70 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 17-No. 5 



the farther edge of the trees, and in the 

 shadow of one of tlieni, clearly silhouetted at 

 my feet, was the outline of a big Turkey 

 gobbler. I slowly raised my head, and then 

 he was sharply outlined against the face of the 

 moon, but only for an instant. The next mo- 

 ment, wings and tail spread out, substance 

 and shadow joined each other away out in the 

 prairie, and I Avatched till only a black speck 

 disappeared into the edge of a big Cabbage 

 woods more than half a mile away. That is 

 just what happens to a man when he is fool 

 enough to leave his gun in camp. Supperless 

 I sat and smoked by my little fire and thought 

 of that momentary vision of sumptuous fare. 

 And when my complaining stomach allowed me 

 to catch little cat na2)s toward morning it was 

 only to see again that broad-winged shadow 

 glide along the moon-lit prairie, meet the legs 

 of the noble fowl as he dropped to earth, and 

 then disappear in the palmettos away beyond. 



From the last of those fitful naps I awoke 

 with a start. The moon was low down, and it 

 could not be long before dawn. Sleep was 

 impossible, and I made up my mind to cross 

 over to the Cabbage woods and try to call the 

 old fellow to breakfast. The burnt prairie 

 was in my favor the first half of the way for 

 its color under the low light harmonized 

 better with moving objects than any other in 

 nature. But as I neared the woods the unburnt 

 stubble made more noise than I liked. The 

 closer I came the more gingerly I slid my feet 

 along, trying to press down and not crack the 

 telltale grass roots. There, in a bit of the 

 blackest shade I could find I cautiously cocked 

 both barrels, cleared out mj"^ pipu with a 

 feather, and called the most enticing pee-pee- 

 pee through it that my eager lij^s could frame. 

 How plain the whole scene seems now, — the 

 reddish glow in* the moonlight, which is seen 

 only for a short time before the early dawn 

 comes on; the black shadows and trunks of 

 the palmettos, and back over my shoulder 

 a little Vermillion spot showed where my fire 

 was yet alive. Twice more I called and listened 

 and then shifted my ground. Again failure, 

 and another noise, when at once, in answer to 

 my call, came the welcome response at least a 

 quarter of a mile away. iS"© more moving for 

 me. Call and call again was answered a little 

 nearer each time, and at last I laid the stock 

 to my cheek and with a " Pity you, but bless 

 my stomach," the catastroiihe came. 



Here is the hair. Lay it on your foot rule. 

 Ten inches or more, isn't it? Guess how 

 much the big gobbler weighed ! Robert Curzon. 



Collecting Around Wenham Lake, 

 North Beverly. 



In looking over my collecting eciuipments 

 to-day, in ex2)ectation of this spring's pleas- 

 ures in the field, I came upon my constant 

 companion on collecting and gunning trips — 

 my note-book. Turning to notes of May ;10, 

 ISUl, I thought, as this was a good day's trip 

 in this vicinity, that some of the western 

 friends of the O. cfe O., that have only to go a 

 little way to find more than we can here by 

 hard tramping all day, miglit be interested; 

 and I, one of the eastern readers, am always 

 ready to hear anijthiwj from any of our eastern 

 ornithologists and oologists, (but very seldom 

 do we hear from any). I thought they might 

 be interested also; so 1 give it as taken from 

 my note-book. 



We started early on the morning of May ;50, 

 ISDl, — my cousin Frank A. Brown, a thorough 

 young naturalist, and myself, — taking the 

 shortest cut for the lake through the woods. 

 After going about a mile we came to what is 

 known as "the spring," a beautiful little 

 spring of ice-cold water always fresh and clear. 



This is a model place for birds and they 

 seem to know it, judging from the number 

 always around and near it. Here tlie first 

 birds noted were a Wilson's Thrush and a pair 

 of Maryland Yellow-throats. The latter birds 

 we watched carrying straw to make their 

 nest. After close watching for some time, 

 lying on a bed of soft moss, we noted the spot 

 where the nest must be, and going over we 

 found it, but so nicely hidden that if we had 

 not seen the bird go there we should never 

 have found it. We left it undisturbed, and 

 about four weeks later Frank got a handsome 

 set of four eggs from it. I also found a Cat- 

 bird's nest within a short distance of the 

 Maryland Yellow-throat's, which of course we 

 left as we found it, after getting a good scold- 

 ing from Mrs. Galeoscoptes carolinensis. 



Arriving at the lake later than we expected 

 we found that the boat we had engaged had 

 been let, as the man thought we were not 

 coming. But we soon secured another for a 

 short time. We rowed straight across the 

 lake, leaving a long trail on the glass-like 

 surface, for this was one of the nicest days we 

 have had this year, — calm, and not a cloud to 

 be seen. The first nest Ave found was that of 

 a Red-winged Blackbird with two eggs, which 

 we did not take as the set was not large 

 enough. Our next find was a nest of the 

 Yellow Warbler with a set of three, which 



