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Bird - Lore 



In Clark's 'Birds of Amherst and 

 Vicinity* we find one instance noted of the 

 appearance of this bird in Northampton, in 

 May, 1883. — Mrs. Thos. W. Smith, 

 Amherst, Mass. 



Bird Notes from Connecticut 



On September 16, 1914, Mr. \V. B. 

 Wheeler wrote me that a Mockingbird 

 was staying in the wild-plum bushes along 

 the shore at Fairfield, and on September 

 27, I found the bird perched upon a barn 

 in the same neighborhood. It was seen 

 up to October 14, by Mr. Wheeler, and 

 was singing from his gate-post. This is 

 the first time I have known the Mock- 

 ingbird to be in this section. 



On October 31, I found a Migrant 

 Shrike beside the road and, when flushed, 

 he flew into the top of a tall tree and 

 began to sing. I watched him for nearly 

 five minutes, and when I left he was still 

 singing. This makes seven of these 

 Shrikes I have seen at different times, but 

 is the first time I have heard one attempt 

 to sing. 



On November 5, an immature Black- 

 breasted Plover was brought to me with 

 both wings broken, doubtless by some 

 hunter. 



The next day another was shot, and on 

 November 7, the flock was still on the 

 same marsh. All were immature birds, 

 and it seems to be a new and late record for 

 these birds in Connecticut, as the latest 

 date for them in the 'Birds of Connecticut' 

 is given as October 21, 1903. 



On November 9, an American Bittern 

 was found along the road and brought to 

 me. It was evidently another case of 

 wanton killing; one wing was broken, 

 and a shot in the neck left the bird to 

 wander about until it died. This, too, 

 seems a late record for the fall migration, 

 as the latest in the 'Birds of Connecticut' 

 is October 24, 1890, with one winter 

 record of December 29, 1904. 



There was a large flight of Warblers this 

 fall, and they attacked and nearly ruined 

 the grapes in places, an act due, probably, 

 to the drought. Mj^rtle and Blackpoll 



Warblers were the greatest offenders. A 

 Myrtle Warbler which flew into a barn 

 near the grape-vine was caught by a girl 

 and held in a cage for several days, and 

 became so tame as to sit upon her finger, 

 and would thrust its bill into a grape and 

 work it with all the appearance of drink- 

 ing of the juices of the grape. The punc- 

 ture in the grape was identical in appear- 

 ance with those in the ruined grapes on 

 the vines. — WiLBtJR F. Smith. South 

 Norwalh, Conn. 



The Spring Migration of 1914 at Rhine- 

 beck, Dutchess County, N. Y. 



For some years I have tried to follow 

 the Spring migration whenever possible, 

 and by preserving my records have pre- 

 pared a fair list of the earliest arrivals of 

 the commoner species. I am always on 

 the lookout, trying to improve these 

 records, either for earliest arrival or latest 

 departure, both in spring and in autumn, 

 and I naturally expect to make a few 

 modifications each season. But in 1914, 

 when spring arrived nearly a month late 

 and the snow did not disappear until 

 after the middle of April, I was most sur- 

 prised at being able to break thirty-one 

 records for early arrival, equal eight 

 more, establish three not recorded before 

 in spring, and add five new species to my 

 local list. I also noted three species which 

 arrived only one day late. 



The birds arrived in several more or 

 less pronounced 'waves.' That of March 

 25 brought the various Blackbirds, and 

 culminated on the 29th with the Migrant 

 Shrike and Hermit Thrush. The second 

 wave occurred on April 8, when a rainy 

 south wind was blowing; the best birds 

 produced by it being the Savannah 

 Sparrow, Yellow Palm Warbler, and 

 Louisiana Water-Thrush. April 19 and 

 20 marked the third wave, and brought 

 some Swallows ahead of time. 



The most remarkable wave was that of 

 April 29, another rainy day with a south 

 wind, when ten Warblers arrived, eight 

 being ahead of time, and when the Least 

 Flycatcher and Wood Thrush also came, 



