172 



THE OOLOGIST 



Crow. 

 Rook. 

 Jackdaws. 

 Magpie. 



Blue Jay, Palestine, growing scarce. 

 Cuckoo, Jordon Valley. 

 Cuckoo, Summer in Palestine. 

 Shrike, Jericho. 

 Shrike, Jordan Valley. 

 King-fisher, Jericho. 

 Night Hawk. 

 Jar. 



Sparrow, Jericho. 

 Swallow, Jordan Valley. 

 Common Swallow. 

 Swift, Jordan Valley. 

 Lark. 



Black Cap, Jericho. 

 Great Tit. 

 Bee-eaters. 



Sun-bird, Jordan Valley. 

 Corn Bunting. 

 Gold Pinch. 

 Chat. 

 Nuthatch. 

 Red start. 

 Robin. 

 Thrush. 

 Wag-tail. 

 Peacock. 

 Ostrich. 



This list is probably incomplete but 

 interesting. 



Geo. W. H. Vos Burgh. 



The Least Tern at Philadelphia, Pa. 



The occurrence of the Least Tern 

 (Sterna antillarum) upon the Dela- 

 ware River — particularly in the vicin- 

 ity of Philadelphia — is of doubtful au- 

 thenticity, acocrding to a prominent 

 local ornithologist, who says there is 

 "no evidence that it was anything but 

 an extremely rare straggler" in the 

 past, when the species was a common 

 summer resident on the New Jersey 



coast, and it is the accepted belief of 

 local ornithologists that it has never 

 been taken in this region during re- 

 cent years. 



While crossing the Delaware River, 

 on September 25, 1910, in a power boat 

 with my father, three brothers and 

 several friends, and towing two heavily 

 laden bateaux with a camping outfit, 

 when just opposite Bridesburg (which 

 is six miles above Philadelphia) on the 

 Pennsylvania shore, we almost ran 

 down a crippled (?) Least Tern sitting 

 on the water. We gasolined by within 

 four or five yards of the bird as it 

 sat serenely upon the surface, but on 

 account of our heavy tow were unable 

 to pursue and try to capture the bird, 

 as we would like to have done. The 

 bird was not seen until it was too 

 late to try to run straight for it and 

 we were unable to come back and try 

 to capture it. The Tern was plainly 

 seen, as it was clear and sunshiny and 

 there is no doubt about its identity. 

 It was an adult and evinced no con- 

 cern at our close and noisy proximity, 

 nor did the waves from the boat alarm 

 it and it mounted the small swells 

 without any fear. It didn't even mani- 

 fest any fear at our yells or hostile 

 demonstrations from which I infer 

 that it was wounded and unable to fly 

 or else remarkably tame. 



Why should the occurrence of the 

 Least Tern be regarded of such ex- 

 treme doubtful rarity upon the middle 

 Delaware River by "closet naturalists," 

 when there are breeding colonies of 

 these birds on the eastern shores of 

 Maryland and Virginia and undoubted- 

 ly nearer? After the breeding season, 

 like the Common and Black Terns, 

 in my experience the Least Tern wand- 

 ers about and migrates north or west- 

 ward of its habitat in late summer, 

 nowadays, just as they did, in all prob- 

 ability in the past. 



Richard P, Miller, 



