mo\c Ijy degrees to the south. Three months from now some of them will be 

 hundreds of miles south of the equator. 



Owls seek more open situations at this time of the year. They realize that 

 the territory is populated by transients and the time is to be improved by hunting 

 in the open where smaller forms of bird-life are so much in evidence. It is still 

 possible to find an unoccupied nest of the goldfinch or cedar waxwing though un- 

 doubtedly the birds have been accidentally delayed. The male goldfinch is losing 

 his brilliant coat of black and yellow and is assuming a covering of dull greenish 

 black not unlike his mate. Great flocks of blackbirds comprising red-wings, rusty 

 blackbirds and cowbirds forage in the marshes and descend upon the grain fields. 

 The graceful little terns called seagulls are moving leisurely southward along 

 water-courses. 



On the upland prairies large flocks of golden plover are feeding on wild 

 berries, grasshoppers and crickets. The birds have lost the handsome black 

 breasts and there is nothing about their appearance to identify them, save their 

 clear mellow whistle, or call-note, which they tise when moving swiftly in 

 compact flocks over our uncultivated land. As Helen Hunt Jackson says : 

 "October the month of carnival of all the year. 

 When Nature lets the wild earth go its way, 

 And spend whole seasons on a single day." 



With the fall or turning of the leaves in October, we lose our insectivorous 

 birds. Belated warblers are hurrying southward and occasionally a phcebe may 

 be seen lingering about the nesting place, loath to leave the little bridge or old 

 well with its past associations. As we walk through the dead leaves of the 

 woodlands, willow, olive-backed and hermit thrushes are startled from the ground 

 and fly to the nearest branch of some leafless tree. Small flocks of white-throated, 

 fox or white-crowned sparrows are busily feeding in the fence corners. The 

 junco has returned from the Canadian provinces and will remain with us until a 

 mantle of snow forces him to seek food elsewhere. 



Golden and ruby-crowned kinglets moving in company with brown creepers 

 comprise a fearless trio while inspecting the trees on our lawns and in our parks. 

 The little kinglets look twice as large as they did last April, the fluffed feathers 

 offering more resistance to the October chill. The frosted vegetation in sloughs 

 and bayous now exposes many a gallinule. coot and rail, where many are shot 

 by pot-hunters lacking in sportsmanshij:). 



The large cities are revisited by various forms of sea birds pro\ iding there 

 is a water frontage. During the late fall, winter and spring months Bonaparte's, 

 herring, and ring-billed gulls visit the shores of lakes and rivers, especially when 

 these waters are navigable, to procure the refuse. Wilson's snipe is again on 

 the marsh where his flight taxes the skill of the best gunners. 



Xoveniber leaves us with a limited variety of birds, most of which are 

 found in flocks. Robins still loiter in sheltered places and the hardy meadow-lark 

 lingers about his favorite i)aslure. (^n a bleak morning we hear his merry chipper 



159 



