General Notes 161 



GENERAL NOTES 



NOTES FROM LAKE COUNTY. 



Piping Plover Breeding. — My first spring record for this species 

 was made on May 25 of this year, and my previous fall records 

 having been mighty few, I was well pleased when visiting the place 

 again on the 27th and 30th to find two birds about, and wondered 

 if they would possibly stay and breed. Then I made the mistake 

 of forgetting all about them until Mr. E. W. Hadeler informed me 

 on July 5th that he had seen a Piping Plover that day on the beach. 

 I lost no time in visiting the place the next day and found a pair 

 of the birds, whose actions clearly indicated either eggs or young. 

 A few minutes' search and I was lucky enough to find a downy 

 young just old enough to run about. When first discovered it was 

 squatted on the sand, with head flat down, and I rubbed the little 

 crown with my finger without getting even a quiver out of him. 

 The female meanwhile was doing the wounded bird stunt to per- 

 fection. Not wishing to cause too much disturbance I soon left, 

 and as soon as I started off the little fellow ran for shelter. A few 

 days later Mr. H. visited the place again, seeing three young in all, 

 now able to run about swiftly. 



Savanna Sparrow Breeding. — While hunting a swampy meadow 

 on July 8, trying to outwit a pair of Bartram Sandpipers that ap- 

 parently had a nest there, I flushed a Sparrow from under my feet, 

 and upon looking into the nest beneath a buttercup was struck 

 with the heavy and unusual coloration of the three eggs it con- 

 tained. They were so different from all the Song and Vesper Spar- 

 row eggs I have seen that I thought it worth while to identify the 

 bird. I followed her about the field a while, and in doing so, flushed 

 another bird from her nest which also contained three eggs. Be- 

 fore I left I obtained excellent views of both birds and heard a 

 male sing his wheezy song several times. The day was cloudy and 

 the grass wet, and both birds flushed almost from under my feet 

 and lit but a short distance away. I visited the nests again the 

 next day and found one of the males singing from a nearby fence- 

 post, but he flew far on too close an approach. The song reminded 

 me of a Grasshopper Sparrow trying to sing a Song Sparrow song. 

 The females acted different in leaving the nest this time. Though 

 I approached as before they sneaked off mouse-like for some little 

 distance, then flew far in their characteristic swift flight. Both 

 nests were in a low part of the meadow beneath buttercups, their 

 rims flush with the ground. This is my first knowledge of the 

 Savanna Sparrow otherwise than that of a spring and fall migrant. 



Purple Finch as a Summer Re.sident. — During the latter part of 



