60 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 6-No 8. 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



— AND — 



OOLOGIST 



A MONTHLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED 

 TO THE STUDY OF BIRDS, THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



JOS. JET. WAOE, Editor, 



S. L. WILLARD, Assistant. 



With the CO operation of able Ornithological 

 Writers and Collectors. 



Subscription — $1.00 per anmim. Foreign sub 

 scription $1.25 — including postage. Speci- 

 men Copies Ten Cents. 



JOS, M. WADE, 



Nomrfch, C«nn. 



Entered at Nomoich P.O. as Second Class matter. 



JEDITOTIIA-L. 



John Krider's Work. 



As our readers are well aware we have 

 been offering for sale a work by John Kri- 

 der entitled, " Forty Years' Notes of a Field 

 Ornithologist, &c." Many copies of this 

 work have gone into the hands of some of 

 our best ornithologists, some of whom re- 

 port that it contains many errors, but of this 

 more hereafter. Our present object is to 

 make one or two interesting quotations from 

 the work. 



"Duck Hawk. — It is well-known to all 

 the duck-shooters along the flats of the Sus- 

 quehanna River, as well also to those who 

 frequent the sea-shore, where this bird is 

 certain to be found during the ducking sea- 

 son. I have found it also on several occa 

 sions on the Delaware River, when I was 

 rail shooting. 1 shot one specimen below 

 the navy yard, also another on Jersey shore, 

 both of which had been feeding on some 

 farmer's chickens I have often notii;ed 

 the manoeuvres of this voracious hero of 

 the falcon tribe when in pursuit of ducks. 

 On one occasion I was seated in a blind 

 with my decoys in a pond in front of me, 

 waiting for the approach of ducks, when at 

 a distance I saw a small lot of ducks mak- 

 ing for the pond. As they approached I 

 discovered that they were pursued by a 

 Hawk, and as soon as they arrived at the 

 edge of the pond they immediately dove 

 under the water. The Hawk, somewhat 

 disappointed, continued on his course tow- 

 ard my decoys, making a quick dart and 



catching one in his talons, but finding it 

 much heavier than he supposed soon 

 dropped it, and was in a hurry to get off 

 when the leaden messengers from my gun 

 brought him down. This specimen is now 

 in the Academy of Natural Science, of Phil- 

 adelphia. I have frequently found this bird 

 along the sea-shore in spring, but never 

 found it breeding in that neighborhood 

 which has been so reported. I do not con- 

 sider it rare, but difficult to obtain. They 

 vary much in size — the male is much small- 

 er than the female, and the plumage of the 

 adult bird different from that of the young. 

 I have met this bird as far east as Maine, 

 and as far west as Minnesota, along the 

 Mississippi River, and have not been able 

 myself to find its nest, but have the eggs in 

 my collection which were found in the State 

 of Maine. I also have the birds which 

 were shot along the Delaware River below 

 Philadelphia. 



" Bald Eagle. — The Bald Eagle is very 

 plenty along the coast of 'Virginia, Dela- 

 ware and New Jersey. It feeds on Ducks 

 and fish. I have seen this bird sit on the 

 meadows and watch the Fish-hawk catch 

 a fish, when he would pursue the Hawk and 

 make him drop his food, and before the 

 fish could reach the water the Eagle would 

 catch it and make for some secluded spot 

 to feed upon it. I have also seen them 

 chase crippled Ducks and make a meal of 

 them: they frequent mostly the ducking 

 grounds I have seen tliem very plenty 

 in the western states, and on the lakes 

 where the Ducks breed I have found 

 tht-m breeding in New Jersey, near Bees- 

 ley's Point, also on the eastern shores of 

 Maryland, and in Iowa and Minnesota, but 

 have never found more than two eggs in a 

 nest. The young in the fall plumage is 

 without the white head and tail, and some- 

 times is very dark, almost black, varying 

 very much in size. I had one from Bees- 

 ley's Point that measured eight feet six 

 inches from tip to tip; then I have had 

 them that only measured five feet six inch- 

 es. I have seen them in company with the 

 Turkey Buzzard feeding on the carcasses 

 of dead horses and other dead animals. 

 They build their nests on high trees and 

 cliffs — eggs four in number." 



In this last article Mr. Krider states 

 that he has " never found more than two 

 eggs in a nest," and yet he coftcludes his ar- 

 ticle by saying: " They build their nests on 

 high trees and cliffs — eggs four in number." 



