piranga (a South American name for a bird) rubra (red)
Friday, May 9, 1980 — 7:15 am
Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley
Soon after we saw the Indigo Bunting, my wife and I spotted this beautiful Summer Tanager foraging in a treetop in the mixed oak woods along the road on the hill. It flew across the road right above me and landed in a treetop on the other side.
passerina (sparrowlike) cyanea (dark blue)
Friday, May 9, 1980 — 7:10 am
Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley
My wife and I walked along the road up the hill. Near the top, we saw the Indigo Bunting foraging in some bushes in the woods next to the road. We watched it for a minute, then walked on. On the way back down, we saw it singing from the top of a small evergreen close to where we had earlier seen it.
meleagris (guinea-fowl) gallopavo (from gallus, a cock, and pavo, a chickenlike peafowl)
Wednesday, May 7, 1980 — 6:30 pm
Southeastern Missouri — along Amtrak tracks to Little Rock approximately 50 miles south of St. Louis
We were on an Amtrak train heading from St. Louis to Little Rock. I saw a Wild Turkey standing in a field about twenty yards from the tracks. When the train went by, it flew up over a fence and landed at the edge of an open oak woods. It was slimmer than your barnyard-variety turkey, and when it flew, I saw a rusty edge on its fanned tail.
parula (little titmouse) americana (of America)
Tuesday, May 6, 1980 — 2:15 pm
Pontiac, Illinois — Vermilion River
A friend and I wandered along to the Vermilion River. We sat on the bank to pass the time. I spotted the Parula foraging in the trees near the bridge that carries the Amtrak tracks across the river. It was with a flock of Myrtle Warblers. I was able to approach within three feet.
buteo (hawk) platypterus (from platys, broad, and pteron, wing)
Thursday, May 1, 1980 — 4:45 pm
Deerfield, Illinois
I was standing on a dirt hill by the baseball diamond looking at my lifer Lark Sparrow when I saw this Broad-winged Hawk. It was flying over, emerging from over the nearby trees heading northwest. It continued on over the field in a direct, flapping flight, only coasting occasionally for short distances. I watched the hawk until it disappeared. When I looked back to where the Lark Sparrow had been, it was also gone.
