THE OSPEEY. 



A GROSBEAK COLONY. 

 By Verdi BurTch, Perm Yan, N. Y. 



In the early days of my study of birds I con- 

 sidered the beautiful Rose-breasted Grosbeak 

 quite rare in this eounty, though I now think 

 that they may have nested here in certain local- 

 ities at that time. However, I saw but 3 or 4 in- 

 dividuals from 1882 to 188'). On July 14. 1889, I 

 saw a pair, male and female about a patch of 

 alders near Branchport, N. Y., then I saw them 

 again July 21 and 23 at the same place, and am 

 sure they must have nested there. 



But it was not until June 2, 1895, that I met 

 with a Groshbeak at home on its nest. On this 

 memorable day Mr. C. F. Stone and myself were 

 exploring a new part (to us) of Potter Swamp, 

 a large tract of swampy woodland consisting of 

 elm, ash, oak, maple, and in some parts eldar, 

 tamaras and a few pine trees. It is about 9 

 miles long by y 2 to 1 mile broad, and is watered 

 by a small stream. It is situated in a beautiful 

 valley, the hills on either side at this season of 

 the year being covered with growing crops, with 

 here and there a small piece of woods making a 

 fine setting for the numerous farm buildings. 



We had been hard at work exploring the in- 

 terior of the swamp, and as we met with nothing 

 of interest, we came out to the edge where the 

 thick woods were replaced by acres of elder- 

 berry busries with some pussy willows and wild 

 currant bushes interspersed with coarse grass 

 with scatering maples, elms and scrub oaks. 

 Soon Stone called to me, and on going to him I 

 saw in a bunch of bushes a nest of rootlets lined 

 with timothy grass, with a male Grosbeak sit- 

 ting onto it. He allowed us to approach real 

 close, then slipped off revealing four handsome 

 eggs which were bluish-green, thickly spotted 

 with reddish-brown. We searched the vacinity 

 thoroughly, but could find no more nests or 

 birds. 



May 24, 1896, we visited the locality again, 

 and found a nest containing 5 eggs, and again 

 on May 31, when we found a nest with 4 eggs. 

 The female was on this nest, and allowed me to 

 approach within 2 feet of her — before she left 

 the nest. 



In May, 1897, we named this part of the 

 swamp "Grosbeak Colony". At this time there 



were about 25 nests there, nearly all of which 

 were placed in the elderberry bushes, and were 

 from 4 to 6 feet from the ground. An occa- 

 sional nest was placed in bushes father back in 

 the swamp, and some were 1<> to 15 feet from the 

 ground. We found the male incubating on 

 nearly one-half of the nests, and either bird 

 would invariably stick to the nest until we could 

 almost touch them, then they would slip off and 

 keep near us uttering their sharp Peek-Peek. 



In 1898 and 1899 there were but five or six 

 pairs breeding here, but I found several pairs 

 nesting in another swamp a few miles distant, 

 and here their nests were sometimes placed in 

 tamaras trees 10 and 15 feet from the ground. 

 The song of the Grosbeak is pure and remarka- 

 bly sweet, and is one of the most joyous bird 

 songs that I have ever heard. 



Well do I remember the first time that I heard 

 its song. Stone and I were in this same swamp 

 early in May, wading about among stumps and 

 logs knee deep in the mud and water, when 

 suddenly from a tree above us was commenced 

 such a sweet song, and looking up we saw a 

 male Grosbeak in all his glory of black, white 

 and rose color, his whole form quivering with 

 the ecstercy of that happy song. We stood 

 there spell-bound until the singer had finished, 

 and vanished into the depths of the swamp. No 

 words can express the exquisite beauty of that 

 song. 



Breeding in company with the Grosbeaks at 

 "the colony" were Yellow Warblers in great 

 numbers, several pairs of Catbirds, Robins, 

 Scarlot Tanagers, Black-billed Cuckoos, Red- 

 eyed Vireos, Baltimore Orioles, Wilson's 

 Thrushes, Mourning Doves, and on June 6, 1897, 

 I found a nest of Cedar Waxwing only 4'i feet 

 from the ground, in an elderberry bush at the 

 edge of the bushes, a few pairs of Red-wing 

 Blackbirds had their nests, and back in the 

 swamp American Redstarts were common, nest- 

 ing in saplings, and several pairs of Maryland 

 Yellow-throats had their nests safely hidden in 

 turfs of grass. We found here also, two young 

 Woodcock which were but a few days old. 



WILLIAM SWAINSON AND HIS TIMES.— VI. 

 By Theodore Gill, Washington, D. C. 

 (Con tin ued from Vol. I\ ', page 171.) 



"Let me however urge upon you one advise 

 which, for your own sake, I should be sorry you 

 despised. It is to characterize yourself, or get 

 some friend to do so for you, all your new 

 species. The specimens, you tell me, are now 

 in England, & the task will be comparatively 

 easy. I urge this, because you may not be 

 aware that a new species, deposited in a musuem, 

 is of no authority whatsoever, until its name and 

 character are published. I have repeatedly set 

 my face against such authorities, so has Mr. 

 Vigors, so has Ch. Bonaparte, and on this head 

 we are all perfectly unanimous. Unless, there- 



fore, this is done, you will, I am fearful, loose 

 the credit of discovering nearly all the new 

 species you possess, and this I again repeat, for 

 your own sake I should be sorry for. To me. in- 

 dividually, your not doing so, would rather be 

 advantageous. 



"The more a book is quoted, the more is its 

 merits admitted, and its authority established, 

 it was on this account I so repeatedly requested 

 the use only, of a copy of your book, that it 

 might have been cited in "Northern Zoology" 

 not having it — I could not therefore mention 

 it, 



