AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 53 



gentle slope covered with hickories, seemingly an ideal place for birds. 



As I looked about, my eye rested on a stump, and standing on it, 

 scarcely discernible on account of the blending of color, was a Partridge. 

 The bird strutted about on the stump with drooping wings, his fine tail 

 spread and rufiE raised, apparently looking to see if he was observed. 

 No one was looking, he concluded, and so he stood erect and preened 

 liimself. Then the woods resounded with his drumming. He seemed 

 to produce the sound by striking his wings against the side of his body. 

 This, he did very slowly at first, then after a short pause, he gradually 

 increased the speed until the sound died out in a continuous whirr. 



Ten consecutive times I saw this Partridge drum, and every time he 

 went through the same preliminary movements. 



After watching for a time, I made my presence known, by going 

 nearer, only to see him hop from his stump and disappear in a great 

 Hurry. About fifteen minutes later, as I stood at the edge of the woods, 

 some distance from this spot, I again heard the sound of his drumming, 

 which seemed to come from a long distance. 



All summer I thought of this persistent fellow, drumming on his 



stump to call a mate. Always there came the wish that the ruthless 



hunter would spare his life, and that he might secure a loving mate. 



Elsie Space Jackson. 



A MUNICIPAL BIRD TRAP. 



By Berton Mercer. 



A recent article in the Philadelphia "Public Ledger" brings to the 

 attention of the general public some very interesting facts concerning 

 bird life and travel in this locality. 



Probably few persons are aware that hundreds of migrating birds are 

 ensnared annually in the heart of our city by one of the largest bird 

 traps in the world. This trap is no less than the immense bronze figure 

 of William Penn on the top af City Hall tower. The distance between 

 the pavement and the statue is about 549 feet, and around the base of 

 the figure is a circle of mammoth arc lights that burn throughout the 

 night. This circle of light — the highest point for miles around— has 

 been the destroyer of many birds during their nocturnal migration be- 

 tween their winter and summer homes. They become temporarily blind- 

 ed by the strong light and fly against the statue, dropping in the bal- 

 cony be-neath either dead or mained. 



The lights were turned on for the first time on the night of the Fourth 

 of July 1897, and the next morning the body of a young Sora Rail w^as 

 found in the balcony. This Rail was the first bird to meet death in 



