THE OOLOGIST. 



85 



they are only outstripped in altitude by 

 the Swifts among the small birds, and 

 the Swifts are after prey. The Bobo- 

 link towers in its song flight, and the 

 Ovenbird and Vesper Sparrow also 

 pour forth their refrain at times when 

 making a special effort on the wing. 

 The flight of these birds at the time 

 when giving this effort is in the form of 

 a flutter. Other birds have a fluttering 

 form of flight, generally more noticeable 

 in nesting time, as with the Bluebird, 

 Song Sparrow and a few other Spar- 

 rows, while this form of wing move- 

 ment is a general habit with the Wrens. 

 The long-tailed perchers fly with a 

 flirt of the tail, as the Brown Thrush 

 and Towhee; the same is seen in the 

 Chickadee and Gnatcatcher, as well as 

 with others of the short-winged birds 

 which are often provided with long 

 tails, as if to make amends for the de- 

 ficient wing power. Other species, as 

 the Meadowlark beat the wings rapidly 

 after the manner of the Bob-white, 

 lew birds with long wings and ample 

 tail are given to this form of flight. 

 The Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Cross- 

 bills, Goldfinch, Siskin, .Nuthatches, 

 Horned and Titlarks, and many others 

 including the diminutive Brown Creeper 

 adopt an undulating flight. This form 

 of flight is also followed by the Mary- 

 land Yellow-throat and some others of 

 the warblers. This up and down 

 course, common to the Woodpeckers as 

 well, is never seen in swift flyirig species, 

 as the hawks or waterfowl and shore 

 birds. Crows, Ravens and Jays are 

 straight away fliers, rarely deviating 

 from a selected course and seldom in- 

 dulging in fancy flying. Kingbirds se- 

 lect Crows and Buzzard Hawks from 

 their known habits of flight, to perse- 

 cute, but the falcons and rapid flying 

 ducks are not often chased by the 

 tyrant. Some birds vary their style of 

 flying at different seasons, as the Bobo- 

 link, which is never known to fly high 

 in the summer after the nesting duties 



are finished. Others differ when flying 

 singly or in a flock. The Snowflake is 

 a simple flier when single, but when a 

 flock sweeps* over the fields in winter 

 the variations are marked, all the 

 sweeping dashes of a bunch of Sand- 

 pipers being indulged in, the flock pre- 

 senting a fine spectacle as it swirls 

 above the snow covered plain. 



The Swallow family is composed of 

 graceful fliers, and all forms of aerial 

 movements are followed by these in- 

 sect feeders in their search for food. 

 The Barn Swallow is perhaps the most 

 graceful, but is followed closely by the 

 White-breasted, while the Martin is a 

 powerful bird on the wing. 



M. Gibbs, Kalamazoo, Mich. 



The Shore Birds of Martha's Vineyard. 



By Charles Lincoln Phillips, "Auth- 

 or of Frederick Young." 



While at Cottage City, Martha's Vine- 

 yard, last September, I much enjoyed 

 making observations, and a few collec- 

 tions, among the beach birds of this or- 

 nithologically favored coast. The few 

 days I spent here were of a recreative 

 nature, but I made a point to spend 

 many hours with the migrating shore 

 birds on the ocean beach and at Sange- 

 kontacket pond. Large flocks of Ring- 

 necked Plovers, Least and Semi-palm- 

 ated Sandpipers, Yellow Legs, Laugh- 

 ing Gulls and Wilson's Terns, inter- 

 spersed with small flocks of Piping 

 Plovers, Turnstones, Least Terns, Pec- 

 toral Sandpipers and Willets, frequent- 

 ed the sandy shores. I wish the inter- 

 ior ornithologists and oologists, who do 

 not find it convenient to visit the sea- 

 board, might have the pleasure of ex- 

 periencing a few hours among these in- 

 teresting species. 



My friend and I especially enjoyed 

 the beaches along the road leading from 

 Cottage City to Edgartown, where long 

 stretches of yellow sand were relieved 

 by the azure sky and the cerulean ocean, 



