44 JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



biers were heard singing, their notes being easy to recognize. 

 A number of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were flitting about 

 the blossoms of wild cherry and shad-bush in a swamp. These 

 tiny migrants, arriving here within a week, after a long journey 

 from South America, are frequently seen perched on twigs, look- 

 ing even smaller than when they are on the wing. Nighthawks 

 are coming in sizable flocks, and many of them are seen both in 

 the city and in the suburbs every warm evening, when insects are 

 abroad. On the night of the 24th there was a considerable flock 

 of these birds passing over the Cape. The following birds were 

 heard singing this morning between the hours of five and six 

 o'clock: Robin, Hermit Thrush, Chickadee, Catbird, Redstart, 

 Yellowthroat, Ovenbird, Black-throated Green Warbler, Chestnut- 

 sided W^arbler, Magnolia Warbler, Yellow Warl)ler, Nashville 

 Warbler, Song Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, White- 

 throated Sparrow, Goldfinch, Purple Finch, Baltimore Oriole, 

 Bobolink, Chebec, Black-l)illed Cuckoo. The season of song is 

 not at its height, yet l)ird music is just now as enjoyable as it will 

 be later, the medley of melodies not being so intricate as to be 

 confusing. 



Ma}^ 26. — This was a morning of song, rather than new mi- 

 grants. A small band of Warblers was on the edge of the woods, 

 without doubt just staying for a few hours before moving away 

 towards the end of their journey. These were Black-poll, Cana- 

 dian, Wilson's Warl)lers and Redstarts, most of the last named 

 species being young males, in plumage resembling the females, 

 but singing constantly and thus proclaiming their sex. On the 

 shore of a swamp pond, .so familiar to visitors to the Cape woods, 

 I found myself amid a chorus of rare melod}-. Singing at the 

 same time were a Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Red-eyed Vireo, 

 Robin, Chestnut-sided Warbler, while in a neighboring tall pine a 

 Crow gave utterance to his peculiar high-pitched cackling laugh, 

 not at all unmusical, and entirely different from the ordinary 

 "caw" of tlie bird. Fifteen minutes later, in a grove in an open 

 field, the chorus was completely changed. Here were heard the 



