**** P. Carolinus, the red bellied woodpecker. **** P. pubescens, the least spotted woodpecker. **** P. villosus, the hariy, speckled and crested woodpecker. **** P. varius, yellow bellied woodpecker. **** Sitta Europea, grey black capped nuthatch. ** S. varia, ventre rubro, the black capped, red bellied nuthatch. ** Certhia rufa, little brown variegated creeper. * C. pinus, the pine creeper. * C. picta, blue and white striped or pied creeper. * Alcedo alcyon, the great crested king-fisher. * Torchilus colubris, the humming bird. * Lanius griscus, the little grey butcher-bird of Pennsylvania. * L. garrulus, the little black capped butcher-bird of Florida. * L. tyrannus, the king bird. * Muscitapa nunciola, the pewit, or black cap flycatcher. * M. cristata, the great crested yellow bellied flycatcher. * M. rapax, the lesser pewit, or brown and greenish flycatcher. * M. subviridis, the little olive cold, flycatcher. Page 290 [sic] * Muscicapa cantatrix, the little domestic flycatcher or green wren. * M. sylvicola, the little red eye'd flycatcher. * Columba Caroliniensis, the turtle dove. ***** C. passerina, the ground dove. ** C. migratoria, the pigeon of passage or wild pigeon. * Alauda magna, the great meadow lark. ** A. campestris, gutture flavo, the skylark. ** A. migratoria, corpore toto ferrugineo, the little brown lark. ***** Turdus migratorius, the fieldfare, or robin redbreast. * T. rufus, the great, or fox coloured thrush. * T. polyglottos, the mocking bird. * T. melodes, the wood thrush. * T. minimus, vertice aurio, the least golden crown thrush. * Orioulus Baltimore, Baltimore bird or hang nest. * O. spurius, the goldfinch or icterus minor. * Merula flammula, sand-hill redbird of Carolina. * M. Marilandica, the summer red bird. * Garrulus australis, the yellow breasted chat. * Lucar lividus, apice nigra, the cat bird, or chicken bird. ***** Ampelis garrulus, crown bird or cedar bird. GRANIVOROUS TRIBES. ***** Meleagris americanus, the wild turkey. ***** Tetrao lagopus, the mountain cock, or grous. ***** T. tympanus, the pheasant of Pennsylvania. ***** T. minor, s. coturnix, the quail or partridge. ***** Loxia cardinalis, the red bird, or Virginia nightingale. ** L. rostra forficato, the cross beak. * L. cerulea, the blue cross beak. Page 291 * Emberiza oryzivora, (1) the rice bird.* * (1 2) Are generally supposed to be male and female of the same species (2) or the pied rice bird the male, and (1) or the yellow, the female. *** E. livida, the blue or slate coloured rice bird. * E. varia, (2) the pied rice bird. *** Linaria ciris, the painted finch, or nonpareil. * L. cyanea, the blue linnet. ***** Carduelus Americanus, the goldfinch. ** C. pinus, the lesser goldfinch. ** C. pusilus, the least finch. * Fringilla erythrophthalma, the towhe bird. ** F. purpurea, the purple finch. ** F. canabina, the hemp bird. ** F. rusa, the red, or fox-coloured ground or hedge sparrow. ** F. fusca, the large brown white throat sparrow * Passer domesticus, the little house sparrow or chipping bird. * P. palustris, the reed sparrow. * P. agrestis, the little field sparrow. ** P. nivalis, the snow bird. * Calandra pratensis, the May bird. * Sturuus predatorius, the red winged sterling, or corn thief. * S. stercorarius, the cowpen bird. * Motacilla sialis, the blue bird. (Rebicula Americana, Cat.) * M. fluviatilis, the water wagtail. * M. domestica (regulus rufus) the house wren. ***** * M. palustris, (reg. minor) the marsh wren. * M. Caroliniana, (reg. magnus) the great wren of Carolina, the body of a dark brown, the throat and breast of a pale clay colour. * Regulus griceus, the little bluish grey wren. ** R. cristatus, the golden crown wren. Page 292 ** R. cristatus alter vertice rubini coloris, the ruby crown wren. (G. Edwards.) * R. peregrinus, gutture flavo, the olive coloured yellow throated wren. * Ruticilla Americana, the redstart. * Luscinia, s. philomela Americana, the yellow hooded titmouse. * Parus cristatus, bluish grey crested titmouse. ***** P. Europeus, the black cap titmouse. * P. luteus, the summer yellow bird. * P. cedrus, uropygio slavo, the yellow rump. * P. varius, various coloured little finch creeper. * P. peregrinus, little chocolate breast titmouse. * P. aureus vertice rubro, the yellow red pole. * P. aurio vertice, the golden crown flycatcher. * P. viridis gutture nigro, the green black throated flycatcher. * P. alis aureis, the golden winged flycatcher. * P. aureus alis ceruleis. the blue winged yellow bird. * P. griccus gutture luteo, the yellow throated creeper. * Hirundo pelasgia, cauda aculeata, the house swallow. * H. purpurea, the great purple martin. * H. riparia vertice purpurea, the bank martin. * H. cerdo, the chimney swallow. *** Caprimulgus lucifugus, the great bat, or chuck wills widow. * C. Americanus, night hawk, or whip poor will. AMPHIBIOUS, or AQUATIC BIRDS, Or such as obtain their food, and and reside in, and near the water. GRUS. The Crane. **** Grus clamator, vertice papilloso, corpore niveo Page 293 remigibus nigris, the great whooping