The Audubon Note Book. 



263 



is quite as pretty as the delicate nest of that bird. 

 The eggs measure .70X.54 inch, and are cream 

 color, dotted, especially at the larger end, with dark 

 brown spots, some of which appear to be on and 

 some under the ^g'g shell. They are very pretty. 

 The wood pewee is a very pugnacious bird, and I 

 have seen him drive away numbers of goldfinches, 

 and he will fight with the robin, though he invari- 

 ably gets beaten in a combat with the latter. 



AUDUBON MONUMENT COMMITTEE. 



At a meeting of this committee held on Wednes- 

 day evening, Dec. 2, at the house of Prof. Thomas 

 Egleston, chairman of the joint committee, a very 

 handsome memorial portrait of Audubon was ex- 

 hibited, and a resolution passed to send out a copy 

 to all subscribers of a dollar and upward to the 



^t5^.=.«^1^ 



^^^ 



monument fund. This portrait is from Turnure's 

 steel engraving of Cruikshank's painting, which is 

 considered the best portrait of Audubon extant. Its 

 issue will be confined solely to subscribers to the 

 monument. Our readers will judge of the portrait 

 from the reduced cut given. 



PENNSYLVANIA BIRD NOTES. 



In October there came to the old pear tree before 

 the door, three or four strange birds. They were 

 probably travelers pausing for rest and refreshment. 

 They were larger than a bluebird but not so large as 

 a robin, but their breasts were just the color of a 

 robin's breast. Their backs were black or nearly 

 so. It was toward evening when they came, so we 

 could not tell exactly the color of their backs. We 

 used the glass, but they flitted about so we could not 

 study them as closely as we wished. Their voices 

 were like a blackbird's. They only uttered one note 

 that we heard, a harsh chack chack. They flew 

 away in a few minutes, and although we watched, 

 hoping to see them again, they did not return. 



In the latter part of August we saw a pretty sight. 

 We were driving through a lonely wood road. As 

 we ascended a rise of ground, there was a long low 

 stone pile of a tumble-down rail fence. This fence 

 was overgrown with bushes, and above all rose the 

 forest trees. As we were driving slowly, we heard 

 low sounds on the left, and looking toward the loose 

 stones under the bushes, saw four full-grown par- 

 tridges. Such pretty timid creatures! They had 

 been sitting down, but rose as we looked. They 

 moved a little very quietly, as if in doubt what to do. 

 We were very close to them, and stopped the horse 

 to see them more plainly. We could see the beauti- 

 ful markings on their wings distinctly. They all 

 spread their tails in the prettiest way, very much 

 after the manner of fan-tailed pigeons. After mov- 

 ing about in this way a little while they all spread 

 .their wings and flew off among the trees. Whether 

 they had young and were waiting for them to con- 

 ceal themselves before securing their own safety, we 

 could not tell. It may have been the reason. 



I well remember the first partridge I ever saw. 

 When quite a young girl I was walking through 

 quite a piece of woods alone, when suddenly — from 

 the solid ground it seemed to me — there sprang a 

 creature, I hardly knew what. It flew around and 

 around me, making a curious whirring noise, and it 

 seemed to me that every feather was in motion. I 

 stood speechless with astonishment and terror, when 

 as suddenly the creature took flight and I was left to 

 pursue my way unmolested. On relating my adven- 

 ture at home, my father told me it was a mother par- 

 tridge, who had made this demonstration to attract 

 my attention while her young concealed them- 

 selves. 



Sabbath morn a week ago, as we rose from the 

 breakfast table, a great cawing was heard. On go- 

 ing to the outer door we saw a strange sight. There 

 were hundreds of crows covering the large fields 

 below the house. They were walking about rather 

 quietly the greater part of them ; but on top of a small 

 tree close to the fence was perched one crow, occas- 

 ionally flapping his wings. Three or four crows 

 would arise from those in the fields, fly a short dis- 

 tance above this one cawing loudly, then return and 

 others take their place. We watched them for some 

 time. Whether it was a convention of crows or a 

 court they were holding we had no means of know- 

 ing. Finally they rose in a great cloud and settled 

 in two other fields near the road. Driving past soon 

 after we saw them plainly. The bright sun shone 

 on them and some appeared perfectly white and 

 others a lovely silver gray as they stood in certain 

 lights, but the most looked like black satin. 



Uplands, Pa. LuCY LymaN Peck. 



