ORNITHOLOGY 



333 



storm. A week later a white owl was 

 reported to me from a farmhouse 

 twelve miles east of here. 



The discussion of the everbearing- 

 strawberry is somewhat of a surprise 

 to me, for it is common here. At the 

 nursery we have it until the hard frost 

 puts an end to it. We often pick from 

 sixteen to twenty quarts in one day. 



Wishing The Agassiz Association 

 the best year of its history, I am. 

 Its well wisher, 



F. May Tuttle- 



were so strong that the birds were 

 blown from their usual routes. 



(Miss) Phebe A. Field. 



Tragedy of the Wren's Nest. 



Atlantic, Iowa. 

 To the Editor : 



This view illustrates the work of the 

 assassin and robber. I had invited 

 Mr. Wren and his little wife, to occupy 

 the little home. The rent was to be 

 paid in the stir and thrill of their chip- 



Migrations of North American Birds. 



An exceedingly valuable series of ar- 

 ticles on "The Migrations of North 

 American Birds" is now being pub- 

 lished in Bird-Lore. These tables and 

 dates of appearance and departure of 

 our common species in given localities, 

 cover a long period of observation from 

 many points, and represent years of 

 patient study and hard work. 



This painstaking work was begun 

 and for many years carried on by Prof. 

 Wells W. Cooke, of the Biological Sur- 

 vey at Washington, who, up to the time 

 of his death, was probably the foremost 

 authority on bird migration. Dr. Harry 

 Oberholser is now carrying on the 

 studies instituted by Prof. Cooke, and 

 we are glad to note that he will con- 

 tinue this series of articles begun by 

 his predecessor. 



Notes from Ocean County, New Jersey. 



Point Pleasant, New Jersey. 

 To the Editor: 



We had here, when the peach trees 

 were in bloom, two strange birds which 

 cut into the heart of the blossoms on 

 our largest peach, and the petals fell 

 to the ground. They were discovered 

 before they had injured all the blooms, 

 and driven off. I found from an article 

 on birds with colored plates that they 

 were the females of the purple finch 

 and have obtained the name of "bud- 

 ders" from their habits. Previously a 

 neighbor had told me of seeing a bird 

 new to her, and she had learned from 

 a bird book that it was the male of the 

 purple finch. I have read and heard of 

 new species having appeared in differ- 

 ent parts of this state, and the reason 

 given for it is that the prevailing winds, 

 at the time of the spring migration, 



THE SNAKE ENTERING A WREN HOUSE. 



per and song. But alas! when the 

 fledglings came the serpent came also. 

 He heard the baby twitter, climbed the 

 tree, entered the sacred doorway and 

 devoured the nestlings. 



The kodak shows the murderous 

 plan. He did not back out, for obvious 

 reasons but filled the bird home with 

 his slimy length. It became necessary 

 to lower the box and remove the roof, 

 before his snakeship could be dispatch- 

 ed,. He was of the variety locally 

 known as the "bull snake." 



A. D. Beckhart. 



The domestic cat probably originated 

 in ancient Egypt, where the native 

 wild cats (Felis libyca) were caught and 

 locked into the national grain houses 

 to catch the rats and mice. This tamed 

 species was carried by Phoenician sail- 

 ors to various parts of Europe and 

 Asia, and more or less interbred with 

 the several local wild cats. Thus arose 

 the numerous varieties and color mark- 

 ings. 



