252 



THE OOLOGIST 



of twenty-six (26) Wild Geese resting 

 in a rye field on a farm and feeding 

 on the tender green plants. They only 

 took wing ui)on the approach of gun- 

 ners and wearily wended their way 

 northward. 



While crossing the Deleware River, 

 on April 24, 1910, in a power boat, 

 with a friend and my brother George, 

 we frightened two Wild Geese from 

 the rough water off the mouth of the 

 Pensauken Creek and opposite Brides- 

 burg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

 They flew down the river. 



Replacing the tank with gasoline at 

 Bridesburg, we ran across the river 

 to Delair, New .Jersey, and down along 

 the dyke that extends a mile out into 

 the stream at this point; as we round- 

 ed the end of the dyke and gasolined 

 into the cove we almost ran down a 

 flock of fourteen (14) Wild Geese that 

 were resting on the water. The birds 

 reluctantly took wing at our approach 

 and flew about individually for a short 

 time, until three launches had left the 

 cove, when they assembled together 

 again, and, now joined by an addi- 

 tional bunch of six birds, the flock 

 alighted upon the water again. The 

 bunch of six birds that joined the 

 larger block came from Richmond, 

 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a mile 

 across the river, where they were seen 

 resting, by friends, upon the open 

 water in a marsh; their rest there 

 however, was of short duration, for 

 pedestrians soon drove them away. 



The birds all appeared weary and 

 seemed to want to rest, hence their as- 

 tonishing fearlessness of us and other 

 crafts, which they permitted to ap- 

 proach within thirty feet, and when 

 disturbed by a nearer approach, they 

 flew about and circled overhead and 

 well within gunshot range. It being 

 Sunday they could not be molested 

 by gunners. These birds occured here 

 after a severe storm. 



Richard F. Miller. 

 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 



Winter Birds. 



Editor of The Tribune: 



After reading in recent issues ar- 

 ticles on "robins'" and Evening Gros- 

 beaks, I am inclined to believe that 

 the "robins" were mistaken for Bo- 

 hemian waxwings (ami)elis garrulus) 

 or pine Grosbeaks ( penicola enuc- 

 leator). The general color of the 

 pine Grosbeak is carmine-red, and 

 the general color of the Bohemian 

 waxwing is brownish-ash with a 

 faint shade of reddish, especially an- 

 teriorly. The Bohemian waxwing 

 and the pine Grosbeak are winter 

 visitants in this vicinity. The Even- 

 ing Grosbeak (cocothraustes vesper 

 tina) is occasionally a winter visit- 

 ant in Hennepin county, but the an- 

 terior part of the body is a dark yel- 

 lowish-olive, so I cannot conceive 

 how it could be mistaken for a rob- 

 in. — Minneapolis Tribune Jan. oO, 

 1912. 



J. F. Jenkins. 



Birds Left Behind in Migration in 

 Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. 



Wounded individuals of migratory 

 birds are frequently left behind in the 

 migrations. Some of these birds are 

 unable to fly, and others, while able to 

 make short flights, are incapable of 

 l)erforming the extended flight neces- 

 sary to carry them to their winter 

 home. Several records of such birds 

 have recently come to the writer's no- 

 tice and they are given for what they 

 are worth. 



On December 11, 1909, at Richmond, 

 in a frozen cat-tail marsh a boy caught 

 a wounded Coot, but before I could go 

 and see the bird he had killed and 

 eaten it. It had a broken wing which 

 prevented it from migrating, as a mat- 

 ter of course. 



On December 12, 1909, in another 

 frozen cat-tail marsh at this locality. 



