Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

The greatest problem with most of our bird clubs seems to be: What can we do to make our meetings interesting, so that all the members, especially the younger ones, will be anxious to come?

In planning for parties, picnics, or other entertainments of that sort, we usually expect to have everyone present take a part in whatever games or sports there are, and, no matter how often we have them, there is never any question but that all who can do so will be there. I believe that bird-club meetings can be made equally attractive if we go about them in the same way, rather than to plan some sort of entertainment where only a few are to have a part, as is usually the case.

There is almost no limit to the number of interesting and instructive things we can do, and it will be possible for even the more advanced bird students to learn something new at nearly every meeting.

Every member should have a notebook for keeping a record of the birds seen and identified, with any new or interesting things observed, for comparison with others at each meeting; and each member should have a standing in the club according to the number of birds identified and the amount of work done for the birds. This will be an inducement for each member to do something or learn something new before the next meeting, and to be present at all the meetings, to learn what others have done. It will also be found helpful in learning about birds and in remembering what is seen; for, unless we have some special reason for noting carefully all that may be seen on our walks, even the most interested observers will miss many things, and will forget much of what they did see.

When about to start on a walk of about three miles, one bright pleasant morning last June, I decided to keep a list of all the birds seen and heard from the time I started until I returned. The walk was finished between twelve and one o'clock, when most of the birds were quiet and few were seen; yet I saw 105 birds on the trip, and had a good idea of the number and variety of birds one might see at this time of the year. If I had kept no record of the number, I could not have told how many I was likely to see, or which species would be seen oftenest. All such things will prove interesting at the meetings, and will add largely to our knowledge of birds in the course of a year.

In winter, we should note the feeding habits of the different birds and the number and kinds of winter visitors seen; it is also a good time to make a study of nests, where they are placed, and the material used in each.

In summer, there will be something for every day if we have our eyes open; nesting habits, bird-baths, and occasionally some rare migrant to tell about. It would be impossible to give a complete list of the interesting things to be seen at this time.

Every club should own a few good reference books, and have them at their meetings, to settle any questions that may arise. The 'Color Key to North American Birds,' by Chapman, will be found useful for identification, 'Wild Bird Guests,' by Baynes, for matters pertaining to bird clubs and bird protection, also 'Useful Birds and their Protection,' by Forbush.

There are many others that would prove beneficial, but these three are almost indispensable, if we would learn the ways of our wild bird friends and what we can do to help them.

It is understood that every family of bird lovers will be subscribers to BIRD-LORE, for few would be willing to miss the interesting bits of information to be found in every number of this bird magazine.

Selections from BIRD-LORE, the Audubon Leaflets, books on Nature by standard authors, and occasionally articles from some of the popular magazines, might be read at each meeting. This will prove a very interesting part of the program, and there will always be material enough to fill out any schedule.

Good plates of birds like those obtained with the Audubon Leaflets and the set published with the 'Birds of New York' will help in identifications, and, as the cost is very small, every club should have at least one set of each.

If we can get our clubs once started along these lines, it seems possible that it might become more of a problem to find time for everything than to find something to do.

One year's course in a bird club of this kind should give every member a fairly good knowledge of what we can do for the birds, and what they are doing for us.--W. M. BUSWELL, _Superintendent Meriden, (N. H.) Bird Club_.

Ornithological Possibilities of a Bit of Swamp-Land

For several years, I have had a bit of swamp-land under my eye, especially during the cooler months. It is not exactly a beauty-spot, being bordered by ragged backyards, city dumps, a small tannery, and a dismantled factory, formerly used by a company engaged in cleaning hair for plasterers' use.

A part of the surface is covered by cat-tails, the rest by a mixed growth of water-loving shrubs, as sweet-gale, leather-leaf, andromeda, and other shrubs which like to dabble their roots in ooze. A brook, connecting two large ponds, runs through the swamp, giving current and temperature enough to make certain a large amount of open water, even in the coldest weather.

A little colony of Wilson's Snipe have made this swamp their winter home for at least fifteen years, and probably much longer. Song, and generally Swamp Sparrows can be found here all winter. This winter, we have a Green-winged Teal, finding feed enough to induce her to remain; and over beside the cat-tails, about some fallen willows, a Winter Wren seems much at home.

During recent years, a sort of beach, made by dumping gravel to cover refuse from the hair factory, has been a favored feeding place for various Sandpipers, as well as the Snipe. The last of the Sandpipers leave in November, while the Snipe remain.

Bitterns and Black-crowned Night Herons drop in during the fall and summer, and our increasing Ring-neck Pheasant, the gunner's pet, loves to skulk around the edges.

Tree Sparrows, Goldfinches, and their kin attract an occasional Butcherbird and the smaller Hawks, Pigeon, Sparrow, and Sharp-shin in season.

Early spring brings a host of Blackbirds, Redwings, Bronzed Grackles, and Rusties; while a Cowbird hung about with some English Sparrows, until Thanksgiving time, this year.

