the state north of the Missouri
River, but the bird is not unknown in the Ozark region of south-
ern Missouri. Mr. Kastendieck has specimens in his collection
taken near his home in Billings, Christian Co., and in the early
eighties Mr. Nehrling found them "pretty numerous" in Law-
rence Co. The writer was pleased to see them lately (May
1906) in pairs in Webster and Howell Counties, in localities
where they are likely to survive for some time yet.
*331. CIRCUS HUDSONIUS (Linn.). Marsh Hawk.
Falco hudsonius. Circus cyaneus hudsonius. Falco uliginosus. Falco
cyaneus. Circus cyaneus. American Harrier. Mouse Hawk.
Geog. Dist. Breeds from Alaska, Great Slave Lake, Hudson
Bay and Cape Breton Island southward to the southern border
of the United States, and winters from about lat. 40 southward
to Panama and Cuba.
The Marsh Hawk was undoubtedly formerly a very common
summer resident in the prairie region of Missouri. Audubon
met with it near the northwest corner of the state, May 6, 1843.
Trippe in 1872 called it abundant; "many breed" in Decatur Co.,
la., just across the state line. Mr. E. S. Currier found it breeding
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 91
in Clark Co. in the nineties, and it is reported as breeding from
Kansas City and Montgomery City. The last record comes
from St. Charles Co., June 1905, where in the tall grasses of the
club grounds it still succeeds in raising a brood. There are
probably a few more localities in the marshes of the Mississippi
flood plain and on the broad meadows of northern Missouri
where they can nest unmolested, but such chances become fewer
eveiy year. As a transient visitant the Marsh Hawk plays a
prominent part still, not so much in spring from the middle of
March to the middle of April, as throughout fall and early winter
or until deep snow and severe cold drives it farther south. The
only time for which we have no records is from the middle of
January to the first of March, the period of lowest temperature
and deepest snow, often enforced by sleet and freezing rain.
This species is one of the so-called Chicken Hawks of our hunters,
who see in every large hawk a competitor and therefore an enemy.
It is accused of killing quails, young rabbits and other game,
though a careful study of its feeding habits by the Department
of Agriculture has shown that it is extremely useful, because
feeding principally upon meadow mice and other injurious
rodents. While this may be of no concern to the hunter, it
should be the aim of the farmer to give, at least on his own
grounds, the fullest protection to a benefactor that removes the
pest which eats his grain and girdles his fruit trees. Unlike
other hawks with which they are commonly confounded, par-
ticularly the Cooper's Hawk, the real robber of young chickens,
the Marsh Hawks are so little shy that, while hunting low over
the ground, they often pass within easy range of the gunner,
who seldom fails to kill the poor bird. In spring and fall they
serve as scavengers preying upon crippled and dead birds,
which frequently lie far from the spot where they received the
shot, and are lost to the gunner.
*332. ACCIPITER VELOX (Wils.). Sharp-shinned Hawk.
Falco velox. Falco fuscus. Accipiter fuscus. Nisus fuscus. Astur velox.
Accipiter, Astur and Nisus pensylvanicus. Accipiter fringilloides.
Geog. Dist. Breeds throughout the United States and the
wooded parts of the British Dominion and Alaska. Winters
from latitude 40 southward to Central America.
The Sharp-shinned Hawk, for which a better name would be
Sparrow Hawk, particularly so because it exactly represents
92 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
the European bird of that name, is well known all over Missouri,
but is nowhere common at any time. It is seen oftenest in spring
and fall from March 10 to the first week in May and from early
in September to about the twentieth of November. Records for
December, January and February are few, but it is reported as
a rare winter visitant not only from the southern part of the
state, but even from the northwestern corner by Mr. E. S.
Currier, January 4, 1903, and February 9, 1897, and from the
western border December 30, 1902, by Mr. J. A. Bryant of
Kansas City. Reports of its breeding in Missouri are also rare;
they come from Montgomery City (Parker), Independence
(Tindall), and St. Louis County, where Mr. Philo W. Smith, Jr.,
took a set of eggs in 1904 and saw the birds again in the summer
of 1905. Unlike most other hawks this species does not seem
to have suffered great losses in numbers. It has probably
never been much more numerous than it is how, for the reason
that it is not such an easy mark as the so-called chicken or hen-
hawks of our farmers and hunters. It does not sit around on
fence posts and quietly await the approach of the cruel gunner;
it is always on the alert and so quick in its movements that it
is generally out of range before the beholder has recovered from
his astonishment. It is sometimes seen circling high in the air,
but its home is in the woods and its hunting is done low over
the ground, often at the edge of the forest, along fences and
hedges or the varied plant growth fringing our creeks and wet-
weather branches. Its strategy is surprise; it snatches the
frightened bird before it can reach the protecting thicket.
Living almost entirely on small birds and young poultry it is
decidedly harmful, but its recently acquired taste for the plump
and saucy English sparrow has been regarded as a redeeming
feature. An additional record of its breeding in the southern
part of the state is furnished by Mr. E. S. Woodruff, who took
on May 2, 1907, in Shannon Co., a female containing three
nearly developed eggs, proving they breed there.
*333. ACCIPITER COOPERII (Bonap.). Cooper's Hawk.
Falco cooperii. Astur cooperii. Falco Stanley i. Accipiter mexicanus.
Blue Hawk (adult).
Geog. Dist. Breeds from Gulf of Mexico to the southern Brit-
ish provinces, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
Winters from about lat. 39 southward to southern Mexico.
In Missouri the Cooper's Hawk may still be called a fairly
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 93
common summer resident in all parts of the state where culti-
vated fields alternate with remnants of high timber in which
it can make its home. There are no records of its occurrence
for the period from January 20 to February 19, and it is therefore
not safe to class it among the permanent residents, especially
since its presence during the whole time from October 30 to
March 28 is exceptional rather than the rule. Transient visitants
are most numerous from early in April to the first week of May,
and in fall from the middle of September to late in October.
Wholesale migration has been noticed from about the twentieth
to the twenty-sixth of September, when singly or in pairs they
have followed each other at intervals of a few minutes, from ten
to twenty being visible to the spectator, but, as they are known
to advance in a broad front, the whole movement must mean
the depopulation of a la^ge district. This is the true chicken-
hawk for the depredations of which so many harmless species
have to suffer, and it is the only hawk that does enough damage
to warrant indiscriminate destruction with a view to total
extermination. Fortunately for this bold and clever marauder
this extremity is not to be expected for a long time to come,
as he knows how to take care of himself and his family. He selects
his hunting grounds miles away from his aerie, high up and far
out on the branch of an old tree in a quiet part of the woods.
Poultry raisers should know the different species of hawks;
they should know well the one that does most of the harm of
which so much capital is made in order to justify the murder
of each and every hawk. But as this is hardly possible, the
best plan would be to kill no hawk except the one caught in the
very act of making inroads on one's property. Since the worst
damage is done among young poultry, the owner should know
that the same hawk will come back for more after he has succeeded
in carrying off one; he is likely to be back about the same time
of day and thereby offers an opportunity to watch for him with
gun in hand. Even if missed once or twice and this may
happen to a good marksman it will secure safety for one's
pets, as the cautious hawk will probably not return any more.
334. ACCIPITER ATRICAPILLUS (Wils.). American Goshawk.
Falco atricapttlus. Astur atricapillus. Falco palumbarius. Astur palum-
barius.
Geog. Dist. Breeds in northern North America in the wooded
districts north of the range of the Cooper's Hawk, south in the
94 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Rocky Mountains to New Mexico, and in the West to Eastern
Washington and Oregon, being replaced westward by the sub-
species striatulus. Winters in the United States, chiefly south-
ward, but is nowhere common.
Missouri collectors know that it is not easy to get a Goshawk
for their collections, and taxidermists say that years pass before
they get to see one. An exception was made this fall (1906)
when Mr. F. Schwarz, our leading St. Louis taxidermist, received
five fine adult birds (males and females) within one month from
the middle of November to the middle of December. From
observations of a long series of years we cannot but class the
Goshawk among the irregular and rather rare transient visitants
with a majority of dates from March 20 to April 10 and between
November 13 and December 20. As we find no record for Janu-
ary and only one for February we can hardly call it a winter
resident, though future observations may supply the missing
dates. An exceptionally early fall date is October 8, 1893,
obtained from Mr. Currier of Keokuk in the northeast corner
of the state, and an equally extraordinary late spring date,
May 6, 1843, one of Audubon's notes made near the northwest
corner on his journey up the Missouri River to the Yellowstone
River.
*337. BUTEO BOREALIS (Gmel.). Red-tailed Hawk.
Falco borealis. Falco leverianus. Buteo aquilinus. Red-tailed Buzzard.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America; north to New Found-
land, the British Provinces, Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan and
Alberta; west to eastern Nebraska and Colorado; south to
eastern Mexico. Breeds nearly throughout its range and winters
mostly in the Southern States, though some remain even in the
Northern States and all return very early to their breeding
ground.
Within the last years the Red-tailed Hawk has decreased so
much in Missouri at all seasons that not more than one is left
where ten were seen twenty years ago. Every hunter and
many farmers deem it their duty to kill every one of these singu-
larly defamed and misjudged benefactors, universally, but in-
appropriately, named Hen or Chicken Hawks. It cannot be
disputed that some individuals, when pressed by hunger or by
the clamor of a nestful of hungry mouths, take recourse to the
chicken, yard and relieve a sickly old hen of all her troubles, or
teach a careless mother to take better care of her youngsters,
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 95
but their usual business is to remove as many mice and other
noxious rodents from the farmer's field as their time and capacity
will allow. As a summer resident it used to be well known in
all parts of the state; the timber along the streams of our
northern and western prairie region suited it as well as the
wooded hill-sides in the Ozarks ; even the watery southeast was
not entirely deserted, though it prefers partly open country to
densely wooded regions. The wooded bluffs which border our
river valleys and mountain streams are at present the best loca-
tions for the stately Red-tail to rear a brood, but it must be very
careful not to betray its aerie, for it is an outlaw in this state,
whose latest game and bird protection law strangely exempts
from protection all large hawks under that ambiguous term,
"chickenhawk." The number of transient visitants is still re-
spectable, but small compared with what it used to be, when
dozens could be seen in suitable localities, where mice abounded,
on a drive of a few miles through farming country, especially in
fall. They are most common from the middle of September to
the end of November, but, though some are with us in all kinds
of winter weather, the bulk is gone during the two or three months
of real winter. Our summer residents are on their breeding
grounds in February, but the majority of transients pass through
our state in March. They do not stop with us as long as in fall,
neither are they seen in troops as they sometimes are on bright
October days majestically soaring high in the air sailing south-
ward. There is a perfectly white albino of this species in the
bird collection of the Kansas City Public Museum, but the place
and time of capture are not given.
337a. BUTEO BOREALIS KRIDERII Hoopes. Krider's Hawk.
White-bellied Red-tail.
Geog. Dist. Great Plains from Texas to Dakotas and Minne-
sota; west to Wyoming and Colorado ; east to Wisconsin, north-
ern Illinois and Iowa in migration.
Typical examples of this subspecies seem to be very rare every-
where, but birds closely approaching this peculiar light phase
are apparently not very rare in Missouri, even as far east as the
Mississippi River. Mr. Praeger killed a fine male near Keokuk,
December 22, 1889, and Mr. Currier of the same place gives
March 17, 1895, and March 23, 1897, as dates of occurrence.
Mr. Charles K. Worthen of Warsaw, 111., took a specimen on the
96 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
prairie east of that town, where it is occasionally seen in winter.
A bird answering the description was observed for several days
(November 21-23, 1905) on the grounds of the Horse Shoe Lake
club in St. Charles Co., and one taken in spring near Billings,
Christian Co., is in Mr. Kastendieck's collection. Considering
that the Krider's Hawk is only a subspecies of the Plains, a
geographical race known to iritergrade with the typical eastern
form, it seems plausible that Missouri lies in the belt of inter-
gradation inhabited or visited by the intermediates.
337b. BUTEO BOREALIS CALURUS (Cass.). Western Red-tail.
Buteo calurus. Buteo montanus. Black Red-tail.
Geog. Dist. Western North America from Mexico to Sitka;
east to eastern British Columbia, central Montana, Wyoming and
Colorado; in migration to Ontario, Wisconsin, northern Illinois,
Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri.
This more or less darker-colored western race, the light ex-
treme of which is said to be scarcely distinguishable from true
borealis, is probably not a very rare transient and winter visi-
tant in Missouri, especially in the west. Two specimens taken
within one week in the fall of 1888 near Billings, by Mr. J. D.
Kastendieck, show distinctly the rufous bars on the tibiae, one
of the characteristics of the subspecies, said by some authors to
constitute even in the young a persistent feature, in which it
differs from the almost or quite immaculate white of the young
eastern Red-tail. Mr. Chas. K. Worthen writes that he has
taken this subspecies repeatedly near Warsaw during the breed-
ing season.
337d. BUTEO BOREALIS HARLANI (Aud.). Harlan's Hawk.
Falco harlani. Black Warrior.
Geog. Dist. Gulf States and lower Mississippi Valley; north
to Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, casually to eastern Nebraska, Indi-
ana, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
Probably a regular summer resident in southeastern Missouri,
as it has been observed repeatedly in May in different years in
Dunklin and Pemiscot counties. A specimen in the collection
of Mr. John D. Kastendieck was shot four miles south of Bil-
lirigs, Christian Co., about the middle of November, 1905. A
fine adult male was taken on the Mississippi near Warsaw, 111.,
opposite the northeastern corner of Missouri, in March, 1879,
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 97
by Mr: Chas. K. Worthen. Two were seen at that time flying
up the river.
*339. BUTEO LINEATUS (Gmel.)- Red-shouldered Hawk.
Falco linzatus. Falco hyemalis. Buteo hyemalis. Circus hyemalis. Astur
hyemalis. Falco buteoides. Red-shouldered Buzzard.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to southern prov-
inces of Canada, west to the Plains; south to Mexico. Breeds
throughout its range. Winters sometimes in Ontario and the
Northern States, but in the Mississippi Valley chiefly south of
latitude 39, returning very early to its breeding places in the
North.
As a summer resident the Red-shoulder far outnumbers its
cousin, the Red-tail, with which it shares the honor of being
called Hen or Chicken Hawk, in all wooded parts of Missouri.
It is particularly common on the flood plains of the large rivers
and in the swampy southeast, where in spring and summer its
call is one of the most common sounds. As a denizen of the
lowland it follows the river valleys, both north and south, in
the prairie as well as throughout the Ozark region, but thanks
to the relentless persecution and lack of nesting sites as a conse-
quence of the removal of all trees, even those fringing the water-
courses, some parts of the state are already without this great
benefactor of the agriculturist. It has been found that 65% of
its food consists of mice and other injurious rodents; less than
2% of poultry, and the rest of frogs, crawfish, snakes and in-
sects. Though some may be found in every month of the year,
the majority leave the state in November and December and do
not return until late in February and early March, to the more
northern part usually not before the middle of that month.
North-bound transients do not tarry with us as long as the
south-bound in the fall from September to November, mostly
inexperienced birds of the year, many of which fall to the ever-
ready gun of the duck and snipe hunter.
342. BUTEO SWAINSONI Bonap. Swainson's Hawk.
Falco buteo. Buteo wdgaris. Buteo montanus Nuttall. Buteobairdii (juv).
Geog. Dist. From Argentina to arctic regions; in North
America from the Pacific coast east to Manitoba, western Minne-
sota, Nebraska and middle Kansas; in migration eastward to
Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas.
98 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Accidentally to New England. Winters from Texas southward
and migrates sometimes in large flocks.
The Swainson's Hawk was reported by Mr. H. Nehrling as a
rare breeder in the region of Pierce City, Lawrence Co., in the
early eighties. The writer saw it in Platte Co., opposite Leaven-
worth, June 28, 1906, a time of the year when a well-bred Swain-
son's Hawk should be on its breeding grounds. In Osprey,
Vol. 5, p. 109, we read: "On April 23, 1901, a pair was found
building a nest in an elm that grew on the west bank of Sugar
Creek, Linn Co., Kansas." This is only 28 miles from our state
line. In has repeatedly been found nesting in central Iowa,
and once in southeastern Illinois (Richland Co., 1875) by Mr.
E. W. Nelson. In his migration reports to the Department of
Agriculture, Mr. W. G. Savage reports this species from Jasper
Co., October 12 and 16, 1902, and from Shannon Co., September
15 to 24, 1903. Mr. Chas. K. Worthen has taken it at Warsaw,
111., and further observations will probably show that it is a not
uncommon transient visitant, especially westward, and a pos-
sible breeder in the northwestern counties.
*343. BUTEO PLATYPTERUS (Vieill.). Broad-winged Hawk.
Buteo pennsylvanicus. Buteo latissimus. Astur pennsylvanicus.
Geog. Dist. From northern South America, Mexico and West
Indies through Eastern L^nited States to New Brunswick, On-
tario and eastern Manitoba. W r est to Minnesota, eastern Ne-
braska, Kansas and Texas. Breeds throughout its North Ameri-
can range and winters from the South Atlantic and Gulf States
southward.
The Broad-wing is a fairly common summer resident in Mis-
souri, mainly eastward, less commonly westward. It prefers
undulating ground where wooded tracts, even of medium-sized
trees, adjoin creek bottoms, wet meadows and cultivated fields.
Such localities still exist in spite of the universal devastation of
timber, in most parts of the state. It seems to shun the swampy
southeast and the bottoms of the large rivers as well as the
dry ridges of the Ozarks and the drier stretches of the prairie
region. None winter with us ; migration from the north is brisk
during the fourth week of September, when on some days dozens
may be seen sailing over in loose flocks. It does not stop over
as long as the Red-tail and Red-shoulder, but small parties may
be met with during the first half of October, after which the
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 99
species becomes rare, , though the last may be noted a month
later (November 11, 1897, Keokuk, Currier). Its return in
spring is rather irregular; it is seldom seen in March, oftener in
early April, but summer residents cannot be expected back in
their breeding haunts with certainty before the latter part of
the month.
347a. ARCHIBUTEO LAGOPUS SANCTI-JOHANNIS (Gmel.). Ameri-
can Rough-legged Hawk.
Falco sancti-johannis. Falco lagopus. Buteo lagopus. Archibuteo lagopus.
Falco niger. Buteo niger. Black Hawk. Rough-legged Buzzard.
Geog. Dist. From the Gulf of Mexico north to Newfoundland,
Ungava and through the Barren Grounds to Alaska; rare from
foot of Rocky Mountains westward. Breeds in Newfoundland,
Ungava and from northern Assiniboia and Alberta northward,
exceptionally south to northern border of United States. Win-
ters from northern United States southward, but chiefly in the
Middle and Southern States, being influenced largely by the
amount of snow which covers the ground, depriving it of its
favorite food the meadow mice for which it often hunts in
the twilight. Like most of our winter visitants the Rough-leg
is of irregular occurrence in Missouri, both in numbers and time
of arrival and departure. It is never seen before the first of
November and hardly ever after the first of April (April 6, 1902,
Keokuk, Currier). The bulk comes about the latter part of
November and has left us by the middle of March. In open,
moderately cold winters the fields, pastures, meadows and
marshes of northern Missouri are well supplied with this inde-
fatigable mouser, which, somewhat resembling a Marsh Hawk,
flies low over the ground, every once in a while hovering for a
few seconds to subject the ground to a closer examination, or
pouncing on its unlucky quarry.
[348. ARCHIBUTEO FERRUGINEUS (Licht.). Ferruginous Rough-
leg].
Falco ferrugineus. California Squirrel Hawk.
Geog. Dist. Western North America, east to eastern Da-
kotas, eastern Nebraska, middle of Kansas and Texas. North
to northern Assiniboia; south into Mexico. Breeds from Utah,
Colorado and Kansas northward; in California in the interior
valleys to San Diego Co.
100 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
It has been taken in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, and is said
to occur throughout Nebraska and Kansas, being even a com-
mon breeder in the western parts of these states. It should be
looked for in our western and northern prairie region, where it
will undoubtedly occur as an occasional transient visitant. It
is said to be easily recognized by its large size, pale ashy-colored
tail, and generally light-colored under parts, strongly contrast-
ing with its rufous legs (Bendire).
349. AQUILA CHRYSAETOS (Linn.). Golden Eagle.
Falco chrysa'etos. Aquila canadensis. Aquila fulva Nuttall. Ring-tailed
Eagle.
Geog. Dist. Northern Hemisphere; in America from Central
Mexico to the Arctic coast and Aleutian Islands ; chiefly western.
Breeds in mountainous regions. In winter irregularly over most
of United States.
In Missouri now a rather rare winter visitant between October
1 and April 1. Formerly much more common, as attested by
the large number of mounted specimens in private collections
or used for ornamental purposes in public places.
*352. HALIAEETUS LEUCOCEPHALUS (Linn.). Bald Eagle.
Falco leucocephalus. Falco ossifragus. Falco Washington. Aquila leu-
cocephala. Haliaetus Washingtoni. Bird of Washington. White-head-
ed Eagle. Black Eagle. Gray Eagle. American Eagle. (National Em-
blem).
Geog. Dist. Together with the lately separated subspecies,
alascanus, Northern Bald Eagle, the whole of North America,
from Mexico to the arctic coast and from Newfoundland to
Kamchatka, the new subspecies inhabiting the region north of
the United States in summer, but going southward in winter.
Since the southern form, which formerly nested throughout its
range from Florida to California and from Texas to Minnesota
and Maine, is now driven out of most of its former breeding
grounds in the upper Mississippi and Missouri Valleys, the Bald
Eagles which still visit us in small numbers in fall, winter and
spring, are probably mostly of the Northern subspecies.
That the Bald Eagle was formerly a well-known breeder along
all our larger rivers there is ample proof. On April 25, 1833,
when near the mouth of Nodaway River on his way up the Mis-
souri, Prince Max of Wied wrote in his Journal: " White-headed
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 101
Eagles nest frequently on high trees along the shore." Audubon
mentions Bald Eagles repeatedly on his journey through the
state. When near the mouth of the Gasconade River on April
27, 1843, he speaks of curious holes in the cliffs, where the Bald
Eagles and Turkey Buzzards entered toward dusk. When be-
tween Fort Leavenworth and St. Joseph on May 6, 1843, he dis-
covered two nests of White-headed Eagles. And again the fol-
lowing day, north of St. Joseph, he saw White-headed Eagles
on nests. Dr. Hoy names Haliaetus leucocephalus in his list of
birds, made in western Missouri between April 16 and June 15,
1854. The swampy region of southeastern Missouri is the place
where Baldy held out longest as a resident, but as long ago as
the early nineties chances to rear a brood of young Eagles grew
very slim, when some of the native market hunters turned into
plume hunters. There may still be a few pairs breeding in the
cypress swamps, but as a breeder the species must be considered
nearly extinct in Missouri. Our new game law means to protect
eagles in as much as it does not mention them among the birds
exempt from protection, but unfortunately the public does not
understand it, and the game wardens do not care, or else the
daily press would not continue to make heroes and benefactors
of the fellows who wantonly slaughter such a harmless creature
and one of the grandest ornaments of any landscape wherever
it appears. Since the above was written my son Berthold, dis-
covered the existence of at least one pair breeding in the state.
On May 23, 1907, he found chained to the porch of a hotel at
New Madrid a fully-grown young lately captured from an old
eagle's nest in a bayou near New Madrid. Two young ones
were reared, but one could fly and got away. At the same place
he met an old trapper, who boasted of having killed within 37
years 487 Eagles, catching them in traps baited with fish.
*355. FALCO MEXICANUS Schleg. Prairie Falcon.
Falco polyagrus. Falco lanarius var. polyagrus. Falco lanarius mexicanus .
Lanner.
Geog. Dist. Western North America from Mexico to Assini-
boia and British Columbia; east to the Dakotas, Nebraska and
western Missouri; west to California. Breeds throughout its
range, and retires from the northern and middle states in winter.
Casually to Illinois (Rock Island, Mount Carmel, Bridgeport and
Paris) in migration (September and March 19).
102 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Has been found breeding in Nodaway Co., where April 28,
1880, two eggs were collected near Maryville, now in the collec-
tion of Captain B. F. Goss in Milwaukee. Mr. John A. Bryant
of Kansas City writes that he took a Prairie Falcon near that
city in 1887.
*356. FALCO PEREGRINUS ANATUM (Bonap.). Duck Hawk.
Falco anatum. Falco communis var. anatum. Falco peregrinus. Pere-
grine Falcon.
Geog. Dist. From Chile to the arctic circle and from Green-
land to the Mackenzie, being replaced on the North Pacific coast
from Oregon to the Aleutian Islands by the subspecies pealei.
Breeds locally throughout its North American range, except on
the southern and western Plains. Winters in the southern Unit-
ed States and southward, but returns with the teals and black-
birds.
That the cliffs along our great rivers were formerly the homes
of many of these noble falcons is evident from the notes of early
travelers. Prince of Wied mentions the nesting of Peregrine
Falcons in the rocky cliffs near Rockport, April 14, 1833. Au-
dubon, when near the mouth of the Gasconade River, April 27,
1843, wrote in his dairy: " Harris saw a Duck Hawk about the
cliffs." Again when between Leavenworth and St. Joseph on
May 4, 1843, he names the Falco peregrinus among the many
birds seen on that day. Dr. Hoy, on the day following his de-
parture from St. Louis, steaming up the Missouri, makes this
entry in his diary, April 14, 1854: "Saw a Duck Hawk fly to
her aerie in the face of an inaccessible cliff with a duck in her
claws to feed her young." During the eighties and early nineties
a few pairs still nested along the Mississippi River in the vi-
cinity of Grand Tower, near the mouth of the Meramec, near
Grimsley station below Cliff Cave, between Alton and Grafton,
also on some of their old stands on the lower Missouri, but have
since deserted their haunts and are not likely to take them up
again. In the collection of Mr. Charles L. Eimbeck at New
Haven is a most beautiful pair of Duck Hawks taken near Bluff-
ton, where they had a nest in the cliffs. There may still be a
few pairs nesting in out of the way places in the Ozarks, but
their doom as breeders in Missouri has been sealed, and even as
transient visitants they are decided rarities, while formerly they
used to be pretty regular sights about the blackbirds' roosts
and duck and snipe grounds in March and October.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 103
357. FALCO COLUMBARIUS Linn. Pigeon Hawk.
Falco (Aesalon} lithofalco var. columbarius. Falco temerarius. American
Merlin. "The little corporal."
Geog. Dist. Breeding, except in mountainous regions, north
of lat. 43; in Canada throughout wooded parts from New-
foundland to Alaska. In winter from southern United States
to West Indies and northern South America.
In Missouri a rather rare, some seasons a fairly common,
transient visitant in March and April, and in October; only a
few winter records (January and February). Latest spring date,
May 6, 1843, when Audubon saw a Pigeon Hawk north of St.
Joseph.
358. FALCO RICHARDSONII Ridgw. Richardson's Merlin.
Geog. Dist. Interior and western Plains of North America
from Mississippi River to the Pacific coast and from Mexico to
Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Is reported from eastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska,
and should be looked for in migration or in winter in western
Missouri. Mr. J. D. Kastendieck found a dead one hanging on
a fence in Stone Co., about nine miles south of Billings. Mr.
Chas. K. Worthen took one at Warsaw, 111., and the species has
repeatedly been taken in late autumn as far east as southern
Wisconsin. It is probably not so very rare, but easily mistaken
for a Pigeon Hawk, from which it may be distinguished by
lighter colors, slightly larger size, and by five dark and six gray-
ish-white bands in the middle tail feathers, while the Pigeon
Hawk has only four dark and five lighter bands.
*360. FALCO SPARVERIUS Linn. American Sparrow Hawk.
Tinnunculus sparverius. American Kestrel.
Geog. Dist. From northern South America through eastern
North America to Great Slave Lake; west to Colorado, eastern
Wyoming and eastern British Columbia, being replaced in the
West by the subspecies phalaena. Breeds from Florida to
Newfoundland, and from Louisiana northward throughout its
range. Winters from about lat. 40 southward, but chiefly
south of the Ohio River.
This is undoubtedly the most numerous and, because living in
the open, the most frequently seen of all hawks. It is a common
summer resident on all cultivated lands of the state, arriving in
104 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
March and leaving in October. A few remain all year from the
Missouri River southward, especially in open winters; others
remain late and return early, soon after the backbone of the
winter is broken, about the middle of February, but the species
does not become generally distributed before the middle or end
of March. Transients are not much in evidence in spring, but
large numbers, mostly birds of the year, are present in August
and September, when, together with Mourning Doves, they
frequent wheat stubble in search of grasshoppers, while the Doves
pick up the scattered grain and weed seeds. Of late several
pairs winter in St. Louis, captivated with the beauty of our
English Sparrows, an article of diet to which they have recourse
when nothing better can be had.
Subfamily Pandionimp. Ospreys.
*364. PANDION HALIAETUS CAROLINENSIS (Gmel.). American
Osprey.
Pandion carolinensis. Pandion haliaetus. Fish-hawk.
Geog. Dist. From northern South America and the West
Indies to the arctic circle, throughout North America from At-
lantic to Pacific, and from Newfoundland to Alaska. Breeds
throughout its North American range, and winters from the
South Atlantic and Gulf States southward.
Like the Bald Eagle, the Osprey, commonly called Fish-hawk,
was formerly a well-known summer resident in the same localities
and, like the Eagle, its present status as a breeder in the state
is one of uncertainty and doubt. It is only within the last de-
cade that this condition has been brought about, for ten years
ago the Fish-hawk was not uncommon during the breeding sea-
son in several parts of the southeast. Its home was to be found
not only along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, but also
along such streams as the Gasconade and Osage. Mr. B. T.
Gault observed it in May, 1888, in the White River bottom
below our southern state boundary. Thirty years ago, before
Creve Coeur Lake was connected by railroad with St. Louis, a
pair had its home in the vicinity of that lake. On June 26,
1906, the writer saw an Osprey in Atchison Co., the northwest
corner of Missouri (from where Audubon reported its presence
on May 9, 1843), but whether it should be classed among the
summer residents, or only as a summer visitant, could not be
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 105
ascertained. As a transient visitant it is sometimes seen in
April and in fall from the middle of September to the first of
November, rarely later (November 12, 1894, Keokuk, Currier).
A perfectly white Albino Osprey was killed on the Mississippi
River near Quincy and is in the fine collection of Mr. Slinger-
land of that city.
Suborder Striges. Owls.
Family STRIGIDAE. Barn Owls.
*365. STRIX PRATINCOLA Bonap. American Barn Owl.
Strix americana. Strix flammea. Ulula flammea. Strix flammea ameri-
cana. Strix flammea pratincola. Monkey-faced Owl.
Geog. Dist. Mexico and United States, north to lat. 41 in
the Eastern States, to 46 on the Pacific coast; rarely to New
England, Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Said
to leave the Northern States in winter; non-migratory south-
ward.
In Missouri a rather rare resident, possibly not as rare as for-
merly and spreading. At present found only in the northern
and western prairie, and in the Ozark border regions, but not
in the Ozarks and southeast, which are too densely wooded to
suit this friend of the open land. According to Mr. H. Nehrling,
the species was a fairly common breeder in the vicinity of Pierce
City, Lawrence Co., as long ago as from 1882 to 1887. Eggs
have been collected at Independence by Mr. Sheley and at
Montgomery City by Mr. Parker. Its occurrence in Clark Co.
is demonstrated by MM. Praeger and Currier, and at Warsaw,
opposite Alexandria, by Mr. Worthen. Several specimens have
been captured in the vicinity of St. Louis, some of which found
their way into collections.
Family BUBONIDAE. Horned Owls, etc.
*366. Asio WILSONIANUS (Less.). American Long-eared Owl.
Otus wilsonianus. Otus americanus. Strix otus. Ulula otus. Otus vul-
garis var. wilsonianus.
Geog. Dist. From the tablelands of Mexico throughout the
United States and in the British Possessions as far north as the
forests extend. Breeds throughout its range and winters from
British Columbia and northern United States southward.
106 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
The Long-eared Owl has been found breeding in different parts
of Missouri. Mr. Currier found it May 4, 1902, in Clark Co.;
Mr. Parker in Montgomery Co. ; MM. Sheley, Bush and Tindall
found it in Jackson Co. Mr. Sheley has a fine set of six eggs in
his collection at Independence. Mr. Bush of Courtnej^ writes
that they breed in the deepest recesses of the bottom, and nest
in willows. Mr. Tindall of Independence found several pairs
nesting in old crows' nests, and says they begin setting from
about March 20 to 25. Specimens have been killed during the
breeding season in St. Louis and St. Charles Co., but there are
at present no such records from the whole region south of St.
Louis and St. Clair Co., where Mr. Prier of Appleton City found
them breeding in 1906. Specimens without date are in the col-
lections of Dr. Kizer at Springfield and Mr. Kastendieck at Bil-
lings. That the species occurs in flocks in winter is attested by
Mr. Hurter, who saw a flock of 30, January 30, 1873, in one tree
in the Mississippi bottom near St. Louis ; also by Mr. Bush, who
writes from Courtney that they are abundant in river bottoms,
with from 50 to 60 on one tree.
*367. Asio ACCIPITRINUS (Pall.). Short-eared Owl.
Strix accipitrinus. Strix brachyotus. Ulula brachyotus. Otus brachy-
otus. Brachyotus palustris. Marsh Owl. Prairie Owl. Cat Owl.
Geog. Dist. Cosmopolitan except Australia and some islands.
In North America, throughout United States and British Prov-
inces north to the Arctic Sea, and from Greenland to Point
Barrow and the Aleutian Islands. Breeds locally from Vir-
ginia, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and southern Oregon
northward, and winters irregularly from northern United States
southward, chiefly south of lat. 40.
There are several records of its breeding in Missouri. A nest
containing downy young was found in 1897 near St. Francis ville,
Clark Co., and another by Mr. Philo W. Smith, Jr., June 2, 1905,
near Maple Lake in St. Charles Co. They are also given as breed-
ers in Johnson Co. by Mr. A. F. Smithson of Warrensburg, and
in St. Clair Co. by Mr. C. W. Prier of Appleton City. Numerous
records and specimens show that as winter visitants Short-eared
Owls are well distributed over the northern and western prairie
region, where they are irregularly common from October 10 to
April 1. Sometimes they invade the Ozark border region, as
specimens in the collections at Springfield (Leblanc and Kizer)
and at Billings (Kastendieck) prove. Mr. Prier reports having
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 107
met with a flock of fifty in the fall of 1905 near Appleton City,
and smaller troops are not unusual on the marshes of the Missis-
sippi flood plain north of the Missouri River.
*368 SYRNIUM VARIUM (Barton). Barred Owl.
Strix nebulosa. Syrnium nebidosum. Ulula nebulosa. Hoot Owl.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern provinces of
Canada from Nova Scotia to Winnepeg; south to northern
Texas, being replaced in the Gulf and South Atlantic States by
the subspecies alleni. Breeds throughout its range, and is non-
migratory except in the most northern part of its range.
In Missouri, in spite of all persecution, still a fairly common
resident in all portions of the state, mainly in the heavy timber
of the river bottoms, where there are natural cavities in tall trees,
particularly sycamores, in which it can hide and nest. Unlike
all other owls, it is often heard to hoot and laugh during the day-
time, betraying its whereabouts to the hunter, who deems it
his duty to go for it and try to kill it. With all other owls,
except the Great Horned Owl, the Hoot Owl is now protected
by the new game law of Missouri, but as long as the population
is not educated enough to understand and appreciate such a law,
and as long as the newspapers do next to nothing in informing
and instructing their readers in regard to bird protection, no
law will save the owls and hawks from being killed whenever
opportunity offers. The slow process of elucidation through
Nature study in the schools is the only hope that in course of
time bird protection laws will receive that measure of sympathy
which is necessary for their enforcement.
[370. SCOTIAPTEX NEBULOSA (Forster). Great Gray Owl.]
Strix cinerea. Scotiaptex cinerea. Syrnium cinereum. Syrnium lapponi-
cum var. cinereum.
Geog. Dist. The wooded districts of northern North America
from Lake Superior and Hudson Bay to the Pacific, and north
to the arctic circle and through Alaska to Behring Straits. In
winter irregularly to northern border of United States, casually
as far south as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Wyoming, California.
Though at present no record is on hand, this interesting bird
may come occasionally as far south as Missouri, as it was taken
once near Omaha, Neb., December 12, 1893, and in some winters
108 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
reaches the United States in comparatively large numbers. For
instance, between January 5 and March 3, 1897, six specimens
were captured in one county (Aitkin Co.) in central Minnesota.
In the winter of 1890-91 such a heavy flight of this Owl occurred
in parts of New England that a single taxidermist in Bangor,
Me., received twenty-seven specimens. Another considerable
flight took place in the winter of 1842-43, when seven were
taken in Massachusetts alone. We sometimes hear or read of
an Owl "as big as an eagle" having been killed; such cases
should be investigated as they may enable us to remove these
brackets. Since the above was written another great flight took
place in the winter of 1906-07 (Auk. Vol. XXIV, 1907, p. 215).
[371. CRYPTOGLAUX TENGMALMI RICHARDSONI (Bonap.). Rich-
ardson's Owl.]
Nyctale richardsoni. Nyctale tengmalmi richardsoni. Strix tengmalmi.
American Sparrow Owl.
Geog. Dist. Northern North America from the limits of trees
in Alaska down to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In winter irregu-
larly to the northern border of United States, rarely to Oregon,
Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and
New England.
Since our neighboring states have had calls from this rare
northern guest (Iowa; Illinois, October 15, 1884, December 26,
1902; Nebraska, December 10, 1892, Lincoln), there is some
hope that one of our future observers will find it, if his attention
is aroused, for which purpose the species has been entered in
this list. The American Sparrow Owl is said to be strictly noc-
turnal, carefully hiding during the day, and therefore difficult
to find, but it may not be as rare as generally supposed. From
the Saw-whet it can be distinguished by its slightly larger size,
darker color, spotted instead of streaked head, and brownish
barred legs and feet.
*372. CRYPTOGLAUX ACADICA (Gmel.). Saw-whet Owl.
Strix passerina (Wils., 1812). Strix acadica. Ulula acadica. Nyctale
acadia (in juvenile plumage albifrons, frontalis, kirtlandi). Acadian
Owl. Kirtland's Owl.
Geog. Dist. Breeding from about latitude 50 southward to
latitude 40, in the mountains of the West south into Mexico.
In winter, in California to Monterey, in the Mississippi Valley
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 109
to Louisiana, on the Atlantic coast to Virginia. Being a
great hider in day-time, this little owl is regarded as rare
everywhere.
The Saw-whet has repeatedly been taken, alive and dead,
within the city limits of St. Louis in winter, and is reported as a
rare winter visitant by Mr. Worthen, Mr. Praeger and Mr. Cur-
rier, but a late date, April 16, 1893, given by the latter, would
perhaps indicate that the bird was on its breeding ground when
captured. That it breeds occasionally in Missouri is demon-
strated by the discovery of a nest with three young ones, in the
spring of 1904, by Mr. John E. Miiller of Bluff ton, Montgomery
Co.
*373. MEGASCOPS ASIO (Linn.). Screech Owl.
Strix asio. Scops asio. Strix naevia. Surnia naevia. Ephialtes asio.
Mottled Owl.
Geog. Dist. Of the nine subspecies, this is the one which in-
habits the eastern United States from Georgia northward to
Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Ontario and southeastern Mani-
toba; west in the United States to about the 100th meridian.
Generally non-migratory, breeding throughout its range.
In all parts of Missouri a well-known resident, now apparently
preferring the vicinity of human habitation and nesting wher-
ever it finds a suitable site in tree-holes or about buildings, using,
if permitted, bird-boxes for nesting and roosting. When liv-
ing in a suburb of St. Louis the writer reared a nestful of downy
young (5), which were presented to him by Mr. Philo W. Smith,
Jr. When they were fully fledged and supposedly able to care
for themselves, they were given their freedom. A few of them
remained on the place, often coming to the lawn on summer
evenings, in pursuit of locusts, beetles, katidids, etc. During
the winter they used some of the bird-boxes for a roost. The
following spring a pair made a nest in a compartment of a ten-
room fancy bird-house, about twelve feet from our house, and
successfully raised a brood, undisturbed by the numerous ten-
ants of some of the other compartments in the same bird-house,
namely, a pair of Flickers, a pair of House Wrens, two pairs of
Martins and a few English Sparrows. When the fancy bird-
house was demolished by a severe wind-storm, a suitable box
with a three-inch circular hole was set up in a tree near the
house, which the Screech Owls continued to occupy for several
years.
110 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
*375. BUBO VIRGINIANUS (GmeL). Great Horned Owl.
Strix virginianus. Ulula virginiana.
Geog. Dist. Of the six subspecies belonging to the North
American bird-fauna, this is the one which inhabits Eastern
North America from Costa Rica to Laborador and Newfound-
land; west to the Plains; non-migratory, except in its most
northern habitat, and breeding throughout its range.
Its large size and loud voice, together with an innate per-
sistence of abode and crepuscular rather than strictly nocturnal
habits, account probably for the opinion of nearly all observers
that it is a common bird, while an equal number of Saw- whet
Owls would be classed among the rarest. The fact that none of
our observers omits it from his list is sufficient proof that it
occurs in all parts of the state, wherever old and partly hollow
trees are left standing to afford the big bird shelter and a nesting
site. No one contradicts the often repeated statement, that
this powerful bird of prey is destructive to poultry, but hardly
any one will maintain that the attacks are made during the day.
A natural inference is that, if the farmer would take proper care
of his fowl and keep them at night where they belong and not
in the open all winter, there would be little loss through his
owlship's faults.
In the spring of 1878 Mr. Julius Hurter presented me with a
fluffy young Bubo, which became at once the pet of the house-
hold. During the summer I often took him out with me to the
woods and, placing him where he could be seen, had the satis-
faction of attracting the birds to us from all sides. When he
was full grown his grip became uncomfortably tight and his
claws unbearably pointed. I decided to trim them, but his
owlship resented the operation in such an ugly manner that I
thought best to leave him alone for a while. I gave him a roomy
cage with a box in which he could hide if he wanted to. I hoped
to use him in migration time to attract hawks, as they do with
Bubo ignavus in Europe. This plan was never realized, but
Hoo-hoo, as we call him, gave us much pleasure in other ways,
and after twenty-nine years' confinement he is to-day as hale
and hearty as ever. During seven years of his life he had a
companion in the shape of a burly female, much bigger than
himself. In spite of this difference in size he was the boss, and
she did not attempt to touch their daily ration of raw meat until
he was satiated and had withdrawn. Her end was a rather
mysterious affair. After she had deposited her second egg on
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. Ill
the coldest day of .one of our coldest winters, with 20 degrees
below zero (the cage was under a porch, but otherwise not
sheltered from the cold) the companion of seven years was found
lying dead on the floor of the cage and her hubby occupied with
tearing the flesh from her breast. The eggs had burst with the
intense cold. Since that day he has remained a widower, though
during the thirteen years we lived in the suburbs he came near
getting another partner several times. His hooting, heard in
the dead of night for half a mile or more, attracted others of his
kind, and twice, females, which remained too long in the neigh-
borhood, were shot by neighbors. One female in particular was
very persistent, tried her best to get into the cage to him, and
left unwillingly when we approached the cage in the early morn-
ing after a night made memorable by incessant hootings of
hoo hoo hoo, hod, hoo, by him and answers of ho ho ho ho ho
by her. For years his hooting was begun in September and
kept up till February; in clear, cold moonlit nights he was
noisiest: in dark, cloudy or rainy nights he was not heard.
Sometimes he would not hoot much, at other times he would
hoot for hours until he was really hoarse and his usual agreeable
deep bass became grating to the ear. Since he was moved back
to town again in 1902, he has given up hooting, though his
general appearance does not show any signs of old age, and his
dress, which he gets anew in summer, has the same depth and
freshness of color as ever. He is never left without water to
drink, but takes a bath only in very hot weather, though he
likes to sit in the rain with wings spread wide. He is fed once
a day before dusk, his daily ration being a fourth of a pound of
raw meat in small pieces, varied sometimes with a rat, mouse,
sparrow, or whatever else is obtainable, but he rejects moles
and toads. When mice and sparrows are offered at the same
time, he will swallow all the mice before he touches a sparrow.
Such small fry he swallows entire, after breaking the bones by
rolling the animal with his tongue in the beak. If handed more
than he can eat at one meal, for instance a grown chicken, he
will invariably store the rest in the darkest corner of his box,
but won't touch it any more when it gets too stale. He likes to
be spoken to and seems to know those who care for him, comes
to them and takes food out of their hands, but he hates
dogs, sticks and boys. Once I found a crow that could not fly
and took it home for experimenting. I put it in the cage with
the two owls. Great was my surprise to see that not only was
112 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
it not harmed at all, but the crow actually became boss in the
cage. When the meat was placed on the floor of the cage,
who came and ate first? the crow! Only after it had finished
eating came Hoo-hoo, and what he left went to the big she-owl.
After living together thus harmoniously for about a year, the
crow escaped from the cage and was never seen again. Hoo-
hoo had several opportunities for deserting, but having been
confined from babyhood he could not fly well and did not get
far before we caught him by throwing a sack over his head and,
for his own good, put him back into his safe quarters.
375a. BUBO VIRGINIANUS PALLESCENS Stone. Western Horned
Owl.
Bubo virginianus subarticus (Hoy).
Geog. Dist. Western United States from western Nebraska
westward; southward to Mexican tablelands; north to Mani-
toba, Assiniboia, Alberta and British Columbia. Casually east
to Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
A specimen in the collection of Mr. Chas. L. Eimbeck was
taken near New Haven.
376. NYCTEA NYCTEA (Linn.). Snowy Owl.
Strix nyctea. Surnia nyctea. Nyctea nivea. Nyctea scandiaca var. arctica.
Geog. Dist. Northern portions of the northern hemisphere;
breeding in America from eastern Greenland and Laborador,
through the Barren Grounds and arctic regions to the islands of
the Behring Sea and through northern British Columbia to
Sitka. In winter to the southern provinces of Canada and ir-
regularly to northern, seldom to southern, United States, as far
south as South Carolina, Louisiana, central California and Ber-
muda. Records of large flights are those of 1876-77, when 500
were reported in New England alone; of 1892-93 and 1901-02;
and the largest of all in the winter of 1905-06, when Mr. R.
Deane (Auk. Vol. 23, p. 283) collected records "of some eight
hundred specimens from localities scattered from Nova Scotia
to Nebraska and from Manitoba to Missouri."
In Missouri known only as a rare visitant from the middle of
November to the end of February, but this apparent rarity may
partly be due to the almost total lack of observers or collectors
throughout the northern part of the state. Known records are :
November, 1905, one killed near Malta Bend, Saline Co., by Mr.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 113
Plosser and mounted by Mr. Emmett Cole; November 18, 1905,
a female taken near the city limits of St. Louis (Wellston) and
mounted by Mr. F. Schwarz; two records from Keokuk, No-
vember 20, 1895, and December 6, 1886; one from the vicinity
of St. Louis in the Hurter collection, December 29, 1875; two
from Montgomery City by Mr. Parker, January 13 and February
10, 1902; and one from Jasper Co., January 23, 1906, where two
birds were encountered by Mr. Johnson of Carthage, Mo., who
killed one of them, a gray one, from a fence-post, but let the
other, a pure white one, get away. For this last record I am
indebted to Mr. Philo W. Smith, Jr. A fine specimen in the
Blanke collection was killed near St. Charles.
[377a. SURNIA ULULA CAPAROCH (Mull.). American Hawk Owl.]
Strix hudsonica. Surnia hudsonica. Strix funerea. Surniaululahudsonica.
Geog. Dist. Northern North America, breeding from Hudson
Bay throughout wooded regions to northern Alaska, rare in the
East except Newfoundland; in the West, occasionally as far
south as northern Montana and Assiniboia. In winter to
southern provinces of Canada and northern border of United
States, rarely to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska
and even to Mississippi (Corinth, January, 1882).
In Missouri it has been reported to the Department of Agri-
culture from Mount Carmel, Audrain Co., by Mrs. M. Musick,
December 26, 1884, March 10, 1885, and January 28, 1886; but
as no specimen has been secured, there is the possibility of a
confusion with the Short-eared Owl, which is sometimes called
Hawk Owl, because seen hunting in bright daylight.
Order PSITTACI. Parrots, Macaws, Paroquets, etc.
Family PSITTACID^E. Parrots and Paroquets.
382. CONURUS CAROLINENSIS (Linn.). Carolina Paroquet.
Psittacus carolinensis. Orange-headed Parrot. Parakeet.
Geog. Dist. The former home of the Paroquet included the
Southern States from eastern Texas to Florida, north to the
Carolinas on the Atlantic slope, and in the Mississippi Valley
north to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. They
were non-migratory birds, gregarious, of a roving disposition,
and in their extended flights in search of food reached Pennsyl-
vania and New York, southern Michigan and southern Wis-
consin and followed the Arkansas River to Colorado.
114 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Of their former abundance in Missouri we have the testimony
of several early explorers. Ascending the Missouri River, Prince
of Wied enters in his diary, April 14, 1833: "On several planta-
tions we saw troops of Paroquets sitting on corn-stalks" (prob-
ably corn of the preceding year left in the field). He was then
in the region of Boonville. On the following day (April 15,
1833), when west of Brunswick, he writes: "Above Wakonda
Creek (Carroll Co.) we stopped for the night; the hunters dis-
persed, but brought back nothing but Paroquets. Again on
April 21, above the Kaw River, he mentions the shooting of
Passenger Pigeons and Paroquets. Also on April 23, north of
Fort Leavenworth, he says, "the hunters procured only paro-
quets." On his return down the river in the spring of 1834,
Prince of Wied observed Paroquets when in the region of Atchi-
son Co., May 14, 1834. In his "Narrative of a Journey Across
the Rocky Mountains," J. K. Townsend wrote, April 7, 1833, at
Boonville : * ' We saw here vast numbers of the beautiful Parrot
of this country, the Psittacus carolinensis. They flew around
us in flocks, keeping a constant and loud screaming, as though
they would chide us for invading their territory; and the
splendid green and red of their plumage glancing in the sunshine,
as they whirled and circled within a few feet of us, had a most
magnificent appearance. They seemed entirely unsuspicious of
danger, and after being fired at only huddled closer together as
if to obtain protection from each other, and as their companions
are falling around them, they curve down their necks and look
at them fluttering upon the ground, as though perfectly at a
loss to account for so unusual an occurrence. It is a most in-
glorious sort of shooting, downright, cold-blooded murder."
When Audubon, Harris, Bell and Squires went up the Missouri
River in 1843, they did not meet with any paroquets until they
came to Independence, where on May 2, 1843, Bell killed two;
on the next day near Fort Leavenworth he again "killed one
out of a great number." On May 4 seventeen Paroquets were
seen between Leavenworth and St. Joseph, and on the 7th,
when nearing the corner of the state, Paroquets were "plenti-
ful." Passing the northwest corner of Missouri on May 8,
Audubon again noted " Parrakeets ; " also when in the neighbor-
hood of Omaha on the 10th, with the remark: "Parrakeets and
Turkeys plentiful." On his return trip in the fall of the same
year, he speaks of the killing of four "Parrakeets," October 9,
1843, the day before reaching Fort Leavenworth. When Dr.
