December, 1918] 



The Ottawa Naturalist 



13 



the-village, as it is called, is another very valuable 

 insect destroyer. It has the habit of alighting on 

 the twigs of trees, swaying head downwards in 

 every direction like an acrobat, jumping and flying 

 from branach to branch, catching many an unwary 

 insect as it goes. The catbird is very fond of 

 small fruits, especially grapes, strawberries and 

 cherries, the last being particularly relished. It 

 repays for any pillage, however, by eatmg T.s 

 full share of grubs and worms, occasionally favour- 

 ing with a song. 



Few countries, if any, offer better protection to 

 bird life than Bermuda. Shooting is strictly pro- 

 hibited. No one on the islands is allowed to possess 

 firearms of any kind. One of the questions asked 

 by the customs official as the newly arrived visitor 

 lands is, "Have you any firearms?" If he has, the 

 weapon is confiscated and is not returned until he 

 departs. Under the Wild Bird Protection Act, 

 any person attempting to shoot, trap, or interfere 



with the liberty of any of the wild birds (sparrows 

 and crows excepted) is liable to a penalty of $25.00, 

 and the mere fact of possessing a wild bird's egg is 

 sufficient to constitute a breach of the law. Apart 

 from the sparrows and a few hawks, the song birds 

 enjoy comparatively a free and easy time. There 

 are no snakes on the islands to trouble them, and 

 the Bermuda boy, be it said to his credit, seldom 

 robs a bird's nest. 



There is much investigational and research work 

 to be done among bird life in these summer isles, 

 and to the ornithologist and student of Nature, Ber- 

 muda willingly opens her charming laboratory at all 

 seasons of the year. Those who have taken advant- 

 age of this offer often wish to return again to follow 

 up their investigations. The study of bird life is al- 

 ways an interesting one, but when presenled under 

 such ideal and unique conditions as the Bermudas 

 offer, it becomes one of special instruction and 

 fascination. 



A PROMINENT MUD-CRACK HORIZON OF THE CEDAR VALLEY 

 STAGE OF THE IOWA DEVONIAN. 



By Carroll Lane Fenton. 



The following notes relate to observations by the 

 writer on a Devonian section showing good examples 

 of mud cracks. This section representing the lime- 

 stones of the Cedar Valley stage is exposed in the 

 southeast quarter of Section 20 St. Charles town- 

 ship, Floyd county, Iowa, in two small quarries 

 known as the Bloody Run quarries. 



The section which the writer obtained at these 

 quarries combined with an earlier section by Mr. 

 Clement L. Webster of Charles City, Iowa, is given 



below: 



Ft. In. 



16. Hard gray limestone, partly covered 



by drift 4 



1 5. Hard, fine, buff limestone with casts 

 of a small species of Naticopsis, 

 Athyris viitata (Hall), Alh^ris spiri- 

 feroides (Eaton), Atrypa reticularis 

 (Linnaeus), and a small undeter- 

 mined species of Spirifer 1 / 



14. Buff or yellow-buff limestone contain- 

 ing many small or moderate sized 

 nodules and containing Alr^pa reti- 

 cularis (Linnaeus), Ath^ris vittata 

 (Hall), and Spirifer subvaricosa 

 (Hall), as well as large numbers of 

 undetermined Stromatoporoidea 1 9 



13. Heavy, gray-brown limestone with 



numerous nodules at base I 2 



Ft. In. 



12. Thinly laminated, regularly bedded 

 shaly limestone, buff or yellowish buff 

 and showing throughout strong marks 

 of mud-crack with occasional traces 

 of ripple mark I 6 



II. Regularly bedded, hard limestone of 

 light yellow or buff color with bed- 

 ding planes showing very distinctly 

 on weathered faces. Upper part 

 crowded with many very small con- 

 cretions , I 8 



10. Yellowish buff, hard limestone, al- 

 most, if not entirely unfossiliferous 

 with the upper portion crowded with 

 small dark concretions 7 



9. Thinly and evenly bedded, yellowish 

 to brownish limestone, apparently 

 without fossils 3 



8. Gray brown limestone, in even beds 

 of three to six inches no fossils ob- 

 served. Contains some calcite 2 3 



7. Yellowish brown or dark buff lime- 

 stone, weathering to very thin layers. 

 Contains fragments of Spirifer sp. 

 (undet.) 3 10 



6. Coarse heavily bedded yellowish 

 limestone 3 