We are always on the lookout for something new to turn up in the swamp, and are seldom disappointed. For so small a place, not over five acres, it surely is a bird haven; especially does it seem so when, but a few rods away on the nearby ponds, the ice-men are harvesting twelve-inch ice. Naturally, local bird-lovers are praying that the hand of "improvement" will be stayed a long time in wiping out this neglected little nook.--ARTHUR P. STUBBS, _Lynn, Mass._

My Neighbor's Sparrow Trap

My neighbor one block to the north, Professor E. R. Ristine, who gives me leave to use his name in the present connection, finally lost his patience with English Sparrows (_Passer domesticus_), on or about May 15, 1915. The fact that an elderly person sharing the home with his family could not sleep at reasonable hours on account of Sparrow chatter was an element in the decision to which he soon came. For into his hands fell an advertisement of a Sparrow trap, just such a two-funnel wire affair as was described and recommended as early as 1912 by the Department of Agriculture in Farmers' Bulletin 493. On May 20, 1915, the trap arrived, and was duly installed and baited. It was at first placed on the ground in the small chicken-yard at the rear of the house, and the outer funnel was baited with a small amount of cracked grain, the finer "chick-feed" proving to be most efficacious. The location of the trap was changed at different times during the spring, summer, and fall, and the total results on the Sparrow population were satisfactory beyond expectations.

By June 11, only twenty-two days after the trap was set out, 78 Sparrows had passed the fatal inner funnel of that simple contrivance, and at this, fortunately for the accurate details of the present account, my neighbor's interest was aroused to know precisely what the powers of his most recent purchase might really be. With a pencil he marked thereafter on the siding of his hen-house the mortuary record: 6/13--84, 6/17--100, 7/9--202, and so forth. That is to say, a total of 202 birds had been gathered in by July 9, fifty days after the trap was put into action, or an average of a little more than four per day. This rate of destruction was much increased during the following month, the 300 mark being passed on July 27, and the 400 mark on August 11. The rate of capture then declined, and it was not until September 18 that the figure 508 was registered. The trap remained set until December 5, at which time the deadly record stood at 597. A few dozens more had entered the trap but escaped through the insufficient latching of the "clean-out" door. After December 5 heavy snows fell, followed by sleet storms, and my neighbor temporarily placed his trap out of service on a back porch.

A few facts in connection with the above record will prove of interest. The heaviest catches were made when the currants became very ripe and the trap was placed under the laden bushes. Fewest Sparrows were caught when the sweet corn in the garden was in the milk stage, the birds preferring the contents of the juicy kernels to the dry grain with which the trap was baited. The largest catch on any one day was 20 birds, this number being reached on two different dates, June 27 and August 4. The Sparrows seemed to arrive in flocks of greater or less size, and the record would mount rapidly until these were gathered in. Then, for several days possibly, no birds at all would be trapped. And the fine feature of the entire season's experience was that this trap caught English Sparrows and no other bird whatsoever. The only exception to English Sparrows was a single hoary old house rat that had evidently followed a Sparrow in; at any rate, the latter was found partially devoured.

Relief from the Sparrow nuisance began to come to our neighborhood about the middle of August, after full 400 of the noisy chatterers had fallen victim to the innocent-looking wire cage. And by the time the Indian summer days of October came, the English Sparrow tribe in our part of town had dropped from the status of "abundant" to only "fairly common." Indeed, I have not seen more than six individuals together in our end of the little city at any time in the last three months.

Is it possible that my neighbor's experience was out of the ordinary? I do not see why it should be, but I have found a similar record only in the above-mentioned Farmers' Bulletin, where the capture of 300 Sparrows in six weeks in the Missouri Botanical Gardens, St. Louis, is noted. If it is at all typical of what may be accomplished, then one or two things seem clear. An easy method is at hand for holding in check the Sparrow nuisance and more attention should be given to Farmers' Bulletin 493 than seems thus far to have been accorded this worthy publication.--CHARLES R. KEYES, _Mt. Vernon, Iowa_.

A Tropical Migration Tragedy

[We are indebted to Prof. M. H. Saville for a copy of 'El Comercio' for October 18, 1915, a newspaper published at San Pedro Sula, Honduras, which contains the following account of a migration tragedy.--EDITOR.]

"At midnight, on October 10, 1915, there commenced to appear groups of birds flying in a southerly direction. At the time darkness set in, we began to hear the call of a great number of birds that were circling constantly over the city. This avian invasion increased considerably during the night. The main part of the army of invasion crossing the Gulf of Honduras arrived in the evening off the coast of Puerto Cortes. These birds do not travel by day, but follow the eastern shore, guided by certain groups that, toward night, exhausted, ceasing their flight, turn inland. The bright rays from the electric lights projected high in among the clouds, serving to indicate the position of San Pedro Sula and, attracted by its splendor, the bird emigrants, greatly fatigued by their vigorous exercise in the long flight against contrary winds in their travel across the Gulf of Mexico (approximately 700 miles), their short stay in Yucatan, and their flight across the Gulf of Honduras, the greater part of them fell one upon another in their revolutions about the lights, some dropping half-crazed against the roofs and fences, breaking wings and legs, some dying outright.

"At two o'clock in the morning, the greater part of the expedition directed toward this zone had arrived in the neighborhood of the city. It was at that time that the sound of their striking against the posts and the electric wires was a continual tattoo. It seemed almost as though the stones in the streets had been awakened, and were being hurled against the inhabitants. Numbers of birds striking against the zinc roofs gave off a sound like hurrying footsteps, the drumming on the zinc extending over the entire city. At one spot within a radius of two yards there fell dying six wounded birds. In the morning the streets were strewn with bodies; the greater part of them dead, others wounded."

