380 SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 



I found the red Phalarope breeding in two places last season. Blue 

 winged teal I find breeding every year. The golden eye and sheldrake 

 and Mergus Americanus breed very commonly, both in trees, and 

 are common with us winter and summer, as does the hooded mergan- 

 ser breed in trees, but is rare in winter. The eider duck breeds at 

 the Islands, common, first (of) June probably breeding. The gannet 

 and cormorant a few breed, herring gull are abundant all summer 

 and also breed about the fresh water lakes. The great black-back 

 gull also breed, but are getting rare. I also find through the forest 

 in summer very many warblers and think many of them breed in 

 about this latitude, but our forests are so extensive I seldom find 

 the nest. I forgot to say the razor-bill puffin, and sea-pigeon, murre, 

 were with us all summer, but not very abundant. We also often 

 find stragglers from the North in summer, but (these) are so uncom- 

 mon (they) are hardly worth mentioning, such as hawk owl, snowy 

 owl, Richardson's owl etc. The most of the birds I have mentioned 

 you will rarely find about Massachusetts or Western Maine in sum- 

 mer, and many of their common birds, we never see, and others very 

 rarely. The towhee bunting and brown thrush we never see. The 

 meadow lark only one specimen, the blue bird rare, Cooper hawk 

 and mottled owl very rare, yellow-bill cuckoo very rare, house wren 

 also rare. Have never found the prairie warbler, worm-eating warbler 

 or pine warbler, but I believe I wrote you I found a nice male speci- 

 men of the prothonotary warbler, two Falls ago. There has been 

 considerable written about the cliff swallow migrating South. I came 

 from Mass, to this part of the country in the year 1828; the cliff 

 swallow was then very abundant, building the whole length (of) the 

 eaves of barns, as much we see them now, which was not the case 

 in Massachusetts. 



I have written in considerable hurry without any method or 

 arrangement, and if there is any idea new to you, I shall be well 

 repaid. 



I have for a long time been surprised there should be in so short 

 a distance as about one hundred or two hundred miles so great a 

 change in the breeding places of many hardy and early birds, as the 

 bluebird and others of Mass., and then that we should have so many 

 that do not breed with them. I also find in Southern Nova Scotia 

 Massachusetts birds much more common. Having been so busy of 



