12 DwiciiiT, Siiwmer Birds of Prince Eihvard Island. \\^ 



is sometimes htaiil liroaliinfj the stillness of tlie niglit. anil onlv those who 

 have passed n ni}j;ht in the norlhetii woods can know how piofound this 

 stillness may he. The sonj; has given to the hiid many local names 

 wherever it occurs, one ot" the hest known being 'Kennedy Bird.' I heard 

 a new version which credits him with saying 'Good Lord, pity me, pitv 

 me, pity me." When the young get on tlv; wing, the song is less IVe- 

 quently lieard. The l)ir(l is kuo'vn to the lew French settlers of the island 

 as rossii;nol (nightingale). 



Spizella socialis. Ci'ipriN(i Si-arugw. — Not a common species, and 

 only occasionally observed. 



Junco hyemalij. Sr..\ ik-coi.oki-.i) Ji'nco. — Next to the Savanna Spar- 

 row this is probably the most abunilant bird on the island. It is found 

 everywhere, — in dooryards, open fields, fern-clothed clearings, even deep 

 woods. Its nest is on the ground, preferably under something — the 

 bottom rail of a fence or a hole in some grassy bank. Young were just 

 beginning to llv June 23, and a week later nests with fresh eggs indicated 

 a second laying. Its local name is 'Bluebird,' a strange misnomer, even 

 though Sidlia sid/is does not occur. 



Melospiza fasciata. Song Sparkow. — V'ery abundant and general. v 

 distributed. Mr. Bain states that some winter on the island. 



Melospiza georgiana. Swamp Sparrow. — Rather common in very 

 wet, bushv meadows, with alders here and there, or in open swamps of 

 limited are:*, such as occur along brooks in cleared country. 



Pelrochelidon lunifrons. Clifk Swallow. — A cojiimon bird, locally 

 distributed, and nesting iti colonies nndei' the eaves of b:u ns and houses. 



Chelidon erythrogaster. Barn Swallow. — Abundant and geneially 

 distributed. 



Tachycineta bicolor. White-biclliei) Swallow. — Fairly abundant, 

 nesting in old Woodpecker holes in clei.rings, crevices about barns, and 

 the hollow ends of the lils composing the zigzag fences so common on 

 the island. The sudden disappearance of a Swallow as it aligbteil on a 

 fence was almost startling until I learned that in some deep hollow, de- 

 caved out of the heart of an unsplit rail, was a cosy nest of grass and 

 feathers. It was impossible to dislodge the birds that were sometimes out 

 of arm's reach, but several nests exainined the last week in June contained 

 voung. I have never found this species nesting in such a location before. 



Clivicola riparia. Bank Swallow. — I perlia))s do this species an in- 

 justice when I say that it is outnumbered by the Savann:. ^parrow and 

 the Junco. I saw colonies of hundreds at several points along »he coast, 

 and as every hlulTis crowned by a layer of sand, and much of the coast 

 line is a continuous blulV, the Swallows have unrivalled opportunities 

 for nesting places. 



Ampelis cedrorum. Ckdariiird. — Seen now and again, but not com- 

 mon. There is a remarkable similarity between a li;;p of this species, a 

 certain note of the Robin, and one of the Hermit Thrush. 



Vireo olivaceus. Ricd-kyku Vireo. — A common and in a few localities 

 an abundant bird, here as elsewhere a tireless songster. It prefers decid- 

 uous trees, particularly lar^c maples. ' 