A Shower of Birds

In the fall of 1915, a violent wind-storm passed through the southern states, just grazing the edge of Spartanburg, in upper South Carolina. Here the minister of the First Presbyterian Church was about to take shelter in his home, from the fury of the wind, when he saw what appeared to be a small, black cloud swoop down upon his roof and disappear. He hastened in, and found, to his and his family's dismay, that little black birds were fairly pouring down one of the chimneys.

The birds seemed to have been stunned by the force of the gale to which they had been exposed, and the floor was soon covered, several inches deep, with their inanimate bodies. They were picked up by the bucketful, and thrown out, but soon revived and flew away, none the worse, apparently, for their unusual experience. Two little fellows who were overlooked took refuge on a curtain pole, where they were discovered by a little girl, several hours later.

This is probably the only time on record when it literally rained birds. The birds were common Chimney Swifts.--R. L. FRIPP, _Spartanburg, S. C._

A Heron's Involuntary Bath

Some of the little comedies of bird life are amusing to the onlooker, although, like those happening to human beings, not always so pleasant to the individuals participating. A neighbor of mine where I live on the shores of an island in the Great South Bay, took up his dock for the winter season and left a stake in the water. It is beneath the surface except at low tide when it projects an inch or two above. At dusk on the evening of October 23, 1915, two Black-crowned Night Herons came winging along. The one in the lead, happening to spy the top of the nearly submerged stake, immediately dropped down and appropriated it for a temporary fishing-station. Its mate, probably trusting it had landed in very shallow water, dropped down also beside it. But it kept on going down until only its head and shoulders protruded. It was a surprised bird, and stood there a few minutes in its awkward predicament, looking around as if vainly trying to grasp the situation. Then, finally giving it up, it managed to spring out and fly off.--JOHN R. TOOKER, _Babylon, Long Island_.

Winter Notes from Carlisle, Ind.

We are having a very mild winter, with heavy rains. During last week it has been warm, and numerous Robins have been here. There is a twenty-acre alfalfa field adjoining town, and some eight acres of it was mown only once and the other crop left on the ground. This makes a regular haven for the Meadow Larks, and during the past week they have been having a regular carnival. You can hear dozens of them singing at a time. There must be hundreds of them in this field. Song Sparrows have also been singing.--J. H. GILLILAND, _Carlisle, Ind._

Notes from Nebraska

What is the most abundant bird in a given locality? This a question often conjectured upon by both ornithologists and casual observers. The terms "abundant," "common," "scarce," or "very scarce," form poor records of actual abundance, as suggested in recent issues of BIRD-LORE. So, to get data on actual abundance, I took weekly bird censuses during the months of May, June, July, and a part of August, 1915, making counts of both number of species and number of individuals.

Of eight such censuses, taken during June, July, and August, in northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska, Dickcissels proved to be the most abundant in six, if the exception is made of English Sparrows, which led in numbers in two censuses. This, I should say, would be the case over a large part of the middle West, of which the above-mentioned vicinities are typical.

Here are my figures on the Dickcissel:

*June 5. Sabetha, Kan., 99 individuals noted in 4-3/4 hours afield.

*June 12. Du Bois, Nebr., 64 individuals noted in 5 hours afield.

*June 19. Pawnee, Nebr., 35 individuals noted in 5 hours afield.

*June 27. Lewiston, Nebr., 109 individuals noted in 6-1/2 hours afield.

*July 5. Beatrice, Nebr., 25 individuals noted in 4-1/2 hours afield.

July 11. Beatrice, Nebr., 46 individuals noted in 6 hours afield.

July 25. Hebron, Nebr., 36 individuals noted in 3-3/4 hours afield.

*Aug. 1. Ruskin, Nebr., 39 individuals noted in 5 hours afield.

Dates preceded by an asterisk are those upon which the counts showed the Dickcissel to be the most abundant species, English Sparrows excepted. These figures indicate an average of 11-1/4 Dickcissels seen or heard per hour.

And, in spite of this prominent place the Dickcissel holds in our bird life, I have talked numbers of times with intelligent people who not only disclaim any knowledge of the bird, but say they have never heard the name 'Dickcissel' before.

On July 11, 1915, in and around Beatrice, Nebr., I counted 5,483 Blackbirds, which I am reasonably sure were Bronzed Grackles. Of this number, 5,260 were counted from one location on the bank of the Big Blue River, the flock passing continuously for about one hour. This is mentioned as being further indicative of actual abundance, and it might be suggested that, in actual numbers, the Bronzed Grackles might outweigh the Dickcissels, their immense numbers in flocks more than making up for the more uniform local distribution of the non-flocking Dickcissels.

In the May-June, 1915, number of BIRD-LORE, I note that Mr. Ridgway classes the Upland Plover as a "species verging toward extermination," speaking of it as now very scarce in southern Illinois. This bird of the prairies is still to be found in southeastern Nebraska, and I believe it could not be called very scarce in that locality. On June 27, 1915, in Pawnee County, Nebraska, I saw a flock of nine of these birds; on July 11, in Gage County, I noted one; on July 12, in Gage County, I noted eight; on July 23, in Thayer County, I noted one; and on August 1, in Nuckolls County, I saw a flock of ten.

