298 



THE OOLOGIST. 



by oak and hickory saplings with here 

 and there a small pine shrub, the whole 

 forming a perfect paradise for the 

 Prairies, whose qvieer little Aviry notes 

 could constantly be heard. These notes 

 are (juit'.' characteristic and easily re- 

 cognized and are apt to be the only clue 

 to the anther's whereabouts, for discolor 

 evidently has no wish to be "seen and 

 not heard," but quite the, reverse. 



In their choice of nesting sites they 

 again show little diversity, for Avith few 

 exceptions the nests are built Avithin 

 five or six feet of the ground, usually in 

 an upright crotch of three branches 

 rather than two. One nest, the first 

 found, Avas Avithin one foot and a half 

 of the ground. I may mention here, 

 however, a case coiuing under mj' ob- 

 servation in north-eastern PennsA'hania 

 Avliich is quite exceptional so far as mj- 

 experience runs, namely a [nest of this 

 species in the A^ery tip toji of a maple, 

 at \q^'^{ fifty feet high. It Avas quite in- 

 Aisil)le from the ground and Avas only 

 discovered by chance during an unsuc- 

 ccsful prey upon a pair of Hummers, 

 wliose bunch of lichen, alas, Avas iinas- 

 sailal)le by anything short of Avings. 



Although in the locality referred to 

 above most of our specimens Avere tak- 

 en in the hardwood saplings, a large 

 j^roportion of the scattering pines also 

 held nests. 



While as has been mentioned the 



I'irds are iisually shy and retiring, they 



■ fearless enough Avhen the nest is 



.,ce obviously discovered, and qnce 

 I hey decide upon a nesting site they 

 cling to it AA'ith great attachment, for 

 •though Ave frequently disturbed them 

 Avhile building or tlured them from in- 

 complete sets in no instance did the 

 ]):;: ;idon ucst or eggs n 



i|ii , _ ';)cns witli snnip spc 



'J'he ne^^ts then o q-uite lirm 



and compact Ijut J o iieatly put 



together as one Avould expect from such 

 trim litt'^j housekeejieis. and iisuallj' 

 there was little trouljlc in distinguish- 



ing them from those of the Summer 

 YelloAV Bird, A\'hich also nested abund- 

 antly. 



The numl^er of eggs AA^as four ex- 

 cept two sets of three, no nest holding 

 five though according to most collectors 

 this is not uncommon. 



As last season I had no opportunity 

 to visit m}' Prairies, next year I Avill 

 paj' them special attention to attone for 

 ]ny apparent neglect. 



Migration. 



The so called migratory instinct in 

 birds has occasioned much speculation 

 amoug thoughtful persons. A great 

 deal has been Avritten on this subject, 

 but the basis of truth, I believe, has not, 

 as 3'et, been satisfactorily reached. It 

 is a remarkable and a Aveli established 

 fact that certain birds journe\'^ from 

 one locality to another at particular sea- 

 sons of the year and also that a period- 

 icity of motion is observed. In fact, 

 custom has made this periodical return 

 of the birds of passage to there old 

 haunts so certain that ornithologists ai'e 

 able to forecast, Avithin a few days, the 

 time such and such birds are to arrive. 

 Further that the motion of many of the 

 migratory birds is augmented or re- 

 tarded, according to circumstances, by 

 meteorological changes, has been sub- 

 stantially corroliorated. That knowl- 

 edge and reason are used by the birds 

 during their migrations is very evident, 

 but it has been found necessary', as a 

 rule, to revert to instinct to account for 

 the fundimental impetus Avhich governs 

 their seasonal movement. 



When we observe or learu of the 

 movements of the Bald Eagle, the Os- 

 prey or any of the other large birds 

 Avhich habitually frequent the sea-coast 

 or large water courses we do not won- 

 der that they are able to Avinter in a 

 semi tl'opical clime and to return to 

 their old breeding piaces in the spring. 

 These birds can easily follow the sea - 



