230 



THB OOLOOI8T 



One nest of the Solitary that I found 

 was only four feet up in witch hazel in 

 hardwood timber and not far from the 

 edge of the woods. In this nest I 

 found three eggs of the Vireo and one 

 of the Cowbird, thereby adding the 

 Solitary Vireo to the list of victims of 

 the CoWbird of this region. As a rule 

 though this Vireo would nest in the 

 deep woodlands where the Cowbird 

 would not be found. The females when 

 on the nest have always been very 

 tame. When within reach of the 

 ground they sit very close and will al- 

 low a person to walk up within a cou- 

 ple of feet before leaving. 



Several times I have found nests in 

 beech saplings in little forked twigs 

 and almost against the trunk. 



Several years ago I found one way 

 out on the end of a long drooping limb 

 of a big hemlock. It was fully thirty 

 feet from the trunk of the tree and di- 

 rectly over a good sized mountain 

 stream. In order to examine it I 

 tied a forked stick to the end of a 

 pole and climbing a beech that grew 

 within ten feet of the nest I pulled the 

 limb around within reach. 



Several years ago a pair of Soli- 

 taries built in a little hemlock direct- 

 ly under one of my Goshawk nests. 

 They laid a set of four eggs but were 

 not disturbed by their big neighbors 

 overhead. In the fall it is common dur- 

 ing the migrations in late September 

 and early October. 



R. B. Simpson. 

 Warren, Pa. 



The Whistling Swan. 



Last year I had not received any 

 information of the occurrence of this 

 Swan at Niagara Falls. Early this 

 year I had instructed my friends to in- 

 form me when they appeared. About 

 a month later than in previous years, 

 I received a message that they had ar- 

 rived. The lateness of their appear- 



ance may be due to the late spring, as 

 they leave their home in the Gulf of 

 Mexico on their migration to the breed- 

 ing grounds on the Yukon River or the 

 small lakes on the coast and islands 

 of the Arctic Sea. 



On theix,weary flight to the breeding 

 grounds, they are hungry and exhaust- 

 ed, they drop in that lakelike expanse 

 of water above the Falls, for rest and 

 food. They are safe during daylight, 

 but in dark nights float towards the 

 falls, go over the rapids and finally are 

 carried over the Horseshoe Falls to 

 their destruction. In descending they 

 are so badly hurt and maimed coming 

 in contact with the rocks below the 

 water, and their life is crushed out. 

 In the early morning their lifeless 

 bodies are swooped by the currents 

 to the shore. Hardly one survives, but 

 as the Gorge is perpendicular and im- 

 possible for them to fly up, they are 

 easily captured. " A few years ago to 

 my knowledge more than a hundred 

 lost their lives. 



Acocrding to best information about 

 thirty were picked up this spring. They 

 are clear white with a yellowish 

 streaky spot on the side of the black 

 bill. I saw one specimen that was per- 

 haps a hundred years old, as they at- 

 tain a great age. The top feathers 

 of the head were black and the side 

 of the lore was entirely yellow. 



As the migration of the Swan to 

 their northern breeding grounds and 

 their final ending has only been re- 

 corded within the past twelve or fif- 

 teen years, it can be imagined what 

 immense numbers have been killed be- 

 fore. 



The Buffalo Society of Natural Sci- 

 ence has a group of six, that has no 

 equal in the United States, presented 

 by me. 



The weather seems to have no effect 

 to the migration of the American 

 Woodcock in our locality. They ar- 