Mr. Ridgway's description of the song of the Upland Plover is a fitting one. Its peculiar, mournful whistle _is_ "one of the most thrilling of bird songs."--HOWARD PARET, _Kansas City, Mo._

A Gannet Over the Hudson River

On October 16, 1915, I was crossing the Dyckman Street New York Ferry and observed a Gannet, which passed quite close to the ferry-boat, winging its way steadily southward toward New York Bay. It is so unusual and remarkable to find this bird away from the coast as to be worthy of record.--J. T. NICHOLS, _Englewood, N. J._

Petrels on the Hudson

The preceding note from Mr. Nichols prompts me to add that one afternoon during the first week in August, 1915 (I failed to record the exact date), I saw from the Fort Lee (130th Street) Ferry at least a score of Petrels coursing low over the water and flying down the river. They were on the east side of the river, from which I had embarked, and as the boat carried me out of vision, Petrels were still passing. Doubtless they were Wilson's Petrels which, in their search for food, had gone far above their usual limits in the lower harbor.--FRANK M. CHAPMAN, _Englewood, N. J._

Starling in Ohio

On January 8, Walter and Robert Kirk, farmer boys living near here, captured a Starling which has taken refuge in their barn. I was unable to identify the bird from their description of it over the telephone, but when it was brought to me I readily identified it, as I had been watching its progress west. Needless to say, I was somewhat surprised to see it here. BIRD-LORE Christmas census for 1914 reports it for West Chester and White Marsh Valley, Pa.

So far as I know, this is the first record of the Starling for Ohio, and it may be the first west of the Alleghany Mountains. This seems a long 'jump' westward for any bird in so short a time, especially considering the mountains it would have to cross.

I have no doubt as to the identity of the bird, but have taken photographs in case of any question.--SHERIDAN F. WOOD, _West La Fayette, Ohio_.

Evening Grosbeaks and Cardinals in Southern Wisconsin

About noon on January 22, 1916, as I was returning from a walk in South Park, a flutter of wings, accompanied by soft whistles and twitters, caught my attention and, to my surprise and joy, I counted a flock of nineteen Evening Grosbeaks in the small maple and elm trees bordering the sidewalk.

The bright sunshine falling on their plumage gave them an extremely beautiful and gay-colored appearance. The birds seemed to be nearly all males. They were quite tame, and I was able to approach close under the trees before they took to their wings, finally disappearing in a northeasterly direction. Two years ago, on one of the coldest days of the winter, a flock of about fifty visited Reedsburg and were observed by a number of our bird-lovers.

I cannot resist giving a brief account of the pair of beautiful Cardinals that have been staying in Reedsburg for the past two weeks. Although I did not have the good fortune to observe these rare visitors, yet their identity was made certain by the authoritative testimony of a number of bird-lovers who had ample opportunity to watch them closely from a curtained window, which looked out on the apple-tree and feeding-station only a few feet from the house; so there was no chance of an error in their identification. They were first seen on January 5, in the midst of a driving blizzard, with the mercury dropping to 25° below zero. The pair remained in the vicinity of the grain-strewn feeding-station for about half an hour, and have been seen a great many times since, by a large number of people.--ETHEL A. NOTT, _Reedsburg, Wisconsin_.

Evening Grosbeaks at Port Henry, N. Y.

On December 17, 1915, I saw a pair of Evening Grosbeaks.

On January 28, 1916, out over an open spot of water in Lake Champlain, I saw three Canada Geese and the men working near there told me they had been around there all the morning.

On January 7, 1916, I saw a large flock of Evening Grosbeaks.

The last two weeks I have seen many Crows as many as four in one flock.--DORA B. HARRIS, _Port Henry, N. Y._

The Evening Grosbeak at Glens Falls, N. Y.

The Bird Club of Glens Falls reports that on January 25, 1916, Miss Shields saw on one of our streets, seven Evening Grosbeaks, four males and three females.--C. EVELEEN HATHAWAY, _Secretary, Glens Falls, N. Y._

Evening Grosbeaks at Saratoga Springs, N. Y.

It gives me much pleasure to report to you that on Sunday morning, January 30, 1916, there was a flock of Evening Grosbeaks feeding in the open woodland across the street. When first seen, about twenty of the birds were sitting quietly on the upper branches of a leafless maple, the balance feeding on exposed ground between snowdrifts under the trees. There were thirty-seven birds in the flock, of which one-fourth to one-third were males in the brilliant yellow, white, and brownish black plumage. They were talking to each other softly, and the low beaded call was frequent; but I did not hear the males whistle as they used to in Wisconsin.

I called the attention of Miss Adelaide Denton (the local authority on bird-life) to the flock, and we watched them for quite some time, before they rose, took wing, and wheeling, flew to the north, and disappeared. Miss Denton had never seen Evening Grosbeaks in this territory before, although she tells me Pine Grosbeaks are fairly common winter visitors.

I have re-opened this letter to add that part of the flock have returned to this locality. Twenty-five of the Grosbeaks now being in the maples across the way.

Perhaps I should add that I am quite familiar with the Evening Grosbeaks, having observed them every winter from 1900 to 1908-9 inclusive, feeding in the box elder trees in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.--JACOLYN MANNING, M. D., _Saratoga Springs, N. Y._

The Evening Grosbeak at Boston

Any record of the Evening Grosbeak on the Atlantic coast is so very rare that it may interest the readers of BIRD-LORE to hear of a visit made to us by one on December 16, 1915.

