Notes from Field and Study 



225 



in that part of the building, we began 

 quite naturally to talk. I remember that 

 I was bewailing my fate because, after 

 having spent six very delightful weeks 

 on a farm in the Berkshires — from the 

 middle of March to the end of April — here 

 I was obliged to return to my home in the 

 city just at the time when Spring was offer- 

 ing her most interesting treasures to a 

 lover of flowers and birds. 



"When you have tramped the fields and 

 woods in April," I went on, "when you 

 have hunted down the first hepaticas, 

 trailing arbutus, violets, bloodroot, saxi- 

 frage, and wake robin — when you have 

 heard the Song Sparrow's cheery outburst 

 and the Red-winged Blackbird's vibrant 

 note of spring — when you've seen the 

 early Bluebirds perching on the dusky 

 red berry-cones of the sumach, the ground 

 all white with newly fallen snow, the 

 electric blue of the birds making stunning 

 contrast to the red berries against a white 

 background — then you'll admit that it's 

 not easy to extract much comfort from 

 looking at dry-as-dust stuffed specimens 

 in a museum." 



She laughed sympathetically and said, 

 "Why don't you try the 'Ramble' in 

 Central Park for birds? I can't promise 

 you any trailing arbutus, but you will find 

 large numbers of birds migrating through 

 in spring and fall." 



The next morning found me in Central 

 l^ark bright and early, and every morning 

 thereafter for the month of May. Of 

 course, I missed some of the earliest mi- 

 grants, but in spite of my late start, I was 

 able to get a list of more than seventy 

 species of birds, one of them being that 

 rare creature, the Mourning Warbler. The 

 record for a single day's observation, so 

 . far as I know, was forty-five species, and 

 the season record for the largest total 

 obser\'ed was ninet_\-onc b\' Dr. M. P. 

 Denton. 



Not the least interesting part of the daily 

 excursion was the opportunity of meeting 

 other bird-lovers who had discovered the 

 'Ramble.' The mere fact that you carried 

 a pair of bird-glasses was introduction 

 enough ioT these enthusiasts, and I hc_\' 



unhesitatingly stopped you to exchange 

 notes about their latest find and yours. 

 There was the Clergyman from New Jersey 

 who came two or three times a week and 

 insisted that the country was not nearly 

 so good for birds as the 'Ramble.' There 

 was the Famous Surgeon who stole away 

 from an.xious patients for an hour almost 

 every day to refresh his own weary soul. 

 There was the Biologist who "loved every 

 bit of life," as she put it, and never missed 

 a chance to study it. There was the Board- 

 ing-house Lady who came each morning 

 after her marketing to forget her material 

 cares by quoting Dr. van Dyke's "The 

 Woodnotes of the Veery" and by hunting 

 for that elusive bird. There was the Naval 

 Reserve Man who had left Yale to enlist, 

 who came every morning for the week that 

 he was on leave and "hoped his boat would 

 be ordered where there would be interest- 

 ing birds to watch." There was the Park 

 Policeman who was the first to see the 

 Black-billed Cuckoo (on whose pronuncia- 

 tion we could not agree). There was the 

 Park Gardener who never forgot to show 

 newcomers the roost of the Black-crowned 

 Night Heron. And, oh, there were lots of 

 others of us, but you must come and see 

 for yourself. And among us all was the 

 keenest good-natured rivalry as to who 

 should be the first to see the new arrivals 

 from the South; and woe betide you, a 

 newcomer, if you had seen some species 

 which an old hand at the game had missed, 

 or if you claimed to have seen a bird some 

 days before it was due. So, if you would 

 have new vistas open before you, if you 

 want one of the best things of spring, 

 even if you are city-bound, you have only 

 to go to the 'Ramble' and join the bird 

 colony. — Blanche Samek, New York 

 City. 



Sparrow Hawk and Starling 



On March 26, 1918, back of the 

 American Museum of Natural History, 

 \ew York City, a Sparrow Hawk was 

 seen, with an adult Starling for its victim. 



When first observed, the two birds were 

 on the ground, the Hawk on top of the 



