94 THE WILSON BULLETIN No. 60. 



passed by unseen. Indeed it seems that hawks and, in fact most other 

 birds, recognize life almost entirely by its movement and not by its 

 form and color. A perfectly stationary object is usually regarded 

 as inanimate and we have seen a hawk pass right by a flock of Ce- 

 l.-ir NY.-ixwings in the top of a dead and bare stub when they thus 

 "froze." 



At times the Jays seemed thoroughly to enjoy conditions and de- 

 lighted to get in the middle of a safe thicket and "jay" their loudest. 

 No sooner was the first note uttered than a hawk was on hand dodg- 

 ing around the retreat in the wildest fashion, while the jay within 

 shrieked with well feigned fear, b.ut apparent delight. In fact the 

 Blue Jay is a canny bird, and though the remains of other species 

 were commonly met with, scattered over the ground around some lit- 

 tle knoll or log, we recognized their blue plumage but once. The 

 flicker too, fared well, though subject to constant attack from the 

 ferocious little Accipiters. They did not even curb their voices as 

 other birds did and, though frequenting the most exposed dead tree 

 tops, seemed the most care free of any of the birds. Many times we 

 saw a hawk strike at them, but each time just when we thought it 

 was all up with the flicker there was a little scramble to the other 

 side of the trunk and the hawk was sailing away to make another 

 strike. But it was a one-sided game. The flicker had but a circle of 

 a few inches to describe and the hawk one of many yards, and never 

 to our knowledge was the flicker one instant too late. 



The loss of life at such times must be immense. We were contin- 

 ually finding the bunches of scattered feathers that marked where 

 some songster had met its end. During the first few days before the 

 heavy flight the cuckoos suffered most severely, but the main body 

 of hawks seem to follow the migrating Olive-backed and Grey-cheeked 

 Thrushes and they formed the staple food supply during the height 

 of the flight, though we recognized Townees, Red-eyed Vireos, Brown 

 Thrashers, Chipping Sparrows, Wood Pewees, various Warblers, and 

 Catbirds amid the debris. 



In spite of all this, however, most of the hawks collected had empty 

 stomachs, likely the well fed ones were those that circled high in the 

 air, while the ones that fell to our guns were the hungry hunters, 

 made bold by their hunger. Nearly, if not quite, all of the birds 

 composing this flight are young of the year. Of the 281 observed 

 from the tower all but two or three of them were positively made 

 out to be in this plumage, while the others were viewed under such 

 conditions of light and distance that no definite determination could 

 be made. All taken were also Juvenile; in fact the only adult we 

 ever took at the Point was one taken Sept. 5, 1907, and before the 

 flight had started. 



Most birds migrating from Point Pelee make for Pelee Island that 

 lies in full view out in the lake, but neither the Sharp-shin nor the 



