Bird-Lore Part 5

Here are my figures on the d.i.c.kcissel:

*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. p.a.w.nee, 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 d.i.c.kcissel to be the most abundant species, English Sparrows excepted.

These figures indicate an average of 11-1/4 d.i.c.kcissels seen or heard per hour.

And, in spite of this prominent place the d.i.c.kcissel 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 'd.i.c.kcissel' 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 pa.s.sing 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 d.i.c.kcissels, their immense numbers in flocks more than making up for the more uniform local distribution of the non-flocking d.i.c.kcissels.

In the May-June, 1915, number of BIRD-LORE, I note that Mr. Ridgway cla.s.ses 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 p.a.w.nee 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 pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.sing. 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 ident.i.ty 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 ident.i.ty 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.