3IO 



Bird - Lore 



Washington Rkc.ion. — Duiin.i; juiu' 

 and Jul>', as al all linu's of tin- year, tlic 

 many parks and luimLToLis sliadc Irccs 

 of the yards and streets attraet birds of 

 many species into the city of W'ashinj^ton. 

 The Cardinal is a regular and welcome 

 visitor and is almost continually in song. 

 The Flicker and Red-headed Woodpecker 

 may be heard calling in many places, 

 particularly in the parks, although the 

 latter is much more local. The Tufted 

 Titmouse and the Blue Ja}' are also fre- 

 quent callers, while to even the more retir- 

 ing birds like the Screech Owl, the Yellow- 

 billed Cuckoo, and the Wood Pewee, the 

 city likewise offers attraction. The same 

 is true of the Wood Thrush, which, this 

 year, continued singing up to the last day 

 of July. 



Our old friend, the Carolina Wren, after 

 a period of nearly two years, during which 

 it has been very scarce in this vicinity, 

 has once more fully regained its former 

 abundance, and its ringing song is again 

 daily to be heard in the city as well as in 

 the country districts. During the past 

 few years several species have been steadily 

 on the increase in the region about Wash- 

 ington, this being particularly true of the 

 Mockingbird, the Robin, and the Migrant 

 Shrike. 



Of unusual occurrences we have now 

 but one to record, that of the Pied-billed 

 Grebe, which was seen on June lo by- 

 Mr. R. W. Moore. This date is nearly a 

 month beyond its previous latest spring 

 date for the vicinity of Washington, which 

 is May 12, 1909. 



Purple Martins have again returned to 

 roost in the city, much earlier this year 

 than ever before. The following notes on 

 their occurrence have been furnished by 

 Miss Marion Pellew. She first noticed 

 them on June 27, when they gathered soon 

 after sunset in the vicinity of Fourth 

 Street in the Mall. On this day, as subse- 

 quently, they roosted in the elms and 

 maples along the street-car tracks on Fourt h 

 Street in practically the same place as in 

 1917. On this first day there were only 

 about 1,000 Martins, but probably twice 

 as many Purple (irackles, and about 100 



or more Furopean Starlings. The number 

 of Martins remained about the same until 

 July 4, when it increased to between 3,000 

 and 4,000. Uy July 28 the number was 

 estimated at 25,000, and on this date there 

 were also some Bank Swallows roosting 

 with them. Their general behavior was 

 much the same as in previous years, and 

 this Martin roost forms, as heretofore, 

 one of the most attractive summer bird 

 exhibits in this region. — Harry C. Ober- 

 HOLSER, Biological Survey, Washington, 

 D. C. 



Minneapolis Region. — Two pairs of 

 Wilson's Phalaropes are settled at the Long 

 Meadow sloughs, ten miles from Minnea- 

 polis. They are apparently nesting there. 

 The return of this beautiful bird to this 

 locality, after many years of absence, is an 

 unexpected and pleasant surprise. On 

 June 18 a visit was made to a nesting-place 

 of many Great Blue Herons and Double- 

 crested Cormorants on a heavily wooded 

 island in Upper Lake Minnetonka, about 

 twenty miles from the city. Repeated 

 requests for the destruction of this colony 

 have been made of late years by various 

 persons who consider these birds injurious 

 to fishing interests and a general nuisance, 

 but Mr. A\cry, Game and Fish Commis- 

 sioner, has turned an indifferent ear to 

 these petitions thus far. Most of the many 

 summer residents about the lake, with the 

 exception of the owners of the beautiful 

 island possessed by the birds, object to the 

 heronry being disturbed on the ground that 

 its occupants add a picturesque and inter- 

 esting feature to the lake. 



Heron Lake. — June 20 to June 26. This 

 period was spent at Heron Lake in the 

 southwestern prairie region of Minnesota, 

 collecting material for a large bird group 

 to be installed at the university museum. 

 Mr. H. C. Oberholser, of the Biological 

 Survey, was present part of the time. We 

 found the water unusually high, the level 

 of the lake being three feet or more above 

 the usual line. Heron Lake is a shallow 

 body of water, some fourteen miles long 

 by two or three miles wide, the northern 

 half largely overgrown with quill reeds 