P. R. Hoy visited the state on his tour of exploration of western
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 115
Missouri in 1854 , Paroquets were still plentiful in some localities.
April 27, 1854, he writes at Boonville: "Went on the river bot-
tom ; got one Parrakeet." At Chillicothe, May 16, 1854 : "Went
on the extensive bottoms of Grand River, so celebrated for rich
land and heavy timber; we found the principal forest trees to
be black walnut, burr oak, cottonwood, sycamore, hackberry,
shagbark hickory, pecan, coffee bean, honey locust and black
birch, all of which grow to an unusually large size
Parrakeets are abundant about the large sycamores, Platanus
occidentalis , in the hollows of which they roost and nest." Mr.
Chas. K. Worthen writes that about 1855 a flock of Paroquets
was seen on Fox Island in the Mississippi River by his brother.
Mr. H. C. Masters of Atchison, Kan., an early settler of western
Missouri, says that when he located at latan, Platte Co., Mo.,
in the early fifties, there were hundreds of Paroquets in the Mis-
souri River bottom. F. V. Hayden, in his report on the Geology
and Natural History of the Upper Missouri, says of the Paro-
quets: "Very abundant in the Mississippi Valley along thickly
wooded bottoms as far up the Missouri River as Fort Leaven-
worth, possibly as high as the mouth of the Platte, but never
seen above that point." That was from 1855 to 1857. Hon.
J. R. Meade of Wichita, Kan., relates that when he started from
Leavenworth over the old wagon trail to Lawrence in the spring
of 1859, the beautiful scenery was varied by flocks of gaily-
feathered Paroquets, chattering in the tree-tops. With the end
of the fifties records of occurrence all at once cease, though we
read in Goss' "Birds of Kansas" that as late as spring, 1858,
" a small flock reared their young in a large hollow limb of a giant
sycamore tree, on the banks of the Neosho River near Neosho
Falls." Captain Bendire frequently saw flocks in the fall and
winter, 1860-61, at Fort Smith, Ark., but in Missouri flocks of
Paroquets seem to have faded away with the fifties. From
that time they became rarer and rarer. Dr. A. F. Eimbeck saw
the last November 3, 1867, in Warren Co., seven Paroquets in
an orchard; and his brother-in-law saw the last in 1865 near
Pomme de Terre Creek in Franklin Co. On a recent tour
through Europe, Dr. Eimbeck, who has a fine specimen in his
collection of mounted birds, found only one individual in the
zoological gardens he visited (in Hamburg); he considers the
species nearly extinct.
That the lower Missouri River from Omaha to its mouth was
once a favorite resort of large numbers of these beautiful and
116 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
lovely birds, there is no doubt, and we can easily understand
why they liked the region, when we learn that they were fond
of cockle-burs, hackberries and giant sycamores. Some of the
islands and stretches along the Missouri River are covered with
cockle-burr to this day and the river bottom is the home of the
hackberry tree and the giant sycamore, in the spacious holes of
which they liked to roost and nest. Mr. B. T. Gault wrote in
1888: "At one time Paroquets were very plentiful at Paroquet
Bluff between Newport and Batesville on the White River, but
none have been seen there for at least eight years." Dr. C. H.
Merriam reported in the Auk, Vol. IX, 301, that in the fall of
1891 Mr. Thurman S. Powell saw tw T o Paroquets in the old
Linchpin camping grounds in Stone Co. Lately Mr. Thurman
S. Powell informed me that on July 18, 1905, a Paroquet was
seen and watched for some time at the gate in front of the post-
office at Notch, Stone Co., by the postmaster, Mr. Levi Merrill,
who knew Paroquets from Indian Territory. The latest report
comes from Atchison, Kan., on the Missouri River between
Leavenworth and St. Joseph. Mr. Geo. J. Remsburg of Oak
Mills, Kan., to whom I am indebted for this interesting report,
writes that in August, 1904, his brother, Mr. Wirt Remsburg,
killed a Paroquet on the Remsburg fruit farm near Potter, Kan.,
a few miles south of Atchison, opposite Platte Co., Mo. The
bird was alone and was observed several days before it was
killed. It made a loud chattering noise as it flew about the
country and attracted much attention. Mr. Remsburg posi-
tively identified it as a Paroquet, but says it was too badly
mangled to be preserved.
Order COCCYGES. Cuckoos, etc.
Suborder Cuculi. Cuckoos, etc.
Family CUCULIDAE. Cuckoos, Anis, etc.
Subfamily Coccyzinae. Cuckoos.
*387. COCCYZUS AMERICANUS (Linn.). Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
Coccygus americanus. Cuculus carolinensis. Raincrow.
Geog. Dist. The eastern subspecies of the Yellow-billed Cuc-
koo breeds from Florida, Louisiana and eastern Texas north to
New Brunswick, southern Ontario, southern Michigan, central
Wisconsin and southern Minnesota; west to South Dakota,
Widmann ^1 Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 117
central Nebraska, Kansas, Indian Territory and Oklahoma.
In winter to Costa Rica and the West Indies.
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is one of the best distributed sum-
mer residents in Missouri. It is not partial to any one region,
though most numerous in the southeast, where it arrives as early
as April 25. For the rest of the state the first week in May is
the usual time, though in some years a few have appeared, even
in the northern part of the state, during the last days of April,
while in backward seasons none have been seen until the second
week in May. By the middle of May they become more con-
spicuous, mating begins arid transient visitants swell their num-
bers for a few days. As they do not call much during daytime
the first few days after arrival, the very first are easily overlooked,
but betray their presence by calls before dawn of day. Cuckoos
are very retiring during the breeding season until the young
are fully fledged, when they lay off their reserve and become
familiar visitors to our shade trees, even in frequented streets
and gardens. About the middle of September the species is for
a few days more prominent than usual, their numbers being
reinforced by guests from farther north, but not many are left
after September 25, though the first week in October is usually
the time when the very last ones are noted south of the Missouri
River. June 4, 1881, the writer found within the city limits
of St. Louis an egg of this species in the nest of a Catbird and
another egg near by in the nest of a Black-billed Cuckoo. There
are some, but not many, instances known of the American
Cuckoo laying in the nests of other birds, as, unlike the Euro-
pean Cuckoo, our Cuckoo makes its own nest, hatches its own
eggs and rears its own young. But the nest of our Cuckoo is
such a frail structure that a strong wind storm will blow it from
its support unless the bird be setting. This may happen before
the last of the eggs are laid, and the bird being pressed may be
forced to take recourse in other birds' nests. Though cuckoos'
eggs have repeatedly been found in the nests of Robins and
Catbirds, also in those of the Thrasher, Woodthrush, Cedarbird,
Redbird and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, there is no record of any
of those birds having been seen caring for young Cuckoos.
*388. COCCYZUS ERYTHROPHTHALMus(Wils.). Black-billed Cuc-
koo.
Coccygus erythrophthalmus. Cucidus erylhrophihalmus. Raincrow.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, breeding from the
mountainous part of Georgia north to Newfoundland and south-
118 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
ern Laborador, and in the west from eastern Texas and Arkansas
to western Assiniboia, but more commonly northward, increas-
ing in proportion as the Yellow-billed decreases. In winter,
south to the West Indies and northern South America.
In Missouri this species is much less common as a summer
resident than its cousin, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, but has been
found breeding in small numbers throughout the state except
in the low southeast. In the Ozarks it is reported as a breeder
as far south as Heburn, Cleburne Co., Ark., by Mr. B. T. Gault
in 1888, and at Eureka Springs by Mr. Philo W. Smith, Jr., in
1906. Both species frequent the same localities and instances
of the eggs of one species found in the nest of the other are not
very rare, for like the Yellow-billed, it is sometimes compelled
to deposit its eggs in other birds' nests, and such eggs have been
found in the nests of the Catbird, Wood Pewee and Yellow-
Warbler. It comes to us in spring about the same time as the
other species, but is apt to loiter a few days longer in the fall,
sometimes to the middle of October (October 15, 1899, Keo-
kuk; October 16, 1885, St. Louis).
Suborder Alcyone*. Kingfishers.
Family ALCEDINIDAE. Kingfishers.
*390. CERYLE ALCYON (Linn.). Belted Kingfisher.
Alcedo alcyon.
Geog. Dist. From Panama and the West Indies to the Arctic
Ocean. Breeds from southern border of United States north-
ward and winters from the southern United States southward.
The distribution of the Kingfisher as a summer resident in
Missouri is as universal as it possibly can be, and the species
may even be called common, because its large size, loud rattle
and general habits make it so easily observed and recognized
that nobody who has an eye for birds can overlook it. But, if
a census of all birds were taken, we would find that the King-
fisher is not more numerous than some retiring species ordinarily
styled rare. Fortunately the circumstance that it raises a
pretty large family prevents a more rapid decline of its numbers,
which otherwise would be the inevitable consequence of the
treatment it receives from everyone who carries a gun. In the
eyes of the fisherman and hunter, anything that catches a fish,
be it ever so small and worthless, is guilty of a crime that calls
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 119
for capital punishment; and the Kingfisher is such a tempting
mark for the tiro who longs to become an expert wing-shot. On
the rapidly flowing Ozark streams, especially those flowing
southward, the Kingfisher is almost entitled to the rank of
permanent resident; farther north a few linger through fore-
winter until real cold weather sets in; others return with the
first thaw, as February 25, 1884, St. Louis; February 26, 1905,
Warrensburg; but real spring movement does not begin before
from March 10 to 15, and in cold springs a week or two later.
Full numbers are not present before the middle of April. Their
departure in the fall is equally irregular; some desert their
haunts early in October, while others do not think of leaving be-
fore the first cold snap comes in the latter part of November.
Order PICI. Woodpeckers, etc.
Family PICIDAE. Woodpeckers.
392. CAMPEPHILUS PRINCIPALS (Linn.). Ivory-billed Wood-
pecker.
Picus principalis. White-billed Woodpecker.
Geog. Dist. Formerly South Atlantic and Gulf States north
to North Carolina and Maryland; west to Eastern Texas, and
in the Mississippi Valley to southern Indiana, Illinois and Mis-
souri. Florida and Louisiana are the only states in which the
species has been found within the last ten years.
The last record of its capture in Missouri is November, 1895,
when Captain Gillespie of the St. Louis police force brought one
home from Stoddard Co., and had it mounted by Mr. Frank
Schwarz. It was a male and was killed near the Little River
on November 8 by a local hunter, named Spradlin, eight miles
southwest of Morley, Scott Co.
*393. DRYOBATES VILLOSUS (Linn.). Hairy Woodpecker.
Picus vittosus.
Geog. Dist. Of the seven subspecies inhabiting North Amer-
ica, this is the one which claims the northern and middle portion
of the eastern United States as its domain and is found from
the Atlantic coast to the Plains, from North Carolina to Nova
Scotia and west to Kansas and Nebraska. Non-migratory, ex-
cept partly in its most northern home.
120 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
In Missouri the Hairy Woodpecker is a fairly common resi-
dent, generally distributed, though nowhere numerous. On the
breeding grounds it is most conspicuous during the mating or
wooing season in early spring, but becomes very secretive and
silent when incubation begins and appears then scarcer than it
really is. After the young are fully grown and can take care of
themselves, the species takes to roaming and visits all kinds of
trees and places, even in thickly settled neighborhoods. In
winter we sometimes see individuals which strike us as being
decidedly larger and whiter than those we are used to seeing;
they may be visitors from more northern regions with a ten-
dency to an approach toward the subspecies leucomelas, which
inhabits British North America.
*393b. DRYOBATES VILLOSUS AUDUBONII (Swains.). Southern
Hairy Woodpecker.
Picus audubonii.
Geog. Dist. South Atlantic and Gulf States, north to North
Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, west to southeastern Texas.
Non-migratory and much more common than the other form,
said to be nearly as common in the south as the Downy Wood-
pecker is in the North.
In Missouri this small edition of Hairy Woodpeckers, or at
least a near approach to it, inhabits the overflow region of the
St. Francis and Little Rivers in Dunklin and Pemiskot Counties.
To one who is accustomed to the common Hairy of the middle
and northern states, the difference in size and color is striking.
Mr. B. T. Gault, who took a specimen in Dunklin Co., in March,
1894, writes : "It compares favorably with the Texas and Florida
birds, both in size and markings, with the exception of the bill,
which is of the same length as that of the more northern bird
(villosus), though not as broad and heavy. With that one ex-
ception they might easily be pronounced as very good specimens
of the Southern Hairy W."
*394c. DRYOBATES PUBESCENS MEDIANUS (Swains.). Downy
Woodpecker.
Picus pubescens.
Geog. Dist. Of the six subspecies of Downy Woodpeckers,
this is the one which inhabits the Middle and Northern States,
as well as the southern provinces of Canada from Newfoundland
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 121
to Alberta. Non-migratory, except farthest north, where partly
migratory.
In Missouri it is a common resident in all parts of the state;
one of the few species deserving the designation of permanent
resident, meaning that the same individuals are found the whole
year round at or near the same place, provided that place fur-
nishes food of the right kind and in sufficient quantity in all
seasons. In winter it makes regular rounds through its domain,
often in company with Tufted Tits, Chickadees and Nuthatches,
forming little troops which are sometimes joined by Creepers,
Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Its resemblance to the
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker in juvenile dress has earned for it,
as well as for its cousin, the Hairy, the inappropriate name,
Sapsucker, and at the same time the hate of ignorant and in-
tolerant people. This is another and impressive proof of the
unreliability of observation on the part of the general public.
Superficial resemblance in color and size are sufficient to con-
found two entirely different birds and to blame an innocent crea-
ture for the imagined wrong-doings of another.
*395. DRYOBATES BOREALIS (VieilL). Red-cockated Wood-
pecker.
Picus borealis. Picus queridus.
Geog. Dist. South Atlantic and Gulf States to eastern Texas;
north to North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Indian Terri-
tory. Non-migratory.
Not found in Missouri as yet, but, being an inhabitant of pine
woods, it may occur on the southern slope of the Ozarks in the
region of the Short-leafed Yellow Pine (Pinus mitis or echinata),
which originally extended from Perry Co. southwest ward to
Taney Co. At Heber, Cleburne Co., Ark., Mr. B. T. Gault ob-
served it daily in the summer of 1888 in piney woods. Since the
above was written, Mr. E. Seymour W T oodruff found the Red-
cockated Woodpecker in Shannon Co., three examples on March
15, 1907, and two on March 30, 1907. On May 5, 1907, he writes
that the species is not so uncommon as he at first thought. He
says: "I see and hear them constantly, and a female secured on
April 19 was in breeding condition." He again met with several
Red-cockated Woodpeckers in Carter Co., near the line of
Reynolds Co., May 29, 1907, but says: "I guess the cutting off
of the pine will drive them out of the region. I have seen none
near Grandin."
122 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
*402. SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS (Linn.). Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
Picus varius. Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, breeding regularly from
Massachusetts, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Manitoba,
northward in wooded regions to lat. 61 ; south in the Alleghanies
to North Carolina and irregularly to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Mis-
souri. Winters from about lat. 40 southward to the West
Indies, Mexico and Costa Rica.
The Sapsucker is best known in Missouri as a spring migrant.
During a few favorable nights in early April a whole army,
northbound, invades the state and takes possession of it for a
few days; every clump of trees, even shade trees and telephone
posts in towns, are infested with them, but if nothing unseason-
able happens in the execution of the weather program, the mass
disappears as mysteriously as it came. As a winter resident the
species is scattered singly or in small troops throughout southern
Missouri from the Missouri River bottom southward, but more
plentifully in the primeval forests of the southeast. They are
mostly birds in juvenile dress and not much is seen of them at
this season, even when in our own gardens, drilling holes in
pines and sugar maples, because they know how to keep on the
other side of the tree and rather tiy to evade us by remaining
quietly where they know they are not seen 'than by flight.
When detected they seek safety by flying to a distant tree, be-
hind which they again hide. Besides pine and maple, there are
quite a variety of trees which they like to tap for their sap in
early spring, among them apple, hickory, linden, poplar, birch,
etc., and though it spoils the appearance of some trees, especially
the pine by resin running down their sides, it does not weaken
the tree visibly, nor does it detract from its productiveness. In
very cold weather they look rather disconsolate and apparently
suffer privation; if it lasts long, they disappear, probably go
farther south or die. During the latter part of February there
is usually a decided relaxation of the rigor of winter and, though
no signs of spring may be visible for a whole month, some birds
feel an impulse to move in the direction of their summer home,
among them some Sapsuckers, appearing in March in localities
where they had not wintered. Real migration sets in only
during the last week of that month, and, if the weather is not
favorable, postponements are in order till early April. After a
few days of preliminary action by the vanguard, the bulk, as
mentioned above, appears. This general advancement is in
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 123
turn followed by a. rearguard of loiterers. As the weather con-
ditions in early spring do not follow any prescribed rules, but on
the contrary are subject to great irregularities, considerable
variations in the time and length of passage occur; in some
years the last Sapsucker has passed through by the middle of
April, in others the bulk does not come before that time and the
"lasts" remain to the end of the month and sometimes even into
May. Their transit through Missouri in the fall is less conspicu-
ous. The " firsts" are dropping in during the latter part of
September, but we are more likely to meet with them early in
October, when for a week or two they may be met with most
anywhere. Few linger to the end of the month and after the
first week in November winter numbers only are with us. From
St. Louis northward in the bottoms of the Mississippi flood plain
a few breed; Mr. Julius Hurter found a nest with young near
St. Louis, and Mr. E. T. Currier in Clark Co. A suspiciously
late date is contributed from Shannon Co. by Mr. E. S. Wood-
ruff,. May 9, 1907, a whole fortnight after the last transient had
gone, the transit of the species taking place from March 21 to
April 24. Another late record for southern Missouri is one made
by the writer at Branson, Taney Co., May 10, 1906.
*405. CEOPHLOEUS PILEATUS (Linn.). Southern Pileated Wood-
pecker.
405a. CEOPHLOEUS PILEATUS ABIETICOLA Bangs. Northern
Pileated Woodpecker.
Picusptteatus. Hylotomus pUeatus. Cock-of-the- Woods. Log-cock. Black
Woodcock.
Geog. Dist. The former range of the Pileated Woodpecker
included all of North America south of the 63 lat. except the
southern Rocky Mountains; at present restricted to the less
settled and more heavily wooded districts, and therefore rare
in the Eastern States.
Because the average size of the birds from more northern
regions is a trifle larger, with the white markings more extended
and the black less sooty, more brownish or grayish brown,
a new subspecies has been made, habitating from the southern
Alleghanies northward. Since Missouri is apparently in the
region where the two subspecies merge, a closer study seems
124 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
necessary to tell to which of the two each individual belongs.
Fortunately, Pileated Woodpeckers are still found in different
parts of the state, more especially in the heavy timber of the
southeast. The species is non-migratory, wintering where it
occurs. Because generally described as shy and without adapt-
ability to changed conditions of environment, an exceptional
case deserves mention, in which a pair accepts the hospitality
and protection of a suburban place, that of Dr. A. F. Eimbeck
of New Haven, Mo., and continues to raise an interesting
family.
*406. MELANERPES ERYTHROCEPHALUS (Linn.). Red-headed
Woodpecker.
Picus erythrocephalus.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North Amercia, from Gulf of Mexico
to southern Ontario and eastern Manitoba, slowly spreading to
adjacent districts. West to the eastern slope of the Rocky
Mountains (eastern Wyoming and Colorado), straggling west-
ward to Salt Lake Valley and Arizona. Formerly common in
Connecticut and Massachusetts, now rare east of Hudson River.
Winters chiefly south of latitude 37, where it remains from the
end of September to the end of April, appearing at its most
northern habitat late in May and leaving there in August or
early September. Quite a number winter in the region
between 37 and 40, single individuals even farther north in
southern Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska.
In Missouri the Red-head is one of the best known, most
familiar, summer residents in all parts of the state. It is un-
doubtedly the most numerous member of the family in summer.
In traveling through the state we see no bird as often along rail-
road lines or highways as this strikingly beautiful and confiding
friend of man. It likes the deep woods in winter, but in summer
it wants to be on open, preferably cultivated, land. When most
of the states were covered with tree growth the Redhead's home
was on the towering giants with which the woods were richly
sprinkled. With the partial clearing of the land it did not
disappear from sight, as most woodland birds are bound to do,
but on the contrary became for a time more numerous, appar-
ently at least, especially where deadenings existed or trees and
stumps were left standing in the field or as bulwarks against the
encroachments of the creeks. It seems to be thankful for the
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 125
acts of civilization and not averse to benevolent assimilation.
Where its last trees and stumps are removed it takes to tele-
graph and telephone poles, sometimes much to its undoing,
as ignorance accuses it of weakening the poles and cruel man
with no regard for the sanctity of home, plays havoc in an atrocious
manner by closing up the hole. When not molested the hand-
some bird becomes an inmate of our suburban homes, of parks
and cemeteries, of every clump of trees about the farms, and even
of shade trees in the streets of towns. There are few birds
that come with more precision than our Redheads in the spring.
As with other summer residents which are in some measure
winter residents, the real spring movement of this species is
somewhat obscured by individuals which have only tempor-
arily retreated to near-by sheltered bottoms and return with
milder weather, more or less in advance of the masses that have
gone farther away and patiently wait till their regular time
has come. This is for the whole state between April 20 and 29,
when after a few favorable nights their old haunts are resounding
with their peculiar calls. They are particularly numerous and
noisy during the first half of May, after which they settle down
to domestic duties. In July, when the young ones are grown,
the species becomes again conspicuous and remains so until the
middle of September. Strangely enough they leave us while
the land is still flowing with milk and honey for such pretensions
as Woodpeckers are supposed to have, but they know a land
where beechnuts grow, and there they go. Their departure is
as wonderful as their arrival in spring; all at once they are gone.
They seem to go in a body, sometimes even in daytime. Within
one hour, 10-11 a. m., September 15, 1884, I counted 284 flying
across the Mississippi River in the southern part of St. Louis,
all going the same way, eastward.
This exodus takes place in the third week of September,
leaving only those behind which intend to winter. Most of
their usual summer haunts are deserted, but exceptions are not
rare where solitary birds or a few together are found even in
small oak groves all winter in suburbs or villages. Quite different
conditions prevail in the heavy timber of the sheltered bottom-
lands, principally in the southeast. There the Redheads know
no season; all winter whole troops of them hammer away on
dark and dreary days or frolic when the sun shines. There is
no bird more playful than the Redhead.
126 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
*409. CENTURUS CAROLINUS (Linn.). Red-bellied Woodpecker.
Picus carolinus. Melanerpes carolinus.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States from Gulf of Mexico to Ches-
apeake Bay, rarely northward in the Atlantic States to Massa-
chusetts; west of the Alleghanies north to southwestern On-
tario, southern Michigan, southern Wisconsin and southeastern
South Dakota; west to eastern Nebraska, central Kansas,
Indian Territory and Texas; occasionally to Colorado. With
the exception of the most northern part of this range chiefly
non-migratory, but seldom leaving the woods in winter.
In Missouri a fairly common resident in all parts of the state,
though more common south and eastward, especially in the
river bottoms and the alluvial counties of the southeast.
*412. COLAPTES AURATUS LUTEUS Bangs. Northern Flicker.
Cumulus auratus. Colaptes auratus. Picus auratus. Yellow-shafted, Yel-
low-winged or Golden-winged Woodpecker. Pigeon Woodpecker.
High-holder. Yellow-hammer.
Geog. Dist. Like the Pileated Woodpecker the Flicker has
been spilt into two subspecies, a northern and a southern, the
latter belonging fortunately to the South Atlantic and Gulf
States, therefore not concerning us in Missouri. The range of
the northern subspecies includes all the rest of eastern and nor-
thern North America, west to the foothills of the Rocky Moun-
tains in Colorado and Wyoming. North of the United States
it ranges from the Atlantic to the Pacific and along the Yukon
almost to the Bering Strait. South in winter to the Southern
States and on the Pacific coast occasionally to southern Cali-
fornia. Though a migratory bird many winter in the Middle
States and some even in the Northern States and western
Ontario.
In Missouri the Flicker is one of the best known, most common
and universally distributed summer residents. It has adapted
itself to the new conditions of the country to such a degree
that it is now found breeding comparatively seldom far away
from the scenes of human activity. It is one of our most amus-
ing pets in suburban and country places, pleasing with its varied
repertory of calls and ludicrous gestures, attitudes and manoeu-
vres during the time of wooing, which is apparently much pro-
tracted for the sake of its own and others' amusement. As a
winter resident the Flicker may be called fairly common to rare
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 127
as we go from the Missouri River northward, and from fairly
common to common as we go southward. Like the Redhead
it winters even in places which afford little food and shelter
but extends its daily forage to distant feeding grounds. A
Flicker which roosted all winter in one of our bird boxes, left it
early in the morning, flying straight south as far as the eye
could follow. It was never seen during the day but came back
to its box every evening before dark. The month of March is
the time set for the return of the Flicker to Missouri, but since
the inconstancy of March weather is proverbial, it is not surpris-
ing to find that this event may take place just as well in the first
as in the second, third or fourth week of the month, the records
of a long series of years being thus evenly distributed. Large
troops of transient visitants, often in company with Robins, pass
through between the middle of March and latter part of April,
sometimes spending a week or more at the same place awaiting
the desired change in the weather. Extended wandering is done
at night but local movements are sometimes noticed in daytime.
March 23, 1895, I counted one hundred Flickers in as many
minutes all following the same route along the bluffs at Creve
Coeur Lake, St. Louis Co., in a northeasterly direction. Being
very sociable, congenial fellows, they gather in flocks very early
in autumn. On favorite grounds troops may be met with in
August, largely increased by transients in September, but toward
the end of the month a sudden decrease is noticeable and by the
first of October many of their haunts are deserted and their
occurrence slowly approaches the state which we see in winter,
though the advent of real winter may yet induce many of the
less brave to depart for a milder clime at the last moment.
413. COLAPTES CAFER coLLARis (Vigors). Red-shafted Flicker.
Colaptes mexicanus. Colaptes collaris. Picus mexicanus. Colaptes ayresii
(Aud.). Colaptes cafer. Colaptes hybridus.
Geog. Dist. Western North America from British Columbia
south to Mexico; east to eastern Nebraska and central Kansas;
west to the coast ranges of Oregon and Washington and to the
Pacific coast from northern California to Lower California.
Hybrid forms are found wherever the two species meet from
Alberta and Assiniboia southward over the Plains and in mi-
gration as far eastward as western Missouri.
Mr. B. F. Bush of Courtney, Mo., writes: "I shot several
128 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
birds on December 29, 1889, of Red-shafted Flicker, a fine male
of which I skinned and preserved. Saw several others on April
17, 1895, and have frequently seen the birds since then, but made
no more notes or dates."
Order MACROCHIRES. Goatsuckers, Swifts, etc.
Suborder Caprimulgi. Goatsuckers.
Family CAPRIMULGIDAE. Goatsuckers.
*416. ANTROSTOMUS CAROLINENSIS (Gmel.). Chuck-wilTs-widow.
Caprimulgus carolinensis.
Geog. Dist. Breeds in Southern United States north to south-
ern Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, southwestern Indiana,
southern Illinois, southern Missouri, rarely to Kansas; west to
southwestern Texas. In winter to the West Indies and through
eastern Mexico to South America.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident from Perry Co.
southwestward along the southern slope of the Ozark Mountains
from the latter part of April to the end of September.
*417. ANTROSTOMUS VOCIFERUS (Wils.). Whip-poor-will.
Caprimulgus vociferus.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America from the Atlantic to the
Plains, north to the southern provinces of Canada, west to Mani-
toba, Dakotas, central Nebraska, rarely to Kansas. Breeds from
northwestern Louisiana and Florida northward and winters
from Florida southward to Guatemala.
In Missouri the Whip-poor-will is a well-known summer resi-
dent in most parts of the state. It is most numerous on the
northern slope of the Ozarks inhabiting the densely scrub-oak
covered hillsides, its ideal home site. Next to this most favored
territory it chooses the rocky parts of the Ozark border region
and the wooded river bluffs of central and northern Missouri.
On the southern slope of the Ozarks it is generally replaced by
the Chuck-will's-widow, but in many localities both species
occur together, coming into towns together to perform their noisy
serenades alternately or ensemble. These performances become
shorter and less and less regular in June and cease entirely in
July but are sometimes heard again in late August or September.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 129
Their general departure is taken in September, but occasionally
we meet one in early October, up to the 10th of that month.
In migration queer places are sometimes resorted to for a day's
rest, as for instance a brushy sinkhole by the side of a frequented
street in a suburb of St. Louis, April 8, 1899. In the southern
half of the state the first Whip-poor-wills are heard in the first
half of April, in the northern between the tenth and last of the
month. Eggs have been found in St. Louis county, April 24, but
cool weather retards laying until May . From many suitable patch-
es of woodland the species has disappeared, or visits them in mi-
gration only, because driven away by pasturing animals, too
many of which are kept on a small area, devastating the under-
brush and tramping everything under feet. Where hogs are
kept no ground-builder can long survive as they destroy both eggs
and unfledged young and are in this respect as bad as, or worse
than, cats or dogs. In the low southeastern counties, where that
part of the area not subject to yearly inundation is now given up
to agriculture, the Whip-poor-will is only an occasional transient
visitant as it is in most of the woodland in the flood-plains of
the large rivers.
*418. PHALAENOPTILUS NUTTALLII (Aud.). Poor-will.
Caprimulgus nuttallii. Antrostomus nuttallii. NuttalFs Whip-poor-will.
Geog. Dist. Western United States, east to southeastern
Dakota, eastern Nebaska and eastern Kansas; north to central
Idaho and Montana, also to interior of British Columbia, west to
Cascades and Sierra Nevada. In winter south from southern
border of United States to Guatemala.
In Missouri found by Mr. H. Nehrling in Lawrence Co. in
1885 and probably a rare summer resident in western Missouri,
as he heard its call regularly in May and June. Mr. B. F. Bush
also heard the bird in McDonald and Barry Counties and thinks
it must breed there. Eggs were taken June 1 , 1886, at Richmond,
Kansas., within 35 miles of the state line.
[418a. PHALAENOPTILUS NUTTALLII NITIDUS Brewst. Frosted
Poor-will.]
Geog. Dist. Texas to Arizona; north to Kansas; south to
Mexico.
A female shot by Col. N. S. Goss September 23, 1881, at Neosho
Falls, Kan., 35 miles west of Missouri has been identified as be-
130 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
longing to this subspecies. Since the geographic distribution of
the Poor-wills does not seem to "be definitely established, it will
be well to examine carefully every specimen taken in Missouri.
*420. CHORDEILES VIRGINIANUS (Gmel.). Nighthawk.
Caprimulgus virginianus. Caprimulgus popetue. Chordeiles popetue. Bull-
bat. Mosquito Hawk.
Geog. Dist. Breeds in the eastern United States from Gulf
coast northward, chiefly north of lat. 35; west to the Plains.
North of the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
north to Hudson Bay and Mackenzie River, and in wooded dis-
tricts of the western United States south to northern California.
Winters from the Bahamas and Central America to the Argentine
Republic.
In Missouri a common transient visitant in all parts of the
state, but not at all common as a summer resident except in
towns and cities where it lays its eggs and rears its young un-
disturbed on gravel roofs of the highest buildings. It also breeds
on cliffs and bluffs along the large rivers and on ridges of the
Ozarks, but seems to have been driven from the prairie region.
Quiet during breeding time it becomes noisy early in July when,
joined by its still more vociferous offspring, it attracts general
attention to its wonderful aerial evolutions and gives the city
people opportunity for admiration until migration begins in
August. The spirit of unrest seems to seize it early in August
when it deserts its breeding haunts in the city to go hunting over
lakes and rivers, fields and meadows, along the edge of woods
and in the clearings, and it soon becomes evident that migration
from the north has commenced. The bulk of the transient visi-
tants passes through Missouri between August 25 and September
25 when considerable numbers may be seen in large loose troops
anywhere in the state, but no such imposing sights have been
enjoyed during the last ten years as formerly, when in the face of
on-coming thunderstorms hundreds, yes thousands, of these
swift and graceful flyers were speeding southward in dense flocks.
Recommended in newspapers by the sporting editor as delicious
game the Bull-bats have been the target of our hunting fraternity
for years, but the new game law of 1905 does not consider Bull-
bats as legitimate game, and it is to be hoped the destruction of
this useful bird will cease. In spite of their rapid and unsteady
flight large numbers are maimed or killed, because, unmindful
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 131
of the continual reports of guns, they persist in beating up and
down the same path of a rich hunting field, on a lake or on the
shores of a river. As a mosquito and gnat catcher it has no equal,
devouring them in enormous quantities. Though getting scarce
during the last days of September, loiteres are always met with
in the first week of October, sometimes to the end of the second
week. In spring the Nighthawk does not play sucfr a prominent
part as in autumn migration. The species never becomes com-
mon before early May, though the first may chance to be noted
any day after the 22d of April in the southern and the 27th in
the more northern parts of the state. The transit of north-
bound Nighthawks is distributed over the whole month of May
and has on special occasions been observed taking place in very
large flocks, as on May 25, 26 and 27, 1882, at St. Louis. Usually
the passage escapes notice, because performed in fine weather
at great height. Following once with my field glass a hawk,
soaring high above, my field of vision was crossed by Nighthawks,
which proved to be a part of an extended flight utterly invisible
to the naked eye.
[420a. CHORDEILES VIRGINIANUS HENRYI (Cass.). Western
Nighthawk.
Chordeiles henryi.
Geog. Dist. Western North America north to southern
British Columbia, Alberta and throughout Assiniboia, breeding
in the United States from western Kansas and western Nebraska
and southeastern Dakota to the desert region of southeastern
California; winters in northern South America. In migration
casual to Wisconsin and Illinois.
Captain Bendire writes : " The eastern limits of its range extend
well into Minnesota, Iowa, northern and central Illinois, where
it is the prevailing form found throughout the prairie regions
of these states." Mr. Chas. K. Worthen of Warsaw, 111., opposite
the northeast corner of Missouri, writes, that he has taken it
repeatedly some seasons, and he regards it as a not very un-
common transient visitant.
[420c. CHORDEILES VIRGINIANUS SENNETTI (Coues). Sennett's
Nighthawk.]
Geog. Dist. Treeless region from the Saskatchewan to Texas.
Has been taken near Boone in central, and at Sioux City and
132 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
m Monona Co., western Iowa, and is therefore likely to occur in
the prairie part of Missouri. Mrs. V. Bailey writes: "Though
lighter than virginianus, henryi is much darker than sennetti,
which is light brown, buffy, and on wing coverts mainly whitish."
Also: "top of head brownish instead of blackish, wing coverts
largely whitish, under parts with dark bars brown instead of
black, spaced with white instead of buffy."
Suborder Cypseli. Swifts.
Family MYCROPODIDAE. Swifts.
Subfamily Chaeturinae. Spine-tailed Swifts.
*423. CHAETURA PELAGICA (Linn.). Chimney Swift.
Hirundo pelasgia. Cypselus pelasgia. Chaetura pelasgia. Chimney Swal-
low.
. Dist. Breeds in Eastern North America from Florida
to Labrador and Manitoba; west to eastern Nebraska and Kan-
sas, extending its range with settlements westward. In winter
to Gulf of Campeachy.
In Missouri the Chimney Swift is a very common summer
resident wherever there are chimneys for it to use; it is most
abundant in towns and villages, especially old settlements along
rivers, but deserts the densely built-up parts of the largest
cities. There is no doubt that the Swifts of Missouri outnumber
by far all the species of swallows taken together, because their
distribution is not local but universal. Where no chimney but
access to the attic or an outbuilding can be had, they find such
places to their liking and stick their nests to rough boards,
sometimes several in close proximity, but never one below an-
other. In the region of the Water Tupelo, the trunks of which
are sometimes hollow from top to bottom with large opening on
top, the Swifts still observe the custom of former ages, using them
for roosts and nests; but such cases will become rarer now as
did the use of the hollow Sycamores in the river bottoms a genera-
tion ago. The Swift has profited more than any other species
of birds by the change which civilization has brought about,
and it was, indeed, a fortunate and momentous event when its
ancestors for the first time dared to enter and nest in the chimneys
of the early settlers. Though places more or less suitable for
nests may not have been very rare before the advent of the white
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 133
man, no hollow trees can have afforded the security which an
unused chimney of a dwelling gives, inaccessible as it is to nearly
all the former enemies in the woods. It is this abundance of
safe nesting sites which accounts for the enormous increase of
Swifts since they became Chimney Swifts, and which allows of
a steadily growing extension of their breeding range into formerly
uninhabited regions. With his rare gift of daring, which enables
the Swift to penetrate deep into the chimneys of occupied houses,
he couples a great amount of sagacious caution as shown when
placing his nest into chimneys which he has reason to believe
will be used occasionally. I have repeatedly found nests placed
a short distance below the mouth of the stove pipe, though
eight and more feet from the mouth of the chimney, an expedient
of great advantage in case of a short period of unseasonable fires
in the stove. The first Swifts of the season reach Missouri
in the southeast in the last days of March (March 28, Butler Co.)
and St. Louis a week later (April 2, 1888, April 3, 1887, earliest
record March 31, 1885), but these forerunners are so few that the
best, perhaps the only, way to find them is to watch in the evening
one of their chimneys used for common roost. We have records
of their arrival during the first week of April not only from St.
Louis, but repeatedly from Fayette and once even from Keokuk
(April 7, 1897), but the Swifts are not generally seen before the
second week and become common only after the middle of the
month, usually during the third week. From April 20 to May
20 the common roost is not only used by the Swifts of the neigh-
borhood, but also by varying numbers of transient visitants
exceeding many times that of the summer residents. By May
20 the rush of north-bound guests suddenly subsides, but strag-
glers continue to the end of the month. May and early June,
the time of mating and wooing and noisy excitement, and of
the presence of troops of transients, is the time when they
are most conspicuous contributors to the animation of our
landscape. When incubation begins the Swifts, seen before
always flying noisily hi twos or threes or little troops, all
at once fly singly and in silence. This period lasts until the end
of July or into August, when the young are on the wing and noise
and bustle begin anew, kept up chiefly by the youngsters,
which are at this time of the year easily distinguished from their
parents by the perfect, unbroken outline of their pointed, long,
strongly curved wings, while the parents show decided signs of
wear and moult, having shed certain of the primaries. As the
134 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
young can not catch sufficient food and still need the help of
the parents for several days after being on the wing, they return
to the paternal home sometimes during the day and surely in the
evening. After they have become entirely independent, the
whole family usually quits the nest chimney and betakes itself
to the common roost. There the attendance increases steadily
during August and, since it is also used by transients, reaches its
maximum in September, when great variations occur, showing
the coming and going of the guests. These have also been seen
using the chimney for resting in daytime, entering at six in the
morning and reappearing at three in the afternoon, thus ex-
plaining a remarkable scarcity of the species at certain times of
the day. The species remains with us in goodly numbers through
the first week of October, usually one of much sunshine and an
abundance of winged insects, but becomes very rare during the
second week, except sometimes at the common roost in the
evening. Dates of "last seen" vary during ten years observa-
tion by Mr. Currier at Keokuk from October 2 to 18, mostly
between 10 and 13, and at St. Louis from October 12 to 24,
mostly between 14 and 19.
Suborder Trochili. Hummingbirds.
Family TROCHILIDAPL Hummingbirds.
*428. TROCHILUS COLUBRIS Linn. Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
Mellisuga colubris.
Geog. Dist. Breeding from the Gulf coast to Labrador, west
to Alberta, North Dakota, eastern Nebraska, and Kansas.
Winters from southern Florida to Cuba, Mexico and Central
America.
In Missouri a common summer resident in all parts, but most
numerous in the Ozarks and in the bluff region of the large rivers.
In Pemiscot Co. the first male Hummer of the season was seen as
early as April 11, 1893, the early-flowering Red Shrub Buckeye
being the main attraction in the southeast. In the neighborhood
of St. Louis the first Hummer should be looked for about the
early blossoms of the Tree Buckeye between April 22 and 28,
though in cool springs sometimes not before from May 1 to 5.
The first week of May is the time when the van of the species can
be expected in most parts of the state. At St. Louis males do
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 135
not become common before the 5th, females not before the 12th
of May, when mating begins at once and the peculiar pendulum
movement of the courting male may be observed. Transient
visitants are sometimes found in small flocks, less often in spring
than in autumn, when a dozen or more are seen scattered over a
garden where flowers abound. In such places they are conspic-
uous frequenters from August to early October or until frost kills
their favorite Scarlet Sage, often in the second week of the month,
but loiterers have been reported much later, as October 20,
St. Louis; October 23, 1903, Keokuk; October 18, 1903 and
November 2, 1902, New Haven (Dr. Eimbeck).
Order PASSERES. Perching Birds.
Suborder Clamatores. Songless Perching Birds.
Family TYRANNIDAE. Tyrant Flycatchers.
[443. MUSCIVORA FORFICATA (Gmel.). Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.]
Muscicapa forficata. Tyrannus forficatus. Milvulus forficatus. Swallow-
tailed Flycatcher. Bird of Paradise (Texas).
Geog. Dist. Breeds in southern Kansas, Indian Territory,
Oklahoma and Texas. Migrates through eastern Mexico to
Costa Rica. Accidental in southern Florida, Louisiana, New
Jersey, New England, Nebraska, Manitoba and Hudson Bay
region.
Books mention southwest Missouri among the breeding
localities of this species, but there seems to be no authentic
record of its occurrence in the state, though it is very probable
that the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was once a rare breeder in
Missouri. There is a record of its breeding within 60 miles of
the western state line, May 13, 1875, at Neodesha, Kan.
*444. TYRANNUS TYRANNUS (Linn.). Kingbird.
Lanius tyrannus. Muscicapa tyrannus. Tyrannus carolinensis. Bee
Martin.
Geog. Dist. Breeds throughout the Eastern United States
to the foothills of Colorado; west through Utah, Wyoming and
Montana to Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington. In
British America from Newfoundland to British Columbia,
north through the southern provinces to lat. 57 in Athabasca
136 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
and the interior of British Columbia. Winters in Central and
South America.
In Missouri the Kingbird is one of the most common and best
known summer residents on cultivated land throughout the prairie
and Ozark border region, but much less common in the Ozarks,
where chiefly near towns or farmhouses. The first arrive in the
more southern part of the state in the second week of April, excep-
tionally even in the central part (Festus, Jefferson Co, April 7 and
10; St. Louis, April 10 and 14), where they are generally not seen
before the third week. In northern Missouri the first come pretty
regularly during the fourth week of the month or a few days
later, seldom earlier. The bulk of the species does not come
before the last days of April in the southern, and the first week
of May in the northern part. Transients are present until after
the middle of May, sometimes in troops of from 20 to 30, resemb-
ling Robins somewhat when on wing, or sitting dismally on fences
along the roads, when kept back by unseasonable weather.
After getting through with their household duties they withdraw
from the breeding grounds, much like the Martins, and, like
them, flock in the evening to common roosts, preferably willow
thickets along water courses. Many of their haunts are deserted
in July, others in August, when the distribution becomes local and
changeable, which means that migration has begun and our own
King birds are joined by others, themselves departing and being
replaced by others, until in the third week of September the last
are leaving the state. The last date in eight years at Keokuk,
according to observations of Mr. E. S. Currier, is September 10,
1893; at St. Louis, September 12, 1905; at Mt. Carmel, Sep-
tember 17, 1885; at Monteer, Shannon Co., September 20,
1903, and at New Haven, October 1, 1902, and October 4, 1903;
these latter dates exceptionally late.
447. TYRANNUS VERTICALIS Say. Arkansas Kingbird.
Muscicapa verticalis.
Geog. Dist. Western North America; breeding from 100th
meridian westward to the Pacific; north to Assiniboia, Alberta
and British Columbia; south through Lower California and
western Mexico to Guatemala in winter. In migration to
southeastern South Dakota and eastern Nebraska. As a strag-
gler it has occurred in Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine, New York,
New Jersey, Maryland, etc.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 137
The only available records of its occurrence in Missouri are
supplied by Mr. Thaddeus Surber, who took one specimen at
Stotesbury, Vernon Co., April 15, 1894, and by Mr. H. Nehrling,
who met with the species at Freistatt, Lawrence Co., in the
early eighties and considered it fairly common.
*452. MYIARCHUS CRINITUS (Linn.). Crested Flycatcher.
Muscicapa crinita. Tyrannus crinitus. Great Crested Flycatcher.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to New Brunswick,
southern Quebec, Ontario and eastern Manitoba; west to Minne-
sota, eastern Nebraska, Kansas, Indian Territory and south-
western Texas. Migrates through eastern Mexico to Costa Rica,
Panama and Columbia.
In Missouri a common summer resident in all parts of the state.
Originally a denizen of the forest it is changing its habits to con-
form with the state of civilization and is taking up its abode
in parks, cemeteries, groves, wood patches, orchards and even
in the shade trees of villages and suburbs. Where suitable bird
boxes are put up, it accepts them for nesting sites, and when the
indispensable snake skin is wanting it uses paraffine or tissue
paper to cover its eggs during a temporary absence. The return
from winter quarters takes place with great regularity during
the fourth week of April, seldom delayed to the first week in
May, when the species is usually in full numbers and very noisy.
It departs in fall during the first half of September, the last being
noticed about September 20 (September 21, 1885 and 1887,
St. Louis).
*456. SAYORNIS PHOEBE (Linn.). Phoebe.
Muscicapa pJwebe. Muscicapa fusca. Tyrannus fuscus. Muscicapa atra.
Tyrannula or Muscicapa nunciola. Sayomis fuscus. Bridge-pewee.
Phoebe-bird.
Geog. Dist. From eastern Mexico and Cuba north through
Eastern United States to Newfoundland and the southern prov-
inces of Canada, in the interior to 56 30' lat. ; west to Alberta
and in the United States to eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas,
rarely to Wyoming and Colorado. Breeds from South Carolina
and Arkansas northward and winters from the South Atlantic
and Gulf States southward.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident, breeding in all
parts of the state, as far south as the southern border, but more
138 Trans. Acad. Sri. of St. Louis.
common northward. In the more southern part of the state
the first Phoebes are heard in the last week of February, not only in
the southeast, but also in the Ozarks (February 28, 1903, Salem,
Dent Co., Mr. F. C. Pellet) (February 29, 1904, Monteer, Shannon
Co., Mr. W. G. Savage). In the neighborhood of St. Louis the
earliest males arrive on their accustomed stands during the first
week of March, but often bad weather makes them very miserable
and they have to wait from three to six and more days for their
mates to join them, so that it is usually not far from the middle
of March before the species becomes readily observable in its
old haunts. In exceptionally inclement March weather as in
1906 the Phoebe can not be expected before April, when, in ordi-
nary seasons, it is laying eggs (first egg March 31, 1903, Mont-
gomery City; April 1, 1904, St. Louis). North of latitude 39
the absence of uniformity in our March weather is clearly reflected
in the great diversity in the dates of first arrivals, varying at
Keokuk between March 6, 1894, and April 2, 1895, in a series
of observations during thirteen years (1892 to 1904 incl.) by
Mr. E. S. Currier. Mostly silent and retiring in autumn, their
departure is not so easily noticed as their arrival in spring, which
they announce loudly and with much constancy for hours at a
time. Temporary conspicuousness is observable on fine October
days, which probably means the presence of transient visitant
resting only for a day or two. The last are noted during the
second half of October, even in the more southern part of the
state. Latest for Keokuk, October 16, 1900: for St. Louis,
October 27, 1885.
457. SAYORNIS SAYA (Bonap.). Say's Phoebe.
Muscicapa saya. Sayornis sayus.
Geog. Dist. Western United States from the Pacific to the
Plains, and from southern Mexico to the Arctic circle. Common
in western Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas. Said to extend
its range eastward.
Was reported once from Butler, Bates Co., by Mr. Harvey
Clark in 1886, and has occurred in southeastern Nebraska,
Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois as an accidental visitor.
459. NUTT ALLORNIS BORE ALIS (Swains.). Olive-sided Flycatcher.
Tyrannus borealis. Contopus borealis.
Geog. Dist. Breeds from the mountains and northern parts
of the United States north to Athabaska and southern Keewatin,
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 139
and from Nova Scotia to the Pacific. In winter to Central and
northern South America as far as Peru.
In Missouri an irregularly, or fairly, common transient visitant
from the second week of May to the first of June (June 2, 1907,
St. Louis) and in fall from August 20 to the middle of September.
Most of the notes on this species have been made on the bluffs
and in the bottoms along the Mississippi River, but it has also
been met with in the southeast on the St. Francis River,
in the Ozarks at Galena, Stone Co., and has been reported from
the western border, Jasper Co., by Mr. Savage. To one who is
familiar with its habit of perching on the highest tree tops, or
who is acquainted with its peculiar, far-reaching whist 1 e, its
presence cannot easily escape notice especially in spring when,
retained by cold nights or strong northerly winds, it remains at
the same place several days. Its stops in autumn seem to be
shorter and less observable, because so early in the season,
when the trees are yet covered with foliage and insects most
plentiful.
*461 CONTOPUS VIRENS (Linn.). Wood Pewee.
Muscicapa virens. Muscicapa rapax. Muscicapa querula. Tyrannula
virens.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America; breeds from the Gulf
coast to Newfoundland and southern Canada ; west to Manitoba,
eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, and Texas south to the moun-
tains of Orizaba. In winter through eastern Mexico and Hon-
duras to Columbia and Ecuador.
In Missouri one of the common and most generally distributed
birds in all kinds of woods, high and low, dry and wet, and, where
these are wanting, resorting to orchards, parks, cemeteries and
the larger gardens in towns and suburbs. The first Wood
Pewees arrive in southeast Missouri as early as April 20, in central
Missouri April 28, and in the northern tier of counties between
the 4th and the 12th of May. They leave the state in the latter
part of September, but stragglers linger into October and the last
depart between October 8 and 15. Transient visitants, indicated
by the presence of unusually large numbers, have been noticed
about the middle of May and in the fourth week of September.
Though the forerunners reach St. Louis at the end of April, the
species does not become common and generally distributed
before the fifth of May and in the more northern part of the
state before the middle of the month.
140 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
463. EMPIDONAX FLAVIVENTRIS Baird. Yellow-bellied Fly-
catcher.
Tyrannula flaviventris.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America; breeds from Massachu-
setts northward to Newfoundland and southern Labrador, and
west through densely forested regions to Manitoba. In winter
through eastern Mexico to Panama.
