42 



JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



where I started one last season. I 

 shall always think it was the same 

 bird we started the year before, for it 

 started to make its flight exactly as 

 it did before. This place was not in 

 a regular cover, but on the top of a 

 hill in some grey birches, which was 

 well adapted to the occupancy of one 

 or two birds. 



The flight of the woodcock is usual- 

 ly very short, say from 25 to 100 

 yards, but I have known them to go a 

 longdistance. This is a characteris- 

 tic with small birds we find late in 

 the season, known to many sports- 

 men as the Labrador bird. I differ in 

 my opinion about this. These small 

 quick flying birds in my opinion are 

 natives that have been hunted and 

 learned the country and know just 

 how to elude the sportsman. As we 

 ail know, the woodcock is a nocturnal 

 bird, doing its flying in the night, and 

 early evening. I have seen this bird 

 flying from place to place especially 

 in the moulting season, and have re- 

 peatedly been in covers in early 

 morning where my dog would make 

 game, but be unable to find the bird. 

 This shows that they often frequent 

 different places in the day time than 

 at night. Usually these birds are 

 found in swampy places where there 

 are alders and birches, but I have 

 found them in rocky pastures where 

 there were evergreens, blackberry 

 bushes and small hardwood growth. 

 I have known a cover to hold many 

 birds one season, but the very next 

 year there would be scarcely a single 

 bird there. This is due no doubt to 

 some condition of the ground which 

 has driven the feed away. Sports- 

 men say the ground has grown sour. 



The woodcock is a very proud bird, 

 and I have seen him strut with pomp 

 that would do justice to a turkey 

 gobbler, or peacock. I do not think 

 there are as many woodcock now as 

 there were years ago which is partly 

 due to more men shooting them, but 

 there has been more this last season 

 than for a number of years past, 

 which I think is due largely to our 

 better laws protecting these birds. 

 The best feature is stopping the sell- 

 ing in the markets. When this was 

 allowed there were many men that 

 hunted just for profit, early and 

 late day in and day out, from the first 

 day the law was off until the last bird 

 had gone in November. In my opin- 



ion we now have the best laws we 

 have ever had governing these birds. 

 I sincerely hope they may continue 

 with improvement from year to year 

 so that our woodcock may never 

 meet the fate we feared it would 

 some years ago. 



GEO. D. LIBBY. 



NOTES ON THE FINCHES FOUND 

 IN MAINE. 



By Arthur H. Norton. 



[Continned from Vol. VI, p 5 ] 



Asirat^aliiius tiistris (Linn.). Ameri- 

 can Goldfinch, Thistle-bird. "Yel- 

 low-bird, Black winged Yellow-bird 

 and Flax-bird" 



Common throughout the state in 

 summer, breeding throughout. In 

 winter its occurrence is irregular, 

 being occasionally common at this 

 season, or in other years rare or ab- 

 sent. During the cold season it as- 

 sociated to some extent with Siskins 

 and Redpolls, where food is abun- 

 dant. That this bird feeds its young 

 by regurgitation is a fact I do not 

 remember having seen directly stat- 

 ed. (Cf. Journ. Me. Orn. Soc. v. p. 

 46). 



Spinus pinus (Wils.). Pine Siskin, 

 American Siskin, Pine Goldfinch or 

 Linnet. 



Irregularly abundant throughout 

 the state as a fall migrant and winter 

 residest. It is also a summer resi- 

 dent to some extent in the Canadian 

 fauna or spruce area of Maine. 



This species partakes of the irregu- 

 lar disposition of the Crossbills and 

 Redpolls in its migratory movements, 

 some seasons appearing in southern 

 Maine only in fall and passing to 

 other regions to spend the winter, in 

 others remaining in more or less 

 abundance throughout that season, 

 and occasionally remaining late in 

 spring: the latest date. at this sea- 

 son to be recorded seems to have 

 been May 27, 1888, reported by Mr. 

 Nathan Clifford Brown, (Proc. Port 

 Soc, N. H. II, p. 39). It also partakes 

 in some degree of the irregular 

 breeding habits of the Crossbills, and 

 is reported in some instances to breed 

 in colonies. (Cf. New Eng. Bird Life 

 I, p. 229). 



While there are several extralimi- 

 tal breeding records, (see New Eng. 

 Bird life as above), there is at least 