crane. *** G. Pratensis, corpore cinereo, vertice papilloso, the great savanna crane. ARDEA. The Heron. ***** Ardea Herodias, the great bluish grey crested heron. * A. immaculata, the great white river heron. * A. alba minor, the little white heron. *** A. purpurea cristata, the little crested purple or blue heron. * A. varra cristata, the grey white crested heron. *** A. maculata cristata, the speckled crested heron, or crabcatcher. * A. mugitans, the marsh bitern, or Indian hen. * A. clamator, corpore subceruleo, the quaw bird, or frogcatcher. *** A. subfusca stillata, the little brownish spotted bitern. *** A. violacca, the crested blue bitern, (called poor Jobe.) * A. viriscens, the green bitern or poke. * A. viriscens minor, the lesser green bitern. * A. parva, the least brown and striped bitern. * Platalea ajaja, the spoonbill, seen as far North as Alatamaha river in Georgia. TANTALUS. The Wood Pelicane. *** Tantalus loculator, the wood pelicane. *** T. alber, the white Spanish curlew. *** T. fuscus, the dusky and white Spanish curlew. **** T. Pictus, (Epnouskyka Indian) the crying bird, beautifully speckled. **** T. Ichthyophagus, the gannet, perhaps little different from the Ibis. **** Numenius, alba varia, the white godwit. ***** N. pectore ruso, the great red breasted godwit Page 492 [sic] ***** N. Americana, the greater godwit. ***** N. fluvialis, the red shank or pool snipe. ***** N. magnus rufus, the great sea coast curlew. * N. minor campestris, the lesser field curlew. ***** N. cinereus, the sea side lesser curlew. * Scolopax Americana rufa, great red woodcock. * S. minor arvensis, the meadow snipe. * Tringa rufa, the red cootfooted tring. T. cinerea, gutture albo, the white throated cootfooted tringa. * T. vertice nigro, black cap cootfooted tringa. ***** T. maculata, the sspotted tringa. ***** T. griceus, the little pond snipe. ***** T. fusca, the little brown or ash coloured pool snipe. ***** T. parva, the little trings of the sea shore, called sand birds. * Morinella Americana, the turnstone or dotrill. ** Cygnus ferus, the wild swan. ** Anser Canadensis, the Canadian goose. ** A. aliis ceruliis, the blue winged goose. ** A. fuscus maculatus, the laughing goose. ** A. branta, corpore albo, remigibus nigris, the white brant goose. ** A. branta grisca maculata, the great particoloured brant, or grey goose. ** Anas fera torquata major, caput et collum viridi splendentis, dorsum grisco fuscum, pectore rufescente speculum violacrum, the great wild duck, called duck and mallard. ** A. nigra maxima, the great black duck. ** A. bucephala, the bull-neck and buffaloe head. ** A. subcerulea, the blue bill. ** A. leucocephala, the black white faced duck. ** A. caudacuta, the sprig tail duck. ** A. rustica, the little brown and white duck. Page 295 ** A. principalis, maculata, the various coloured duck, his neck and breast as tho' ornamented with chains of beads. ** A. minor picta, the little black and white duck called butterback. QUERQUIDULAE. Teal. * Anas sponsa, the summer duck. ** A. discors, the blue winged teal. ** A. migratoria, the least green winged teal. * A. fistulosa, whistling duck. ** Mergus major pectore rufo, great fishing duck ** M. cucullatus, the round crested duck. * Colymous migratorius, the eel crow. **** C. Floridanus, the great black cormorant of Florida, having a red beak. **** C. colubrinus, cauda elongata, the snake bird of Florida. ***** C. musicus, the great black and white pied diver or loon. ** Colymbus arcticus, the great speckled diver. ***** C. auritus et cornutus, the little cared brown dobekick. ***** C. minor fuscus, little crested brown dobekick. *** Phaeaton aethereus, the tropic bird. ***** Larus alber, the great white gull. ***** L. griceus, the great grey gull. ***** L. alba minor, the little white river gull. **** Onocratalus Americanus, the American sea pelicane **** Petrella pintada, the pintado bird. ***** Rynchops niger, the shearwater or razor bill. *** Pelicanus aquilus, the frigat or man of war bird. *** P. sula, the booby. *** Sterna stolida, the sea swallow, or noddy. Page 296 CHARADRUS. The Plover Kind. * Charadrus vociterus, the kildea or chattering plover. * C. maculatus, the great field spotted plover. * C. minor, the little sea side ring necked plover. * Hematopus ostrealegus, the will willet or oister catcher. **** Fulica Floridana, the great blue or slate coloured coot of Florida. * Rallus Virginianus, the sorce bird or little brown rail, also called widgeon in Pennsyl. *** R. aquaticus minor, the little dark blue water rail. * R. rufus Americanus, the greater brown rail. **** R. major subceruleus, the blue or slate coloured water rail of Florida. * Phoenicopterus ruber, the flamingo, seen about the point of Florida, rarely as far N. as St. Augustine. I AM convinced there are yet several kinds of land birds, and a great number of aquatic fowl that have not come under my particular notice, therefore shall leave them to the investigation of future travelling naturalists of greater ability and industry. THERE