4SO 



Bird - Lore 



He lived, contentedly, with us, tumb- 

 ling in and out of his shallow tub at will, 

 and the pat, pat. of his funny feet on the 

 concrete floor of the hothouse grew to be 

 a friendly sound. 



And then came the spring, and in our 

 inland town we were unable longer to 

 procure smelts for him, and, as he seemed 

 perfectly able again to take his place in 

 birdland, one warm day we took him to a 

 lake nearby, and as he sailed away we 

 said good-bye to Pepper. 



Although practically helpless on land, 

 he was very much at home on the water, 

 and finding that his pond was not sur- 

 rounded by a wooden rim, he swam and 

 splashed from sheer joy; then, coming out 

 on a small island, carefully arranged his 

 plumage, then swam again. Several times 

 later in the season, as we crossed the cove, 

 we saw Pepper enjoying the life we had 

 saved.- — Coeabelle Cummings, Norway, 

 Maine. 



The Old Squaw in Jackson Park, 

 Chicago 



The winter of 1911-12 was remarkable 

 for its severity; Lake Michigan, at least 

 in the vicinity of Jackson Park, being 

 solidly frozen over as far as visible from 

 land, except for a few very small open 

 areas here and there, both in the open 

 lake at a short distance from shore and 

 in Jackson Park Harbor. The Old Squaws 

 were driven in close to shore, doubtless 

 to seek food, which, in the form of silvery 

 minnows, fairly swarms about the piers. 

 (This may be the case every winter, but 

 I have not had the opportunity to observe 

 it.) On account of the few open places, 

 the birds were easily observed at close 

 range, and the following notes may be of 

 interest. 



January 28, 191 1, they were seen in the 

 harbor, these being the first arrivals, as 

 far as known. The birds stayed in the 

 harbor and vicinity until March 19, a 

 warm and rainy day, but the lake was 

 still frozen over, when they disappeared. 



March 19, I saw a dead female floating 

 around in a small open expanse of water 



near the end of a pier in Lake Michigan. 

 The same bird had been seen, March 17, 

 in the same locality, apparently in good 

 health, although it did not fly when closely 

 approached, but dove instead. 



March 23, 1 found a female frozen in the 

 ice, out in the lake a short distance from 

 shore. This bird may have been dead for 

 some time, as its plumage was still in the 

 winter aspect, and was also considerably 

 frayed. 



April I, I found another female floating 

 in a lagoon connecting with the lake, it 

 having been carried in with floating chunks 

 of ice. This bird was in its spring plumage. 

 Like the one found March 23, it was in as 

 good condition as most Ducks are in the 

 spring. There were, however, no layers 

 of fat underneath the skin. Its crop con- 

 tained approximately one hundred and 

 forty entire silvery minnows {Natropls 

 alherinoides), averaging about two inches 

 in length, besides many fragments of the 

 same fish; so it seems unlikely that death 

 was due to starvation. Other accounts 

 of the Old Squaws found dead in winter 

 usually state that the birds are very much 

 emaciated, being nothing but skin and 

 bone, but this is certainly not true here. 

 There were no apparent wounds in either 

 of the cases cited. 



May 6, with Dr. R. M. Strong's bird 

 class from the University of Chicago, I 

 saw a solitary female on one of the lagoons, 

 a remarkably late occurrence. The bird's 

 presence was not due to rough or cold 

 weather, and it was gone the next day. — 

 Edwin D. Hull, Chicago, III. 



Gulls and Clams 



At the request of Mr. Samuel N. 

 Rhoads, I am sending you a photograph 

 showing the clam-shells on a bridge over 

 Little Egg Harbor Bay, with the follow- 

 ing explanation: 



I presume this has been done by the 

 winter Gulls, who migrate as soon as the 

 weather gets warm, for the process has not 

 been going on for a month. 



This span of the bridge is a mile long, 

 and the photograph shows clearly the 



