80 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 6-No. 10. 



ward, for I did not observe one to fly in 

 another direction. I consider this bird 

 rare in the neighborhood of Hartford, for 

 although I have been a pretty close ob- 

 server for five or six years I never saw 

 more than three or four individuals previous 

 to these just mentioned. What is the ex- 

 perience of others with this Woodpecker ? 

 Is it not very locally distributed throughout 

 Connecticut ? 



I remember seeing an adult among some 

 cedars on the summit of Talcott mountain, 

 nine miles west of here, in October, 1876. 

 Stragglers were on the meadows November 

 3d. — Harry T. Gates, Hartford, Conn. 



[A male was shot at New Britain, eighteen 

 miles south of Hartford, about the time of 

 the above flight. The only specimen we 

 have seen in this State was in Tcdland, early 

 in the fall ot 1879. — Ed.] 



Robins and Black Snakes. 



While I was passing by the head of the 

 mill-pond where T;he water was skirted by 

 several rods' width of alders and briers, 

 with an occasional maple or white-wood, 

 one of the latter stood tall and straight near 

 where' I was. There was several inches in 

 depth of water at its base, and its trunk 

 went up straight and smooth for some 

 twenty feet without a branch, there ■ one 

 arm extended out to the right and the trunk 

 of the tree continued up naked and straight 

 some ten or fifteen feet more, then the 

 branches grew thickly, covered with foliage; 

 some, not its own, came from a grape vine 

 that twined among the upper branches, and 

 the body of the vine looked like a large 

 rope hanging from the top of the tree 

 down among the alders below and within a 

 foot or two of the trunk. In the top ot 

 this tree were a dozen or more robins, all 

 scolding in chorus at the top of their voices; 

 some hovering over the tree, some dashing 

 down among the foliage and rising again 

 only to join the chorus with renewed ener- 

 gy. I soon discovered that there was a 

 robin's nest near the top of the tree and 



some dark object — not the mother bird — 

 had possession. I heard above the din the 

 scream of distress from a young bird, 

 and gathering a handful of small stones I 

 began a bombardment of the tree top. Af- 

 ter one or two failures a stone, well directed 

 and well impelled, struck the spot and im- 

 mediately something began to move. A 

 large black snake uncoiling itself dropped, 

 striking the branch mentioned some ten 

 feet or more below, and thence wriggling in 

 the air down among the alders till I heard 

 it splash in the water. I was very much 

 surprised, and it is a wonder still to me 

 how that snake could climb such a tree or 

 vine, the only means of access to the nest. 

 It is also a surprise to me how the snake 

 discovered the nest, which was at least 

 thirty-five feet above the water, with an in- 

 tervening canopy of alders and thick foli- 

 age surrounding the nest. The scene was 

 one I shall not soon forget, though I have 

 often observed on other occasions that this 

 snake is a mortal enemy of young birds 

 and deserves extermination from their 

 friends. He seldom escapes a shot when 

 he crosses my path. — J. JV. Clark. 



Publications. 



RECENT AND OTHERWISE. 



J. J. Audubon. — In the Turf, Field and 

 Farm for November the 18th, i88r, will be 

 found an exceedingly interesting article 

 over the initials of Ar. r. a. The article is 

 well written and contains about as many 

 facts concerning this great man's simple 

 life as can well be crowded into two col- 

 umns and a half. Cut it out and preserve 

 it for future reference. 



The Germantown Telegraph is a weekly 

 family paper published at Germantown, 

 Pa. It contains much original matter for 

 the family, the sportsman, the farmer, and 

 gardener. In politics it is independent, and 

 fearless. Its Philadelphia letter alone is 

 well worth the price of subscription. If 

 there is a better family paper published we 

 have not seen it. $2.00 per annum 



