Notes from Field and Study 



197 



The course, which consists of some 

 twenty lectures and of daily excursions 

 for field-study, is in charge of Mrs. Alice 

 Hall Walter, co-author of 'Wild Birds in 

 City Parks,' and editor of the Audubon 

 School Department of Bird-Lore. The 

 course will be given again this coming 

 summer, beginning July i, and continu- 

 ing to August 12. Mrs. Walter will be 

 assisted by Dr. C. E. Ehinger, of the 

 State Normal School of West Chester, Pa. 



Several of the lectures wiU be given by 

 Professor H. E. Walter, of Brown Uni- 

 versity. 



A summary of the lectures is as follows: 

 Classification, with particular reference 

 to North American birds; ancestry; 

 anatomy, based upon the evolution of the 

 skeleton and the adaptation of structure 

 to environment; plumage and molts, 

 showing the development of the different 

 kinds of feathers and their uses; songs; 

 nesting-habits; food-habits, with especial 

 reference to economic ornithology; pro- 

 tection; theories and facts of migration; 

 distribution (i) in general, (2) within 

 limited areas; general and particular 

 methods of study adapted to wide or 

 restricted areas, together with practical 

 suggestions for bird-study in schools. 

 A collection of books, pamphlets, etc., 

 dealing with birds and bird-study will 

 be exhibited, discussed, and placed at the 

 ^disposal of students taking this course; 

 also, a collection of nests. 



Excursions for the summer of 1914 are 

 as follows, subject to conditions of weather 

 and the regular schedule of work: Gardi- 

 ner's Island, Lake Ronkonkoma; Oak 

 Beach or Fire Island; the Brooklyn 

 Museum; American Museum of Natural 

 History, or Bronx Park, as the class 

 may choose. 



During the six weeks, a beginner can get 

 an introduction into ornithology, and 

 can become more or less familiar with 

 some sixty species of nesting-birds. In 

 addition to learning to identify by eye 

 and ear the birds in the field, much work 

 is done toward obtaining accurate and 

 complete data, first-hand, concerning the 

 habits and behavior of the birds of the 



vicinity. A nesting-chart is made each 

 season, together with a list of species 

 identified. Last summer, more than three 

 hundred and fifty nests, either in use or 

 abandoned, were located and identified. 

 Special observations have to do with 

 decline of song, changes in feeding-habit, 

 and occurrence, early fall migration 

 movements, late nesting records, and the 

 post-nuptial molt. 



In addition to the field-work outlined 

 above, particular attention is paid to the 

 identification of trees and all forms of 

 vegetation which furnish nesting-sites, 

 nesting-materials, or food for the birds. 



The course is especially valuable for 

 teachers of nature-study, and each sum- 

 mer a number of teachers avail themselves 

 of the unusual opportunity to add to 

 their efficiency in this very enjoyable 

 way. — G. Clyde Fisher, American 

 Museum of Natural History, New York 

 City. 



European Widgeon in Ohio 



On April 5, 1914, with Mr. Ed. Hadeler, 

 I discovered four Ducks upon the river, 

 and succeeded in reaching the thin fringe 

 of willows at the water's edge, where we 

 could watch them with our glasses at 

 close range. 



Two were female Baldpates, the third 

 an adult male Baldpate, while the fourth, 

 being a red-headed 'Baldpate' with black- 

 ish chin and throat, staggered us for 

 awhile; but upon consulting a pocket- 

 guide, and later other works, we were 

 assured that we had seen a European 

 Widgeon in adult male plumage. I am 

 glad to say we made the most of this 

 opportunity until the Ducks were startled 

 by a boy appearing across the river. 



This particular specimen had as white 

 a 'pate' as the Baldpate, the rest of the 

 head and neck being so distinctly reddish 

 brown as to attract notice at once. This 

 changed to blackish on chin and throat. 

 The back, sides and flanks were so finely 

 lined with black upon white as to appear 

 a French gray; the breast was a light 

 cinnamon, belly white, the tail black. — E. 

 A. DooLiTTLE, Painesville, Lake Co., Ohio. 



