March, 1884.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



35 



peculiar advantages in communicating bird knowledge by 

 such means. In the mind of the reader the birds are con- 

 stantly associated with their respective and proper times 

 and seasons ; the winter records will discover the winter 

 residents, the summer records the summer residents, the 

 winter and summer records the permanent residents. The 

 transient visitors, or migrants will also be sufficiently indi- 

 cated, the periods of migration and nidification will be dis- 

 closed by the various dates of entry. Thus the whole are 

 most apt to be faithfully and permanently fixed in the mind 

 of the young student. The central point of the author's 

 observation was the village of Fairview, county-seat of 

 the (West) Virginia Panhandle, about four miles inland 

 from the Ohio river. 



Jan. 1st. But one bird met my eye, but enough perhaps 

 for a New Tear's day entry: this was a Tufted Titmouse, 

 (Lophophanes bicolor), which, as I drove along an unshel- 

 tered road, for some distance kept a little in advance of me 

 by short nights from one fence stake to another. This spe- 

 cies, in this locality, is much more numerous than the 

 Black-capped Titmouse, both of which are commonly 

 called Chickadees. It is a permanent resident with us, and 

 its loud, whistling notes— fair-lee, fair-Ice, deliberately ut- 

 tered, or purly, jntrly, purly, rapidly repeated, may be heard 

 issuing from our woods almost every month of the year. 

 Its crest and lead-colored coat will sufficiently distinguish 

 it to the observer. 



Jan. 2. Saw a pair of Cardinal Grosbeaks, or Crested 

 Red-birds {Cardinalis virginiaims) in the midst of a small 

 thicket against a high bank at the roadside— a favorite 

 haunt at this season of the year. 



Saw several flocks of Snow-birds (Junco hyemalis,) also 

 Tree Sparrows, (Spizella monticola,) in some instances as- 

 sociating together. By reason of this habit of joining 

 company, perhaps it is, the two species are not infrequent- 

 ly confounded by inexperienced observers, but the Snow- 

 bird may readily be distinguished from the Sparrow kind 

 by its uniformly darker coat (slate color,) and, in its flight, 

 exposing two white feathers in its tail, which are then very 

 conspicuous. The unmarked breast (save an obscure dusky 

 spot in the centre) and white wing bars, of the Tree Spar- 

 row will distinguish it from the Song Sparrow, which re- 

 mains with us throughout the year. 



Jan. 4th. Observed a flock of about a dozen Turtle 

 Doves (Zencedura carolinensis,) feeding in a corn field on 

 the bare spots caused by the removal of several shocks of 

 unhusked corn, the ground being covered with several 

 inches of snow. This bird is only partially migratory with 

 us, and may be seen singly or in small companies through- 

 out our coldest winters. 



Saw some half dozen Cardinal Grosbeaks amid the thick 

 undergrowth on the banks of a small stream. With this 

 " Virginia Nightingale," I cannot but regard in an ornitho- 

 logical point of view, this district of country as specially 

 favored, in this, while it is one of the most beautiful of our 

 native American birds, and witbal a charming and lasting 

 songster, it is here an abundant species, and remains with 

 us all the year round. 



Jan. 9. There have been but few days this winter I have 

 not seen one or two White-breasted Black-capped Nut- 

 hatches, (Sitta carolinensis), moving up or down and 

 around the larger branches of a row of locust trees in front 

 of the parsonage on the village street. To-day, from my 

 study window, I witnessed an interesting performance of 

 one of these birds — not three yards from me, it its effort to 

 break a small particle of matter, of the size and shape of a 

 butter-bean, it had picked up from the ground. Its posi- 

 tion was on an oblique limb ; holding the substance in its 

 bill it would strike it two or three times against the limb 



and then momentarily lodge it, repeating the performance 

 perhaps a dozen times. The curious thing about it was its 

 ability to lodge at will, and with such rapidity, that bit of 

 matter on a limb sloping, perhaps, at an angle of forty-five 

 degrees, without the aid of its feet and with nothing but a 

 slight unevenness of bark to hold it. This would require 

 the steadiest nerve of a man to do, if he could do it at all. 



Jan. 25. In the dusk of the evening, while in my saddle, 

 started up a small flock of Turtle-Doves that were roosting 

 among the dry grass just inside the fence at the roadside 

 and near to the edge of a wood. As between my horse 

 and his rider and those noisy winged birds, the advantage 

 of the mutual alarm was undoubtedly with the birds. 



Jan. 26. This morning found the ground covered with 

 three or four inches of snow. Three White-bellied Nut- 

 hatches, a Crested Tit and a Downy Woodpecker, alias the 

 little " Sapsucker," or small spotted Woodpecker, (Picus 

 pubescens) all in one company, in a small strip of woods, 

 met my eye. 



Have rarely failed in my drives to see the ubiquitous 

 Black Snow-bird, which seems about as numerous propor- 

 tionately in this day as in the days of Alexander Wilson, 

 who pronounced it to be the most numerous of its tribe. 



Jan. 30. This morning is mild and springlike, and while 

 I write a great Carolina Wren {Thryothorus ludovicianus) 

 perched on the top-most branch of an apple tree in full 

 view of my window, is singing with great animation. This 

 is the only native song bird with which I am acquainted 

 that remains in full song throughout the year. In every 

 month of winter, during the milder and more open weather, 

 its sprightly notes may be heard. A common local name 

 I have often heard given to this bird, and also to 

 the Crested Tit, certain of whose notes are somewhat 

 similar, is that of Sugar-bird from their habit of 

 singing throughout the bright days of Maple-sugar 

 making, or when the sap of the sugar-tree is supposed to 

 be running. During the early part of this winter, a pair of 

 these birds found lodgings in my stable, on a bracket-shelf 

 a few inches below the floor of the mow, in a cosy little re- 

 treat among the hayseeds, spider-webs and projecting 

 straws, where they were entirely concealed from view. In 

 very cold or blustering weather, observed they were wont 

 to seek the same shelter, where they would remain a large 

 portion of the day. This bird may be distinguished from 

 the familiar House Wren by its larger size, and by a rather 

 conspicuous whitish line over the eye more than inch long. 

 The back, also, is without the dusky wave lines of the lat- 

 ter, (being of a uniform reddish-brown) which are com- 

 mon to both on wings and tail. 



Brief Notes. 



Notes fkom Hart-land, Conn. One afternoon in early 

 May, (18S1,) while going up a steep bank from the river, 

 (Conn.,) I observed a pair of Great Northern Shrike, (Lani- 

 us Borealix,) flying about as if they were greatly disturbed 

 by my presence. Upon looking around, I found their nest 

 in an old apple tree. It contained four young birds, of 

 about one week's growth. This is the only nest to my 

 knowledge ever found in this locality. It was composed of 

 twigs and dark colored roots similar to those used by the 

 King Bird, (Tyrannus carolinensis,) in the construction of 

 its nest. It was lined with hen's feathers and woodchuck's 

 hair. 



On the first of June, 1SS2, while passing an old orchard, 

 I saw a hole in an apple tree. As I drew near it, a bill stuck 

 out, then out went an old Yellow-shafted Flicker, (Colaptes 

 auratus,) into a neighboring tree. I was not long getting 

 up to the hole, but when I got there I had to whittle away 

 with my jackknife until I could reach the bottom, where I 