In eastern Missouri a fairly common transient visitant from May
5 to June 1 (exceptionally later, as in 1907 to June 4) and from
August 25 to September 20. There is only one record from
western Missouri, that of W. E. D. Scott, who took a specimen at
Warrensburg, May 18, 1874. All other observations on the
species were made along the eastern edge of the state from
Keokuk to the southern state line and in the southeast west to
Carter Co., where Mr. E. S. Woodruff took a specimen at Grandin,
May 16, 1907. The fact that it has not been reported from
other localities is no proof that it does not occur, but the species
easily eludes detection, being late in transit when vegetation
is already luxuriant and confining itself to dense shrubbery. It
is most commonly found in low situations, willow thickets in the
flood plains and shrubbery along creeks of the bluff region, but
in the height of migration it is often found in parks and gardens,
orchards and hedge-rows. Although usually silent, its peculiar
call-note, different from those of the other eastern members of
the genus, is sometimes heard toward the end of its stay.
*465. EMPIDONAX VIRESCENS (VieilL). Green-crested Fly-
catcher.
Empidonax acadicus. Muscicapa querula. Tyrannus acadicus. Acadian
Flycatcher.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to southern New
York and southern Michigan; west to Nebraska, eastern Kansas
and Texas. Winters in Central America, Cuba and Yucatan.
In Missouri a common and generally distributed summer
resident from April 28 to September 25. Of the four species of
this genus occurring in Missouri this is by far the most com-
mon, because found in all parts of the state wherever the axe has
spared enough trees to leave at least a semblance of a forest.
Unlike its relatives, the Wood Pewee and Great Crested, the
Acadian has not yet learned to feel at home anywhere else but
in the forest itself and, if it does not yield soon, general defor-
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 141
estation will be the death-blow to this and a number of other
woodland species equally obdurate and inaccessible to civiliza-
tion.
*466. EMPIDONAX TRAILLII Aud.. TrailFs Flycatcher.
Muscicapa traillii. Empidonax pusillus traillii. Empidonax pusillus.
Little Flycatcher.
Geog. Dist. Western North America from Ohio, Illinois and
Michigan to the Pacific, and from Sitka and the Mackenzie River
south into Mexico. Winters south of the United States.
As a fairly common summer resident the Traill's Flycatcher
has a peculiar distribution in Missouri. It inhabits the entire
prairie region of northern and western Missouri, enters the Ozark
border subregion in Newton, Lawrence and Greene counties,
and follows the Mississippi River flood plain south at least as far
as Ste. Genevieve Co. It is not found in the Ozarks nor in the
lowland of the southeast. In the vicinity of St. Louis it arrives
with great regularity on the fourth or fifth day of May, seldom
earlier (April 29, 1884). At Keokuk, May 11, 1902 (Currier).
It is still numerous in the second week of September, probably
joined by transients, but disappears about September 25, rarely
later (October 4, 1905, St. Louis). Its original haunts are the
trees bordering rivers, creeks and lakes, or clumps of willows in
swampy places, but being a quick and wide-awake bird it was
not slow in accommodating itself to human surroundings and is
now at home in city parks and cemeteries, in orchards and the
fringe of trees and shrubs along frequented country roads. One
would expect to find a species with such a happy adaptive faculty
spreading rapidly with deforestation and cultivation, but this has
not been the case during the past twenty-five years and there is
no visible increase in their numbers. The only explanation for
this is the careless manner in which they, place their nests in
exposed positions with no thought of concealment, and the late-
ness of their nesting, which does not allow a second attempt
when the first has been unsuccessful.
466a. EMPIDONAX TRAILLII ALNORUM Brewst. Alder Flycatcher.
Empidonax pusillus traittii. Empidonax traillii. Tyrannus traitti.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America from New England and
Newfoundland to Alaska, and in the United States found as far
west as western Nebraska. Winters in Central America.
142 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
There is little doubt that this subspecies occurs in our state
in its passage from summer to winter quarters and vice versa,
but it remains to be shown to what extent, since the two sub-
species cannot be distinguished with certainty without the use
of compasses. Since the above was written Mr. E. S. Woodruff
captured a female Flycatcher at Grandin, Carter Co., which
Dr. J. A. Allen and Dr. Jno. D wight identified as belonging to
this subspecies.
467. EMPIDONAX MINIMUS Baird. Least Flycatcher.
Tyrannula minima. Chebeck.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, west to Colorado, Utah,
Wyoming, Montana and Alberta; north to Newfoundland,
Oxford Lake, Keewatin and Fort Simpson, Mackenzie. Breeds
from North Carolina, northern Ohio and Indiana, Nebraska and
Wyoming northward. Winters in Central America and Panama.
In Missouri a fairly common transient visitant from April 28
to the third, seldom to the fourth, week of May (June 3, 1907,
St. Louis). A few days earlier in the south (Shannon Co.,
April 24, 1904, W. G. Savage); a few days later in the north
(April 28 to May 5, Keokuk, E. S. Currier). In fall migration
from August 24 to the middle of October (October 14, 1885,
St. Louis; October 20, 1902, Jasper Co., Savage). As Mr. Chas.
K. Worthen has taken this species during the breeding season at
Warsaw, 111., it may be found to be a rare breeder in the most
northern part of Missouri. Mr. T. M. Trippe mentions it as
breeding in large numbers in Mahasca Co., Iowa, in 1872.
Suborder Oscines. Song Birds.
Family ALAUDIDAE. Larks.
474. OTOCORIS ALPESTRIS (Linn.). Horned Lark.
Alauda alpestris. Eremophila alpestris. Alauda cornuta. Eremophila
cornuta. Shore Lark. Snow Lark.
Geog. Dist. Northeastern North America, Greenland and
Old World. In winter south in United States to the Carolinas,
Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska.
The status of the different kinds of Horned Larks found in
Missouri in winter needs further investigation and corroboration
of the statement that this subspecies is a winter visitant in the
Widman A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 143
state. Flocks of Horned Larks seen in winter on the sand bars
of the Mississippi opposite St. Louis were apparently of this
larger and darker form. Mr. E. S. Currier says that it appears
in December at Keokuk and is seen off and on until early
February and that the Prairie Horned Lark seems to be absent
or scarce during that period. Mr. Sidney S. Wilson gives me
the following dates for this subspecies at St. Joseph: February
22, 1896, twenty; February 15, again seen; February 21,
bulk present; April 4, last; adding that there were a few
Prairie Horned Larks with them.
*474b. OTOCORIS ALPESTRIS PRATICOLA Hensh. Prairie
Horned Lark.
EremophUa alpestris praticola. Prairie Lark. Horned Lark.
Geog. Dist. Breeds from eastern Kansas, eastern Nebraska
and Manitoba eastward to New England and eastern Quebec.
In winter withdrawing from northern regions, and extending
its range to Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, etc.
In Missouri a fairly common resident in all parts on cultivated
ground, high and low, not only in the prairie and Ozark border
region, but in the cleared tracts of the Ozarks themselves and in
the marshes of the flood plains of the large rivers. Small troops,
sometimes in company with Lapland Longspurs, wander about
in search of food, resorting to the bare wind-swept hillsides
when the ground elsewhere is covered with snow. When the
snow becomes too deep, or when sleet and ice crusts bury every-
thing, hunger drives them to the farms and highways which they
follow into villages, towns and cities. They are most conspicuous
late in February and March, their time of mating and nest-
building, when their queer song is in the air for many minutes
at a time, and again when the youngsters are brought to the
country roads and are taught the advantages of the dust bath.
[474.k. OTOCORIS ALPESTRIS HOYTI Bishop. Hoyt's Horned
Lark.]
Geog. Dist. Breeds from Hudson Bay to the Mackenzie
River and south to Lake Athabasca. Migrates to Nevada,
Utah, Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, casually
to Ohio and New York.
As this lately separated large pale subspecies has been taken
at different places in eastern Nebraska, it may be presumed that
144 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
it also visits our state in winter and should be looked for especially
in the north wesern part.
Family CORVIDAE. Crows, Jays, Magpies, etc.
Subfamily Garrulinae. Magpies and Jays.
475. PICA PICA HUDSONICA (Sab.). American Magpie.
Corvus pica. Pica hudsonica. Pica melanoleuca. Pica caudata hudsonica.
Geog. Dist. Western and northern North America; east to
Lake Winnipeg, western Nebraska and eastern Colorado; west
to the Cascade Mountains ; in the north through western Assin-
iboa, Alberta and British Columbia to Alaska ; south to western
Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Non-migratory, except in
the far North. Formerly in winter to Kansas, eastern Nebraska,
Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario, but range and numbers
are greatly reduced through constant persecution by hunters
and ranchmen who consider them a nuisance.
There is a record by L. W. Corder of Waverly, Mo., one of the
observers of bird migration, in his report to the Department of
Agriculture, stating that he saw four Magpies November 1,
1890, in Saline Co., Mo. Indications are not wanting that Mag-
pies formerly extended their wanderings, at least in some winters,
as far south as Missouri. Mr. Heiser of Keokuk has a mounted
specimen which he shot many years ago in winter near the
Des Moines River not far from the state line. Audubon men-
tions in his journal two caged Magpies at Fort Croghan, near
the present site of Omaha, May 10, 1843, said to have been caught
in nooses by the legs. In 1885, Mr. G. S. Agersborg of Alda,
southeastern South Dakota, writes (Auk vol. 2, p. 282): "This
bird, which was formerly very common here in winter, frequent-
ing trappers' camps and farmyards, has within the last four
years entirely disappeared." It is said to have been taken in
Shawnee Co., eastern Kansas, in October (Snow, 1873).
*477. CYANOCITTA CRISTATA (Linn.). Blue Jay.
Corvus cristatus. Garridus cristatus. Cyanurus cristatus. Jay Bird.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America to western Nebraska
and western Manitoba, and from the Gulf to Newfoundland
and Hudson Bay; northwestward to Athabasca River and Al-
berta. Winters from the Northwest Territories and Cape
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 145
Breton Island southward to the Gulf coast, but most of them
withdraw from our northern states and even from Missouri.
A common summer resident in all parts of Missouri, more
abundant in villages and towns than in the forest. Also a fairly
common winter resident, and a very numerous transient visitant
in spring and fall. The regular passage through our state of
large numbers of Blue Jays from summer to winter quarters and
vice versa is of special interest, because performed in daytime,
showing us how land birds wander. Contrary to some theories
these Blue Jays do not follow certain highways, as for instance
the flood plain of the Mississippi River, but many minor routes
amounting almost to a broad front. It is true that many flocks
follow each other over the very same ground, resting on the same
trees and crossing the Missouri River at the very same point,
but there are such routes in every county of the state. The
route along the Mississippi River bluffs and bottom may be one
of the most frequented, but routes do not necessarily follow any
river and lead straight across the hills of the Ozarks. The
migration of northbound Blue Jays begins in some years as
early as April 11, but usually after the 20th and becomes brisk
toward the end of the month, continuing through the first week
of May, but ceases after the 10th or 12th of the month. At
this time even the last of our own birds, those of the second
year, are paired and building.
In fall south bound flocks pass from the beginning of the
fourth week in September to the middle of October. Flocks are
of variable size, from 20 to 60 birds, and are on wing chiefly in
the forenoon between eight and eleven, in spring between six
and ten, less often in the afternoon between three and five.
They are perfectly silent when flying, but when alighting are
greeted by our resident Blue Jays, and a great noise results.
Though only a small percentage of our summer residents are
true permanent residents, those that have spent the winter away
from home have all returned before the last northerners pass
through. Blue Jays cannot stand much zero and below zero
weather; they freeze the toes badly in severe winters, learning
thereby a lesson which they bear well in mind the following fall,
leaving early. The more exposed woods are largely deserted
when the trees are bare early in November and do not become
populated again before the winter is over. This is indeed a very
unstable time, oscillating between the middle of February and the
middle of April. After an unusually cold late winter, as that of
146 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
1906, when we had the coldest March in history with an average
temperature of 33, i. e., ten degrees below the lowest average in
thirty years, Blue Jays did not become common at their breeding
stands before the middle of April. In exceptionally mild winters
old pairs have announced their return in the middle of February.
In ordinary seasons the first nests are finished early in April
and when the northern transients and birds of the second year
appear on the scene, our birds, occupied with domestic duties
and therefore quiet and retiring, contrast sharply with the
bustling, restless troops. In June and early July we sometimes
see them feed grown young and build again at the same time,
which means that they intend to breed a second time. By the
middle of July the birds of the first brood are fully grown and
have begun to play a conspicuous part as noise makers in the
otherwise quiet woods. Throughout August and September
to the middle of October there is no species of birds more promi-
nent, oftener seen or heard, than the Blue Jay. After September
21, they are more restless than before and it becomes evident
that some change is going on ; some days they are quiet and few,
then again noisy and numerous. After the first of November
we have to go to the sheltered river bottoms and to the heavily
wooded southeast, if we want to see them Jin larger numbers or
noisy troops; those that stay near their breeding grounds are
then quiet and circumspect, though for reasons of security and
provender frequenting the environs of human habitations and
therefore appearing more numerous than they really are.
Subfamily Corvidae. Crows.
*486. CORVUS COR AX SINUATUS (WagL). American Raven.
Corvus sinuatus. Corvus cacaLoti. Corvus corax. Corvus carnivorus.
Mexican Raven.
pGeog. Dist. Western United States, Mexico, Guatemala,
northern Honduras; east to southern Indiana, southern Illinois,
Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming and Colorado. Now
rare or extinct in all settled parts east of the Rocky Mountains.
In Missouri formerly a permanent resident nesting on the cliffs
along the rivers. Audubon mentions seeing several Ravens,
May 7, 1843, near the northeast corner of the state. Prince of
Wied met with them near the same place, May 1, 1833. Dr.
Hoy has the Raven in his list, made in 1854 in western Missouri,
and Dr. J. A. Allen found it "apparently common" in 1872.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 147
From the cliffs in the vicinity of New Haven they disappeared
in 1881 according to Dr. A. F. Eimbeck. The last record of
their breeding in Missouri comes from Hahatonka, Camden Co.,
where Mr. Philo W. Smith, Jr. secured five eggs, slightly incu-
bated, April 5, 1901. He writes: "The nest was about one mile
from Hahatonka on a shelf of rock, a mere platform of sticks,
with strips of bark, corn husks, a little hair, etc. There were as
near as I could judge about six pairs of birds., I think this is
the same colony of Ravens that nested a few years before near
Vienna on the Gasconade and which I made two unsuccessful
trips to locate."
[486a. CORVUS CORAX PRINCIPALIS Ridgw. Northern Raven.]
Corvus corax. Corvus corax var. carnivorus. Corvus carnivorus. Ameri-
can Raven.
Geog. Dist. Arctic and Boreal provinces of North America;
south to western and northern Washington, Great Lakes, New
England and higher Alleghanies. According to Mr. R. Ridgway
the status of the Ravens breeding east of the Great Plains and
south of the Great Lakes has, for lack of material, not been fully
determined. It is possible that they form the connecting link
and may therefore be placed in either of the two subspecies.
Mr. M. P. Lientz of Fayette, Howard Co., reported to the
Department of Agriculture in the early eighties that the Raven
was once numerous but then rare. Mr. W. E. Praeger writes,
that there is a specimen in the collection of Mr. Heiser, druggist
at Keokuk, which was shot many years ago near Hamilton, Ills.,
opposite Keokuk. On October 23, 1892, Mr. F. M. Woodruff
of the Chicago Academy of Science took a typical example of this
subspecies at Meredosia, 111., less than fifty miles from our state
line.
*488. CORVUS BRACK YRHYNCHOS C. L. Brehm. American
Crow.
Corvus americanus. Corvus corone. Corvus frugivorus. Crow.
Geog. Dist. North America to southern border of United
States (except Florida in summer); north to Newfoundland
and Magdalen Islands, Nelson River and lower Anderson River.
In Missouri a common resident on all cultivated land, but
shunning deep forests and therefore rare in the Ozarks and the
southeast. Constant warfare with gun and poison has greatly
148 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
thinned its ranks during the last twenty years. We still call it
a common summer resident, only because its size, color and mode
of living in the open make it possible that not a single individual
escapes notice. A like number of a small, plain colored, secretive
species would constitute one of our rarest breeders. Lately their
killing for millinery purposes has been openly recommended
by newspapers as a source of revenue, and whenever the pleasure
of killing can be made remunerative devotees are not lacking.
As a winter resident the Crow is still numerous, but not nearly as
much as formerly. There are many winter roosts, large and small,
scattered over the state. Formerly when St. Louis dumped all
its refuse and garbage into the Mississippi, the roost on Arsenal
Island opposite the southern part of the city was one of the most
frequented in the whole country. Hundreds of thousands assem-
bled there in some winters, chiefly in November and December,
until the closing of the river drove most of them farther south
below the mouth of the Ohio where the Mississippi never closes.
As long as the river was open the Crows were not in want of
provisions even when the ground was buried under snow, and it
was a spectacle never to be forgotten to see hundreds of crows
dotting the icy shore or drifting down on huge cakes of ice, all
eagerly looking out for floating morsels which they picked up
cleverly and carried to the shore. Those that had drifted down
far enough came flying back low above the water, to take another
floating position higher up. All together they made a most ani-
mated picture. When little or no snow was on the ground,
a state of affairs which may be called the rule in our region, Crows
had no difficuty in finding enough to eat, but they had to go many
miles for it and visit fields and woods and pastures and sundry
places in search of mice and carrion, waste grain and insects,
dead or alive, and seeds of all kinds, acorns and whatever is scat-
tered about. Crows are omnivorus and most beneficial scav-
engers in their winter haunts. They began to come to the island
roost early in September, and real migration set in early in
October with steadily increasing numbers until the middle of
November, when about the maximum frequency was reached
and maintained until either ice and snow shut off their food supply
or mild and open weather awakened the desire to return to their
summer home. All through fall and in moderately cold weather in
winter, the Crows spent the nights perched ten to fifteen feet above
the ground in the willow thicket of the island, but when the cold
became intense they deserted the willows entirely and spent the
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 149
nights on the snow-covered sand bank in front of the willow
thicket and exposed to the fierce northwest and north wind.
When they had gone in the early morning, every bird had
left the imprint of its body in the form of a light de-
pression in the snow with a hole in front made by the bill
and a few heaps of excreta on the opposite side, showing the bird
had spent all night in that position, always with the head turned
toward the wind, letting the wind sweep over its back, but keeping
the feet from freezing. The exodus from the roost in the early
morning and the influx in the afternoon was always a source of
great delight to the lover of animated Nature as it is one of the
most imposing sights imaginable. The Crow with all its real
arid alleged faults would be sadly missed by all who have the
gift of looking above dollars and cents in the search of happiness
and find it in the admiration of animated Nature, not a small
part of which we owe to this graceful, interesting ornament of
any and every sort of landscape.
491. NUCIFRAGA COLUMBIANA (Wils.). Clarke's Nutcracker.
Corvus Columbian.^. Picicorvus columbianus. Clarke's Crow.
Geog. Dist. Coniferous forests of western North America
from New Mexico, Arizona and northern Lower California to
northwestern Alaska. Accidental in South Dakota, Nebraska,
Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas.
In vol. 12 of the Auk Mr. John A. Bryant of Kansas City,
Mo., reports the capture of a fine adult bird killed about October
28, 1894, four miles east of Kansas City. The Arkansas record
is from Earl, Crittendon-Co., less than twenty miles from the
Mississippi River and eighty miles south of our state line; the
bird was taken April 1, 1891. The Kansas record is from Mar-
shall Co., in the northeastern part of the state, August 13, 1888.
There is also a record from Omaha, Neb., and another from Alda
in southeastern South Dakota, October, 1883, but all/should
be considered purely accidental visitants.
Family ICTERIDAE. Blackbirds, Orioles, etc.
*494. DOLICHONYXORYZIVORUS (Linn.). Bobolink.
Fringilla oryzivora. Emberiza oryzivora. Reedbird. Ricebird.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America; west to Utah, northeast-
ern Nevada, Idaho and southeastern British Columbia ; |north
150 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
to 40 lat. on the Atlantic coast and to 52 lat. in the interior.
Breeds from Pennsylvania, northwestern West Virginia, central
Ohio, central Indiana, northern Illinois, northern Missouri,
Nebraska and Utah northward. Migrates through West Indies,
Yukatan, Central America to South America as far as Paraguay,
southern Brazil, Bolivia, etc., also Galapagos and Bermudas.
In Missouri the Bobolink is a fairly common transient visitant
throughout the state, except the heavily wooded parts, though
not an entire stranger even in the narrow valleys of the Ozarks.
In fact the numbers which pass through Missouri are much larger
than it would appear to those not initiated, because they are not
scattered broadcast over the territory, but migrate in small
flocks and visit only certain favorite meadows in which they
are easily overlooked when feeding silently on the ground.
The forerunners, usually males, appearing in the last week of
April, are sometimes kept back by adverse weather several
days, but the bulk of the species passes through when the weather
is not as changeable as earlier in the season, thus permitting
a rapid advance without long stop-overs. The largest flocks
are met with the second and third weeks of May; at first mostly
males are seen, then mixed flocks, and at last flocks in which
the females predominate. In some years all are gone soon after
the middle of May, in others not before the last of the month.
The noticing of their passage in autumn is still more a matter
of initiation than that of their spring migration. In spring there
are always moments when the whole or part of the flock fly
up from their breeding grounds, alight in a tree and give expres-
sion to their feelings by an outburst of music; or musically
inclined individuals pass by, going north, singing as they go.
In autumn music is heard only very exceptionally and just as
rarely do we see a male partly clothed in its summer dress;
the fashion at this time is the conventional traveling dress, in
which it easily passes for something else. It is the peculiar
"pink, pink" that betrays its presence when, high in air, it is
passing south, or changing from its feeding grounds in the fields
beyond the bluffs to the common roost in the grasses of the
marsh, where it spends the nights in company with different
kinds of Swallows and marsh loving members of the Blackbird
family. August 20 is about the time when the marshes of
northern Missouri see the Bobolinks flock in at night to roost,
and it takes the species a whole month to leave that part of the
country, the last date for St. Charles Co. being September 24.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 151
Records of its breeding are few and we must for the present
consider the species a rare summer resident in northern Missouri
only. Mr. Currier knows of its nesting in Clark Co. in 1897, and
Mr. Parker says it breeds in Montgomery Co. Professor I. W.
Kilpatrick reported the Bobolink as a rare summer resident in
1885 at Fayette, Howard Co. In Mr. Lynds Jones' list of
birds seen June 29, 1900, on his way through northern Missouri
from La Plata, Macon Co., to Kansas City, i. e., south of 40
lat., the Bobolink has found a place. Trippe in his list of
birds of Decatur Co., Iowa, just across the state line, says of
it: "Breeds locally."
*495. MOLOTHRUS ATER (Bodd.). Cowbird.
Emberiza pecoris. Icterus pecoris. Molothrus pecoris. Fringilla ambigua
(juv.)
Geog. Dist. North America, except portions of Pacific coast;
north to about lat. 49 in the East, and to 55 in the interior;
west to British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and
southeastern California. Breeds from Georgia, Louisiana and
Texas (San Antonio and Houston) northward and winters from
the Southern States southward to Yucatan.
In Missouri a common summer resident on all cultivated land
throughout the state, even in the valleys of the Ozarks, but
avoiding deep woods and therefore rather rare in some of the
southern counties and in the southeast. A few winter in the
state, not only from St. Louis southward, but in mild winters
also in the northern part, as reported by Mrs. Musick from
Mt. Carmel, Audrain Co., December 25-28, 1884, and January 21
and 24, 1886, and by Mr.M. P. Lientz from Linwood, January
30, 1889 and January 8, 1890. The very first Cowbirds come in
the company of Redwings about the first of March, but are easily
overlooked as they do not appear in their old haunts, staying
with the host of Redwings in the marshes. As is the case with
all other March arrivals, the dates of first Cowbirds vary greatly
with the weather from the second week of March to the first week
of April. The bulk of the species generally does not come before
the first or second week of April and in the more northern part
before the second or third week. It is usually not far from April
1 when the first male Cowbird announces from a treetop that he
is back again at his old stand and ready for mischief, but it is
a week or more before he gets a chance to court. After the
152 Trans. Acad, Sci. of St. Louis.
females have arrived in force by the middle of April the species
becomes for nearly two months one of the most conspicuous,
especially in the morning hours, when its call note is in the air
everywhere, its song is coming from the treetops, and restless
troops of excited males and females follow or chase each
other, the males usually in the majority. The Cowbird is one
of the most social birds and even during the period of mating
and oviposition troops of from 20 to 30 are seen in the evening
going to the common roost in the river bottom. These troops
are joined by the young ones as soon as they can dispense with
the care of their foster-parents. Together they visit pastures
and stubble fields, roaming more and more as the season advances,
until, in September, migration begins and many of their summer
haunts are deserted. The willow thickets covering the shores
and islands of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers offer safe
retreats to migrants of all kinds and thither large flocks of
wandering Cowbirds repair in the evening to spend the night in
company with Crackles, Martins and others. In October they
join the different kinds of blackbirds in the marshes, where the
thickly tangled weeds and grasses offer warmer quarters than
the willows along the rivers. Not many Cowbirds are with us
after the first of November, but as in early spring, a few stay with
the Redwings until real winter drives them farther south. Much
has been written about the damage done by the Cowbird's
parasitic habit, but no hypothesis has ever been offered as to the
origin of this peculiar habit. Ten years ago the author published
the following conjecture in " Science," new series, vol. 5, no.
109, on the " Origin of Parasitism in the Cowbird." "Repro-
ductive parasitism, as we find it in the Cowbird, is such a rare
exception to the rule among higher animals, where parental
affection is highly developed, that it never ceases to be an object
of speculation as to its origin. There are two peculiarities
for which our Cowbird is renowned: the one which gives him
his scientific name Molothrus, a parasite; the other which causes
him to be called Cowbird, his strong attachment to grazing
animals especially horses and cattle. Now, should there not be
a connection between these two traits? Nobody would think
that the habit of following horses and cattle has been formed
since the introduction of these animals by the white man.
Its Indian name Buffalo-bird was certainly no misnomer and it
can hardly be questioned that for ages the buffalo, or American
bison, was the animal which, in the economy of our Cowbird,
\\~idmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 153
played the part now' taken by the domestic animals. The dis-
tribution of the one coincides in the main with that of the other,
except that in recent years the Cowbird has extended its range
to follow domesticated cattle. A few years ago the bison roamed
over the greater part of eastern North America from the Atlantic
to the Rocky Mountains, in suitable places, and it was not until
the last century that it became exterminated in the territory
east of the Mississippi River. But the habits of the Cowbird
were probably formed before the bison and the Red Man were on
the scene, since some species in southern South America have
similar traits. The Cowbird, like all other Icteridae, have their
origin in South America, and of the twelve species and sub-
species known, only three enter the United States. Not all the
species are parasitic; of some we do not know the mode of re-
production, but Molothrus badius of Argentine, Paraguay
and Bolivia builds its nest and rears its young like other birds,
and there was undoubtedly a time when Molothrus ater did the
same.
"We know that fossil remains of horses, not much unlike ours,
are found abundantly in the deposits of the most recent geo-
logical age in many parts of America from Alaska to Patagonia.
It was probably at that period that the Cowbird acquired the
habit of accompanying the grazing herds, which were wandering
continually in search of good pasture, water and shelter, in their
seasonal migrations and movements to escape their enemies.
As the pastoral habit of the bird became stronger, it gave rise
to the parasitic habit, simply because, in following the roving
animals, the bird often strayed from home too far to reach its
nest in time for the deposition of the egg, and, being hard,
pressed had to look about for another bird's nest where-in to lay
the egg.
"After the acquisition of the roving habit it is not difficult to
imagine that such cases occurred quite often, especially when
with the change of climate both, birds and mammals, spread more
and more into the temperate regions, where the spring move-
ments of the grazing animals fell together with the bird's breeding
time. By a combination of favorable circumstances this new
vay of reproduction proved successful, and the parasitic off-
spring became more and more numerous. In the course of time
the art of building nests was lost, the desire to incubate entirely
gone, paternal and conjugal affection deadened, and parasitism
had become a fixed habit."
154 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
*497. XANTHOCEPHALUS XANTHOCEPHALUS (Bonap.). Yellow-
headed Blackbird.
Icterus xanthocephalus. Agelaius xanthocephalus. Icterus icterocephalus.
Xanthocephalus icterocephalus.
Geog. Dist. Western North America, east to western Missouri,
northeastern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, northwestern Indiana,
northern Minnesota, Manitoba and Keewatin; north to Atha-
basca and southern British Columbia. Breeds from northern
Mexico northward locally throughout its range and winters from
Louisiana and Texas southward through most of Mexico.
Accidental stragglers in Eastern United States, Cuba and
Greenland.
In Missouri the Yellow-headed Blackbird has been found breed-
ing west of a line drawn from the northeast to the southwest
corner of the state. Mr. Ed. S. Currier took three sets of eggs
in Clark Co., May 28, 1895. I found several pairs, June 19, 1906,
at Renick's Lake, Saline Co.; W. E. D. Scott gives the species
as breeding in Johnson Co. in 1874 and Mr. H. Nehrling found it
breeding in the eighties at Sarcoxie in Jasper Co. Its breeding
range was formerly more extended eastward, as Dr. A. F. Eimbeck
knows of its breeding in the vicinity of New Haven, where he says
it arrived in March and remained until November (November
3, 1903; November 6, 1902.) As a transient visitant it is well
known in western Missouri and seems to have been quite common
formerly. Prince of Wied mentions it on three days between
Leaven worth and the northwest corner of Missouri, April 22 and
27, 1833, when he speaks of flocks of it, and again on his return,
May 18, 1834. Audubon and Harris met it near the northwest
corner, May 9, 1843, and Dr. E. Coues found it at Fort Leaven-
worth. Mr. Prier gives it as a fairly common transient visitant
at Appleton City, St. Claire Co., in 1906, and there are several
migration reports from Jasper, Vernon and Jackson Counties
with dates varying from the last of March to the tenth of May.
From St. Louis southward it must be regarded as a rare straggler,
but was observed at Old Orchard. In St. Charles Co. it has
repeatedly been found singly or a few together with troops of
Redwings. It is also reported from Audrain Co., May 15, 1885,
by Mrs. Musick, and has occurred at Warsaw and Keokuk as
an irregular visitor.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 155
*498. AGELAIUS PHOENICEUS (Linn.). Red-winged Blackbird.
Agelaeus phoeniceus. Icterus phoeniceus. Sturnus predatorius. Swamp
Blackbird.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and more southern British
Provinces, except Gulf coast and Florida; west to eastern base
of Rocky Mountains. Breeds throughout its range and winters
from southeastern Nebraska, central Illinois, Indiana, southern
New Jersey, southward.
In Missouri a common summer resident in all open districts,
on wet meadows in the valleys of the Ozarks, on the open swamps
of the southeast, in the marshes of the floodplains as well as
throughout the prairie region north and west, but always near
water. The floodplain of the Mississippi is certainly the great
thoroughfare for countless millions of different kinds of black-
birds, by far the most numerous of which is the Redwing. The
thickly matted marsh grasses offer excellent shelter at night and
the corn shocks on adjacent farms keep them from starv-
ing when nothing better can be had. As far north as St.
Charles Co. Redwings are loath to leave in winter and small
troops either of this species or of the lately separated north-
ern subspecies may be seen in the coldest months. Unusual
rigor may drive them farther south for a few weeks, but
they are back again with the first warm spell. Soon after
the middle of February migration begins in earnest, the
vanguard spreading over southern and central, sometimes
even over northern, Missouri before the first of March. After
this first advance there is often a lull until the middle of March
when the great host reaches the state in immense flocks of north-
bound transients. At the same time the first old males take up
their favorite perches and announce that they intend to occupy
them again the coming season. With the wonted vicissitudes of
the season migration drags through April and nearly to the middle
of May, troops of females forming the rear guard after the main
army has departed and probably reached the northern home.
In the meantime the ranks of our summer residents have filled
up, the females have at last joined their long-suffering mates,
courting is going on with much show and ado until toward the
end of May domestic considerations bid them be reserved and
cautious. When the young are grown they join the parents in
roving over the country in search of favorite dishes and secure
roosting places, flying daily many miles to the willow thickets in
the river bottoms or the Spartina stretches in the marshes.
156 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Early in October migration from the north begins to get brisk,
reaching its maximum about the middle of the month, when on
some days enormous masses congregate in the marshes, pouring
in from different directions in perfect streams for an hour before
sunset. An equally grand spectacle greets the beholder in the
early morning, when they leave the marsh in compact columns
diverging in different directions. While after the first of Novem-
ber the main body of the invading army has departed, enough are
left to the end of the month to fill with marvel and surprise the
tyro in the marsh.
498d. AGELAIUS PHOENICEUS FORTIS Ridgw. Thick-billed Red-
wing.
Northern Red-wing.
Geog. Dist. Breeding range : Athabasca, Mackenzie and other
interior districts of British America. During migration the Great
Plains from eastern base of Rocky Mountains to Manitoba,
Minnesota, Nebraska, Indian Territory, western Illinois, Ken-
tucky and southward to Arizona and western Texas.
According to the geographic range a part of the incalculable
numbers of Redwings which pass through Missouri in spring and
fall must belong to this subspecies, which is decidedly larger
with a shorter and thicker bill. Specimens were taken at
Burlington, la., October 12 and 13, 1895; Monana Co., la.,
October 14, 1884 ; Blue Lake, la., October 22, 1884 ; in Henderson
Co., 111., March 12, 1893, and in Kentucky, December 15, 1894.
*501. STURNELLA MAGNA (Linn.). Meadowlark.
Alauda magna. Sturnus ludovicianus. Sturnella ludoviciana.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Ontario, rarely
to Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, and Minnesota: west to
western Iowa, eastern Kansas, Indian Territory. Winters occa-
sionally in the northern states, but generally from Kentucky and
Virginia southward to the Gulf.
In Missouri a common summer resident in all open districts,
therefore most plentiful in the prairie and Ozark border regions,
scarce in the Ozarks and the southeast, and apparently entirely
replaced by the Western Meadowlark in the northwest corner
of the state. Some remain with us in winter and many more
would probably do so if permitted, but Meadowlarks are con-
sidered game birds and few succeed in living through winter.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 157
The new game law of 1905 protects the species, and it is our hope
that this will have a beneficial effect, as the number of summer
residents and transients has been greatly reduced. The first
Meadowlarks return to Missouri with great regularity during the
first week of March, exceptionally in February or in the second
week of March; the bulk comes between the 10th and the 18th,
exceptionally later, as March 31, 1906. Troops of transients
are with us until the last week in April and again from the last
week of September to the last week of October. After quail
shooting begins November 1, Meadowlarks get scarce, and by
the end of the month only winter numbers, i. e., very few, are left.
*501b. STURNELLA MAGNA NEGLECTA (Aud.). Western Meadow-
lark.
Sturnella neglecta. Sturnella ludoviciana.
Geog. Dist. Western United States, southwestern British
Provinces and northwestern Mexico; east to Manitoba, Minne-
sota, Wisconsin, Iowa, northern Missouri, Indian Territory and
Texas.
The prairie region of Missouri is undoubtedly one of the best
fields for the study of the relationship of the two forms of Sturnella,
magna and magna neglecta. The true Eastern Meadowlark
occurs throughout southern Missouri to the exclusion of the
true Western except in migration, when typical neglecta are
regular transient visitants along our western border. Typical
Eastern Meadowlarks occur as summer residents throughout
northern Missouri except the northwest corner, where, in the
region of Langdon, Atchison Co., only tpyical Western were ob-
served in June 1906. Together with the true Eastern, true West-
ern breed in Nodaway Co., the next county east of Atchison
Co. Mr. B. M. Stigall of Kansas City, who became acquainted
with the Western in Colorado, writes that during June and July
1906, which he spent at Maryville, Nodaway Co., Mo., he heard
both, magna and neglecta, singing in the same field. How
far eastward the true Western is found breeding has not been
determined, but, together with the true Eastern Meadowlark,
forms occur which cannot properly be placed with either one of
the subspecies because intermediate. They are found as far
east as the counties bordering the Mississippi and as far south
as Montgomery and St. Charles counties. The typical Western
rarely straggles as far east as St. Louis Co. where it was only
158 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
once met with at Old Orchard, in the spring 1896, remaining a
few days singing gloriously.
The question whether the two forms, St. magna and neglecta,
are true species or subspecies still awaits solution, requiring
extensive field work, but offering an excellent opportunity for
profitable study. Mr. J. A. Allen was the first to observe in 1867
"that the Meadowlarks of northern Illinois differed in song
quite markedly from their relations in the eastern United States,
the departure being in the direction of that of var. neglecta"
(See Mem. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. vol. 1, pt. 4, 1868, pp. 496,
497). Dr. Elliott Coues in his Birds of the North-west, 1877,
writes: "At the edge of the western prairies St. magna begins to
shade into var. neglecta, which reaches its maximum departure
on the dry central plains." and again: "The case of Sturnella
magna neglecta is settled and explained; magna shades directly
into neglecta. The change is imperceptibly effected." In vol.
5 of the Nuttall Bull., 1880, Mr. W. J. McGee of Farley, la.,
writes: "I saw several individuals (notably one near Rudd,
Floyd Co.), which I was totally unable to satisfactorily identify
with either S. magna or S. neglecta, either by markings, habits,
attitude or voice. They seemed to hold an intermediate position,
in all characters, between the best marked extremes." The
well-known author of "The Story of the Birds," Mr. James New-
ton Baskett, of Mexico, Mo., who was the first to call the attention
of ornithologists to the hybrid song of Meadowlarks in northern
Missouri (Auk, vol. 13, p. 258, 1896) writes me: "There can be
no doubt about the inter-grading of the two kinds. I have
had several correspondents to confirm this especially from Iowa
and Minnesota."
In his "Study of the Genus Sturnella," Bull. Am. Mus. Nat.
Hist. vol. 13, 1900, Mr. Frank M. Chapman makes the following
instructive remarks in regard to the seasonal change in color and
pattern: "The fact that Meadowlarks have only a post-nuptial
molt and that when the breeding season arrives, wear and fading
have deprived their plumage of its most characteristic colors
and markings, greatly complicates the study of their relation-
ships. The fall molt is concluded in September and from that
month until January there is not sufficient change in plumage
to interfere with the proper identification of specimens. After
January, however, fading and wear often so alter a bird's appear-
ance that its identity cannot be determined with certainty.
It follows, therefore, that the different characters of these birds
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 159
are best exhibited in the fall and are least apparent in the
breeding season, an unfortunate condition of affairs as every
systematist will readily recognize." Of a specimen in the col-
lection of the Biology Survey, a male taken July 13 at Golden
City, Mo., he writes: "S. magna apparently approaching
negleda, but in too worn plumage to be satisfactorily determined."
And of a young bird taken at the same place on the same day :
" Apparently intermediate, the central tail-feathers abnormally
marked with white." What Mr. Chapman says of the song is
highly interesting: "Some advocates of the specific distinctness
of the eastern and western Meadowlarks have attached much
importance to the marked and well-known differences in the
songs of these birds, and while these differences are doubtless
of value in making field identifications, they should not, I think,
be given importance by the systematist. Song is largely if
not wholly an uninherited character and is subject to great
individual and geographical variation. In both magna and
neglecta this statement is usually well illustrated by the wide
range of variation occurring in their respective songs. Dozens
of strikingly different songs of neglecta have been recorded,
its vocal powers have been described as being a ' husky whistle 7
and as excelling those of the Nightingale; and while this differ-
ence is no doubt partially in the ear of the hearer, it nevertheless
attests a wide range of variability. Similar differences are to
be observed in the eastern Meadowlarks." Speaking of a series
of specimens from southern Texas, Mr. Chapman says: "There
can be no doubt that they prove the complete intergradation of
magna and neglecta. Whether this intergradation is geograph-
ical, that is, correlated with climatic conditions, or whether it
is due to the interbreeding of typical examples of magna with
typical examples of neglecta, can only be determined by farther
field work."
Mr. Chapman's paper concludes with the following very ac-
ceptable theory: "Assuming that Meadowlarks originated in
the humid tropics, we have, as the ancestral form, a dark bird,
which, spreading northward along the coast and over the Mexican
tablelands, retained its dark colors in humid regions and ac-
quired a paler color in arid regions. If the assumption of the
origin of both birds from a common ancestor be accepted and if
their geographical intergradation at the southern limits of the
range of neglecta be established, we are then in a position to
explain their apparent association as species in the more northern
160 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
part of their range, on the ground that while their ranges origi-
nally diverged like forks of a Y, the ends have finally come
together, not as geographical intergrades, but as two forms,
both of which have occupied the region where they are found
associated at so recent a date that neither shows the effect of
the climatic conditions under which it lives, but exhibits the
characters earlier acquired.
"In the Mississippi Valley, therefore, we have the apparent
anomoly of two geographical races or subspecies of the same
species breeding at the same place, and, occasionally associated
with them, are certain intermediate specimens showing in vary-
ing degrees the characters of both extremes. Since it is out of
question to suppose that the same environment could produce
three phases of the same species at the same place, that is,
neglecta, magna, arid intermediates between the two, we can
only suppose that such connecting specimens are not geograph-
ical intergrades but the results of a union between neglecta and
magna. In fact, loosely speaking, these connecting specimens
would be termed hybrids, but, accepting as a definition of this
word "the offspring of animals of different species," it is evident
that in a strict sense it cannot be applied to these intermediates,
which are in the progeny of parents not specifically distinct."
[50 Ic. STCJRNELLA MAGNA ARGATULA Bangs. Southern Mea-
dowlark.]
Geog. Dist. Southern United States from Florida to Louis-
iana, north to southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana
within the limits of the Austroriparian or Lower Austral life-
zone.
This smaller and darker subspecies should be looked for in
our southeastern counties.
*506. ICTERUS SPURIUS (Linn.). Orchard Oriole.
Oriolus spurius. Oriolus mutatus Wils.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, breeding from southern
Texas and northern Florida north to Connecticut, southern New
York, southern Ontario, southern Michigan, southern Wis-
consin, central Minnesota and South Dakota: west to 100
meridian. In winter to Mexico, Central America and northern
Colombia, Cuba.
In Missouri one of our most common and generally distributed
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 161
summer residents, originally inhabiting the timber along water
courses, but now taking to orchards, gardens and even the shade
trees around houses and the streets of towns and cities. It is one
of the commonest species in the Ozarks, wherever there is a
settlement, on the ridges as well as in the valleys. The first
come to southern Missouri soon after the middle of April, to
central Missouri in the fourth week, and to the more northern
part of the state the last days of the month or the first few
days of May, when the bulk of the species has generally spread
all over the rest of the state. The first to arrive are the old
males followed after a few days by the first females and the first
males of the second year. It is from one to two weeks after
the first males have come before their full strength is reached
and their song heard everywhere. After the young are grown
the species roams in July and August in troops through the
country living mostly on wild cherries, wild grapes and other
wild fruit, sometimes visiting orchards. After August 20 the
species is seen only occasionally, though we may come upon a
few later in the month or in early September, exceptionally later
(September 17, 1903, New Haven; September 21, 1903, Kansas
City).
*507. ICTERUS GALBULA (Linn.) Baltimore Oriole.
Oriolus baltimore. Icterus baltimore. Yphantes baltimore. Hangnest.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, breeding from southern
United States, except along Gulf coast, north to Maritime
Provinces, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba; west to eastern
Assiniboia, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado east of the Rocky
Mountains. Winters through eastern Mexico and Central
America to Colombia and Venezuela.
In Missouri a common summer resident except in the Ozarks
where it is found in the larger valleys only. Originally the
Baltimore inhabited the trees overhanging streams and it still
follows this fashion in the southeast, where its loud wild notes
fit well to the weird scenery of those desolate waters. With
the settlement of the prairie region it was not slow to see the
advantages of a closer contact with modern conditions and now
hangs its nest in the shade trees next to human habitation, but
fortunately so far out of reach of enemies that the species can
not only hold its own, but is enabled to spread to sections not
inhabited before. The first male Baltimore arrives in southeast
Missouri at the end of the first or beginning of the second week
162 Trans. Acad. Sti. of St. Louis.
of April; at St. Louis sometimes at the end of the third, more
commonly at the beginning of the fourth week and in the northern
part of the state during the fourth week or the last days of the
month. The females and first young males of the second year
come a few days later and full numbers are not present before
the first week of May. Transient visitants swell their numbers
during the first half of May and are sometimes met with in small
troops in unusual places in the woods and in regions where they
are not breeders, as on the dry hills of the Ozarks.. When the
young, which soon outgrow their nest and, sitting around in trees,
play for a while a conspicuous part by their loud clamoring,
are fully grown, the family leaves the breeding haunts and roams
in search of favorite diet, chiefly caterpillars and fruit. At this
period it is seldom heard, the species displaying a tendency to
secrecy, which accounts for its temporary rarity in late July
and early August. But before its departure after migration
from the north has set in, the Baltimore becomes fora few days
prominent again, calls loudly and visits its old haunts, as if to
bid good-bye. Ours may be said to be gone by September
first, but stragglers are encountered frequently until the middle
of the month, even in the northern part of Missouri.
509. EUPHAGUS CAROLINUS (Miill.). Rusty Blackbird.
Scolecophagus carolinus. Scolecophagus ferrugineus. Gracula ferruginea.
Quiscaius ferrugineus. Turdus carolinus. Rusty Grackle. Thrush
Blackbird.
Geog. Dist. Eastern and Northern North America; breeding
from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, northern Maine, White
Mountains, Vermont and northern New York, northern Michigan,
north to Ungava and northwestwardly to the Arctic coast
and Alaskan shores of Bering Sea. South in winter to Southern
United States; west in migration to central Nebraska, Kansas
and Texas, wintering from Lower Missouri and Ohio Valleys
southward.
In all parts of Missouri a common transient visitant and in the
more southern part not a very rare winter resident, frequenting
barn yards when other food supplies are cut off. Migration begins
in latter part of February, but no great progress is made until
about the second or third week of March, when the species be-
comes for a week or two common in most parts of the state.
In some years the bulk of the species has passed northward at
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 163
the end of the first Week of April, but, as is the case with other
early migrants, cold weather may retard progress for weeks
and the first half of April be the time for the chief passage
of Rusty Blackbirds through Missouri. The "lasts" have been
recorded all the way from the first of April (1905, Shannon Co.)
to April 23 (1874, Johnson Co.). The earliest date in fall mi-
gration is September 28, 1896, at the northeastern corner of the
state (Currier), but usually the first do not reach Missouri before
the second week of October. They mingle and roost with the
Robins or with the Redwings in the reeds of the bottomlands.
After this there is a steady decline until toward the end of
November winter numbers only are left.
510. EUPHAGUS CYANOCEPHALUS (Wagl.). Brewer's Blackbird.
Scolecophagus cyanocephalus. Quiscalus breweri. Blue-headed Crackle.
Geog. Dist. Western North America; breeding from southern
Texas and Mexico north to British Columbia, Alberta, Sas-
katchewan and Manitoba ; east to Minnesota, Nebraska, western
Kansas. During migrations straggling east to Wisconsin, Iowa,
Illniois, South Carolina and Louisiana. In winter over the whole
of Mexico into Guatemala.
Has been reported from Freistatt, Lawrence Co., by Mr. H.
Nehrling, who met with a party of five, March 1, 1885, and a
troop of twenty, November 7, 1886. It is probably more common
than we know and should be looked for along our western border,
since Professor Snow states that it is "quite common even in
eastern Kansas." Dr. Allen says that "from its size, color and
habits it may readily be mistaken for the Purple Grackle of the
East." The male is lustrous greenish-black, changing abruptly
to purplish and violet on the head. ' The female and young are
distinguished from those of E. carolinus with some difficulty,
but they average larger, with the bill heavier at the base, and are
probably never so decidedly rusty-brown (Coues, Birds of the
North-west).
*511b. QUISCALUS QUISCULA AENEUS (Ridgw.). Bronzed Grackle.
Quiscalus versicolor. Quiscalus purpureus. Quiscalus aeneus. Quiscalus
purpureus aeneus. Grackle. Crow Blackbird. Common Blackbird.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America except Atlantic coast
district from shores of Long Island Sound southward and the
Gulf coast from Florida to Louisiana; northward through Mari-
164 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
time Provinces to southern Newfoundland, southern Labrador,
Great Slave Lake and Prince Albert; west to base of Rocky
Mountains in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico.
Winters chiefly in the Lower Mississippi Valley south of lat.
35, occasionally farther north.
In Missouri the Bronzed Grackle is one of the common and
generally distributed summer residents on open land, nesting in
small colonies, preferably near human habitation. In south-
eastern Missouri they still nest in tree holes in deadenings; else-
where they choose evergreens and other heavily foliaged shade
trees for nesting sites. In the Ozarks, which were formerly
densely wooded, the species is still rare as a breeder, even in
places which have long been cleared and cultivated. As a winter
visitant the Bronzed Grackle is rare except along the Mississippi
River from St. Louis southward. Opposite St. Charles along
the bank of the Missouri River there is a large swampy tract of
willows used as a winter roost for innumerable Redwings, and
with them hundreds of Bronzed Grackles have been seen going
even in the middle of January, in mild weather, but as their
numbers change constantly, there are hardly two days alike,
showing that they also use other roosts farther south, to which
they fly when the weather is not inviting northward. Should
weather conditions remain unfavorable the roost may remain
deserted or nearly so for weeks at a time, until a change sets in
when they appear again. Away from the roost they are seldom
met with, because they go far to favorite feeding grounds and
scatter over a large territory. Real migration begins in the
latter part of February and in early March in the southeast;
it reaches the central, and along the Mississippi River even the
northern, counties in the second, less often in the third week of
the month, very rarely later, as in 1906, when winter reigned to
the end of March. The first-comers are probably mostly tran-
sients, bound for the far north, keep in dense flocks and roost in
the river bottoms. It is only after the bulk of the species has
invaded the state during the latter half of March, that the first
of our summer residents make their appearance on the breeding
grounds and announce that they intend to occupy them again
as soon as their mates have arrived. They return in the evening
to the common roost and, should the weather turn bad, are not
seen at their old stands again for days, but as soon as warm
weather sets in they return, are joined by the first females, and
mating begins with much chasing and noise making. The
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 165
transit of tremendous flocks of migrants continues through the
first two weeks of April, during which time the ranks of summer
residents fill up, and nest-building begins. During all this time
of mating and nest-building, and until incubation begins, the
whole colony leave the breeding ground in the evening and go
to the common roost, preferably willows in the bottoms, to which
they come from all sides for miles to spend the night together.
As soon as the young are able to fly so far, about the first of July,
they also follow the parents to the common roost. While not
very popular with some agriculturists, they are well liked by
.others, who appreciate their services when following the plow
or doing other useful jobs in cleaning the fields of vermin. With
their glossy plumage, elegant shape and graceful walk they are
quite an ornament in parks and on the lawns of the suburbanites
and, though not protected by law, and subjected to much perse-
cution, they still hold their own, thanks to a great deal of fore-
sight which permits them to increase their numbers two or three
fold before the end of July. They are very cautious in locating
their nests, which are not easily detected though bulky. As
incubation advances they become very quiet and when feeding
young are little seen in the immediate vicinity of the nest, but
approach it stealthily and bring the food from great distances.
