THE OOLOOIST 



171 



hatched in three days, so I had to 

 murder them. I never knew before 

 that it would take the eggs that long 

 to hatch. Ramon Graham. 



Ft. Worth, Texas. 



The Hermit Thrush. 

 Here, on the river, a shining reach. 



My loved canoe and the sunset glow; 

 Gray rocks inverted in the tide, 



Two silver birches that lean below. 



Sudden, as twilight gathers round. 

 And the ripples stir as I drift along, 



Close to the bank, where the branches 

 bend. 

 The Hermit Thrush bursts into song. 



Joyous and clear on the quiet air, 

 Peals forth tliat wonderful silver 

 strain. 

 Like the sunset bells from the wild 

 tower 

 Of some gray convent in far-off 

 Spain. 



In the streets I left an hour ago, 

 News of battle across the foam — 



Strife and carnage in lands afar — 

 Grief and mourning with us at home. 



War's red hand over land and sea, 

 Ruin that smites the field and 

 hearth ; 

 Thunder of guns on the Northern 

 main. 

 Tramp of armies that fill the earth. 



Yet here on the river, a shining reach, 



Golden ripples that stir and cease, 

 And clear and sweet through the gath- 

 ering gloom. 

 The silver voice that sings of 

 Peace. 



Evelyn Smith Tufts. 



Winter Birds at London, Ontario. 



Perhaps some of THE OOLOGIST 

 readers will be interested in the fol- 

 lowing list of birds which have been 

 observed in and around our city dur- 

 ing the months of January and Febru- 



ary of this year, 1916: American 

 Crow, Bluejay, Downy Woodpecker, 

 Hairy Woodpecker, White-breasted 

 Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, 

 Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet, 

 Cedar Waxwing, Tree Sparrow, Slate- 

 colored Junco, Prairie Horned Lark, 

 Screech Owl, American Merganser, 

 American Herring Gull, Robin, Cardi- 

 nal, Kingfisher, Flicker, Ruffed Grouse, 

 Song Sparrow, Red-bellied Woodpeck- 

 er, Goldfinch, Snowflake. 



Two or three Cardinals stay here 

 every winter. A pair or two breed 

 here, and we hope they may soon be- 

 come more common. Nearly every 

 winter a lone Robin, Flicker, King- 

 fisher and Song Sparrow may be seen. 

 Our first spring migrant, a Song Spar- 

 row was seen and heard on February 

 23d, but his song was a trifie wheezy. 

 The sun is getting strong now ana 

 a few more days of warm weather will 

 loosen up his vocal cords, and give us 

 Robins, Bluebirds, Crackles, Meadow- 

 larks and Killdeers. 



J. R. McLeod. 

 London, Ontario. 



"Whale Birds. " 

 On cruisers in the North Pacific and 

 the Bering Sea it has always been of 

 interest to the writer to see the my- 

 riads of petrels and shearwaters and 

 occasionally other birds that frequent 

 the vicinity of schools of whales. To 

 sea-going men Lhey are known under 

 the one name, of "whale birds'" regard- 

 less of species, and when a flock of 

 them is met with at sea it is almost 

 invariably a sign that a school of 

 whales is not far distant. This fact is 

 of great value to whalers operating in 

 northern waters and is frequently 

 made use of by them, for a horde of 

 "whale birds" can be 3een at a much 

 greater distance than the spouters, 

 enabling the v.-halers to locate the 

 school quicker than by the blows 



