28 



JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



limb of a sugar maple only a few feet 

 from where I sat. Sitting on the same 

 stump, I heard a paii- of Flickers get- 

 ting hilarious over a nest excavation 

 they had in a maple stub near-by. 



Matters were getting interesting. 

 Here were four species of the wood- 

 pecker family nesting in a colony. The 

 trees they occupied were only about a 

 rod apart, thus covering a small spot 

 to contain so many species of the same 

 family. Thus the morning passed hap- 

 pily on, amid the pleasing notes of the 

 White and Red Breasted Nut-hatches, 

 occasionally varied by the Blue Jay's 

 imitation of the cry of the Red Shoul- 

 derer Hawks, which were rebuilding a 

 second nest, having lost their first set. 

 the first of the month. 



Time passes all too quickly on such 

 delightful mornings as these. Arous- 

 ing myself from my reveries I looked 

 at the time and found that "Old Sol" 

 had reached a point almost directly 

 over head and the gnawing of a return- 

 ing appetite bade me break away from 

 this enchanting spot and climb the 

 hills to my boyhood home and the 

 lunch that was awaiting me. But I 

 shall carry away with me the thoughts 

 and memories of such a morn and shall 

 live over again, many times, those hap- 

 py morning strolls that were taken 

 during my stay in Fi'anklin County 

 during the spring of 1900. 



J. MERTON SWAIN. 

 Woodfords, July 2, 1900. 



NOTE ON THE LOGGERHEAD 

 SHRIKE. 



On April 28, 1900, while in Farming- 

 ton, Me., I shot a Loggerhead Shrike, 

 Sanius ludovicianus Linn, near an old 

 orchard. Its stomach contained seeds 

 of the Hungarian or garn grass, which 

 it had gathered from the plowed 

 ground near by, also several black 



bi'ctles were found in its stomach. Af- 

 ter I picked up my bird, it occurred to 

 me that there might be a pair nesting 

 in the old orchard. A short search was 

 made and a nest nearly completed, was 

 found with the female near the nest. 



1 decided to watch the nest and female 

 bird, to see what she wouid do. Sev- 

 eral days she waited about the tree for 

 the return of her mate, but after wait- 

 ing five days for his return and not 

 seeing him, she decided he had de- 

 serted her and took to herself another 

 mate. They at once proceeded to fin- 

 ish the nest lining, and on the sixth 

 day after his arrival, the first egg was 

 laid. Each successive morning there 

 was an additional egg in the nest, un- 

 til five eggs were laid. The Mr. S. No. 



2 then disappeared and was seen no 

 more about the orchard. The female 

 commenced incubation, as though 

 nothing had happened, and continued 

 as long as I staid near the place. I re- 

 gretted that I was not able to watch 

 the female and learn how she came on 

 rearing her brood, with no one to help 

 her feed and care for her orphaned 

 progeny. She sat perched upon a limb 

 beside the nest, and posed while I 

 made two exposures with the camera, 

 but the day was dark and cloudy and 

 the negatives were not very good. I 

 hope to visit this orchard this spring 

 to ascertain if this Shrike will come 

 back to nest near the old site. [Ed.] 



Extract of a letter written by Manly 

 Hardy to the Secretary of the M. 0. S., 

 dated at Brewer, Me., Dec. 10, 1900: 



"It may interest some of your mem- 

 bers to know that two years ago, I was 

 very near to a Black Gyrfalcon, and 

 to-day I saw another. The only two I 

 ever saw alive, although I have seen 

 them dead and have a fine pair of 

 mounted ones. I have of North Amer- 

 ican Birds, some 3,300 mounted, and 

 about 100 of foreign." 



