IRotes of tbe 



from the sky. Although early risers, as all birds 

 are, the yellow-billed cuckoos were no advocates 

 of the maxim "Early to bed." I could detect 

 them flying across an open space over a brook 

 when it was quite dark, and the pair that had a 

 nest with eggs, which I found on August 28, 

 frequently left the orchard for more open ground 

 at quite a late hour. There seemed too little light 

 over the fields for successful hunting, and the 

 orchard itself was very dark ; too dark, it would 

 seem, for them ever to find their way home. 



How late the chimney-swifts are abroad I can- 

 not determine. Long after I failed to detect any 

 in the air, I could hear them in my chimney. It 

 was the same rustling sound heard by day when 

 I could see them coming and going, and I know 

 that these birds were leaving and returning when 

 the night was very dark. I think they can be 

 classed among the nocturnal species. 



The dim light of early evening plays havoc 

 with one's patience, at times. Often, as I roam 

 the open fields when night is closing in, I can 

 distinctly hear the herons, plover, and, sometimes, 

 a flock of red-wings. I know that they are flying 

 overhead, and yet it is only on the rarest occa- 

 sions that I can catch a glimpse of them. It 

 would seem as if so large a bird as the night- 

 heron could be made out even against a star-lit 

 sky, but such is not the case. It is not difficult 

 to locate the sound ; you hear it as the bird ap- 



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