THE OSPREY. 



21 



THE MOCKINGBIRD IN WESTERN KANSAS AND ITS ENVIRONMENTS. 

 Bv AimiE L. Booker, Grand Pass, Mo. 



It was my lot during the spring of 1894 to 

 spend some time in a small village situated <>n 

 the Arkansas River in the southwest part of the 

 State of Kansas, the region of drought and hot 

 winds. 



The village contained one good sized young 

 Cottonwood tree and a few scattering fruit trees, 

 mere saplings that had not attained the size of 

 respectable shrubs. About a mile out from town 

 there was a nice thrifty young orchard of a 

 number of seasons' growing. With the excep- 

 tion of the river botton, mostly in alfalfa, the 

 surrounding country, for miles and mile.-, was 

 an unbroken expanse of buffalo grass, with here 

 and there a clump of cacti, but not a shrub nor 

 tree to relieve the monotonous land scape. 



The bird life of this district was almost en- 

 tirely different from that with which I was 

 familiar -that of the Central Mississippi Valley. 

 Aside from a few waders Curlews and Sandpi- 

 pers along the river, the avifauna consist- of 

 species characteristic of the Great Plain-. 



Western Meadow Larks were quite numerous, 

 also Prairie Sparrows and those queer compan- 

 ions of the prarie dogs, the Burrowing owls, 

 were found about every dog town. But, taken 

 all in all, bird life was not very abundant, and 

 songsters were particularly scarce. The list of 

 song birds indeed was almost limited to the 

 Western Meadow Earks. 



The Common Meadow Lark had been one of 

 my most intimate bird friends since early child- 

 hood, and it was with much pleasure that I made 

 the acquaintance of his western cousin, who 

 proved to be equally interesting in fact more so 

 — on account of the deficiency of soul;- birds in 

 that vast treeless country. His tine exhilarat- 

 ing voice was heard far and near. 



< hie beautiful spring morning, some time 

 after my arrival. I was surprised and delighted 

 to hear a concert that made the Lark's sink into 

 insignificance. It seemed that all the eastern 

 birds had been turned loose in the desert air and 

 were fairly making the welkin ring. 



There were the notes of the Purple Martin. 

 Crow, Catbird. Woodpecker, Jay and others in 

 succession, though these birds themselves were 

 not there. All of this music issued from the 

 throat of a single lyrist, that most renowned of 

 all our songsters, the Mockingbird. 



Upon inquiry I was informed by the inhab- 

 itants that he had been a regular summer resi- 

 dent for several years. A pair of these birds 

 had first appeared there soon after the setting 

 of the orchard mentioned, and each season since 

 they had built their nest and reared their young 

 in this orchard. 



This pair of birds had left their luxuriant 

 southern home, with its beautiful shrubs, trees, 

 vines and hedges, and taken up their abode 

 where all is decidedly at variance with their 

 natural habitat. What there was to attract them 

 there, isolated from all their own and kindred 

 species, with seemingly uncongenial environ- 

 ments, was a mystery. Was it their mission to 

 make this little settlement more cheerful and 

 homelike with their lively ways and polyg'lot 

 s^ ings? They were the only woodland birds that 

 had yet ventured to follow civilization to this 

 point. 



Although the orchard was the Mockingbird's 

 favorite haunt, he would come to the village 

 several times daily, and from the solitary Cot- 

 tonwood tree pour forth his soul in song. He 

 was an accomplished musician and master 

 mimic, and it was quite evident that his educa- 

 tion had been received from an eastern or a 

 southern school, for his repertoire was great, and 

 composed of notes wholly foreign to this section. 

 A Mockingbird is a noticeable object under any 

 circumstances, and this pair were the most at- 

 tractive and conspicuous features of the village. 

 They were cherished by the inhabitants, though 

 none of them were bird students, and were very 

 fearless and confiding, even coining to the door 

 steps of the house where I was staying, to bathe 

 at the kitchen pump. 



NOTES REGARDING THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS AS OBSERVED AT THE 



WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 



By Percy Shufelbt, Washington. D. C. 



For several years past I have been much in- 

 terested in reports of the great number of birds 

 killed during the spring and fall migration by 

 butting against the Washington Monument. 

 Beginning with September 3d of this year. Mr. 

 A. E. Colburn and myself determined to make 

 some personal observations on this point. We 

 succeeded in enlisting in our service the two 

 night watchmen. Mr. Talbot and Mr. Barry: 

 to both of these gentlemen we owe our sinceresl 

 thanks for their efforts in delivering bird.- which 

 were killed during our absence. 



The comparative irregularity of our observa- 

 tions were caused mainly by the exactions of 

 our daily work, which entail an early rising 



and detained us often until late into the night. 

 I am satisfied that only a very few of the birds 

 killed during the absence of an observer at the 

 time of their falling are saved on account 

 of the numerous rats and cats which visit the 

 monument in search of food. This year, from 

 what we have been able to learn from the 

 watchmen, has been the poorest for making 

 observations of any for a number of year- 

 back. We have been informed that on some 

 nightsduring previous years as many as "twelve 

 or thirteen dozen" birds were picked up one 

 morning: allow for birds eaten by cats and 

 carried off by rats and an idea may be found of 

 the number killed. 



