THE OOLOGIST. 



(5? 



abstinence of ten days or two weeks, 

 would never touch a mouthful while 

 any one remained in sight. No sever- 

 ity could subjugate, no kindness could 

 conciliate, no Bengal tiger could be 

 more untamable, aud I finally turned 

 it out in disgust. 



A few 3'ears ago I discovered on the 

 ground, in the middle of a field, a 

 snow-Avhite object surrounded by a 

 clamorous troop of crows, which I at 

 once recognized as the Great Polar, or 



SNOW OWL. 



I was soon in pursuit, gun in hand, 

 and was led on from field to field for 

 half a day. It invariably, af tei- a short 

 flight, settled on the ground, and by 

 its quick eye and ear baffled ever}' 

 manoeuvre to apj)roach it. Finally, by 

 a long shot on the wing, I brought it 

 down and secured it, so little injured 

 that by the next day it flew as well as 

 ever. I expected that so large a bird, 

 reared am^ng the savage wilds of the 

 Polar regions, would prove equally 

 fierce with its "Virginia conjener," 

 but to my surprise from the first it 

 suffered me to put my hand to its 

 mouth, sat on my bare wrist, and ate 

 food readily from my hand. In short, 

 with its great size, splendid eyes and 

 amiable manners, I never saw a more 

 interesting bird. 



From these grand old monstei'S of 

 the night to 



THE SPARROWS 



is a great descent — from the sublime 

 to the ridiculous — but we are merely 

 on a ramble to observe whatever chance 

 mny offer. From Wilson down, writ- 

 ers concur in making the field Sparrow 

 {Spizella pusilla Bonap) nest on the 

 ground. I have found many of these 

 nests, but never one on the ground. 

 They were in all cases on low bushes, 

 usually a blackberry or raspberry, 

 from one to two feet above ground, 

 composed of fine dry grass loosely 



woven and contained from 4 to 5 eggs 

 thickly sprinkled with minute ferugin- 

 ous spots. Among these, in several 

 instances, was one ^^^^ of the cow 

 bird — that parasitic Bohemian among 

 American, as the cuckoo is among Eu- 

 ropean birds. 



It is with much diffidence that I 

 suggest another subject of inquiry : 



THE WARBLERS. 



Are not the " Connecticut " and the 

 " Mourning " Warbler identical ? They 

 closely resemble in general color, in 

 size and shape of bill, legs, wing and 

 tail, and as far as I have observed, in 

 habits. The difference of color about 

 the head and throat is not greater than 

 is frequently seen between the fall and 

 spring plumage of birds, and as I have 

 never seen the " Connecticut " warbler 

 in the spring or the " Mourning " in 

 the fall, I conclude that the latter is 

 but the immotion or fall plumage of 

 the former. 



Gentle reader ! have you ever heard 

 the song of 



swainson's thrush? 

 On two or three occasions in the fall, 

 Avhile quietly watching the small fry flut- 

 tering through the tops of the forest 

 trees, amid the stillness of the woods, 

 my ear has suddenly caught a faint 

 sound of music, so soft and exquisite 

 as to seem not of earth. On cautious- 

 ly approaching I found this to proceed 

 from "Swainson's Thrush." Sitting 

 motionless and unseen but for his mel- 

 ody, he poiired forth a succession of 

 low, whispered notes excelling in 

 sweetness anything I had ever heard, 

 and I thought if at this season when 

 other birds are mute he made for his 

 own amusement music so exquisite, 

 what must his song be when animated 

 by love — he pours its full tide into the 

 ear of his mate, who sits patiently 

 nursing their hopes of a young brood ? 

 Virginia. w. t. allen. 



