May, 1885.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



79 



The dates of arriv;ils vary considerable from the above 

 during a number of yearn. This is noticed as much in the 

 nesting of the birds here as in their first appearance. We 

 took two set>i of Broad-win<;ed Hawks (Buteo pennsi/lvani- 

 cusj) on May 3d, two years, while the last three years al- 

 ways found complete sets early in April. The Cuckoos for 

 the last three years have appeared regularly on May 20th, 

 never sooner nor later, and from their great numbers we 

 are inclined to think they all arrive at once— by night. 



From notes for 1SS3 we find the Golden-crowned Thrush 

 arrived May 3i, Wood Pewee and Bobolink the 5th, White- 

 crowned Sparrow and Whip-poor-will 8th, Humming Bird 

 8th, Red-eyed Vireo on the lOth, and Cuckoos the 2[)th, 

 rtnishing up the course with the Yellow-breasted Chat on 

 the 24th.— Geo. Enti/. 



Notes from Marlboro', Ohio.— Marlboro, Ohio, is in 

 41 => N. L., and 3^ 10' W. of Washington, and is nearly on 

 the water shed separating the water flowing into the Ohio 

 river and that into Lake Erie. 



This Winter has been nniisnally severe, many Quail 

 having frozen or starved to death, and also delaying the 

 spring migration of the birds. 



Heard a single Robin on March 4th. Saw or heard no 

 more till the llth, when I saw six in a tree. Saw Bluebirds 

 on the 6th also. Killdeer on the 15th. These had good 

 raa-^on to repent of their hastiness, for on March ITth the 

 mercury dropped to 20= below zero, and at this writing it 

 is still cold. On the 14th it was quite warm and Spring 

 like, thawing rapidly and a strong southwest wind which 

 brought a good shower of rain in the evening, but in the 

 morning everything was frozen solid. I have the following 

 from a reliable person near here : 



On the morning of the 15th he saw a large flock of Geese 

 coming from the south ; they were flying low when first ob- 

 served. Watching them he saw them rise to such a height 

 as to be almost out of sight. There they remained station- 

 ary for several minutes all the time keeping up a loud 

 squawking as if in consultation. Presently they wheeled 

 around and flew toward the south. They probably rose lo 

 such a height as to see over a vast amount of territory, and 

 seeing no open water concluded to return south. 



On the IGth, 1 e\w a flock of twelve flying south; they 

 were scarcely higher than the Apple tree tops.— L. M. /?., 

 March 2(Hh. 



Lewis' WoonpECKER in Texas.— Noting in March "O. 

 and O." p. H.'S, that this species had been added to the avi- 

 fauna of Texas in IS^t, ha-* caused me to call attention to 

 the following article, which I sent to ''Science News," on 

 March 26th, 1879 : 



" lewis' woodpecker in middle TEXAS." 



That this species (A i^f/ndesimiitt torquahis,) occurs as far 

 east in Texas as 98° long., I have not a doubt but as I 

 have neither taken nor seen the species, it may be well to 

 di'tail the testimony. 



Three parties were contemplating a trip some 300 miles 

 southwest of our town, and wishing to get some specimens 

 of Texan and Yellow-faced Woodpeckers, I arranged with 

 them to send me some birds by mail. Upon their return 

 they inqHired about the Black Woodpecker they had sent 

 from Brown county, as to what it was. As the birds had 

 miscarried, I was in the dark. They described the bird as 

 size C. ann'froiis, very black, with whitish ring around 

 neck, deep red on belly, and the plumage of the under parts 

 very "coarse." Not thinking at the time what it could be, 

 I questioned two of them very closely and at different 

 times, and the characters described were exactly alike. The 

 peculiar bristly feathers of the belly in this species would 

 identify it beyond doubt, if no other description was given. 



That the bird is very rare here is probable from the fact 



that only two were seen in eight weeks' travelling and 

 camping over the country. The latter was in Wise county, 

 adjoining this (Cooke) county." 



It should have been stated that the bird was taken in the 

 Winter prior to the date of my article. The last named lo- 

 cality extends the range of the bird 3* further east than 

 San Angelo, Tex. — G. H. Ra'jsdale, G linesoille^ Tex. 



The Barn Owl.— In a paper read before the Hamilton 

 (Canada,) Association, Mr. T. Mcllwraith, speaking of the 

 Barn Owl, Strix Jlamviea, says : " In Scotland, where the 

 species is common, it is still regarded with aversion, and its 

 visits are looked upon as a forerunner of disaster to the 

 family. Its cry at night is described as most appalling, and 

 often referred to in this way in the songs and poetry of the 

 country. ThuS one of Burns' lothanos when seekina ai- 

 mission to the chamber of his lady love, in describinL' h's 

 uncomfortable position outside, mentions among other 

 causes, that 'the cry o' honlets make me eerie.' I have lis- 

 tened attentively to the cry of this and other Owls, but have 

 never recognizel anything so terrifying about them. Not 

 very long ago I heard the serenade of the Great-horned 

 Owl, down near Stony Creek, under the mountain. It was 

 loud and harsh, and struck me at the time as resembling 

 more than anything e'se the neighing of a young colt. Such 

 sounds, when heard unexpectedly in a lonely place, at 

 night, are not calculated to inspire courage in a breast 

 already depressed with superstitious fear, yet the effect 

 produced must, to a great extent, depend upon the train of 

 thought passing through the mind at the time, and though 

 many a stalwart Scot has quailed at the cry of the 'Hoolet,' 

 yet it is a matter of history that the sons of that romantic 

 land when roused to enthusiasm by similar sounds extorted 

 from the national instrument, have performed deeds of per- 

 sonal valor which will live in song and story as long as 

 poets andh'storians seek such themes." 



Notes from Raleigh, N. C. Red Crossbill, (Loxia 

 americatia,). We have shot four of these birds this Winter, 

 two of them on March llth, on which occasion they were in 

 company with another which we did not get. The second 

 pair were killed on March 23d, snow being on the ground at 

 the time. In both cases the two killed were male and 

 female, and in the second case the ovaries of the female 

 were much enlarged. 



Red-bellied Nuthatch, {SUtx caiiadeiiftis^). We pro- 

 cured another specimen of this bird, a female on March 30th. 



Oak-woods Sparrow, (Peucfex cestivalis illiiioeniiis,) 

 On April Ist I shot a specimen of this bird. I started it up 

 whilst walking along the edge of a meadow, between which 

 and the creek was a belt of small trees and bushes; it set- 

 tled in a small Water Oak. was observed to be unlike any 

 Sparrow I had seen, and was accordingly killed. Its general 

 color was chestnut above, much marked with ashy and 

 somewhat streaked with black in the interscapulary region, 

 below huffy, a dusky line on each side of chin, an obscure 

 superciliary stripe but no traces of a median one on the 

 head. Feet and legs pale, tail much graduated. L. S^ji, 

 W. 2V) T. 2>^. Edge and bend of wing yellow, but none 

 on head. 



American House Wren, {Troglodytfs aedon,). Shot a 

 specimen of this bird on April llth, the first I have met 

 with in this locality. 



Large-billed Water Thrush, {Siuriis motacilla,). We 

 procured a specimen of this bird on April 9th, and saw one 

 a few days previously. The specimen procured drew at- 

 tention by Its song, being a male. It was very shy, and it 

 was some time before we could get near enough to shoot it. 

 This bird is quite rare here, the Small-billed species being 

 common in Spring, Fall and some in Summer, but this is 

 only occasional. 



