Notes from Field and Study 



113 



atlernoon in my room in a large box, 

 with plenty of holes for air and with 

 abundant food and drink. When I re- 

 turned to him about dusk and opened the 

 box, he hopped out on my finger, ruffled 

 his feathers, and looked about. Thence 

 he hopped to my shoulder, then to my 

 liead, and hnally spread his wings and 

 fluttered to the picture-moulding. 



After seeing him fly easily about the 

 room for several minutes, I directed him 

 toward the open window and saw him 

 disappear in the twilight, apparently 

 none the worse for his narrow escape. — 

 Tertius vanDyke, New York City. 



Another November Black-Throated 

 Blue Warbler 



Reading the note on 'A November 

 Black-throated Blue Warbler,' by Miss 

 Isabel D. Martin, in the March- April 

 191 2 number of Bird-Lore, prompts me 

 to add that I had a Black-throated Blue 

 Warbler that very same day. It was 

 caught by my brother in the upper hall 

 of our home, about 11 a.m. It was a 

 male bird in fine plumage and apparently 

 in the best of condition. This bird was 

 seen by a family of five, and kept in cap- 

 tivity until the middle of the afternoon, 

 when I liberated it. 



We had a severe wet snow-storm the 

 night before, and perhaps it sought shelter. 

 Could there have been a small wave of 

 these birds at that time? It would be 

 interesting to know if any other obser- 

 vations or records were made. — George 

 P. Ells, Noncalk, Conn. 



Additional Notes on Montana Bobolinks 



In view of the fact that the range of 

 the Bobolink in the East is believed to 

 be decreasing, bird-lovers generally will 

 be gratified to know that the numbers 

 of this rare song bird in the West are 

 apparently increasing. This is the case 

 in the section where I live, Gallatin 

 Valley, Montana. In 1888-1890 Rich- 

 mond and Knowlton found but one flock 

 here, while in 1908-1909 Saunders noted 



them in many places throughout the 

 valle}'. 



The birds were a little later than usual 

 in coming this spring (191 2). On the even- 

 ing of May 28, a favoring breeze brought 

 to my ears the tinkling melody of their 

 song. As they fly at night in migrating, 

 they had probably been in the meadow 

 all day. Taking my field-glass, I went 

 out to take a census of the flock. Walking 

 from one side of the meadow to the other, 

 I counted twelve birds, eleven of which 

 were males. Assuming that every Jack 

 has his Jill, this would mean 11 pairs — 

 the largest flock of arrivals I have ever 

 seen in this vicinity. 



The conditions here, both natural and 

 artificial, during the breeding season, are 

 cjuite favorable for the birds. Severe 

 storms, which might destroy the eggs or 

 young, are not frequent; and their natural 

 enemies — as owls, skunks, minks, weasels, 

 and the stray house-cat — are not nu- 

 merous. Then the hay harvest comes so 

 late here that the young birds are not in 

 much danger of being caught by the sickle, 

 unless it should be a belated nest. A 

 couple of days before the hay was cut 

 this year, I visited the meadow and found 

 the young birds strong on the wing. By 

 the last of August the flock had started 

 on its long southern journey. — Nelson 

 LuNDWALL, Bozemati, Montana. 



A Meadowlark's Unusual Nest-Site 



During the summer of 1909, while 

 target practice was being conducted by 

 the U.S. Marine Corps at the range of 

 the Bay State Rifle Association at Wake- 

 field, Mass., I had occasion to observe 

 an unusual nest-site, and the action of 

 the parent birds through trying times. 



On account of low ground on the 

 range, it was necessary to elevate the 

 firing point at many places. This was 

 done by raising low mounds of earth, 

 about three feet high, and three feet 

 wide and many yards long, so as to accom- 

 modate a line of men. The range that 

 these firing mounds were on was used 

 for the skirmish run. 