The young grow very fast and the nest becomes too small a
week or more before they are able to fly, but having strong legs
they crawl out and perch on branches of the surrounding trees.
At this time the whole family becomes a nuisance. The ever
hungry youngsters keep up an incessant discordant clamor, and
the parents raise their not melodious voices as soon as somebody
approaches one of the trees in which their objects of solicitation
are hidden. Only one brood is raised, but if the eggs or newly
hatched young should be destroyed, as they sometimes are by
severe windstorms blowing down the bulky nests, another at-
tempt is made, which accounts for unusually late broods. If
all goes well, the Bronzed Grackles of St. Louis Co. leave the
breeding grounds entirely early in July not to return until the
next spring. Troops of them roam over the country, forming
large flocks which retire in the evening to common roosts used by
many flocks. Southward migration begins early in October,
when large flocks pass over, but the movement does not reach
its maximum before the middle of the month, when immense
numbers go to roost in the marshes with the Redwings. The
numbers vary daily but grow less toward the end of the month
166 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
and during the first half of November, reaching winter conditions
before the first of December.
Family FRINGILLIDAE. Finches, Sparrows.
514. HESPERIPHONA VESPERTINA (Coop.). Evening Grosbeak.
Fringilla vespertina. Coccothraustes vespertinus. Coccoborus vespertinus.
Geog. Dist. Interior districts of North America east of Rocky
Mountains; breeding range unknown. In winter from Sas-
katchewan River south to northern United States and east
through Ontario and New York to New England; everywhere
irregular and occasionally south as far as Kansas, Kentucky,
Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
In Missouri a very rare winter visitant. Mr. J. N. Baskett
took a male and female at Mexico, Mo., and saw small flocks on
two. other occasions. A party of three paid a visit to Dr. A. F.
Eimbeck at New Haven, Mo., from September 21 to October 4,
1903. Mr. W. E. Praeger says that a flock was seen and some
of them shot, December 14, 1887, in Clark Co., Mo. Two were
taken at Belleville, 111., by Mr. Fuchs and others by Mr. Chas.
K. Worthen at Warsaw, 111., where several were shot out of a
flock, five miles below the city on the river bluff. In the Auk,
vol. 4, 1887, Mr. L. 0. Pindar reports the occurrence at Hickman,
Ky., on the Mississippi River between Cairo and New Madrid;
one female was found dead March 18, 1887, another was shot
March 22, a fine male March 23, and a flock of seven seen in town
March 25.
[515. PINICOLAENUCLEATORLEUCURA(M tiller). Pine Grosbeak.]
Loxiaenucleator. Pyrrhulaenucleator. Cwyihusenudeator. Pinicola enu-
deator. Pinicola canadensis. Pinicola enucleator canadensis. Canadian
Pine Grosbeak.
Geog. Dist. Northeastern North America, breeding from the
White Mountains, Maine and New Brunswick north to the limits
of coniferous forests; south in winter to New England, New
York, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska;
occasionally farther south to eastern Kansas, western Kentucky,
District of Columbia.
As this species is said to be fond of the fruit of the Red Cedar,
it should be looked for in the extensive cedar brakes of southern
Missouri; its presence may be expected any time between
October and April. It has been captured at our state lines
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 167
both in the east and -west. In the Auk, vol. 5, 1888, Mr. L. 0.
Pindar reports the occurrence of a flock of 8 or 10 Pine Groskeaks
at Hickman, Ky., February 7, 1888. On the 8th, llth, and 13th
they were again seen, and on the 24th one male and three females
were secured. On the 25th another female was shot and 3 or
4 females were seen March 19th. The Kansas record is taken
from Snow, " Birds of Kansas," 3rd ed., 1875, where it is said
that according to Dr. Brewer this species was taken once in
winter at Leavenworth by Sidney Smith.
517. CARPODACUS PURPUREUS (Gmel.). Purple Finch.
Fringilla purpurea. Erythrospiza purpurea.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America; breeding from Penn-
sylvania (in mountains), northern New Jersey, Connecticut,
southern Ontario, Minnesota and North Dakota to the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan and Alberta. In
winter from eastern Nebraska, Indiana and New Jersey south-
ward to Florida and eastern Texas.
In Missouri a common transient visitant and not a rare, but
irregular, winter resident, much more common in eastern than
in western Missouri. Their presence in winter is not so much
dependent on temperature as on abundance of favorite food,
which they find chiefly in the river bottoms, as Ash and Syca-
more seeds, buds and seeds of Elm and Maple, Ambrosia seeds,
etc. Migratory movements begin with the first warm weather
in February, when the hardiest sparrows, Bluebirds, Robins,
Redwings, Ducks, Geese, etc., advance northward. About
March 10 migration becomes brisk and during the rest of the
month and until April 20 large flocks of singing birds are present.
The last birds, chiefly females and young males, are usually
noted during the last week of April, sometimes in the first week
of May, or in very backward springs as that of 1907 until May
19 (St. Louis). The first appear in fall migration about Sep-
tember 20, become common in the first week of October and re-
main so to the end of the month, roaming about in small flocks
and singing often. After the first week of November winter
numbers only are left.
521. LOXIA CURVIROSTRA MINOR (Brehm). American Crossbill.
Loxia curvirostra. Loxia americana. Loxia curvirostra americana.
Geog. Dist. Northern and Eastern North America ; breeding
in coniferous forests from southern Alleghanies in northern
168 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Georgia and from Michigan and Wisconsin northward to Nova
Scotia and westward through Athabasca and Saskatchewan to
western Alaska and southward through Pacific coast districts
to western Oregon. In winter irregularly southward as far
south as Louisiana, South Carolina, casually to the Bermudas.
In Missouri a sometimes common but irregular transient and
winter visitant, appearing in November and disappearing in
May, oftenest met with from February 22 to April 1 and about
the middle of November. Once seen in summer at Old Orchard.
They move in small flocks and are attracted to our parks and
gardens by the ornamental pines, chiefly Pinus austriaca,
the seeds of which they like very much. They also eat apples
left on trees, feed on buds of Elms, seeds of Ambrosia trifida,
etc. Their occurrence is reported from all parts of the state.
Four males and one female were taken at St. Joseph, December
26, 1894, by Mr. S. S. Wilson. Mr. Chas. Tindall says they are
sometimes common at Independence. Dr. A. F. Eimbeck
observed them on different occasions at New Haven, October
5 to 16, 1903. Five were shot from a flock of fifteen February 17,
1889, near Keokuk; Mr. Chas. K. Worthen took this and the
White-winged Crossbill at Warsaw, 111. Mr. E. Seymour
Woodruff saw Crossbills in Shannon Co., April 3, 1907, and heard
them again April 4. On May 5 he writes: " Small numbers are
seen or heard every few days. Last seen May 1st. Their
organs show no signs of any possibility of breeding for some time
to come."
522. LOXIA LEUCOPTERA Gmel. White-winged Crossbill.
Curvirostra leucoptera.
Geog. Dist. Coniferous forests of northern North America,
south to Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Maine, New
Hampshire (White Mountains), New York (Adirondacks),
Mackinac Island ; in winter irregularly as far south as Washing-
ton, D. C., Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Bloomington, Ind., southern
Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, Nevada, British Columbia etc.,
also to Greenland and western Europe.
There is little doubt that careful search will bring to light its
presence in Missouri during its extensive wandering in winter.
Mr. Chas. K. Worthen took several out of a small flock on the
Mississippi bluffs near Warsaw opposite the northeastern corner
of Missouri and an adult male was taken November 4, 1899,
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 169
near Lawrence, Kan v within fifty miles of our western state line.
Since the above was written Mr. E. Seymour Woodruff secured
a female from among American Crossbills in Shannon Co.,
April 18, 1907.
528. ACANTHIS LIN ARIA (Linn.). Redpoll.
Fringilla linaria. Aegiothus linaria. Linaria minor. Aegiothus fusces-
cens.
Geog. Dist. More northern portions of northern hemisphere;
breeding from the islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence northward.
In winter to northern United States, irregularly to Virginia,
northern Alabama, southern Ohio and Indiana, Missouri, Kansas,
Colorado, southeastern Oregon and coast of Washington.
In Missouri an irregular, sometimes fairly common, winter
visitant. Earliest dates, November 4 and 5, 1885, Mt. Carmel;
November 18, 1903, New Haven. Latest dates April 1, 1885,
April 8, 1886, Mt. Carmel and April 12, 1903, Montgomery City.
The species is also reported from Kansas City, February 21, to
24, 1882, and repeatedly from Keokuk where it is sometimes
abundant. It has on several occasions been met with in the
city of St. Louis, visiting gardens, feeding on the seeds of com-
positae, chiefly in January and February. There are at present
no records from southern Missouri.
*529. ASTRAGALINUS TRiSTis (Linn.). American Goldfinch.
Fringilla tristis. Spinus tristis. Cardudis tristis. Chrysomitris tristis.
Carduelis americana. Wild Canary. Thistle-bird. Salad-bird.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, breeding from Virginia,
Kentucky and Kansas northward to Newfoundland, Labrador,
Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba; west to Alberta, Wyoming
and Colorado; south in winter to southern United States, some
remaining even in the northern states and Ontario.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident in open districts,
rare in the more densely wooded portions of the state. For
nesting it prefers the neighborhood of human habitation from
the middle of May to the end of August but likes to rove in troops
the remainder of the year. It is also not a rare, but irregular,
winter visitant in small troops, associated with other fringil-
lidae such as Tree Sparrows, Purple Finches, Juncos, in migra-
tion, also with Yellow-rumped Warblers, Pine Piskins and
others. It feeds preferably on seeds of composites, but also on
170 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Sycamore, Ash, Boxelder, etc., and needing much water is oftener
seen drinking than any other sparrow. It is most common and
generally distributed as a transient visitant. Those seen before
April 20 are mostly individuals which have passed the winter
with us and are becoming more conspicuous, assuming slowly
their summer dress and beginning to sing. Real migration
reaches us with great regularity about April 20 and lasts three
weeks to May 10, exceptionally later as in the cold spring of 1907,
May 20. During this time Goldfinches are with us in flocks of
from 30 to 60, mostly in high dress and very musical, assembling
in treetops and concerting like Bobolinks or Blackbirds, all be-
ginning or breaking off at the same moment. After the middle
of May transients are gone and summer residents are seen in
pairs, but it takes them some time to locate and settle down.
When the young are grown the family begins to roam and gather
into small flocks about the middle of September. October 1
migration from the north reaches us and lasts throughout the
month, sometimes in big flocks, frequenting the same localities
for resting as in spring. Soon after November 1 winter numbers
only are left, wandering in search of food over most of the state,
but oftenest found in the flood plains of the Mississippi and
Missouri Rivers and in the southeast.
533. SPINUS PINUS (Wils.). Pine Siskin.
Fringilla pinus. Carduelis pinus. Chrysomitris pinus. Linaria pinus.
Geog. Dist. North America generally, breeding in the north-
ern coniferous forests south to parts of New England, Hudson
Valley, on mountains south to North Carolina, to Minnesota,
and on the western ranges to the southern boundary of the
United States. In winter chiefly in the southern United States,
California and into Mexico.
In Missouri a rather irregular transient visitant, sometimes
seen in winter, but most records are about the first of November
and in the latter part of April. Latest date May 15, 1897,
when Mr. Currier saw a flock of ten near Keokuk. They gener-
ally move in small flocks by themselves and associate on the
feeding grounds with Goldfinches, Purple Finches, Myrtle
Warblers, etc. Small troops of them have been reported from
St. Joseph by Mr. S. S. Wilson, April 4 and 7, 1896, and from
Fayette by Prof. Kilpatrick in January and February 1885.
Since the above was written the extraordinary cold spring of
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 171
1907 revolutionized migration dates generally and those of the
Siskin in particular. On May 13 the first Siskins were noticed
at St. Louis among the large number of Goldfinches present at
their old stands which they regularly visit every year and which
they frequented this year ten days longer than usual, namely
to May 20. From May 16 to 23 inclusive, flocks of from 30 to
50 Siskins were found associated with the Goldfinches at three
of those stands, and even after the bulk of the Goldfinches had
gone the Siskins remained and their song could then be heard
often. They were exceedingly tame, did much of their feeding
on the ground and came to the water as frequently as the Gold-
finches. In the pine region of Shannon Co. Mr. E. S. Woodruff
did not find Siskins before April 28, 29 and 30, 1907, and a flock
of from 8 to 12, on May 13. At Grandin he found small flocks
still present on May 16 and 17 and saw one fly by June 4, 1907,
ten miles north of Grandin.
CARDUELIS CARDUELIS (Linn.). Goldfinch.
Fringilla carduelis. Carduelis elegans.
Geog. Dist. Europe in general except extreme northern por-
tions; south, in winter, to Palestine and Egypt. Introduced
into northeastern United States and naturalized in Cuba, in
New York City and vicinity, and Cincinnati, Ohio; accidental(?)
at New Haven, Conn., near Boston, Worcester, etc., Mass.,
Toronto, Ont., etc.
Early in the spring of 1870 a few pairs of Goldfinches were
introduced into Missouri with other European songsters and
liberated in Lafayette Park at St. Louis in April after the weather
had become warm. Like most of the other birds liberated at
the same time the Goldfinches left the Park almost immediately
and the writer never heard of the occurrence of any European
Goldfinches in Missouri until the following article appeared in
the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Liberty, Mo., June 2, 1906.
A pair of goldfinches made their appearance in the courthouse
yard here and the ' prophets' are unanimous in the opinion
that they are the forerunners of an extra hot and dry summer.
It is the first time in twenty years that this species has been seen
here. The birds got their name from a large patch of yellow
on their wings. The front of the head and throat are bright
red, the nape, with part of the wings and tail, black."
172 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
PASSER DOMESTICUS (Linn.). House Sparrow.
Fringilla domestica. English House Sparrow.
Geog. Dist. Europe except Italy. Introduced into United
States, where thoroughly and ineradicably naturalized in all
settled districts; also Bahamas, Cuba, Nova Scotia, Bermuda
and southern Greenland. A resident wherever it occurs.
In Missouri wherever there are houses occupied by human
beings.
PASSER MONTANUS (Linn.). European Tree Sparrow.
Fringilla montana. Pyrgita montana.
Geog. Dist. Europe and Asia to China and Japan.
In America only in the neighborhood of St. Louis where it
was introduced in 1870. It has left the thickly settled parts
St. Louis but is found scatteringly throughout the outskirts and
suburbs, spreading to neighboring cities, Alton, Grafton, and
Belleville, 111., to Creve Coeur Lake, St. Charles, and westward
as far as Washington,|54 miles from St. Louis (September 1906).
534. PASSERINA NIVALIS (Linn.). Snowflake.
Emberiza nivalis. Plectrophanes nivalis. Plectrophenax nivalis. Snow-
bird.
Geog. Dist. Northern parts of northern hemisphere, breeding
in arctic and subarctic regions. In America breeding in the
barren ground or tundra region from Ungava to Alaska and
islands to lat. 82; in winter south to northern United States,
irregularly to District of Columbia, Georgia, southern Ohio,
southern Indiana, Kansas, Colorado, eastern Oregon.
In Missouri an apparently rare winter visitant as far south as
the Missouri River. First reported from Audrain Co. by Mrs.
Musick of Mt. Carmel, December 22, 1884; four days later the
species became common; the last were seen, March 24, 1885.
Mr. E. S. Currier met with a flock of fifty in one of the roads
leading out of Keokuk, la., January 17, 1887. Mr. E. M.
Parker of Montgomery City found the Snowflakes December
17, 1901, and again in January on 7, 11, 25 and 31, 1902.
Mr. Chas. Tindall of Independence saw one on a sandbar in the
Missouri River November 8, 1892. Mr. Trippe in his Birds of
Decatur Co., la., just north of central Missouri state line, says
in 1872: "A few every winter; abundant in severe seasons."
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 173
536. CALCARIUS LAPPONICUS (Linn.). Lapland Longspur.
Fringilla lapponica. Emberiza lapponica. Plectrophanes lapponica. Cen-
trophanes lapponicus.
Geog. Dist. Northern parts of northern hemisphere; breeding
in arctic and subarctic regions. In North America chiefly in
northeast, including Greenland, Melville peninsula and Cumber-
land Sound, Ungava etc. In winter south to Virginia, South
Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, Indian Territory and Texas;
west to Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, where it comes together
with the western subspecies, C. I. alascensis.
In Missouri a fairly common and pretty regular winter visitant,
appearing from the north in November and remaining until
March. Earliest, November 2, 1885, Mt. Carmel; latest,
March 31, 1889, Fayette. They move in flocks of different size,
sometimes very large, or in company with Horned Larks, and
frequent the wind-swept hillsides of the Ozark border as well as
the low marshes of the river bottoms or fields and meadows of
the prairie region. Mr. John D. Kastendieck, who took some
in Christian Co., considers them rare in his vicinity. Mr. Chas.
T. Eimbeck, who has a number of mounted specimens in his
collection, finds them common in some winters, rare in others at
New Haven, Mo. Mr. Tindall reports a flock of a dozen at Inde-
pendence, November 10, 1901. Flocks of this species along our
western border should be carefully examined, as they may con-
tain McCown's or Chestnut-collared Longspurs and Missouri
Skylarks.
537. CALCARIUS PICTUS (Swains.). Smith's Longspur.
Emberiza picta. Plectrophanes pictus. Centrophanes pictus. Emberiza
smithii.
Geog. Dist. Interior plains of North America east of Rocky
Mountains; breeding in the Mackenzie River valley from the
Arctic coast south to the Great Slave Lake and west to the
upper Yukon; south in winter as far as Texas; east to north-
western Indiana and Illinois.
In Missouri observed only in the Mississippi bottom of northern
Missouri, where probably of regular occurrence, but should be
looked for also on higher ground in all parts of the state, as it
was taken at Fayetteville in the Ozark region of northern Ar-
kansas, February 28, 1885, and at Lincoln, southeastern Nebraska
April 20, 1891. It is given as a common winter resident in Kan-
174 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
sas.^Audubon, Harris and Bell found it very abundant on the
lowjf prairie near a lake a few miles from Edwardsville, 111., in
April 1843. Mr. E. S. Currier regards it as a regular spring
migrant and sometimes in fall at Keokuk. Mr. W. E. Praeger
has three records of its occurrence in Clark Co., Mo., in the second
and third week of April. The writer met with it April 12, 1894,
in Lincoln Co. (Auk, vol. 12, p. 7). April and October seem to
be the months, when we can expect it in Missouri. Mr. W. W.
Cooke found it wintering at Caddo, Ind. Ter., 34 11' lat., from
the middle of November to the end of February. Mr. Otho C.
Poling of Quincy, 111., calls it (Auk, vol. 7, p. 240) a regular
spring and fall -migrant, seemingly more plentiful in the fall than
in the spring, sojourning from early October until the middle
of November, frequenting stubble fields of oats and wheat with
short grass and weeds. He also found large flocks on the low-
land a,bout Lima Lake, lying closely in the short grass.
538. CALCARIUS ORNATUS (Towns.). Chestnut-collared Long-
spur.
Plectrophanes ornatus. Centrophanes ornatus. Emberiza ornata. Plectro-
phanes melanomus.
Geog. Dist. Great Plains of North America, breeding from
Kansas and Colorado north to the Saskatchewan. In winter to
Arizona and Mexico.
The only record of its occurrence in Missouri is that of W. E.
D. Scott, who found it rather common during April, 1874,
on the prairies west of Warrensburg, Johnson Co. Dr. E. Coues
writes that it associates intimately with P. pictus, Smith's
Longspur, and has much the same habits and general appearance.
[539. RHYNCHOPHANES MCCOWNII (Lawr.). McCown's Long-
spur.]
Plectrophanes mccownii.
Geog. Dist. Great Plains district of North America, breeding
from eastern Colorado and northwestern Kansas northward to
plains of the Saskatchewan; south in winter to northern Mexico,
Arizona, New Mexico and Texas; casual to Illinois.
The Illinois record comes from Champaign where in January,
1877, three specimens were taken with Lapland Longspurs.
This species may be expected to occur as a migrant or winter
visitant any time between September first and May first and
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 175
should be looked for in western Missouri, as it has been secured
several times in eastern Nebraska. Dr. E. Coues says that 5 it
has been observed usually in company with P. ornatus, and Dr.
J. A. Allen writes: "In habits, notes and general appearance,
it is scarcely distinguishable, at a little distance, from the Chest-
nut-collared Bunting."
*540. POOECETES GRAMINEUS (Gmel.). Vesper Sparrow.
Fringilla graminea. Emberiza graminea. Zonotrichia graminea. Poocetes
gramineus. Bay-winged Bunting. Grassfinch. Ground Sparrow.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and more southern British
provinces ; breeding from Virginia and northern Missouri north-
ward. Winters in Southern States to eastern Texas.
In Missouri a fairly common transient visitant and a scarce
or only locally common summer resident according to some ob-
servers in the prairie region north and west. Mr. S. S. Wilson
took eggs of this species June 15, 1895, at St. Joseph; Mr. Prier
says it is a very common breeder at Appleton City; Mr. E. M.
Parker reports it breeding in Montgomery Co. In his list of
Warrensburg birds, made in 1874, W. E. D. Scott gives this
species as breeding, but Mr. Aubrey F. Smithson's list of War-
rensburg breeders, 1906, does riot corroborate that statement,
neither did Mr. Chas. W. Tindall find it breeding near Independ-
ence. On the cottonfields of the southeast the first transients
appear early in March; in central Missouri about March 15 r
in the most northern counties seldom before April. They are
never very common, but may be met with in small troops along
the edges of woods or timbered creeks nearly throughout April,
most commonly between the 10th and 20th. In fall the bulk of
transients passes through Missouri in the second half of October,
though loiterers have been noted late in November (November 20,
1902, Jasper Co., November 20, 1894, Keokuk). In Shannon
Co., where Mr. E. S. Woodruff found the first, March 19, none
were seen after April 7.
*542a. PASSERCULUS SANDWICHENSIS SAVANNA (Wils.). Savanna
Sparrow.
Fringilla savanna. Passerculus savanna. Emberiza savanna. Ammo-
dramus sandwichensis savanna.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, breeding from Con-
necticut, Pennsylvania, Ontario, northwestern Indiana northward
176 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
to Ungava, west side of Hudson Bay, etc. Winters in the
Southern States, Bahamas, Cuba. Replaced westwardly by
subspecies alaudinus (Bonaparte).
In Missouri a common transient visitant from the middle of
March to the first week of May and again from early in September
to late in November, but chiefly in April and October. It was
found breeding May 27, 1874, by W. E. D. Scott, near Warrens-
burg, where it was rather common in the spring of 1874. Mr.
Nehrling found it breeding at Pierce City, Mo. (W. W. Cooke),
and Mr. R. Ridgway at Mount Carmel in southern Illinois, the
nests being in damp meadows; he also took some there in the
middle of winter. That Mr. E. S. Woodruff found not only the
Vesper Sparrow, but also the Savanna Sparrow common on
meadows at Eudy, Shannon Co., in the midst of the heavily
wooded Ozark hills is interesting as it shows that even such birds
usually associated with open country do not follow river valleys
or certain prescribed migration routes, but fly broadcast across
the land, whether high or low, wooded or open. He found the
first March 19, and they became common April 28, remaining
so for a whole week.
542b. PASSERCULUS SANDWICHENSIS ALAUDINUS (Bonap.). Wes-
tern Savanna Sparrow.
Passerculus alaudinus. Passerculus savanna alaudinus. Ammodramus
sandwichensis alaudinus.
Geog. Dist. Western North America; breeding from north-
western Alaska to southern portion of Mexican tableland and
from the Plains to the Pacific. In migration east to eastern
Nebraska. Winters from the valleys of the western United
States and Mexico to Guatemala.
While collecting in Shannon Co. in spring 1907, Mr. E. Seymour
Woodruff met with Savanna Sparrows, March 19 and 22, taking
specimens which proved to be this subspecies. On May 5 he
wrote that he found the species again on April 25 and considered
it common on and after April 28 in meadows at Eudy, Shannon
Co.
545. COTURNICULUS BAIRDII (Aud.). BaircTs Sparrow.
Emberiza bairdii. Ammodramus bairdii. Centronyx bairdi. Passerculus
bairdi. Centronyx ochrocephalus.
Geog. Dist. Great Plains of North America; breeding from
western Minnesota, North Dakota, eastern Montana north to
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 177
Assiniboia and Manitpba; south during migration to Texas,
New Mexico, Arizona, northern Mexico; west to eastern Wash-
ington; east to Iowa and Missouri.
Was met with in St. Charles Co., October 18, 1894 (Auk, vol.
12, p. 219), and in St. Louis Co., near Old Orchard, March 17,
1895. Was also taken by Mr. S. S. Wilson at St. Joseph, March
24 and May 25, 1895, and March 21, 1896. It is a regular spring
and fall migrant at Grinnell in central Iowa (April 25, 1885, and
March 24 to April 20, 1886; October 4 to 16, 1886) and is prob-
ably not a very rare transient visitant in Missouri, but easily
overlooked when in company with other sparrows, such as
Spizella monticola along the edge of woods in March, or Savanna
Sparrows, etc. along the lakes and sloughs of the marsh land in
the river bottoms.
*546. COTURNICULUS SAV ANN ARUM PASSERiNUS (Wils.). Grass-
hopper Sparrow.
Fringilla savannarum. Fringilla passerina. Emberiza passerina. Cotur-
niculus passerinus. Ammodramus passerinus. Ammodramus savan-
narum. Cricket Bird.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and more southern
British provinces; west to edge of Plains; north to Maine,
New Hampshire, Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin etc. Winters
south of United States in Cuba, Yucatan and Gulf coast of
Mexico.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident in the prairie
and Ozark border region. The first arrive in southern Missouri
about the middle of April (earliest April 10, 1902, Jasper Co.) ;
in northern Missouri usually after April 20 and become common
during the last week of April or, in some years, only in the first
week of May, when they are sometimes numerous enough to
suggest the presence of transient visitants. While their singing
betrays them easily in spring their silence in autumn causes them
to be observed with difficulty and the dates of "last seen" vary
from the latter part of August through September to October 31 ;
there is even a record of November 15, 1902, from Jasper, but
this, as well as one of March 21, 1896, from St. Joseph, must be
regarded as quite exceptional. Mr. E. S. Woodruff found them
common in meadows at Eudy, Shannon Co., April 25, 1907, and,
finding them still present May 13, and at Grandin, Carter Co.,
June 3, 1907, considers them breeders in that region.
178 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
546a. COTURNICULUS SAV ANN ARUM BIMACULATUS (Swains.)-
Western Grasshopper Sparrow.
Ammodramus bimaculatus. Coturniculus passerinus perpallidus. Ammo-
dramus savannarum perpallidus.
Geog. Dist. Western United States and Mexican tableland.
East to Minnesota, Iowa and eastern Kansas. South to Guate-
mala and Costa Rica.
After comparing the Grasshopper Sparrows, which Mr. E.
Seymour Woodruff captured in southern Missouri in March and
April 1907, he comes to the conclusion that they are rather
intermediates, but nearer to bimaculatus, " having smaller bills,
more chestnut and less black on their backs than the eastern bird."
*547. AMMODRAMUS HENSLOWII (Aud.). Henslow's Sparrow.
Emberiza henslowii. Fringilla lienslowii. Coturniculus henslowii. Hens-
low's Bunting.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States north to New Hampshire,
New York, Ontario, Wisconsin, Minnesota, etc., breeding south
to lat 38, west to eastern Kansas. Winters in the southern
states from Florida to Texas.
In Missouri a locally common summer resident in marshes and
wet meadows, probably of general distribution throughout the
prairie and Ozark border regions, but easily overlooked. It
has been found nesting in damp fields in St. Louis Co. and in the
marshes of St. Charles Co. It is reported as a breeder in the
Mississippi river bottom along the state line from Quincy, War-
saw and Keokuk. Audubon met with it May 9, 1843, near the
northwest corner of Missouri and Mr. W. E. D. Scott found it
common and breeding June 1 to 10, 1874, at Warrensburg.
Mr. Chas. Tindall also found it common at Independence. It
reaches the breeding grounds in Missouri during the latter half
of April and remains with us until late in October. The earliest
date in spring migration is contributed by Mr. E. S. Woodruff,
who took one in Shannon Co., March 19, 1907. To detect it in
early spring and summer one has only to be in its haunts before
sunrise, when sitting on weed stalks it utters its peculiar "se-
wick" incessantly until the sun is well up in the sky. It is also
heard before nightfall, but during the day its song is given only
at long intervals, especially on warm days and when feeding the
young in the nest. Like its cousins, the Henslow's Sparrow
lies very close and flies quite a distance before alighting in the
tangled grass, in which it escapes by running and hiding.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 179
*518. AMMODRAMUS LECONTEII (Aud.). Leconte's Sparrow.
Emberiza leconteii. FringiUa caudacuta. Coturniculus leconteii.
Geog. Dist. Prairie marshes of Mississippi Valley and Cen-
tral British Provinces; breeding from Minnesota and South Da-
kota to Manitoba and Assiniboia. Winters in the Gulf States,
Florida to Texas; coast of South Carolina, occasionally North
Carolina, Indiana, Missouri, etc.
In Missouri a regular and locally common transient visitant
spring and fall. It is plentiful in the marshes of the Mississippi
bottom in the latter part of September, some being still there at
the end of December (December 29, 1896, Osprey), but October
is the month when it is most numerous. It is again with us
from the middle of March (March 14, 1889,. male taken by Mr.
0. C. Poling at Quincy) to April 20. Possibly also a rare summer
resident as it was found July 26, 1887, by Mr. Brown, and in
immature plumage in August by Mr. Poling. Mr. Chas. K.
Worthen also noted its occurrence in summer near Warsaw.
Though most of the records of occurrence are from the Mississippi
bottom, the species seems to frequent also the Missouri bottoms,
as Mr. Tindall reports it common in migration at Independence.
It has been repeatedly met with on stubble fields on hilly ground
in St. Louis Co., which belongs to the Ozark border subregion,
and is probably not entirely absent in suitable localities of the
Ozark region, having been found at Fayetteville, Ark., February
28, 1885, impaled by a Shrike.
[549.1. AMMODRAMUS NELSONI (Allen). Nelson's Sparrow.]
Ammodramus caudacutus nelsoni. Ammodramus caudacutus.
Geog. Dist. Prairie marshes of Mississippi Valley and central
British Provinces; breeding from northern Illinois, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, South Dakota north to Manitoba. South in winter
to Gulf coast; west to Texas, and to coast of South Carolina.
It is strange that this species has never been noticed within
the borders of Missouri, although quite within its geographical
range. Its occurrence in migration seems certain. Its capture
at Warsaw, May 8, 1879, by Mr. Worthen and at Quincy, April 26,
1889, by Mr. Poling is recorded; also that of an adult male, Octo-
ber 12, 1894, in central Iowa (Auk, vol. 16, p. 277) ; and that of a
pair on May 27, 1904, in Johnson Co., la., by R. M. Anderson,
and a young male in company with Leconte's and Grasshopper
Sparrow in eastern Nebraska, October 8, 1904. October 17,
180 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
1881, two birds were killed by Col. N. S. Goss in the bottomland
of the Neosho River near Neosho Falls, Kan., fifty miles west of
our state line.
*552. CHONDESTES GRAMMACUS (Say). Lark Sparrow.
Fringilla grammaca. Chondestes grammica. Emberiza grammaca.
Geog. Dist. Mississippi Valley, east of the Plains; north to
eastern Minnesota, Wisconsin, southern Michigan; east to Ohio,
Kentucky, Tennessee; casually to the Atlantic States and
Florida. Breeds from eastern Texas northward and winters
south of United States. Replaced westward to the Pacific by
subspecies strigatus (Swainson) .
In Missouri nowhere common, but one of our most generally
distributed summer residents, not only in the prairie region but,
on cultivated land everywhere, even in the narrow valleys of
the Ozarks. There are a few unusually early dates as April 6,
1884, Fayette; April 10, 1898, Independence and April 10, 1892,
Keokuk, but as a rule the Lark Sparrows arrive in most parts of
Missouri with great regularity during the third week of April
only in the most northern counties a few days later. They are
prominent songsters and conspicuous birds, often seen on wagon
roads taking dust baths. After the young are grown a few fam-
ilies gather in a troop, and begin to roam, disappearing from their
breeding stands as early as July or August. Small flocks are
met with until late in September, and some observers report
the "last seen" as late as October 4, 1903, New Haven and
October 17, 1883, and 1885, Mt. Carmel exceptional cases.
553. ZONOTRICHIA QUERULA (Nuttall). Harris's Sparrow.
Fringilla querula. Fringilla harrisii. Fringilla comata. Hooded Sparrow.
Geog. Dist. Interior plains of North America, from eastern
base of Rocky Mountains to Western Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota,
Manitoba, occasionally to Illinois and Wisconsin. Breeds north
of United States (Assiniboia) and winters in Texas.
Western Missouri with eastern Kansas and eastern Nebraska,
is the main thoroughfare of this species from its summer home
in Assiniboia to its winter home in the Indian Territory and
northern Texas. All early explorers met with it; in 1832 Prince
of Wied, who described it later under the name of F. comata;
Nuttall and Townsend, who discovered it near Kansas City (In-
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 181
dependence and Westport) in 1833, were the first to describe it
under the name of F. querula in 1840. When Audubon ascended
the Missouri River in 1843 in company with Bell, Harris and
Squires, he thought he found a new finch near Fort Leaven-
worth, May 4, 1843, and called it Fringilla Iwrrisii, not knowing
at the time of Nuttall's discovery and description. He met
with it again on May 6, 7 and 8, when near the corner of the
state. It was with Zono. leucophrys and albicollis, Melospiza
lincolni, Siurus noveboracensis, Dendr. coronata and Helm, rubri-
capilla. Dr. Hoy met with it at Lexington, May 7, 1854, and
a troop of from 15 to 20 at Chillicothe, May 13, 1854. Dr. J. A.
Allen found it exceedingly abundant at Leavenworth in May,
1872, and Trippe listed it as abundant in fall and spring in
Decatur, la., 1872. It was also taken by the Warren's Expedi-
tion at Fort Leavenworth, and Aughey gives it as common in
eastern Nebraska along the Missouri River. In his Birds of
Western Missouri (Nuttall Bull., Vol. 4, p. 144), W. E. D. Scott
writes: "On my arrival at Warrensburg, March 27, 1874, I
found the birds quite common. They were all moulting, and
had much the same habits as the White-crowned. Sparrows,
being in small parties of three or four, and frequenting similar
localities. They were still common April 27, and had assumed
the breeding plumage. I took some as late as May 5." The
first week of March seems to be the time when the first make
their appearance in southwestern Missouri. Earliest date, March
2, 1902, Jasper, Savage; at Independence the first date is March
8, 1900, Tindall. They become common in southern Missouri
during the latter part of March, and in northern Missouri in the
first half of April and remain common to the end of the month
or first week in May. The last are gone by the middle of May,
not to be seen again until October. At St. Joseph the species
was present from October 10 to November 16, 1894, according
to Mr. S. S. Wilson, who took a male in spring dress, November 1.
Mr. Nehrling found the species common at Freistatt, Lawrence
Co., as early as October 11, 1886, but usually the bulk does not
reach Missouri before the middle of October and remains to the
latter part of November. A few linger well into winter, and
there is a record of January 2, 1884, when the last was seen by
Mr. Nehrling at Pierce City. In eastern Missouri the species is
known only as a rare straggler and was met with by the writer
in Lincoln Co., in the spring of 1896, and in Audrain Co., by Mrs.
M. Musick of Mt. Carmel, April 3, 1884, and again April 28 to
182 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
May 3, 1885. It has been obtained in the Mississippi bot-
tom by Mr. 0. C. Poling at Quincy, by Mr. Chas. K. Worthen
at Warsaw, and by Mr. E. S. Currier May 3, 1898, near
Keokuk.
554. ZONOTRICHIA LEUCOPHRYS (Forst.). White-crowned Spar-
row.
Emberiza leucophrys. Fringilla leucophrys.
Geog. Dist. United States and eastern British Provinces;
breeding from Vermont, Quebec and northeastern Minnesota
northward to west side of Hudson Bay and over peninsula of
Laborador to southern Greenland. Also throughout the high
mountains of western United States southward to New Mexico
and Arizona, north to northern California. Winters from
Missouri, Illinois and southern Indiana southward to south
central Mexico and throughout the peninsula of Lower
California.
In Missouri a common transient visitant in all parts of the
state, throughout the Ozarks as well as in the swamps of the
southeast. Some few winter even north of the Missouri River
in osage orange hedges in St. Charles Co., but more commonly
in the southern part of the state, never in large numbers, but a
few individuals with Tree Sparrows and Juncos, or White-
throated and Fox Sparrows. The first stir among the hardy
Fringillidae about the middle of March brings also some White-
crowns to places where we had not noticed them before, but real
migration shows itself only after the middle of April, and even
then it drags on until one fine morning all Missouri is resounding
with their peculiar song. This occurs with great regularity be-
tween the fourth and eighth of May ; very exceptionally earlier,
as April 29 and 30, 1884. They frequent open ground, fences,
hedges, etc., also the edge of woods, but seldom the woods them-
selves, and remain common and conspicuous for a few days
only, but their song is heard and the birds seen till May 15 to
18, even in the southern part of the state (latest for St. Louis,
May 20 and 22, 1907). The first fall migrants reach northern
Missouri soon after the first of October, and southern Missouri in
the second week of the month. The bulk is present in the third
and fourth weeks, and the last transients leave us in the first
half of November.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 183
558. ZONOTRICHIA..ALBICOLLIS (Gmel.). White-throated Spar-
row.
Fringillaalbicollis. Fringillapensylvanica. Zonotrichiapensylvanica. Pea-
body Bird.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America; breeding from Massa-
chusetts, northern New York, Ontario, northern Michigan, Wis-
consin, northern Minnesota, eastern Wyoming, eastern Mon-
tana, etc., northward to Great Bear Lake, west shore of Hudson
Bay, Laborador and Newfoundland. In winter from Massa-
chusetts and southern New York, along the Atlantic coast to
Florida and in the Mississippi Valley from the mouth of the
Missouri River to Louisiana and southern Texas.
In Missouri a very common transient visitant; one of the most
numerous and universally distributed of migrants in spring and
fall, and in southeastern Missouri one of the most numerous
winter residents. In sheltered places, chiefly river bottoms,
small numbers winter regularly in the vicinity of St. Louis, but
keep very quiet until migration begins early in March. Between
the tenth and twentieth the first White-throats appear in many
places in central Missouri where they have not wintered. From
this time to the middle of April there is not much change visible,
the species being only fairly common, though comparatively
prominent, because often in song. The great army of transient
White-throats appears in the southern part of the state April 15,
in the central April 20, and in the most northern, April 25. They
are in large flocks with many individuals in high dress and full
of song. Their presence in such numbers lasts about eight days,
after which a change is noticeable; most of the high dressed
adult birds are gone, and the flocks contain principally birds of
the second year, plain dressed and not so musical. Large troops,
mostly females, remain through the first week of May; small
parties are also found during the second week, but after the
middle of May they are always rare if present at all. The "last
seen" in the state are dated between May 15 and 20, exceptionally
later, as May 24, 1883, at St. Louis. Southward migration of
White-throats reaches Missouri some years in the last days of
September, but usually not before the first week of October in
the north, and the second week in the south of the state. Earli-
est date for St. Louis, September 24, 1887; for Keokuk, Sep-
tember 28, 1902. Between October 8 and 12 they arrive at St.
Louis in large flocks, many adults in fine dress and song among
184 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
them. They remain numerous to the end of the month, but after
the twentieth the flocks contain a majority of young birds in
very plain dress. After the first of November they grow scarce
generally, but small parties linger even in the most northern
part sometimes into the latter half of the month, exceptionally
into December (Keokuk, November 18, 1902; November 19,
1893; November 20, 1892 and 1900; December 8, 1896).
559. SPIZELLA MONTICOLA (Gmel.). Tree Sparrow.
Fringilla canadensis. Emberiza canadensis. Spizella montana. F ring ilia
arborea. Canada Tree Sparrow. Winter Chippy.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, west to the Plains where
replaced by the western subspecies ochracea; breeding in New-
foundland, Labrador and the Hudson Bay region. In winter
from the northern United States southward to South Carolina,
Tennessee, Indian Territory.
In Missouri a common winter resident arriving irregularly,
sometimes in north Missouri as early as the second week of
October (October 9, 1892 and 1894, and October 10, 1901, Keo-
kuk; October 10, 1894, St. Joseph), in other years not before
November. At St. Louis the first are seen between the 4th and
14th of November, and are common before the month is over,
moving in small flocks in search of weed seeds and coming to
the farm yards when the snow is deep. Their departure is influ-
enced much by the weather we have in March. Even warm
weather in the latter part of February induces them to become
excited and musical, deserting some of their winter haunts and
flocking to the bottom-land preparatory to departing. In some
years they are nearly all gone by March 20th, in others flocks
are with us to the middle of April (April 12, 1894, large flocks in
Lincoln Co.). The "lasts" vary from March 20 to April 28
(1893, Keokuk), but fall mostly into the early part of April.
(April 3, 1898, Independence; April 10, 1902, Jasper; April 10,
1874, Warrensburg; April 12, 1886, Mt. Carmel).
*560. SPIZELLA SOCIALIS (Wils.). Chipping Sparrow.
Fringilla socialis. Emberiza socialis. Spizella domestica. Chippy.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, west to the Great Plains ;
north to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario;
northwest through wooded districts to Saskatchewan. Breeds
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 185
from the pine woods of the Gulf States northward, and winters
in the southern United States from Florida to eastern Texas.
Replaced in the West by the subspecies S. soc. arizonae.
In Missouri a common and universally distributed summer resi-
dent, mostly near human habitations, but also on the dry hill
tops of the Ozarks, as well as in the Bald Cypress swamps of the
southeast. March 14 to 17 is the time when the first Chippies
reach their breeding stands south of the Missouri ; there are very
few records of earlier arrivals, as March 2, 1902, Jasper; March
10, 1886, Freistatt; March 10, 1887, St. Louis. At the north-
east corner of the state the species makes its first appearance a
fortnight later, the dates varying from March 30 to April 15,
mostly April 4 to 6. While the forerunners reach St. Louis
usually about the middle of March, Chippies are seldom numer-
ous before the first week in April, the males appearing first, fol-
lowed after four days by the females, when the species becomes
conspicuous everywhere. Transient visitants increase their
numbers during the second and third week of April, at the end
of which ours begin nesting. Flocking in September, they dis-
appear from many of their summer haunts and the species seems
scarce until migration begins in early October, when sometimes
large flocks are met with during the second and third week of
the month. All disappear before the month is over and Chippies
are great rarities in November, when their cousins, the Tree
Sparrows, appear from the north.
561. SPIZELLA PALLIDA (Swains.). Clay-colored Sparrow.
Emberiza, pallida. Emberiza shaituckii.
Geog. Dist. Great Plains of North America from eastern base
of Rocky Mountains to prairie districts of the upper Mississippi
Valley ; breeding from Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and
northwestern Illinois northward to the Saskatchewan; in winter
from southern Texas, New Mexico and Arizona to Cape St.
Lucas and Oaxaca.
Nothing is known of the occurrence of this species in Missouri
except in the territory along the eastern and western boundary.
The earliest record is that of Audubon, who met with it near the
corner of the state, May 9, 1843. Mr. S. S. Wilson regards the
Clay-colored Sparrows common transient visitants at St. Joseph
from the middle of April to early June, and gives me the follow-
ing dates: April 28, May 7 and 10 and June 17, 1894; May 1
186 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
and 3 and June 2, 1895; April 11, April 25 and May 15, 1896.
At St. Louis it is a rare transient visitant and has only been
taken a few times: September 24, 1876; April 28 and May 7,
1886, and May 10, 1904. Mr. 0. C. Poling found it quite common
in pastures and stubble fields near Quincy, 111., early in May,
1887, and Mr. W. Praeger met with it near Keokuk. Trippe
mentions the species as common in spring, 1874, in Decatur Co.,
la., and it is said to be an abundant migrant in Nebraska, ar-
riving in the first week in May, remaining till June and reap-
pearing in early September and remaining through October.
There can therefore be no doubt that its apparent scarcity is
only due to oversight, though it is distinguishable from other
Spizellae by the conspicuous ashy collar and ashy median stripe
on the crown, bordered by dark brown streaks, a dark line on
the side of the chin and, besides a white line over the eye, pale
brown yellowish upper parts and small size.
*563. SPIZELLA PUSILLA (Wils.). Field Sparrow.
Fringilla pusilla. Fringilla juncorum. Emberiza pusilla. Spizellaagrestis.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and Southern Canada,
west to eastern Kansas, Nebraska, Red River Valley, Lake
Winnipeg and Qu'Apelle; north to southern Ontario, rarely to
Quebec and Nova Scotia. Breeds from upper Georgia and
South Carolina, northwestern Florida, central Alabama and
Mississippi, central Texas northward and winters from southern
New Jersey, Virginia, Kentucky and southern Missouri south-
ward to Florida and Texas, occasionally further north.
In Missouri a common and generally distributed summer resi-
dent. From St. Louis southward the first singing males are
heard at their breeding stands in ordinary seasons in the first or
second week of March; north of the Missouri River in the third,
and in the region of Keokuk in the fourth week of March. In
unusually backward seasons their arrival may be retarded from
one to two weeks. The bulk of the species is due from the mid-
dle of March in the south to the first week of April in the north.
Transients in small troops are present the last of March and in
early April. They sing all summer, sometimes till September,
and fresh eggs were found in September. From the last week of
September to the middle of October they are found in small
flocks, probably transients, while some of ours remain, associated
with other sparrows, till the middle of November. Single indi-
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 187
viduals are met with in winter in the vicinity of St. Louis in
company of other sparrows, and small troops winter regularly
in the sheltering forests of southern Missouri.
563a. SPIZELLA PUSILLA ARENACEA Chadb. Western Field
Sparrow.
Spizella arenacea.
Geog. Dist. Breeds from Nebraska and South Dakota to
eastern Montana; winters in southern Texas, Louisiana and
northern Mexico.
Of the four specimens which Mr. E. Seymour Woodruff col-
lected in Shannon Co. in March, 1907, he found "two to be
undoubted arenacea, the other two intermediate between pusilla
and arenacea but nearer the latter, because of their longer wings
and tail and general paleness."
567. JUNCO HYEMALIS (Linn.). Slate-colored Junco.
Fringilla hyemalis. Struthus hyemalis. Niphea hyemcdis. Junco hiemalis.
Fringttla nivalis. Junco. Snowbird.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America and through the interior
to the Arctic coast and Alaska; breeding from the mountains of
Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts, from Ontario,
central Michigan, northern Wisconsin, northern Minnesota
northward to Labrador, western shores of Hudson Bay, to the
Arctic coast and the valleys of the Yukon and Kowak. Winters
from Connecticut, southern Michigan, Wisconsin and eastern
Nebraska southward to the Gulf coast, Arizona and Cali-
fornia.
In Missouri a very common winter resident and transient
visitant, present fully one-half of the year. The first, exception-
ally early arrivals, have been noted at Keokuk, September 11,
1894, and September 25, 1899; at St. Louis, September 20 and
26, but usually the van does not reach Missouri before the first
week of October and St. Louis in some years not before the end
of the second week. The main body of the invading army comes
to our northern border in the second week of October, to St.
Louis about October 20th and to the southeastern corner of the
state about the last of the month. Transients throng the state
until the middle of November, after which winter numbers remain.
As the northern limit of their range varies in different seasons, so
188 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
does the number of wintering individuals. In hard winters when
the snow is deep and hard they are driven to the farmyards for
food and shelter; but for this protection many would perish by
cold or starvation, especially in regions where their former ref-
uge, the forests, no longer exist. Spring migration from the
south begins often as early as the last week of February, cer-
tainly by the tenth of March, and is at its height from the middle
to the last of the month, when most old birds are gone and mainly
young ones are present mostly in silent flocks. These, too, pass
on during the first half of April and stragglers only are left in the
latter part of the month. In some years, when spring was
exceptionally late or cold, individuals have been seen at St.
Louis in May and as late as May 24 and May 29, 1882, but
as a rule the dates of " Juncos last seen" range from April 10 to
30 all over the state.
An exceptionally late date is reported by Mr. E.S. Woodruff,
who took a Junco at Grandin, Carter Co., May 21, 1907, saying:
"But this can be explained by the fact that he was a diseased
bird infested by parasitic worms. His stomach was distended
to twice the normal size and was just one solid mass of trans-
parent worms, 3 inches or more long, filling up every bit of space
around the organs and intestines." Last Junco in 1907 at St.
Louis was seen May 4.
567b. JUNCO HYEMALIS CONNECTENS Coues. Shufeldt's Junco.
Junco Tiyemolis shufeldti.
Geog. Dist. Rocky Mountain region, west in the mountains
of the Great Basin to eastern California; in winter to Arizona,
New Mexico, Texas and northern Mexico. Accidental in Ne-
braska, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Massachusetts and Mary-
land, but with difficulty distinguished from Montana Junco,
Junco montanus, which in winter also straggles eastward from
its breeding grounds in Montana, Idaho and northward to
Alberta.
This subspecies is entered in our list as of probable occurrence
on the strength of a specimen taken by Mr. Wm. E. Praeger
near Keokuk, la., December 16, 1892, from a flock of common
Juncos. It may be not an uncommon, perhaps regular, winter
visitant to some parts of Missouri, particularly the western,
and collectors should pay special attention to the identifi-
c ation of Juncos.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 189
567.1. JUNCO MONTANUS Ridgway. Montana Junco.
Geog. Dist. Breeds from northwestern Montana and northern
Idaho to Northwest Territory and Alberta. In winter to Arizona
and northern Mexico, western and middle Texas, etc. In mi-
gration east to Mississippi Valley; casually to Massachusetts,
Maryland etc.
The Juncos collected by Mr. E. Seymour Woodruff in Carter
and Shannon Counties in March and April 1907, Dr. D wight
divided into three races : hyemalis hyemalis, hyemalis connectens,
and montanus. The typical hyemalis he also found to differ
somewhat from eastern birds, resembling those which breed in
the western part of their range, i. e., Alaska.
*575a. PEUCEA AESTIVALIS BACHMANII (Aud.). Bachman's
Sparrow.
Fringttla bachmanii. Peucea bachmanii. Peucea aestivalis. Peucea Uli-
noensis. Peucea aestivalis Ulinoiensis. Aimophila aestivalis bachmanii.
Oakwood Sparrow.
Geog. Dist. From South Carolina and northern Georgia and
the Gulf coast west of Florida north to southern Virginia, Mary-
land, southern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and southeastern Iowa;
west to western Missouri and middle Texas. In winter to
Florida.
