18 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXVI. 



Black-breasted and Golden Plover. It was my 

 first Plover-shooting trip and I recall that Golden 

 and Black-breasted Plover were plentiful. A flock 

 of sandpipers flew past my blind and among them 

 I noticed a big bird with white stripes in his wings. 

 The big bird fell at the report of my muzzle- 

 loader. My shooting companion called it a 

 "White Wing." We saw during our trip of four 

 days some five or six of these big Willets. In 

 those days of blessed memory they were scarce 

 along St. Mary's Bay, and never in my recollec- 

 tion were Willets so plentiful as at the present 

 time. Seven years ago I noticed with interest that 

 Willets were nesting in Digby County. Since 

 that time there are more of these birds nesting 

 here each year, and more especially since the 

 elimination of spring shooting can the increase be 

 noticed. At the present time (June 18th, 1921) 

 many birds are nesting at Little River Harbour, 

 Yarmouth County, Villagedale, Shelburne County, 

 and Grossecoques, Digby County. There are 

 doubtless other places in western Nova Soctia 

 where these birds nest. Willets are about the first 

 of the large "Shore Birds" to leave us in the fall, 

 and by September first not many remain here. 

 Under the Migratory Birds Act these birds are 

 protected. It is, however, a difficult matter to 

 protect them fully, as only a comparative few of the 

 present day shore bird shooters really know them at 

 a glance. Of course the white of their wings is 

 very distinctive, but during the month of August 

 the coast-line where these birds are is very often 

 obscured with fog and when a bunch of these large 

 birds burst through the fog-mull it is difficult for 

 the amateur to distinguish them in a second or so 

 and decide they are on the "protected list." 

 Willets are the easiest of the Shore Birds to decoy 

 and "whistle" within shot (with the possible ex- 

 ception of the Yellow Legs). 



They are, however, increasing very fast, much 

 to the joy of all true sportsmen. Only yesterday 

 I was among the nesting Willets. There was a 

 real colony of them. They are very noisy birds 

 at this season, and so bold they will nearly fly 

 against one as you walk near their nesting grounds. 

 Their constant cries of Ca-luck, Ca-luck, Tee-da, 

 Tee-da still ring in my ears. There will be hun- 

 dreds of young birds ready for the fall migration 

 next August. Let us hope that not many of 

 them will be mistaken for legal game during their 

 flight and that all shooters will "have a care." I 

 have never known so many Willets to nest in 

 Digby County as there are this spring. If the 

 increase continues at the present rate there will 

 be little danger of this grand bird becoming 

 extinct as was feared a short while ago. 



H. A. P. Smith, Digby, N.S. 



Editor, The Canadian Field-Naturalist: 

 Dear Sir: 



Having noticed in the issue of September last 

 under "Notes and Observations" a reply by Harri- 

 son F. Lewis to a short article of mine on "The 

 Birds of the Wilderness of Nova Scotia," I would 

 say that Mr. Lewis' criticism of my notes as they 

 appeared under the heading in The Naturalist is 

 not far astray. My notes referred, however, to 

 song birds alone, and should have been printed as 

 the copy read, viz., "The Absence of Song Birds 

 in the Wilderness of Nova Scotia." I may further 

 say that if Mr. Lewis will go back into the interior 

 of this province he will not fail to notice the 

 scarcity of song birds; I do not mean the short 

 trips usually taken by the trout fisherman, but 

 back to the top of the watershed. I may further 

 say that he will not there find the White-Throated 

 Sparrow as he suggests. This bird is to me the 

 finest song bird we have, and I am always on the 

 alert to catch his pure notes. Neither will Mr. 

 Lewis discover the Maryland Yellow-throat, nor 

 the Chestnut-Sided Warbler. As far as Loons, 

 Ruffed Grouse, and Blue Herons are concerned, 

 they are certainly to be found there, but it would 

 be most difficult to strain one's imagination 

 enough to call them song birds. Mr. Lewis' 

 mention of Herring Gulls proves to me that he has 

 not been to the real wilderness of Nova Scotia, as 

 these birds are seldom found so far from salt 

 water in this province. Mr. James W. Stuber, 

 Assistant Chief, Bureau of Fish and Game of 

 Ohio, noticed this absence of song birds during 

 his trip to the interior of the province. Writing 

 in the Sportmsan' s Review, he says, "'The silence 

 was profound. Not a bird twittered." I have 

 also read, in the same September number of The 

 Naturalist, Mr. Lewis' article, "Among the Coffin 

 Carriers," referring to the colony of Black-Backed 

 Gulls at Lake George, Yarmouth County. As 

 Mr. Lewis is now in Labrador, it will be of interest 

 to know whether upon his return he will retain 

 the same respect and love for this big gull that 

 he carried with him into Labrador. Perhaps he 

 may let us hear about it through The Naturalist 

 when he gets back. 



H. A. P. Smith, Digby, N.S. 



BOOK NOTICES 

 "Life Histories of North American Diving 

 Birds" (1919) and "Life Histories of North 

 American Gulls and Terns" (1921), by Arthur 

 Cleveland Bent. These two volumes, which are 

 Bulletin 107 and Bulletin 113, respectively, of the 

 United States National Museum, are a continua- 

 tion of the series of "Life Histories" begun by the 

 late Major Charles E. Bendire. 



