jBtotee; from Jfielti anti ^tuDp 



A Semi-domesticated Warbler 



Some time in October, 1909, a Myrtle 

 Warbler flew into the Union Station, in 

 Washington, D. C, and took up its abode 

 in the drug store which occupies a small 

 room at one corner of the large waiting- 

 room. Here it remained for over a month, 

 spending most of its time on top of the high 

 cases which occupy the sides of the room, 

 but flying freely about on the counters, and 

 showing no fear of the people in the store. 

 Its food seemed to be chiefly house-flies, 

 which it caught with great dexterity, and 

 it frequently drank of the various bever- 

 ages which were spilled on the soda 

 fountain. In one instance, it was said to 

 have been made 'drunk' by over indul- 

 gence, and, falling into a tub of water, 

 would have drowned had it not been 

 promptly rescued. 



On November 20, in company with Mr. 

 W. R. Ma.xon (who had brought the case 

 to my attention), I visited the station, and 

 found the bird to be active and gentle, 

 as described. On November 25 it died 

 naturally, and I secured the skin for my 

 collection. The bird was an adult female, 

 in dull plumage. — Arthur H. Howell, 

 Washington, D. C. 



A Prothonotary Warbler in Wellesley, 

 Mass. 



On June 2, 1909, I had the good fortune 

 to see a fine specimen of this beautiful 

 Warbler on the Wellesley College grounds. 

 He was, apparently, a male, and was in 

 mature and brilliant plumage and full 

 song. 



I was attracted by hearing a new note 

 among the familiar songs that fill the air 

 on a June day. As I happened to be occu- 

 pied with a piece of writing which must be 

 finished at a certain hour, I tried to ignore 

 the song; but it was so near and so in- 

 sistent that I threw my writing aside and 

 started in pursuit. In shorter time than 

 it takes to tell it, I had the bird under ob- 



servation and, saw that he was indeed a 

 stranger. He was in a very vivacious 

 mood, and some of his movements can 

 only be described as antics. 



He had a sharp tilt or two with a pair of 

 Phoebes that had a nest near. One of the 

 best views I had of him was when he set 

 about examining one of the college houses. 

 (Wood Cottage). He went into the broad 

 piazza and perched on the backs of several 

 of the chairs, investigated trellises, blinds 

 and window-sills, then went to the edge 

 of the roof and into the gutter, where he 

 drank, and caught and ate a moth. His 

 rapid changes from one pose to another 

 aff'orded a good view of him from every 

 angle above and below, and his rich yellow 

 showed to fine advantage against the dark 

 background of the house. 



In all, I stayed with him for about half 

 an hour. In the meantime I had run back 

 to the house for opera-glass and bird-books 

 and found that he corresponded exactly 

 to the description of Protonotaria cilrca; 

 but the extreme rarity of that bird in 

 this region filled me at once with douVjt 

 and excitement. 



I called a friend, who is an excellent 

 observer of wide experience, and, although 

 she looked incredulous and even dubious 

 when I breathlessly said "Prothonotary," 

 she came out and agreed in my judgment. 



Later, I consulted the college collection 

 of mounted specimens, and found that 

 my bird coincided in every particular 

 with the one in the collection, except that 

 he looked to me a trifle larger and was 

 in more brilliant feather. — .\ngie Cl.^r.x 

 Ch.xpix. 



Wren and Sparrow 



Four years ago I nailed an oil-can under 

 the gable end of a small building near the 

 house, the bottom of the can flat against 

 the building. The can was the sort with 

 a cork-fitted opening, with handle that 

 served as a door-step for the Wrens that 

 took up housekeeping in it. I have no way 

 of knowinsj that the same Wrens have 



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