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Bird - Lore 



the occupants gather wild flowers along 

 the road, also berries. The bird, being so 

 tame, could have been captured and taken 

 along, escaping from its captor near 

 Schenectady. 



At any rate, it is a queer coincidence, 

 and coincides with the Oneonta episode 

 also. If Bird-Lore readers will remember, 

 a tame Grouse appeared in Vermont a few 

 years ago, making perhaps five cases, all ' 

 in this section. — Edgar Bedell, Water- 

 ford, N. Y. 



Preparation of Food by a Blackbird 



A kindly neighbor follows the laudable 

 practice of keeping a pan filled with fresh, 

 clean water in the center of her small gar- 

 den, for the refreshment of the birds. Very 

 often this offering is supplemented bj' 

 crumbs from the table. I can see this pan 

 and its many feathered visitors from my 

 window. 



One day, one of the visitors happened to 

 be a fine, slick Blackbird. He moved 

 about, occasionally perching himself on 

 the edge of the pan and dipping his bill in 

 the water. Suddenly, he cocked his head 

 to one side and then flew a few feet away 

 where lay a piece of crust. Pecking away 

 for a moment, he flew with the crust to 

 the edge of the pan and dropped it in the 

 water. Standing guard for a short while, 

 he quickly took up and swallowed the 

 softened crust and flitted away, evidently 

 feeling well repaid by his sagacity in mak- 

 ing a tasty morsel from a hard, dry crust 

 of bread. — George E. Erol, Germautown, 

 Philadelphia, Pa. 



A White Crow 



On February 10, 1921, while motoring 

 northwest of Indianapolis, I came upon a 

 flock of about eight Crows, among which 

 was an albino, its wings and upper tail 

 feathers being white. I was quite close to 

 it for several seconds. 



On February 14 I again drove to the 

 same locality with a party of six. Near 

 the same place, and in an open, newly 

 plowed 'field, I saw the white Crow, and 



after a period of about a half minute it 

 flew with a black Crow. As I started in 

 pursuit from near the place in the field 

 there flew a second white Crow. I have 

 not seen them since, but farmers in the 

 neighborhood report them still in the 

 same locality. One neighborhood farmer 

 is of the opinion that the Crows have 

 crossed with Pigeons [ !] as an explanation 

 for the white Crows. He says that for 

 several seasons white Crows have been 

 common in the neighborhood. 



I will attempt to follow up the situation 

 in an effort to ascertain more definite in- 

 formation regarding the cause of so many 

 albinos in the locality. — S. E. Perkins III, 

 Indianapolis, Ind. 



A Family of Wood Thrushes 



In the latter part of April I heard a 

 sweet, whistle-like call of a bird, which 

 was not familiar to me. I was not positive 

 I had heard it before, so I immediately 

 made a search for it. I heard the bird on 

 the lawn of the Miami Woolen Mills of 

 Lindenwald. I work there and as I am 

 close to the window I had a chance to 

 learn something of this bird. This com- 

 pany has a lawn, about 125 feet square, 

 and bounded on the north and east sides 

 by the large brick structure of the mill 

 itself, and on the south and west by 

 Symmes and Pleasant Avenues. Shade 

 trees adorn the south and west sides, and 

 inside are several birch and maple trees 

 and numerous lilac and other bushes. In 

 the center is a 45-room Martin house 

 which gives it a very pleasing look. It is 

 a very nice place for birds except for the 

 everlasting, menacing house-cat. 



It was here that I saw this bird hopping 

 along the ground like a Robin. I soon 

 identified him as the Wood Thrush. For 

 the first week he was there alone, when, 

 one morning, as I was looking for him, I 

 saw something flashing by the window, and, 

 watching closely, saw him chasing another 

 Wood Thrush. Within an hour I saw them 

 again on the ground feeding on insects here 

 and there. The second one was a shade 

 lighter than the first and presumably was 



