130 DutcHeER, Birds of Little Gull Island, N. Y. [April 
The Crows were in a sorry plight indeed, for the Terns, not satisfied with 
worrying their victims at a distance, even went so far as to peck out the 
poor birds’ feathers; and between the exuvie that the Terns had dropped 
upon them, and the light patches where the feathers had been picked out, 
the Crows presented a rather mottled appearance. From the upper 
mandible of one Crow a piece of the sheath and bone, half an inch long 
andan eighth deep, had been gouged out. undoubtedly by the lower 
mandible of a Tern. This incessant persecution had rendered the Crows 
so tame that we could always approach to within twenty-five feet of them 
before they would fly. And Chas. B. Field told me that on one occasion 
he caught one in his hand, the bird preferring rather to be caught by the 
man than to be chased by the Terns. 
15. Ammodramus maritimus. SEASIDE SPARROow.—An individual of 
this species was found onthe concrete, August 7, having struck the tower 
the night before. 
16. Melospiza fasciata. SONG SPARROW.—This species was quite com- 
mon on Great Gull, and could frequently be heard singing. It seemed to 
prefer the swamp and its immediate vicinity to the more elevated parts of 
the island. Onespecimen was shot from some bushes around the edge of 
the marsh. 
17. Chelidon erythrogaster. BAkN SwALLow.—Almost every day 
while I was at Little Gull Island flocks of these birds could be seen on 
their southward migration. These birds and those of the succeeding 
species seemed, in their flight, to follow the line of the islands, from the 
mainland to Fisher’s Island, from Fisher’s to Little Gull, Little Gull to 
Great Gull, Great Gull to Plum, and so to Long Island. 
18. Tachycineta bicolor. TREE SwALLow.—All that has been said of 
the preceding species will apply also to this. 
19. Clivicola riparia. BaNK SwaLLow.—Although no birds of this 
species were seen, Chas. B. Field said that they had bred abundantly on 
Great Gull earlier in the season,—a statement that was well verified by the 
large number of holes in the sand banks that overlooked the shores of the 
island. Mr. Field also said that about as soon as the Swallows had dug 
out their homes, some folks, who should have been better employed, came 
over from Connecticut and amused themselves by digging out the holes 
that the Swallows had made, thus compelling the birds to excavate new 
ones. 
20. Mniotilta varia. BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER. —A bird belong- 
ing to this species was picked up from the concrete August 9, having 
committed suicide against the tower the night before. 
20. Dendroica estiva. YELLOW WARBLER.—Standing on the concrete 
at the foot of the tower on foggy nights and lookiny upward, we could see 
around the lantern a broad halo of light, probably one hundred feet in 
diameter. Outside of this halo was totaldarkness. This phenomenon, 
I presume, was caused by the reflection and refraction of the light by the 
minute particles of water in the vicinity of the lantern; and the darkness 
beyond was due to the fact that very little, if any, of the small portion of 
