THE OOLOGIST 



BARTRAMIAN SANDPIPER. 



For a long number of years expert 

 gunners have brought in specimens of 

 this bird and the same has been no- 

 ticed around Buffalo and vicinity dur- 

 ing the entire season, making it 

 plausible that they breed here, but 

 never before has this fact been estab- 

 lished. Having heard that numbers 

 were seen in rear of the shipyard on 

 the Canadian side of Niagara River, 

 near Bridgeburg, we decided to go 

 there on June 12th and look for them. 

 Arriving there we searched for them 

 on the somewhat dry meadows and 

 very soon raised a pair, but did not 

 find their nest. The male flew close 

 around us uttering its peculiar whis- 

 tle. Finally the female circled around 

 us uttering its weird whistle entirely 

 different from that of the male. 



We went to another field close by 

 and soon another pair circled around 

 us. We hid in three different direc- 

 tions and watched the birds and were 

 rewarded by seeing the male and 

 female fly to the ground on the same 

 spot. We closed in on them and to 

 our delight, found the nest; but to 

 our grief, the four eggs lay broken, 

 scattered around the nest. Several 

 pictures of the nest and eggs were 

 taken and I finally packed the pieces 

 carefully in a box and have them in 

 my collection. They are more pyas 

 form in shape than those that I have 

 from North Dakota. 



We decided that I should return to 

 the meadow where we saw the first 

 pair and my son Ed. and Mr. .James 

 Savage concluded to make a wide cir- 

 cle to look for more. The latter, after 

 a searching tour located another pair 

 and finally found a young bird about 

 a week old, closely watched by the 

 the parent birds, flying alarmingly 

 around them. Mr. Savage took several 

 pictures. 



I, in the meantime, watched the first 



pair, but could not locate the nest. The 

 male bird lit on a fence post about 

 thirty feet away and uttered its pecu- 

 liar call while the female circled ^ 

 around me. 



By this time the afternoon was well 

 advanced and we had to take our boat ( 

 to get back to Buffalo. 



The end of May will be the proper 

 time next year to look for the eggs. 



The Baitramian and Spotted Sand- 

 pipers have increased materially in 

 the vicinity of Buffalo. 



OTTAMAR REINEKE. 



THE SWAMP SPARROW. 



(Melospiza georgiana) 

 A. O. U. No. 584. 



This incoaspicious little grayish 

 colored bird is well known to all bird 

 students: but to the ordinary layman, 

 it is just one of the multitude of 

 "brown chippies" with which cogno- 

 men most of cur small sparrows are 

 designated. 



The home of the Swamp Sparrow, 

 as its name would imply is in the 

 marshy swamps, scattered throughout 

 its range. This little bird wears a 

 bright chestnut crown and black visor, 

 usually streaked with black. The black 

 throat patch so common to many of 

 our sparrows is wanting. The upper 

 parts are brownish, boldly variegated 

 with black center lines of the feathers, 

 and grayish outer edgings of the wing, 

 giving the bird a streaked appearance. 

 The under parts are an ashy gray. 



Its range covers almost the entire 

 Eastern part of North America West 

 to the Great Plains, North to Hudson 

 Bay and Labrador. It winters in the 

 Southern states. It is an abundant 

 bird in the breeding season, and like 

 its near relative, the Song Sparrow, 

 is a fine musician. 



Its nest is placed at the base of 

 a small sproiat or in the side of a bank 



