76 



OROTTHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 14-:N^o. 5 



common during the fall, winter and spring: 

 No. 1. Young $ . Nov. 7th, 1880. Stomach 

 contained a Chickadee (Parus atricapillus). 



2. Adult $. March 6th, 1885. Stomach 

 contained remains of small bird {Parus utrica- 

 pi'Was '?) and a white worm. 



3. Young. Dec. 7th, 1884. Stomach con- 

 tained a Golden Crowned Kinglet {Regulus sa- 

 trapa). 



4. Adult ^. Dec. 12th, 1885. Stomach 

 empty, but was shot in the act of catching a 

 Kinglet. 



5. 9. Nov. 20th, 188G. Stomach was well 

 filled with grasshoppers. 



6. Adult $. March 15th, 1887. Stomach 

 contained a small bird. 



7. Adult $. March 12th, 1887. Stomach 

 contained a small rodent. 



8. 9 . March 26th, 1887. Stomach not ex- 

 amined, but was shot while pursuing a Tree 

 Sparrow. 



9. Young 9. Nov. 10th, 1887. Stomach 

 contained a small rodent. 



10. 9 [?]. Dec. 7th, 1887. Stomach con- 

 tained bones and feathers of a small bird. 



11. 9- Oct. y 1st, 1888. Stomach contained 

 grasshoppers. 



12. 9. Jan. 21st, 1880. Stomach contained 

 remains of small bird. 



13. 9. Nov. 15th, 1888. Stomach con- 

 tained a small bird. 



14. 9. Dec. 21st, 1887. Stomach con- 

 tained small rodent. 



15. 9- Nov. 24th, 1887. Stomach contained 

 beetles and grasshoppers. 



It will be seen from the above that of the 

 fifteen stomachs examined seven contained 

 small birds; three, rodents; two, grasshoppers; 

 one, beetle and grasshopper; two were also 

 shot in the suspicious situation of catching 

 small birds. 



From this summary the larger part was 

 small birds, while those containing insects oc- 

 cupy only a fifth part of the entire number. 

 Again there is no reason to believe that the 

 Shrikes in these instances were driven by hunger 

 to feed upon these small birds, as they were 

 nearly all taken during mild weather, and a 

 "cold snap" is liable to drive them from this 

 locality. 



It would seem from the various articles that 

 have appeared in the O. & O. from time to 

 time, that the food of this species dilfers ac- 

 cording to the locality that it inhabits; this be- 

 ing the case a large amount of data is nec- 

 essary to bring about a satisfactory result. 



Willard E. Treat. 



A Squirrel in Trouble. 



It is interesting sometimes when occasion 

 permits, to watch the playful actions of our 

 birds and smaller animals, and to note their 

 peculiarities in each individual case. An inci- 

 dent happened Sept. 20th, of the past year, 

 while I was afield, which pleased me so very 

 much that I cannot help writing about it. I 

 was collecting through an extensive tract of 

 pine and scrub oak woods near Attleboro 

 Falls, Mass., called the burnt district, as it had 

 been burned over several years ago. It is 

 sparsely covered with dead yellow i)ines, some 

 of them broken off by the wind, with a thick 

 underbrush of scrub oak, making a f.avorable 

 locality for Warblers and Nuthatches of which 

 I was in quest. As I was working my way 

 along through the tangled undergrowth I no- 

 ticed quite a commotion among a Hock of 

 Bluebirds, off some distance to my right. Ap- 

 proaching cautiously in the direction I saw a 

 Red Squirrel sprawled on the trunk of a tall 

 dead pine, api)arently frightened out of his 

 wits. A dcjzen or more Bluebirds were flying 

 about and pecking at him, and seeming to 

 have the greatest sport imaginable. One of 

 the birds would dart down and snap at Mr. 

 Squirrel's tail, and quick as a flash he would 

 turn end for end uttering a loud bark, while 

 another and then another would snap at it 

 again; in this manner they kept him turning 

 about as if on a pivot for some time, and the 

 effect was so amusing that I laughed aloud. 

 Tlie squirrel tried going up the tree, but the 

 higher he went the worse the situation grew, 

 finally he gave a loud aquir-r-r and scudding 

 down the tree disappeared. The biixls all lit 

 and looked about for their victim, but Mr.Squir- 

 I'el did not appear again. Edward Tennant. 



Carolina Wren. 



While out collecting, February 0th of this 

 winter, I shot a fine male specimen of the 

 Carolina Wren {ThrtjothoruH ludovlrianus) near 

 Towson, Baltimore Co., Md. Is not this very 

 far north for this species in winter? Cones in 

 his "Key" states that its occurrence north of 

 Washington in winter is doubtful. Towson 

 is fully forty-five if not fifty miles north of the 

 District of Columbia. J. H. Plea-mnts, Jr. 



P.S. Cones does not use the same words 

 given above, but to me they confer the same 

 idea. ./. //. P., Jr. 