Our bird was found in the Boston Parkway, close to the city blocks, flying about, at times rather wildly, at others, feeding tamely on the ground among the English Sparrows.

By its plumage, of which we give herewith a brief sketch, we judge it to have been a female or young bird. Head, rather dark gray; nape, yellowish green; back, pale brownish green; wings, black, interspersed with large areas of white; tail, black, with broad, white tip; chin and throat, gray; rest of under-parts pale yellowish or greenish brown; legs, pink; bill, whitish, or pale horn-color.

When at rest, the bird gave the effect of a huge winter Goldfinch; in flight, its largely white wings strongly suggested a Snow Bunting.

We heard it utter two distinctly different notes; the first a rather loud and insistent monosyllable--perhaps nearer _peep_ than any other--and the second, a peculiar little trilling call, not unlike certain notes of the Semipalmated Sandpiper.

Both as to plumage and notes, this species is very strikingly different from any other Grosbeak, of any age and either sex, in this part of the world. Its whitish beak, the yellowish green tone of its plumage, the absence of streaks, and the presence of such large areas of white in its wings and tail--not to mention the notes described above--all serve easily to distinguish this bird even from the female and young of the Pine Grosbeak, which, of all our species, most nearly resembles it.

Such other observations of this species as are made, this winter, thus far east, we hope to see recorded in BIRD-LORE.--E. G. and R. E. ROBBINS, _Brookline, Mass._

Evening Grosbeaks at Poughkeepsie

On the afternoon of February 17, 1916, I observed seven Evening Grosbeaks feeding on locust seeds at our farm just outside of Poughkeepsie. They returned on the morning of the 20th, when they were also seen by Mr. Allen Frost, Prof. Saunders and Prof. Ellen Freeman, both of Vassar College, and Miss S. Dean, a student, who confirmed my identification. As I believe this is a record for Dutchess County, it seems worth reporting.--GEORGE W. GRAY, _Greenvale, Poughkeepsie, N. Y._

Evening Grosbeaks in Lexington, Mass.

Although Evening Grosbeaks may very probably have visited Lexington during the flights of 1880-1890 and 1910-1911, there was no satisfactory record of the bird for the town until Mr. Francis S. Dane saw a bird near his house on December 31, 1915. This bird proved to be a member of a flock of eleven Grosbeaks, all in the plumage of the female. For a week or ten days this company remained in the vicinity of where the first bird was seen, the number of individuals varying somewhat; the maximum being eleven. Two fruited box elder trees were the attraction to the locality. So regular were their visits to these trees that observers could rely almost with certainty on finding the birds in one or the other of the trees (they were some two hundred yards apart) at eleven o'clock in the morning.

At all times, the Grosbeaks showed the fearlessness of man so characteristic of Pine Grosbeaks and the Crossbills, but their tameness was especially noticeable when the flock was busily feeding. The birds then appeared to disregard the presence of a party of observers; we could approach them closely, and see very satisfactorily their method of extracting the seeds.

The seeds of the box elder grow in pairs on a single stem, each seed having a wing. In the winter, however, the seed in its covering with the attached wing, having broken away from the stem, hangs from it only by a thread. It is an easy matter, therefore, for the Grosbeak to break off a single seed. Having detached it from the stem (to do this the bird merely leans downward and pulls off the husk and its wing), the Grosbeak cuts through the husk as far as the kernel and allows the wing to drop to the ground; this it does with a fluttering motion suggestive of a small moth. The remainder, the whole kernel and perhaps two-thirds of the husk, the Grosbeak mumbles in his bill, and in an incredibly short time discards from the sides of his beak the more or less macerated remains of the husk. Some of these particles fall to the ground, some cling for a time to the beak. The bird swallows the kernel. Upon examining the wings which the birds had clipped off, it was apparent that the birds had bitten directly over the kernel itself at a point rather nearer the wing than the center of the kernel. But, although by this incision the kernel was exposed, it was never severed and allowed to fall with the wing, as would have been the case had the beak been closed and the bite completed. The cutting process was always arrested at the point after the casing had been divided, but before the meat has been severed. All this, although the process involved the nicest precision, was accomplished with great rapidity,--the wing fluttering to the ground within a second or two after the fruit was plucked from the stem.

The big birds are curiously inconspicuous when feeding in a box elder tree; their color harmonizes very closely with the dull grayish brown of the faded wings of the fruit, and, as the birds are for the most part silent, a feeding flock might easily be passed unnoticed. In spite of their quiet manner, however, the Grosbeaks are ever on the alert, as was shown when a large bird flew near them. They whirled away, panic stricken, giving their loud 'kerp' call.

On January 8, the flock of eleven female birds was replaced by a flock of eight Grosbeaks, two males and six females. These latter were all distinctly grayer than any of the individuals of the first flock, whose plumage was washed strongly with yellow. This second flock has remained to the present time, February 19, feeding first upon the box elder seeds until the two trees were practically stripped of fruit, then visiting a Japanese crab-apple tree loaded with minute apples, from which the birds obtained the seeds by munching off the pulp and discarding it. The flock has suffered the loss of two female birds (they were probably caught by a cat); otherwise the company has remained intact for six weeks. As in the case of the original flock, these birds fed early in the morning, again at about 11 A. M., and were rarely seen in the afternoon. On one occasion, they left the feeding-ground by mounting high in the air and taking a long, direct flight to the westward. Besides the box elder and crab-apple seeds, the birds have eaten wild-cherry pits, poison-ivy berries, and gray-birch seeds.

