Notes from Field and Study 



loS 



of it as now very scarce in southern Illi- 

 nois. This bird of the prairies is still to 

 be found in southeastern Nebraska, and I 

 believe it could not be called very scarce 

 in that locality. On June 27, 191 5, in 

 Pawnee County, Nebraska, I saw a flock 

 of nine of these birds; on July 11, in Gage 

 County, I noted one; on July 12, in Gage 

 County, I noted eight; on July 23, in 

 Thayer County, I noted one; and on 

 August I, in Nuckolls County, I saw a 

 flock of ten. 



Mr. Ridgway's description of the song 

 of the Upland Plover is a fitting one. 

 Its peculiar, mournful whistle is "one of 

 the most thrilling of bird songs." — 

 Howard Paret, Kansas City, Mo. 



A Gannet Over the Hudson River 



On October 16, 1915, I was crossing the 

 Dyckman Street New York Ferry and 

 observed a Gannet, which passed quite 

 close to the ferry-boat, winging its way 

 steadily southward toward New York 

 Bay. It is so unusual and remarkable to 

 find this bird away from the coast as to 

 be worthy of record. — J. T. Nichols, 

 Englewood, N. J . 



Petrels on the Hudson 



The preceding note from Mr. Nichols 

 prompts me to add that one afternoon 

 during the first week in August, 1915 (I 

 failed to record the exact date), I saw 

 from the Fort Lee (130th Street) Ferry 

 at least a score of Petrels coursing low 

 over the water and flying down the river. 

 They were on the east side of the river, 

 from which I had embarked, and as the 

 boat carried me out of vision, Petrels 

 were still passing. Doubtless they were 

 Wilson's Petrels which, in their search for 

 food, had gone far above their usual limits 

 in the lower harbor. — Frank M. Chap- 

 man, Englewood, N. J. 



Starling in Ohio 



On January 8, Walter and Robert 

 Kirk, farmer boys living near here, cap- 



tured a Starling which has taken refuge 

 in their barn. I was unable to identify the 

 bird from their description of it over the 

 telephone, but when it was brought to me 

 I readily identified it, as I had been watch- 

 ing its progress west. Needless to say, I 

 was somewhat surprised to see it here. 

 Bird-Lore Christmas census for 1914 

 reports it for West Chester and White 

 Marsh Valley, Pa. 



So far as I know, this is the first record 

 of the Starling for Ohio, and it may be the 

 first west of the Alleghany Mountains. 

 This seems a long 'jump' westward for any 

 bird in so short a time, especially con- 

 sidering the mountains it would have to 

 cross. 



I have no doubt as to the identity of 

 the bird, but have taken photographs in 

 case of any question. — Sheridan F. 

 Wood, West La Fayette, Ohio. 



Evening Grosbeaks and Cardinals 

 in Southern Wisconsin 



About noon on January 22, 1916, as I 

 was returning from a walk in South Park, a 

 flutter of wings, accompanied by soft 

 whistles and twitters, caught my atten- 

 tion and, to my surprise and joy, I counted 

 a flock of nineteen Evening Grosbeaks in 

 the small maple and elm trees bordering 

 the sidewalk. 



The bright sunshine falling on their 

 plumage gave them an extremely beau- 

 tiful and gay-colored appearance. The 

 birds seemed to be nearly all males. They 

 were quite tame, and I was able to 

 approach close under the trees before they 

 took to their wings, finally disappearing 

 in a northeasterly direction. Two years 

 ago, on one of the coldest days of the 

 winter, a flock of about fifty visited Reeds- 

 burg and were observed by a number of 

 our bird-lovers. 



I cannot resist giving a brief account of 

 the pair of beautiful Cardinals that have 

 been staying in Reedsburg for the past 

 two weeks. Although I did not have the 

 good fortune to observe these rare visi- 

 tors, yet their identity was made certain 

 by the authoritative testimony of a num- 