In Missouri a rare summer resident, reported first by Mr. H.
Nehrling from Pierce City, Lawrence Co., in 1884, as not common,
and by Mr. 0. C. Poling from the Mississippi bottom in Marion
Co., Mo., where from about May 1 to 5, 1889, he observed two
in a clearing among scrub oak and brush. Early in May 1887
the same gentleman collected three specimens in an old apple
orchard at Quincy, 111. Mr. W. G. Savage reported their occur-
rence at Monteer, Shannon Co., in 1906, and Mr. E. S. Woodruff
verified this report by taking specimens at Ink, Shannon Co. on
March 19, March 31 and April 5, and writes, May 5, 1907:
" These are very common birds here and breeding." On May
17, 1907, he saw one and heard the song of two others near the
Current River in Carter Co. Perfect proof of its breeding in
the state was furnished by Mr. E. S. Woodruff when he found a
nest in Carter Co. near the line of Reynolds Co., May 27, 1907.
He wrote me under date of June 2, 1907: "The nest was on the
ground in a clump of grass and New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus
190 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
americ.) in oak and pine woods from which the pine had very
recently been cut. It contained two eggs of Bachman's Sparrow
and three of Cowbird incubation far advanced. The nest was
near (10 feet) the top of a recently cut pine. I mention this, for
I invariably find Bachman's Sparrows about the dead tops of
fallen trees."
*581. MELOSPIZA CINEREA MELODIA (Wilson). Song Sparrow.
Fringilla fasciata. Melospiza fasciata. Melospiza melodia. Fringilla
melodia. Emberiza melodia. Melospiza meloda.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States to the Plains; north to
the Maritime Provinces, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatche-
wan and Alberta. Breeds from Virginia, southern Indiana,
northern Kentucky, central Mississippi, southern Missouri and
Kansas northward, and winters from Nova Scotia, the Great
Lakes, and Nebraska southward, but chiefly south of the Ohio
River.
In Missouri a common and generally distributed transient
visitant; a fairly common winter resident and a rather rare, only
locally common, summer resident in the alluvial bottoms and
prairie region from Ste. Genevieve and Jasper Co. northward,
increasing in numbers and spreading to new territory. The
Song Sparrow is one of the very first to stir from its winter quar-
ters as soon as the backbone of our Missouri winter is broken,
commonly near the end of February. It is then seen at places
not frequented before, but these movements are only preliminary
to the great general advance which begins about March 10 and
gathers full strength at the middle of the month, when the great
mass occupies the state from one end to the other and holds pos-
session of it for three weeks, until the second week in April,
being more numerous southward in March and northward in
April. The last transients leave southern Missouri about the
middle, northern toward the end of April; and birds heard singing
in May should be marked probable summer residents. Fall
migrants begin to arrive the middle of September, but do not
become numerous before October, sometimes early in the month,
sometimes not before the latter part, remaining common into
November, but seldom into the second week, after which winter
numbers only are left.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 191
583. MELOSPIZA LINCOLNII (Aud.). Lincoln's Sparrow.
Fringilla lincolnii. Peucea lincolnii. Zonotrichia lincolni.
Geog. Dist. Central and North America from Panama to the
northeastern coast of Labrador and Fort Yukon in Alaska.
Breeds from northern Illinois and northern New York northward,
and in the higher mountains of the United States south to Mt.
Whitney in the Sierra. Winters from our southern states
southward to Panama.
In Missouri a fairly common transient visitant in all parts
of the state ; never in flocks, but associated with other sparrows,
chiefly Melospizae and Zonotrichiae. Due to its southwest-
northeast migration it appears first in the southwestern part of
the state from where it is reported in March (March 7, 1904,
Iberia, March 13, 1886, Freistatt) ; the first individuals seem to
reach northern Missouri and southern Nebraska earlier than the
region of St. Louis, being reported from Mt. Carmel and
Keokuk, April 5, and in Nebraska in the second week of April.
At St. Louis the Lincoln's Sparrow arrives pretty regularly
between the 20th and 25th of April, rarely a few days later.
It is most common all over the state from the second to the
twelfth of May, and the last are seen soon afterward, varying
in different years between the tenth and sixteenth, except in
unusually cold springs, when the last remained to May 23,
1904, and May 28, 1897. The first reappear in fall early in
October (earliest October 5, 1889, Independence) ; at St. Louis
about October 7, followed by the bulk a few days later,
present generally from the 10th to 15th, and the last are noted
near the end of the month, seldom remaining into November
(November 4, 1900, Keokuk, Currier).
*584. MELOSPIZA GEORGIANA (Lath.). Swamp Sparrow.
Fringilla georgiana. Fringilla palustris. Zonotrichia palustris. Ammo-
dramus palustris. Melospiza palustris.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Newfoundland,
Labrador and Athabaska; west to about 100 meridian in Ne-
braska. Breeds from southern New England, northern Indiana,
northern Missouri and eastern Nebraska northward. Winters
from southern New England, southern Illinois, Missouri and
Kansas southward to the Gulf.
In Missouri a common transient visitant, found in varying
numbers in all parts, high and low, but most abundantly
192 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
in the flood plain of the Mississippi River. A few remain in
winter north of the Missouri River, more in southern Missouri,
especially the southeast. According to some observers the
species is also a rare breeder north of the Missouri River. Mr.
Philo W. Smith, Jr., reports that he found a nest with young, June 2,
1905, near Maple Lake in St. Charles Co., and Mr. E. M. Parker
has found it nesting near Montgomery City. Mr. E. S. Currier
thinks a few nested at Sand Ridge near Way land, Clark Co.,
Mo. W. E. D. Scott also says it possibly breeds at Warrensburg
where he took some as late as May 25, 1874. Trippe writes:
"Breeds in small numbers in Decatur Co., la.," (the border
county north of central Missouri). As is the case with several
other species of sparrows wintering in the southern states,
migration commences in an undecided way, some advancing in
short steps toward the breeding grounds in the north as soon as
absence of snow and ice allows. In some years this is possible
at the end of February, in others nearly a month later, but the
middle of March may be taken as the average time for the first
arrival of small troops of transient Swamp Sparrows in the
vicinity of St. Louis and a week later in the marshes of Clark Co.
in the northeast corner of the state. The bulk of the species
leaves southeast Missouri about the middle of April, is present
in the central part from April 10 to 20, and at the northern border
from April 16 to 26. The last ones are sometimes noted in the
last w r eek of April, but just as often in the first week of May,
less commonly later (May 11, 1882 and 1886, St. Louis; May
13, 1907, Shannon Co, Woodruff; May 23, 1899, and May 27,
1901, Keokuk). September 27 is the first day when transients
were observed in central Missouri and October 1, 1886, in Law-
rence Co., southwest Missouri. The earliest date at Keokuk,
reported by Mr. Currier, is September 11, 1894, the next earliest
September 26, 1899. The bulk enters the state about October
10, has spread over central and western Missouri by the middle
of the month and remains to the end or to the first week of No-
vember. After the middle of November winter numbers only
are left.
585. PASSERELLA ILIAC A (Merr.). Fox Sparrow.
Fringilla iliaca. Fringilla ferruginea. Zonotrichia iliaca. Fringilla rufa.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Newfoundland,
Anticosti, southern Labrador, northwestward to Alaska. Breeds
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 193
from northern Maine, northern Manitoba and Alberta northward.
Winters from Potomac, Ohio and Missouri Rivers southward
to the Gulf coast and westward to middle Texas.
In Missouri a common transient visitant in all parts of the
state, and a fairly common winter resident from St. Louis
southward, particularly numerous in the heavy forests of the
swampy southeast. They are among the first sparrows to leave
their winter quarters in the southern states, but make slow prog-
ress at first. Entering the state at the southern boundary late
in February or early in March the first reach central Missouri
in the second, the northern border in the third week of the month.
The bulk is present southwardly from the middle to the end
of March, northwardly from the 20th to April 5, some years to
the 10th. The last birds are observed in the first and second
week of April, rarely later. Latest records April 17, 1894,
Keokuk; April 18, 1903, and 19, 1888, St. Louis. In withdraw-
ing from the northern breeding grounds Fox Sparrows are among
the latest migrants to put in their appearance in Missouri,
where they are seldom seen before the second, some years not
before the third, week of October. Earlier, exceptional, dates
are reported from Keokuk, September 29, 1896, October 1, 1895,
October 2, 1894. They are most common in all parts of the
state between October 25 and November 10, but retire south-
ward by the middle of the month; latest dates November 20,
1894, Keokuk; November 25, 1902, Jasper; December 10, 1901,
Jasper.
*587. PIPILO ERYTHROPHTHALMUS (Linn.). Towhee.
Fringilla erythrophthalma. Emberiza erythrophthalma. Chewink. Joree.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America north to Ontario and
eastern Manitoba; west to eastern Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas,
Indian Territory. Breeds from Georgia and Louisiana north-
ward and winters from Pennsylvania, Indiana, Missouri and
eastern Kansas southward to southern Florida, the Gulf coast
and southwestern Texas.
In Missouri a common summer resident in the prairie and
Ozark border region, but only locally common in the Ozarks,
and rare in the swampy southeast, where it is a fairly common
winter resident. As a transient visitant it is generally distrib-
uted and common from the middle of March to the middle of
April, and from September 25 to October 20. As a winter resi-
194 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
dent it is rare in northern Missouri, but becomes more numerous
as we approach the southern boundary, chiefly southeast. The
first Towhees return to their breeding stands in the southern part
before the middle of March, to the northern part chiefly after
the middle of March. In the vicinity of St. Louis March 17 is
often the day when their song is heard for the first time at most
of their stands, meaning that the bulk of males has come and is
taking possession of their former haunts, awaiting the arrival
of the females. This takes place generally within one week
and the species is conspicuous, noisy and mating, before the
end of the month. Their ranks continue to fill up, and many
transients in small troops are present, during the first half of
April, while some of the first comers have already begun nest
building, and eggs may be found by the first of May. In the
latter part of September the Towhees begin to flock and are
heard to sing again. Migration from the north sets in soon after
the first of October and lasts till about the 20th, being most brisk
about the middle of the month, or a few days before. After the
20th the species rapidly approaches winter numbers.
*593. CARDINALIS CARDINALIS. (Linn.). Cardinal.
Loxia cardinalis. Fringilla cardinalis. Pitylus cardinalis. Guiraca cardi-
nalis. Cardinalis virginianus. Redbird. Kentucky Cardinal.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to southeastern
New York, the Great Lakes, southern Iowa, southeastern
South Dakota; west to eastern Nebraska, Kansas, Texas.
Breeds from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, etc. northward,
being replaced farther south by the Florida and Louisiana sub-
species. Mainly non-migratory, but said to extend its range
from year to year.
A common resident in all parts of Missouri, very common in
most of southern Missouri, the Ozark region as well as the prairie
and swamp lands. One of the few species of which many indi-
viduals are truly permanent residents, remaining on the same
ground summer and winter. They are mainly old pairs which
risk wintering in places where few other birds find food and
shelter, having for neighbors sometimes only the Carolina Wren
and Tufted Tit, the ground being too bleak even for Blue Jays
and Woodpeckers. But not all Redbirds are thus attached to
their summer haunts; the majority retire to sheltered woods in
the bottomland, or to nooks and corners on warm hillsides,
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 195
where cornfields with corn on the stalk or in shocks are not far
away, and where they are found when nothing else is accessible.
The Redbird begins singing the middle of February, if it has not
done so earlier, and keeps it up until molt begins in the latter part
of August, when only the first attempts of young birds are heard
in September. At this period, and until the molt is over in the
middle of October, the species is unusually shy and seclusive,
but on fine days in the latter part of October, and in fact some-
times even in winter, its song is as lively as in spring.
*595. ZAMELODIA LUDOVICIANA (Linn.). Rose-breasted Gros-
beak.
Loxia ludoviciana. Guiraca ludoviciana. Fringilla ludoviciana. Cocco-
borus ludovicianus. Hedymeles ludovicianus. Goniaphea ludoviciana.
Habia ludoviciana. Loxia rosea. Coccothraustes ludovicianus. Rose-
breast. Redbreast.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Canada;
breeds from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, northern Ohio and In-
diana, central Illinois, Missouri and eastern Kansas northward
to Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, Assiniboia and Alberta.
In winter south of the United States to Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico,
Central America, Ecuador and Colombia.
In Missouri a common summer resident in the prairie and
Ozark border region, chiefly north of lat. 38 and occurring only
sparingly in the valleys of the northern slope of the Ozarks,
from Ste. Gene vie ve and Iron Counties to Lawrence and Jasper
Counties. On the southern slope of the Ozarks and in western
Missouri south of lat. 37 it is entirely replaced in the breeding
season by the Blue Grosbeak. In the alluvial counties of the
southeast it is rare, but has been found once in summer on an
island near the southern boundary of Dunklin Co. The most
southern record of nesting in southwest Missouri has been fur-
nished by Mr. Nehrling, who observed a young bird with its
parents July 6, 1885, near Freistatt in Lawrence Co. In un-
usually favorable seasons the first Rosebreasts have made their
appearance at St. Louis as early as April 18 and 20, but the ma-
jority of dates range between April 22 and 29, for first males,
followed a few days later by the females. Birds of the second
year come with the bulk of transient visitants, which pass through
Missouri during the first week in May, when they are found in
regions where they do not breed (Shannon Co., May 2, 1907,
196 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Woodruff) . At the end of summer the Rosebreasts are met with
in small troops, but in the river bottoms where they roost in the
willows, gatherings of from 30 to 50 may be found about the
middle of September, probably transients in passage. At the
end of September these flocks have departed, but small family
groups do not think of leaving certain favorite stands, where food
is plentiful and where they are not molested; frequent visits
to these places reveal their presence into the second week of
October, and the last on record in the city of St. Louis is October
18, 1906.
*597. GUIRACA CAERULEA (Linn.). Blue Grosbeak.
Loxia caeridea. Frw^Ula caeridea. Goniaphea caerulea. Coccoborus caeru-
leus.
Geog. Dist. Southern part of eastern United States, north to
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, being
replaced farther west by the western subspecies lazula. In
winter to Cuba and Yucatan.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident on the southern
slope and western border of the Ozarks, chiefly from lat. 37
southward, but also reported as fairly common at Jasper, Jasper
Co., by Walter Giles Savage, and possibly occurring even farther
north to lat. 38 30' in Cass Co., as it was found breeding in 1901
at Osawatomie, Miami Co., Kan., only a few miles west of the
state line. The Blue Grosbeaks arrive in Missouri the latter
part of April (April 24, 1904, Shannon Co., Mr. W. G. Savage)
and remain till October (October 2, 1902, Jasper; October 5,
1904, Shannon Co.).
*598. CYANOSPIZA CYANEA (Linn.). Indigo Bunting.
Tanagra cyanea. Passerina cyanea. Fringilla cyanea. Spiza cyanea.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Canada,
north to Maine, Minnesota; west to eastern Kansas, and in
Nebraska to the 98th meridian. Breeds from the Gulf northward
and migrates through eastern Mexico and Central America to
Veragua.
In Missouri one of the commonest and most universally dis-
tributed summer residents. The first arrive at the southern
boundary the middle of April; at St. Louis the earliest dates are
April 18 and 21, migrants in the Mississippi bottom. At its
breeding stands it does not appear before from the 24th to the
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 197
29th in most parts of southern Missouri, and the last of the
month, or more commonly in the first week in May, in northern
Missouri. The females are always a few days behind the males,
and full numbers, including birds of the second year in not yet
fully matured dress, are not present before the middle of May.
Transients, particularly small troops of singing males, swell
their numbers in May, when the species is one of the most
conspicuous among songsters. Exceptionally, a pair has been
seen feeding young unable to fly as late as September 12, 1905,
but as a rule the species has left the breeding grounds at the end
of August and retired to out-of-the-way places to molt, at which
period the males present a curiously spotted appearance. Tran-
sients in flocks, all in brown, are with us in the bottoms early
in September, and birds in different stages of molt are numerous
to the end of the month, but are gone soon after the first of Octo-
ber, though occasionally found in large numbers to the second
week of that month. In especially favored localities some have
been known to linger even longer. Latest for St. Louis, October
17, 1885.
599. CYANOSPIZA AMOENA (Say). Lazuli Bunting.
Emberiza amoena. Fringilla amoena. Spiza amoena. Passerina amoena.
Geog. Dist. Western United States and British Columbia;
north to Idaho, Montana; east to South Dakota, western Ne-
braska, western Kansas; in winter to Mexico.
This species must be regarded as an accidental visitor to
Missouri, though mentioned by G. S. Agersborg as occurring in
summer and probably breeding in eastern South Dakota (Auk
vol. 2, p. 281), and has been taken twice in eastern Nebraska
east of the 97 meridian. It enters the list of Missouri birds on
the strength of two specimens, a male and a female, taken at
St. Joseph out of a flock of young birds, September 13, 1894,
by Mr. Sidney S. Wilson.
[601. CYANOSPIZA CIRIS (Linn.). Painted Bunting.]
Emberiza ciris. Passerina ciris. Fringitta ciris. Spiza ciris. Nonpareil.
Painted Finch. Pope.
Geog. Dist. South Atlantic and Gulf States to western Texas ;
north to North Carolina, southern Illinois, southern Kansas.
In winter to Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico, Central America to Ver-
agua ; west in transit to Arizona.
No record at present of its occurrence in Missouri, but search
198 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
along our southern border will probably reveal its presence as
a rare summer resident in the valleys leading up from the south.
The species has been observed by Mrs. L. McG. Stephenson at
Helena, Ark., and by Mr. Philo W. Smith Jr., at Eureka Springs,
Ark.
*604. SPIZA AMERICANA (Gmel.). Dickcissel.
Emberiza americana. Fringilla americana. Euspiza americana. Black-
throated Bunting.
Geog. Dist. United States east of Rocky Mountains, north
to Massachusetts, southern Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, North Dakota; now extinct east of Alleghany
Mountains ; breeds from Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, northward
and winters south of United States, migrating through New
Mexico, Arizona, Mexico (both coasts) and Central America
to Columbia and Trinidad.
In Missouri a common summer resident in the prairie and
Ozark border regions; rare in the Ozarks where only in open,
long settled localities; sparingly on the cultivated ridges of the
southeast. The first arrive nearly throughout the state during
the fourth week of April, at least the forerunners do, impatient
males which want to reach their old haunts before rivals arrive.
Females do not appear before the first week in May, and the
great mass of the species, including the young of last year, comes
only during the second week of the month. Transients may be
seen flying over in the early morning from the last days of April
to May 20, some following the prairie region going east, others,
coming from the south, cross the heavily wooded part of Missouri
in a northerly direction. The first brood is able to take care
of itself by July 1, but we sometimes see parents feeding young
after the middle of August. When the breeding season closes,
families gather into small flocks and are seen flying south in the
early hours of the day from August 20 to September 10. To
the general observer the species is rare after the middle of Sep-
tember, but for one who knows the roosts the last has not gone
before the first of October.
605. CALAMOSPIZA MELANOCORYS Stejn. Lark Bunting.
Fringilla bicolor. Calamospiza bicolor. Corydalina bicolor. Dolichonyx
bicolor.
Geog. Dist. Great Plains between Missouri River and Rocky
Mountains; breeding from middle and western Kansas, eastern
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 199
Colorado, western Minnesota to Manitoba and Assiniboia;
migrating south and southwest through Texas, New Mexico and
Arizona to plateau of Mexico, Lower California and coast of
southern California.
In his Journal of an Exploration of western Missouri in 1854,
Dr. P. R. Hoy lists the Lark Bunting, Dolichonyx bicolor, among
his 153 species of birds observed between April 16 and June 15.
Under date of May 30, 1854, he writes: "On the way I saw
the only prairie reed bird (Dolichonyx bicolor) I ever met. I
followed it in full chase, under a hot sun, at least two miles
before I shot it. Although greatly fatigued I was well satisfied
at my final success in obtaining the much coveted bird." This
was near the state line, while driving north from Sugar River
on the old military trail (Linn Co., Kan., and Bates Co., Mo.).
Audubon found it in Harrison Co., la., where Bell shot two
males May 13, 1843. It has also been taken in Nebraska within
fifty miles of Missouri at Beatrice and Lincoln, and is mentioned
as a common summer resident in the southeastern corner of
South Dakota by G. S. Agersborg (Auk vol. 2, p. 281).
Family TANAGRIDAE. Tanagers.
*608. PIRANGA ERYTHROMELAS Vieillot. Scarlet Tanager.
Pyranga erythromelas. Tanagra rubra. Pyranga rubra.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America north to the Maritime
Provinces, northern Ontario, Manitoba, eastern Assiniboia;
west to eastern Kansas, Nebraska, rarely to Wyoming and Colo-
rado. Breeds from Virginia, Kentucky, southern Missouri
northward; in winter to the West Indies and through Mexico,
Central America and northern South America to Bolivia and
central Peru.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident in the woods
of the prairie and Ozark border region; frequent in the valleys
of the Ozarks into northern Arkansas, but rare in the southeast
(Mr. B. T. Gault found it breeding in Heburn, Ark., in 1888 and
Mr. Philo W. Smith, Jr., writes that, it was fairly common in
the vicinity of Eureka Springs in the summer of 1906, where he
found the Summer Tanager strangely absent). The first reach
southeastern Missouri in the third week of April, central Missouri
in the fourth, and the northern border in the last days of the
month or early in May. Females come a few days after the
200 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
males and it is generally May 3, when the song of the Scarlet
Tanagers becomes common in the neighborhood of St. Louis.
When their song ceases in July the bird becomes retiring and their
presence is often only indicated by their peculiar call note.
About the middle of September they become prominent once
more in their traveling dress migrating with troops of northern
warblers leisurely through Missouri. They are thus met with
occasionally to the end of the month, but loiterers are seen not
rarely in October, as October 6, 1905 and October 14, 1906
(St. Louis).
*610. PIRANGA RUBRA (Linn.). Summer Tanager.
Tanagra aestiva. Pyranga aestiva. Pyranga mississippensis. Summer
Redbird.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, central Indiana, central Illinois, southern
Iowa, southeastern Nebraska; casual northward. In winter
to Bahamas, Cuba, eastern Mexico, Central America, northern
South America to Peru.
In Missouri a common summer resident in the Ozark and
Ozark border region; fairly common in the prairie region,
becoming scarcer as the northern border is approached. Mr.
E. S. Currier considers it a very rare summer visitor at Keokuk
and never found it breeding. Mr. S. S. Wilson took a male at
St. Joseph, May 4, 1895, and saw one June 12, 1896. Audubon
saw it at Fort Leavenworth, May 4, 1843. The first arrive in
their haunts on the sunny hillsides of the Ozarks in the third
week of April; in the Ozark border region of St. Louis Co. in
the fourth week or, if the weather should be unfavorable, only
at the end of the month or early in May, when they usually
become common. Both species of Tanagers often occur together
in the same woods, but as a rule the Summer Tanager prefers
the hills, while the Scarlet Tanager takes to the timber in the
river bottoms. This species is also much more likely to become
reconciled with modern conditions and makes its nest in the
trees of villages and suburbs and partakes of our hospitality in
the orchard and vineyard. They remain with us to the latter
part of September and not a few linger into October (October 5,
1904, Shannon Co.; October 5, 1906, St. Louis).
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 201
Family HIRUNDINIDAE. Swallows.
*611. PROGNE SUBIS (Linn.). Purple Martin.
Hirundo subis. Hirundo purpurea. Progne purpurea. Martin.
Geog. Dist. United States (except Pacific coast) and southern
Canada, north to Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario,
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Vancouver, B. C. Breeds
from southern Florida and southern Texas, and plateau of Mexico
northward, and winters from southern Florida and Mexico to
Venezuela and Brazil.
In Missouri a common and generally distributed summer
resident in cities and towns and on many farms wherever boxes
or nesting sites are found; most abundant in old towns along
rivers. The first Martins arrive in southern Missouri in the
second week of March, at St. Louis in the third, and in northern
Missouri in the fourth week of the month. Increase is slow and
the bulk of the species has not come before a month later, while
birds of the second year are not in full numbers before the middle
of May. As soon as the young are able to fly the distance, the
whole family goes to the common roost and Martins become
scarce at their breeding places about the middle of July, when
all the young are on wing. On their favorite hunting grounds
and especially at the roosts in the willows on the banks of the
Mississippi, Martins are present and numerous until the middle
of September, after which only stragglers are left. Last date
at St. Louis September 24. Migration from the north sets in
about the middle of August and from August 24 to September
10 extraordinary numbers go to the common roosts in the willows
(See Forest and Stream, vol. 23, no. 10). Though English Spar-
rows are said to drive the Martins away, no decrease is noticeable
in Missouri, and with a little help from us English Sparrows can
easily be kept out of Martins' houses. For an account of "How
Young Martins are fed" see Forest and Stream, vol. 22, no. 25,
reprinted in vol. 1, p. 6 of the Audubon Magazine, July 1887.
*612. PETROCHELIDON LUNIFRONS (Say). Cliff Swallow.
Hirundo lunifrons. Hirundo republican^,. Hirundo fulva. Eave Swallow.
Geog. Dist. North America north to Cape Breton, Anticosti,
Godbout; in the interior to Mackenzie and Yukon Valley,
and on the Pacific coast to British Columbia; breeding nearly
202 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
over the whole United States (except Rio Grande Valley and
northwestern Mexico). In winter through Mexico and Central
America to Honduras, possibly to Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina,
etc. Rare south of Potomac and Ohio Rivers; no record from
Florida and the West Indies.
In Missouri the Cliff Swallow is a summer resident of only
local occurrence and not as numerous as it formerly was. At
breeding stands where traces of thousands of former nests are
to be seen, as for instance on the ledges above Elk River near
Noel in McDonald Co., none are left. In localities where twenty
years ago hundreds of nests were seen on barns, none are seen.
Prejudice and cruel delight in destroying the nests at the time
of incubation or when feeding young have done it. The arrival
in spring takes place in the second half of April and early May,
when they begin at once to build their mud-nests. The only
time when the species is present in great numbers is from the
middle of August to the middle of September. At this period
of southward migration thousands and thousands gather at
night at the common roosts in the Spartina marshes of north
Missouri. All are gone before the end of September (In the
Spartina with the Swallows, by 0. Widmann. Bird-Lore,
vol. 1, p. 4, Aug. 1899).
*613. HIRUNDO ERYTHROGASTER Bodd. Barn Swallow.
Chelidon erythrogastra. Hirundo rufa. Hirundo horreorum. Hirundo
americana. Hirundo rustica.
Geog. Dist. North America, north to Newfoundland, Lab-
rador, Ungava, the Northwest Territories and Alaska; breeding
over whole of United States (except Florida) and through
central and western Mexico; in winter from southern Florida
and southern Mexico through Central and South America to
southern Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, West
Indies.
In Missouri a summer resident of general distribution, but no-
where common. It is found in the state from early in April
to the middle of October (earliest April 3, 1903, Currier, Keokuk;
latest, October 14, 1905, Horse Shoe Lake, St. Charles Co.).
The ranks of breeders fill up slowly and troops of transients
have been noticed as late as the middle of May. The species
is most numerous in fall migration, when large flocks gather in
the marshes and roost in the reeds of lakes. As a breeder the
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 203
Barn Swallow is more common northward than southward,
in the prairie region oftener than in the Ozarks and rare in the
southeast.
*614. IRIDOPROCNE BICOLOR (Vieill.). Tree Swallow.
Hirundo bicolor. Tachycineta bicolor. Hirundo viridis. Wood Swallow.
White-bellied Swallow. White-belly.
Geog. Dist. North America, north to Newfoundland, Lab-
rador, Ungava, Mackenzie and Alaska; breeding from Vir-
ginia, Mississippi and Kansas, Colorado, Utah and California
northward and wintering from the South Atlantic and Gulf
coasts southward to Bahamas, Cuba and over Mexico to
Guatemala.
In Missouri a scarce summer resident in the bottoms of large
rivers as far south as the southern border of Dunklin Co., but
more commonly northward. The first arrive the middle of
March and the last are with us till the end of October. Tran-
sients are with us in small troops in spring from March 15 to
May 15, and in large flocks of many thousands in the Missis-
sippi bottom from the middle of September to the middle of
October, after nearly all the other swallows are gone (October
28, 1885, Fayette, Howard Co.; October 31. 1899, Keokuk,
Currier) .
*616. RIPARIA RIP ARIA (Linn.). Bank Swallow.
Hirundo riparia. Cotyle and Cotile riparia. Clivicola riparia. Sand
Martin.
Geog. Dist. Northern Hemisphere; in America breeding
from Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and northern Mexico
north to the arctic region. In winter through Mexico, Central
and South America to eastern Peru and Brazil, also West
Indies.
In Missouri chiefly along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers,
breeding in smaller or larger colonies, either directly over the
water on the banks or over quarries, in railroad cuts, etc., on
the bluffs sometimes a mile or more from the river. They are
among the latest swallows to arrive at their breeding stands,
seldom before the fourth week of April (earliest April 21, 1883
and 1887, St. Louis) and are generally not building in large num-
bers before the fifth of May. Young and old collect in immense
flocks in the river bottoms as early as July 1, scattering while
204 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
feeding and gathering at the roosts in the evening, some with
the Cliff Swallows in the marsh, others with the Martins
in the Willows. Migration seems to be well under way by the
first of August, keeps up during the whole month and
in early September, but the last are gone by the middle
of the month, departing with their roost-fellows, the Martins
and Cliff Swallows.
*617. STELGIDOPTERIX SERRIPENNIS (Aud.). Rough-winged
Swallow.
Hirundo serripennis. Cotyle serripennis.
Geog. Dist. From Costa Rica to Connecticut, central Massa-
chusetts, southeastern New York, Ontario, northern Indiana,
southern Wisconsin, southern Minnesota, North Dakota, Mon-
tana, British Columbia; breeds from Georgia, Louisiana,
Texas and Vera Cruz northward and winters south of United
States.
In Missouri a fairly common, generally distributed summer
resident, never in large colonies like the Bank Swallows, but
often in their colonies, or in single pairs or a few pairs near each
other, scattered along creeks and rivers in all parts of the state,
perhaps most numerous in the Ozark and Ozark border region
and the bluffs of the larger rivers. They are among the earliest
of this family to arrive at their breeding stands, where the
first are seen in southern Missouri in the second week of March
(March 10, 1902, Festus, Jefferson Co.), at St. Louis soon after
the middle, and at the northern border before the end of the
month. Like other swallows their ranks fill up slowly, and it
is fully a month before all have returned to their wonted haunts
about bridges, railroad, cuts, ravines, old quarries, out buildings,
etc., always, if possible, not far from water. Flocks are found
in August from sixty to a hundred or more, adults and young,
mostly the latter, resting together for hours on dead trees or
brush on the banks of lakes or rivers, feeding together, keeping
and moving together until the time for departure has come.
From most of their haunts they are gone by the middle of Sep-
tember, but not so from the Mississippi bottom in St. Charles
Co. where they remain into October, even into the second week
of the month, the last, a troop of one hundred, being still present
October 13, 1905, at one of their places of rendezvous at Horse
Shoe Lake, an old bed of the Cuivre River.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 205
Family AMPELIDAE. Waxwings etc.
Subfamily Ampelinae. Waxwings.
618. AMPELIS GARRULUS Linn. Bohemian Waxwings.
Bombycilla garrida. Bohemian Chatterer.
Geog. Dist. Northern parts of Northern Hemisphere, breed-
ing in coniferous forests of the Boreal Life Zone; in winter
irregularly southward; in America to Connecticut, Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado,
northern California; breeding from Fort Churchill in Kewatin
and from Athabasca and western Alberta to Alaska.
In Missouri a very rare winter visitant as far as known at
present. One killed near New Haven, Franklin Co., in November,
1858, is in the collection of Dr. A. F. Eimbeck. Another was
killed in Platte Co, by Mr. John A. Bryant of Kansas City.
Mr. W. E. Praeger writes that two were shot out of a flock
near Keokuk, December 27, 1896. Mr. Chas. K. Worthen
writes that at Warsaw, 111., specimens were taken and small
flocks seen a number of times. The occurrence of the species
is reported from a point near the mouth of the Ohio, Villa
Ridge, Pulaski Co., Ill, where, December 18, 1879, Prof. S. A.
Forbes took a fine specimen; this is the most southern record
in the Mississippi Valley. In Nebraska it has repeatedly been
taken in different parts of the state between November 15
and March 1; also in Kansas and Illinois, where a large flock
was once found feeding on Juniper berries, March 16, 1876.
*619. AMPELIS CEDRORUM (Vieill.). Cedar Waxwing.
Ampdis americana. Bombycilla americana. Bombycilla carolinensis. Ce-
darbird. Cherrybird.
Geog. Dist. North America, north to Prince Edward Island,
Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia;
breeding from Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri,
Kansas, New Mexico and Arizona northward and wintering
in whole of United States, south to Bahamas and through Mexico
to Costa Rica.
As a summer resident in the sense of breeder, its usual meaning,
the Cedarbird is apparently rare in Missouri, although common
during a large part of our long summers. The species is with us
206 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
in force when our early cherries are ripening until the middle
of June, and as early as the middle of August, when the wild
cherries and grapes are getting ripe, we meet them again in flocks,
but this time with fully grown young, known by their streaked
underparts. It is probable that all the young ones which we see
in August are bred in the state, but there is no bird more secre-
tive than the Cedarbird in breeding time. We never hear it,
because it has nothing to say, being always alone, and, when
we happen to see one, which is seldom, it seems in great haste
to go to a place far away. It may nest in our own garden or
orchard and we will not be the wiser until perchance one of the
youngsters comes to our door, or, what has actually happened
to the writer, into the house itself, before it can fly. That it
used to nest in the city of St. Louis is attested by Mr. Philo W.
Smith, Jr., who found nests in Tower Grove Park in 1900 and
in North St. Louis in 1891. Mr. C. W. Prier found a nest,
July 16, 1903, in an orchard in Appleton City, and the species
is given as a breeder in Lawrence Co., by Mr. H. Nehrling;
in Warrensburg by Mr. A. F. Smithson; in Keokuk by Mr.
E. S. Currier. Orchards, cemeteries, city parks, and the shade
trees in the immediate surroundings of houses in the country,
seem to be the places where we have to look for their nests from
the middle of June to the end of July. Though we may meet
with flocks of Cedarbirds in any month of the year, there are
certain times when we can count on seeing them with us regularly
and in numbers. This is the time of the mulberries and first
cherries in May, and of the abundance of wild fruit of many kinds,
wild cherries, grapes, hackberries, smilax, etc., from the latter
part of August to the middle of October. During the day they
roam in search of food in troops of thirty or more and in the
evening assemble in large numbers at a common roost, prefer-
able the willows in the river bottoms. They are great wan-
derers and, although withdrawing from the state during the
coldest spells of winter, the first flocks are back again as soon
as the weather moderates, be this in January, February or
March.
Family LANIIDAE. Shrikes.
621. LANIUS BOREALIS Vieill. Northern Shrike.
Lanius excubitor. Collyrio borealis. Collurio borealis. Butcherbird.
Geog. Dist. Northern North America, breeding from Labra-
dor and Saskatchewan north to Alaska. In winter south
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 207
from the Maritime Provinces and Ontario to Virginia, Ken-
tucky, Missouri, Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona and central Cali-
fornia.
In Missouri a rather common winter resident from the latter
part of October to early March. Earliest dates at Keokuk,
October 25, 1900; October 27, 1896 and 1901; October 31,
1897; latest, March 7, 1896 and 1897, March 9, 1902, and March
17, 1901; April 9, 1899. Earliest at St. Louis, November 2,
1906; latest from St. Joseph, April 7, 1896. Mr. Chas. L.
Eimbeck has three fine specimens in his collection taken near
New Haven, Mo., but there are at present no records available
from the state south of St. Louis and Franklin Counties.
*622e. LANIUS LUDOVICIANUS MIGRANS W. Palmer. Migrant
Shrike.
Collyrio excubitoroides. Collurio ludomcianus var. excubitoroides. Lanius
ludovicianus. Northern Loggerhead Shrike.
Geog. Dist. Greater part of the United States east of the
Great Plains, but very local in more eastern districts; breeding
north to New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
northern New York, Quebec, Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin,
Minnesota and southward to midland Virginia and western North
Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, and eastern Kansas; in winter
from Missouri, etc., southward to Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas.
This new subspecies has lately been separated from typical
ludovicianus, which occurs only in the South Atlantic and Gulf
States, while the range of the western subspecies, excubitorides,
the White-rumped Shrike, does not reach our state, terminating
in central Kansas and eastern Nebraska. In Missouri, a fairly
common summer resident on cultivated land, chiefly in the
prairie and Ozark border region, scarce in the Ozarks and the
southeast. In mild winters some remain at their breeding stands
from the Missouri River southward, but the majority leave the
state In October and do not return till the third week of March,
when the first Shrikes are back at their stations in all parts of
the state. Full numbers are present before the end of the
month, when the old pairs have already begun building their
nests, the species being among the earliest breeders, having
fully fledged young in the fourth week of May. They make
very amusing pets, being remarkably bright and the males
somewhat musical.
208 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Family VIREONIDAE. Vireos.
*624. VIREO OLIVACEUS (Linn.). Red-eyed Vireo.
Muscicapa olivacea. Vireosylvia or Vireosylva olivacea. "The Preacher."
Geog. Dist. North America, chiefly eastern, west to Utah,
Washington and British Columbia; north to Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island, Kewatin, Saskatchewan and southern
Mackenzie; breeds from southern Florida and western Texas
northward throughout all wooded regions. In winter through
Mexico, Central and South America to Brazil, Bolivia and east-
ern Peru.
In Missouri the most evenly distributed woodland summer
resident from April till October. It is equally at home in the
overflowed region of the southeast as on the driest hilltops
of the Ozarks and in the small wood-patch left on northern and
western farm lands. It begins to sing soon after its arrival,
which is in the southeast as early as April 10; at St. Louis
and central Missouri generally between April 21 and 26, some-
times even earlier as April 16, 1896, April 17, 1885; and along
the northern border about the first of May. Its song is heard
all spring and summer, even during the hottest hours, when
most other birds are silent. After a silence of five or six weeks
the song is taken up again before its departure and is heard as
late as September 21, 1895, and September 24, 1887. The bulk
of transients passes through early in May, and again about the
middle of September. The species is scarce after September
25, but October records are not rare, October 1, 1895, being the
last for Keokuk and October 10, 1885, for St. Louis.
626. VIREO PHILADELPHICUS (Cass.). Philadelphia Vireo.
Vireosylva or Vireosylvia phUadelphica. Brotherlylove Vireo.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Maine, New
Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Athabasca; breeds along the
northern border of the United States, but chiefly north of it,
and migrates over the whole of the United States east of the
Plains (more sparingly east of Alleghanies) to Central America
(no Mexican or West Indian records).
With the exception of one, May 8, 1898, from Independence
by Mr. Chas. Tindall, there are no records of the occurrence of
this species in western Missouri. In eastern Missouri it is a
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 209
rather rare, but regular, transient visitant, especially frequent
in the swampy southeast and along the shores of the Missis-
sippi River from May 5 to 22. They seem sometimes to be
quite at home here and give their song freely. The return move-
ment in fall extends over a period of from three to four weeks,
from the second week of September to the first of October.
Earliest, September 9, 1887; latest, October 4, 1895, in Dunklin
Co. Mr. E. S. Woodruff's capture of a Philadelphia Vireo
May 9, 1907, in Shannon Co., the heart of the Ozarks, proves
that its transit through Missouri is not confined to the low land,
where it has generally been observed, but takes place, as is the
case with most other northern warblers, in a broad front, cov-
ering most, if not all, of the state. Two were taken by Mr.
Woodruff, May 17, and one male, May 24, 1907, at Grandin,
Carter Co.
*627. VIREO GILVUS (Vieill.). Warbling Vireo.
Vireosylva or Vireosylvia gilva. Muscicapa gilva. Muscicapa mdodia.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Nova Scotia,
northern Ontario, Manitoba, west to North Dakota, southeast-
ern Montana, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas; breeding from
Florida and Texas northward and wintering south of the United
States, probably in Mexico. The typical species is replaced
westward by the lately separated subspecies, V. gilvus swainsonii
(Baird), which winters in Mexico.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident of general dis-
tribution. Originally inhabiting the trees along rivers and lakes,
it has now accommodated itself to the new conditions and likes
to live in orchards, gardens and parks, even in the shade trees
of big cities, where its song may be heard with a short pause in
August during its entire stay from the middle of April till Sep-
tember 20. It is one of the earliest species of the genus Vireo
to arrive in spring, the earliest being April 6, 1893, and April 8,
1890. This is the usual time for its appearance in the southeast;
at St. Louis the majority of records are between April 16 and 20;
in cool springs a few days later. By the end of April the bulk is
present all over the state, also transients, and the species is one
of the most musical in the great bird concert of that lovely sea-
son. Fall migration takes place in September, September 15,
1895, being the last date at Keokuk, and September 27, 1891,
for St. Louis.
210 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
*628. VIREO FLAVIFRONS Vieill. Yellow-throated Vireo.
Muscicapa sylvicola. Lanivireo flavifrons.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Canada,
north to Maine, Vermont, northern New York, southern Ontario
and Manitoba; west to the edge of the Plains; breeds from
northern Florida and southern Texas northward and winters
from southern Florida and Cuba south through eastern Mexico
and Central America to Colombia.
In Missouri a common and generally distributed summer resi-
dent in all wooded districts. It is the first of the Vireos to ar-
rive in the state, having been heard as early as March 30, 1896,
in the southeast. In the region of St. Louis it may be looked
for between April 15 and 20 with much certainty; earliest date,
April 13, 1887; latest, April 27. The return movement from
more northern breeding grounds takes place in September, when
it is for a while more conspicuous than ordinarily. Its song has
been heard every day from September 1 to 9, and at intervals
throughout the month September 28, 1895, September 29,
1905, October 1, 1887, October 2, 1906. Last individuals are
noted as late as October 11, 1887, and October 12, 1895, at St.
Louis, and October 17, 1903, at Monteer, Shannon Co., by Mr.
Savage, but the bulk of the species leaves us from about Sep-
tember 22 to 25.
629. VIREO SOLITARIUS (Wils.). Blue-headed Vireo.
Muscicapa solitaria. Lanivireo solitarius. Solitary Vireo.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America; north to Prince Ed-
ward Island, Keewatin, Athabasca, southern Mackenzie; west
to border of Plains; breeds from southern New England, Penn-
sylvania, Wisconsin and northern Dakota northward, and win-
ters from the Gulf coast (Florida to Texas) southward to Cuba,
eastern Mexico and Guatemala.
In Missouri a regular and fairly common transient visitant,
passing through rather late in both seasons. Earliest date at
St. Louis is April 21, 1896, and April 22, 1879, but the majority
of dates of "firsts" are between April 29 and May 5. Their stay
with us lasts about two weeks, May 10 to May 16 being the dates
for birds last seen (May 17, 1907, St. Louis). These dates seem
to hold good also for the western part of the state (May 15,
1899, Independence, Tindall; May 7, 1874, Warrensburg, Scott).
In fall their presence extends over a period of at least four
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 211
weeks from the middle of September to the middle of October.
Earliest date for the state is September 4, 1902, Jasper, Savage;
for St. Louis, September 16, 1887; latest, October 20, 1893.
Their song is heard both in spring and fall, oftener in the latter,
and mostly in October; earliest song, September 24, 1896;
latest, October 20, 1893.
*631. VIREO NOVEBORACENSIS (GmeL). White-eyed Vireo.
Muscicapa noveboracensis. Muscicapa cantatrix.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States; north to Massachusetts,
New York (occasionally further north), to the Great Lakes,
southern Wisconsin, southern Minnesota; west to eastern Ne-
braska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas (except Rio Grande Val-
ley) ; breeding from northern Florida and Texas northward, and
wintering from the South Atlantic and Gulf States southward
through eastern Mexico to Guatemala.
In Missouri a common and generally distributed summer resi-
dent, rarer westward and most abundant in bottom land and
along water courses throughout the different regions. In the
southeast the first White-eyes return to their breeding grounds
in the first week of April (April 2, 1896). In the vicinity of St.
Louis the earliest date is April 11, 1896, but commonly the dates
of " firsts" fall between April 14 and 18, exceptionally as late
as April 24, and the bulk is always back in the last days of April
in the western as well as the eastern part of central Missouri
(Independence, April 29, 1900; April 30, 1899, Tindall). At
the northern border Mr. Currier's dates at Keokuk vary between
May 5, 1896, and May 12, 1898. The return movement south-
ward takes place in the middle of September, when a decrease
is noticeable after the species has been quite conspicuous as a
songster during the first half of September. A few keep up sing-
ing and are occasionally heard till the end of the month (Sep-
tember 28, 1895, September 29, 1887). The last were noticed
as late as October 14, 1885, but they are always scarce after
September 26 to September 29, even in southern Missouri.
*633. VIREO BELLII Aud. Bell's Vireo.
Vireo belli.
Geog. Dist. Prairie districts of the Mississippi Valley, breed-
ing from Tamaulipas through eastern Texas northward through
212 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Missouri and Kansas to northwestern Indiana, northern Illinois,
southern Minnesota and South Dakota. Winters in Mexico.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident in all prairie
districts and the Ozark border east to St. Louis and northward,
abundant at Keokuk (E. S. Currier). This is the last of the
Vireos to arrive in spring. At St. Louis, and in central Missouri
generally, the first may be expected between April 27 and 29,
sometimes a day or two earlier, as April 26, 1882, and April 25,
1883. At Independence it was noted by Mr. Tindall April 27,
1900, and April 30, 1899. At Warrensburg May 5, 1874, by
W. E. D. Scott. Audubon met with Bell's Vireo May 6, 1843,
in the region of St. Joseph. Its arrival is reported May 4, 1902,
at Jasper by Mr. Savage, and May 5, 1885 and 1886, at Mt. Car-
mel by Mrs. Musick. Mr. Currier's dates vary between April 30,
1895, and May 9, 1899, at Keokuk. The bulk of the species
does not come to St. Louis before the first week of May and a
week later to Keokuk. It sings almost as long as it is with
us, even through August. Last day of its song and presence at
St. Louis is September 22, 1905, and this seems to be the time of
departure from its breeding grounds generally. Last at St.
Joseph, September 19, 1894, S. S. Wilson; at Jasper, September
16, 1901, and September 20, 1902; at Monteer, Shannon Co.,
September 5, 1903, W. G. Savage.
Family MJSHOTILTIDAE. Wood Warblers.
*636. MNIOTILTA VARIA (Linn.). Black and White Warbler.
Certhia varia. Sylvia varia. Certhia maculata. Sylvicola varia. Mnio-
tilta borealis. Mniotilta varia borealis. Black and White Creeping Warb-
ler.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to the upper Mac-
kenzie Valley, Hudson Bay, Anticosti and Newfoundland; west
to Alberta, central Nebraska, eastern Texas. Breeds from Vir-
ginia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Texas northward, and winters
from the Gulf States southward throughout the West Indies,
Mexico, Central America to Colombia and Venezuela. -
In Missouri a common transient visitant and a fairly common
summer resident in all wooded regions, both in low and high
localities, on the islands in the swamps of the southeast, as well
as throughout the valleys of the Ozarks and in the timber of
the Ozark border and prairie region. This is one of the first
Widjnann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 213
warblers to enter Missouri in the southeast. Its wiry notes were
heard in Dunklin Co. as early as March 10, 1894. On March 24,
1896, they were common songsters in Butler Co., but the neigh-
borhood of St. Louis is not reached before the second or third
week of April, earliest April 7, 1882 (Earliest for Vernon Co.,
April 9, 1894; for Keokuk, April 26, 1902; for Shannon Co.,
April 10, 1904; for Mt. Carmel, April 18, 1885; for Warrensburg,
April 13, 1874). During the latter part of April and first half
of May, transients are present in all parts of the state. Audubon
met with the species at Fort Leavenworth May 4, 1843, and
Dr. J. A. Allen at the same place about the same time in 1871.
It is reported from St. Joseph May 4, 1895, by Mr. S. S. Wilson.
Fall migration takes place all through September, and the species
is most common between the 10th and 20th; the last seen at
St. Louis September 29, 1887 and 1905, but in Dunklin Co. some
were present during the first week of October, 1895.
*637. PROTONOTARIA CITREA (Bodd.). Prothonotary Warbler.
Motacilla citrea. Sylvia protonotarius. Vermivora protonotorius. Helinaia
protonotarius. Dacnis protonotaria. Sylvicola auricollis. Golden
Swamp Warbler.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to Virginia, south-
ern Ohio, Indiana, southern Michigan, northeastern Illinois,
southern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, eastern Nebraska.
Breeds from northern Florida and the Gulf coast to eastern
Texas northward, and winters in Cuba, and through eastern
Mexico and Central America to Colombia, Venezuela and
Trinidad.
In Missouri a common summer resident in the large river val-
leys, chiefly that of the Mississippi, most abundant in the swamps
of the southeast, less common in the valleys of the Ozarks, but
occurring in every one, as well as in the western and northern
prairie region (Reported common at Warrensburg, Independ-
ence, and Vernon Co.). It is one of the first warblers to arrive
in spring, its entrance into the peninsula being welcomed as
early as the last day of March (1896). A few days later the fe-
males join them and pairs are seen entering holes in the second
week of April. To the central part of the state they do not come
before the third or fourth week of April, and to the northern
border about the first of May. The species withdraws from Mis-
souri pretty early in fall. The last date for St. Louis is Septem-
214 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
ber 9, but there is a record from New Haven, September 24,
1903. At the end of the month none were found in the
peninsula.
*638. HELINAIA SWAINSONII Aud. Swainson's Warbler.
Sylvia swainsonii. Helonaea swainsoni. Helmitherus swainsoni.
Geog. Dist. Southeastern United States, north to Virginia,
southwestern Indiana, southwestern Missouri and west to Texas.
In winter to Cuba, Jamaica and Central America to Panama.
In Missouri thus far only found as a summer resident on the
so-called islands in the St. Francis basin in Dunklin Co., but re-
search will probably reveal its occurrence as a not rare summer
resident throughout the swampy portions of the southeast, par-
ticularly in the section east of Little River, where large cane-
brakes occur along our southern state line. Vol 12 of the Auk
for 1895 contains an announcement of its discovery in the state
under the title: "Swainson's Warbler an Inhabitant of the
Swampy Woods of Southeastern Missouri," by 0. Widmann
(pages 112-117).
*639. HELMITHERUS VERMIVORUS (Gmel.). Worm-eating Warb-
ler.
Sylvia vermivora. Dacnis vermivora. Helinaia vermivora. Helmintherus
vermivorus. Helminthotherus vermivorus. Vermivora pennsylvanica.
Worm-eating Swamp Warbler.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to southern Con-
necticut, southeastern New York, Pennsylvania, southern Wis-
consin, southeastern Nebraska; breeds throughout its United
States range and winters in the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Mex-
ico, Yucatan, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama.
