4^6 



Bird- Lore 



trunk to catch a passing insect in a veri- 

 table flycatch; g method. How interesting 

 (not monotonous!) the Brown Creeper, 

 nearly as silent as the Waxwing — a mod- 

 esty in feathers. How can one be annoyed 

 when he looks out and sees the hulk of a 

 gray squirrel squatted on the shelf, or the 

 English Sparrows that my bullets have 

 missed eating food not set out for them; 

 and yet it is because of what they displace 

 that one does become angry, and must be 

 rid of them in order to enjoy one of God's 

 greatest gifts to men: birds around the 

 house, useful, beautiful, companionable. — 

 George Roberts, Jr., Lake Forest, III. 



Snowy Owl in Iowa 



On December 12, 191 7, during a typical 

 Iowa blizzard, I chanced to look upward 

 and just above the chimney-tops, seem- 

 ingly born out of the throes of the storm, 

 I saw a great white bird with a wing-ex- 

 panse of about 3 feet. Later, during 

 Christmas week, a record of another 

 Snowy Owl was telephoned me from a 

 farm some 12 miles east of Osage. — 

 F. May Tuttle, Osage, Iowa. 



American Egret in Pennsylvania 



Bird-Lore readers will be interested to 

 know that the writer had the good fortune 

 of identifying an American Egret on July 

 23, 1916, at Blue Marsh, Berks County, 

 Pa. (about 7 miles from Reading, Pa.). 

 The Egret was first observed in flight, com- 

 ing stoically winging along with its char- 

 acteristic Heron like flight. The sun being 

 propitious, I had an admirable oppor- 

 tunity to identify the bird for an American 

 Egret — with its yellow bill, black legs, 

 and white plumage. 



I also wish to report that a friend and 

 the writer identified eighty species of 

 birds on May 19, 191 7, at the same Blue 

 Marsh (from Sinking Springs to Blue 

 Marsh and return, 7 to 8 miles). Such a 

 list, as you may suppose, was the making 

 of an interesting day! (Will be delighted 

 to furnish the list if it can be of any use.) 



And again may I report that a Black- 



crowned Night Heron colony is situated 

 near Bridgeport, Pa., possibly the one 

 referred to as being at Red Hill in the July- 

 .\ugust, 1917, Bird-Lore. The birds had 

 a very successful season, and there are 

 sixty-five nests, with as many pairs breed- 

 ing, by a conservative count. — Conrad 

 K. Roland, Norristown, Pa. 



Bird-banding 



As a part of certain investigations now 

 being carried on by the Department of 

 Biology of the Western Illinois State 

 Normal School, at Macomb, 111., 250 young 

 birds were marked during the past sum- 

 mer. A small, white celluloid ring was 

 placed upon the right leg of each bird. 

 Most of the birds are Robins, but several 

 other migratory species are included in the 

 list. All were reared upon, or within one 

 block of the campus. It is hoped that 

 some data concerning the movements and 

 habits of the young birds after leaving the 

 nest and during the next year may be 

 obtained. If anyone who observes a bird 

 marked as indicated above will let us 

 know, it will be very helpful to us. Address 

 any communications to C. W. Hudelson, 

 Macomb, III. 



[Certain kinds of valuable and interest- 

 ing data (relative to age and migration for 

 instance) can best be obtained by marking 

 individual birds. The American Bird- 

 Banding Association, Howard H. Cleaves, 

 Secretary, Public Museum, New Brighton, 

 N. Y., issues aluminum bands suitable for 

 placing on the legs of wild birds. Each 

 band bears a serial number, with request 

 that in case of recovery, the American 

 Museum of Natural History, New York 

 City, be notified. A record of each band 

 placed is kept by the Association in card- 

 catalogue form, and can be referred to if 

 a band is recovered. It is expressly stated 

 that under no circumstances should a 

 bird be killed for the purpose of recovering 

 a band, but a certain number of bands are 

 recovered from birds killed by accident, 

 etc. If you find a dead bird in the fields, 

 look at its legs. It may be the bearer of a 

 band which will establish some valuable 



