icterus (jaundice) spurius (false)
Monday, May 12, 1980 — 7:10 am
Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley
This pair of Orchard Orioles was flying perch-to-perch in the trees and brush along a small pond. At one point, the male mounted the female for a few moments. I spotted them again later in the day down by the creek that crosses the road.
caprimulgus (from caper, goat, and mulgeo, to milk) carolinensis (of Carolina)
Monday, May 12, 1980 — 6:15 am
Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley
I had been hearing Chuck-will’s-widows singing in the woods on the hillside next to the house every night since we arrived. I determined to try to find one before I left. I got up just as it was getting light this morning and headed into the woods. I heard one singing, and almost immediately flushed it from the ground about twenty feet in front of me. It landed in a tree about forty feet away. It sat parallel on a branch with one wing hanging down on each side. Its enormous mouth was held wide open. As I got closer, it flitted off noiselessly and disappeared. I was surprised at how large it was and how big the mouth was. It looked like its entire head was hinged at the back.
archilochus (from archi-, first in importance, and lochos, an ambush) colubris (South American Indian name for these birds)
Saturday, May 10, 1980 — 12:15 pm
Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas
Petit Jean State Park covers the top of a plateau that rises abruptly out of the Arkansas River valley. The mountain is covered with oak/pine woods and is cut by numerous canyons and hollows. My wife and I were walking through the trees that line the river on top of the mountain. We spotted this male Ruby-throated Hummingbird perched on a branch of a small tree not far from the water.
Later, we saw a male hovering in front of some tubular red flowers. As we approached, it flew past us and landed on a branch about 20 feet away. Its throat appeared black except in direct sunlight.
vermivora (from vermis, worm, and vorare, to devour) peregrina (wandering alien)
Saturday, May 10, 1980 — 7:45 am
Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley
I left the road and headed gingerly into the woods halfway up the hillside, wary about Copperheads. I heard a Tennessee Warbler singing repeatedly. It was quite a while before I spotted it on a perch high up in the oak woods.
dendroica (from dendron, tree, and oikein, to dwell) castanea (chestnut)
Saturday, May 10, 1980 — 7:25 am
Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley
It wasn’t a wave — more like a ripple. But there were warblers scattered throughout the woods on the hillside. I spotted a Bay-breasted Warbler foraging in the woods along the road.
