116 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Sept. 



Mr. R. F. Kelso, another member of the Club, said that 

 every tree along Johnston Street had its Sapsucker, and from 

 various sources I learned that the birds were equally abundant 

 all over the city. The great majority of the birds were males, 

 though here and there a female was to be seen. 



A very conservative estimate of the number of Yellow- 

 belHed Sapsuckers in the city would be five thousand; in fact 

 Mr. Beaupre believes that there were far more than this present 

 on the morning of April 17th. 



For the next few days the Sapsuckers were stih very common 

 in the city, and were still so when I left on April 22nd. After 

 this they decreased rapidly in numbers as my father wrote me 

 a few days later and said that only a few were then to be seen. 



The Sapsuckers were very busy on the maple trees (mostly 

 Acer saccharinum) , and in many cases trees which I examined 

 had rings of holes completely round them, but the holes were 

 not close enough together to "girdle" the trees. 



The probable cause of this immense wave of Yellow-bellied 

 Sapsuckers striking Kingston Hes in the strong gale from the 

 north which was blowing on the night of April 16th, the birds 

 apparently dropping as soon as they had crossed the lake. 



THE RAPID EXTERMINATION OF THE BALD EAGLE. 

 By W. E. Saunders, London, Ont. 



There has been a good deal of discussion during the past 

 decade or two concerning the usefulness or otherwise of the 

 various species of birds of prey. As regards the diurnal birds 

 of prey, debate has usually ended in a favorable verdict towards 

 all those that spend the summer in Ontario, with the exception 

 of two species. With reference to this small number which has 

 fallen under the ban, I must say that my faith in the wisdom 

 of the Creator in placing such birds on the earth is too strong 

 to be shaken by any evidence that may be produced to show 

 that somebody has lost a few dollars by these birds in any 

 particular year. However that may be, the subject of this 

 article has never, I think, been condemned as injurious. His 

 daily fare is gleaned mostly from the edges of the large waters, 

 and while his scavenging habits cannot be held up for admira- 

 tion, yet a substantial plea may be made for the protection of 

 the Bald Eagle on the ground of the added picturesqueness 

 which he gives to the landscape. It is to be deplored that 

 every large bird is a mark for the wanton gunner, and under 

 this head I am sorry to say most of our sportsmen fall, when 



