204 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Migration of the Chimney Swift- 



It is often said that one swallow does 

 not make a spring, but I feel safe in 

 saying that one 'Chimney Swift' in a 

 locality is fairly conclusive evidence 

 that spring has come to stay. This 

 bird, often called a Swallow, which it 

 resembles in many ways, not infre- 

 quently appears north of the 40th par- 

 allel by April 20th, and it is not unusual 

 to have flurries of snow after this date, 

 and sometimes several days of dis- 

 agreeable weather. However, although 

 the ..appearance of the venturesome 

 "blue-backed" swallow in March is not 

 rarely followed by sleighing, and oc- 

 casionallj^ by good skating, the Swift 

 rarely appears till the balmy breezes of 

 late April blow, and never while thei'e 

 is a particle of frozen ground. 



In my trips to Florida one of my prin- 

 ciple pleasures lie in taking bird notes, 

 and my return to the north is somewhat 

 governed bj' the movements of the mi- 

 grating birds. When at Palm Beach, 

 Lake Worth, Florida I saw the first 

 Swift March 31, '94. This locality lies 

 between the 26th and 27th parallels. 



Passing north I did not meet with 

 this bird again till March 29th at Micco, 

 on the Indian River, at about 28 degrees 

 north latitude. At Sanford, Orange 

 county and Kissimmee, Osceola county 

 in the interior, the birds were seen in 

 abundance April seventh. Common at 

 Tampa April 8th and evidently nest 

 building on the 12th. Abundant at 

 Cedar Key, Florida, an island in the 

 Gulf of Mexico, April 16th. April 17th 

 the birds were found plentiful at Jack- 

 sonville, Florida. 



On the 19th of April I found many 

 birds at Savannah, Ga. In Chatta- 

 nooga,Tenn., April 25th, the Swifts were 

 seen, and also in Kentucky the 21st. 

 Here I found the American Red Bud, 

 Cercis canadensis in full bloom, a tree 

 which usually blooms about May 5th to 

 10th in Southern Michigan. 



At Cincinnati the Swifts were com- 

 mon also at Wilmington, a small place 

 N. E. of Cincinnati and in about 39i 

 degrees north latitude. The birds 

 acted at home; as if they had been there 

 several days. On April 23d the Swifts 

 were found plentiful at Fort Wayne, 

 Indiana. 



Reached home, Ka]amazoo,Michigan, 

 between the 42d and 43d parallel at 

 noon April 24, '94 and though I looked 

 carefully for Swifts I failed to find them 

 On the 25th a few were seen, and on 

 the 26th they appeared plentiful. 



The 8th of May the birds began court- 

 ing and two and three males may be 

 seen chasing one female. This stage 

 lasts for a couple of weeks or more, but 

 most of the Swifts are to be seen flying 

 in pairs by May 20th, after which date 

 they are devoted to nesting. 



Morris Gibbs. 



A Day With the Coopers' s Hawks. 



The Cooper's Hawk* is one of the most 

 abundant species in the family in the 

 Great Lake Region and it is fair to call 

 it second in point of numbers only to 

 the Red-shouldered Hawk. This rating 

 may not accord with the estimates of 

 many ornithologists, but I believe all 

 old collectors and careful observers 

 will agree with me. Many young col- 

 lectors do not know this species, while 

 they are quite well acquainted with the 

 two common buzzard hawks. This re- 

 sults from the retiring habits of this 

 bird, which is rarely observed by the 

 ordinary stroller, while the soaring 

 Red-tail and noisy Red-shouldered, with 

 their conspicious nests are often well 

 known. 



This Hawk breeds abundantly in 

 Southern Michigan, and many sets of 

 eggs are taken by the enthusiastic col- 



* The Cooper's Hawk is ^written of in 'The 

 Raptores of Michigan,' Oologist, April, 1889, 

 giving several notes as to nesting habits. 



