204 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 65. 



bird should be on the verge of extinction in the state. Tts 

 fondness for dry upland fields, however, brings it too closely 

 in contact with our rural civilization and it falls easy prey to 

 the farmer boy and his shotgun. 



May 9, that daintiest of the waders, Wilson's Phalarope, 

 occurred here again. There is but one spot in the county 

 where it has so far been seen ; a small pond or mud hole of two 

 or three acres in extent a few miles south of the city. Ap- 

 parently a few stop here for a few days in early May each 

 spring, though as far as I know, they are the only ones in the 

 county. The above date one was observed and taken. 



May 5, 1906, I watched a high-plumaged female here for 

 half an hour or more as it swam about in the water, cutting 

 circles and figures like a big bright-colored whirligig-beetle, 

 and leaving behind it long lines of wavelets in the water that 

 curved and intersected themselves a hundred times, spark- 

 ling in the sun. Ever and anon it made quick passes with 

 its rapier-like little bill to right or left, striking out with a 

 straight, even thrust and immediate recovery like a practiced 

 fencer, as it gleaned some toothsome morsel from the surface 

 of the water. Between whiles it arched its slender neck in the 

 prettiest curves imaginable, glancing rapidly around to see that 

 nothing escaped : or looked down through the water directly 

 beneath with an air of unconscious gravity, combined with a 

 hasty eagerness that would have been comical had it been less 

 full of grace. Its striking colors, nervous energy, quick har- 

 monious movement, combined with perfect poise and self- 

 possession made it a rarely charming picture there in the 

 bright sunshine and black water. 



May 16 I had a little experience with a Whippoorwill that 

 was of some interest. The bird fell to m\' gun with a broken 

 wing. On going to pick it up it spread its wings over tlie 

 ground and ruffled its feathers until it appeared twice its nat- 

 ural size, opened its cavernous mouth to its widest extent and 

 hissed or blew at me ini exactly the same manner as does the 

 Hog-nosed Snake or Blowing Adder. The sound was quite 

 loud, and could be heard distinctly while standing several 

 paces distant. The sight of that great expanse of sickly 



