170 



Bird - Lore 



near his town in late January, and deplores 

 the fact that there arc local hunters who 

 are not in strict sympathy with the 

 Federal Bird Law. 



Sidney Hyde writes that a movement of 

 Bohemian Waxwings had been observed in 

 the Topeka, [Cans., region, where this un- 

 usual species was under observation from 

 late in January until March 25. He gives 

 an early arrival date for the Pectoral 

 Sandpiper, March 17, and states that on 

 April 7 a flock of 16 Cranes, probably Sand- 

 hills, was seen and heard. 



An event of importance, in the Kansas 

 City region was the adding of the Skua to 

 our local list. A lone individual of this 

 wandering race was taken on the Missouri 

 River, near Sibley, on April 3, by a boat- 

 man who, fortunately, saved the head, 

 wings, and feet. The writer knows of no 

 previous local record for this bird authen- 

 ticated by a specimen, though William 

 Andrews says that he is sure he has met 

 the species twice in his many years on 

 the river. 



On March 21, Meadowlarks and Chip- 

 ping Sparrows were .first noted on their 

 breeding-stands in full song, and Purple 

 Martins were present in numbers on that 

 date a week ahead of their normal time of 

 arrival. By April 2, many of the commoner 

 species were carrying nesting material. 

 Fruit trees, such as plum and peach, were 

 in bloom, and lilac and other early shrubs 

 were out far enough to show as green 

 masses, when all hope of an early and 

 rapidly advancing spring was blasted by 

 the arrival of a raging blizzard. Snowdrifts 

 covered everything and a howling north 

 wind, filled with snow, caused all bird- 

 activities to come to a standstill. Had this 

 unseasonable condition prevailed longer 

 than twenty lour hours, great damage 

 would have resulted to birr! life, but, for- 

 tunately, the storm ended as suddenly as 

 it began, and by noon of the 5 1 h Robins 

 were pulling worms in every green patch 

 rapidly appearing through the mantle of 

 snow. 



Pelicans were seen passing over on 

 April 5, and several Harris's Sparrows and 



Purple Fin< hes were noted in the southern 



residence distrii ts birds that are but sel- 

 dom seen within the city. Local observers 

 have been glad during the past two weeks 

 to find that Harris's Sparrow has returned 

 this spring in its old-time abundance. For 

 some unknown reason this species has been 

 rare in this region during the last three- 

 migration seasons. On April 11, a flock of 

 about 75 Pipits were under observation for 

 an hour, this being the first time this 

 species has been met with here in several 

 years. On this date 71 species were re- 

 corded. — Harrv Hakims, Kansas City, Sh>. 



Denver Recion. The writer has of ten 



wondered how long it takes our returning 

 birds to penetrate into the denser parts of 

 Denver. Robins winter in the neighbor- 

 hood of Denver, but are seen only infre- 

 quently during that season within the well- 

 built-up parts of the city. When the 

 advance-guard returns in February, its 

 members are at once pretty well distributed 

 all over the city. It is quite otherwise with 

 the Meadowlarks; some of them also winter 

 near Denver; the species becomes common 

 in the outskirts shortly after March 15. 

 but seldom gets into the neighborhood of 

 my home until the first week in April. 

 This year it was April 1 before a Meadow- 

 lark was heard in my neighborhood. This 

 slower penetration of the well-built-up 

 districts by the Meadowlark may be due 

 to its being more terrestrial in its habits 

 than the Robin. The writer has wished all 

 winter that his fellow bird-lovers of tin- 

 East could have had the extended com- 

 pany of Bohemian Waxwings which was 

 his. This beautiful bird has been in and 

 about Denver all the winter, sometimes 

 appearing in great flocks. One of my 

 friends recently said that they reminded 

 him of Plumed Quail when they wire on 

 the ground, and the writer thinks that it 

 is not an overdrawn comparison. A large 

 flock of these Waxwings was in my yard 

 on March 10, a bright, warm daw and to 

 my surprise several of the birds were seen 

 on the topmost twigs of a tree, whence 

 they made excursions into the air after 

 insects, precisely as do Flycatchers. This 

 habit is, of course, common to many other 



