42 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



usually set awa}- foi- a time as the picking- 

 went on. So sure as a box was loft open, 

 one or all three of the aforementioned 

 would sneak in, pick out the best fruit, and 

 even scatter it about, working well down 

 into the box in search of choicer morsels ; 

 but for their generally good behavior and 

 the sweet songs of the cat-birds and thrushes 

 they were ver^' seldom molested. 



That beautiful bird the cedar waxwing 

 eats some cherries ; he also eats the canker 

 worms; few of the birds molest the hairy 

 Itiva?, like tent caterpillars, but I have sev- 

 eral times seen the yellow-billed cuckoo, 

 with his whole head thrust into one of their 

 nests doing apparently rapid execution. 

 Mr. Charles Snow, of Taunton, is my 

 authority for the fact that potato-beetles are 

 eaten b}' the night-hawk. 



The effect of settlement in Rhode Island 

 i.e., manufacturing villages principally, is 

 certainly tending to drive away many birds, 

 especially on account of the cutting away of 

 the wood-land, and. in general, the abund- 

 ance of enterprising boys and cats. Per- 

 hnps it is unfortunate for the birds that ex- 

 cellent shot-guns can be purchased at so low 

 a figure. It is true that we have here a law 

 (full too much of it) to protect the birds. 

 It is, however, a dead letter, and never en- 

 forced. A little secrecy is maintained 

 about shooting game out of season, but so 

 soon as the closed season is over the gen- 

 tleman sportsman goes forth and shoots 

 without mercy, frequently for the gratifica- 

 tion of killing, with no consideration of his 

 appetite or intention of eating one-half iiis 

 game. Witness the quantities of mergan- 

 sers and other tough and unpalatable 

 ducks slaughtered bj' hundreds, and never 

 even picked up from where the}^ fall. The 

 same is true of gulls, terns, loons, grebe, 

 and herons, never allowed to pass without 

 trying a wing shot. I believe as many 

 nice birds have been thus shot and thrown 

 away as have been collected for business 

 purposes. 



Mr. Jamks M. Southwick. 



Dear Sir: Referring to Mr. William G. 

 Smith's article on Myiadestes Townsendi, 

 in April Randoji Notks on Natural His- 

 tory, I will say that he is mistaken regard- 

 ing the first capture. The nest and e[/(/s 

 of this bird were first taken in 1874, I think. 



I have an account of it somewhere in my 

 papers, but cannot find it now. In 1882 

 and '83, I collected twelve sets of the same 

 species in Colorado. The bluebirds arrived 

 here March 15. About ten da^'s ago a pair 

 of them excavated a hole in a dead cherry 

 limb. To-day the}' have commenced car- 

 iTing in material for their nest. The}' ar- 

 rived ten days, and began nesting seven 

 da^'s earlier than in 1885. 



Respectfull}' yours, 



D. D. Stone. 

 Oswego, N. Y., April 13, 1886. 



Seasonable Notes. 



Early morning rambles a few miles to the 

 north of Providence, have led to observa- 

 tions of new arrivals as follows : April 20, 

 a Pine Creeping Warbler ; April 26, Tow- 

 hee Buntings ; April 29, Black and Whit-e 

 Creepers. (May 1, Spotted Sandpi[)ers, at 

 Bristol, R. I).; May 3, Nashville Warb- 

 lers and Chipping Sparrows ; May 4, Whip- 

 poorwill. Wood Thrushes and Golden 

 Crown Thrush, or Oven Bird ; May o. Cat- 

 birds ; May 6, Yellow Warbler, Rose-breast- 

 ed Grosbeak, Chestnut-sided and Prairie 

 Warblers, WMlson's Thrush, Swamp Spar- 

 rows and Mar3'land Yellow-throats ; May 

 7, Yellow-breasted Chats, Least Flycatch- 

 ers, Redstarts, Yellow-throated Vireo, 

 Baltimore Orioles and Tanagers ; May 10, 

 Ruby-throated Humming-bird; May 12, 

 Great Crested Flycatcher; Maj- 17, Indigo 

 Buntings. 



From Attleboro, Mass., a set of Red- 

 shouldered Hawk's eggs reported April 8. 

 April 10, a nest with two young and two 

 eggs of Barred Owl, and on the 14th a nest 

 with two fresh eggs ; May 6, two young 

 of the Great Horned Owl nearly ready to fl}' 

 were brought to me from Scituate, R. I. ; 

 May 13, a set of Song Sparrows observed ; 

 May 18, a nest of Golden-crown Thrush not 

 quite completed. 



Newport Natural History Society. — 

 At the annual meeting of this society held 

 at Newport, R. I., 6th May last, there were 

 some remarks in the curator's report as to 

 the immense superiority of complete or 

 even incomplete series of specimens above 

 strange and abnormal forms which are too 



