114 



Bird - Lore 



At Cape May, N. J., January 19, a 

 flock of about fifty Snow Buntings were 

 observed, and on the same day a Brown 

 Thrasher, a rather unusual mixture of 

 the breezy North and the sunny South. — 

 Julian K. Potter, Camden, N. J. 



Washington Region. — The bird-life of 

 the region about Washington during 

 December, 1918, and January, 1919, was 

 decidedly less interesting than usual. The 

 great numbers of Ducks that were such a 

 conspicuous and attractive feature last 

 winter were largely absent, at least from 

 the immediate vicinity of the city, either 

 disturbed by the continuous operations of 

 numerous aeroplanes and hydroplanes 

 along the river, or induced by the mild 

 winter weather to remain at more northern 

 or more coastwise localities. Farther down 

 the river, at Mt. Vernon and below, how- 

 ever, the Ducks have been present in larger 

 numbers. Nor have most of the regularly 

 common winter residents been more than 

 ordinarily in evidence, as either species or 

 individuals, in spite of the open winter. 



Robins, however, have been seen more 

 frequently than is usually the case during 

 the winter, and a single Song Sparrow 

 was heard singing in the city on January 



14. Six species of Hawks — Sparrow, 

 Sharp-shinned, Marsh, Broad- winged. Red- 

 shouldered, and Red-tailed — have been 

 fairly common, particularly in the valley 

 of the Potomac River. The Red-breasted 

 Nuthatch, the practically total absence of 

 which was so noticeable last winter, has 

 returned in its normal numbers; but 

 almost none of the rarer winter visitors 

 from the North have been seen. An 

 American Pipit was noted on December 



15, 1918, by Mr. L. D. Miner, which is 

 of interest because it is the only definite 

 local record between November 30 and 

 February 16. The Myrtle Warbler, 

 which is usually but a rare winter resident, 

 has been tolerably common this season. 

 The Plicated Woodpecker, one of our 

 rarest birds, was seen by Dr. A. K. Fisher 

 at Plummer's Island, Maryland, on De- 

 cember 8, 1918. 



Two of the most imjjortant ornitho- 



logical occurrences of this winter have 

 already been recorded by Messrs. W. L. 

 McAtee, Alexander Wetmore, and Edward 

 A. Preble, in their Christmas bird census 

 in the last number of Bird-Lore, but 

 to which it may be worth while to call 

 further attention. On December 23, they 

 found a dead Long-eared Owl near Mt. 

 Vernon, Va., a species not now often 

 met with here. They also saw two Com- 

 mon Terns along the river near Mt. 

 Vernon, which observation represents the 

 first winter record of this species for the 

 vicinity of the District of Columbia.^ 

 Harry C. Oberholser, Biological Sur- 

 vey, Washington, D. C. 



Oberlin Region. — Such an open winter 

 has not been known here for sixteen years. 

 At no time has the ground been covered 

 with snow for longer than three days at a 

 time, and even then at a depth of less 

 than three inches. Under such conditions 

 it would naturally be expected that bird- 

 life would be so affected that more birds 

 than usual would be found in the region. 

 But quite the opposite has been the case. 

 Not only have the regularly resident 

 birds been less numerous than usual, but 

 the regular winter visitant species have 

 also been represented by fewer individuals 

 than usual, and no unusual winter birds 

 have been noted. 



During the warm daj^s of early February 

 the three Robins which remained were 

 singing, the Cardinals and Song Sparrows 

 joined the chorus in the mornings, and 

 beyond the borders of town the Meadow- 

 larks sang during the mornings. Chick- 

 adees, Tufted Titmice, and Downy Wood- 

 peckers, began their courting, and even 

 the Northern Flickers began to show 

 symptoms. 



Flocks of Geese were reported as ha\ing 

 been heard passing northward on February 

 II and 12, but it is possible that the calls 

 were those of a flock of domestic Geese 

 southwest of town. At any rate the writer 

 has neither seen nor heard migrating Geese 

 since last November. 



From the standpoint of an ornithologist 

 the winter has been the most disappointing 



