Notes from Field and Study 



245 



to five. I have seen this species but once 

 before, a single bird at Setauket, L. I., about 

 five years ago. The black legs and yellow 

 bills of the birds made them easy to identify; 

 also the fact that when I first saw them they 

 were standing with a Great Blue Heron, 

 and I estimate them to be about 5 inches 

 smaller. — Hamilton F. Potter, Smithlown, 

 N. Y. 



White Egret in Connecticut 



On July 18, 19 2 1, in company with Henry 

 Ferguson, of Fisher's Island, N. Y., I saw 

 three American Egrets, on a marsh near the 

 mouth of the Connecticut River, near Old 

 Lyme, Conn. We identified them by their 

 yellow bills and black legs. — Blair S. 

 Williams, New York City. 



A Flicker's Bed 



One night, the latter part of November 

 (1920), when the weather was beginning to 

 be cold and stormy, we found we had a new 

 lodger. 



The bathroom is on the north side of the 

 house, with the window quite close up under 

 the eaves, and here a Red-shafted Flicker 

 was located. He had gotten up as far as 

 possible under the eaves and was clinging by 

 his toes to the screen. Just about half of his 

 body was visible. 



Some nights when the wind was quite 

 strong he would sway from side to side, but 

 this did not seem to disturb him in the least. 

 During the short winter days he would go to 

 his bed at 4 in the afternoon and be up at 7 

 in the morning. He never seemed alarmed 

 when anyone was near. 



When the weather began getting warmer 

 and some nights were pleasant he would find 

 lodging elsewhere. Then, when a bad night 

 came he would be back again. 



It has been some time since he has been 

 in his old quarters and I am inclined to think 

 our winter friend has deserted us. — Edna 

 Hope Ashenhurst, Colorado Springs, Colo. 



Chimney Swifts in Fall and Spring 



For many years I have watched the mi- 

 gration of the Chimney Swifts, and their 



sudden departure from us in late September 

 has always been a mystery to me. For some 

 days the cold blue or cloudy sky would be 

 without these darting, quick-winged objects, 

 and, suddenly, some evening just before sun- 

 set, certain favorite chimneys about to\\Ti 

 would suck into them streams of these living 

 things. I arose one morning before sunrise, 

 determined to discover when they came out. 

 Just at simrise, this misty morning late in 

 October, the first Swift came 'over the top', 

 and then followed 247 birds. I counted on 

 to over 400, and then lost track of them. 

 They went off over the Hudson into the mist, 

 and I waited to see what would follow. In 

 a few minutes I was surprised to find them 

 coming back out of the mist and fog and 

 counted over 200 birds as they dropped back 

 into the chimney. After waiting half an hour 

 for some movement of the birds, I gave it up 

 and left the Swifts in the chimney to work 

 out their own fate. 



The spring migration has varied from 

 April 19 to April 30, as to dates of my first 

 Swift and this year (1921) I did not see any 

 over the city imtil April 27. For days 

 there have been no Swifts about, and won- 

 dering what had become of them, I remarked 

 to one of the men in the office of a large 

 plaster works here, that I wondered what had 

 become of the Chimney Swifts, as I had not 

 seen any for several days. The weather had 

 been wet and cold, and insect life not very 

 abundant. The Swallows I have often seen 

 skimming over the water where they scoop 

 up insects floating on it, but I have never 

 noticed the Swifts do this. One of the men 

 in this office told me he knew where the 

 'Swallows' were, as he had seen them go down 

 the big chimney at the foot of South Street, 

 and said we would go up and knock against 

 the chimney and get them out. We went up 

 and he took a large stone and banged it 

 against the chimney, as we used to bang a 

 stick against a tree where a Hawk had a nest, 

 and in a few moments we saw a Swift come 

 over the top, and out they came in twos, 

 threes, and fives, and probably over 400 

 birds came out into the rain and mist. In 

 about half an hour, they began to return and 

 we left them peacefully in their roost. This 

 chimney I am sure is a 'wing' on their north- 



