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Bird - Lore 



conditions have prevailed, during the mild 

 days of winter, a pair of Bald Eagles have 

 come to the Hudson River and remained in 

 the ferry pathway for several days, attracting 

 much attention. It was some surprise to me 

 in passing over on the ferry Friday, Feb- 

 ruary 24, to find eight Bald Eagles on the 

 ice — six mature birds and two immature. 

 Crows appeared like chickens beside their 

 hens, but later, when we had a pair of eight- 

 power glasses on the birds, we were unable 

 to discover that they found any food, al- 

 though Mergansers were diving and splashing 

 not far away. The eight birds were here for 

 one day only but the pair now here have been 

 leaving every evening before dusk for the 

 Highlands south, flying toward Storm King 

 Mountain. The two mature Bald Eagles are 

 yet with us, but the gathering of eight birds 

 on the river seems of enough importance to 

 me to report to Bird-Lore, for it seems as if 

 the protection of these birds was now bearing 

 fruit. — Francis B. Robinson, Newburgh, 

 N. Y ., February 27, 1922. 



Snowy Owl in New York 



Early on the morning of December 8, 

 192 1, after I had taken a supply of food out 

 to my feeding-station for the birds' break- 

 fast, I saw our neighbor's dog run out into 

 the tall grass in a meadow just across the 

 road from my home. To my great surprise, 

 a large Snowy Owl arose from the ground and 

 with slow, heavy flight flew directly into the 

 dooryard and within about 6 feet from where 

 I stood. I got a splendid view of him, and 

 being my first record, I was delighted. The 

 plumage was slightly mottled with brown 

 on the breast and underparts, and the 

 brown markings were quite conspicuous 

 about the head and neck. The whole upper 

 parts were snowy white, including wings 

 and tail. 



The Snowy Owl is very rare here, and I 

 am told that this is the first specimen that 

 has been seen here for years. The last record 

 that can be remembered by the oldest in- 

 habitants was during the severe winter of 

 1883, when one was killed near here in the 

 month of February. — Julia Miller, Hor- 

 nell, N. Y. 



A Captive Hummer 



Mr. Ralph E. Danforth's account of the 

 Hummingbird tangled in cobwebs (Bird- 

 Lore, September-October, 1921) interested 

 me because I have seen the same thing. 



My house had been closed for a few days. 

 I returned one afternoon and, at intervals 

 until dark, heard a faint metallic squeak. 

 Thinking it something jarred by the wind, I 

 paid no attention to it. Next morning I 

 heard the same sound, louder and more 

 insistent, and at once realized that some 

 living thing was calling for help. After some 

 searching, I found, on the wood-shed floor, a 

 Hummingbird, bound fast in cobwebs, 

 seeming quite exhausted, I thought nearly 

 dead. I worked over him for two hours, 

 clearing away the cobwebs very carefully 

 because he cried if I pulled too hard. 



I put water before him and he fluttered or 

 tumbled into the saucer, I could not tell 

 whether by accident or design. I could not 

 see that he drank. Then I placed before 

 him a large trumpet creeper flower. That 

 he attacked eagerly, sucked at it for some 

 time, and plainly felt much refreshed. 

 When he could fly about the room, I let him go. 



One little incident pleased me; whenever 

 I left him and went out of sight, he cried 

 until I went back to him, then was quiet. 

 So quickly that atom of life recognized a 

 friend. 



I would like to know how long a little bird 

 can live without food or water. He must 

 have lain on the floor nearly twenty-four 

 hours at least and it may have been much 

 longer. — Adeline Willis, Naples, Maine, 

 January 12, 1922. 



A One-legged Bather 



Have any of your readers ever had a one- 

 legged Grackle in their bird-baths? Our 

 bath is a combination of a cement top 

 bought in a shop, fitted over a bronze vase 

 such as our grandmothers had in their front 

 yards, with purplish-pink petunias growing 

 in them. It looks attractive standing be- 

 tween two old apple trees which have grown 

 up to the third story windows of our house. 

 The branches form good drying places after 

 the baths. 



