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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



the body, and the admirable adaptability 

 of its shape to the aquatic life may be 

 well seen just as it enters the water— the 

 long beak, head, neck and body stretched 

 out rigidly in one straight line; the legs 

 and wings tucked closely in — everything 

 arranged so as to offer as little resistance 

 to the water as possible. Few prettier 

 sights can be imagined than a company 

 thus engaged in diving on a fine spring 

 afternoon, — the bright sunshine above 

 and the blue waters of the Strait beneath. 

 In the case of the terns, the dive is a 

 much smaller affair, the birds not enter- 

 ing the water to any depth, and in some 

 cases only half submerging itself. It 

 rises immediately on the wing again, and 

 the prey must be swallowed directly it is 

 seized, for I have not been able to see 

 anything held in the beak. Thus it differs 

 from another "bird-fisher," the cormo- 

 rant, which usually comes to the surface 

 and adjusts its captive to a comfortable 

 position for swallowing. On a river near 

 Table Cape, on this coast, I saw a cor- 

 morant rise to the surface with a small 

 flounder held in its beak, which it made 

 vigorous attempts to gulp down, but in 

 vain : it then flew to a tree some distance 

 away, where doubtless the unfortunate 

 captive was soon battered into a more 

 convenient shape. 



Bird-Lore's Christmas Census. 



The sixteenth annual bird-census 

 conducted by "Bird-Lore" was taken 

 as usual at the Christmas season, and 

 its results published in the January- 

 February number of that magazine. 

 A summary of the one hundred and 

 sixty-four reports there given shows 

 the general scarcity of winter residents 

 or irregular visitants coming from the 

 north, while many birds expected to be 

 farther south have spent the winter in 

 localities that would seem to indicate 

 that the climatic conditions had little 

 to do with their movements. 



New Jersey and Pennsylvania seem 

 to be about the northern winter range 

 of the bluebird. Flickers, song spar- 

 rows, myrtle warblers, robins and 

 meadowlarks appear to be wintering 

 throughout our north-eastern states in 

 greater numbers than formerly. Star- 

 lings seem to be extending their range, 

 though most abundantly reported from 

 New York and New Jersey. Cardinals 

 were reported from many places ; two 

 as far north as London, Ontario. Wolf- 

 ville, N. S., reported a vesper sparrow. 



A catbird, a kingfisher and a Carolina 

 wren were reported from Long Island, 

 N. Y. 



A single flock of two thousand cow- 

 birds were seen in Nashville, Tenn. 

 Crows, though comparatively scarce 

 in the northern states, were reported 

 in large numbers in the middle south- 

 ern states, — showing a slight migra- 

 tory movement. Five thousand were 

 reported by one observer from Cul- 

 peper, Va. Very few bobwhites were 

 reported in any of the lists. Millbrook 

 Ontario, reported thirty red-polls, and 

 a few others were reported from Con- 

 necticut. 



A party from Los Angeles, Califor- 

 nia, reports the largest number of birds 

 seen in a single day, — numbering 9,131 

 individuals, representing 121 species. 

 The observing party was divided into 

 eight sections. One hundred and six- 

 teen species were reported from Santa 

 Barbara, California. 



One of the most interesting lists was 

 that of Dr. Winsor M. Tyler, of Lex- 

 ington, Mass., who, with two others, 

 observed thirty-two species, number- 

 ing 1,188 individuals at Wareham, 

 Mass. This list includes eleven blue- 

 birds, tw^enty song sparrows, two pine 

 warblers, tw^enty-four meadowlarks, 

 three vesper sparrows, two savanna 

 sparrows and a kingfisher. 



Migrations of the Bobolink. 



The bobolink, being a lover of damp 

 meadows, has for many thousand years 

 been shut off from our Pacific States 

 by the barrier of the arid lands. At the 

 present time, however, the progress of 

 irrigation has established fertile spots 

 throughout the region by way of which 

 the birds can cross. Small colonies, 

 therefore, are beginning to nest each 

 summer on the western side of the dry 

 rountrv almost to the coast of the 

 Pacific. 



Apparently, however, the birds con- 

 tinue to migrate by their old route, go- 

 ing first north on their former track 

 and then turning west, instead of cut- 

 ting straight across by the nearest 

 wav. 



Oh mountains vast and high, 



That touch the blue of sky, 



Thy battlements, so stern and cold. 

 The setting sun has turned to gold, 



Xow with his glory vie. 



— Emma Peirce. 



