^^'igos^T General Notes. 317 



On April 1, 1907, while the guest of Mr. William Loundes at Cat Island, 

 South Carolina, I learned that a pair of these birds had for years inhabited 

 a disused rice mill on his plantation. Climbing to the second floor of the 

 building we saw a pair of Bam Owls fly out of a window, the panes of which 

 were broken. The nest was soon located in a covered portion of the ma- 

 chineiy. It contained four eggs. On May 20, 1 again visited the mill, and 

 both old birds flew out as before. In the nest was one young owl appar- 

 ently about old enough to fly. There were no eggs in the nest and nothing 

 was seen of any other yoimg birds. On January 23, 1908, I examined the 

 mill thoroughly but no nest could be found and only one Bam Owl was seen. 

 — T. Gilbert Pearson, Greensboro, N. C. 



Curious Fatality among Chimney Swifts. — I am indebted to Dr. O. P. 

 Maxson, Waukegan, 111., for information regarding the destruction of a 

 large nmiiber of Swifts, in one of the chimneys of his house during a cold 

 rain storm. Dr. Maxson writes under date of May 16, 1908, as follows: — 



"On the 13th May there was a large flight of Chimney Swifts during a 

 steady rain storm. One of my daughters who was out in the yard noticed 

 the Swifts flying dov\Ti into the chimney with which the furnace flue is 

 connected, and on going into the basement we found it full of coal gas. 

 Supposing something was wrong with the draft we investigated and then 

 heard the birds chirping and a fluttering of vvdngs in the chimney. There 

 is a door in the furnace flue, about 7 X 18 inches, used for opening when 

 the furnace is shut off, and through this my son and a companion reached 

 in and took the birds out from the chimney. Some were dead, others 

 only stupified from the effects of the heat and coal gas, while many were 

 able to fly as soon as liberated. At first the chimney, which has a large 

 tile-lined flue, was so obstructed by the birds as to choke the draft, and 

 for more than an hour the boys were busy in taking out the swifts which 

 had accumulated and were still flying in, while three of the ladies of my 

 family were receiving them and carrying them to the open windows of the 

 basement. There being so many at work and in such haste to get the birds 

 into the fresh air that they might revive as many as possible, they gave up 

 any attempt to keep count of their numbers. There were, however, one 

 hundred and five dead and probably five times that munber that revived 

 sufficiently to enable them to fly off, when liberated. After the nimibers 

 had largely decreased in flying dowTi the chimney and the boys had aban- 

 doned their work, I went to the flue and extricated sixty-six more, of which 

 eight were so injured by the heat that I had to kill them. This chimney 

 was heated by the furnace fire, but another chimney connected with the 

 kitchen range had not been used by the birds and none were found in the 

 ash pit at the base of it. The flight lasted from the middle of the after- 

 noon until evening." 



While it is well known that these Swifts congregate and roost in imused 

 chimneys, particularly in the fall, prior to the migration, I think it is an 