In Missouri a fairly common, and, with the exception of the
swampy southeast, a generally distributed summer resident,
rarer north and westward, most common in the bluff regions of
the southern part of the state, being partial to wooded hilly
ground near running water. Mr. Nehrling considered it a rare
breeder in Lawrence Co. ; Mr. Scott found it rare at Warrensburg
in 1874; Mr. Currier also calls it rare at Keokuk. Mr. Parker
found it breeding in Montgomery Co., and we have reports of
its occurrence at Boonville by Dr. Hoy, April 22, 1854; at Mt.
Carmel by Mrs. Musick, May 20, 1885; at Iberia, Miller Co.,
April 28, 1902. Mr. B. T. Gault found it to be a common
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 215
breeder in Reynolds. Co, in 1892, and Mr. E. S. Woodruff found
it common in Shannon Co., and met with it in Carter Co., May
30, 1907. It begins to arrive on its breeding ground April 20,
and full numbers are present the first of May. It leaves us early
in September, the latest record for St. Louis, September 20,
1890.
*640. HELMINTHOPHILA BACHMANII Aud. Bachman's Warbler.
Sylvia bachinani. Helinaia bachmanii. Helminthophaga bachmani.
Geog. Dist. Southern United States; on the Atlantic coast
to Virginia; in the Mississippi Valley to southeastern Missouri,
Kentucky, northeastern Arkansas ; formerly to southern Indiana.
To Bahamas in migration. Winters in Cuba.
In Missouri found to be a fairly common summer resident
on the islands in the St. Francis basin, where nests with eggs
were found on Gulp Island, May 17, 1897, and May 14, 1898.
The occurrence of the species in Missouri was discovered May 7,
1896, and reported in Auk, vol. 13, p. 264. The discovery of
the first nest ever found was described in an article titled:
"The Summer Home of the Bachman's Warbler no longer un-
known/' by 0. Widmann, Auk, vol. 14, 1897, pages 305-310.
Nest and eggs (3) were presented to the Bendire Collection of
Eggs in the National Museum at Washington. The finding of
a second nest with three eggs on the same island was announced
in Osprey, vol. 3, page 13; it is in the Parker Norris collection
at Philadelphia. The species arrives on its breeding grounds
about the middle of April ; males in full song were present April
17, 1898, in Dunklin Co. The range in Missouri has been ex-
tended since the above was written by Mr. E. Seymour Wood-
ruff's capture of a male on May 2, 1907, near Ink, Shannon Co.,
in some low bushes in the dry bed (its normal state) of Spring
Valley and again by his finding a Bachman's Warbler near
Grandin, Carter Co., May 23, 1907. Of this he kindly wrote
me the following: "This time it was in what I consider a more
suitable location a dense tangle near the bank of a stream.
I heard a song which I recognized ,at once as a Bachman's
though I only had heard it that once up in Shannon Co. It
took me some little time before I could lay my eyes on him,
for he was fearfully shy and moved about rapidly. I did not
attempt to secure him to confirm identification until I had spent
over two hours there in hopes that I might find the nest, but
216 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
finally shot him for fear I might not find him on a second visit.
I am positive I heard another male at the same time."
*641. HELMINTHOPHILA PINUS (Linn.). Blue- winged Warbler.
Certhia pinus. Helminthophaga pinus. Sylvia solitaria. Vermivora soli-
taria. Helinaia solitaria. Blue-winged Yellow Warbler.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to southern Con-
necticut, southeastern New York, Pennsylvania, northern Ohio,
northern Indiana and Illinois, southern Wisconsin, eastern
Nebraska. In winter through eastern Mexico to Guatemala,
Nicaragua and Colombia.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident of general
distribution, but like other ground-builders disappearing from
districts where the only remaining woodland is used as pasture
for hogs, which either drive the birds from their breeding grounds
or destroy the eggs or young in the nest. Audubon met with
the species at Fort Leavenworth, May 4, 1843, and Dr. J. A.
Allen at the same locality in May, 1874 ; Dr. Hoy found it at
Boonville, April 22, 1854, and common at Chillicothe, May 16,
1854. It is an inhabitant of the valleys of the Ozarks and of
the drier parts of the southeast, but the bluff region of the rivers
and the Ozark border region seem to be territory most fre-
quented. The species is the earliest of the genus to come to
us in spring, appearing at our southern boundary, April 3, 1896;
at St. Louis and central Missouri generally, April 20; earliest
at St. Louis, April 17, 1883; at our northern border, April 30
to May 5, when the bulk has reached the rest of the state. It
leaves us early in fall; the last seen at St. Louis is September
6 to September 10, (1901).
641.1. HELMINTHOPHILA LEUCOBRONCHIALIS (Brewster). Brew-
ster's Warbler.
Helminthophaga leucobronchialis.
Geog. Dist. Southern New England, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Louisiana, Michigan.
For the introduction of this interesting bird into our list I
am indebted to Mr. Edward Seymour Woodruff, who has fur-
nished among the many valuable notes made during his two
months sojourn in Shannon Co., in the spring of 1907, the
Brewster's Warbler, a record new to the state. In a letter dated
May 18, 1907, he writes: "It is an absolutely typical specimen,
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 217
for there is not even a suggestion of a yellow tinge on the breast
pure white from bill to tail, and wingbands broadly yellow.
I secured him on May 12; was attracted to it by its song, which,
though similar in character to that of the Blue-wing, was weaker
and varied most noticeably different."
642. HELMINTHOPHILA CHRYSOPTERA (Linn.). Golden- winged
Warbler.
Motacilla chrysoptera. Sylvia chrysoptera. Vermivora chrysoptera. Heli-
naia chrysoptera. Helminthophaga chrysoptera.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to Massachusetts,
southwestern Ontario, northern Michigan, central Wisconsin,
southern Minnesota; breeding from South Carolina in the
mountains, and from northern New Jersey, northern Indiana,
Illinois, eastern Nebraska northward and wintering in the
mountains of Central and South America from Nicaragua to
Colombia.
In Missouri a fairly common transient visitant in the vicinity
of St. Louis, the bluffs of the Mississippi being the only locality
where the species has been found of regular occurrence in the
state. Mr. E. S. Currier considers the Golden- winged War-
bler a common transient at Keokuk and there is a record of its
occurrence in Shannon Co., April 25, 1905, by Mr. W. G. Savage.
The only record from western Missouri is by Mr. H. Nehrling,
who met with it in Lawrence Co., April 25, 1884. Mrs. Musick
reported the species as a summer resident at Mt. Carmel,
Audrain Co., in 1884, and it is very likely that it breeds sparingly
in northeastern Missouri. Mr. Currier took a set of eggs in Lee
Co., la., just across the state line, and Mr. 0. C. Poling of Quincy
found it nesting in the Mississippi bottom. In eastern Illinois
it was once found breeding in the latitude of St. Louis, 38 38',
in Richland Co. Singing males have been noted at St. Louis
as early as April 26, 27 and 28, but the bulk passes through
during the first half of May; last seen, May 22. At Keokuk
they were observed once as early as April 22, 1894. They begin
to withdraw from the breeding grounds early in August and pass
through Missouri in the latter part of August and early in
September, but do not stop over long and are therefore easily
overlooked. Latest date at St. Louis, September 15, 1905;
males in full plumage.
218 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
645. HELMINTHOPHILA RUBRICAPILLA (Wils.). Nashville War-
bler.
Sylvia ruficapilla. Hehninthophaga ruficapilla. Helminthophila rufica-
pilla. Sylvia rubricapilla. Vermivora rubricapilla. Helinaia rubrica-
pilla.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Cape Breton,
Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba; breeds
from southern New England, northern Michigan, northern
Illinois, eastern Nebraska, northward. Winters in eastern
Mexico; south to Guatemala.
In eastern Missouri one of our most regular and common
transient visitants, spring and fall; also common in the north-
western part of the state, but rare in southwest Missouri. The
species is rare in Kansas, but common in the Missouri River
region of eastern Nebraska. Dr. J. A. Allen found it common
at Fort Leavenworth, where it had also been observed by
Audubon, May 4, 1843. It is reported from St. Joseph, where
Mr. S. S. Wilson took a female September 28, 1895, and from
Independence, October 5, 1889, by Mr. Chas. Tindall. Scott
gives it as rare May 7, 1874, at Warrensburg, where Mr. Smithson
found a young bird dead in the street in the middle of August,
1906. There is a possibility of its breeding in the northwest
corner of Missouri as it has been found breeding along the eastern
edge of Nebraska. East of Missouri its nesting in the latitude
of our northern border is reported from Fulton Co., 111., by Mr.
Philo W. Smith Jr. of St. Louis. The first transients appear
in eastern Missouri between April 23 and 29, exceptionally ear-
lier or later (April 20, 1885, May 2, 1883). They are most abun-
dant during the first decade of May, the last being seen between
May 15 and 22. On their return in the fall the first have been
seen as early as September 5, 1897, but usually not before
September 14 or 15; they are quite common from September
20 to October 5, and the last do not leave us before October
12, exceptionally as late as October 20, 1893.
646. HELMINTHOPHILA CELATA (Say). Orange-crowned Warbler.
Sylvia celata. Vermivora celata. Helinaia celata. Helminthophaga celata.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to the Mackenzie
and Yukon Rivers; west in Canada to the interior of British
Columbia and southward in the Rocky Mountains to New
Mexico; breeding in the Rocky Mountains and from Manitoba
Wi.dmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 219
northward; migrating over Mississippi Valley and Gulf States
to South Carolina, Georgia and Florida ; rare east of Alleghanies
north of Virginia. Winters in southern United States, but
chiefly in northeastern Mexico.
In western Missouri a regular and common transient visitant.
It is reported so by Dr. Allen, who met with it in May, 1871,
at Fort Leavenworth; by W. E. D. Scott who found it next
to H. pinus, the most common of the genus, April 27 to May
15, 1874, at Warrensburg. Mr. Chas. W. Tindall reports it as
common at Independence, April 29, 1898, and April 30, 1899.
Mr. H. Nehrling's record of April 19, 1884, is the earliest date
for spring arrival in Missouri. The occurrence of the species
in eastern Missouri is less regular both in time and numbers.
Quite common in some seasons as early as April 20 and 22, in
others it is not seen before the 28 or 29. May 10 is the latest
at St. Louis; in most years not seen after May 5. Its presence
in fall extends over a period of seven weeks from September 9
to October 26, but it is never numerous at any time. Neither
Mr. Currier nor Mr. Praeger met with the species at Keokuk,
but Mr. Chas. K. Worthen mentions it in his list of the birds
of Warsaw, 111.
647. HELMINTHOPHILA PEREGRINA (Wils.). Tennessee Warbler.
Sylvia peregrina. Vermivora peregrina. Helinaia peregrina. Helmintho-
phaga peregrina. Sylvicola missouriensis.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Hudson Bay,
Slave Lake and Alaska; breeds from northern New York,
northern New England, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, eastern
Colorado northward and migrates chiefly through Mississippi
Valley and Atlantic side of Mexico and Central America to
northern South America.
In Missouri by far the commonest species of its genus and the
most regular in migration; it outnumbers all other Helmin-
thophilae put together and occurs in the west as well as in the
east; in the southeast and the Ozarks as often as in the flood
plains and the prairie region. At St. Louis it makes its first
appearance between April 25 and 28, rarely a day earlier or
later. It is in greatest abundance between April 30 and May
11, when it may be heard or seen most anywhere. After the
middle of May it is scarce except in cold Mays, when it remains
longer, as late as May 22 and 24, once even to May 29 and in
220 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
the remarkable late spring of 1907 to June 3. Its fall migration
reaches us the middle of September, becomes brisk about Octo-
ber 1 and continues to the middle of the month, latest date being
October 20.
648. a. COMPSOTHLYPIS AMERICANA USNEAE Brewster. North-
ern Parula Warbler.
Sylvia americana. Sylvicola americana. Parula americana. Blue Yellow-
back.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and British Provinces;
breeding from the interior districts of Virginia and Maryland
northward to Maine, Anticosti, New Brunswick and northern
Ontario.
*648.b. COMPSOTHLYPIS AMERICANA RAMALINAE Ridgw.
Western Parula Warbler.
Geog. Dist. Mississippi Valley, north to southern Michigan,
across Wisconsin to Minnesota; west to eastern Nebraska
and through Kansas, Indian Territory and Texas. These sub-
species have lately been separated from the typical americana,
which breeds locally in the Gulf States from Alabama to Florida
and along the Atlantic slope to District of Columbia, probably
to New Jersey and New York. Since the differences in the
winter plumage are so slight that nobody can tell the three
subspecies apart with certainty, their winter home can only
be given for all of them together. They have a wide range
throughout the West Indies, and through eastern Mexico to
Nicaragua.
Our Missouri bird, which was until 1897 simply americana
and then segregated as usneae, must now be referred to the
new subspecies ramalinae, but it is possible that the northern
subspecies usneae visits the state in transit from and to Mexico.
Observers should be on the look-out for it during migration
time. The Parula or Blue Yellow-back is one of the first war-
blers to appear at its breeding stations; it is a fairly common
and generally distributed summer resident in the overflow of
the peninsula as well as in the valleys of the Ozarks and along
the water-courses everywhere, though less and less common
as we go northwestward in the prairie region. It reaches Mis-
souri in the southeast in the last week of March (Poplar Bluff,
March 28, 1896). Earliest date for St. Louis is April 10, 1887,
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 221
and April 11, 1896, but ordinarily it has not been noticed before
April 13 to 17. About April 20 it is generally pretty numerous
and the height of the season for transients is the first week of
May. During its southward flight in September the species
is again often seen and sometimes heard to sing, especially in
the second and third week of the month. The last ones are
seen in the vicinity of St. Louis, September 24 to 26, excep-
tionally later, October 2, 1906, and in Dunklin Co., October
4. Though a fairly common breeder in Missouri it is still
much of a mystery where it places its nest. The only
one found by the writer (June 8, 1885) was built inside
of a bunch of rubbish which during a freshet in the Mera-
mec River had kept sticking to a long hanging twig of a
birch. This nest is described in Auk, vol. 2, p. 377; but
such a place can only be an exceptional nesting-site, and it
still remains to be shown where it usually builds its nest,
as we have no hanging lichens used for this purpose in other
parts of the country.
(>50. DENDROICA TIGRINA (Gmel.). Cape May Warbler.
Motacilla tigrina. Dendroeca tigrina. Perisoglossa tigrina. Sylvia mari-
tima. Sylvicola maritima.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to the Maritime
Provinces, southern shores of Hudson Bay, Manitoba and As-
siniboia. Breeds from northern New England, northern Minne-
sota and Michigan northward and winters in the West Indies
and Yucatan.
In Missouri a rather rare transient visitant in the vicinity of
St. Louis, where its presence in small numbers can be expected
early in May, oftenest May 2 or 3, latest May 10, 1887, and
May 12, 1885 (May 16 and 17 to May 28, 1907) either among
other warblers or in little troops by itself. In fall migration
dates of occurrence are more scattered, beginning with August
24, 1887, and ending September 26, 1897. The only record for
the state outside of St. Louis Co. is from Pierce City, Lawrence
Co., where Mr. H. Nehrling found the species April 27, 1884.
Since the above was written another record has been added
through Mr. E. S. Woodruff's excellent work in Shannon Co.,
where he took examples of this species, May 10 and 15,
1907.
222 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis..
*652. DENDROICA AESTIVA (Gmel.). Yellow Warbler.
Mbtacilla aestiva. Sylvia aestiva. Sylvicola aesitva. Sylvia citrinella.
Sylvia childrenii. Sylvia rathbonia. Sylvia trochilus. Wild Canary,
Yellowbird. Blue-eyed Warbler.
Geog. Dist. North America in general (except Alaska and
northern Pacific coast where subspecies, rubiginosa, and south-
western United States where subspecies, sonorana). Breeds
nearly throughout its range except Florida and southern Georgia.
Winters in Central and South America going as far south as
7 S. in western Peru.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident in all settled
districts, but not in the forest or far away from water; other-
wise of general distribution in all regions. The third week of
April is the time for the arrival of the first Yellow Warblers
in the vicinity of St. Louis; in more southern parts a few days
earlier (April 13, 1893, at Hornersville), in the northern from
five to ten days later, but on the whole there is a great regularity
in their appearance. As with most other birds the first comers
are old males in full song, followed a few days later by their
mates. Numerous transients are present during the last days
of April and the first half of May when the species is one of the
most conspicuous songsters about our country homes. Its
song is heard until the middle of July, when the species disap-
pears from the breeding ground, apparently retiring southward,
but at the border of lakes and rivers we sometimes meet a few
transients during August, very rarely in September. Latest
record, September 17, 1885, Mt. Carmel, Mrs. Musick.
654. DENDROICA CAERULESCENS (Gmel.). Black-throated Blue
Warbler.
Sylvia canadensis. Sylvicola canadensis. Dendroeca canadensis. Sylvia
caerulescens. Sylvia pusilla. Sylvia leucoptera. Vireo sphagnosa.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, breeding from north-
eastern Connecticut, mountains of Pennsylvania, northern On-
tario, southern Michigan, and Minnesota northward to New-
foundland, Labrador and shores of Hudson Bay. During mi-
gration westward to base of Rocky Mountains in Colorado
and New Mexico. Winters in the West Indies and northern
South America.
In Missouri a rare transient visitant, less so in the east than in
the west, where records are very few. Dr. Hoy mentions it in
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 223
his list of birds of western Missouri and Mr. H. Nehrling found it
at Pierce City, May 2, 1884. There is a single record from Iberia,
Miller Co., but no other observer in Missouri reported it to the
Department of Agriculture, and neither Mr. Currier nor Mr.
Praeger met with it near Keokuk, nor has it ever been observed
in the southeast. The only location where it has been found
oftener is the immediate vicinity of St. Louis, and there, too, its
occurrence is irregular. The earliest date for the state is
April 27, 1904, Iberia, and for St. Louis, April 30, 1885; the
last in spring, May 9, 1887. The earliest in fall, September 1,
1887, an adult male, and the last, September 24, 1879, also an
adult male.
655. DENDROICA CORONATA (Linn.). Myrtle Warbler.
Sylvia coronata. Sylvicola coronata. Yellow-rumped Warbler. Yellow-
rump.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to limit of tree-
growth from Newfoundland and southern Labrador to western
Alaska. Breeds from western Massachusetts and northern New
York, northern peninsula of Michigan, Manitoba, Saskatchewan
and Alberta northward. Winters from southern New England,
Ohio and lower Missouri Valleys southward to West Indies
and through Mexico and Central America to Panama.
In Missouri a very common transient visitant in all parts
of the state, and a fairly common winter visitant in the heavily
wooded southeast, less regularly northward to the Missouri
River. Their presence in winter depends largely on the abun-
dance of drupes of Poison Ivy, of which they are very fond
and in search of which they roam about. If there is enough of
this berry-like fruit, Yellow-rumps may be found in considerable
numbers in St. Louis Co. throughout December, but their ranks
are always thinned very much in January when our coldest
weather comes, though a few sometimes brave the rigor of our
hard winters successfully. They also like to eat the berries of
the Red Cedar, and Dr. Eimbeck tells me that the Cedars in his
place at New Haven, Franklin Co., are a great attraction for
wintering Yellow-rumps. Being the hardiest of all Warblers
and the earliest to push northward, small numbers appear in
places where they have not wintered, even north of the Missouri
River, as early as the second or third week in March, but real
migration does not set in before the first of April and in back-
ward springs as late as the 9th and 12th of that month. At
224: Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
our northern border where the first arrive about the 12th or
14th of April the species has in some years not been noted before
the 25th (1897, 1901, at Keokuk). The bulk, the great army,
spreads over most of the state during the second and third week
of April and remains to the end of the fourth week. The dura-
tion of their stay with us varies greatly; in some years they
pass through rapidly, in others they remain conspicuously
abundant for a longer time. In 1878 the last Yellow-rump
was noted at St. Louis, April 29; in 1886, May 18; in 1907, May
21; but usually between May 6 and 12. The wave of south-
bound Yellow-rumps reaches the northern border of Missouri
in the latter part of September, the earliest at Keokuk being
September 11, 1894, and September 12, 1899, the bulk about
October 1. St. Louis is seldom reached before October first,
and then only by small numbers. Earliest at St. Louis, Sep-
tember 17, 1897, and September 23, 1896. The first cross the
southern border line about October 10. The bulk is somewhat
irregular in its transit through the state, some years, following
the first within a few days, early in October, in others not before
the second and third week of the month. In northern Missouri
migration is over from the middle to the last of October (October
14', 1896; October 26, 1897); in central Missouri it continues
to the first, sometimes the second week in November (Mt. Carmel,
November 3, 1884; November 11, 1885). In the neighborhood
of St. Louis where they may be regarded as irregular winter
visitants, all are gone in some years before the middle of No-
vember (November 7, 1882; November 11, 1885). The ex-
ceptional occurrence of a singing male Yellow-rump in summer
(June 21, 1897) in St. Louis Co. is reported by the writer in
"The Osprey," vol. 2, No. 3, page 40.
657. DENDROICA MACULOSA (Gmel.). Magnolia Warbler.
Motacilla maculosa. Sylvia maculosa. Sylvicola maculosa. Sylvia mag-
nolia. Black and Yellow Warbler.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Newfoundland,
Anticosti, Magdalen Islands, southern shores of Hudson Bay
Great Slave Lake and Mackenzie River ; west to British Columbia
and eastern base of Rocky Mountains. Breeds from Massa-
chusetts, mountains of Pennsylvania, northern part of lower
Michigan, northern Minnesota and northern Manitoba and
Assiniboia northward. Winters from eastern Mexico to Panama.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 225
In Missouri one of the most common and the most regular
of transient Warblers in the eastern part of the state, but be-
coming scarcer and scarcer as we go westward. Dr. Hoy
mentions it in his list of birds of western Missouri. W. E. D.
Scott met with it once, May 18, 1874, at Warrensburg, and Mr.
H. Nehrling, May 2, 1884, at Pierce City. These are all the
records we have from western Missouri. Its appearance at
St. Louis may be looked for with confidence between May 3 and
May 5, very seldom earlier (May 1, 1904) and delays of a few
days are equally rare. The bulk is present during the second
week of May. After the 16th the species becomes scarce and
disappears entirely if the weather is hot. In cool Mays it has
been known to linger a week (May 22, 1885) and even two weeks
longer (May 29, June 3, 1907). It is one of the most abundant
migrants in the southeast, where it remains as late as in the cen-
tral and northern parts. On its return in fall the first reaches
St. Louis early in September (September 5, 1887, September
5, 1897), but the bulk is present between September 17 and 27,
and the last leave us soon afterward, deserting even the heavily
wooded southeast by October 10 (Last for St. Louis, October
5, 1906).
*658. DENDROICA CERULEA Wilson. Cerulean Warbler.
Sylvia cerulea. Sylvicola coerulea or caerulea. Dendroeca caerulea or coerulea.
Sylvia rara. Dendroica rara. Sylvia azurea. Blue Warbler.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Ontario;
rare east of Allgehanies. Breeds from the mountains of Virginia
and Tennessee, northern Alabama and Louisiana north to
southern Michigan and Minnesota, west to eastern Nebraska,
Kansas and the Indian Territory. Winters from Panama to Peru.
In Missouri a common summer resident in high trees of bottom
land along water-courses in all parts of the state, but disappear-
ing with the trees, not accepting the conditions imposed by
civilization. It may be found in orchards and like places during
migration, but for its nests it wants high trees near water, build-
ing far out on horizontal or drooping branches, much to the
disgust of the egg collector. The species is especially numerous
in the southeast, where it arrives as early as April 10, 1893.
The magnificent forests in the flood plains of the Mississippi
and Missouri Rivers afford homes for a large number of these
diligent songsters. Audubon met with them at the mouth of
Grand River, April 30, 1843, and again at Leavenworth, May 4,
226 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
1843. At the latter place the species was found common by
Dr. J. A. Allen in May 1871, and Dr. Hoy includes it in his list
of western Missouri birds. At St. Louis it is seldom found
before the middle of April (April 12, 1887), but generally in the
third week, i. e., between the 15th and the 22nd. The bulk,
including the females, has come before the end of the month.
After the breeding season is over Blue Warblers become scarce,
apparently leaving their breeding grounds, but in Dunklin Co.
individuals have been found through September (September
28, 1897), and an exceptionally late date is reported from
New Haven, September 25, 1903, by Dr. Eimbeck.
*659. DENDROICA PENSYLVANICA (Linn.). Chestnut-sided War-
bler.
Sylvia pensylvanica. Sylvia icterocephala. Sylvicola icterocephala. Yellow-
crowned Warbler.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Canada,
north to Nova Scotia, northern Ontario and Manitoba; west to
eastern Nebraska and eastern Kansas. Breeds from the Alle-
ghany Mountains in South Carolina, from New Jersey, Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio, central Illinois, southern Missouri and eastern
Kansas northward and winters from Guatemala to Panama.
In Missouri a fairly common transient visitant, less common
westward, where it was taken by Audubon, May 4, 1843, and by
Dr. J. A. Allen, May 1871, near Fort Leavenworth. Dr. Hoy
has it in his list, also Mr. Chas. W. Tindall of Independence.
Mr. S. S. Wilson gives it as rare at St. Joseph, where he took a
male, August 28, 1894. W. E. D. Scott has it as rare at Warrens-
burg, where he first noted it May 7, 1874. Though usually
fairly common in eastern Missouri it is somewhat irregular in
arriving; in some years the first are seen in the last week of
April (earliest April 23, 1885, and April 25, 1886, at Mt.Carmel;
April 26, 27 and 29, St. Louis); in other years not before the
second week in May (May 11, 1886), but most of the dates col-
lected at St. Louis as well as in the state generally are in the first
week of May. In favorable weather transients pass rapidly
through and disappear soon after the middle of May, but in cool
weather they have lingered through the third into the fourth
week (May 23, 1882; May 24, 1883; June 3, 1907). In fall
the species is one of the first migrants to return from farther
north, having been met with as early as August 24, 1896, and
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 227
August 28, 1901, but the early part of September is the regular
time for its reappearance, the bulk passing through between
the 15th and 26th. None have been observed after the first
of October. Beside being a transient the Chestnut-sided War-
bler has repeatedly been found breeding in eastern Missouri
in places grown with hazel, blackberry and scrub-oak. Nests with
eggs have been found by the writer and by Mr. Philo W. Smith,
Jr., in the outskirts of St. Louis City and in St. Louis Co. Mr.
B. T. Gault saw a pair June 19, 1892, near Munger in Iron Co.
undoubtedly on their breeding grounds. Mrs. M. Musick
reported the species as a common summer resident at Mt. Carmel
in Audrain Co., and Mr. E. S. Currier found it breeding near
Keokuk.
660. DENDROICA CASTANEA (Wils.). Bay-breasted Warbler* )
Sylvia castanea. Sylvicola castanea. Sylvia autumnalis.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Newfoundland r
Hudson Bay and Manitoba. Breeds from northern New Eng-
land, New York, southern Ontario, northern Michigan north-
ward. Winters in Panama and Colombia.
In eastern Missouri a not common but regular transient
visitant in spring and fall, chiefly in the flood plain and the
bluff region of the Mississippi River, but also in the southeast
and in the Ozarks as far west as Shannon Co. (Monteer, May 3,
1904, Savage) and Carter Co. (Grandin, May 16, and 17, 1907,
Woodruff). The only record from western Missouri is that of
Dr. P. R. Hoy in May 1854. Its presence in spring occurs be-
tween May 3 and 23, chiefly between May 5 and 15 in the region
of St. Louis (May 16 to June 2, 1907). Being mostly silent and
keeping in the densely-leafed trees it is easily overlooked, a fact
which, together with its rapid passage, makes the species appear
rarer than it really is. In fall its occurrence has been noted
from September 4 to October 5 (1905 and 1906). Even its
song has been heard as late as September 26, 1897. They are
generally in company with other warblers, but sometimes in
family groups by themselves, the adults in full spring dress.
661. DENDROICA STRIATA (Forst.). Black-poll Warbler.
Sylvia striata. Sylvicola striata.
Geog. Dist. Eastern and northern North America, north to
Newfoundland, to the limit of tree growth in Labrador, the
228 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Hudson Bay region and northwest to Alaska. Breeds from
northern New England and New York, northern Michigan and
Manitoba northward, also near Manitou, Colo., and in Montana
and probably Wyoming. Winters in northern South America,
east to French Guiana and Para, west to Ecuador; south as
far as Rio Negro in Brazil. Migrates by way of Bahamas and
West Indies; no record from Mexico and Central America.
In Missouri one of the most regular and most numerous tran-
sient warblers in spring, less common in fall, when easily over-
looked, because silent, plainly garbed and slow in its movements.
St. Louis can expect to greet the first Black-poll April 29, and
judging from reports from Kansas City (April 28, 1904) and from
Independence (April 27, 1900), the army of north-going Black-
polls begins to invade the southern part of the state generally
the last days of April. They become more numerous after the
first of May and the bulk is present during the second, in northern
Missouri, during the third week in May. They are much oftener
heard than seen, uttering a peculiarly grating song, while creep-
ing along branches in the highest trees. Their song is heard
during the first half of May almost everywhere, wherever there
are trees. By the middle of May the singing males have usually
passed on and silent females only are met with. In cool weather
the departure is delayed and Black-polls have been noted at
St. Louis as late as May 29, 1882, and at Keokuk, June 2, 1901,
but they are always rare after May 20, except in the cold spring
of 1907, when unusually abundant at St. Louis from May 10 to
June 6. In fall their passage through Missouri takes place in
September, chiefly the latter part, and during the first week of
October, when on some days they occur in regular flocks.
662. DENDROICA BLACKBURNIAE (Gmel.). Blackburnian War-
bler.
Sylvia blackburniae. Sylvicola blackburniae. Sylvia pants. Sylvicola parus.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Maine, Nova
Scotia, southern shores of Hudson Bay, northern Ontario, Mani-
toba, west to edge of Great Plains. Breeds from southern
Alleghanies, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan,
Wisconsin and northern Minnesota northward. Winters chiefly
in South America from Colombia to Peru.
In Missouri generally a rather rare transient visitant, but
found in all parts of the state, though more frequently eastward.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 229
It is reported from western Missouri by Dr. Hoy in 1854 and by
Dr. J. A. Allen, who found it at Leavenworth, May 4, 1871;
Mr. H. Nehrling observed it at Pierce City in 1884 and 1885 and
there is a record from Kansas City. The first reach the southern
part of Missouri in the last week of April (April 28, 1905, Mon-
teer, Shannon Co.); southwestern and central Missouri, early
in May (May 2, 1884, Pierce City : May 4, St. Louis). The second
week of May is the time when it is most numerous in the neigh-
borhood of St. Louis, where the last is seen about May 17, but
there is one exceptionally late record of its presence in the state
from Kansas City, May 30, 1904. In fall migration it is, like
others of its tribe, oftenest found in the river bottoms and does
not seem to be in such haste as in spring, the same individuals
being observed at the same place several days in succession.
The first appear as early as September 1 (1897) and the last was
noted as late as October 2, 1896, and October 5, 1905, but they
are to be found most certainly between September 8th and
26th. Mr. E. S. Woodruff found one in Shannon Co., May 13,
and several in Carter Co., May 16 and 17, 1907. Migration
of Warblers being abnormally late in conformity with the extra-
ordinary lateness of spring in 1907, the first Blackburnian
was seen at St. Louis, May 14 and the last, May 22.
*663a. DENDROICA DOMINICA ALBILORA Ridg. Sycamore Warbler.
Sylvia pensilis. Sylvicola pensilis. Dendroica supercttiosa. D. dominica.
Geog. Dist. Mississippi Valley, north to northeastern Nebras-
ka, southern Wisconsin, southern Michigan, Ohio, West Vir-
ginia; southward to Louisiana and eastern Texas. Breeding
throughout this range, bounded on the east by the Alleghanies,
comprising an area about 800 miles long by 600 miles wide,
having its centre of distribution in the lower Ohio Valley. In
winter to southern Mexico and Central America.
Nowhere really common, the Sycamore Warbler is fairly well
distributed through a large portion of southern Missouri from
St. Charles and Montgomery Counties southwestward to Newton
and McDonald Counties in the southwest corner of the state.
It inhabits the high trees of river banks from the Mississippi
River westward throughout the Ozark and Ozark border region;
is most common in the cypress swamps of the southeast, but
apparently absent from the prairie region. On the southern
slope of the Ozarks it has been found inhabiting the pines on
230 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
the hilltops as well as the sycamores in the bottoms. In the
southeast its nests are built in cypress trees (Taxodium). Near
the southern boundary its arrival has been noted as early as
March 21, 1894, when males were already in full song near Hor-
nersville. In Shannon Co., Mr. Woodruff heard it for the first
time March 28, 1907. In the vicinity of St. Louis the appear-
ance of the first singing males varies according to the weather
from April 4 to J3, but by the 25th they are always in full
numbers and conspicuous songsters. About the first of September
they begin to wander about and old and young are met with in
places not usually visited. Dates of " lasts" vary greatly from
September 2, 1887, to October 11, 1885, the latest for St. Louis.
667. DENDROICA VIRENS (Gmel.). Black-throated Green War-
bler.
Sylvia virens. Sylvicola virens.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Newfoundland,
islands of Gulf of St. Lawrence, southern shores of Hudson Bay,
southwestern Athabasca and northern Alberta; west to the
Plains. Breeds from the higher mountains in South Carolina,
southern New England, northern New York, Michigan, Wis-
consin, Minnesota northward. Winters from Mexico to Panama.
In Missouri one of our commonest and most generally distrib-
uted transient visitants in spring and fall, less common in the
north-western portion of the state and the prairie region gener-
ally. Dr. Hoy listed it among his birds of western Missouri
and W. E. D. Scott found it May 7, 1874, at Warrensburg.
Mr. H. Nehrling reports it from Pierce City, May 2, 1884, and
Mr. W. Savage from Jasper, May 1, 1903. In the southeastern
corner of Missouri the writer found it as early as April 16, 1898,
but at St. Louis the firsts are noted between April 26 and May
1. In Shannon Co. where Mr. Savage found it to be tolerably
common, the first was seen at Monteer, April 24, 1904; at Keo-
kuk, April 30, 1895, is the earliest date reported by Mr. Currier.
At St. Louis the bulk is present from between May 5 to 13 and
the last has left before May 20 (May 22, 1907). The last at
Monteer is May 10, 1904, in Carter Co., May 17, 1907, and at
Keokuk, May 24, 1895. W. E. D. Scott found it as late as the
middle of June, 1874, suggesting the possibility of breeding.
Fall migration begins in the latter part of August and lasts
through September to the second week of October at St. Louis
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 231
and the end of the third week in the southeast; the majority
pass through between September 8 and October 6.
670. DENDROICA KIRTLANDI Baird. Kirtland's Warbler.
Sylvicola kirtlandi.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and Ontario from Florida
north to Michigan and Minnesota; west to Missouri. Breeds
in Michigan. Winters in Bahamas.
A male taken by the writer May 8, 1885, near the city limits
of St. Louis is the only record of the occurrence of this rare bird
in Missouri. It is now in the collection of mounted birds in
Washington University of St. Louis. Its capture is reported
in "The Auk," vol. 2, page 382.
*671. DENDROICA VIGORSII (Aud.). Pine Warbler.
Dendroica pinus. Sylvia pinus. Sylvia vigorsii. Sylvicola pinus. Pine-
creeping Warbler.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Breeds
in pine woods, both north and south, and is found in hard wood
forests only in migration. Winters in the South Atlantic and
Gulf States.
In Missouri a fairly common transient visitant in the eastern
part of the state, but apparently unknown in western Missouri
north of the Ozarks. In the pine region the species is a rare
summer resident. On its breeding grounds it had already
arrived when Mr. E. S. Woodruff reached Grandin, March 8,
1907, and Ink, Shannon Co., March 10, 1907. April 25 he se-
cured a young unable to fly, but fed by its parents on the ground.
North-bound transients pass through from the middle to the end
of April. Earliest at St. Louis, April 11, 1896; latest at St.
Louis and Keokuk, May 3, 1903. Though never very common
it is most numerous from April 21 to 23, when its peculiarly
whirring song is often heard. This same song is also given in
fall, when it spends two to three months in transit through
the state. At St. Louis a singing male has been met with as
early as August 20, 1905; others August 26, 1896, and August
29, 1897. The species remains through September into October,
even to the latter part of the month (October 24, 1879), but is
oftenest noted from about October 3 to 5.
232 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
672. DENDROICA PALM ARUM (Gmel.). Palm Warbler.
Sylvia palmarum. Sylvicolapalmarum. Sylvicolapetechia. Yellow Redpoll.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, rare in Atlantic States
where replaced by the subspecies, hypochrysea, the Yellow Palm
Warbler. Breeds north of Manitoba and west of Hudson Bay
to Great Slave Lake. Winters in southern Florida, Bahamas
and the West Indies. Migrates southeast-northwest, chiefly
through the Mississippi Valley, from Alleghanies to eastern
Nebraska, rarely to Kansas.
In Missouri a common transient visitant eastward, less com-
mon westward, where reported by Dr. Hoy, Mr. Tindall of Inde-
pendence and Mr. Savage of Jasper (May 15-18, 1902). It
is one of the earlier of north-bound warblers and in exception-
ally early springs has found its way to St. Louis as early as April
5, 1882. Ordinarily it reaches the same locality between April
13 and 18; the bulk is present during the latter part of April
and the last disappear between May 5 and 15. It reappears
at St. Louis about the first of October, remaining nearly through-
out the month (October 26, 1885). At Keokuk Mr. Currier
found it as early as September 11, 1893; Mr. Savage at Mon-
teer, Shannon Co., not before October 17, 1903.
*673. DENDROICA DISCOLOR (Vieill.). Prairie Warbler.
Sylvia discolor. Sylvicola discolor. Sylvia minuta.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to Massachusetts,
southern Ontario, southern Michigan, southern Wisconsin;
west to eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas. Breeds from north-
ern Bahamas and Florida and the Gulf States generally
northward. Winters from central Florida and Bahamas nearly
throughout the West Indies to near the coast of Yucatan.
In Missouri a common summer resident throughout the Ozarks
and Ozark border region from St. Louis Co. west and southward
to the southwest corner of the state (Neosho in Newton Co. and
Noel in McDonald Co.). In spite of its name it is not known
to occur in the prairie region nor does it breed in the swampy
southeastern portion of the state. A more appropriate name
would be the Hillside Warbler. Its home is not in the forest,
not among high trees, but in those stretches of scrub-oak which
are found wherever the ax or fire have removed the original
forest-trees. It is a neighbor of the Cardinal, Yellow-breasted
Chat, Indigo-bird and Field Sparrow. It arrives on its breeding
grounds about the middle of April and becomes generally dis-
tributed during the fourth week of the month. It remains with
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 233
us until the latter part of September. Latest record at St.
Louis, September 23, 1890.
*674. SEIURUS AUROCAPILLUS (Linn.). Oven-bird.
Turdus aurocapitta. Siurus aurocapUlus. Golden-crowned Thrush. Teacher.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Newfound-
land, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Hudson Bay, Alaska; west to Colo-
rado, Montana and British Columbia. Breeds from Virginia,
southern Missouri and Kansas northward. Winters from the
Gulf coast and the Bahamas through the West Indies and
Mexico to Central America.
In Missouri a common summer resident, more abundant during
migration. It is found oftener in the rich woods of the Ozark
border and the bluff region along rivers than on the dry hills of
the Ozarks and is rare in the southeast. Like the Towhee,
Blue-winged and Worm-eating Warblers, Black and White
Creeper, and other ground builders, the Oven-bird has entirely
disappeared from wood-patches used for pasturing hogs, and is
therefore rare in large districts where it was common formerly.
Its arrival in spring takes place about April 10 in southern
Missouri, about April 14 in east-central, and a week later in
western Missouri. April 12, 1887; 12, 1904; 13, 1888, are the
first dates for St. Louis, where during the last week of April
the woods are fairly ringing with its song. At this period the
number of Oven-birds is increased by hosts of north-going indi-
viduals, and during the last few days of April or first of May,
the first have reached our northern border (Keokuk, April 27
to May 2; Fort Leavenworth, May 4, 1843, Audubon). The
return of transients is noticeable in September, making the species
conspicuous for a considerable time, but particularly from the
14 to the 24, when it becomes scarcer and disappears entirely
during the first week of October. After being silent for about
six weeks its song is again heard in the last week of August
and first of September when it ceases.
675. SEIURUS NOVEBORACENSIS (Gmel.). Water Thrush.
67 f>a. SEIURUS NOVEBORACENSIS NOTABILIS (Ridgw.). Grin-
nell's Water Thrush.
Siurus naevius. Seiurus naevius. Turdus noveboracensis. Turdus aquati-
cus. Small-billed Waterthrush.
Geog. Dist. of noveboracensis. Eastern North America, north
to Newfoundland, coast of Labrador and Hudson Bay; breed-
234 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
ing from mountains of West Virginia, northern New England,
Michigan, Wisconsin northward. The subspecies, notabilis,
ranges throughout western North America from Indiana and
Illinois (more rarely eastward) to the Pacific, north into British
Columbia and along the Rocky Mountains to Alaska and East
Cape in Siberia. It breeds from Minnesota, western Nebraska
and the more northern Rocky Mountains of the United States
northward. In winter both subspecies go to the West Indies
(chiefly the eastern form), Mexico, Central America, Panama,
Colombia, Venezuela and British Guiana (both forms together).
Water thrushes which winter in southern Florida are said to be-
long to the western subspecies, but there is so much difficulty
in separating the two forms, that it has not yet been possible
to trace their migration routes from summer to winter homes.
Eastern Missouri seems to be the region where these migration
routes overlap, as we see birds both with white and decidedly
yellow underparts. It will therefore be well for collectors to
pay special attention to distinguish between the two forms in
order to find out in what proportion they occur; it is generally
accepted that the Water Thrushes of Missouri belong to the
western form, notabilis. Water Thrushes are common and regu-
lar transient visitants in all parts of Missouri, but most common
eastward, less so westward, where Audubon found them May
4, 1843, at Leavenworth and May 7, 1843, at St. Joseph.' It
is also reported by Mr. Tindall from Independence, May 15,
1899, and by W. E. D. Scott from Warrensburg, where it was
quite common and first noted during the first week in May, 1874.
In Taney Co. the writer found it common and in song along
White River, May 7 to 10, 1906. Mr. E. S. Woodruff found it
common in Shannon Co., May 9, 1907. In the vicinity of St.
Louis the "firsts" appear with great regularity between April
24 and 28, exceptionally a few days earlier (April 21, 1883).
The bulk is present from May 5 to 12 and the last are seen in
the third week of May from the 15 to the 22, exceptionally
later (May 31, 1897). There is very little difference between
St. Louis dates and those collected by Mr. Currier at Keokuk,
where it is an abundant migrant, arriving between April 20,
1896, and May 6, 1892, but mostly about April 30, with the last
dates, May 11, 1897, and May 12, 1893. Its frequent song greatly
facilitates identification, since it is entirely different from that
of the Louisiana Water Thrush, in the haunts, of which it often
dwells while with us in spring migration, and with which it
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 235
shares a characteristic alarm-note. It is the first warbler to
return to us in fall, having been observed as early as August 12,
1887, on the sandy islands in the Mississippi River opposite
St. Louis, but it is more common and generally distributed
from the end of August to the fourth week in September, when
most are gone, but, exceptionally, stragglers have been noted
as late as October 17, 1885. In the abnormally cold spring of
1907 the species was not noticed at St. Louis before May 9,
but it was unusually abundant and full of song from May 16
to 22.
*676. SEIURUS MOTACILLA (Vieill.). Louisiana Water-Thrush.
Turdus ludovicianus. Siurus motacilla. Seiurus ludovicianus. Large-
billed Waterthrush.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Ontario,
north to southern New England, southern Michigan, southern
Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota; west to eastern Ne-
braska, eastern Kansas, Texas. Breeds from the Gulf States
northward and winters from the Bahamas through the West
Indies to western Mexico and south through Central America
to Colombia.
In Missouri a common and generally distributed summer
resident, more common south of the Missouri River than north
of it except along the river bottoms. Near the state line in
the southeast, where it is very common, it appears at its breed-
ing stands about the middle of March (March 12, 1894), but
near St. Louis seldom before April (earliest March 29, 1884),
usually between April 4 and 12. Other early dates are Jasper,
April 1, 1902; Warrensburg, April 1, 1905. Earliest at Keokuk,
April 13, 1893. In Shannon Co. Mr. E. S. Woodruff noticed
it first March 21, 1907. In fall it retires from its more northern
stations in the latter part of September (last at Keokuk, Sep-
tember 14, 1893; St. Charles Co., September 27, 1905; St.
Louis, September 29, 1885, and October 5, 1906). In Dunklin
Co. it was still common and in song early in October, 1896.
*677. GEOTHLYPIS FORMOSA (Wils.). Kentucky Warbler.
Sylvia formosa. Sylvicola formosa. Myiodioctes formosus. Trichas for-
mosa. Sylvania formosa. Oporornis formosus.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to southeastern
New York (rarely to Connecticut and Long Island), New Jersey,
eastern Pennsylvania, Ohio, southern Michigan, Wisconsin
236 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
and Minnesota; west to eastern Nebraska and eastern Texas.
Breeds from North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas
northward and winters from southern Mexico through Central
America to Panama, rarely to Colombia.
In Missouri a common and generally distributed summer
resident in all wooded districts, especially in river bottoms, in
the southeast as well as in the Ozarks and prairie region. Audu-
bon found it in the region of Leavenworth and St. Joseph,
May 4 and 6, 1843. Dr. Hoy writes that it was abundant
in the Grand River bottom near Chillicothe, May 16, 1854.
Dr. J. A. Allen noted it at Leavenworth in May 1871, and W. E.
D. Scott calls it a common, but shy breeder at Warrensburg
in 1874. In the peninsula, where summer sojourners arrive
much earlier than in the rest of the state, its presence has been
noted as early as April 9, but in the vicinity of St. Louis the
"firsts" are recorded between April 21 and 25, and in western
and northern Missouri in the last days of the month (St. Louis
April 21, 1885, April 21, 1886; Independence April 29, 1900,
April 30, 1899; Stotesbury, Vernon Co., April 30, 1898; Keokuk,
April 26, 1898, April 30, 1895). Full numbers have seldom
been present at St. Louis before the first week of May. The
bulk of the species leaves us in August and the last bird was
seen at St. Louis September 8, 1897.
678. GEOTHLYPIS AGILIS (Wils.). Connecticut Warbler.
Sylvia agilis. Sylvicola agilis. Trichas agilis. Oporornis agilis.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to New England,
Ontario, Michigan and Manitoba. Breeds in Manitoba, Minne-
sota, Wisconsin and northern Michigan. Winters somewhere
in South America, migrating by way of Bahama, but never
recorded from October 22 to April 9.
In Missouri a rather rare but regular spring transient visitant
along the eastern border from St. Louis northward (Quincy,
Warsaw, Keokuk). Only one record in fall, October 5, 1897,
Keokuk, Mr. E. S. Currier. The 14th, 15th and 16th of May
are the days when it is first noted at St. Louis and it. is always
with us on May 20th, 21st and 22nd, and likely to remain
to the end of the month, if the weather is cool. May 29, 1882,
May 31, 1897; and at Keokuk, June 1, 1897. It frequents dark,
shady forests and is usually seen along the banks of creeks and
sloughs. Very shy, it would easily escape detection, if its very
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 237
peculiar song would not betray it. This song is oftenest given
in the forenoon after most other songsters have already quieted
down and, although it varies considerably in different indi-
viduals, it can always be rendered by a three-syllabled word
with the accent on the first syllable, repeated three times, and
followed by a one-syllabled " hee " in a higher key.
679. GEOTHLYPIS PHILADELPHIA (Wils.). Mourning Warbler.
Sylvia Philadelphia. Trichas philadelphica.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, central Ontario and
Manitoba and eastern Assiniboia. Breeds from the mountains
of West Virginia, from New England, New York, Michigan,
Minnesota, Nebraska and North Dakota northward. Migrates
by way of Louisiana and Texas to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Co-
lombia and Ecuador. No records in the South Atlantic and
Gulf States from North Carolina to Mississippi.
In Missouri a fairly common transient visitant in all parts
of the state, rarer westward, where found by Audubon near
St. Joseph, May 6, 1843. Writing his diary at Chillicothe,
May 16, 1854, Dr. P. R. Hoy says: "Here we found the home
of Trichas Philadelphia, a locality where this bird is common;
they frequent localities covered with dense underbrush overrun
with climbing roses and honeysuckles. I listened to the song
of T. Philadelphia, T. marylandica and T. formosa at the same
time." In his list of birds made at Warrensburg, Johnson Co.,
W. E. D. Scott says of this species: "Not very rare; took two
during the spring; the first May 12, the second May 18, 1874."
Though the first may be found in the second week of May (May
10, 1886, St. Louis) we are most sure to find it during the third
week or from 14th to 21st and in cool weather even later, the
last at St. Louis being May 26, 1882 and 1886. At Keokuk,
where they are usually found in the fourth week of May, they
linger into June, and Mr. E. S. Currier reported one as late as
June 25, 1893, possibly a summer resident. In fall the species
passes through in September (September 10, 1901), but is easily
overlooked, because very shy and silent. Mr. E. S. Woodruff
took one at Eudy in Shannon Co., May 13, 1907. At St. Louis
the first was seen May 18, 1907, and the last, a pair with the
the male in full song, remained at the same place from May 30
to June 3.
238 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
*681d. GEOTHLYPIS TRICHAS BRACHIDACTYLA (Swains.). Nor-
thern Yellow-throat.
Sylvia trichas. Trichas marylandica. Trichas personatus. Maryland Yel-
low-throat.
Geog. Dist. Northeastern United States and southeastern
British Provinces, from Newfoundland, southern Labrador,
Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, New England, New York
and northern New Jersey westward to northern Ontario,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, eastern Dakota, Athabasca
and Alberta; southward through the Mississippi Valley to up-
land of Gulf States and eastern central Texas. In winter to
Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Swan Island and through eastern
Mexico to Costa Rica; during migration whole United States
east of the Great Plains. Yellow-throats which winter in south-
ern Louisiana and Texas are said to belong to the subspecies
ignota and trichas. The Yellow-throats of eastern North
America are at present (1907) split into three subspecies, of
which the northern has the largest range; ignota is the south-
eastern form, from Virginia along the edge of the coastal plain
to southern Georgia and Florida, thence westward to Louisiana.
The typical trichas trichas has the smallest range between the
two others on the Atlantic coast from Georgia to Maryland
and southern New Jersey.
