EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT. 167 
and enemies; and finally, when we leave them unmolested, it is 
with the hope that they look upon us as their friends, and we wish 
that they could appreciate the sympathy and affection which close 
companionship with such beautiful living creatures has aroused 
in us. 
We remained five days upon Cobb Island—July 12-18 inclu- 
sive—and observed twenty-three species of birds, twelve of which 
were breeding, or had bred this year on the island. This list 
would doubtless have been longer if we had not confined our at- 
tention almost entirely to the gulls, terns and skimmers. The 
following is a list of these birds with a résumé of the notes which 
we made during our brief stay. One could spend a year upon 
this limited area without beginning to exhaust the interesting 
facts of its bird life. 
The usual order of classification has been reversed, so that the 
most interesting and characteristic birds of the island are the last 
in the list. 
I. Barn Swallow (Hirundo erythrogastra, Bodd). Fifteen 
or twenty pairs of these birds build their nests beneath the sta- 
tion buildings, on the ledges near the piles, the only available 
places for them, so their presence on Cobb Island is dependent on 
man. They feed chiefly on mosquitoes which they glean from the 
brackish marshes at the south end. 
2. Song Sparrow (Melospiza cinera melodia, Wils.). 
3. Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus, Wils.). 
Four or five pairs of each of these finches breed here. I found 
several nests and saw young birds of both species. Several song 
sparrows and at least one seaside sparrow were in full song. 
These birds keep to the zone of “kings” bushes near the center 
of the island and feed on both seeds and insects. 
4. Meadowlark (Sturnella magna, Linn.). One individuai 
heard and seen. 
5. Nighthawk (Chordeiles virgimianus, Gmel.). Several of 
these birds hawked about the island every evening, apparently 
finding a plentiful supply of insect food in the air high above the 
marshes. They are said to lay their eggs on the sand. 
6. Osprey or Fish-Hawk (Pandion haliaétus carolinensis, 
Gmel.). Three or four Ospreys were seen fishing near Cobb 
Island or flying over. They had half-grown young in their nests 
near by on Marchon Island. 
7. Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo borealis, Gmel.). A single in- 
dividual of this species was seen passing over the island headed 
straight for the ocean. He flew steadily and took no notice of the 
terns which were mobbing him. 
