66 JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



colony will here remain, making the nesting island their head- 

 quarters until it is time for them to take their autumn flight to a 

 warmer winter home. These birds spend the cold months on the 

 shores of the southern states, there pursuing their diving and 

 fishing under the most favorable circumstances until the return of 

 spring. 



On Bluff island there are still other breeding birds, for the 

 Spotted Sandpiper nests there in numbers not large. These birds, 

 both young and old, were in evidence on the occasion of our visit, 

 standing and bobbing their tails on the weed-covered ledges, flitting 

 away on curving wing right on the surface of the water and almost 

 touching it as they passed from ledge to ledge. Song Sparrows 

 have been here raising their families from early spring until now, 

 when the old and young birds are abundant. Savanna Sparrows, 

 too, breed here, in numbers fully as large as the Song Sparrows. 

 The two distinct species look pretty nearly alike at a casual glance, 

 but the Savannas have a yellowish tone to the brown of their 

 feathers, and the "cut of their jibs" differs not a little. This is a 

 Sparrow species loving the seaward islands along the Maine coast, as 

 well as Canadian fields fartlier north. In the fall the Savannas 

 flock through this section in large companies, though they never 

 attract much notice except from bird students, to whom they are 

 always interesting. They are found most plentifully in the marshes 

 in this vicinity during the latter part of August and all through 

 September. 



Annual Meeting. 



The annual meeting of the Maine Ornithological Society will he 

 held in Portland, at the rooms of the Portland Society of Natural 

 History, on Friday and Saturday following Tlianksgiving day. 

 Ample arrangements will be made for places where visiting mem- 

 bers may procure accommodation during the two days of the meet- 

 ings. It is earnestly hope that there will be a large attendance, as 

 special efforts will be made to have a program of more than usual 

 interest. 



