Notes from Field and Study 



449 



Japanese Crab-apple {Malus florihunda) . 

 September to March. 

 Robin and Cedar Waxwing. The Cedar 

 Waxwings were abundant this fall while 

 these and the Juniper berries lasted; the 

 Robins feed on the fallen berries from 

 the ground in the spring. 

 Japanese Crab-apple {Malus ringo). October. 

 Cedar Waxwing, sparingly;Pheasant, freely. 

 Poirett's Barberry (Berberis poirettii). Sep- 

 tember. 

 Robin, sparingly. 

 Common Barberry {Berberis vulgaris). Sep- 

 tember. 

 Robin, sparingly. 

 Thunberg's Barberry {Berberis thunbergii). 

 March and April. 

 Robin, freely. There is a large collection 

 of barberries in the park, but the birds 

 do not touch them when other fruits 

 are abundant. 

 Candle Berry {Myrica carolinensis). Sep- 

 tember to October. 

 Myrtle Warbler, very freely; in fact they 

 did not leave the park until all the ber- 

 ries were disposed of. 

 Red Cedar {Juniperus virginiana). October. 

 Fruited very freely this year. 

 Myrtle Warbler, freely; Cedar Waxwing, 

 very freely. Because of these and the 

 Japanese crab-apples the Cedar Wax- 

 wings were abundant this fall. 

 Spindle-Tree {Euonymus sieboldianus , E. 

 europcBUs, and E. maackii). October. 

 Myrtle Warbler, freely. 

 Matrimony Vine {Lycium haliminifolium) . 

 November. 

 Robin, freely. 

 Diervilla or Weigelia {Diervilla hybrida, in 

 variety). Fall and winter. 

 Slate-colored Junco and Tree Sparrows, 

 very freely. 

 Dandelion {Leontodon taraxacum). 



Pine Siskin, freely, in early spring. 

 Black Birch {Betula lenta). December. 



Redpoll, freely. 

 European White Birch {Betula alba). August 

 to March. 

 Redpoll, Goldfinch, and Red-breasted 

 Nuthatch, freely. 

 Red Birch {Betula nigra). August and Sep- 

 tember. 

 Goldfinch, freely. 

 European and Japanese Larches {Larix 

 europcea and L. leptolepis). September to 

 June. 

 Goldfinch, and Redpoll, freely. 

 St. John's- Wort {Hypericum prolificum). 

 Fall and winter. 

 Slate-colored Junco and Tree Sparrows, 

 very freely. 

 Goumie {Elceagnus longipes). July. 

 Robin, freely. 



Pepper 



Of our many pets, both feathered and 

 furry, the Holboell's Grebe, which came to 

 our home February 14, 1913, was the 

 most interesting. A day's snowshoeing 

 across a glistening field, where flocks of 



Snow Buntings balanced on the brown 

 seed-stalks, and through piney woods 

 made cheery by Chickadees, brought us at 

 last to a railroad, where we found this 

 queer bird in an exhausted condition. At 

 a time when all lakes and streams in our 

 Maine climate are frozen, he would surely 

 have perished in a few hours had we not 

 brought him home. 



Pepper, we christened him for two 

 reasons: The first of his species we had 

 seen was bobbing gaily on the surface of 

 Pepperpot, a tiny pond in the Rangely 

 Lake region, and because of the seeming 

 spiciness of his disposition. This proved, 

 however, to be only fright and, after the 

 first few days his strange, pitiful cry 

 changed to a happy little call-note; and, 

 as he learned that we were his friends, he 

 became very gentle, coming awkwardly 

 to meet us and eating from our hands. 



On a trip to the seacoast fifty miles 

 away, we had thought to take Pepper and 

 give him his freedom in the open waters 

 of some bay. But at this time, the oil 

 with which all water-birds are supplied 

 seemed to fail, and whenever he swam in 

 his tub he became wet and cold; so we 

 placed him in the hot-house, where the 

 steady, moist heat seemed to agree with 

 him, and in a few weeks he could boast of 

 well-oiled feathers, that shed water like 

 the proverbial Duck's back. 



His food consisted wholly of smelts, 

 which he invariably but daintly swallowed 

 whole, always head first, and if given him 

 tail first, he deftly gave them a flip with 

 his long, pointed bill, and down they went 

 head first! 



Fish of other kinds, even though cut in 

 strips to resemble smelts, he refused, but 

 for smelts he was ever ready, eating beyond 

 all reason often five and six large ones, and 

 then suddenly deciding that he was over- 

 eating, he proceeded with a little snap of 

 his head, and no apparent effort, to dis- 

 gorge the last one or two he had swallowed. 

 How this could be accomplished with the 

 fish coming back tail first, as it must, 

 and considering the natural resistance of 

 the fins, was a never-ending mystery to 

 his friends. 



