8(; 



THE OOLOGIST. 



by uipping the young biul.s ami 

 bi'auches, a.s.suniiug, while oe-eupied in 

 this precai'ious business, a variety of 

 posture that astonishes and delights 

 you. By this time j^our patience is 

 exhausted and, selecting the old patri- 

 arch of the flock, that one in the mit^- 

 dle with the jet-black wings and tail, 

 you discharge Ijoth barrels of your gun 

 into the Ixuid. With a startled cry 

 thej- dash froui the tree, steering in and 

 out among the trunks with a dexterity 

 and swiftness that a Ruti'ed Grouse 

 might envy; rising high in the air in a 

 compact Hock, circling around a few 

 times, as if loth to leave a place so 

 replete with gootl things, then darting 

 away to less attractive, but safer 

 woods. 



Turning your attention to the fallen 

 you first set al^out catching yonder 

 wing-tipped female and, attempting to 

 grasp her uniler the wings, get so well 

 bitten for your jniins that you are glad 

 to let go if she will. Presenting a stick 

 you find tiiat she can be easily trans- 

 ported from place to place l)y the grasp 

 of her powerful bill alont'. 



Besides the maple mast and Inids the 

 (xrosbeaks are very fond of cedar ber- 

 ries and the red haws that grow in the 

 woods. 



As spring advances the males may l;)e 

 heard uttering their quaint song at all 

 hours of the daj". 1 am inclined to 

 think that instead of vying with the 

 Barred Owl in vesper song, the Gros- 

 beaks, like other sensiljle birds, retire 

 to their evergreen roosting place as 

 evening approaches. 



This Grosbeak comes ever .year but is 

 so irregular in his ccmiings and goings 

 that it is very difficult to decide 

 whether it is a winter resident, visitant, 

 or only a migrant. My (i))inion is that 

 although they undoubtedly remain in 

 small bands during the winter, yet the 

 bulk passes north in the months of 

 March and A])ril. In those months a 

 tlocki can nearly always l)e found Ijy 

 search in suitable localities. 



Stewakt E. White, 

 Kent county, Mich. 



Evening Grosbeaks Again. 



In addition to the instances cited last 

 nKmth of the Evening Grosljcak occur- 

 lug in th(! Eastern States, we also have 

 the following: 



A few days ago a party of hun- 

 ters shot two line specimens of 

 the Evening Grosbeak, in this vicinity. 

 This is quite unusual as the bird is not 

 often seen st) far east. The birds were 

 identified by the State Ornithologist, 

 J\l. L. F., 

 Willianisjxirt. Pa. 



On the morning of March 18, l«l)0, 

 while waiting for one of my friends 

 with whom I Avas going gunning, I 

 heard a slight noise in a maple tree 

 standing near and, on looking up, saw 

 two birds which I did not recognize. I 

 fired once and missed, upon which they 

 flew to the toj) of a large elm tree in 

 one of the neighbor's yards. After- 

 waiting a few minutes they flew down 

 into a group of spruce and cedar trees. 

 Here I crept up and secured one which 

 proved tc l)e a female. The other flew 

 off so that I could not obtain it. Sex of 

 the bird that escaped not known. Con- 

 tents of stomach, parts of cedar buds 

 The bird has been identified ]}y Profess- 

 or Carl Braun. 



GeOKGE p. SHErHElU), 



Bangor, Me. 



The Pileated Woodpecker in Florida. 



This hand.some \Vood])ccker can 

 hardly be classed among the rare l)irds, 

 but is l)econiing rarer as civilization 

 advances. Years ago it was said to 

 have been common, but as the hum- 

 mocks and swamps have been cleared 

 up, he has retreated farther and farther, 

 until now he is found only in the more 

 secluded hummocks. In these places 

 he may be fou ml at all seasons, busily 

 engaged in pecking out grubs from the 

 many rotten logs and stumps to be 