Evening Grosbeaks have been seen this season at several points in eastern Massachusetts. Mrs. Lidian E. Bridge kindly sent me a report of a flock which visited her place in West Medford, four birds on February 8 and 9. These birds fed upon the berries of the honeysuckle, mountain ash, and red cedar.

The large number of observers who came from a radius of ten miles to see these rare Grosbeaks demonstrated how great the interest in birds is at the present time. For nearly two months, several visitors came every day at the appointed time, and on Sundays and holidays the number often reached thirty or more. The total number of persons who saw the birds must have been hundreds. And each one, thanks to Audubon Societies and proper education in out-of-doors studies, came armed with a glass instead of a gun.--WINSOR M. TYLER, M. D., _Lexington, Mass._

Evening Grosbeaks in Vermont

On February 14, 1916, we were visited by a flock of nine Evening Grosbeaks, which were feeding on the buds of sugar maple in a grove of these trees near our place.

These birds were quite tame, allowing me to look at them through my field-glass at a distance of three rods, making identification positive.

I heard their call note and saw three of these birds at a distance on January 31.

On December 8, one was seen and heard too far away to note its markings.--L. H. POTTER, _Clarendon, Vermont_.

Evening Grosbeaks in Connecticut

I wish to report a thrilling experience which I had this morning.

At ten o'clock, I glanced from my window, and saw White-breasted Nuthatches on the bird-shelf, Chickadees, Hairy Woodpeckers, a Brown Creeper, and Blue Jays, close by on two maples, a flock of English Sparrows gleaning on the ground, and two strange birds picking up their breakfast on the outskirts, but a few feet from the window.

The two rare visitors proved to be Evening Grosbeaks. They came toward me, went away from me, turned about and displayed themselves in every light, and finally flew to a spruce tree on the other side of the house, where for about five minutes they gave every opportunity to study them at close range.

The large white patches on the wings and white tips on the dark tail feathers were very prominent.

The yellow forehead with black crown, the heavy bill, and the body of a soft yellow color, black wings and tail, made identification very easy.

I presume these little strangers will be heard from in other parts of Connecticut.--MARY HAZEN ARNOLD.

[The context shows that this observation was made in Connecticut, but the observer does not give her address.--ED.]

Martin Problems

I should like those readers of BIRD-LORE who have accurately observed the habits of the Purple Martin to tell me if my experience of the past summer is a common one and what it means. For several years I have had a Martin house of ten rooms, only one room of which has ever been occupied and that always the west attic. This year (1915) on May 22, after visiting a short time several times a day for a week, three Martins, one male and two females, finally located in the house. June 1 the birds began carrying nesting material into both west and east attic rooms. The male seemed to work in the west room only, and one day was seen taking in green cherry leaves from a nearby tree. Only one male bird was ever seen about the house, so I concluded that this was a polygamous family.

The east room was not easy of observation, so I could not be sure of all that took place there, but know that it was occupied by a female all summer and that a nest was built. The male seemed to sleep in the west room, both birds going in at dusk. When incubation began, the male occupied one of the south rooms. July 7, a young Martin was found dead under the house on the west side.

He was very tiny, and could not have been more than a day old at most. His neck was as thin as a darning needle but his stomach was as large as a hickory nut, and just as hard. Thinking the bird abnormal, I opened the stomach only to find everything right, the abdomen being big and hard because of the great number of bugs and flies it contained. July 16 I went out of the city, so did not see the young leave the house. For several days previous to this, a baby Martin was constantly at the door, and I believe there was only one young bird.

My last year's family consisted of only two young birds, but one of which lived to fly from the house.

Neither eggs nor birds were found in the east room. Now, was this a polygamous family, or was it one pair of Martins and a non-mating female? Might it not have been my family of last year? I will appreciate answers from readers of BIRD-LORE.--(MRS.) MAY S. DANNER, _Canton, Ohio_.

A Bold Winter Wren

On November 7, 1908, I had been standing for some time motionless, watching the antics of a Winter Wren which was foraging in a brush-heap piled against a fence. The Wren was very much occupied and paid no attention to me, as I stood about ten feet away. I had on a brown suit, and was certainly not a very conspicuous object. Suddenly the Wren appeared in a corner of the fence with a long morsel, the larva of some insect, in his bill. Evidently this a tid-bit which should be eaten leisurely for enjoyment. At any rate, after peering about he caught a glimpse of me standing conveniently near. And much to my surprise, with no hesitation, he flew straight at me and alighted on the side of my coat. I could feel his movements through the cloth. He clung there several seconds. But, in my attempt to get a better look at him, I doubtless moved. For without a sound or show of alarm he flew back to the fence and finished his morsel. I do not think the Wren implied that I was a stick, but he certainly believed me to be a tree!--EDWARD J. F. MARX, _Easton, Pa._

=Book News and Reviews=

A DISTRIBUTIONAL LIST OF THE BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA. By JOSEPH
GRINNELL. Pacific Coast Avifauna No. 11; Contribution from the
Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy of the University of California.
Published by the Cooper Ornithological Club, Hollywood, California,
October 21, 1915. Roy. 8vo, 217 pages, 3 plates.