yet remain some observations on the passage, and breeding of birds, &c. which may be proper to notice in this place. I SHALL first mention the rice bird, (emberiza oryza vora.) It is the common received opinion that they are male and female of the same species, i. e. the black pied rice bird the male, and a yellowish clay coloured one the female: the last mentioned appearing only in the autumn, when the oryz Page 297 zizania are about ripening, yet in my opinion there are some strong circumstances which seem to operate against such a conjecture, though generally believed. IN the spring about the middle of May, the black pied rice bird (which is called the male) appear in Pennsylvania; at that time the great yellow ephemera, called May fly, and a species of locusta appear in incredible multitudes, the favourite delicious food of these birds, when they are sprightly, vociferous, and pleasingly tuneful. WHEN I was at St. Augustine, in E. Florida, in the beginning of April, the same species of grasshoppers were in multitudes on the fields and commons about the town, when great flights of these male rice birds suddenly arrived from the South, who by feeding on these insects became extremely fat and delicious, they continued here two or three weeks, until their food became scarce, when they disappeared, I suppose pursuing their journey North after the locusta and ephemera; there were a few of the yellow kind, or true rice bird, to be seen amongst them. Now these pied rice birds seem to observe the same order and time in their migrations Northerly, with the other spring birds of passage, and are undoubtedly on their way to their breeding place; but then there are no females with them, at least not one to ten thousand of the male colour, which cannot be supposed are a sufficient number to pair and breed by. Being in Charleston in the month of June, I observed at a gentleman's door, a cage full of rice birds, that is of the yellow or female colour, who were very merry and vociferous, having the same variable music with the pied or male Page 298 kind, which I thought extraordinary, and observing it to the gentleman, he assured me that they were all of the male kind, taken the preceding spring, but had changed their colour, and would be next spring of the colour of the pied, thus changing colour with the seasons of the year. If this is really the case, it appears they are both of the same species intermixt, spring and fall. In the spring they are gay, vociferous and tuneful birds. AMPELIS garrulus, crown bird or cedar bird. These birds feed on various sorts of succulent fruit and berries, associating in little flocks or flights, and are to be seen in all the regions from Canada to New Orleans on the Mississippi, and how much farther South and South-West I know not. They observe no fixed time of appearance in Pennsylvania, but are to be seen a few days every month of the year, so that it is difficult to determine at what season they breed, or where. The longest period of their appearance in Pennsylvania is in the spring and first of June, at the time the early cherries are ripe, when they are numerous; and in the autumn when the Cedar berries are ripe (Juniperus Americana;) they arrive in large flights, who, with the robins (turdus migratorius) and yellow rump (parus cedrus) soon strip those trees of their berries, after which they disappear again; but in November and December they appear in smaller flights, feeding on the fruit of the Pesimmon (Dyospyros Virginiana;) and some are seen till March, subsisting upon Smilax berries, Privet (Ligustrum ruelgare) and other permanent fruits; after which they disappear until May and June. I have been informed by some people in Pennsylvania, that they have found their nests at these seasons in Pennsylvania. Page 299 LINARIA ciris (emberiza ciris Linn.) or painted finch, or nonpareil of Catesby are not seen North of Cape Fear in North Carolina, and seldom ten miles from the sea coast, or perhaps twenty or thirty miles, near the banks of great rivers, in fragrant groves of the Orange (Citrus aurantium) Zanthoxilon, Laurus Borbonia, Cassine, Sideroxilon, &c. LINARIA cianea (tanagra Linn.) the blue linet, is supposed by some to be the nonpareil, in an early stage of life, not being yet arrived to his brilliancy and variety of colours; but this is certainly a mistake, for the blue linet is longer and of a slenderer configuration, and their notes more variable, vehement and sonorous; and the inhabit the continent and sea coast islands from Mexico to Nova-Scotia, from the sea coast West beyond the Apalachean and Cherokee mountains. The songs of the nonpareil are remarkably low, soft and warbling, exceedingly tender and soothing. CATESBY in his history of Carolina, speaking of the cat-bird (muscicapa vertice nigro) says, "They have but one note, which resembles the mewing of a cat;" a mistake very injurious to the same of that bird. He, in reality, being one of our most eminent songsters, little inferior to the philomela or mock-bird; and in some