General Notes. 73 



Bob-white (Colinus virginianus). — A nest of fourteen Bob-white's 

 eggs was uncovered by a mowing machine on June 25, 1902, and af- 

 ter being all night in the rain, thirteen were put under a hen. One 

 was broken, but the twelve others all hatched, and the chicks were 

 kept in a shady walk. All disappeared finally, except two, a male 

 and a female. They are now quite tame and spend a large part of 

 their time in the chicken-yard. The male is quite pugnacious, and 

 does not hesitate to attack a rooster much larger than himself. 



American Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). — A young Bald 



Eagle, in black plumage, was seen flying over my chicken-yard in 

 1898, and was at first thought to be a buzzard. The next day a 

 neighbor winged it and put it in a cage. When the wound 

 healed it was liberated, as it was rightly thought to be too rare a 

 bird to kill. I did not hear that it stole a single chicken while in 

 the neighborhood. On May 11th, 1901, a bird, which I feel justified 

 in calling an eagle on account of its great size and white head, 

 flapped rapidly over my chicken yard and the surrounding fields, ap- 

 parently with a fish in its claws. It was chased away by a Red- 

 shouldered Hawk and a couple of crows. 



Barred Owl (Syrnium nebulosum). — in May, 1902, a workman, 

 on entering an old hay loft over a much-used cow stable, discovered 

 a Barred Owl and three young ones in a nest in the hay. He brutally 

 killed the mother with a pitchfork, and handed the young over to 

 the care of my superintendent. One of them died, but the other two 

 lived and fiourished. One, which I supposed was a male, was much 

 tamer than the other, although both came when called, even when 

 no reward was offered. The male day and night kept up a pej:uliar 

 hissing sound, with a rising inflection at the end, swaying his head 

 from side to side in an absent manner. He thus drew the atten- 

 tion of other birds and was frequently mobbed. The other was si- 

 lent and retiring. "Owly" is contemplating nesting in a swamp 

 filled with large oaks. I have heard him hoot in broad daylight, 

 which shows that by the loss of his mother his education was in- 

 complete. 



American Crow (Corvus americanus). — The crow is, in my opin- 

 ion, a much greater pest than ever a hawk could presume to be. 

 (Indeed I try to protect the latter and owls as well as I can.) In 

 about three weeks, a family of crows disposed of nearly one hun- 

 dred out of 150 chicks, although they were kept within a few yards 

 of my house. I shot one, and hung it upon a tree close by, and 

 thus kept off the rest for some time. Since I have been here — 

 eight years — I have also seen crows carry off ducks, and chickens' 

 eggs, and ears of corn. 



Red-winged Blackbird (Ageiaius phoeniceus). — The male Red-wing 

 arrives several weeks before the female. Like the Bluebird, he is 