Dr. Grinnell admits to this list 541 species and subspecies as unquestionably Californian and includes in a Hypothetical List 61 additional species whose standing as Californian is doubtful.

"The systematic order is that of the American Ornithologists' Union _Check-List_ (1910), except that within groups of species or subspecies a more natural arrangement is sometimes adopted, for example by according with geographical sequence. The A. O. U. order is thus accepted here because of the convenience thereby admittedly secured, in concording with the bulk of current ornithological literature." (Page 7.)

The distinctive feature of this paper is its brief but clear introduction on the life-zones and faunal areas of California with its comments on the factors governing the distribution of life, and on the relation of faunas to zones. It is illustrated with plates showing both zonal and faunal divisions and four profiles across the state.

The terms used for the areas here defined are employed through the list of birds and with the aid of the maps, convey a maximum of information with a minimum of words.

Full records and references are given for species of rare or accidental occurrence in the state as a whole, as well as boundary records for those forms occupying a portion of the state.

It goes without saying that this list is authoritative and aside from its purely scientific value it should be of much assistance in at least the provisional identification in life of forms so closely related that the locality at which they are seen is their best field character.--F. M. C.

THE DOUBLE CRESTED CORMORANT (_Phalacrocorax auritus_) and its
Relations to the Salmon Industries on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By
P. A. TAVERNER. Canadian Geological Survey. Mus. Bull. No. 13,
Biol. Ser. No. 5; April 30, 1915. 8vo., 24 pages, 1 plate.

Complaint having been made that Cormorants were damaging the salmon fisheries of the Gaspé coast, the Geological Survey of Canada despatched Mr. Taverner with two assistants to study the food-habits of the Cormorant in the region where the charges against it originated.

It is not without significance that the Cormorant was accused, not by those who are dependent on fishing for a living, but by anglers who having rented certain salmon streams apparently feel that they have also acquired the power to inflict the death penalty on any form of life which they believe to interfere with their own interests.

Mr. Taverner was in the field from June 21 to August 23, and during this time he not only secured data which indicated that the charges against the Cormorant are unfounded but made an interesting contribution to our knowledge of the life-history of that bird.

There is more in Mr. Taverner's thoughtful, well-written paper than is indicated by its title. We trust that it will be read by each of the complaining anglers!--F. M. C.

The Ornithological Magazines

THE CONDOR.--The opening number of Volume XVIII of 'The Condor,' for January, 1916, is an unusually interesting one. Under the title 'Philadelphia to the Coast in Early Days,' Dr. Witmer Stone, in a paper read at the meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union in San Francisco, last May, outlines the development of western ornithology prior to 1850. Anyone interested in the history of early work in the West will find here a clear, compact, and convenient résumé of the contributors to ornithology made by the voyages and expeditions of Captain Cook, La Pérouse, Vancouver, Lewis and Clarke, Major Long, Captain Wyeth and Captain Beechey, and special reference to the birds collected by Peale, Say, Townsend, Nuttall, Bell and Heermann.

Mrs. Bailey continues her description of 'The Characteristic Birds of the Dakota Prairies' with a charming account of the water-birds found along the sloughs and marshes.

Jewett contributes a brief paper on 'New and Interesting Bird Records,' concerning thirteen species found in eastern Oregon during the spring and summer of 1915.

One of the first fruits of the recent publication of Grinnell's 'Distributional List of the Birds of California,' appears in Dawson's seven-page 'Personal Supplement,' which contains notes and critical comments on sixty-three species. If other observers would publish such notes as they have with equal detail, it would no doubt result in a considerable addition to the wealth of information on the distribution of California birds which Dr. Grinnell has already so successfully brought together.

The common names applied to several birds come in for criticism in Notes from Field and Study. Henderson defends the term 'House Finch,' and condemns the two synonyms by which the bird is often known. The term 'Linnet' he considers not distinctive and 'California Linnet' as indefensible. Dawson proposes Auburn Canyon Wren as a preferable name for the Dotted Canyon Wren and Coues' Petrel instead of Ashy Petrel for the bird which 'simply isn't ashy.'--T. S. P.

THE AUK.--Readers of the January issue will find therein a good deal about bird song as it is viewed from different angles by several contributors. Mr. H. Oldys discusses the 'Rhythmical Singing of Veeries' from a musician's standpoint, and Mr. A. A. Saunders, in a letter at page 103, upholds the scientist's belief in the use of a graphic method while, casually, in no less than three other articles, the writers make use of conventional human syllables in an effort to express bird-notes. After all, a person must hear a bird-song to know anything about it, and the crudest symbols, musical notes or words that he may employ to awaken his memory of the song mean more to him than any system that has yet been invented. It is his notation alone that will arouse his memory, for the science of musical sounds cannot go far in explaining what his ear has never heard. Mr. H. J. Fry offers 'A Study of the Seasonal Decline of Bird Song,' painstaking so far as it goes, but limited to a single season.

Mr. F. C. Lincoln records 'The Discovery of the Nest and Eggs of _Leucosticte australis_,' the Brown-capped Rosy Finch, in the Colorado mountains and shows us a half-tone of the site and one of the nest and eggs, the latter pure white. Messrs. B. S. Bowdish and P. B. Philipp record the finding of several nests of 'The Tennessee Warbler in New Brunswick,' and also show us half-tones of the rare nest and eggs.

