General Notes. 03 



Vol. xin 



piza a brood to rear. I removed the eggs (which were perfectly fresh) 

 and substituted tho.se of Icteria, which had been without warmth for 

 several hours; but, contrarv to my expectations, they all hatched by the 

 nth, and the young birds were tenderly cared for by their foster mother 

 until they left the nest about three weeks later. The young Chats grew 

 so rapidly that they completely filled the nest in a short time, and it was 

 a curiouJ sight to see the mother feeding or endeavoring to cover w.th 

 her wings her three charges, who were fully as large as she. 



This experiment proves that Mclospiza fasciata will rear a brood of 

 totally different and much larger birds, whose eggs hatched a long t.me 

 befor; her own would have. And also that Icteria virens will live on the 

 same food as Melospiza, for we can hardly suppose Melospiza to have 

 been intelligent enough to collect the same food for the young bn-ds as 

 their own mother would have done. To me it is an interesting subject 

 and I intend to try other similar experiments next spring. - Curtis C 

 Young, Brooklyn., N. T. 



A Swallow Roost near Portland. Conn. -On the opposite side of the 

 Connecticut River from Portland are what are locally known as the 

 •Little River' meadows. These meadows contain several hundred acres 

 and through them tiows Sebethe (Little) River which empties into the 

 Connecticut. Along the banks of this ' little river' and its tributan^ 

 water oats iZizania aquatica) grow in abundance, giving food and sheltei 

 to the Rail, Marsh Wrens, and many other birds. These oats are the 

 roosting place of thousands of Swallows, the birds spending the night 

 clinging to the upright reeds, one above another. As a boy it was often 

 n.v;ra!tice to fire a gun after dark in order to start the Swallows up and 

 then witness their tribulation when trying again to hod a suitable place 

 for the night. This habit of disturbing the poor birds has not deserted 



me in later years. 1 :„ 



The Swallows commence to congregate in these marshes earl^ in 

 August, and a small number may be found there the last week in October ; 

 the bulk, however, are seen from the middle of August until ate in 

 September. During the day they leave the meadows and only a tew are 

 seen in the vicinity": but at half past four in the afternoon they begin to 

 appear from all diVections, the flight ceasing about 6 p. >i. ^J ^^^^J^ 

 situated on high ground some two miles east of the marsh, and the flight 

 of these birds over my premises, and toward this meadow, is so regula, 

 (from 4.30 to 6 o'clock) each afternoon, that a watch is hardly necessar, 

 to tell the time of day. Tree Swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor) predominate 

 at this roost, but many Barn Swallows iCkeUdon crythrogaster) are seen, 

 and a few Cliff and Bank Swallows ^PetrockeUdon lunifrons ^v.A Cltvtcola 

 'riparia). Occasionally a Martin iProgne sulns) joins the multitude oj 

 oLr Swallows flying about the marsh. -Jno. II. S.voe. Portland, 

 Conn. 