The Yellow-throat is one of the commonest, probably the
most common, of summer resident warblers in Missouri; it
inhabits forest and swamp as well as cultivated land and is found
in the Ozarks and prairie region, in the bottoms as well as on
the bluffs of our rivers throughout the state. Like many other
summer sojourners it begins to return to its breeding grounds
in the peninsula of the southeast much earlier than to the rest
of the state and was found in Pemiscot Co. as early as April
8, 1893. The earliest at St. Louis is April 14, 1887, but as the
weather at that time is often adverse to bird migration, the
majority of records of first arrivals is between April 17 and
21, in some years even a few days later. April 27 is the day
when it is numerous and noisy, indicating the arrival of the
bulk, including females; and large numbers of transients remain
with us during the first week of May, when the species is met
with everywhere, even in gardens, orchards and places where it
does not nest. In northern and western Missouri it is usually
a few days later than at St. Louis, being noted first during the
fourth week of April and at the northern border at Keokuk
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 239
often only in the last two days of the month or in May. Fall
migration begins early in September, when its song is again
heard; adults and young are abundant during the second and
third week at St. Louis and their song is heard as late as Sep-
tember 19, but the species grows rapidly scarce after the 20th
and only plain-colored, shy loiterers are met with at the end
of the month or in early October. Last records at St. Louis
are October 2, 1887, October 4, 1895, and October 1, 1896;
latest for the state is October 14, 1903, New Haven, Dr. Eimbeck.
*683. ICTERIA VIRENS (Linn.). Yellow-breasted Chat.
Icteria viridis. Pipra polyglotia.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Ontario;
north to New England, southern Michigan, southern Wisconsin
and southern Minnesota; west to eastern South Dakota, eastern
Nebraska, Kansas, eastern Texas and southward to the Rio
Grande where meeting the western form longicauda. Breeds
from Rio Grande and upper portions of Gulf States northward,
and winters southward through eastern Mexico and Central
America to Costa Rica. It does not visit Florida, Bahamas
and West Indies.
In Missouri the Chat is a common summer resident in all
parts of the state, but particularly abundant in the Ozark
and Ozark border regions. In its return to the breeding grounds
it is pretty regular, appearing at St. Louis and in most parts
of southern Missouri between April 23 and 28. Exceptionally
early dates have been recorded, as St. Louis, April 18, and Kan-
sas City, April 20, 1903; Keokuk, April 19, 1896. This latter
date is extremely early as the "firsts" of eight other years vary
between April 29 and May 6 (E. S. Currier). The bulk of the
species arrives at St. Louis the last of April or first days of May,
when its peculiar, loud song is heard from morning till night
and not seldom in moonlit nights. After the song period is
over about the middle of July the species is not seen often
and its departure is easily unnoticed, but there is little doubt
that the majority depart in August and early September (Sep-
tember 1, 1902, and September 2, 1901, Jasper, Mr. W. G. Savage,
and September 5, 1903, Shannon Co., by the same observer).
That some individuals remain longer has been noticed at St.
Louis, where one was met with as late as September 25 at Creve
Coeur Lake, St. Louis Co.
240 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
*684. WILSONIA MITRATA (Gmel.). Hooded Warbler,
Sylvia mitrata. Setophaga mitrata. Sylvania mitrata. Myiodioctes
mitratus. Muscicapa cucullata. Muscicapa selbii (female).
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Ontario'
north to Connecticut, central Michigan, southeastern Wisconsin,
southeastern Nebraska; west to eastern Kansas. Breeds from
Louisiana east and northward. Winters from eastern Mexico
to Panama.
In Missouri a common summer resident in the southeast,
fairly common in the Ozarks, Ozark border and in the bluff as
well as bottom lands of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers,
at least as far up as East Leaven worth, Platte Co., where ob-
served by Audubon, May 4, 1843, and by the writer in June
1906. Rare in the prairie region north and west, where suitable
localities are getting scarcer and scarcer with the removal of all
tree growth from creek and river bottoms. That the species,
a denizen of the forest, seems unable to change its habits to con-
form to the present state of civilization is deplorable, as the bird
would be a most desirable ornament to our parks and gardens,
being not only one of the most beautiful birds, but also a fine
songster. In the southeast its arrival in spring is much earlier
than farther north and has been noticed in Dunklin Co., April
2, 1897, when singing males were already present. At St.
Louis the first songs are heard between April 17 and 25, oftenest
April 24, and the females arrive from April 28 to 30. At our
northern boundary it arrives in the first week in May. Its cheer-
ful song is heard nearly throughout its sojourn, even to its de-
parture in the latter part of September (September 20, 1897,
St. Charles Co., September 28, 1895, Dunklin Co.).
685. WILSONIA PUSILLA (Wils.). Wilson's Warbler.
Muscicapa pusilla. Sylvania pusilla. Myiodioctes pusillus. Sylvia wil-
sonii. Setophaga wilsonii. Myiodioctes wilsonii. Sylvia wilsonii. Wil-
son's Blackcap. Black-capped Warbler.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Newfoundland,
Labrador, Hudson Bay and Athabasca; west to eastern edge
of Great Plains. Breeds from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
Maine, northern Minnesota and Manitoba northward and winters
on the Atlantic slope of Central America from Guatemala to
Costa Rica; no record from South Atlantic and Gulf coast
between South Carolina and Texas.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 241
In Missouri a fairly common transient visitant in all parts
of the state, spring and fall. It is one of the later migrants,
most numerous in the second week of May, but the first arrivals
reach St. Louis May 4 or 5, exceptionally earlier, as April 29,
1885, May 1, 1884, May 2, 1887. It is quite unsuspicious and
its song is often heard during the whole of its stay with us.
It generally disappears during the third week of May, mostly
17 to 22, but sometimes a loiterer is found later, as May 25,
1882, St. Louis. In 1907 both sexes were unusually numerous
from May 11 to 24 incl. On their return journey the first reach
us in the latter part of August (August 23, 1897; August 24,
1898; August 25, 1901) and some are met with nearly to the
end of September (September 25, 1897; September 27, 1895;
September 29, 1887).
685a. WILSONIA PUSILLA PILEOLATA (Pall.). Pileolated Warbler.
Myiodioctes pusillus var. pUeolatus. Sylvania pusilla pileolata.
Geog. Dist. Western North America, north to Alaska.
Breeds in higher mountains from Texas north, and throughout
the interior west to eastern Oregon and British Columbia.
During migration eastward across the Great Plains to Minnesota,
eastern Nebraska, western Missouri. In winter from Yucatan
to Costa Rica.
Has been taken at Independence (Ridgway vol. 2, p. 712)
and must be regarded as a casual transient visitant along our
western border.
686. WILSONIA CANADENSIS (Linn.). Canadian Warbler.
Muscicapa canadensis. Setophaga canadensis. Myiodioctes canadensis.
Sylvania canadensis. Sylvia pardalina. Muscicapa bonapartei (young in
autumn). Myiodioctes bonapartei. Sylvania bonapartei. Canada Fly-
catching Warbler.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America; north to Newfound-
land, southern Labrador, Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, Atha-
basca and Alberta. Breeds from the mountains of North Caro-
lina, the higher parts of New York and New England, southern
Ontario, central Michigan, central Wisconsin and central Minne-
sota northward. Migrates through the wooded districts of
the eastern United States, southern Texas, and eastern Mexico
and Central America to winter in Ecuador and Peru, 6000
miles from their most northern breeding grounds.
242 Trans. A cad. Sci. of St. Louis.
In Missouri a regular and fairly common transient visitant
during spring and fall along the eastern border of the state,
the southeast and the counties along the Mississippi River
being apparently one of its main thoroughfares. With its spright-
ly ways and frequent singing it is one of the transient war-
blers which cannot easily escape observers, and its absence
from their lists is proof that it must be of rare occurrence in the
rest of the state. In the southeast (New Madrid Co.) it was once
seen as early as April 10, 1893, but the first record for St. Louis
is April 28, 1888, unusually early. May 5 to 25 is the regular
time of its presence, most numerous in the middle of the month,
and latest dates, May 29, 1897, West Quincy; May 28, 1893,
Keokuk. In fall the species is with us for fully six weeks from
August 15 to September 26, oftenest in the first half of September;
latest at St. Louis, October 5, 1905. In the abnormal spring
of 1907 both sexes were unusually common at St. Louis from
May 13 to June 3.
*687. SETOPHAGA RUTICILLA (Linn.). American Redstart.
Muscicapa ruticilla.
Geog. Dist. North America except Pacific coast district
and western portions of Rocky Mountains district; north to
Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Hudson Bay, and in the interior
to Mackenzie; on the Pacific coast to southern Alaska; west to
Utah, Idaho, eastern Washington and British Columbia. Breeds
from North Carolina, west-central Alabama, Arkansas and
Indian Territory northward. Winters from the West Indies
and Mexico to Ecuador.
In Missouri a common and generaly distributed summer resi-
dent in all parts of the state, chiefly in the timber of river and
creek bottoms. Also a very common transient in spring and
fall in all kinds of locations, even in city parks, orchards, ceme-
teries etc. In the southeast, where it is only fairly common
as a breeder, but abundant in migration from the middle of April
to the middle of May, it was first noticed April 11, 1893. In
the vicinity of St. Louis and most parts of southern Missouri
its arrival varies from April 16 to 25, the males always preceding
the females and young a few days, the bulk of the species,
including transients being present from the end of April to the
middle of May. At our northern border (Keokuk) the first
are usually seen April 30, some years as late as May 6, 1892,
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 243
but very exceptionally as early as April 20, 1896, when even
the bulk arrived April 25 (E. S. Currier). Along our western
border we have the following dates: Vernon Co., April 24,
1898; Independence, April 27, 1900, and April 30, 1899; Leaven-
worth, Audubon, May 4, 1843. Fall migration takes place
from the middle of August to the end of September, but song
is seldom heard after August 25, and young birds predominate
in September, though the very last bird seen may be an old
male. Last date at St. Louis, October 5, 1906 (a family, adults
and young together); Shannon Co., October 10, 1904; Keokuk,
October 20, 1900.
Family MOTACILLIDAE. Wagtails.
697. ANTHUS PENSILVANICUS (Lath.). American Pipit.
Anthus ludomcianus. Alauda rufa. Anthus spinoletta. Anthus aquations.
Anthus pipiens. Titlark.
Geog. Dist. North America, north to Greenland, Alaska
and northeastern Siberia. Breeds from Newfoundland, Quebec,
high mountains of Colorado and the Sierra Nevada northward
and winters from the Gulf States through Mexico to Guatemala.
In Missouri a fairly common transient visitant in April and
October, moving in flocks of from thirty to one hundred or more,
frequenting plowed fields and burnt-over marshes, and re-
maining sometimes several weeks in the same locality. It is
not known to winter anywhere in the state, but lingers some
years much longer than in others as for instance in 1892, when
Mr. Currier met with some as late as December 11, near Keokuk,
la. That the southward movement of the Titlarks was excep-
tionally much protracted in 1892 is also shown by Mr. R. Deane,
who found hundreds of them in the marshes at English Lake
in northwestern Indiana, November 16, and by a late report
from Michigan, October 20, near Detroit.
700. ANTHUS SPRAGUEII (Aud.). Sprague's Pipit.
Alauda spragueii. Neocorys spraguei. Missouri Skylark.
Geog. Dist. In summer from eastern Montana and northern
North Dakota northward, chiefly on the virgin prairies of Assin-
iboia; east rarely to Red River Valley and Manitoba. In winter
to southern Louisiana and Texas, south through eastern Mexico
to Vera Cruz and Puebla. Occasional to South Carolina. In
244 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
migration through Kansas and Nebraska, rarely west to Wyom-
ing.
This species finds a place in our list on the strength of a single
record, it being reported by Mr. Geo. E. Stillwell from Kansas
City, Mo., March 20, 1882 (Bird migration in the Mississippi
Valley, Forest and Stream, 1882, p. 283). Since it has repeatedly
been taken in southeastern Nebraska it stands to reason that
its rarity as a transient visitant in Missouri is only apparent
and research along our western border will probably be re-
warded by discoveries which may enable us to remove it from
the rank of great rarities and place it with Baird's Sparrow,
McCown's and Chestnut-collared Longspurs among the regular
transients.
Family MIMIDAE. Thrashers, etc.
*703. MIMUS POLYGLOTTUS (Linn.). Mockingbird.
Turdus polyglottus. Mocker.
Geog. Dist. United States and Mexico; north to Maryland
(irregularly to Massachusetts), southern Ohio, Indiana, southern
Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska and eastern Colorado; rarely to
northern Illinois, Iowa and southern Wisconsin. Breeds
throughout its United States range and winters wherever it
breeds, but chiefly in the southern states and southward.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident in the southern
half of the state, rarer northward, but reaching the northern
border at Keokuk where Mr. Currier found it to be a rare breeder
in 1895, '96, '97, '98 and '99. At St. Joseph its occurrence,
May 26, 1896, is regarded as accidental by Mr. S. S. Wilson,
though it is listed as a common breeder in southern Nebraska.
South of the Missouri River the species is partly a permanent
resident, rarely north of it, as at Fayette, Howard Co., Feb-
ruary 2, 1893. Unfortunately the tendency to winter at its
breeding places is a great drawback in the extension of its summer
range as many succumb to the severity of our winters. Those
that leave us in fall return very irregularly, some in the latter
half of March, most of them in April, the last not before early
May. Its withdrawal takes place in October. The Mocking-
bird seeks the friendship of man and where protected becomes
half-domesticated. Writing from Alexandria, Clark Co., Mr.
Jasper Blines says in Forest and Stream, vol. 31, p. 343:
"November 22, 1888. A few southern Mockingbirds reach this
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 245
latitude, appearing in May and going south the latter part of
July."
*704. GALEOSCOPTES CAROLINENSIS (Linn.). Catbird.
Mimus carolinensis. Orpheus carolinensis. Muscicapa carolinensis. Mimus
felivox. Turdus lividis.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Sas-
katchewan, and through British Columbia to the Pacific; west
to and including the Rocky Mountains. Breeds from the Gulf
States northward. Winters in the Southern States, Cuba,
Central America to Panama.
In Missouri a very common summer resident in all parts of
the state except the southeast where it is a rare breeder, but
occasionally winters (Dunklin Co., January 15, 1896). The
earliest arrivals are reported from the southwest, April 8, 1894,
Vernon Co., April 10, 1903, Jasper Co. At Festus, Jefferson
Co., it was seen as early as April 15, 1903; at St. Louis, the
earliest are April 16 and April 18, but the majority of dates of
a long series of years fall in the fourth week of the month, at
which time the first Catbirds are usually reported from several
stations in central Missouri and during the last days of April
also from the northern border. The last days of April and first
few days of May is the time when the bulk, the great army,
of Catbirds, invade the whole state and become common and
conspicuous songsters where before only silent and solitary
birds have been seen. Numbers of transient individuals are
present, sometimes in small flocks, during the first half of May,
when our own Catbirds already have nests and eggs, often be-
ginning to build immediately after the arrival of the female
at the close of April. Like its cousin, the Mockingbird, the
Catbird is availing itself more and more of the protection which
close proximity to human habitation affords, and though its
original haunts are the edge of the forests and the fringe along
watercourses, it is now found nesting mostly about farmhouses
and in gardens and park-like places even in the midst of towns
and cities. The return movement of birds from the north sets
in about the first of September, when for several weeks Catbirds
are again plentiful, but after the middle of the month their
numbers vary, some days few are seen, then again many, until
the end of the month, when the species becomes rare. At St.
Louis the last are noted during the first week of October, rarely
246 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
later when detained by an unusually large crop of wild grapes.
Late dates for the state are October 10, 1904, Kansas City; Oc-
tober 20, 1885, Fayette; October 13, 1903, and October 21,
1902, New Haven, Mo.
*705. TOXOSTOMA RUFUM (Linn.). Brown Thrasher.
Turdus rufus. Orpheus rufus. Harporhynchus rufus. Brown Thrush.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to southern Maine,
southern Quebec, southern Ontario, Manitoba, Assiniboia and
southern Alberta; west to eastern Colorado and eastern Texas.
Breeds from the Gulf States northward. Winters in the South-
ern States.
In Missouri a common summer resident in all well-settled
parts; most numerous in the Ozark border and prairie regions,
rare in the southeast where all ground-feeding landbirds are
rare, and rather scarce in the Ozarks except in localities which
have long been settled, where they are fairly common. A few
winter in the southeast (January 1896, Dunklin Co.) and some
impatient old males return to their breeding stands in southern
Missouri quite early (March 1, 1905, and March 10, 1902, Festus,
Jefferson Co.; March 9, 1902, New Haven, Franklin Co.). The
earliest at St. Louis is March 13, 1882, and March 14, 1880,
but from March 20 to 25 is the time when its song is usually
heard for the first time at St. Louis and in most parts of southern
and east-central Missouri. In the northern and western prairie
region Thrashers are seldom heard before April and, since the
weather of the first week of April is often cold and unfavorable,
usually not before the second week. In some years the northern
border has not been reached before the third week (April 20,
1902; April 22, 1890; April 22, 1900, Keokuk). The bulk of
the species reaches St. Louis nearly always between the tenth
and the fifteenth of April and Keokuk between the seventeenth
and twenty-ninth. Transients in small troops pass through mostly
in the second week of April, when the Thrasher is one of the most
conspicuous and common songsters in St. Louis. Though not
so confiding as the Catbird and Mocker, the Thrasher also comes
to nest in our parks and orchards, especially where protected
from his many enemies. Its splendid song continues through
April and most of May, after which it is only occasionally heard
until molt begins in the middle of July. We hear its song again
in fall, but only occasionally, as the species remains very quiet
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 247
as a rule all through late summer and fall, withdrawing to local-
ities where it finds wild grapes and different kinds of berries,
of which it is very fond. In September large gatherings may be
found at such favorite resorts, but after the first of October
Thrashers become scarce, though some are present until the
20th, when ordinarily the last is going. Exceptionally an indi-
vidual may linger into winter, even in north Missouri, where
Mr. Parker saw one at Montgomery City as late as December
17, 1904.
Family TROGLODYTIDAE. Wrens.
*718. THRYOTHORUS LUDOVICIANUS (Lath.). Carolina Wren.
Certhia caroliniana. Troglodytes ludovicianus.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States except Florida and
Lower Rio Grande; north to southern New England, southern
Michigan, southern Iowa, southeastern Nebraska (where very
rare); west to Kansas, Oklahoma and western Texas. Breeds
from the Gulf coast northward. Non-migratory.
In Missouri a common resident from the Missouri River
southward, fairly common to rare from the counties bordering
on the Missouri northward to the state line. At East Leaven-
worth the writer found it common in June 1906, but Mr. Wilson
considers it an accidental visitor at St. Joseph, where he captured
one April 4, 1896. In the vicinity of Keokuk Mr. Currier found
it to be of very irregular occurrence, generally very rare, in
1902 more frequent, therefore thought to be increasing by ex-
tending its breeding range. Being a ground-builder the Carolina
Wren has been driven from many former haunts by cats, dogs
and hogs and may thereby be forced to spread to near regions,
but in districts where it is most numerous, as in the southeast
and in valleys of the Ozarks, it has learned to place its nests
like the House and Bewick's Wrens on porches and about build-
ings out of reach of cats, dogs and hogs. Excepting an inter-
mission of six weeks during August and September, its cheering
song may be heard almost every day of the year, even in mid-
winter on sunny days. The severity of our winters does not seem
to hurt it where, among fallen trees and brush, it is able to secure
insect food in any kind of weather. From localities less suited
for this purpose it withdraws during the worst part of the season.
Being among the earliest breeders finished nests have been found
by the middle of March and fully fledged young early in May.
248 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
*719. THRYOMANES BEWICKII (Aud.). Bewick's Wren.
Troglodytes bewickii. Thryothorus bewickii. Long-tailed House Wren.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to New Jersey and
Minnesota; rare east of Alleghanies; west to southeastern
Nebraska and eastern Texas. Breeds irregularly throughout
its range, having its center of distribution in summer in
southern Missouri, southern Illinois and southern Indiana
and is said to extend its range eastward through Ohio.
It winters in the southern United States from southern
Missouri southward.
All through the Ozark region and Ozark border the Bewick
is the common House Wren, and there is hardly a farm house
without its Bewick Wren, while in the towns there is one or more
in every square. There it takes the place entirely of the House
Wren, which occurs in southeastern Missouri only in counties
bordering the Mississippi River. It is not known to occur in
western Missouri outside of the Ozark border region (rare at
Jasper, not known at Appleton City, Warrensburg, Indepen-
dence, etc.). In northern Missouri the species has not been
observed west of Howard Co. (Fayette, March 12, 1903), but
is reported from Montgomery City and reaches irregularly our
northern state line, following the bluff region along the Missis-
sippi to Warsaw, 111., and Keokuk, la., where it was noted
April 20, 1896, April 10, 1898, April 9, 1901, and April 19, 1903,
with an apparent increase in numbers, according to Mr. Currier.
Some winter in southern Missouri even as far north as St. Louis
Co. (Old Orchard 1896-1897) and Miller Co. (Iberia, February
3, 1905), but the bulk retires to more southern regions, returning
in March and leaving in October. Being a much better singer
and not so meddlesome the Bewick is greatly preferred as a
House Wren, but is often dislodged from its nesting site by
aedon, where the two species occur together.
[721. TROGLODYTES AEDON Vieill. House Wren.]
72 Ib. TROGLODYTES AEDON AZTECUS Baird. Western House
Wren.
Sylvia domestica. Troglodytes domesticus. Troglodytes americanus. Trog-
lodytes fulvus.
Geog. Dist. The species has lately been split into three
subspecies, supposed to intergrade, as otherwise they would have
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 249
to be considered, true species; they are the eastern, western
and pacific (parkmanii) subspecies. The range of aztecus is
said to include Missouri, reaching east as far as the prairie
region of Illinois and northwestern Indiana, north to Manitoba
and south into Mexico. In winter to Southern States and Mex-
ico. The eastern form occurs in parts of Illinois and southern
Wisconsin, but the range limits of the two forms are not fully
determined and both may occur in Missouri, the one in the
river bottoms, the other in the western and northern prairie
region. There is also a possibility of meeting with intermediate
forms and the species deserves the special attention of collectors
both in migration and breeding time.
Excepting the southeast and Ozark region, where it occurs
only in migration, the House Wren is a common summer resident
in most parts of Missouri from Ste. Genevieve Co. in the east
and Jasper Co. in the west, northward. It breeds together with
Bewick's Wren in the Ozark border region and in parts of east-
ern north Missouri, but is the only House Wren of the prairie
region west and northwest. The arrival of the first singing
males at their breeding stand occurs with much regularity at
St. Louis about April 17, at Independence, April 20, and at
Keokuk, April 24. The bulk is a week behind the first, and
the last days of April in central, and the first week of May in
northern Missouri is the height of the season for singing and
mating, as well as for transient, House Wrens. At this time
we find House Wrens in company with northern Warblers in
localities where they never breed. When between Fort Leav-
enworth and the northeast corner of Missouri, May 5 to May
9, 1843, Audubon wrote in his journal: "The woods were filled
with House Wrens." Dr. J. A. Allen, too, found them abun-
dant in that region in May 1871. Although the majority
build their nests now in proximity to human habitations, we
still find them occasionally far away from buildings in tree holes,
old woodpecker holes, fence posts, etc. They are very med-
dlesome with other birds' nests and need watching, especially
when near a colony of Martins, whose very existence is endan-
gered by the innocent looking Jenny Wren, which destroys the
eggs in the absence of the owners. They are industrious song-
sters, keeping it up all summer, beginning again after a short
pause before their departure in September. Single individuals
are seen long after the bulk of the species is gone (September
25); the last being reported from Keokuk, October 10, 1893;
250 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
from Jasper, October 10, 1901 ; from Kansas City, October 8,
1902; from New Haven, October 6, 1902; Mt. Carmel, Oc-
tober 6, 1885; Independence, October 6, 1901; St. Louis, Octo-
ber 6, 1905, and October 14, 1906.
722. OLBIORCHILUS HIEMALIS (Vieill.). Winter Wren.
Sylvia troglodytes. Anorthura troglodytes. Troglodytes hiemalis. Trog-
lodytes europeus. Anorthura hyemalis. Anorthura troglodytes hyemalis.
Troglodytes parvulus hyemalis.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America; north to Prince Ed-
ward Island, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. Breeds from
Massachusetts, New York, northern Michigan and northern
Wisconsin northward, wintering from the northern states
to the Gulf, chiefly south of the Ohio River. Has been found
nesting in the Alleghanies south to North Carolina, though
rarely.
In Missouri a fairly common transient visitant eastward,
rarer westward. (October 7, 1906, Mr. B. M. Stigall of Kansas
City found it common in Clay Co. and Mr. Chas. W. Tindall
reports it common at Independence. It is also recorded from
Warrensburg, January 8, 1905, by Mr. A. F. Smithson, and by
W. E. D. Scott, who took two in early April, 1874. As a winter
resident it occurs chiefly south of the Missouri River and is par-
ticularly numerous in the swampy woods of the southeast.
In north Missouri it has been found wintering at Mt. Carmel,
Audrain Co, December 14, 1884, and at the northern border
near Keokuk, February 17, 1899. In the city and county of St.
Louis its wintering has repeatedly been observed, even in severe
winters, where it comes to the wood pile on the farm and even
to the yards in the city. It begins to leave its southern winter
home in the latter part of March, and migration through the
state lasts till the middle of April in the southern, and to the
end of the month and first week of May in the northern part of
the state. In fall migration the first appear at Keokuk some-
times as early as the middle of September (September 16, 1900,
September 17, 1893); but at St. Louis not before the first of
October. Transients are oftenest met with between October
5 and 20, after which winter numbers only remain. At Shannon
Co. in southern Missouri the species was first noted October
15, 1904, by Mr. W. B. Savage of Monteer and by Mr. E. S. Wood-
ruff as late as April 3, 1907, near Ink.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 251
*724. CISTOTHORUS STELLARIS (Licht.). Short-billed Marsh
Wren.
Troglodytes brevirostris.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Canada,
north to southern New Hampshire, southern Ontario, southern
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Manitoba, and Assiniboia;
west to eastern Nebraska, Dakotas, Kansas, Utah. Winters in
South Atlantic and Gulf States.
In Missouri a fairly common summer resident in the marshes
of the Mississippi and Missouri flood plains and locally in the
prairie region north and west, nesting in marsh grass on nearly
dry ground and easily overlo6ked when not in song which may
be mistaken for that of the Dickcissel. In the "Spartina"
marshes of St. Charles Co. the globular nests are placed in a
bunch of that grass near the ground, are made entirely of the
blades of that grass and are hidden by drawing together the
still standing blades of last year's growth. It reaches its breed-
ing grounds in the last week of April and first of May and re-
mains till November (October 29, 1893, Keokuk). In migra-
tion individuals may be met with in places where it is not known
to breed and in unexpected locations, as in shrubbery by the way-
side in the outskirts of St. Louis. A rather remarkable occur-
rence is the one reported by Mr. E. Seymour Woodruff, May 14,
1907, from Shannon Co., a mountainous region originally covered
by an unbroken forest.
*725d. TELMATODYTES PALUSTRIS ILIACUS Ridgw. Prairie
Marsh Wren.
Troglodytes palustris. Cistothorus palustris. Telmatodytes palustris (part).
Geog. Dist. Mississippi Valley and northward to Manitoba;
east to western Indiana. In winter from western Florida to
Vera Cruz along Gulf Coast. This subspecies has only lately
been separated from an eastern and a western form, not to
mention three more subspecies of the coast regions of South
Carolina, Georgia and western Florida, and the Tule Wren
of the Pacific coast.
The Prairie Marsh Wren, generally known by the old name
Long-billed Marsh Wren, is a locally common summer resident
in lakes and sloughs in which the Cat-tail family, Typha and
Sparganium, grows in abundance. Its globular nests are placed
in these reeds above water and are made of the dead leave
252 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
of these plants, differing greatly from the neat structures of
the Short-billed cousin, made of narrower grass blades. It
begins to show on its breeding grounds about the middle of
April (April 11, 1903, Kansas City; April 19, 1903; Montgomery
City), but, waiting for the growth of its favorite reeds, its
numbers increase slowly and reach full force only a month later
(May 11, 1897, May 16, 1898 and 1899, Keokuk). When over-
taken by storms at night in migration, it may be encountered
in places far from water, its only true home. Fall migration
begins in the middle of September and lasts through October
into November, the last ones being noted as late as November 12,
1893, November 16, 1897, and November 21, 1899, in Clark Co.
by Mr. Currier. Like that of the Short-billed Marsh Wren
the capture of three specimens of this species, May 9, 1907, in
Shannon Co. by Mr. E. S. Woodruff deserves particular mention
as hardly expected in that high and wooded region.
Family CERTHIIDAE. Creepers.
*726. CERTHIA FAMILIARIS AMERICANA (Bonap.). Brown
Creeper.
Certhia familiaris. Certhia americana. Certhia familiaris rufa.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Newfoundland,
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba;
west to Dakotas, eastern Nebraska, Indian Territory and Texas.
Breeds from Massachusetts, New York, northern Indiana,
northern Wisconsin, eastern Nebraska, southeastern South
Dakota northward; also along higher Alleghanies from North
Carolina northward and in the Cypress swamps of the lower
Mississippi Valley. Winters from the northern United States
southward, but chiefly south of the Ohio River to northern Flor-
ida and central Texas.
In Missouri the Creeper is a common transient visitant in all
parts of the state for a short time in spring and fall ; also a com-
mon winter resident in the heavily wooded southeast, but of
less regular occurrence in winter in other parts of the state,
especially in the northern, where it is rather rare except in the
timber of river bottoms. In migration it occurs everywhere,
even in cities, but does not stay long in one place seeming to
be in haste to proceed toward its destination. In spring the first
stir northward is noticeable about March 10, but little progress
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 253
is made until the last week of the month or early in April, when
migration on a large scale takes place in central Missouri, reach-
ing the northern border about the middle of April. Its progress
depends much on the weather; if favorable, the last has passed
the region of St. Louis by the 10th, but if windy and cold, a not
unfrequent occurrence in early April, it may still be present
at the beginning of the third week, exceptionally even later,
as April 26, 1885. At Keokuk most of "lasts" reported are
from April 16 to 25. In the abnormally cold spring of 1907 a
Creeper was seen and heard to sing by Mr. Roger N. Baldwin
and the writer at St. Louis as late as May 19. In fall migration
the first Creepers reach Missouri from the north in the fourth
week of September (September 21, 1884, Mt. Carmel; September
24, 1887, St. Louis); but they do not become common until
October, when generally in the second week of that month the
bulk passes through the state. After the middle of November
winter numbers only are left, remaining not only in mild but also
in severe winters as that of 1904-1905 (January 23, 1905, St.
Louis; January 1, 1905, Warrensburg). That the Brown Creep-
er is a breeder in the Bald Cypress (Taxodium) swamps of the
south was unknown until a nest with eggs was found by the writer
at Cotton Plant, Dunklin Co., June 2, 1894, in the overflow of
the Little River (Auk vol. 12, 1895, p. 350). Subsequent visits
to the southeast showed that the species is a regular inhabitant
of the region, wherever old Cypress trees are found, under the
loose bark of which the nests are placed (May 16, 1898, three
nests were found in Seneca slough, Dunklin Co.) . On its breeding
ground in the swamp the Creeper is one of the most difficult
birds to detect, as it frequents the higher branches of trees and
remains so well hidden that it is almost impossible to see it,
even while it gives its shrill song repeatedly. This resembles
at a distance some notes of the Carolina Chickadee, for which it
may be mistaken by one who does not suspect the presence of
the Creeper.
Family SITTIDAE. Nuthatches.
*727. SITTA CAROLINENSIS Lath. White-breasted Nuthatch.
White-bellied or Carolina Nuthatch.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Newfoundland,
Anticosti and Keewatin ; west to eastern edge of the Great Plains,
replaced westward by the subspecies nelsoni, the Rocky Mountain
254 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Nuthatch. Breeds from Georgia and the Gulf States (except
coast belt) northward. Non-migratory except in the more
northern portions of its range.
In Missouri a common resident inhabiting the woods in the
breeding season and visiting orchards, gardens, cornfields and
farms in winter often in company with Chickadees, Tufted
Tits, Downies and others. It is generally distributed all over
the state, but appears scarce during nesting time (which begins
in the latter part of March in the southern and the middle of'
April in the northern portion) on account of retiring habits in
sharp contrast to its conspicuousness at the time of mating.
728. SITTA CANADENSIS Linn. Red-breasted Nuthatch.
Sitta varia. Red-bellied or Canada Nuthatch.
Geog. Dist. North America at large, breeding in the higher
Alleghanies, the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and
from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, northern Indiana,
northern Illinois, central Iowa, northward to Prince Edward
Island, Keewatin and the Yukon district. In winter south to
the Gulf states, New Mexico and Arizona, probably northern
Mexico.
In Missouri an irregularly common transient visitant, especially
irregular in fall when it has been recorded at St. Louis all the way
from September 4 to January 15. More regular in spring,
when it is more or less common from April 25 to May 15 (1904).
Some may spend the whole winter in the pine region of theOzarks,
but at St. Louis the species has never been seen between January
15 and April 15, nor is there any other record from the state at
hand.
Since the above was written Mr. E. Seymour Woodruff
found the species March 11, 14, 24, 30, 1907, in the pine region of
Shannon Co., Mo., and occasionally up to April 27, when the last
was seen, except one each day, May 1, 9 and 12. Here may also
be added another unusually late record May 21, 1907, at St.
Louis, but the extraordinary cold spring shifted all dates out
of recognition.
*729. SITTA PUSILLA Lath. Brown-headed Nuthatch.
Geog. Dist. Pine region of southern United States from Mary-
land to eastern Texas. Casually northward to St. Louis, Ohio,
Michigan, New York and the Bahamas.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 255
This species was. at first regarded as a rare straggler after being
found by the writer May 6, 1878, in a private park in the southern
part of St. Louis and reported in Nutt. Bull. vol. 5, p. 191.
It was always suspected to be a regular resident in the pine region
of southern Missouri, but proof was wanting until Mr. E. Sey-
mour Woodruff took a pair March 19, 1907, near Ink, Shannon
Co., Mo.
Family PARIDAE. Titmice.
*731. BAEOLOPHUS BICOLOR (Linn.). Tufted Titmouse.
Parus bicolor. Lophophanes tricolor. Tufted Tit. Crested Tit.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States, north to New Jersey,
Ohio, Indiana, northern Illinois, southern Iowa and north-
eastern Nebraska : irregularly farther north to Minnesota etc. ;
west to the Great Plains (Nebraska to Texas). South to
Gulf coast from central Florida to central Texas. Non-
migratory, but wandering about during fall and winter in
search of food, thus appearing in places not inhabited in
breeding time.
In Missouri a common and generally distributed resident,
much more numerous southeast than northwest, most abundant
in the high trees of the river bottoms, but inhabiting also the
dry hills of the Ozarks and the wood patches in the prairie region.
Removal of old and decaying trees has driven it from many lo-
calities by depriving it of its accustomed nesting sites, natural
cavities in trees or deserted woodpecker holes. Orchards and
parks should be provided with bird boxes fit for its use in order
to attract and retain this useful bird, one of the most efficient
insect-destroyers, killing millions of noxious insects in the egg
state all the year round.
*735. PARUS ATRICAPILLUS Linn. Chickadee.
Parus palustris. Penthestes atricapillus atricapUlus. Black-capped Chick-
adee.
Geog. Dist. Northeastern United States and southeastern
British Provinces; north to Newfoundland, southern Labrador,
Quebec, Ontario and southern Keewatin; south to lat. 40 in
the Eastern States and through the prairie region of northern
and western Missouri to eastern Kansas; also in Alleghanies to
North Carolina. Partly migratory, wandering to localities far
from breeding ground in search of food, southward in fall, return-
256 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
ing in early spring, thus appearing in the role of a migrant in the
region immediately south of its breeding range.
The Black-capped Chickadee is a common resident north and
west of the Ozark border region, being replaced south and east-
ward by the Carolina Chickadee, and blending into the long-
tailed subspecies, or a form which connects the two subspecies,
in the western and northwestern counties. In St. Louis Co.,
where the Carolina Chickadee is the prevalent form or species,
the Black-capped appears regularly and numerously in family
troops in October and again in March, some remaining with
us, but the majority spending the winter farther south.
In the northern part of St. Louis Co., in the flood plain of the
Missouri River about Creve Coeur Lake, the Black-cap and the
Carolina Chickadee have both been found breeding, but at
St. Louis and southward the Carolina only is seen in summer.
*735a. PARUS ATRICAPILLUS SEPTENTRIONALIS (Harris). Long-
tailed Chickadee.
Parus septentrionalis. Pat us atricapillus (in part). Penthestes atricapillus
septentrionalis .
Geog. Dist. Great Plains and Rocky Mountain districts
of central North America from New Mexico and Kansas to Alaska
and Mackenzie; east to eastern Kansas, Iowa, eastern South
Dakota, western Minnesota, Manitoba and southwestern Kee-
watin; west to Salt Lake.
Dr. Hoy mentions the Long-tailed Chickadee among the birds
observed by him in western Missouri in 1854, and W. E. D.
Scott (Nutt. Bull., vol. 4, p. 140), who took a large series of
Chickadees in Johnson Co. in 1874, found that many approached
the subspecies, septentrionalis. in having the secondaries and
lateral tail feathers conspicuously edged with white. Mr. B.
F. Bush of Courtney, Jackson Co., writes me: "The Long-
tailed Ch. occurs here much of the time and undoubtedly breeds."
Mr. H. Nehrling also reports this form as occurring, though
rarely, together with atricap. and carolinensis at Pierce City,
Lawrence Co. In Atchison Co. (Langdon, Rockport etc.) this
was the only form found by the writer in June, 1906.
*736. PARUS CAROLINENSIS Aud. Carolina Chickadee.
Parus atricapillus carolinensis. Penthestes carolinensis.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States north to southern New
Jersey, southern Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana,
\Vidmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri, 257
central Illinois, central Missouri. South to northern and
western Florida and along Gulf coast to Louisiana, replaced
westward by the subspecies agilis. Non-migratory.
In Missouri a common resident of the Ozark and Ozark border
region and the southeast, apparently running in the extreme
southwest (McDonald Co.) into the subspecies agilis, which is
slightly larger with clearer gray on upper parts.
[736a. PARUS CAROLINENSIS AGILIS Senn. Plumbeous Chick-
adee.]
Geog. Dist. Eastern and central Texas, Indian Territory
and Oklahoma.
This subspecies was noticed, though not collected, by the
writer at Noel, McDonald Co., June 1905, and collectors should
try to verify the observation when collecting in that region.
Family SYLVIIDAE. Kinglets, Gnatcatchers.
748. REGULUS SATRAP A Licht. Golden-crowned Kinglet.
Regvlus cristatus. Sylvia regvlus. Regulus tricolor. Regidus reguloides.
Geog. Dist. North America east of Rocky Mountains ; north
to Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island, Labrador,
Keewatin and westward to Rocky Mountains ; replaced in western
North America by the subspecies olivaceus. Breeds from
Massachusetts, central New York, northern Michigan north-
ward; also along Alleghany Mountains to North Carolina.
Winters from the northern states southward to northern Florida
and along Gulf coast to south central Texas, but chiefly south
of the Ohio River.
In southern Missouri a fairly common winter resident, rather
rare in winter in the northern and western part of the state
(Warrensburg, January 17, 1905, A. F. Smithson). As a tran-
sient visitant common for a short time in the whole state, es-
pecially eastward. Migration begins in favorable weather
by the middle of March (March 12, 1887, St. Louis) and the first
reach the northern border sometimes in March (March 20, 1894,
March 26, 1893, Keokuk) but usually in the second week of April,
when the bulk of the species is present at St. Louis. The
weather permitting, the species passes rapidly on and in most
years none are seen in the state after the middle of April, but
258 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
exceptionally some remain to near the end of the month (April
29, 1904, and April 22, 1888, St. Louis). In fall migration fore-
runners appear sometimes in September (September 24, 1901,
Keokuk; September 29, St. Louis), but usually not before
early in October, sometimes even in the second week of that
month. At St. Louis the bulk is present between the tenth
and twentieth of October, when troops of 12 or more are not
very rare. The last transients are seen near the end of the
month, seldom lingering into the first week of November
(November 4 and 6, 1894, Keokuk).
749. REGULUS CALENDULA (Linn.). Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
Sylvia calendula. Regulus calendulus.
Geog. Dist. North America, north to the limits of tree growth,
to Prince Edward Island, Labrador, Keewatin, Mackenzie,
Yukon and Alaska. Breeds from Quebec, Mackinac Island
and high mountains of New Mexico and Arizona and from north-
ern California northward and winters entirely across United
States and over whole of Mexico to Guatemala, chiefly from
the Ohio River and southeastern Missouri southward and
throughout California.
In Missouri a common and generally distributed transient
visitant, and a winter resident southward. Occasionally one
is seen in midwinter in the vicinity of St. Louis, but its real
winter range begins in the heavy forests of the southeast, where
the species is quite common throughout winter. The first
Ruby-crowns arrive from the south soon after the middle of
March (March 19, 1907, Shannon Co., Woodruff; March 20, 1886,
St. Louis; March 20, 1898, Independence; March 23, 1889,
Laclede, Linn Co.; March 24, 1893, Keokuk) and the bulk is
present between April 4 and 20. The " lasts" are usually seen,
in all parts of the state, early in May, but loiterers are some-
times met with in the second week of that month (May 9, 1882,
and May 13, 1907, St. Louis; May 10, 1905, Shannon Co.,
Savage; May 14, 1905, LaGrange, Johnson; May 15, 1898,
Keokuk, Currier). In fall the first come to the state from the
north about the middle of September (September 14, 1901,
Jasper Co.; September 16, 1887, St. Louis), but it is always rare
until the last week of the month, when it appears more regularly.
In some years it has not been seen at St. Louis before October
5, when the bulk is generally present in all parts of Missouri,
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 259
remaining until October 15, after which date the species becomes
scarce, and the last disappear between October 20 and 25
(October 26, 1889, Independence; October 25, 1894, Keokuk).
*751. POLIOPTILA CAERULEA (Linn.). Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
Muscicapa caerulea. Culicivora caendea.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Ontario,
north to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, southern Michigan, southern
Wisconsin, and eastern Nebraska. Breeds from Florida and
southern Texas northward and winters from the Gulf States,
Bahamas, Cuba and eastern Mexico to Yucatan and Guate-
mala.
In Missouri a summer resident, less common in the prairie
region, but common throughout the Ozarks and Ozark border
region as well as in the swamps of the southeast and in the bluffs
and bottoms along rivers. It begins to arrive in the southeast,
sometimes also in central Missouri, in the latter part of March
(March 18, 1904, Iberia, Miller Co.; March 25, 1907, St. Louis).
On account of the very uncertain weather in early April the first
appearance at its breeding stands varies considerably and its
ranks fill up slowly. In some years it has not been seen at St.
Louis before the end of the second week in April, when, as a rule
the bulk is due in central Missouri. The earliest date at our
northern border is April 12, 1903, and the latest of " firsts"
April 29, 1894 ; and the same variations occur at every record-
station (Mt. Carmel, April 5, 1885, and April 24, 1886). In fall
the species withdraws from breeding haunts comparatively early,
as it is quite rare after the first week of September, though occa-
sionally loiterers have been noted much later, as September
25, 1885, at St. Louis; September 30, 1903, at New Haven;
October 1, 1904, at Monteer, Shannon Co.
Family TURDIDAE. Thrushes, Bluebirds, etc.
Subfamily Turdinae. Thrushes.
*755. HYLOCICHLA MUSTELINA (Gmel.). Wood Thrush.
T urdus mustelinus. Turdus melodus.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and Ontario; north to
Massachusetts, southern Michigan, central Wisconsin and Minne-
sota; west to eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas and Texas.
260 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Breeds from Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas and Indian Territory
northward. Winters in Cuba and Guatemala.
In Missouri a common and generally distributed summer
resident in all parts of the state high and low, north and south,
east and west. Formerly a true woodland species it has accus-
tomed itself to the new conditions and feels at home wherever
there are trees, even in cities, often building its nest within a few
yards of occupied dwellings. At the southern border, in Dunklin
Co., the first Wood-Thrush was heard to sing as early as April 3.
At St. Louis and in central Missouri generally, also in the higher
parts of southern Missouri, the first are heard to sing between
April 18 and 24, at the northern border between April 25 and
30. Exceptions are rare, and the bulk is usually present in the
last days of April southward and the first week in May northward,
when transient individuals swell their numbers and the song of
the Wood-Thrush is heard everywhere. Migrants from the north
are with us during the first half of September, but the bulk of
the species leaves central Missouri about the middle of the month
and nearly all are gone before the end of the month, except in
the southern part of the state, where some linger through the
first decade of October (St. Louis, October 7, 1905; New Haven,
October 9, 1903; Jasper, October 10, 1902; Monteer, October
10, 1904).
756. HYLOCICHLA FUSCESCENS (Steph.). Wilson's Thrush.
T urdus fuscescens. Turdus wilsonii. Veery. Tawny Thrush.
756a. HYLOCICHLA FUSCESCENS SALICICOLA Ridgw. Willow
Thrush.
Turdus fuscescens salicicolus.
Geog. Dist. The breeding range of the two subspecies has
not yet been clearly defined. While the Wilson's breeds in
eastern North America from southern Alleghenies and about
40 lat. northward to Nova Scotia and Ontario, the Willow
Thrush's summer home is not only in the Rocky Mountains
from New Mexico and Arizona north to British Columbia, but
reaches eastward through Manitoba and northwestern Ontario ,
where they are slightly intermediate, to Newfoundland.
This peculiar overlapping of the breeding areas must produce
a crossing of migration routes, which makes it at present diffi-
cult to say to which of the two forms the majority of tran-
sients belong that regularly pass through our state in spring
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 261
and fall. That both forms occur is certain, as there is one speci-
men of salicicola taken at Charleston, Mo., May 9, 1879, in the
Bryant collection at Cambridge, Mass., and others have been
taken in eastern as well as western Iowa and in northern Ill-
inois. Without having the bird in hand it is difficult, though
not impossible, to tell the subspecies, and it is for this reason
that it will be the work of future collectors in our state to de-
fine their status. Mr. Chas. K. Wort hen says salicicola is the
commoner one at Warsaw, 111.
In Missouri a regular, but nowhere numerous, transient
visitant, scattered over the entire state and through a whole
month in spring and in fall, from April 20 to May 24, and from
September 4 to October 10, but most common from May 10
to 17 and from about September 9 to 12 (Earliest April 20,
1902, Jasper; latest October 10, 1904, Monteer; both reported
by W. G. Savage).
757. HYLOCICHLA ALICIAE (Baird). Gray-cheeked Thrush.
Turdus aliciae. Turdus swainsoni aliciae. Turdus ustulatus aliciae. Alice's
Thrush.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America to the Arctic coast,
Alaska and eastern Siberia. Breeds far north and migrates
through eastern United States, chiefly the Mississippi Valley,
to Costa Rica.
In Missouri one of our common and most regular transient
visitants spring and fall, less common westward. The van-
guard arrives in southern Missouri in the last week of April;
at St. Louis about the first of May, and the bulk is present
during the second and third week of May; "lasts" are generally
recorded in the fourth week, but individuals have been found
lingering into June, even in the southeastern corner of the state,
where the ripening of the Mulberries, of which they are very
fond, accounts for the delay. They are generally in company
with Olive-backed Thrushes and with them visit in spring all
kinds of places, coming even into gardens in towns and on the
lawns in cities. They are often heard to sing at half voice, are
very confiding and remain at the same place several days, in
cool weather a week or more. In fall they frequent other localities,
chiefly the timber in the bottomlands, where they find different
kinds of berries and thick shelter for roosts. They are sometimes
found quite early in September, but the bulk is present in the
262 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
third and fourth weeks of the month, and the last do not leave
our most southern woods before the middle of October. While
they are musical in spring, they are silent in fall and therefore
easily overlooked, but may be found wherever there are plenty
of wild grapes, hackberry, sour gum, and other wild fruit.
[757a. HYLOCICHLA ALICIAE BICKNELLI Ridgw. Bicknell's
Thrush.]
Turdus aliciae bicknelli.
Geog. Dist. Breeds in mountainous parts of northeastern
states and Nova Scotia.
Has been taken several times at Warsaw, 111., by Mr. Chas.
K. Worthen; the first time, May 24, 1884, and identification
verified by Mr. R. Ridgway himself (Natural History Survey
of Illinois, vol. 1, page 59). Mr. Worthen thinks that it will
undoubtedly be found in company with Gray-cheeked Thrushes
on wooded islands in the Mississippi while migrating in April
and May.
758a. HYLOCICHLA USTULATA SWAINSONII (Cab.). Olive-backed
Thrush.
Turdus swainsonii. Turdus ustulatus swainsonii. Swainson's Thrush.
Geog. Dist. Not considering the lately differentiated sub-
species oedica and almae the Swainson's Thrush ranges over
Eastern North America and westward to the upper Columbia
River, straggling to the Pacific coast into the domain of the other
subspecies ustidata. Breeds from the mountainous parts of
the eastern states and from Mackinac Island north to Newfound-
land, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Hudson Bay and through the Sas-
katchewan region to Mackenzie and westward to British Colum-
bia, rarely to Alaska. In winter to Cuba, and through Central
America to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
In Missouri a common and most regular transient visitant
spring and fall, west as well as east. In some springs the first
are seen in southern Missouri soon after the middle of April, but
the cold and windy weather which we often have about this time
keeps them from advancing farther until the last days of the
month, when they usually appear in the vicinity of St. Louis
(April 26, 1883, 1884). The bulk is always present between
May 3 and 15, after which their numbers decrease more or less
rapidly according to the weather, the last being noted in the
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 263
fourth week of the month, latest May 29, 1882, June 3, 1907,
St. Louis. In Shannon Co., where Mr. Savage found them
extremely abundant, they occurred from April 22 to May 16,
1904, and from April 30 to May 10, 1905. At Keokuk Mr. Cur-
rier found them commonly about the middle of May (May 6,
1892 to May 17, 1893). At Grandin, Carter Co., Mr. E. S.
Woodruff found it as late as May 25, 1907. Fall migration ex-
tends from September 5 to October 3, the bulk being present
about September 20.
759b. HYLOCICHLA GUTTATA PALLASII (Cab.). Hermit Thrush.
Turdus solitarius. Turdus minor. Turdus pallasii. Turdus aonalaschkae
pallasii. Hylocichla undLascae pallasii.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America, north to Newfound-
land, Anticosti and the north shore of the St. Lawrence,
southern Ungava and west of Hudson Bay to Mackenzie
and Yukon; west to British Columbia. Breeds from the
mountainous parts of the eastern United States and from
northern Michigan and northern Minnesota northward. Win-
ters from southern New Jersey and the Ohio River southward
to the Gulf coast.
