Birds of North Carolina 



slightly in the wing, and, on being caught, uttered a loudly reiterated and most 

 piteous note, exactly resembling the violent crying of a young child; which terrified 

 my horse so as nearly to have cost mc my life. It was distressing to liear it. I 

 carried it with me in the chair, under cover, to Wilmington. In passing through 

 the streets its affecting cries surprised every one within hearing, particularly the 

 females, who hurried to the doors and windows with looks of alarm and anxiety. 

 I drove on, and on arriving at the piazza of the hotel, where I intended to put up, 

 the landlord came forward, and a number of other persons who happened to be 

 there, all equally alarmed at what they heard; this was greatly increased by my 

 asking whether he could furnish me with accommodations for myself and my baby. 

 The man looked blank and foolish, while the others stared with still greater astonish- 

 ment. After diverting myself for a minute or two at their expense, I drew my 

 woodpecker from under the cover, and a general laugh took place. I took him 

 upstairs and locked him up in my room, while I went to see my horse taken care 

 of. In less than an hour I returned, and, on opening the door, he set up the same 

 distressing shout, which now appeared to proceed from grief that he had been dis- 

 covered in his attempts to escape. He had mounted along the side of the window, 

 nearly as high as the ceiling, a little below which he had begun to break through. 

 The bed was covered with large pieces of plaster; the lath was exposed for at least 

 15 inches square, and a hole, large enough to admit the fist, opened to the weather- 

 boards; so that, in less than another hour he would certainly have succeeded in 

 making his way through. I now tied a string round his leg, and fastening it to 

 the table, again left him. I wished to preserve his life, and had gone off in search 

 of suitable food for him. As I reascended the stairs, I heard him again haril at 

 work, and on entering had the mortification to perceive that he had almost entirely 

 ruined the mahogany table to which he was fastened, and on which he had wreaked 

 his whole vengeance. While engaged in taking the drawing, he cut me severely in 

 several places, and, on the whole, dis])layed such a nol)le and unconquerable spirit 

 that I was frequently tempted to restore him to his native wildncss. He lived with 

 me nearly three days, but refused all sustenance, and I witnessed his death with 

 regret." 



RECENT ORNITHOLOGICAU WORK 



What we may term recent ornithological research began in North Carolina in 

 1871, when Dr. Elliott Coues publisheil in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natu- 

 ral Sciences, of Philadelphia (vol. xxiii), a series of notes on the birds observed by 

 him while stationed at Fort Macon in Carteret County. One hundred antl twenty- 

 two species of V)irds arc here mentioneil. 



In 1886 Mr. William Brewster of Cambridge, Massachusetts, studied in the 

 mountains of western North Carolina, and his li.st of birds, published in The Aiih, 

 contains records of one hundred and twenty species. The preceding winter Charles 

 Batchelder, also of Cambridge, made a number of observations on the winter bird 

 life of the mountains, and these likewise were pul)lished in The Auk; one of the 

 discoveries made by Mr. Brewster was the Carolina Snowbird {Junco hyeinalis 

 caroliniensis). J. S. Cairns, an enthusiastic student of birds, living at Weaver- 