remarkable instances, perhaps, exceeds them both, in particular as a buffoon or mimick; he endeavours to imitate every bird and animal, and in many attempts does not ill succeed, even in rehearsing the songs, which he attentively listens to, from the shepherdess and rural swain, and will endeavour and succeed to admiration, in repeating the melodious and variable airs from instrumental music, and this in his wild state of nature. They being a kind of domestic bird during Page 300 their spring and summer residence in Pennsylvania, building their nests in gardens and sheltering themselves in groves near the houses; they cause great trouble and vexation to hens that have broods of chickens, by imitating their distressing cries, in which they seem to enjoy much delight, and cause some amusement to persons who are diverted at such incidents. They are the first bird heard singing in the morning, even before break of day. THEY seem to be a tribe of birds seperated by nature from the motacilla, with which the zoologists have classed them, and appear allied to a tribe peculiar to America, to which Edwards has given the name of manakin: in their nature they seem to take place between the thrush (turdus) and motacilla, their beak being longer, stronger and straiter than the motacilla, and formed for eating fruit, which is their chief food, yet they will feed on reptile insects, but never attempt to take their prey on the wing. CATESBY is chargeable with the like mistake with respect to the little thrush (t. minor) and the fox coloured thrush (t. rufes) both eminent singers, and the latter little inferior to the mock-bird. The former for his shrill, sonorous and elevated strains in the high, shady forests; and the latter for variety, softness and constant responses in the hegdes and groves near houses. BUT yet Catesby has some right of claim to our excuse and justification, for his detraction of the fame due to these eminent musicians of the groves and forests, when we consider that he resided and made his collections and observations, in the regions which are the winter retreats and residence of Page 301 these birds, where they rarely sing, as it is observable and most true, that it is only at the time of incubation, that birds sing in their wild state of nature. The cat-bird, great and less thrush and field fare seldom or never build in Carolina beneath the mountains, except the great or fox coloured thrush in a few instances, but all these breed in Pennsylvania. THE parakeet (psitlicus Carolinienses) never reach so far North as Pennsylvania, which to me is unaccountable, considering they are a bird of such singular rapid flight, they could easily perform the journey in ten or twelve hours from North Carolina, where they are very numerous, and we abound with all the fruits which they delight in. I WAS assured in Carolina, that these birds, for a month or two in the coldest winter weather, house themselves in hollow Cypress trees, clinging fast to each other like bees in a hive, where they continue in a torpid state until the warmth of the returning spring reanimates them, when they issue forth from their late dark, cold winter cloisters. But I lived several years in North Carolina and never was witness to an instance of it, yet I do not at all doubt but there have been instances of belated flocks thus surprised by sudden severe cold, and forced into such shelter, and the extraordinary severity and perseverance of the season might have benumbed them into a torpid, sleepy state; but that they all willingly should yield to so disagreeable and hazardous a situation, does not seem reasonable or natural, when we consider that they are a bird of the swiftest flight and impatient of severe cold. They are easily tamed, when they become docile and familiar, but never learn to imitate the human language. Page 302 BOTH species of the Baltimore bird (oriolus, Linn. icterus, Cat.) are spring birds of passage, and breed in Pennsylvania; they have loud and musical notes. THE yellow breasted chat (oenanthe, Cat. motacilla trochilus, Linn.) is in many instances a very singular bird; the variableness and mimickry of his notes or speech, imitating various creatures; and a surprising faculty of uttering a coarse, hollow sounding noise in their throats or crops, which at times seems to be at a great distance, though uttered by a bird very near, and vice versa. They arrive in Pennsylvania from the South late in the month of May, breed and return again early in autumn. IT is a matter of enquiry, who should have induced the zoologists to class this bird with the motacilla, when they discover no one characteristic to induce such an alliance. This bird having a remarkable thick, strong bill, more like the frugivorous tribes; and in my opinion they are guilty of the like oversight in classing the summer red-bird with the muscicapa, this bird having a thick, strong bill, approaching nearer the sterling (sturnus.) THESE historical observations being noted, we will will again resume the subject of our journal. Page 303