In Missouri a fairly common, and generally distributed tran-
sient visitant, and a winter resident in the heavily wooded
southeast. In its migration it reaches St. Louis sometimes in
March (March 25, 1907; March 30, 1887; March 31, 1905),
but more commonly early in April, and the bulk is usually present
in the second and third week of the month. " Lasts" are noted
in the fourth week, latest April 27, 1887, and May 1, 1907.
Mr. E. S. Woodruff found the Hermit Thrush in Shannon Co.
March 26 to April 27, 1907. Mr. Currier's earliest date at Keo-
kuk is April 10, 1898; his last April 28, 1893. In fall it reaches
Missouri early in October (October 5, 1885, St. Louis; October
5, 1904, Shannon Co., Savage); the bulk is present in the second
and third week, and the last at St Louis, October 25. It comes
back to the same resting places year after year, remains a few
days, sometimes a whole week, and goes on. It is seldom heard
to sing in transit, but may be heard in its winter home, where it
frequents the same swampy ground as the Winter Wren adjoining
the drier haunts of the Fox, White-throated and other sparrows.
(The Peninsula of Missouri as a Winter Home for Birds, by
0. Widmann, Auk, 1896, vol. 13, p. 216).
264 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
*761. MERULA MIGRATORIA (Linn.). American Robin.
T urdus migratorius. Robin. Robin Redbreast.
Geog. Dist. Eastern North America from eastern Mexico to
Alaska; west to the Rocky Mountains where it runs into the
western subspecies propinqua. Breeds from Virginia and
Arkansas northward to the Arctic coast; winters from southern
New England, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, central
Missouri and southeastern Nebraska southward to the Gulf;
in mild winters some have wintered as far north as South Dakota,
Minnesota, Michigan and southern Ontario.
In Missouri the Robin is an abundant migrant and a very
common summer resident in all parts of the state, south as well
as north, wherever there are farms, towns and cities, which it
now prefers to the wilds during nesting time, but retreating to
them in fall and winter. Some spend the whole winter,
even severe winters, in the lower Missouri River valley and along
the Mississippi River from the Illinois River southward, but the
largest number is found in the swamps of the southeast, where
many more would remain if they were not constantly disturbed
by the host of duck hunters who repair to those regions. When
the weather shows the first signs of awakening spring, sometimes
at the end of January, oftener about the middle of February,
the first troops of north-bound Robins appear in central, and a
week or two later, in northern Missouri. Early in March the
first males begin to sing in their old haunts, are soon joined by
their mates, and bravely endure weeks of cold weather with ice,
sleet and snow or chilling rains and high winds. Large flocks of
transient Robins are also with us during the entire month of
March and to the latter part of April, when in some years the
young of our own birds are almost able to leave the nest (First
egg, April 5, 1903, Montgomery City, Parker; young leave nest
May 1, 1886, Fayette, Kilpatrick). When the last broods are
able to fly well, about the first of August, Robins form small
family troops, several of which join to spend the nights together
in a common roost. When migration time comes in October
larger roosts are formed, in which many thousands spend the
nights together like Blackbirds in the high grasses of the marshes
(A Winter Robin Roost in Missouri, by 0. Widmann, Auk,
vol. 12, 1895, page 1). By the first of November the bulk of
transient Robins has left north and central Missouri, but many
linger in the bottoms of our large rivers to the middle and often
to the end of the month, even in northern portions of the state.
Widmann A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 265
The immense stretches of wild rice in the swamps of the south-
east offer a safe place for roosts at this time of the year and flocks
of many thousands have been seen to assemble there. They
are great rovers, leave the roosts at daybreak and do not return
before evening, spreading during the day over a large territory
in search of food.
*766. SIALIA SIALIS (Linn.). Bluebird.
Sylvia sialis. Ampelis sialis. Sialia wilsonii.
Geog. Dist. Eastern United States and southern Canada,
north to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec,
Ontario and Manitoba; west to base of Rocky Mountains.
Breeds throughout its range and winters chiefly in the Southern
States, though in small numbers from southern New England,
Indiana and central Missouri southward.
In Missouri a common summer resident in all parts of the state
from March till October and a fairly common winter resident
in the southeast, where it occurs in small troops, which seek
the woods for shelter and the fields and clearings for food. Small
parties also winter from St. Louis southward, retiring to the
bottoms, where they spend the nights in woodpecker holes,
often several together in one hole, visiting their summer haunts
only in warm weather for a short time on spring-like mornings,
but may thus be seen and heard even at Christmas and New
Year's time. In mild winters a few have been found wintering
in New Haven, Fayette, Glasgow, Warrensburg and even at
Laclede in Linn Co. (January 19, 1889, Ong). Migration begins
usually between February 15 and 25 and the first reach even the
most northern counties in the last days of February or in the
first week of March. The transit of parties of north-bound Blue-
birds continues until the latter part of March. Our own Blue-
birds have by this time taken up their old quarters, finished
nests being found as early as March 20, where, if not disturbed,
they remain until the last brood is ready to go, about the first
of August, when all retire to favorite feeding grounds. Three
broods are sometimes made, the first leaving the nest about May
12, the second June 24, the third August 1. Migration from the
north reaches us about the first of October and in the second
and third week of the month Bluebirds are present in flocks of
different size, sometimes as many as three hundred together
apparently ready to depart for more southern climes. The bulk
266 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
of the species is gone by November 1, but some linger through
November even in northern Missouri. After December 1
winter numbers only are left. We sometimes read that no bird
has suffered so much from persecution by the English Sparrow
as the Bluebird. While this may be true in some parts of the
country, the Missouri Bluebird has not much to fear from the
Sparrows; it can cope with them successfully. After a pair has
once taken possession of a bird-box no English Sparrow is al-
lowed to come within ten feet of it. The greatest enemy of the
Bluebird is the house cat, which gets most of the young birds
the very first day they leave the nest, being careless enough to
fly to the ground, but not strong enough to fly up readily
when the lurking pet of the household approaches.
Index,
267
INDEX.
Acanthis linaria 169
Accipiter atricapillus 93
cooperii 92
fringilloides 91
fuscus 91
mexicanus 92
pensylvanicus 91
velox 91
Actitis macularius 74
Actiturus bartramius 73
Actodromas bairdii 68
fuscicollis 68
maculata 67
minutilla 69
Aechmophorus occidentalis 21
Aegialites vociferus 76
Aegialitis meloda circuincincta 77
semipalmata 77
vocifera 76
Aegiothus fuscescens 169
linaria 169
Agelaeus phoeniceus 155
Agelaius phoeniceus 155
fortis 156
xanthocephalus 154
Aimophila aestiva bachmani 189
Aix sponsa 37
Alauda alpestris 142
cornuta 142
magna 156
rufa 243
spraguei 243
Alcedo alcyon 118
Ammodramus bairdii 176
bimaculatus 178
caudacutus 179
nelsoni 179
henslowii 178
leconteii 179
nelsoni 179
palustris 191
passerinus 177
sandwich, alaudinus 176
savanna 175
savannarum 177
perpallidus
178
Ampelis americana 205
cedrorum 205
garrulus 205
sialis 265
Anas acuta 36
albeola 40
americana 33
boschas 31
caerulescens 45
canadensis 45
carolinensis 34
caudacuta 36
clangula 39
clypeata 35
collaris 39
columbianus 48
crecca 34
cyanoptera 35
discors 34
domestica 31
ferina 37
fuligula 39
fulva 47
fusca 42
glacialis 41
histrionica 41
hyemalis 41
hyperboreus 44
islandica 40
jamaicensis 43
longicauda 41
marila 38
minuta 41
nigra 42
obscura 32
rubripes 32
penelope 33
perspicillata 43
rubidus 43
rufitorques 39
sponsa 37
strepera 32
vailisneria 37
Anhinga anhinga 27
Anorthura hyemalis 250
troglodytes 250
hyemalis 250
268
Trans. Acad. Sri. of St. Louis.
Anser albatus 44
albifrons 45
gambeli 45
caerulescens 45
frontalis 45
gambeli 45
hutchinsii 46
hyperboreus 44
Antrostomus carolinensis 128
nuttallii 129
vociferus 128
Anthus aquaticus 243
ludovicianus 243
pensilvanicus 243
pipiens 243
spinoletta 243
spragueii 243
Aquila canadensis 100
chrysaetos 100
fulva 100
leucocephala 100
Archibuteo ferrugineus 99
lagopus 99
sancti-johannis 99
Ardejji americana 56
caerulea 54
candidissima 54
egretta 53
exilis 52
herodias 52
leucogastra v. leucophrymna 54
ludoviciana 54
minor 51
naevia 55
pealei 54
rufa54
rufescens 54
stellaris canadensis 51
tricolor ruficollis 54
virescens 55
Ardetta exilis 52
Arenaria morinella 78
Arquatella maritima 67
Asio accipitrinus 106
wilsonianus 105
Astragalinus tristis 169
Astur atricapillus 93
cooperii 92
hyemalis 97
palumbarius 93
Astur pennsylvanicus 91, 98
velox 91
Avocet, American 63
Aythya affinis 38
americana 37
collaris 39
marila 38
nearctica 38
vallisneria 37
Baeolophus bicolor 255
Baldpate 33
Bartramia longicauda 73
Beach Bird 70
Bee Martin 135
Beetle-head 76
Bernicla canadensis 45
hutchinsii 46
Bird of Paradise 135
Washington 100
Bittern, American 51
Least 52
Little 52
Blackbird, Brewer's 163
Common 163
Crow 163
Red-winged 155
Rusty 162
Swamp 155
Thrush 162
Yellow-headed 154
Blackcap, Wilson's 240
Black-head, Big 38
Little 38
Black-jack 39
Bluebill, Big 38
Little 38
Bluebird 265
Blue Jay 144
Bobolink 149
Bob-white 78
Bombycilla americana 205
carolinensis 205
garrulus 205
Bonasa umbellus 79
Botaurus lentiginosus 51
minor 51
mugitans 51 ,
Brachyotus palustris 106
Brant, White 44
Index.
269
Branta canadensis 45
hutchinsi 46
minima 47
Bridge-pewee 137
Bristle-tail 43
Brown Back 66
Bubo virginianus 110
pallescens 112
subarctica 112
Bucephala albeola 40
americana 39
clangula 39
Buffle-head 40
BuU-bat 130
Bull-head 76
Bull-peep 68
Bunting, Bay- winged 175
Black-throated 198
Henslow's 178
Indigo 196
Lark 198
Lazuli 197
Painted 197
Butcherbird 206
Buteo aquilinus 94
bairdii 97
borealis 94
calurus 96
harlani 96
kriderii 95
calurus 96
harlani 96
hyemalis 97
lagopus 99
latissimus 98
lineatus 97
montanus 96, 97
niger 99
pennsylvanicus 98
platypterus 98
swainsoni 97
vulgaris 97
Butorides virescens 55
Butterball 40
Buzzard, Red-shouldered 97
Red-tailed 94
Rough-legged 99
Turkey 86
Calamospiza bicolor 198
Calamospiza melanocorys 198
Calcarius lapponicus 173
ornatus 174
pictus 173
Calico-back 78
Calidris arenaria 70
calidris 70
rubidus 70
Campephilus principalis 119
Canary, Wild 169, 222
Canvasback 37
Caprimulgus carolinensis 128
nuttallii 129
popetue 130
virginianus 130
vociferus 128
Carbo mexicanus 28
Cardinal 194
Kentucky 194
Cardinalis cardinalis 194
virginianus 194
Carduelis americanus 169
carduelis 171
elegans 171
pinus 170
tristis 169
Carpodacus purpureus 167
Catbird 245
Catharista atrata 87
urubu 87
Cathartes atratus 87
aura 86
Cedarbird 205
Centronyx bairdii 176
ochrocephalus 176
Centrophanes lapponicus 173
ornatus 174
pictus 173
Centurus carolmus 126
Ceophloeus pileatus 123
albieticola 123
Certhia americana 252
caroliniana 247
familiaris 252
americana 252
rufa 252
maculata 212
pinus 216
varia 212
Ceryle alcyon 118
270
Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Chaetura pelagica 132
pelasgia 132
Charadrius apricarius 76
dominicus 76
fulvus v. virginicus 76
helveticus 76
hiaticula 77
marmoratus 76
melodus 77
mexicanus 64
pluvialis 76
semipalmatus 77
virginicus 76
vociferas 76
Charitonetta albeola 40
Chat, Yellow-breasted 239
Chatterer, Bohemian 205
Chaulelasmus streperus 32
Chebeck 142
Chelidon erythrogastra 202
Chen caerulescens 45
hyperborea 44
hyperboreus albatus 44
nivalis 44
Cherrybird 205
Chewink 193
Chickadee 255
Black-capped 255
Carolina 256
Long-tailed 256
Plumbeous 257
Chippy 184
Whiter 184
Chondestes grammacus 180
grammica 180
Chordeiles henryi 131
popetue 130
virginianus 130
henryi 131
sennetti 131
Chroicocephalus franklini 25
Philadelphia 25
Chrysomitris pinus 170
tristis 169
Chuck-will's widow 128
Circus cyaneus 90
hudsonius 90
hudsonicus 90
hyemalis 97
Cistothorus palustris 251
Cistothorus stellaris 251
Clangula albeola 40
clangula americana 39
glaucion 39
hyemalis 41
islandica 40
vulgaris 39
Clivicola riparia 203
Coccoborus caeruleus 196
ludovicianus 195
vespertinus 166
Coccothraustes ludovicianus 195
vespertinus 166
Coccygus americanus 116
erythrophthalmus 117
Coccyzus americanus 116
erythrophthalmus 117
Cock-of-the- Woods 123
Colaptes auratus 126
luteus 126
ayresii 127
cafer 127
collaris 127
collaris 127
hybridus 127
mexicanus 127
Colinus virginianus 78
Columba carolinensis 85
macroura 85
migratoria 84
Collurio borealis 206
ludovicianus excubitoroides
207
Collyrio borealis 206
excubitoroides 207
Colymbus arcticus 23
auritus 21, 22
californicus 22
glacialis 22
holboellii 21
nigricollis californicus 22
podiceps 22
septentrionalis 23
torquatus 22
Compsothlypis americana ramalinae220
usneae 220
Contopus borealis 138
virens 139
Conurus carolinensis 113
Coot, American 62
Index.
271
Coot, Gray 43
Sea 43
Spectacled 43
Surf 43
White-winged 42
Cormorant, Double-crested 28
Southern 28
Florida 28
Mexican 28
Corporal, Little 103
Corvus americanus 147
brachyrhynchus 147
cacalotl 146
carnivorus 146, 147
columbianus 149
corax 146, 147
carnivorus 147
principalis 147
sinuatus 146
corone 147
cristatus 144
frugivorus 147
pica 144
sinuatus 146
Corydalina bicolor 198
Corythus enucleator 166
Cotile riparia 203
Coturniculus bairdii 176
henslowii 178
leconteii 179
passerinus 177
perpallidus 178
savannarum bimaculatus
178
passerinus
177
Cotyle riparia 203
serripennis 204
Cowbird 151
Crake, Carolina 59
Crane, Blue 52
Brown 57
Hooping 56
Little Brown 57
Sandhill 57
Northern 57
White 53
Whooping 56, 57
Creeper, Brown 252
Crex galeata 61
Cricket Bird 177
Crossbill, American 167
White-winged 168
Crow, American 147
Carrion 87
Clarke's 149
Crymophilus fulicarius 62
Cryptoglaux acadica 108
tengmalmi richardsonii
108
Cuckoo, Black-billed 117
Yellow-billed 116
Cuculus auratus 126
carolinensis 116
erythrophthalmus 117
Culicivora caerulea 259
Cupidonia cupido 81
Curlew, Eskimo 75
Esquimaux 75
Hudsonian 75
Jack 75
Long-billed 74
Short-billed 75
Curvirostra americana 167
leucoptera 168
Cyanocitta cristata 144
Cyanospiza amoena 197
ciris 197
cyanea 196
Cyanurus cristatus 144
Cygnus americanus 48
bewickii 48
buccinator 48
ferus 48
Cygnus musicus 48
Cypselus pelasgia 132
Dabchick 22
Dacnis protonotaria 213
vermivora 214
Dafila acuta 36
Darter 27
Demiegretta ludoviciana 54
pealii 54
rufa 54
Dendrocygna fulva 47
Dendroica aestiva 222
blackburniae 228
caerulescens 222
canadensis 222
272
Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Dendroica castanea 227
cerulea 225
coronata 223
discolor 232
dominica 229
albilora 229
kirtlandi 231
maculosa 224
palmamm 232
pensylvanica 226
pinus 231
rara 225
striata 227
superciliosa 229
tigrina 221
vigorsii 231
virens 230
Dendronessa sponsa 37
Dichromanassa rufa 54
rufescens 54
Dickcissel 198
Dipper 22, 40
Diver, Arctic 23
Great Northern 22
Dolichonyx bicolor 198
oryzivorus 149
Dough Bird 70, 75
Dove, Carolina 85
Mourning 85
Dowitcher 66
Long-billed 66
Red-bellied 66
Dryobates borealis 121
pubescens medianus 120
villosus 119
audubonii 120
Duck, Black 32
Red-legged 32
Dusky 32
Fish 30, 31
Fool 43
Gray 32
Harlequin 41
Long-tailed 41
Ring-necked 39
Ruddy 43
Scaup 38
Lesser 38
Scoter 42
Spine-tailed 43
Duck, Spoon-billed 35
Summer 37
Surf 43
Black 42
Tree, Fulvous 47
Velvet 42
Wood 37
Dunlin 69
Dytes auritus 21
Eagle, American 100
Bald 100
Black 100
Golden 100
Gray 100
Ring-tailed 100
White-headed 100
Ectopistes macrura 84
migratoria 84
Egret, American 53
Peale's 54
Reddish 54
White, Little 54
Egretta candidissima 54
Elanoides forficatus 88
Elanus dispar 89
furcatus 88
glaucus 89
leucurus 89
Emberiza americana 198
amoena 197
bairdii 176
canadensis 184
ciris 197
erythrophthalma 193
graminea 175
grammaca 180
henslowii 178
lapponica 173
leconteii 179
leucophrys 182
melodia 190
nivalis 172
ornata 174
orycivora 149
pallida 185
passe rina 177
pecoris 151
picta 173
pusilla 186
savannarum 175
Index.
273
Emberiza shattuckii 185
smithii 173
socialis 184
Empidonax acadicus 140
flaviventris 140
minimus 142
pusillus 141
traillii 141
traillii 141
alnornum 141
virescens 140
Ephialtes asio 109
Eremophila alpestris 142
praticola 143
cornuta 142
Ereunetes occidentalis 70
petrificatus 69, 70
pusillus 69, 70
Erismatura jamaicensis 43
rubida 43
Erythrospiza purpurea 167
Eudocinus albus 49
Euphagus carolinus 162
cyanocephalus 163
Euspiza arnericana 198
Falco anatum 102
atricapillus 93
borealis 94
buteo 97
buteoides 97
chrysaetos 100
columbarius 103
communis anatum 102
cooperii 92
cyanus 90
dispar 89
ferruginous 99
forficatus 88
furcatus 88
fuscus 91
harlani 96
hudsonius 90
hyemalis 97
lagopus 99
lanarius mexicanus 101
polyagrus 101
leucocephalus 100
leverianus 94
lineatus 97
Falco lithofalco columbarius 103
mexicanus 101
mississippiensis 90
niger 99
ossifragus 100
palumbarius 93
peregrinus anatum 102
plumbeus 90
polyagrus 101
richardsonii 103
sancti-johannis 99
sparverius 103
stanleyi 92
temerarius 103
uliginosus 90
velox 91
Washington! i 100
Falcon, Peregrine 102
Prairie 101
Finch, Purple 167, 197
Fish Duck 30, 31
Fish-hawk 104
Flicker, Northern 126
Red-shafted 127
Florida caerulea 54
Flycatcher, Acadian 140
Alder 141
Crested 137
Great Crested 137
Green Crested 140
Least 142
Little 141
Olive-sided 138
Scissor- tailed 135
Swallow-tailed 135
Traill's 141
Yellow-bellied 140
Fly-up-the-creek 55
Fringilla albicollis 183
ambigua 151
americana 198
amoena 197
arborea 184
bachmani 189
bicolor 198
caerulea 196
canadensis 184
cardinalis 194
carduelis 171
caudacuta 179
274
Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Fringilla ciris 197
comata 180
cyanea 196
domestica 172
erythrophthalma 193
fasciata 190
ferruginea 192
georgiana 191
graminea 175
grammaca 180
harrisii 180
henslowii 178
hyemalis 187
iliaca 192
juncorum 186
lapponica 173
leucophrys 182
linaria 169
lincolni 191
ludoviciana 195
melodia 190
montana 172
nivalis 187
oryzivora 149
palustris 191
passerina 177
pensylvanica 183
pinus 170
purpurea 167
pusilla 186
querula 180
rufa 192
savanna 175
savannarum 177
socialis 184
tristis 169
vespertina 166
Fulica americana 62
atra62
martinica 61
Fuligula affinis 38
albeola 40
americana 37, 42
clangula 39
collaris 39
ferina 37
fusca 42
histrionica 41
marila 38
mariloides 38
Fuligula minor 38
perspicillata 43
rubida 43
spectabilis 42
vallisneria 37
Fulix affinis 38
collaris 39
marila 38
Gadwall 32
Galeoscoptes carolinensis 245
Gallinago delicata 65
wilsoni 65
Gallinula chloropus 61
galeata 61
porphyrio 61
Gallinule, Florida 61
Purple 61
Gambetta flavipes 72
melanoleuca 71
Garrot 39
Rocky Mountain 40
Garrulus cristatus 144
Garzetta candidissima 54
Gavia arctica 23
imber 22
lumme 23
Geothlypis agilis 236
formosa 235
Philadelphia 237
trichas brachidactyla 238
Glaucionetta clangula americana 39
islandica 40
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray 259
Godwit, Black-tailed 71
Hudsonian 71
Marbled 70
Ring-tailed 71
Golden-eye, American 39
Barrow's 40
Goldfinch, American 169
European 171
Goniaphea caerulea 196
ludoviciana 195
Goosander 30
Goose, Blue 45
Blue-winged 45
Cackling 47
Canada 45
Lesser 46
Index.
275
Goose, Hutchin's 46
Laughing 45
Snow 44, 45
Greater 44
Lesser 44
White-fronted, American 45
Wild 45
Little 46
Goshawk, American 93
Gourdhead 51
Grackle 163
Blue-headed 163
Bronzed 163
Rusty 162
Gracula ferruginea 162
Graculus dilophus 28
Grassfinch 175
Grayback 66, 67
Great Head 39
Grebe, California 22
Carolina 22
Eared, American 22
Holboell's 21
Horned 21, 22
Pied-billed 22
Red-necked, American 21
Thick-baled 22
Western 21
Grosbeak, Blue 196
Evening 166
Pine 166
Canadian 166
Rose-breasted 195
Grouse, Pinnated 81
Ruffled 79
Grus americanus 56, 57
canadensis 57
fraterculus 57
hoyanus 56
mexicana 57
Guara alba 49
Guiraca caerulea 196
cardinalis 194
ludoviciana 195
Gull, Bonaparte's 25
Common, American 25
Fork-tailed 25
Franklin's 25
Herring 24
American 24
Gull, Ring-billed 25
Rosy, Franklin's 25
Sabine's 25
Sea 24
Habia ludoviciana 195
Haliaetus washingtonii 100
Haliaeetus leucocephalus 100
Hangnest 161
Harelda glacialis 41
hyemalis 41
Harlequin Duck 41
Harporhynchus rufus 246
Harrier, American 90
Hawk, Black 99
Black-shouldered 89
Blue 92
Broad-winged 98
Cooper's 92
Duck 102
Fish 104
Harlan's 96
Krider's 95
Marsh 90
Mouse 90
Pigeon 103
Red-shouldered 97
Red-tailed 94
Rough-legged, American 99
Sharp-shinned 91
Sparrow, American 103
Squirrel, California 99
Swainson's 97
Swallow-tailed 88
Hedymeles ludovicianus 195
Helinaia bachmanii 215
celata 218
chrysoptera 217
peregrina 219
protonotarius 213
rubricapilla 218
solitaria 216
swainsonii 214
vermivora 214
Helldiver 22
Helmintherus vennivorus 214
Helminthophaga bachmani 215
celata 218
chrysoptera 217
leucobronchialis 216
276
Trans. Acad. Sri. of St. Louis.
Helminthophaga peregrina 219
pinus 216
ruficapilla 218
Helminthophila bachmanii 215
celata 218
chrysoptera 217
leucobronchialis 216
peregrina 219
pinus 216
rubricapilla 218
ruficapiUa 218
Helminthotherus vermivoms 214
Helmitherus swainsoni 214
vermivoms 214
Helodromas solitarius 72
Helonaea swainsonii 214
Herodias alba egretta 53
egretta 53
Heron, Fish 52
Great Blue 52
Green 55
Little Blue 54
Little White 54
Louisiana 54
Night, Black-crowned 55
Yellow-crowned 56
Snowy 54
White 53
Hesperiphona vespertina 166
High-holder 126
Himantopus mexicanus 64
nigricollis 64
Hirundo americana 202
bicolor 203
erythrogaster 202
fulva 201
horreorum 202
lunifrons 201
pelasgia 132
purpurea 201
republicana 201
riparia 203
rufa 202
rustica 202
serripennis 204
subis 201
viridis 203
Histrionicus histrionicus 41
minutus 41
torquatus 41
Hummingbird, Ruby-throated 134
Hydranassa tricolor ludoviciana 54
ruficollis 54
Hydrochelidon fissipes 27
lariformis 27
nigra surinamensis 27
plumbea 27
Hylocichla aliciae 261
bicknelli 262
fuscescens 260
salicicola 260
guttata pallasii 263
mustelina 259
unalascae pallasii 263
ustulata swainsonii 262
Hylotomus pileatus 123
Ibis alba 49
Bay 50
Glossy 50
Green 50
guarauna 50
falcinellus 50
v. Ordii 50
Ordii 50
thalassinus 50
White 49
White-faced Glossy 50
Wood 51
Icteria virens 239
viridis 239
Icterus baltimore 161
galbula 161
icterocephalus 154
pecoris 151
phoeniceus 155
spurius 160
xanthocephalus 154
Ictinia mississippiensis 90
plumbea 90
subcaerulea 90
Indian Pullet 51
lonornis martinica 61
Iridoprocne bicolor 203
Jaeger, Parasitic 24
Richardson's 24
Jay Bird 144 '
Joree 193
Junco 187
Index.
277
Junco hiemalis 187
hyemalis 187
connectens 188
shufeldti 188
montanus 189
Shufeldt's 188
Slate-colored 187
Kestrel, American 103
Killdeer 76
Kingbird 135
Arkansas 136
King Eider 42
Kingfisher, Belted 118
Kinglet, Golden-crowned 257
Ruby-crowned 258
Kite, Fork-tailed 88
Mississippi 90
Swallow-tailed 88
White-tailed 89
Kittiwake 24
Knot 67
Lanius borealis 206
excubitor 206
ludovicianus 207
migrans 207
tyrannus 135
Lanivireo flavifrons 210
solitarius 210
Lanner 101
Lark, Horned 142, 143
Hoyt's 143
Prairie 143
Prairie 143
Shore 142
Snow 142
Larus argentatus 24
smithsonianus 24
bonapartei 25
delawarensis 25
franklinii 25
Philadelphia 25
sabinii 25
tridactylus 24
zonorhynchus 25
Lawyer 64
Lead-back 69
Lestris richardsonii 24
Limosa fedoa 70
Limosa foeda 70
haemastica 71
hudsonica 71
scolopacea 66
Linaria minor 169
pinus 170
Lobipes hyperboreus 62
lobatus 62
Log-cock 123
Long-beak, Greater 66
Long-bill 65
Long-shanks 64
Longspur, Chestnut-collared 174
Lapland 173
McCown's 174
Smith's 173
Look-up 51
Loon 22
Arctic 23
Black-throated 23
Red-throated 23
Lophodytes cucullatus 31
Lophophanes bicolor 255
Loxia americana 167
caerulea 196
cardinalis 194
curvirostra 167
americana 167
minor 167
enucleator 166
leucoptera 168
ludoviciana 195
rosea 195
Macrorhamphus griseus 66
scolopaceus 66
scolopaceus 66
Magpie, American 144
Mallard 31
Black 32
Mareca americana 33
penelope 33
Marlin 70
Black-tailed 71
Ring-tailed 71
Marsh Hen 58
Martin 201
Purple 201
Sand 203
Maybird 67
278
Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Meadowlark 156
Southern 160
Western 157
Megascops asio 109
Melanerpes carolinus 126
erythrocephalus 124
Melanetta velvetina 42
Meleagris gallopavo 83
fera 83
silvestris 83
Mellisuga colubris 134
Melospiza cinerea melodia 190
fasciata 190
georgiana 191
lincolnii 191
meloda 190
melodia 190
palustris 191
Merganser americanus 30
serrator 30
Merganser, American 30
Hooded 31
Red-breasted 30
Mergus americanus 30
cucullatus 31
merganser 30
serrator 30
Merlin, American 103
Richardson's 103
Merula migratoria 264
Micropalama himantopus 66
Microptera americana 64
Milvulus forficatus 135
Milvus furcatus 88
leucurus 89
Mimus carolinensis 245
felivox 245
polyglottus 244
Mniotilta borealis 212
varia 212
borealis 212
Mocker 244
Mockingbird 244
Molothrus ater 151
pecoris 151
Moorhen 61
Mosquito hawk 130
Motacilla aestiva 222
chrysoptera 217
citrea 213
Motacilla maculosa 224
tigrina 221
Mudhen 61, 62
Mud-peep 69
Muscicapa atra 137
bonapartei 241
caerulea 259
canadensis 241
cantatrix 211
carolinensis 245
crinita 137
cucullata 240
forficata 135
fusca 137
gilva 209
melodia 209
noveboracensis 211
nunciola 137
olivacea 208
phoebe 137
pusilla 240
querula 139, 140
rapax 139
ruticilla 242
saya 138
selbii 240
solitaria 210
sylvicola 210
traillii 141
tyrannus 135
verticalis 136
virens 139
Muscivora forficata 135
Myiarchus crinitus 137
Myiodioctes bonapartei 241
canadensis 241
formosus 235
mitratus 240
pusillus 240
pileolatus 241
wilsonii 240
Nauclerus forficatus 88
furcatus 88
Neocorys spraguei 243
Nettion carolinensis 34
Nighthawk 130
Sennetti 131
Western 131
Night Raven 55
Index.
279
Niphea hyemalis 187
Nisus fuscus 91
pensylvanicus 91
Nonpareil 197
Nucifraga columbiana 149
Numenius borealis 57
hudsonicus 75
intermedius 75
longirostris 74
Nutcracker, Clarke's 149
Nuthatch, Brown-headed 254
Canada 254
Carolina 253
Red-bellied 254
Red-breasted 254
White-bellied 253
White-breasted 253
Nuttallornis borealis 138
Nyctale acadica 108
albifrons 108
frontalis 108
kirtlandi 108
richardsoni 108
tengmalmi richardsoni 108
Nyctanassa violacea 56
Nyctea nivea 112
nyctea 112
scandiaca v. arctica 112
Nycterodius violaceus 56
Nyctiardea gardeni 55
grisea naevia 55
violacea 56
Nycticorax nycticorax naevius 55
violaceus 56
Oidemia americana 42
bimaculata 42
deglandi 42
fusca 42
velvetina 42
perspicillata 43
velvetina 42
Olbiorchilus hieraalis 250
Old-squaw 41
Old-wife 41
Olor americanus 48
buccinator 48
columbianus 48
Oporornis agilis 236
formosus 235
Oriole, Baltimore 161
Orchard 160
Oriolus baltimore 161
mutatus 160
spurius 160
Orpheus carolinensis 245
rufus 246
Ortolan 59
Ortygometra Carolina 59
noveboracensis 60
Ortyx virginianus 78
Osprey, American 104
Otocoris alpestris 142
hoyti 143
praticola 143
Otus americanus 105
brachyotus 106
vulgaris v. wilsonianus 105
wilsonianus 105
Ovenbird 233
Owl, Acadian 108
Barn, American 105
Barred 107
Cat 106
Great Gray 107
Hawk, American 113
Hoot 107
Horned, Great 110
Western 112
Kirtland's 108
Long-eared, American 105
Marsh 106
Monkey-faced 105
Mottled 109
Prairie 106
Richardson's 108
Saw-whet 108
Screech 109
Short-eared 106
Snowy 112
Sparrow, American 108
Ox-bird 69
Ox-eye 76
Oxyechus vocifenis 76
Pandion carolinensis 104
haliaetus 104
haliaetus carolinensis 104
Parakeet 113
Paroquet, Carolina 113
280
Trans. Acad. Sd. of St. Louis.
Parrot, Orange-headed 113
Partridge 78, 79
Parula amerieana 220
Parus atricapillus 255, 256
carolinensis 256
septentrionalis 256
bicolor 255
carolinensis 256
agilis 257
palustris 255
septentrionalis 256
Passer domesticus 172
montanus 172
Passerculus alaudinus 176
bairdi 176
sandwich, alaudinus 176
savanna 175
savanna 175
alaudinus 176
Passerella iliaca 192
Passerina amoena 197
ciris 197
cyanea 196
nivalis 172
Peabody bird 183
Peep 69
Peet-weet 74
Pelecanus americanus 29
dilophus 28
erythrorhynchus 29
onocrotalus 29
trachyrhynchus 29
Pelican, White, American 29
Pelidna alpina sakhalina 69
pacifica 69
Pelionetta perspicillata 43
trowbridgii 43
Penelope mexicana 47
Penthestes atricapillus 255
septentrionalis
256
carolinensis 256
Perdix virginiana 78
Perisoglossa tigrina 221
Petrochelidon lunifrons 201
Peucea aestivalis 189
bachmanii 189
illinoiensis 189
bachmanii 189
illinoiensis 189
Peucea lincolnii 191
Phalacrocorax dilophus 28
floridanus 28
floridanus 28
mexicanus 28
Phalaenoptilus nuttallii 129
nitidus 129
Phalarope, Gray 62
Northern 62
Red 62
Red-necked 62
Wilson's 63
Phalaropus fulicarius 62
hyperboreus 62
lobatus, 62, 63
tricolor 63
wilsoni 63
Phasianus colchicus 82
torquatus 82
Pheasant 79
English 82
Ring-necked 82
Philohela minor 64
Phoebe 137
Say's 138
Pica caudata hudsonica 144
hudsonica 144
melanoleuca 144
pica hudsonica 144
Picicorvus columbianus 149
Picus audubonii 120
auratus 126
borealis 121
carolinus 126
erythrocephalus 124
mexicanus 127
pileatus 123
principalis 119
pubescens 120
querulus 121
varius 122
villosus 119
Pigeon, Passenger 84
Wild 84
Pinicola canadensis 166
enucleator 166
canadensis 166
leucura 166
Pintail 36
Pipilo erythrophthalmus 193
Index.
281
Pipit, American 243
Sprague's 243
Pipra polyglotta 239
Piranga erythromelas 199
rubra 200
Pitylus cardinalis 194
Plectrophanes lapponicus 173
mccownii 174
melanomus 174
nivalis 172
ornatus 174
pictus 173
Plectrophenax nivalis 172
Plegadis autumnalis 50
falcinellus 50
guarauna 50
Plotus anhinga 27
melanogaster 27
Plover, Black bellied 76
Blue 67
Field 73, 76
Golden, American 76
Grass 73
Green 76
Killdeer 76
Piping, Belted 77
Ring 77
Semipalmated 77
Ring 77
Upland 73
Pochard 37
Podiceps auritus 22
californicus 22
carolinensis 22
cornutus 21
cristatus 21
griseigena holboelli 21
holboellii 21
occidental 21
rubricollis 21
Podilymbus podiceps 22
Polioptila caerulea 259
Poocetes gramineus 175
Pooecetes gramineus 175
Poor-will 129
frosted 129
Pope 197
Porphyrio martinica 61
Porzana Carolina 59
jamaicensis 60
Porzana noveboracensis 60
Prairie Chicken 81
Hen 81
Lesser 82
Preacher 208
Progne purpurea 201
subis 201
Protonotaria citrea 213
Psittacus carolinensis 113
Pyranga aestiva 200
erythromelas 199
mississippiensis 200
rubra 199
Pyrgita montana 172
Pyrrhula enucleator 166
Qua-bird 55
Quail 78
Quawk 55
Querquedula carolinensis 34
cyanoptera 35
discors 34
Quiscalus aeneus 163
breweri 163
ferrugineus 162
purpureus 163
aeneus 163
quiscula aeneus 163
versicolor 163
Rail, Black 60
Little 60
Common 59
King 58
Red-breasted, Great 58
Little 59
Virginia 59
Yellow 60
Raincrow 116, 117
Rallus carolinus 59
elegans 58
jamaicensis 60
noveboracensis 60
virginianus 59
Raven, American 146, 147
Mexican 146
Northern 147
Recurvirostra americana 63
himantopus 64
Red-bark 69
282
Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Redbird 194
r '-I Summer 200
Red-breast 69, 195
Robin 264
Redhead 37
Redpoll 169
Yellow 232
Redstart, American 242
Red-tail, Black 96
Western 96
White-bellied 95
Red-wing, Northern 156
Thick-billed 156
Reedbird 149
Regulus calendula 258
cristatus 257
reguloides 257
satrapa 257
tricolor 257
Rhinogryphus aura 86
Rhyacophilus solitarius 72
Rhynchophanes mccownii 174
Ricebird 149
Ring-bill 39
Ring-neck 39, 77
Riparia riparia 203
Rissa tridactyla 24
Robin, American 264
Rosebreast 195
Rough-leg, Ferruginous 99
Rusticola minor 64
Salad-bird 169
Sand-lark 74
Sand-peep 69
Sanderling 70
Sandpiper, Baird's 68
Bartramian 73
Black-bellied 69
Bonaparte's 68
Buff-breasted 73
Common 74
Least 69
Pectoral 67
Purple 67
Red-backed GO
Red-breasted 67
Semipalmated 69
Solitary 72
Spotted 74
Sandpiper, Stilt 66
Western 70
White-rumped 68
Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied 122
Sawbill 31
Sayornis fuscus 137
phoebe 137
saya 138
Scolecophagus carolinus 162
cyanocephalus 163
ferrugineus 162
Scolopax alba 49
borealis 75
delicata 65
douglasii 65
fedoa 70
flavipes 72
gallinago 65
grisea 66
guarauna 50
haemastica 71
melanoleuca 71
minor 64
noveboracensis 66
semipalmata 72
vociferus 71
Scops asio 109
Scoter, American 42
Black 42
Surf 43
Velvet 42
White-winged 42
Scotiaptex cinereum 107
nebulosa 107
Sea Coot 42
Sea Swallow, Common 26
Seiurus aurocapillus 233
ludovicianus 235
motacilla 235
naevius 233
noveboracensis 233
notabilis 233
Setophaga canadensis 241
mitrata 240
ruticilla 242
wilsonii 65, 240
Sheldrake, American 30
Buff-breasted 30
Hooded 31
Red-breasted 30
Index.
283
Shoveller 35
Shrike, Loggerhead, Northern 207
Migrant 207
Northern 200
Shytepoke 55
Sialia sialis 265
wilsonii 265
Sickle-bill 74
Siskin, Pine 170
Sitta canadensis 2,34
carolinensis 253
pusilla 254
varia 254
Siurus aurocapillus 233
motacilla 235
naevius 233
Skunkhead 43
Skylark, Missouri 243
Snakebird 27
Snipe, American 65
Grass 67
Gray 66
Jack 65, 67
Red-bellied 66
Red-brested 66
Robin 67
Rock 67
Stone 71
White 64
Wilson's 65
Winter 67
Snowbird 172, 187
Snowflake 172
Somateria spectabilis 42
Sora59
South-southerly 41
Sparrow, Bachman's 189
Baird's 176
Chipping 184
Clay-colored 185
Field 186
Western 187
Fox 192
Grasshopper 177
Western 178
Ground 175
Harris's 180
Henslow's 178
Hooded 180
House, English 172
Sparrow, Lark 180
Leconte's 179
Lincoln's 191
Nelson's 179
Oakwood 189
Savanna 175
Western 176
Song 190
Swamp 191
Tree, Canada 184
European 172
Vesper 175
White-crowned 182
White- throated 183
Spatula clypeata 35
Speckle-belly 45
Sphyrapicus varius 122
Spinus pinus 170
tristis 169
Spiza americana 198
amoena 197
ciris 197
cyanea 196
Spizella agrestis 186
arenacea 187
domestica 184
montana 184
monticola 184
pallida 185
pusilla 186
arenacea 187
socialis 184
Spoonbill 35
Sprig 36
Sprigtail 36
Squatarola helvetica 76
squatarola 76
Squawk 55
Stake Driver 51
Steganopus tricolor 63
wilsoni 63
Stelgidopterix serripennis 204
Stercorarius parasiticus 24
Sterna antillarum 27
argentea 27
caspia 26
fissipes 27
fiuviatilis 26
forsteri 26
frenata 27
284
Trans. Acad. Sd. of St. Louis.
Sterna havellii 26
hirundo 26
minuta 27
nigra 27
superciliaris 27
tschegrava 26
wilsonii 26
StUt 64
Black-necked 64
Stint 69
Strepsilas interpres 78
Strix acadica 108
accipitrinus 106
americana 105
asio 109
brachyotus 106
cinerea 107
flammea 105
americana 105
pratincola 105
funerea 113
hudsonica 113
naevia 109
nebulosa 107
nyctea 112
otus 105
passerina 108
pratincola 105
tengmalmi 108
virginiana 110
Struthus hyemalis 187
Sturnella ludoviciana 156, 157
magna 156
argatula 160
neglecta 157
neglecta 157
Sturnus ludovicianus 156
predatorius 155
Surnia hudsonica 113
naevia 109
nyctea 112
ulula caparoch 113
hudsonica 113
Swallow, Bank 203
Barn 202
Chimney 132
Cliff 201
Eave 201
Rough-winged 204
Tree 203
Swallow, White-bellied 203
Wood 203
Swan, American 48
Trumpeter 48
Whistling 48
Swift, Chimney 132
Sylvania bonapartei 241
canadensis 241
formosa 235
mitrata 240
pusilla 240
pileolata 241
Sylvia aestiva 222
agilis 236
americana 220
autumnalis 227
azurea 225
bachmani 215
blackburniae 228
caerulescens 222
calendula 258
canadensis 222
castanea 227
celata 218
cerulea 225
childrenii 222
chrysoptera 217
citrinella 222
coronata 223
discolor 232
domestica 248
formosa 235
icterocephala 226
leucoptera 222
maculosa 224
magnolia 224
maritima 221
minuta 232
mitrata 240
palmarum 232
pardalina 241
parus 228
pensilis 229
pensylvanica 226
peregrina 219
Philadelphia 237
pinus 231
protonotarius 213
pusilla 222
rara 225
Index.
285
Sylvia rathbonia 222
regulus 257
rubricapilla 218
ruficapiUa 218
sialis 265
solitaria 216
striata 227
swainsonii 214
tigrina 221
trichas 238
trochilus 222
troglodytes 250
varia 212
vermivora 214
vigorsii 231
virens 230
wilsonii 240
Sylvicola aestiva 222
agilis 236
americana 220
auricollis 213
blackburniae 228
caerulea 225
canadensis 222
castanea 227
coerulea 225
coronata 223
discolor 232
formosa 235
icterocephala 226
kirtlandi 231
maculosa 224
maritima 221
missouriensis 219
palmanim 232
parus 228
pensilis 229
petechia 232
pinus 231
striata 227
varia 212
virens 230
Symphemia semipalmata 72
inornata 72
Syrnium cinereum 107
lapponicum v. cinereum 107
nebulosum 107
varium 107
Tachycineta bicolor 203
Tanager, Scarlet 199
Summer 200
Tanagra aestiva 200
cyanea 196
rubra 199
Tantalus albus 49
falcinellus 50
guarauna 50
loculator 51
Tattler, Bartram's 73
Semipalmated 72
Wood 72
Teacher 233
Teal, Blue-winged 34
Cinnamon 35
Green-winged 34
Red-breasted 35
Teeter-tail 74
Tell-tale 71
Lesser 72
Telmatodytes palustris 251
iliacus 251
Tern, Black 27
Caspian 26
Common 26
Forster's 26
Havell's 26
Least 27
Short-tailed 27
Wilson's 26
Tetrao cupido 81
umbellus 79
virginianus 78
Thistle-bird 169
Thrasher, Brown 246
Thrush, Alice's 261
Bicknell's 262
Brown 246
Golden-crowned 233
Gray-cheeked 261
Hermit 263
Olive-backed 262
Swainson's 262
Tawny 260
Water 233
Willow 260
Wilson's 260
Wood 259
Thryomanes bewickii 248
Thryothorus bewickii 248
286
Trans, Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Thryothorus ludovicianus 247
Thunder Pump 51
Tinnunculus sparverius 103
Tip-up 72, 74
Tit, Crested 255
Tufted 255
Titlark 243
Titmouse, Tufted 255
Tetanus bartramius 73
chloropygius 72
flavipes 72
macularius 74
melanoleucus 71
semipalmatus 72
solitarius 72
vociferus 71
Towhee 193
Toxostoma rufum 246
Trichas agilis 236
formosa 235
marylandica 238
personatus 238
philadelphica^237
Tringa alpina pacifica*69
arenaria 70
auduboni 66
bairdii 68
bartramia 73
bonapartei 68
canutus 67
cinclus 69
cinerea 67
douglasii 66
fulicaria 62
fuscicollis 68
hiaticula 77
himantopus 66
hyperborea 62
interpres 78
islandica 67
lobata 62
longicauda 73
macularia 74
maculata 67
maritima 67
I minutilla 69
pectoralis 67
pusilla 69
rufa 67
rufescens 73
Tringa semipalmata 69
shinzii 68
solitaria 72
squatarola 76
subruficollis 73
wilsonii 69
Tringoides macularius 74
Trochilus colubris 134
Troglodytes aedon 248
aztecus 248
americanus 248
bewickii 248
brevirostris 251
domesticus 248'
europeus 250
fulvus 248
hiemalis 250
ludovicianus 247
palustris 251
parvulus hyemalis 250
Tryngites rufescens 73
subruficollis 73
Turdus aliciae 261
bicknelli 262
aonalaschkae pallasii 263
aquaticus 233
aurocapillus 233
carolinus 162
fuscescens 260
salicicolus 260
lividus 245
ludovicianus 235
melodus 259
migratorius 264
minor 263
mustelinus 259
noveboracensis 233
pallasii 263
polyglottus 244
rufus 246
solitarius 263
swainsonii 262
aliciae 261
ustulatus aliciae 261
swainsonii 262
wilsonii 260
Turkey, Colorado 51
Wild 83
Turnstone, Ruddy 78
Tympanuchus americanus 81
Index.
287
Tympanuchus pallidicinctus 82
Tyrannula flaviventris 140
minima 142
nunciola 137
virens 139
Tyrannus acadicus 140
borealis 138
carolinensis 135
crinitus 137
forficatus 135
fuscus 137
trailli 141
tyrannus 135
verticalis 136
Ulula acadica 108
brachyotus 106
flammea 105
nebulosa 107
otus 105
virginiana 110
Urinator arcticus 23
immer 22
lumme 23
Veery260
Vermivora celata 218
chrysoptera 217
pennsylvanica 214
peregrina 219
protonotarius 213
rubricapilla 218
solitaria 216
Vireo bellii 211
Bell's 211
Blue-headed 210
Brotherlylove 208
flavifrons 210
gilvus209
noveboracensis 211
olivaceus 208
Philadelphia 208
philadelphicus 208
Red-eyed 208
solitarirus 210
Solitary 210
sphagnosa 222
Warbling 209
White-eyed 211
Yellow-throated 210
Vireosylva gilva 209
olivacea 208
Philadelphia 208
Vireosylvia gilva 209
olivacea 208
philadelphica 208
Vultur atratus 87
aura 86
iota 87
Vulture, Black 87
Red-headed 86
Turkey 86
Walloon 22
Warbler, Bachman's 215
Bay-breasted 227
Black and White 212
Black and Yellow 224
Blackburnian 228
Black-capped 240
Black-poll 227
Black-throated Blue 222
Green 230
Blue 225
Blue-eyed 222
Blue-winged 216
Brewster's 216
Canada 241
Fly-catching 241
Cape May 221
Cerulean 225
Chestnut-sided 226
Connecticut 236
Creeping, Black and White 212
Golden-winged 217
Hooded 240
Kentucky 235
Kirtland's 231
Magnolia 224
Mourning 237
Myrtle 223
Nashville 218
Orange-crowned 218
Palm 232
Parula 220
Northern 220
Western 220
Pileolated 241
Pine 231
Pine-creeping 231
288
Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis.
Warbler, Prairie 232
Prothonotary 213
Swainson's 214
Swamp, Golden 213
Worm-eating 214
Sycamore 229
Tennessee 219
Wilson's 240
Worm-eating 214
Yellow 222
Blue-winged 216
Yellow-crowned 226
Yellow-rumped 223
Warrior, Black 96
Waterhen 61
Water Thrush 233
Grinnell's 233
Large-billed 235
Louisiana 235
Small-billed 233
Water Turkey 27, 51
Water-witch 22
Wax-wing, Bohemian 205
Cedar 205
Whip-poor-will 128
NuttalTs 129
Whistler 39
Whistle-whig 39
White-back 37
White-belly 203
Widgeon 33
American 33
Willet 72
Western 72
Wilsonia canadensis 241
mitrata 240
pusilla 240
pileolata 241
Woodcock, American 64
Black 123
Woodpecker, Downy 120
Golden-winged 126
Hairy 119
Southern 120
Ivory-billed 119
Pigeon 126
Woodpecker, Pileated, Northern 123
Southern 123
Red-bellied 126
Red-cockated 121
Red-headed 124
White-billed 119
Yellow-bellied 122
Yellow-shafted 126
Yellow-winged 126
Wood Pewee 139
Wren, Bewick's 248
Carolina 247
House 248
Long-tailed 248
Western 248
Marsh, Prairie 251
Short-billed 251
Winter 250
Xanthocephalus icterocephalus 154
xanthocephalus 154
Xema sabinii 25
Yellow-back, Blue 220
Yellowbird 222
Yellow-hammer 126
Yellow-legs 72
Greater 71
Yellow-rump 223
Yellowshanks, Greater 71
Lesser 72
Yellow-throat, Maryland 238
Northern 238
Yphantes baltimore 161
Zamelodia ludoviciana 195
Zenaidura carolinensis 85
macroura 85
Zonotrichia albicollis 183
graminea 175
iliaca 192
leucophrys 182
lincolni 191
palustris 191
pensylvanica 183
querula 180
Issued November 16, 1907.
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW
RENEWED BOOKS ARE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE
RECALL
LIBRARY, UNIVERSIT>
I
N 458827
Widmann, 0.
A preliminary catalog
of the birds of Missouri
QL68U
*5
W5
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
DAVIS
