14 



THE OOLOGIST. 



cf Ms "Birds of America," and was 

 associated with Dr. Bachmaa in the pre- 

 paration of a work on "The Quadrupeds 

 of North America," with plates, the 

 drawings for which were executed by 

 Audubon's accomplished sons, Victor 

 Gifford and John Woodhouse Audubon. 

 Audubon himself taught his sons to 

 draw, and instilled in them the love of 

 Nature which had always pervaded his 

 own soul. How well he taught them 

 can be seen by referring to the work in 

 question. 



Mr. Audubon lived in comfort and 

 happiness with his family on the Hud- 

 son, until the time of his death, which 

 took place in January, 1851, on the 27th 

 day of the month. Audubon was seven- 

 ty nine years of age at the time of his 

 death, and his constitution was always 

 lA perfect condition, which was one 

 great result of his outdoor life. 

 [the end.] 



Water Birds of Heron Lake. 



Though writing distinctively on Wat- 

 er Birds, I cannot forbear to speak an 

 enthusiastic word about the Golden 

 Plovers, the "Prairie Pigeons". Arriv- 

 ing en masse, the first of May, they 

 flew in crowded flocks, morning and 

 evening, skirmishing in deployed col- 

 umns, in search of food, wherever a 

 strip of prairie had been newly burned. 

 Hearing suddenly the clear and mellow 

 hilee, (as Mr. Nelson graphically calls 

 it), one might look up and see here and 

 thei'e a small black cloud of them scud- 

 ding before the wind, wheeling sharply 

 with quick pi'ecision and dropping sud- 

 denly on the blackened slopes. They 

 spent three weeks with us. 



I watched eagerly for the coming of 

 the Night Herons. The third of May 

 an awkward squad of eight appeared. 

 Before the middle of the month, they 

 wei'e present at the Lake in hundreds, 

 going out by day to fish or grub, in 



every slough and prairie hollow, but 

 gathering back at night with many a 

 hoarse explosive kowk\ 



Not until May 19th did we see the full 

 van of the great ai'my of aquatic birds. 

 Rowing from island to island, among 

 the rushes, through the tall cane brakes 

 amid the coarse rank grass, hoping for 

 a sight of the ten majestic White Peli- 

 cans that were seen a week before, we,, 

 wife, baby and I, came suddenly upon a 

 long, low mud flat against which the 

 waves were sweeping myriads of lus- 

 cious animalcule. And there we saw a 

 sight never to be forgotten. The waves 

 had quickly dashed us half unheeding 

 on the shallows close in to the rooty, 

 mucky beach, and there and on the flats 

 adjoining, what myriads of waders! 

 Not ten feet away, quietly gazed at us a 

 Semi-palmated Plovfer, so near that we 

 could see the orange of his corrugated 

 eyelids. Near by were a few White 

 Rumps, yonder, deep wading, a solit- 

 ary Wilson's Phalarope, his daintiness 

 appearing in every motion; beyond 

 were gnat-like squadrons of Peeps, 

 Semi-palmates, Minutillas, impulsively 

 coming and going and everywhere 

 were Red-backed Sandpipers, outnum- 

 bering all others, five to one. (This 

 numerical predominance has persisted, 

 ever since, in both migrations). Jump- 

 ing excitedly ashore for a close view I 

 flushed a pair of Least Bitterns from 

 the near-by grass. Singling out a bird 

 of unfamiliar garb, after one shot had 

 had brought me enough Pelidnas for to- 

 morrow's (delicious) dinner, I soon had 

 in my hand the first Stilt Sandpiper 1 

 had ever seen. (Later in the day, a 

 flock of five whizzed by me swiftly, not 

 four yards away). 



And the Terns and the Gulls; Black 

 Terns were darting, rocket like, into 

 the water, for minnows, every where 

 about us, unconcerned. The Franklin 

 Gulls, with their somewhat laboi'ed 

 flight, winged endlessly by in twos and 

 tens and twenties, in search of insects. 



