132 



THE OOLOGIST 



and ready for the onslaught of the li- 

 censed mob. I have on the dryblock a 

 fine female great horned owl shot by 

 Mr. George Snow after It was betray- 

 ed by noisy pestering crows. One of 

 the local males among our stuffed 

 owls was shot on a barn by Mr. Wil- 

 liam Gordon. I choloformed the last 

 cannibal bubo in the owlery. I often 

 feel like feeding chloroform to our 

 macow for its unearthly shrieks, but 

 for the fact that it imitates exactly 

 the hoots of all owls, and the calls 

 of bobwhite, whippoorwill, poultry, 

 dogs and the human voice. For eight 

 years there has been no record of 

 eagles at the Quail Trap. Ospreys 

 pass over sometimes, and one was 

 shot by a farmer on Redhead Hill. 



Preston City lady who writes so fas- 

 cinatingly for The Bulletin of the 

 feathered wards she charms on her 

 window sill. C. L. R. 



Who can tell whether it is a blight 



or the drought that has early in Sep- 

 tember killed the leaves on all the 

 white birches in the four parishes. 

 Maybe it is a new insect plague, for 

 Mr. Murdock, who was cutting birches 

 today on Harold Hibbard's farm, says 

 that his clothes were covered with 

 strange looking bugs. Who ever saw 

 the woodbine as bright as it is now 

 without the action of frost? Sumac, 

 maple and beech are foils, but the 

 sandfire of the salt marshes alone can 

 rival its glistening cardinal. From the 

 army of warblers beginning to go 

 south a few daily stop on the ash 

 wind-break at the west-windows of 

 the Quail Trap, where 1 sit with pen- 

 cil and notebook, recording this early 

 movement. If the East Woodstock 

 bird man is similarly occupied, we can 

 compare notes at the end of October. 

 Bird matters at the west parish con- 

 tinue to be well looked after by the 

 veteran ornithologist, the Rev. Mr. 

 Jones, and there are a score of trained 

 observers between Woodstock and 

 Norwich. But how many of these peo- 

 ple could have the patience of the 



Bird Notes. 



Publishing as much bird material as 

 we do, we are continually in need of 

 copy. Our readers have little idea of 

 the large amount of copy that one is- 

 sue of THE OOLOGIST eats up. The 

 result is, we are nearly always shy. 



While we have many splendid bird 

 articles on hand, yet it has been our 

 endeavor for sometime to keep gather- 

 ing these together that we might col- 

 lect them and publish them in such a 

 way as we could devote separate is- 

 sues of THE OOLOGIST largely, if 

 not exclusively to different bird fami- 

 lies; as for instance, one issue to the 

 Raptor es, another issue to the Wad- 

 ers, another issue to the Wild Fowl, 

 still another to the Warblers, and so 

 on. 



In order to do this, we of course, 

 must have a large stock of material 

 anl would appreciate any contributions 

 that our subscribers might see fit to 

 make along these lines. It is not neces- 

 sary that the contributions should be 

 either lengthy or specially scientific. 

 Short, newsy notes are always accept 

 able with us. 



Florida Jays. 

 In Hillsbrook County, Florida, we 

 get quite a number of the Florida Jays 

 (Aphelocoma cyanen), but during the 

 last few weeks they have disappeared. 

 They are the tamest birds here. A 

 neighbor is in the habit of feeding 

 them, and she gets as many as sixteen 

 on the veranda at once. In the spring 

 they are in the habit of pecking at win- 

 dows. A. G. REYNOLDS. 



