20,S 



Bird - Lore 



cumstanccs that there was no doubt that 

 they were neither the ]>itt!c Blue Heron 

 nor the Snowy Egret. 



On August 7, 191 1, 1 observed a single 

 individual of this species near Sussex, 

 New Jersey (Auk, Jan., 1912). — John 

 Dryden Kuser, Bernardsville, N. J. 



Wilson's Snipe Wintering in Nova 

 Scotia 



Within a mile of Wolfville (Kings Co.), 

 there is a small spring swamp covering 

 perhaps half an acre, and sheltered by 

 steep banks on the east and west and by 

 a few trees generally. This swamp, or 

 bog-hole as it might more properly be 

 called, never wholly freezes, and is never 

 entirely submerged with snow. Even 

 with 30 to 40 degrees of frost and a heavy 

 fall of snow, there are always to be found 

 small avenues where the tender grass 

 shows green and the water trickles un- 

 frozen. In such weather one can walk 

 practically all over this area, by avoiding 

 these open places; but in the summer it is 

 a quaking bog and is very treacherous. 

 On January 11, 1915, while passing along 

 the margin of the small stream which 

 flows from this swamp, I was startled by 

 the sudden and wholly unexpected rising 

 of a Wilson's Snipe under my very feet. 

 The ground was covered with snow and it 

 was very cold. He flew but a few yards. I 

 flushed him again, and this time he rose 

 in the air and flew above my head in 

 great circles for some moments, finally 

 dropping within thirty yards of me. I 

 have visited the swamp once or twice 

 weekly since then, and each time have 

 had little difficulty in starting my long- 

 billed-friend. One evening about dusk 

 while waiting there for Ducks, the silence 

 was broken by a sudden whir, and the 

 Snipe dropped within fifteen feet of where 

 I was hiding, and immediately commenced 

 to feed. It was a novel sight. He would 

 ]irobe the soft mud and ooze with great 

 rapidity, seeming to know instantly 

 whether or not he had found what he was 

 after, in the shape of small worms or 

 grubs an inch or two below the surface. 



Sometimes he would stand erect and 

 motionless, his black form silhouetted 

 against the white batkground of snow, as 

 though the presence of an intruder were 

 suspected. Then, reassured that all was 

 well, he would begin probing again. 

 On several occasions, when flushed more 

 than once, he would clear out altogether, 

 but, next time I came, he was always 

 there to rejoice me with his guttural 

 scaip, scaip, as he rose. 



I recall that my brother discovered a 

 pair wintering in this same swamp some 

 twelve or fifteen years ago. These are 

 the only records which have come to my 

 notice of Wilson's Snipe seen in Nova 

 Scotia in midwinter. — R. W. Tufts, 

 Wolfville, Nova Scotia. 



Notes on the Red-headed Woodpecker 

 at Rhinebeck, N. Y. 



In the November-December, 1914, 

 number of Bird-Lore, Mr. George T. 

 Griswold speaks of the unusual number of 

 Red-headed Woodpeckers seen last 

 autumn. 



The Red-head at Rhinebeck, N. Y., 

 has, during the past fifteen years, been an 

 uncommon transient from May 15 to 

 16 and from September 7 to 21. In 

 October, 1914, however, two immature 

 specimens settled down near my house 

 and at the date of writing are still here. 

 During the whole of October they were 

 very busy storing acorns, and one bird 

 particularly attracted my attention 

 because he selected the open end of a 

 pipe support of my tennis-court back- 

 stop for a storehouse. He would fly to it 

 with an acorn, jam it past a wire that 

 passes diametrically through the end of the 

 pipe, and then turn his head sideways 

 either to hear or to see it drop down to 

 the bottom. It will be interesting to see 

 if he will make any attempt to recover 

 them! 



When the Woodpeckers and Blue Jays 

 had disposed of most of the acorns, the 

 former turned their attention to the locust 

 borers and other insect pests with which 

 my trees are unfortunately infested. Dur- 