A pleasing study of the courtship of several species of ducks is presented by Dr. C. W. Townsend, who uses binoculars to good advantage, and Mr. J. C. Phillips raises 'Two Problems in the Migration of Water Fowl,' one, regarding the occurrence of certain North American Ducks in the Marshall Islands, the other dealing with the behavior of Canada Geese when migrating.

Mr. W. A. Bryan declares that there is 'An Undescribed Species of _Drepanididæ_ on Nihoa, Hawaiian Group,' but wisely refrains from preliminarily tagging it with a name (as has sometimes been done in similar cases) because no specimens have been obtained. Messrs. J. E. Thayer and O. Bangs list 'A Collection of Birds from Saghalin Island,' Mr. F. H. Allen describes 'A Nesting of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak,' and Mr. H. Mousley contributes the first part of 'Five Years' Personal Notes and Observations on the Birds of Hatley, Stanstead Co., Quebec, 1911-1915.' There is much of interest in Mr. Mousley's well annotated list which is to be continued.--J. D.

A Bi-Monthly Magazine

Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds

OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES

Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN

Contributing Editor, MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT

Published by D. APPLETON & CO.

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Vol. XVIII Published April 1, 1916 No. 2

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SUBSCRIPTION RATES

Price in the United States, Canada and Mexico, twenty cents a number, one dollar a year, postage paid.

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COPYRIGHTED, 1916, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN

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Bird-Lore's Motto:

_A Bird in the Bush Is Worth Two in the Hand_

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It is a long time since BIRD-LORE has published a more valuable and significant article than the one contributed by Mr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor to this issue. Its chief value does not lie in its important bearing on what may be termed avian sociology or on its surprising demonstration of the close connection existing between available nesting-sites and bird-population. Rather is it to be found in the relations which it reveals between human-life and bird-life as the result of the best type of what we have before called 'bird gardening.'

The birds which Mr. Grosvenor has brought about him are unquestionably more his birds than if he had shot them and placed their skins in a cabinet. With their death his responsibility for their welfare would cease. But a living bird, to which we feel we owe protection, is exposed to so many dangers that our fears for its safety are correspondingly aroused. These birds of our garden are our guests. Through the erection of bird-houses and by other means we have invited them to live with us and when they accept as readily as they have with Mr. Grosvenor, they make us realize not only our responsibility but they awaken the strongest sense of hospitality.

In a former number of BIRD-LORE we had something to say about what we believe to be the difference between ornithologists and bird-lovers. That is, between the bird student eager to devote his life to research work some of which may be so dry and technical that it would repel anyone but a born enthusiast; and the person whose interest in birds, while keen and genuine, does not beget that hunger for knowledge concerning them which is the birthright of the true naturalist.

The first type of interest we feel distinguishes the born ornithologists, the second is an almost universal heritage of mankind. Usually, however, it is dormant. We may be in possession of this priceless gift and still be unaware of its existence. Herein lies the value of nature-study, and particularly of the kind of educational work the National Association of Audubon Societies accomplishes through its Junior Classes. It is _not_ to be expected that the one hundred and fifty odd thousand children included in these classes during the past year will become ornithologists. But if their inherent love of birds is quickened and they become acquainted with the more common species and are taught to realize the beauty and value of bird-life we shall have added immeasurably to their resources.

Mr. Grosvenor tells us that in April, 1913, when he moved to his country home near Washington, neither he nor any member of his family could name more than three species of birds. Opportunity so quickly added to this number that within two years, as his statistics show, he had succeeded in inducing to nest on his home acre more than twice as many birds as had been before reported from the same area and under similar conditions.

So much we learn from the figures given. But no figures can express the pleasure derived from the friendships which have been established between landlord and tenant, and between landlord's family and tenants' families. Mr. Grosvenor may regret that his own childhood lacked that association with the commoner birds which gives them an enduring place in our affection. But his pictures show that he does not propose to have his children denied this privilege.

=The Audubon Societies=

=SCHOOL DEPARTMENT=

=Edited by ALICE HALL WALTER=

Address all communications relative to the work of this department to the Editor, 67 Oriole Avenue, Providence, R. I.

"Nature has no human inhabitant who appreciates her. The birds with their plumage and their notes are in harmony with the flowers, but what youth or maiden conspires with the wild, luxuriant beauty of nature? She flourishes most alone, far from the towns where they reside. Talk of heaven! ye disgrace earth.

"Sometimes I rambled to pine groves, standing like temples, or like fleets at sea, full-rigged, with wavy boughs, and rippling with light, so soft and green and shady that the Druids would have forsaken their oaks to worship in them; or to the cedar wood beyond Flint's Pond, where the trees, covered with hoary blue berries, spiring higher and higher, are fit to stand before Valhalla, and the creeping juniper covers the ground with wreaths full of fruit; or to swamps where the usnea lichen hangs in festoons from the white-spruce trees, and toadstools, round tables of the swamp gods, cover the ground, and more beautiful fungi adorn the stumps, like butterflies or shells, vegetable winkles; where the swamp-pink and dogwood grow, the red alder-berry glows like eyes of imps, the waxwork grooves and crushes the hardest woods in its folds, and the wild-holly berries make the beholder forget his home with their beauty, and he is dazzled and tempted by nameless other wild forbidden fruits, too fair for mortal taste.