54 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 9-No. 5 



Hawk. The poor birds, at such times, 

 seeing their terrible enemy coming with 

 wings half closed afod swift almost as an 

 arrow from a new-made bow, are fright- 

 ened beyond describing and put forth all 

 the power of wing they possess to escape, 

 if possible, the fatal stroke. They dash 

 to the right, to the left, sweep to the 

 ground, then rise as swiftly high in air, 

 again to move onward with the rush and 

 roar of a furious wind, but all the while 

 keeping their ranks solid and unbroken, 

 until the Hawk actually shoots himself in- 

 to the flock aud seizes his single victim. 

 And in this connection I will state I have 

 often observed that one Hawk could strike 

 more terror and dismay into a flock of 

 birds, than half a dozen men with as many 

 shotguns could in the same length of 

 time. 



These birds feed now wherever they 

 find their food most abundant, whether in 

 swamp or on hill. During the early part 

 of this month they can be found frequent- 

 ing the fresh-sown oat fields, picking up 

 the stray grains from off the surface. 



Our vast pine forests are generally 

 swept by them in November and Decem- 

 ber and scarcely a seed of the pine is visi- 

 ble when they have left for other feeding 

 grounds. 



The Robin will claim attention next. 

 He still confines himself to the swamp 

 and wood, where wild berries, etc., are yet 

 abundant enough to satisfy his demands, 

 and where he is comparative!}' safe from 

 molestation by man with his destructive 

 breech-loader. But in the course of a few 

 weeks more, having consumed his forest 

 supplies, Redbreast will be compelled to 

 seek his food around the house and gar- 

 den, where he will meet with death at the 

 hand of every boy strong enough to shoul- 

 der a parlor rifle and wanton enough to 

 touch the trigger ; for he is a bird of de- 

 cided stupidity and the muzzle of the 

 sportsman's piece may be easily placed 

 within a few feet of him before firing. 



Here, Robins are nearly as numerous as 

 the Blackbirds, of which we have spoken. 

 When they have exhausted everything 

 else, they visit the China tree (found in all 

 the cities and towns in this latitude,) and 

 feed upon the berries which it bears in 

 superabundance. At these periods the 

 children often catch them on the ground, 

 where they have fallen, intoxicated by the 

 berry aforementioned. Late one after- 

 noon last spring, I picked up a Robin thus 

 intoxicated that had dropped from a tree 

 near by and was fluttering along in a limp 

 and helpless manner. Having carried the 

 bird home, I put it in a box for the night 

 and next morning turned it loose, when it 

 flew away as easily and soberly as any of 

 its fellows could have done. 



It is not, however, the scope and pur- 

 pose of this article to go minutely into the 

 nature of the Robin ; and as I have men- 

 tioned the most conspicuous of his winter 

 habits, I will now dismiss him. — W. S. 

 H., Smithville, Get. 



Bird Notes of the Northwest Region. 



Geeat-hohned Owl, {Bubo virginianus.) 

 Rather an abundant bird and breeds iflen- 

 tifully. I found nests at Ft. Laramie in 

 '82, and it is not rare in any part of the 

 territory where there are timbered streams. 

 Feb. 22, ('84,) saw one specimen but did 

 not take it as I hope to find its mate and 

 nest in the vicinity. All my nests of this 

 bird found in Wyoming have been placed 

 in the crotch of a tree, generally at top of 

 trunk, never on branches. I found one in 

 Nebraska ('83) in a hollow tree. These 

 nests were built by the Bubo itself, but 

 where they are built on branches they are 

 invariably old Crow's or Hawk's nests. 

 The nest is not much of an affair, being 

 rude and bulky. I found one nest at Fort 

 Laramie, Wyo., ('82) which was by far the 

 best specimen I ever saw. It was com- 



